Chapter 18 #2
I just stare forward at the road as we continue to drive. If I need to kill today, I need to bring back my Numb.
My Numb is what I like to call the personality I possess when I need to take a life.
Even though the people I kill deserve it, I’m still somewhat human.
I have to separate myself from the acts, so I close my eyes and let out a deep breath before leaning back in the seat.
Teddy is at once aware of the mood shift, Brandon tenses next to me. “Fine, but I’ll need some music.”
Max, hearing the shift in my tone turns back towards me, “What do you have in mind, Harpy?”
“Play ‘Burn’ by 2WEI and Edda Hayes, please.” I ask sweetly and I check my weapons on instinct.
Max doesn’t respond, and at once lets the music play, sound filling the car. I close my eyes and let the sound swallow me whole as I focus on summoning the Numb side of me.
My dad hated when I’d go Numb. It’s like he knew once I was there, he couldn’t drag the real Zoe out.
He couldn’t hurt me. When I’d go Numb, he’d train me even harder.
He’d pull out the shocking prods or the collar.
He tried so hard to see my pain. To get some sort of response from me.
The trick to those devices was, he’d turn it all the way up to make me scream in pain, but the shocks were activated by noise.
When I’d scream, it’d shock me harder. So, I very quickly learned, no screaming.
Soon enough he stopped trying to get to me when I went Numb.
The only person I didn’t go Numb for, was my father. I needed to feel his life leaving from his body, I needed to see his soul leave from his already-dead eyes.
When the SUV comes to a sudden stop, my eyes jolt open, and I look at our surroundings through the windows.
We are parked in front of a massive warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
There are no surrounding buildings or businesses, or even cars.
There are trees that are wrapping around it, hiding it from the road.
Brandon gets out of the car but stops me before I exit and closes the door on me.
Both Dean and Max get out as well and they circle the car.
“Why can’t I get out?” I ask Teddy, who is still sitting next to me.
“They’re scoping out the area. They want to be sure it’s all clear before you exit.”
Scoffing, I push the door open, “I can protect myself.” Teddy doesn’t stop me, instead he gets out with me.
Max turns to look at me and then scolds Teddy, “What the hell? I told you to keep her in the car while we checked everything out.”
Teddy only shrugs while he keeps an eye on me as I look towards the building.
“It’s so quiet out here, I thought you had workers inside?”
“We do,” Brandon answers as he joins me. “Soundproof walls.”
“All clear, let’s get this over with.” Dean demands.
I roll my eyes at his roughness, always such a dick, and of course I cannot stand it anymore. “Why are you always so pissy?” I ask Dean.
He looks at me as if I’ve grown a second head, “Pissy?”
I stop and put my hands on my hips, knowing that Teddy is covering my back in case something pops off.
“Yes. Pissy, broody, angry, pensive, somber, irate, exasperated? I can go on if you want me to continue listing synonyms.” I step in front of him so he can’t dismiss my question.
“Or do you need definitions too? I’m sure a meathead like you might need help breaking down the big words. ”
“Zoe, now is not the time for this. We have a job to do.” Max states from behind me.
“No, he is always in a bad mood. But especially when I’m around. What did I do?” I keep my eyes locked with Deans.
Dean's jaw ticks, as he squeezes and releases his fists. I know his type. He won’t say what’s bothering him, he can’t. There is a mental block preventing him from letting him explain what is going on in that head of his. I give him a knowing look, but then I match my glare with his.
“Fine. We won’t talk here. We’ll work it out on the mat,” I decide.
“On the mat?” He grumbles.
“Yep,” I pop the ‘p’, “We’ll fight it out.”
He only scoffs but walks past me, shoulder checking me on his way to the warehouse door.
The other three shake their heads as if I’ve gone crazy. I’m not sure why they find it unbelievable; they’ve seen me fight, they’ve seen my victims. They know I can handle myself.
We enter the building in a single file. Dean is first, always the one to enter first it seems. But I’ve noticed he is a protector, the martyr for the group.
Brandon follows behind Dean, ready for a fight and way too cocky for his own good. He has that bat again; the same one I used against him just days ago.
Just days ago. It feels like months.
Then it’s Max. When Max enters, the building falls silent.
This has always confused me. People are so afraid of Max, but he has never really done anything; nothing I’m aware of at least. Sure, he has a powerful aura that leaks from him, is in charge of every room he enters, and his intensity is palpable.
But he isn’t known for hurting people, is he?
I follow behind Max. A lot of confused glances roam over me, but nobody lets their eyes linger for too long. Teddy is following behind me. Close but not touching. I know the curious eyes leave me because of whatever Teddy is doing behind me. Something tells me he has these warehouse men quaking.
“Boss, we didn’t know you’d be stopping by today.
” A little man in glasses approached us.
He looks nervous, but not in a sketchy way.
He’s short and a little thin. He has wide rimmed coke bottle glasses and sandy brown hair.
He has to be in his early thirties but doesn’t look like the type of man you’d find working in an operation like this.
“Mark, we wanted to stop by to see how things were running. Heard about a little leak that was taken care of. I wanted to make sure nothing else was going wrong.” Max says, as he shakes Mark’s hand.
Mark gives him a single nod and turns towards the warehouse personnel.
Immediately I notice that this is one of their drug packaging and shipping warehouses.
I see massive stacks of bricked cocaine and marijuana, I notice the harder stuff is blocked off with a separate group of personnel in a marked off section.
Nobody is working, everyone is standing at attention as if they are waiting to be called on.
“Good morning, everyone,” Max starts, “We have had a bit of security issues recently. Is there anyone who has any information on that?” His tone is showing a false sense of safety. To the room it may come off genuine, but I can hear the venom laced in his words.
Nobody answers, as expected. But I keep my eyes on a younger man at a packaging table.
Late twenties, brunette, olive skin, and a thin mustache.
His body is relaxed, but his dark brown eyes are shifty.
I watch how he watches Max and Dean; it’s like he’s trying to study an opponent, weighing out the odds.
Max nods along to the silence and starts to roll up his sleeves. “Okay, I need all the men that worked directly with Jax in the last three months to line up at the front for me,” he calls. When nobody moves, Teddy takes a step forward. This gets them all moving.
Twelve men step forward, including the man with the shifty eyes. I keep my sight locked on him.
Max takes his time, having what seems to be simple conversations with the men one by one. He’s about three people away from reaching shifty eyes when my eyes catch a movement in his jeans.
“Wait,” I say in an even tone. The room seems to hold its breath, as if interrupting Max was a fatal sin. “May I?” I ask stepping forward to stand directly next to him.
Max gives me a secret smile and nods his head for me to continue.
I skip over the remaining men, waving to them to go back to their work. They hesitate for half a second but decide better of it. Smart.
I stay still in front of the shifty eye man, refusing to be the first one to speak. His anxiety is now visible in the beads of sweat that are starting to pebble in his hairline.
“Y-yes?” He asks.
It’s like he knows he should be afraid of me.
Even though I’m visibly smaller, a woman, and I only have two weapons on me, nobody here knows how good of a shot I am-- other than the Karmas.
They say in nature prey always knows when it’s in danger, that it's a sixth sense. Even predators know when they aren’t the biggest threat in the room.
The shifty eye man doesn’t necessarily know I’m a threat, but he is intuitive enough to know to be wary of me.
“Strip.” I say keeping my eyes locked on his, and my hands at my sides.
He laughs nervously, “What?”
“You heard her.” Max barks, trusting me completely.
This gets the man moving faster. He removes his shirt, followed by his shoes, socks, then pants.
I raise an eyebrow at him, “Underwear.” Even though it’s now abundantly clear what is underneath them and taped to his body.
This is when his real fear sets in. A man who knows he has been caught. Not just caught doing something wrong, like cheating. But a man that has been caught stealing drugs from a prolific organized crime family that is richer than God.
“P-please, no.” The man lets a silent tear fall from his eye, and his body is visibly shaking.
“I said, strip.” I step forward with his bare toes kissing the shiny part of my boots.
He closes his eyes and lets out a shaky breath, but eventually he steps from his underwear and there’s about a fourth of a brick of cocaine taped to his hip.
Without hesitation, I pull a gun from the left holster and shoot him between the eyes. There is no need for questions on this one.
The energy in the room shifts, and a few men jump at the sound.
“Let me be clear,” I say as I holster the gun back into place. “If we’re to catch anyone else trying to steal from us, I won’t be so kind as to do it quickly next time. This is your only warning.”