Chapter 20
Switch
It feels fucking weird not having Marx barking our orders at us.
Don’t get me wrong, he is still very much in charge, he’s just too injured to be yelling in the commanding way he usually does.
Judging by the look on his face, he’s fucking hating that he’s sidelined, but we have no other choice.
He knows it and so do we. Were Marx to go to war with us tonight, he would be a weak link.
“Men, and Ol Ladies, tonight is going to get messy. Petrov has his own men, and from intel McDonald and Thompson will have men on the ground too. One is here to save their business, the other is here for what he believes is his.” Marx looks at us one by one, “We are lucky to have so many allies. But as you can appreciate, with so many armed, we need to run a tight op, not chaos. You’ll all be split into teams and I’ve divided the property into quadrants.
Rhodie will lead Black team with Switch, Sniper, Sasha, Blanche and Mercy.
Dex, you’re Red Team with Saint, Judge, Tank, Tav and Pops.
” The men all nod, shuffling into their new teams around their captain.
“Blue Team will be run by Savage. You got Judge, Fox and Nitro, Justice and Omen.”
“Fuck yeah.” Fox and Nitro fist bump each other.
“Team Zelenyy is lead by -”
“Lemme guess? Name like that, has to be Roman.” Rider smirks.
“Zelenyy is green,” Sasha offers.
“Team Z is lead by Roman,” this draws side eyes, “Gus, Mad Dog, Willa, Wire, Jules and Lovely. My Buttercup. So don’t. Fuck. Up. Roman.” Marx growls at Roman, his attention laser focused on the man as if ready to tear him a new asshole. Roman raises a hand to his chest and nods once.
“Roman and Jules? That is one fucked up team,” Rider mutters and then rolls his eyes when Jules flips the bird at him.
“Gallows, you got White team, Rider, TumTum, Chef, Flack and Loyal.”
“Why are the Ol Ladies split from their men?” Vex asks, brows furrowed as his Ol Lady shuffles toward Gallows team.
“Speaking for myself I’ll be more focused if I don’t have Blanche with me,” Tav says. “If we’re in a team together I’ll be focused on her, and I know I don’t need to be. She’s more badass than me.”
“Way more badass.” Jules smirks.
“Ear pieces in, Chewy has sent your coordinates to you,” Marx says.
“We got our first movement!” Chewy says excitedly. “Places and try not to die! I’m fond of most of you.”
As soon as the words leave her mouth an almighty scream sounds out from upstairs.
“Niko!” Blanche yells ready to make a move before thundering footsteps come bounding down the hall.
We all brace for impact, waiting with guns drawn as the footsteps thunder closer.
“The kid, he’s been hit!” Damian’s voice booms and we drop our guns as soon as Damian hits the ground, Niko over his shoulder. “In the chest, through and through,” he huffs out.
“Get him down below! I’ve got all the women with medical training waiting!” Marx growls. He spins to look at us, eyes blazing. “Fuck them up,” he says cooly, calmly before spinning on his heel and following Damian and Niko downstairs.
“You fucking heard the man,” Savage says checking his coordinates before leading his team out the back.
I turn to Rhodie, waiting for his instruction. “We’re front line defence with Roman’s team as backup,” Rhodie says low, moving with purpose toward the long, winding drive, eyes scanning the area.
“Clever,” Blanche says with a grin, brows waggling.
“Why do you say that?” Mercy asks from beside her, eyes on her surroundings.
“We have Roman’s husband in our team,” Sniper says quietly, “Anything happens to Sasha and Roman will cause a bloodbath.”
Sasha grins wide and waves at Mercy who blinks slowly before shaking her head. “Hold up, isn’t Roman the bratva guy?”
“Da,” Sasha says, moving his large body like a trained assassin. Which he could be, I don’t really know much about the man.
“Well, OK then.” Mercy mutters under her breath before snapping her head over her shoulder at the sound of gunfire coming from the back of the house.
“Fan out along the drive, if they’re dumb enough to come this way we can pick them off early.” Rhodie says, using hand actions to indicate where he wants us as we break out into a jog.
I take my place along the tree line and make sure I have equal parts cover and a good sightline.
Squatting low, my gaze darts to my left and I notice Blanche setting up in the same way I did.
As wrong as it feels having the women out here with us, I’m glad they are.
Blanche is a machine when it comes to using her gun, and I know that she has that Mama Bear thing going on.
No one touches the babies, whether they’re hers or not.
She’s protective and lethal and I'm honored to have her at my back.
“Unmarked vehicles coming your way Black Team,” Chewy’s voice sounds off over the comms in my ear.
Blowing out a long breath I wait for my lungs to empty before breathing in deeply and letting it out. I repeat this action, my heart rate slowing to where I need it to be. I need to keep the adrenaline at bay a little while longer and fight with a clear head.
“Blue Team, I got men coming your way through the woods. White, you’re their backup if they need it.” Marx’s voice calls over the line.
“Huh.” Chewy remarks. I wait with bated breath for her to continue, but she doesn't say another word.
“Chewy? What’s huh?” Marx says, his voice oddly patient.
“Petrov. He’s sent a coded message. He wants to negotiate.”
“Not while he has men coming this way. Fuck him,” Marx growls back. I open my mouth to agree with him but lights illuminate the drive and I know it’s go time.
“Incoming,” Chewy murmurs.
I brace myself and wait for the SUVs to come closer.
Timing is everything and I need to be able to do the most amount of damage before all hell breaks loose.
Looking to my left I notice Blanche doing the same.
She’s poised low, gun steady in her hand, but that doesn’t stop her from looking my way and winking.
“Shit’s about to get real, ladies and gentlemen,” Pops’ voice says over the comms.
Gravel crunches as the vehicles get closer and I count to five before taking aim and blowing out the back tire as it rolls right by me, Blanche shooting out the front tire at the same time.
I slink back into the shadows and wait. I count down from five, taking a steady breath at three.
At two the doors open and slam shut, and I count the pairs of boots I can see.
Six. Six men, armed and dangerous. I catch Mercy from her perch in a tree across from me, and bite my lip at the feral grin she gives me before she jumps from the tree, landing on the ground and opening fire on the men on her side of the SUV.
Pops is right. Shit just got real.
Joy
I can’t stay here. Not in the main room as I watch Violet and Joe working on Niko.
He’s still a kid, barely in his twenties and he’s been shot.
Protecting me, Kit. Addy, Bree, Laney May and Little Bee.
His life could be cut short because of us and I’m not OK with that.
Up until this point I was certain the DRMC would win.
That Reid would win. Now I’m not sure if I can stomach any more people getting hurt.
“Joe, you good to administer the IV relief so I can close him up?” Vi asks, and I’m in awe. The Vi I know is Jazz’s sister and she’s sassy but also kind, and likes to laugh a lot. This Vi is bossy and capable and confident.
“You’re looking at the top of the class of IV insertion,” Joe says, teeth gritted.
They work together like a well oiled team.
That’s a good thing because I don’t think Niko will be the last person lying on that table tonight.
And that thought in itself makes me feel sick.
I can’t stay here, I can’t watch anymore, so I skulk in the doorway of the little room that Chewy, Remy and Marx are set up in.
I’m pretty sure it’s a pantry judging by the stores here.
“You know, if you’re going to lurk you may as well take a seat,” Chewy says, not even turning to look at me.
“How did you know I was here?” I ask, edging into the room and taking the one and only spare seat, a wooden stool.
“Chewy has the hearing of a bat,” Remy says, looking over her shoulder at me with a soft smile.
“I know it looks bad, but Vi was a nurse for a long time, and Joe is training to be a paramedic. Sage is also training to be a nurse. We have people who can help. And from what Vi said Niko’s wound was the best it could be, considering the circumstances.
Clean through and through, missed everything vital.
” She leans and pats my thigh. “Everything will work out, Joy. We’ve got this. ”
She says this so confidently that I almost feel it down to my bones. Everything will be alright because it has to be. There is no other option. I don't want to lose Reid or Kit or any of the people I have come to love and look up to.
“Incoming,” Chewy murmurs, so low I almost missed it.
My eyes dart across the screens, but there are too many to keep up with.
This is almost like watching a movie or something.
There are flashes going off everywhere, the rat-tat-tat of gun fire and yet all the voices coming through the audio are eerily calm.
I knew that these men and some of the women were trained, but I never imagined it would be like this.