Chapter 12 #2
Carnage: I saw some dudes go into a back room, but it’s heavily guarded.
A few minutes later, a bunch of young women were sent back there too.
Doesn’t look right. I know it’s not our bag to get involved in things we weren’t hired to do, but my target is here.
I can do what I need to but it might get messy.
Stealth: I’m available. Send me in, boss.
It takes a minute or two for Shadow to respond.
Shadow: Who else is available?
Stealth: Seriously? WTF Shadow?
Shadow: I didn’t say no. I asked who else is around.
Guilt pings at my chest. I can’t sit here letting my brothers down just for another chance to taste Bouche’s dick.
Me: I can be available.
Specter: Can’t. On my way to my target now.
The other guys chime in with similar statements. Okay. It has to be me.
Me: Send your location, Carn.
Dots pop up, then go away, then pop up again.
Shadow: Swing by and grab Stealth on the way.
Stealth: Fuck yeah.
Me: You got it, boss. Give me thirty minutes.
“I have to go,” I announce, closing the app. “Work thing just popped up.”
I see disappointment in Bouche’s eyes, but he quickly blinks it away.
“Cool. Uh, thanks for… whatever this was.”
“Back at ya.” I lean across the bed and kiss him softly—once, twice, and then deeper the third time. I don’t want to leave him yet, but duty calls and my brothers come first. “I’ll call you.”
Bouche nods, smiling slightly. “Okay.”
I brush my fingers across his cheek and his eyelids flutter. Fuck, he’s hot, but more than that, he’s interesting. I think I could spend many more hours just staring into his eyes and listening to him talk.
But I can’t right now. I force myself out of bed and locate my discarded clothes on the floor.
Bouche watches me dress, taking in every action until I’m fastening my belt.
I feel weird right now. I shouldn’t have any issue leaving, but I do.
I want more even though I know this is nothing but a hookup for either of us.
He doesn’t look thrilled to see me leaving either.
“See ya, Bouche.”
“Bye, Wraith.”
“I’ll let myself out.”
With that, I focus on my feet until I make it out of his place. The cold air outside is harsh after being so warm and comfy all day, and the sun is starting to sink in the sky. I was here for a long time. And it was nice. Very fucking nice.
Shaking those thoughts away, I slide into my car and head back to Crestvale House to get Stealth.
This should be interesting. We haven’t worked together in almost two years, but if he’s the same as he used to be, it should be a fun night.
Carnage and Stealth are opposites in how they approach work, and I’m probably somewhere in the middle, though most of my targets require some heavy stalking on my part.
When I arrive, Stealth is already standing on the porch, engaged in what looks like a heated conversation with Shadow. Both of them look pissed off, and when Stealth pokes Shadow in the chest, I decide to intervene.
Lowering my window, I pull up closer. “Hey, guys.”
Both men turn to me, their faces creased with tension. Shadow steps closer to Stealth, whispering in his ear, and whatever he says seems to calm Stealth. He nods and they bump shoulders in a brief hug before Stealth steps off the porch toward me.
“All good?” I ask as he joins me on the passenger side.
“He’s being too protective,” Stealth grunts. “I get it, but it’s fucking annoying. I don’t want to be treated like I’m fragile. I’m not.”
“You won’t be getting any special treatment from me, bror.”
He glances at me, his lips turning up slightly in a smile. “Good. I’m here to do a job. Do you know where Carnage is?”
“A strip club on the westside.”
I head in that direction while Stealth leans back in his seat and stares out the window.
“How has he been?” he asks after a minute.
“Shadow?”
“Yes. Has he been more paranoid with all of you or is that reserved for me?”
“He’s been different since Specter was shot. A little more cautious, I’d say. He was tough on Specter for a while too while he healed.”
“How bad was it? The shot, I mean.”
“Fortunately, not as bad as it could have been. It missed all his vital organs and went straight through him. It didn’t take him long to recover at all.”
“That’s good. Must’ve been scary.”
“It was. We thought we’d lost him with all the blood. But you know Specter. The next day, he was itching to hunt down the guys who did it.”
Stealth chuckles. “Not surprising.”
“No.”
“And you guys found them?”
“We did. Fucked them up good, too. It was fun.”
“Bummer I missed it.”
“Maybe you’ll get a chance to blow off some steam tonight.”
It takes a little longer than it should to get there due to an accident on the freeway, but by the time we pull into the parking lot of the club, Stealth is pumped and ready to make someone bleed.
I message the group chat to let Carnage know we’re here.
Carnage: Come to the tables near the VIP section. I’m there.
At the door, we pay our cover fee, twenty bucks each, then navigate through the club to find our brother. I spot him sitting at a table, his eyes trained on an area to his left that’s blocked by a red curtain and a burly cowboy-looking dude in front of it.
“Hey, guys.” Carnage gives us an up-nod. “So far, here’s what’s going on.”
We lean in as Carnage explains the activity he’s seen so far.
“You think it’s a ring then?” Stealth asks.
“I do, and this club is in on it. It’s a total front.”
“What do you propose we do?” I ask.
“I called Shadow and he told me do what I do best—get any innocents out of the way and blow the place up if I have to.”
I nod. “What do you need from us?”
“If we can get back there another way than through the curtain, we’ll have the element of surprise. Six girls have been taken back there so far and none of them have come out.”
“Where’s your target?” Stealth asks.
“He’s back there too. Fucker is currently out on bail for murdering his girlfriend. They gave him bail because he’s some rich tech fucker.”
“Is that why he’s a target?”
Carnage shrugs. “All I know is my instructions said to make it hurt and make sure he knows who sent me.” He cracks his knuckles with a maniacal grin on his face. “That, I can do.”
“Okay,” Stealth says, “so we find a different entrance, get the girls out, then rain down hell on them? What about everyone else in here?”
“Yeah, that’s a problem.”
There’s movement to my left, and I turn in time to see a woman being half walked and half carried towards the curtain. She looks drugged out and definitely not consenting to whatever is about to happen.
“That’s seven,” I note. “We need to act.”
“You guys ready?” Carnage asks.
“Fucking ready,” Stealth says while I nod in agreement.
The three of us rise and move in different directions, our communication almost telepathic at this point, even with Stealth having been away for so long. It’s like it always was.
I head to the curtain to chat up the bouncer, who’s dressed in tight jeans, an even tighter t-shirt, and cowboy boots. “Hey, man. What’s back there? Can I get in on it?”
The man grunts, turning his dark gaze to me and sizing me up. “Members only.”
“How do you become a member?”
“You get invited.”
Stoic. Figures. I try to peek over his shoulder, turning myself into an annoying but harmless customer.
“Come on, man. What’s going on? I want to see. Are there girls back there?”
He snorts, folding his massive arms over his chest. “Don’t know. None of my business.”
“You don’t get to play?”
His brow creases for a second but he neutralizes his expression. “I just work the door. You gotta be on the list to get back here, and if you don’t know what the list is, then you ain’t on it.”
There’s scuffling behind us and the quiet sound of a gunshot through a silencer. Cowboy turns around, peering through the curtain, and I take the opportunity to slip past him. He grabs my arm.
“Hey, you can’t come back here.”
I tug my coat back to show him my gun. “If you want to live, you better let me go.”
His face goes pale as he raises his hands. “Shit, man. I swear I don’t know what goes on back here.”
“I believe you.” He knows it’s not good though. “Stand in front of the curtain like normal. No one comes back here unless they’re part of whatever this bullshit is.”
“That’s Richie and Benicio. They run this place. The girls and the drugs, all of it.”
“And they’re here?”
“Yeah.”
I nod to him, gesturing for him to resume his place in front of the curtain. “Keep your mouth shut and you’ll live to see the sunrise. Start any shit and everyone dies.”
Cowboy nods with enough fear in his eyes that I’m certain he’ll do as directed.
I join my brothers, kicking open doors and finding women in various stages of undress and assault.
Stealth shoots every guy with his pants down in the head, not giving them a chance to explain themselves.
There’s nothing to explain. They’re raping drugged women. Fucking animals.
A loud sound, like a body smashing into a wall, gets my attention, and Stealth and I hurry down the narrow hall to find Carnage going absolutely apeshit on the four men in the room. On a table are piles of money and drugs, from powders to pills, along with a few firearms.
Two men lie across the couch, bloodied and moaning, while Carnage has his hand wrapped around the neck of another man. The fourth man is already lifeless.
“Take care of them,” Carnage growls. “I got this one.”
He continues beating the fuck out of the guy in his clutches, and I’m gonna assume that’s his target.
“Help us,” one of the men on the couch grunts out. “Take the money, the drugs, whatever. I can hook you up if you get us out of here.”
“Where’s Richie and Benicio?”
“Me. I’m Richie.” He flops his hand onto the man next to him, who is struggling to breathe through his obviously broken nose. “Benicio.”
“Stealth.”
He joins me, leaving the body of the other man on the floor.
“Bouncer told me these two guys run everything.”
“Ooh, perfect.”
He lifts his gun and shoves it into Richie’s mouth. Richie whimpers and tries to beg around the muzzle, but Stealth pulls the trigger, ending any additional discussion.
I turn to Benicio, who is gasping now. Knowing Carnage, dude probably has a few broken ribs.
Grabbing his shirt collar, I hold him upright slightly. “Who else is in this? Who’s your boss?”
Benicio glowers, even with his swollen face. He spits blood and says, “Fuck you.”
“Mm no. Maybe we’ll fuck you though. Would you like that? Would you like to know what it’s like to be fucking raped? We can make that happen. Gotta be a broom or bat around here.”
His eyes widen as much as they can, and he coughs, spitting up more blood.
“Who else?”
He shakes his head until Stealth smacks his face. “Talk and we’ll put you out of your misery.” Then he leans in very close. “Don’t talk and we’ll drag this out until morning.”
Benicio seems to weigh his options for a minute before he finally, very softly says, “Just us.”
“If you’re lying,” I say, “we’ll find and kill every person you care about.”
He shakes his head urgently. “Not lying. Just us.”
Stealth looks at me and I nod as he presses the gun to Benicio’s temple and pulls the trigger. When I look up, Carnage is beating the holy fuck out of his target, and it’s obvious the man is no longer alive. I hurry over to intervene, talking my brother down.
“You’re good, man. You got him.”
“I hate rapists. I fucking hate them,” he snarls, kicking his target one last time before slumping into my arms. “Want to kill them all.”
“I know.” I stroke his hair, holding him to me. When Carnage is triggered like this, it can take him a while to come back down. “But you got this one, and we’ll get the women some help.”
After another minute or two, Carnage releases me and nods. “Thanks, man.”
“I got you. Always.”
Carnage is covered in blood, which makes him even more intimidating than he normally is. I find some paper towels on a table and hand him some of them.
“Clean up. We’ll get the women out.”
Stealth is already rounding up some of the women we found when I walk back to Cowboy. He’s still at his post, but he’s pale and trembling.
“Who manages this place?”
“Ri-Richie and Benicio. No one else.”
“Okay. These women need help. Someone needs to call and get them a doctor. Are you gonna do it? Because if I do it, this whole place is burning to the ground by morning.”
“I’ll do it.” He pulls his phone from his pocket.
“Hold up. Here’s how this is gonna go. Get the women out and to safety. Then do whatever you want with the dead bodies back there. Richie and Benicio are no more.”
“W-what should we tell the cops?”
I shrug. “I don’t give a fuck, but don’t even think about trying to identify or describe us. You won’t succeed in anything but putting a target on your own back. Got it?”
He nods. “Got it.”
I return behind the curtain to find all the women propped up on the couch. Some of them are crying, some are so out of it they still don’t know what’s happened. Stealth and Carnage are draping blankets and clothes over them.
“We gotta go,” I announce. “They’ll get the women some help.”
The three of us dart out the back door and head to our cars. Before we take off, Carnage grins. “Thanks for the help, boys. See you back at the house.”
Stealth chuckles, removing the silencer from his gun as I drive off, the sound of sirens already in the distance. “Some things never change. Carnage is still a wild one.”
“Yep. This is the first time we’ve done something so public though.”
“No one will say anything in a place like this. It’s full of shady fuckers. At least we helped those women out tonight.”
“Agreed. Carnage hates it when we find stuff like that. We all do, but it’s especially triggering for him.”
“Yeah, his target never stood a chance. Carnage makes it hurt too.”
“Damn right he does.”
I finish the drive to the house, but as soon as the adrenaline from the night wears off, my thoughts immediately return to Bouche. I wanted more of him, and maybe I can get some Saturday night.
I know I need to be focused on finding my target, but the longer I drag this out, the longer I get to stay in Bouche’s world. There’s no way we could have something lasting, so I need to enjoy this for as long as I can.
And that’s exactly what I plan to do.