Chapter 6
Tanner
This bitch is infuriating.
Leaving the room was for her sake and mine, to clear my head before I did or said anything stupid, although it doesn’t seem to be helping.
I’m still very much pissed off, and I doubt it’ll be changing anytime soon. I walk towards my room.
Why the fuck is she so up in arms against us when she knows nothing? She is so uninformed about anything.
When I first saw her, the only thing I could think about was how gorgeous she was. And when she opened those beautiful blue-green eyes, she only became more beautiful.
Her red hair cascaded down her shoulders in bouncy waves, and her full lips had been so perfect as she stared at us in confusion. I was particularly enamored by the smattering of freckles on her nose and her high cheekbones.
Although she’d only just been rescued after an explosion and was injured, she looked so beautiful, much like a movie star.
I’d always found it weird how a movie star could get injured in a movie but always managed to look impeccable. No one should look that good after an accident, and yet, looking at her, I get it.
Maybe super attractive people just get injured differently. They just look like that. Instead of looking ugly as a result of her injuries, she looks like she just had makeup applied to fake being injured.
Maybe that’s part of what pisses me off so much, because she still looks perfect.
All of that attraction, however, went down the drain the moment she opened her mouth. I’ve never met anyone who’s so irritating before. She gets on my nerves and I hate it.
“How could someone be so different from their parent?” I mumble under my breath.
Her dad was nothing like that.
The man we knew as Captain was a kind, gentle, and calm man who always seemed like he had all the answers. He made us feel like little boys in some ways.
I mean, compared to him, we sort of were.
Despite that and the fact that we were opposites, with him being the better one in the eyes of the law, he was never condescending. Instead, he was very friendly and made us want to open up to him, which was strange for us.
I scoff. She’s everything that he was not. She’s abrasive, annoying, and loud. She jumps to conclusions. She’s young, na?ve, and stupid.
I rifle through the contents of the drawer, satisfied when I find what I am looking for. It’s a recorder that should hopefully help to clear all this up.
Back when we used to work with Captain, Josiah used to say I was paranoid for recording every interaction we had with him and every other member of Flames of Hell. I wanted to have records of everything so that no one would ever be able to deceive us.
I knew Flames of Hell was shady, and I kept feeling like they would try to cheat us. Even when I felt like I could trust Captain, I didn’t bother stopping the automatic records I’d set up.
It became useful after all…just not in the way any of us expected.
Returning to the room does nothing to soothe my anger. The girl’s eyes flip up to me when I step into the room, and I ignore the feeling tightening in my chest. She’s still angry and glaring at everyone.
“Now listen to this.”
I click the button on the recorder and watch her as it begins to play.
“Rueben…” her dad’s voice crackles through.
“Captain?” Boss’s worried voice follows. “What’s wrong? You don’t sound so good.”
“Who’s that? Is that Captain?” This time, it’s me.
“Yeah.”
Josiah’s voice comes through. “Oh, tell him to get chips when he’s coming back and — ”
A sound follows like someone had smacked Josiah to shut him up. It was me. I had smacked him.
Captain laughs. “Sorry boys, there’ll be no chips…and I don’t think I can make it back…ever again.”
Silence ensues for a moment until Rueben speaks again. “Captain, what’s going on? Where are you? We’ll come to you right now.” There is evident worry in his voice. Rueben liked Captain a lot.
Rustling sounds follow, like Captain is sliding down against something. “Don’t. Just don’t. Forget about that. There’s so much I have to tell you.”
“Just tell us where you are. That’s all that matters,” Rueben says once again. This time, the scraping of a chair being pushed back can be heard. Rueben had gotten to his feet.
Keys jingle as they are grabbed off the table. “We’ll come right away. Just tell us who you need us to stomp.” It’s Josiah talking this time. We were ready to jump into action to fight and save him.
“No,” Captain sighs. “You can’t come here… You probably wouldn’t want to come anyway once you hear that I’m a cop.”
The line goes quiet and Captain chuckles weakly.
“Wait, did he just say cop?” I’m the one talking now, sounding further away since I’d been by the door.
“Yeah… I’m sorry. I know this must feel like a huge betrayal to you, but I promise our friendship was real. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to you three,” he says sadly.
“Wait a second. What the fuck are you saying? What do you mean you’re a cop?” My angry voice is closer this time.
“Well, was a cop, I guess,” Captain sighs again, and it comes out as a wet sound, like blood is filling his lungs. “I’ve been betrayed.”
“You don’t work for Flames of Hell?” I query. I’m the only one speaking because the other two are too shocked.
“No… I infiltrated. I was, uh, sent to…to be a double agent. I — have been here for quite a few years. I just happened to…have this big break. It was supposed to be my…biggest bust, but it turns out the police are just as…corrupt as the gangs…if not more.” His voice kept breaking. It was clear he was really hurt. It didn’t seem like the kind of hurt that he could get better from.
“The police?” My voice is cautious.
“Yes. They cut a deal with Flames of Hell…and they weren’t going to…make the bust. Flames of Hell knew handling such a big deal would garner attention and decided to settle with the police. It seems the offer Flames of Hell came up with was too good to pass up…so they told them that I was a — spy. I’ve been shot by my handler — the detective I reported to… Those Flames of Hell bastards came after me. I-I don’t know how long I have, b-but I was able to get away for now.”
“Just tell us where you are and we’ll come get you. We’ll hide you…anything.” Rueben wanted to save him.
Captain groans. “No, boys... It’s too late for me.”
A laugh escapes him. “But they fucked up, you know... I’m the only one who knows where the stash is. I didn’t tell them anything, the fuckers… You know…you should have it instead.”
“The stash? You didn’t turn it over to Flames of Hell or the cops?” My voice is a bit shrill.
“Yes…hn…my treasure will lead you to the treasure,” Captain says, groaning once again.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“He’s probably losing a lot of blood. He’s not making any sense,” Rueben says.
“Wait, we haven’t gotten the information yet. Where did you say it was?” I ask.
“I-I’m sorry, boys.”
“Captain? Captain... Captain, please say something.”
Quiet on the other end.
“Captain… Captain?”
“Sh-should I get the boys? Should we go out to look for him?” Josiah asks, his voice shaky.
The recording clicks to an end. We all stay still, wearing the same somber expression. Rueben and Josiah both look almost as sad as the day it happened.
We’d all really liked the man we knew as “Captain”. Flames of Hell had introduced him as the one in charge of beating the new recruits into shape, and that was what they called him over there. We went along with calling him that. Even when we later found out he was actually named William Burke, we’d gotten too used to the title.
Amelia’s mouth hangs open, her eyes wide as she struggles to process what she’s heard. It must be difficult for her to realize she’d built her life so far on false information.
I hate people who don’t get facts before they act. Her surprised expression doesn’t even give me any satisfaction that I proved her wrong and made her shut up. She just irritates me more.
“So, who did you say killed your dad again?” I ask, glaring at her. “Dumb fuck.”
I walk out of the room, still feeling her staring after me.