Chapter Twenty Five
Fly
Moth caught me as I jumped from the top of the fence, half falling from the weakness in my leg. I managed to land on one foot to avoid damaging the wound further. As soon as Chad was dead, I would try and rest so it could finally heal.
“If all has gone to plan,” Ant whispered as we put our backpacks on, “Audrey should have approached the guards. We better hurry.”
Moth and Ant went ahead of us, heading to the meeting spot we'd arranged with Audrey. The guards often hung out by the tennis court, sometimes even hitting a ball or two on duty. No one had ever dared to enter the compound unannounced before, so they were rarely actually on guard.
We trod slowly behind them, trying to keep within the trees. Their footsteps were as light as they could make them as they approached the side of the tennis court. My crutch crunched a leaf and I paused, glancing at Spider, who was staring straight ahead at our friends’ backs.
Chad had been number one on our hit-list for years. We had promised ourselves that we would torture him, giving him the longest drawn-out death so he could feel just a fraction of the pain he'd caused the people he was supposed to be protecting.
Since everything had happened with Brit and my captivity, things had changed.
We didn't have time to plan an elaborate death penalty. We had to kill Chad now, before he came after us. A small part of me believed that he wouldn’t risk exposing himself by coming after me, which was why I'd told Brit we'd be safe, but another part of me didn't want to risk it.
Just in case he was ever told that Brit was actually still alive.
There were voices ahead of us so we swerved to the left, moving closer to the main mansion.
We could see shadows of Moth and Ant as they approached the small group near the entrance to the tennis court.
A feminine laugh sent a jolt of relief through me.
Good, Audrey had got back in okay. And she was now doing a brilliant job of distracting the guards.
The sound of thumps and commotion was followed by silence. We waited until we could see our friends undressing and Audrey running off towards the woods. Good, our plan had worked so far.
“Let's go,” I hissed to Spider.
We crept around the side of the building, checking that no one was hanging around outside the main steps.
There was a light illuminating the small courtyard below before it stretched off onto the grass, highlighting a small area.
The darkness stretched away, only dented by the house lights in the distance.
The rest of the compound had been built further from the main building, to allow Chad his privacy.
Keeping to the shadows, we hugged the walls, almost touching them with our shoulders. I kept my gaze down, watching the brick walkway beneath my feet so I wouldn't place my crutch anywhere hazardous. I didn't want to crash to the ground and make noise.
“It looks clear.” Spider's voice was so low, I almost didn't hear it.
I followed him, treading in his footsteps as we came to the steps.
Hurrying up them, we got as close to the door as we possibly could, putting our ears on it so we could hear if there was anyone on the other side.
We weren't there to get caught, it was too risky and there were too many of them.
We did have weapons in case, but we didn't want to use them.
Our plan was solid and the intention was to kill Chad and his men with the bombs.
My heart did a stupid flip-flop as I thought of Brit back in the van.
She had quickly become all I could think about.
Even now, I should've been concentrating on what I had to do, but she was there, filling my mind and arousing my body.
Fuck, I really was done for and had no idea what I would do if she was hurt, or worse.
That was why I'd been so insistent about her staying behind. I'd make it up to her later.
Spider indicated that he was going to open the door. After listening to the silence, I nodded, holding my breath as he pulled the handle down and open, sticking his head inside. It was only a few seconds, but my lungs almost burst when he went in and I followed, closing the door behind me.
I had only been in the grand hallway a few days before, but I was too busy trying to escape to remember the horror of the place.
The private ceremonies, where it was just us boys, had been upstairs, above the main hall.
I could see the doors at the top of the grand staircase and I shuddered, remembering what teenage Fly had had to experience in those years.
Spider's face was white. He also looked up to the doors.
The men had enjoyed going into the hall below to molest women, but we had been young, and not brainwashed enough.
Chad had pretended that the women and girls he was abusing were consenting.
And it had sickened us, to have to watch him for hours a day.
There was only so long a man could witness the torture of others before he cracked.
He either followed in the evil man's ways, or he swore to never hurt a woman again.
All four of us had kept one another sane and on the right path.
Our redemption was on the other side of the grand doors right ahead of us.
Spider went to step forward when the handle of the door was pulled behind us.
We both froze, our eyes widening as we glanced around and watched the wooden door open.
My heart pounded in my ears as we stared, too near to the door to start running without drawing attention to ourselves.
If it was one of the men, early for the ceremony, we could take him out.
My breath rushed out of me when Moth came in, followed by Ant. The relief washed over me like I'd stepped under the shower. Fuck, that had been close.
Turning, Spider and I crossed the lobby and approached the grand white doors. Once again, we placed our ears against the cool wood and listened. There was no noise on the other side.
This time, I nodded and opened the door slowly, looking inside. The room was empty and we all stepped inside, relaxing when the door was closed behind us.
“Right,” Moth whispered. “We have just five minutes to get these laid and to get out of here.”
We burst into action, taking out the packages from our backpacks. I handed them to the other three while they went around and taped them underneath chairs. I took the last two to the stage, quickly hobbling up to the bed.
It was made up with pure white sheets so they could prove her virginity had been intact.
Fucking cunts, the lot of them. I bent to tape the bomb underneath the bed, hidden by the sheets.
Once I stood up, I paused, staring at the pillow.
The victim would be there in a few moments and I would have to kill her, in order to kill the man who was going to violate her.
And she would've persuaded herself that she was happy with him raping her.
My conscience warred for a moment before I turned and placed the last bomb underneath the shelf on Chad's microphone podium.
Whether he was talking to his men or hurting an innocent woman, he would be blown apart.
I hardened myself to the consequences of what we were doing.
Sometimes, one had to be sacrificed to save the whole.
Once done, I checked my watch and awkwardly climbed off the stage. The others were waiting by the door, gesturing for me to join them. I reached them in record time, swinging the backpack on my back and indicating that they let us out.
Except, there were two voices in the lobby. And if they caught us, we were fucked.