Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Hannibal
I walk into the pit with Byte and Ferris at my back.
A few of the guys are already in here, spread out around the room, watching and waiting with gleeful anticipation.
Driller's hanging by his arms. A couple of heavy chains wrapped around his wrists keep him suspended just enough that only his toes scrape along the floor. His shoulders must be screaming in agony. Judging from the glazed look in his eyes and the sweat coating his forehead, I’d say they aren’t the only thing hurting.
I look down to the ground and see the small puddle of blood underneath him. It looks like the bleeding has slowed down. Well, we can’t have that now, can we?
“You really are a dumb fuck.”
His eyes whip to mine. He stares at me for a moment before clarity washes over him. “Fuck you, Hannibal. You stole my old lady and kid.”
“I can’t steal what was never yours,” I say with menace, stepping toward him.
“Fuck you. It was my cum that coated her womb. You can pretend that kid is yours all you want, but he ain’t. Every time you look at his face, you’ll see mine. He’ll grow up with you hating him, and I can’t fucking wait.”
I wrap my hand around his throat and squeeze. “All I see when I look at my son is Lola. But here’s the difference between you and me, even if he looked exactly like you, I wouldn’t give a single fuck. It takes more than a cum shot to be a father.”
When his eyes start to roll into the back of his head, I release him.
Ferris steps up, lifts his leg, and kicks him in the chest, making him swing. “You shit on Lola. You shit on Havoc. You shit on all of us. And for what?”
Driller doesn’t answer. He just glares with hatred.
“What the fuck happened to you? You had the same parents as Havoc, the same club at your back, same fucking opportunities. And yet here you are, nothing more than shit I’d scrape off my boot.”
Ferris walks off, obviously not expecting an answer, and joins the rest of the brothers leaning against the wall. Byte steps up and takes his place beside me—VP and president and the beginning of a new era.
Driller sneers. “You sucking his dick now, Byte? Knew you always wanted my patch.”
“Someone needs to clean up your fucking mess. And you don’t get to talk to me about sucking dick when you’ve spent years on your knees taking it up the ass from Khan. You might play dumb, but I know you’re not. Everyone here thinks Khan was the mastermind, dragging you along for the ride because you had your nose so far up his ass. I call bullshit. You knew what he was doing from the start and probably even egged him on. Hell, I bet you volunteered to take Freya. We all know you get your rocks off raping girls.”
“Fuck you!” Driller spits. “Lola’s a whore. She wanted it. She spread her legs and welcomed me into her pussy.”
I step forward and punch him in the face, feeling his nose crack as it erupts with blood. “She’s far from a whore. She had no fucking interest in you because, unlike the rest of us, she saw through your bullshit right from the start. She never wanted you, and that pissed you off. You had plans to entice her away from Havoc so you could lord it all over him, and like fuck would you let something like consent interfere with that. You’re pathetic and weak. You don’t deserve to wear our colors. You never did. Strip him, boys,” I order and step back as brothers descend on him, using knives to cut his clothes from his body. He kicks and fights, but there's nothing he can do with his hands restrained like they are.
I eye the club emblem on his chest—the reaper with his scythe and the dark raven feathers protruding from his back.
“Most people would take a blow torch and burn this off,” I tell him as I pull a scalpel from my pocket, trailing the tip of it across the ink.
“Nothing quite like the smell of burning flesh to make you realize how badly you’ve fucked up. But I’m not like most people. You know me, Driller. You know what I’m capable of.”
“Just do it. We all know you’re going to kill me. Because if you let me go, I’ll just keep coming back.”
I grin a feral grin as I stab the blade into the skin just above his tattoo.
“Now, why would I kill you before I’ve had a chance to play with you? I promised Lola I’d make it hurt. And I won’t break my promises.”
“Hold him steady,” I order Mud and Meek, who step up to grip him tightly.
Once they have him pinned in place, I use the scalpel to cut the tattoo from his body.
His scream fuels my hunger to make him hurt, to make him bleed.
When I’m finished, I hold up the skin I peeled from his body and show him.
“Look at that. I didn’t even damage the tattoo. I think I’ll frame it. That way, Lola can look at it every day and know you died as you lived, like a pathetic fucking loser.”
I turn and hold out the skin to Snoopy, who grimaces.
He takes it from me as I turn back to Driller.
His chest is now coated in blood, which makes me want to play some more.
“Grab his leg, Byte. I want to see Lola’s handiwork.”
He does as I ask, narrowly missing getting kicked in his face.
He wraps both arms around Driller’s knee and calf and holds the leg up for me to inspect.
I take in the slash at the back of his heels and grin.
“You know it turns me on knowing my old lady did this to you? Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you?”
I dig my fingernails into the wound, making him squeal.
“What I don’t like, is knowing the only way she could have struck you here was because you’d taken your boots off. And the only reason you’d take your books off is so you could sneak up on her like the pussy you are. She did a good job, though, right, Byte?”
“Not bad. Bet it hurts like a motherfucker.”
“Not half as bad as this will.”
Using the scalpel, I cut through the tendon, severing it completely and making Driller scream once more.
I nod for Byte to drop his leg.
“Grab the other one.”
We repeat the process, though Driller struggles more, knowing what to expect.
But it does him no good.
By the time I’m finished, the ground is covered in blood.
“What next?” I tap my finger against my chin.
“I say, go for the fucker’s eyes. Lola can hardly see out of hers, so it seems fair to me,” Elmo says.
“Good idea.” I step closer as Mud and Meek adjust their hold on him so his head is locked in place.
“I’m going to give her a good life, you know. I’ll give her as many babies as she’ll let me.”
He spits at me, the bloody phlegm hitting my cut.
“It won’t replace the baby I kicked out of her.” He grins, but I can see the fear in his eyes.
“You think if you push me hard enough, I’ll end you now. Sorry Driller, this shit is my kind of heaven. But now that you’ve reminded me exactly what you’re capable of, punching you until you can’t see doesn’t seem enough. Plus, I don’t want to fuck up my hands. Lola likes them too much. I think I’ll just cut your eyes out instead.”
“Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you all. You think you know everything, but I bet you don’t. You all stand here acting like you’re better than me. But you all treated her like shit, and you know it. She was so alone.” He laughs with an edge of hysteria.
“She tried to run, you know. So I broke her legs and left her to lay in her own shit for days, knowing none of you would check on her. Bitch never tried to leave after that.”
It feels as if the whole room sucks in a collective breath.
I knew he’d broken her legs.
She’d told me, after all.
But I didn’t know the rest. And judging from the wave of hostility swamping the room, neither did they.
“I’m gonna enjoy this,” I warn him as I pry his eyelid open and ready the scalpel for him to see.
“Now I have to warn you, this won’t be pretty.” I stab the blade into the outer edge of his eye and effectively cut all the way around, smiling as he screams himself hoarse and passes out.
I cut away from the socket, detaching the muscles that make the eye move.
It takes some wiggling, but I manage to get the blade in behind the eyeball and cut through the optic nerve.
Then it’s just a case of popping it out.
“Really fucking glad I haven’t eaten,” Mud mutters.
Spotting the piss bucket on the floor, I toss the eye inside.
“He shoots, he scores!” Sev cheers, making the others laugh.
“Sever might be as bad as you.” Byte chuckles as I remove the second eye.
I look at him and grin.
“Nah, there’s no one like me.”
“Thank fuck for that,” someone mumbles, making more people laugh.
“Heads up.” I toss the second eyeball to Sever.
“Ooh, a stress ball.”
Snoopy gags as Sev squeezes it.
“Oh, that’s nasty, Sev.”
“I’ve never known a brother as squeamish as you.” Sev rolls his eyes while rolling Driller’s eye around the palm of his hand.
“You’re playing with a fucking eyeball.”
“What’s your point?”
Snoopy throws his hands up in the air and moves out of the way, which is just as well.
I look at Repo as he drags out my med kit from under the table at the side of the room.
“Thought you might want this.”
“Ah, perfect.” I walk over to it and rummage around for what I’m after.
I pull out a prepared syringe and walk back to Driller.
I find the spot I need and jab him with the needle before pressing the plunger.
It only takes a few seconds for him to jolt and gasp.
“What the fuck is happening?” His voice comes out scratchy and laced with pain.
“Look for yourself. Oh, my bad,” Ferris jokes.
I grip Driller’s jaw and squeeze it tightly.
“I took your eyes. Not just because you hit Lola, but because you made everyone blind to what was happening. I’m going to take your hearing next, for all the times her screams fell on deaf ears. And then, when you can’t see where the next blow will come from or hear when someone creeps up behind you, I’m going to cut out your tongue so nobody will hear you beg and plead for mercy.”
I lean in close, my lips a whisper of a breath from his ear.
“Do you know why they call me Hannibal?”
He tries to yank his head out of my hold, but I grip him tighter.
“I’m going to cut out your heart and eat it.”
I hum a merry tune as I walk over to the table where various instruments are laid out.
A scalpel is my favorite, but I like to switch it up occasionally.
I run my fingers over a particularly sinister-looking ice pick.
Picking it up to judge its weight, I nod, “This will work.”
I grab the hammer for good measure and walk back to Driller, whistling.
“Hold him again.”
Mud and Meek do as I ask, grabbing him and holding him in place.
Happy that he can’t move, I place the tip of the ice pick just inside his ear canal.
“The trick is not to hit too hard. I don’t want this to be over before it begins.”
“Thanks for that, doctor death,” Meek mutters.
“I like that. I’ll get a nameplate for the desk with it on.”
“Somehow, I don’t think he’s joking either.” Mud chuckles.
I lick my lip and tap the end of the pick with the hammer.
The noise that comes out of Driller can only be described as inhuman.
I tap it again until I feel some resistance, then I tap it a little harder for good measure.
I feel something pop and grin.
“This is fun. Anyone else want a go?”
“Me,” Sever volunteers.
“I didn’t see that coming,” Repo mutters.
Sever takes the ice pick from me after I yank it out.
I pass him the hammer with a warning.
“Not too hard. I don’t want him dead yet.” No joking, the man pouts.
And I thought I was fucked-up.
I look at the mess I’ve made of Driller.
Yeah, it’s safe to say I still am.
“You got a small pair of forceps over there?”
Repo turns to look before grabbing a pair and walking over to hand them to me.
“Thanks.” I wait for Sev to be done with Driller and for the man’s screams to die down.
I shove the forceps into his mouth and grip his tongue.
I pull it out as far as I can before I use my scalpel to slice it clean off.
I toss the piece of tongue toward the bucket but miss.
It lands on the ground, starting a kickabout between Sev and Repo.
I look at my watch. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve worked up an appetite. I say we take a break, get something to eat, and let Driller spend a little time alone with his new reality.”
“I think I need vodka. Lots and lots of fucking vodka,” Snoopy mutters, heading for the door.
“I need to find Lena and get my dick sucked before I explode,” Sev announces.
“You have some serious fucking issues, man,” Repo states, slapping him on the back as he follows him out of the room.
I wait for everyone but Byte to leave.
“You good?” he asks me.
“I look at him and wonder how the fuck he had so many people believing his bullshit. He’s fucking pathetic.”
“I don’t think it’s so much that we believed in him. It’s that we didn’t ask questions. We wanted little to do with him because most of us knew he was a shitty VP. But he never did enough for us to call him on it. Until now. We won’t make the same mistakes again.”
“No. You won’t.”
I get cleaned up, change clothes, and grab some food before checking in to see if the kids are okay.
After Germ confirms that both are fast asleep for the night, I call Gunther.
“How’s she doing?”
“She’s asleep now. About twenty minutes ago, a nurse came by and gave her some more pain meds. She barely managed to stay awake to take them.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. She say anything after I left?”
He says nothing.
I check the phone to make sure the call didn’t drop.
“Gunther?”
“She broke.”
“What?”
“As soon as you left, she broke down.”
“Fuck!” I run my fingers through my hair.
“I shouldn’t have left.
“No.
She needed you to. She’s trying to be strong for everyone.
She needed space to fall apart.
I swear to you, Hannibal, she’s okay.
I’d have called you if she wasn’t.
”
“I can come back.”
“Let her sleep. Do what you gotta do, and come see her tomorrow.”
I curse.
I need to be with my old lady, but Gunther’s right—she doesn’t need me right now.
The club does. I gotta step up and be the president and show her exactly what I do with people who cross me.
“I gotta go. Keep me in the loop if anything changes.”
I hang up.
Instead of heading back to the main room, I head out to the pit.
I might need to deal with shit here, but that doesn’t mean I have to drag this out any longer.
Yeah, I might enjoy it, but the need to be with Lola's far more intense.
I walk in and take him in, hanging from the chains, looking a complete mess. At some point, he must have pissed himself because the room stinks. I’m glad there are drains in the floor so we can hose it down afterward. He shivers in the cool air, a pitiful groan spilling from his chapped lips.
Walking over to the tool table, I grab a machete, a hunting knife, and a couple of small hand towels. I carry my loot over to Driller and lay them on the floor beside me.
I know he can’t hear me, but I talk to the piece of shit anyway. “I wanted to take my time with you, Driller. I’ve dreamed of all the ways I’d make you pay. Do you know what I realized? None of it matters. You don’t matter. And once you’re gone, you’ll be nothing but a shitty memory in an otherwise perfect life for Lola.”
I grab the machete with one hand and his shriveled dick with the other, and swing the blade through the base of his cock, severing it clean from his body. He makes an animalistic noise that I ignore in favor of wrapping his dick in one of the towels.
Using the hunting knife, I begin the task of cutting his lying fucking heart from his chest. I tear a chunk of it apart with my teeth and shove it into his mouth, forcing my fingers down his throat as he does the first good thing with his life. He dies.
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and wrap the heart with the other towel. I shove them both into a plastic bag from the med kit. I survey the room, wondering if it might be easier to get rid of him if I chop him up. The door opens and the others start to file back in. They pause when they see me, the blood smeared all over my mouth and clothes, before they turn to what’s left of Driller.
“It’s done,” I tell them unnecessarily.
“I think it’s safe to say nobody will ever look at Lola wrong. Not after this,” Byte offers uneasily, likely wondering if the rumors are true about my cannibalistic tendencies.
“Good. I took it easy on him so I can get back to my girl. The next asshole won’t be so lucky.”