“Please. Take them out of here. I can’t stand it anymore,” Anthony begged, his whole body shaking and drenched in sweat. He was referring to Maxim and Erik, who were dangling in front of him with pools of blood, shit and piss on the floor beneath their feet, only mere inches from him.
“Tell me what I want to know, and I will.”
To be honest, I was quite surprised he’d lasted as long as he had. Being stuck in a nine-by-twelve box with no windows, no air flow and two people who’d been cut and beaten so much that the stench permeated the very air he was breathing into his lungs… It was enough to make even me want to gag.
And that was fucking saying something.
“I need your word you won’t kill him.” Tears welled in Anthony’s eyes, a look of utter desperation on his face. “I’ve heard of you. You’re a man of your word. And I want it. Otherwise, you’re not getting shit.”
“I am a man of my word,” I agreed. “And I swear, I won’t kill him.” What I had planned was far worse than simply killing him. Ending his life meant ending his suffering. I wasn’t prepared to do that any time soon.
If ever.
“Okay,” Anthony breathed out with relief. “Talon and I had a plan in place in case things went sideways. If we were ever separated, we would meet at Mixton Hotel in Green Valley North within two weeks.”
“Why two weeks?” Mikhail asked.
“Because we both knew that if we couldn’t get to the hotel by then, it was because we weren’t coming. That we were most likely dead.”
“Fair assumption.” I adjusted in my seat. “And what was the next step if you didn’t show?”
“We each have a go-bag filled with enough cash to disappear forever and start over anywhere we want.”
“And let me guess,” I began, crossing my ankle over my knee. “Neither of you knows where the other would go, should that situation ever occur.”
“Yes,” Anthony agreed. “That way, if someone like you came sniffing around, it wouldn’t matter how much you tortured us. We couldn’t give you what we didn’t have.”
“But you did,” Mikhail frowned. “You just told us where we can find Talon.”
A conversation with one of my men came back to me suddenly. “Because he doesn’t think Talon is there anymore.” An amused smirk curled on my lips. “I was curious why you asked my guard what the date was yesterday. You’re a smart man, Anthony, but unfortunately for you, I’m smarter.”
He frowned as I flowed to my feet, buttoning up my suit jacket.
“You see, I know Talon. Very well. And in a lot of ways, he’s still that same scared, overly paranoid, jealous little boy from boarding school. The moment I found out about you, I knew he would have some sort of backup plan in place. Perhaps even two or three of them. So, I told the men guarding you that if you were to say or do anything—anything at all, no matter how minuscule—I was to be informed immediately.” I paused, allowing the silence and suspense to build. “Time is a fickle thing in a room like this. What can feel like months can actually only be weeks.” I locked eyes with him. “Or days.”
Anthony’s eyes widened in horror. “No. No, no, no.”
“Yes.” I smiled evilly. “You think you’ve been here for three weeks, when in reality, it’s only been nine days.”
He chanted the word “no” over and over and over again as if saying it so many times would somehow make it true.
Excitement thrummed though my body. God, I just loved when shit worked out. It was about time luck broke my way.
I signalled Mikhail to follow me out as I opened the door. “I’m going to go get Talon now,” I said, running a hand through my hair and straightening the lapels of my suit jacket. “And then, I’m going to bring him in here and torture him in front of you.”
“No!” Anthony screamed. He thrashed wildly. “You gave me your word you wouldn’t hurt him!”
“I said I wouldn’t kill him. I didn’t say shit about hurting him,” I laughed.
Panic streaked across his face when I began to close the door. “What about Maxim and Erik?! You’re supposed to take them out of here!”
I paused, tapping a finger lightly on my chin, pretending to think it over. “I did say that, didn’t I? But that was before you tried to stoop me, Anthony.” I narrowed my eyes dangerously. “I don’t like to be played, as you’ll soon find out.” I slammed the door on his cry of mercy.
Mikhail looked at me. “You know, you can be kinda scary when you wanna be.”
I grunted. “Go get geared up. We leave in thirty.”
“This is going to be a pain in the ass,” I growled under my breath, staring at the hotel across the street from inside my car.
The Mixton Hotel was about as flashy as it came. Five star amenities, Michelin Star restaurant, service staff on call 24/7, blah, blah, blah. It meant trying any form of infiltration was completely out of the question. The minute bullets started flying, law enforcement would be called.
Which was probably why Talon chose it, the motherfucker.
“Yes, it is,” Mikhail agreed. His eyes ran over the building from top to bottom. “I see two guards patrolling the outside. Ex-military for sure. Most likely more inside on the ground floor.”
“And then more on whichever floor Talon is staying on,” I muttered under my breath.
“So, force isn’t going to cut it. We’ll need to use stealth.”
“Any ideas?” I asked, looking at my friend.
His lips pursed in thought for a moment. “We need to find a way inside and then find out which room Talon is staying in. We could call the front desk?”
“They won’t release client information. You know that.”
“What if we ask to speak to Talon? They would connect our call to his room.”
“And what? He’s just going to say, ’Oh yes, I’m in this room here. Come get me?’”
He gave me a deadpan look. “Alright, genius, what’s your plan, then?”
I blew out an irritated sigh. I was so close to my goal. So close to finally getting my revenge. I wasn’t going to let it slip through my fucking fingers. I just needed to think of a way to get in that hotel, or possibly get Talon out.
A group of teens walked past the car, talking and laughing amongst themselves as they made their way down the street. An idea took root inside my brain and I looked at Mikhail, smiling.
“What?” he asked, frowning. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I didn’t answer. I quickly got out of the car, and he followed close behind me.
“Hey!” I called out.
One of the teens turned around.
Stopping in front of them, I lowered my voice and said, “Wanna make a thousand bucks?”
Ten minutes later, the fire alarm inside the Mixton Hotel went off. Occupants from inside came rushing out in a frenzy, fearing for their lives, one of them being Talon.
Adrenaline soared through me when I saw him. He was surrounded by his security team, but the street was pure mayhem, people pushing and shoving trying to get to safety.
The teen I’d paid to pull the fire alarm inside the building rushed across the street over to me, and I slipped the wad of hundreds in his hand without taking my eyes off Talon.
He smiled. “Thanks, man.”
“Thank you. Now, get outta here.”
He nodded and joined his friends, taking off quickly.
“Okay, smart move. Now what?” Mikhail asked, making sure to stay behind the car and out of view. “How do we get him away from his security detail?”
A good question. From what I could see, he had an eight-man team. Like Mikhail had said earlier, they all had some sort of military training. It was clear in the way they stood, in their hyper-vigilant focus and their professionalism. The way they didn’t let the craziness happening around them distract them from their goal; protecting Talon.
Sirens blared through the night from the approaching fire trucks and police vehicles. If we didn’t act soon, they would declare it a false alarm, and everyone would be allowed back into the building.
“What if we just let him see us?”
“What?” I asked, looking down at Mikhail.
“Think about it. The second he sees us, he’ll probably want to make a run for it. We could get him then.”
I studied the men guarding him. “Half of his guards would probably break away to engage while the other half took him to a safe location.”
“Okay, so we just let him see you. I’ll hide, and when he takes off with his guards, I’ll follow him. You can take four, can’t you?”
I gave him a deadpan look. “Don’t insult me. Of course I can.”
Mikhail nodded. “Alright. Sounds like a plan. Now, we just need to figure out a way to get his attention—”
“Stay low,” I ordered, pulling out my car FOB. I pressed a button and a loud, piercing, alarm blared into the night from my car, the lights flashing.
Eyes in every direction snapped to me, including Talon’s. His gaze widened, and with frantic movements, he tapped one of the guards on the shoulder and pointed at me, shouting in his ear.
The guard—a big man with a buzz cut—barked something at his men, and just like I’d suspected, half of them came running towards me while the other half grabbed Talon and began sprinting down the street.
“To your left. Go!” I hissed under my breath. Mikhail went left and I ran right. The four guards pursued me, not even looking in Mikhail’s direction.
I slipped down an alleyway and took cover behind a large dumpster. Footsteps echoed around me as the men followed me in.
“Spread out,” one of them commanded. The sound of guns being cocked hit my ears. “Find him and dispose of him quickly. We need to get back.”
I silently pulled out my gun and waited, holding my breath. The one street lamp in the alley provided minimal sight, but it was just enough to be able to see the shadows as they moved past me.
They moved together well. Like a well-oiled team. No holes or weak spots in their formation. There was one in the front, one on the right, one on the left and one bringing up the rear who had his front facing out towards the entrance of the alley, walking backwards and guarding their six.
Sneaking up behind them was out of the question.
Screwing a silencer onto the barrel of my gun, I looked around me for something useful. An empty tin can of food lay at my feet. I picked it up and hurled it across the alley. It smashed into the wall. As one, the guards all swung their guns towards the sound and I jumped up.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four bodies dropped to the ground.
It all happened so fast, too quickly for any of them to be able to react.
Not wasting a single second, I ran out of the alley and back towards the main street Mikhail had been on, tucking my gun behind my back.
Police and firemen were on the scene, going into the Mixton Hotel. They might have been preoccupied, but seeing a man running down the street with a gun in his hand would definitely be a cause of concern for them.
Talon’s guards were professionals, and would most likely have a plan in place should they need to make a run for it quickly. My eyes ran over the other establishments on the street as I walked. A beauty salon. A bookstore. A cafe. A clothing store—
There.
A car park.
Within walking distance of the hotel, it was the perfect place to stash a getaway car.
I just had to hope Mikhail got there in time to stop them from escaping, otherwise there would be no telling where Talon would disappear to next.
Sprinting across the road, I slipped into the car park and pulled out my gun.
I’d have to go level by level.
The first was clear. So was the second and third. But the fourth?
Fucking bingo.
When I approached, all four of the guards were on the ground, either unconscious or dead, and Mikhail had Talon facedown on the concrete, hands behind his back. Mikhail’s knee was firmly digging into the centre of Talon’s back to keep him down as he struggled, cursing and trying to get free. Mikhail slapped a pair of metal cuffs onto Talon’s wrists and stood, wiping a streak of blood from his forehead with the back of his hand.
I jogged up to his side and slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Good fucking job,” I praised.
He smirked. “You too. Yours dead?”
I nodded, looking down at Talon. “Kind of feels a little anticlimactic, don’t you think? I thought it would have been a little harder than that.”
“Me too,” Mikhail chuckled. He grabbed Talon by the arms and brought him to his feet.
Talon sneered at me, face full of unimaginable rage. “Congratulations. You fucking got me. Go ahead. Kill me,” he spat, still struggling.
I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief. “You think I’m going to kill you? Oh, Talon. For such a smart man, you sure are dumb as fuck.”
He finally stopped struggling, the meaning of my words making him stiffen. “What are you talking about?”
A dark, evil smirk curled on my lips. “I don’t kill people who hurt my children, Talon. I take them home.”
