Chapter 5
5
ANTHONY
I take the creaky steps down to the caverns below my property. Number seven’s causing trouble.
I don’t remember him. But then again, after a while they’re nothing but blood and organs. Disposable.
“Took you long enough, you shit,” a voice says from the shadows, a plume of smoke billowing up from sinister lips.
Luca. My right-hand man. The underboss to the Costello family. Neither of my sons wanted any part of this, and to be honest, I never wanted it for them either. Luca, however, he’s been with me for ages, since we were mere boys. He’s been with me through the loss of my parents, my wife, the birth of my children. I love him like a brother, and his mind works just like mine.
He will do well as the boss when I’m gone.
He pushes off the wall and his lean, muscular form emerges into the flickering orange lights.
“Viktor said you weren’t here yet.”
“He never notices when I arrive or leave. He would rather I didn’t exist. But I’m here. Just got in from England. Heard your cry of help and came running. Like a good dog.”
If he heard any cries, it was Tatum coming all across my desk.
I run my dried cum-stained hand across my chest and arch an eyebrow at my friend.
“Sebastian LeClerc gives his regards, by the way,” he says.
I ignore this and just tilt my head toward the darkness. Sebastian, the infamous assassin and hacker, can wait. The favors I owe him. And I know he always collects.
“Viktor said there was trouble with seven.”
“Fuck if I know what’s going on. I just got here. But let’s go take a look, shall we?”
We make our way down the corridors, my eyes shifting to the doors that have been welded shut every few feet.
Bones. So many bones hidden beneath my property.
Bodies.
Victims, though not innocent.
People who sought to destroy me and the things I love.
They’ve found their graves beneath me, never to escape. I made sure of it.
Moans and screams meet our ears as we turn a corner. The only ones who know how to traverse these passages are me and my most trusted employees. Only a select few out of many. Most aren’t allowed down here, and if they did come down here, they would surely get lost. Luca is familiar with this place though. He helped me map these out.
“Sounds really fucking miserable down here,” he murmurs, taking another puff of his cigarette. “I mean, really, can’t you put them in soundproof rooms? You know I wanted that in the beginning, but you were such a little shit about it. I wanna hear them scream. ”
I ignore him. This isn’t the first time he’s complained about this.
This isn’t supposed to be a pleasant getaway for the people who die down here. It’s supposed to be hell. They’re supposed to hear each other and want to end it.
When we turn another corner, the screams and moans become louder. Seems that Bane is having far too much fun. He never was quite right in the head. But then again, that’s why I hired him all those years ago. Well, actually, hired is a strong term. He just showed up one day and never left.
“Honestly, we need to get Bane a girlfriend,” Luca says when we hear a maniacal laugh and the whirl of an electric saw.
“What if he doesn’t like girls?”
“Fine. A boyfriend then. He just needs to get his dick wet, Anthony. He’s fucking nuts.”
“Someone has to do it,” I reply when we come to a stop in front of a man of indiscernible age wearing goggles and an apron, his entire body and face covered in blood.
“Hey, guys!” he says with a grin, the man before him writhing in pain. I glance down and see that he’s missing an ear and part of his leg.
Seems he deserved it. This one touched Tatum.
“You should really wear more protection,” Luca says, but Bane just shrugs him off.
“I mean, I could ,” he says with a snort. “But I can’t be bothered.”
He pulls the goggles up and his hair stands up from the force of it. He can’t be more than twenty-five. Or maybe he’s thirty-five. He could be sixty, and I honestly wouldn’t know. No one does. He’s a mystery. I’m careful to vet all my men, but Bane’s past was completely wiped clean.
I still trust him though. Mostly.
He’s a psycho, and that’s exactly the role I needed filled.
And he does a great job taking people apart. Piece by piece.
Luca snorts and takes a long drag of his cigarette before eyeing the man, who is sobbing before us. Disgusting really.
“Can you make him shut up?” I ask Bane, who scratches at his chin, blood smearing across his jaw in the process.
“I mean, you already cut his tongue out. I could take his head off, but I thought you wanted me to draw this out.”
“Hm,” I say, not sure what I’d like Bane to do. I would like this body buried with the others, but at the same time… He. Touched. Tatum .
“This carnage have anything to do with the new addition to your household?” Luca asks.
I eye him and give a slight nod.
“Thought so. Heard all about that,” he says as he sucks down the last bit of his cigarette and then leans forward and puts it out on the bloody man’s arm.
He screams, his tongueless mouth open wide. The smell of burned skin permeates the room, and I inhale it.
Good.
Let him fucking rot.
Bane giggles and puts his goggles back on. “Alright, you both done? I’m not quite done with this masterpiece.”
Luca huffs a laugh and then nods toward the door. “Yeah, we’ll get out of your hair. We’re here to see seven anyways.”
“Oh, yeah. He’s strung up in his cell. You’re good to go see him. I mean, Boss, it would be nice if you didn’t cut their tongues out right away. Because then we could actually get information from them.”
I stare at him so long that he shifts on his feet, almost looking nervous, but then he just chuckles with a wide grin. “But you do you!”
And then a saw whirls in the background, and he lifts it above his head.
“You’re gonna lose your kneecap, handsome,” Bane says almost flirtatiously.
Damn, this has to be where my son got his love of saws, or at least Bane helped it grow.
“Alright, let’s get this over with. I want a shower,” Luca says, turning away from the screams coming from Bane’s victim and moving toward one of the cells where our guests are kept.
Most are empty now, their bodies stowed behind those walls we passed earlier. In a matter of days, that sad, screaming man will be joining the corpses lined there.
My own catacombs, like I said.
I’m bound straight for hell, and I don’t even fucking care.
“Alright, what does number seven have to say? What do you think?” Luca asks as he unlocks a door and it swings open. And just like Bane said, there’s the guy, strung up on the wall, his body shaking, from pain I’m sure.
“Alright, Mr. Seven. What do you know?” Luca asks, lighting up another cigarette and inhaling deeply.
I eye the man, blood dripping from his wounds. He’s practically flayed open, his skin hanging off his body in strips.
Bane had fun with him.
Probably spent a long while here. I glance around and see a half-eaten sandwich in the corner. Seems he had lunch here too.
Which is unsurprising. Bane’s never had a problem eating with the bodies.
He would have made a good forensic pathologist if his career hadn’t led him to criminal activities.
I eye the man again and feel my body heat with rage. Ah, yes. I remember this one. He had his foot on Tatum’s head, ready to stomp when I came bursting into the filthy bathroom.
He was going to murder him.
This shit stain deserves it all.
They always deserve it though.
Seven’s eyes are wide and panicked. Hm, I take that back. His one eye. Seems the other has been scooped out. I bet it’s in a jar in Bane’s office. I bet he looks at it daily.
My lips twitch at the thought, and I run a hand across my jaw.
“Come on, man. Spit it out, as best you can. And maybe we’ll let you live,” Luca lies.
No one escapes the chambers.
The man starts to mutter, blood pooling from his lips, spittle trailing down his chin.
“This is really gross,” Luca says with a wince. “I mean, really.”
I ignore Luca’s grumbling.
“I can’t understand him, can you?” I ask, and Luca eyes me through the haze of smoke.
“Nope, and next time, listen to Bane. Save the tongue so they can talk.”
“Perhaps,” I say, knowing I won’t change my mind. I quite like the screams that come with them losing that part of them. Their means to communicate.
The way it makes the hope dull from their eyes.
Yes, I don’t think I want to give that up. I am The Silencer after all.
“Waaaaa,” the man moans, and Luca pulls another drag from his cigarette.
“Jesus. What do you think that means? Kind of sounds ghastly.”
“Waaaaa,” the man says again, and I sigh as Luca gives me a knowing smirk.
“Told you so. Tongues, man. Gotta keep ’em.”
“Shut up,” I say and then eye the man, trying to figure out a way to get him to tell us what we need to know. Problem is, Bane removed all his fingers.
“I swear to God, this is what I come home to,” Luca grunts. “Bane needs some self-control and so do you.”
I mean, perhaps he’s right, but I won’t admit it. I’m the boss. I make the final call.
“Oh, hey again! Seven’s talking about war,” Bane says, appearing randomly in the doorway, a severed leg in his arms. “Seems they’re coming for us. Big time.”
I stare at the man strung up and watch as he bobs his head in agreement.
“How informative. But I already knew that. The Fallen Aces have been after us for years.”
The man’s eye widens and he grunts again, trying to tell me something else, but there’s nothing left to say. And he can’t anyways.
I stole that from him.
“Bane, we’re done here. Get rid of the garbage,” I say as I walk out, Luca trailing behind me, quiet except for the way his lips wrap around that cigarette and pull.
“War, huh?” Luca asks, and I nod.
“The bar Tatum was at is owned by the Fallen Aces gang. They already want in on the cocaine trade, the designer drugs, and it seems us coming in and killing all those fuckers didn’t help matters.”
Luca whistles and takes another drag of nicotine. “Well, fuck. Seems your boy made the wrong choice in where he went to grab a drink.”
I turn to glower at him. “Seems so.”
“You ready to do this? This is going to get complicated,” Luca says, knowing what this means. Everything may change from here.
I nod.
“Seems I am.”
“Fuck,” Luca mutters and then slaps me on the back roughly. “Alright, Brother. Let’s fucking do this.”
We make it back to my office, the doors closing behind us with a snick. Luca flicks the lock and then leans against the door, his hand coming up to rub at his jaw.
“So what’s the plan, Boss?”
Moving toward my decanter, I pick it up and give us both a heavy pour. I hand one to Luca, and he takes it. He swigs it back and gasps.
“Fuck, that’s strong.”
“That was a five-hundred-dollar drink.”
“Sucked, to be honest,” Luca says and then holds out his glass.
I eye him but refill it. Who am I to tell him no?
“More,” Luca says when I only give him two fingers. I scoff, but fill it twice as full, watching as he sips at it this time.
“Good. Enjoy it.”
“I might as well gulp it down. We’ll be dead soon.”
“No one dies. No. One.”
“Except the bad guys.”
I eye my best friend. “Some would say we’re the bad ones.”
He scoffs and then reaches into his coat pocket, pulling out his packet of cigarettes.
“Some would say that, although, I think we’re pretty decent. I mean, look at our parents. We’re basically saints.”
He grins at me and then leans back, knowing not to smoke in my house. My late wife hated it. And therefore, it’s not tolerated inside.
“At least we don’t beat up kids for being different,” Luca says, and I nod.
“No, we don’t.”
Silence falls upon us, and for a moment, my mind wanders to Tatum. Where is he now? What’s he been doing all day? Teddy gives me updates when warranted, but it’s been silent since this morning.
Perhaps nothing eventful has happened outside those labyrinth hallways.
I can only hope.
But then again, Tatum is always finding trouble. He’s chaotic.
“What’s that look for?” Luca asks, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he watches me.
“There’s no look.”
“Oh, there’s a look.”
I glance away and sip at my drink. It burns going down, but I don’t even let myself be bothered by it.
“I’d like to meet him,” Luca says gently, walking on eggshells now.
“No.”
“I will have to eventually.”
“Eventually,” I say and then take another large gulp. At this rate I’ll be drunk by dinner. Might be a good idea, since afterward I’ll be rubbing my hands all across Tatum. And it sparks something inside of me.
“I may have to take an extensive walk around the grounds after this.”
I narrow my eyes at him. I know what he’s doing.
I won’t allow it.
“We have other matters to discuss first.”
“Yeah, but it’s such a downer.”
“That it is. But with what went down three days ago, it’s something we can’t put off. And we know the Fallen Aces are going to use this as an excuse to go hard.”
“I guess so.”
Our gazes meet and he runs a hand across his face again.
“Alright, let’s get started. And then after this, want to go a round in the ring?”
“Fuck yes.”