“Can you defend yourself without killing? What are your abilities? That is, if you have any.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are yours?”
“I can read a person’s mind and make myself invisible. I’m a third-degree black belt in mixed martial arts and jujitsu. Are you impressed yet?”
Well, shit… that was some useful as fuck skills right there. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. Hey, are you reading my mind now?”
He shook his head. “I have to make physical contact with my target.”
“I see.”
“So, I showed you mine, show me yours.”
“Me, I can transform into anyone I want to. My skin is impenetrable, and I heal very quickly when injured. I also have super strength, powerful enough to rip doors off safes.”
He whistled. “That’s quite the arsenal. Hey, if your skin is impenetrable, why do you need to heal?”
“I can’t be punctured; doesn’t mean I don’t feel pain or bruise. My bones are extremely strong; however, they can still break. I appreciate that I heal instantly,” I explained.
He nodded. “So, between the two of us, I’m sure we can get through this without killing.”
“I’m making no promises. But, I’m asking you to meet me half-way. I will try… try to refrain from killing, doing so only in the most extreme case. And you forget about adding the cop in the picture.” I hoped he’d take the bargain.
“How about I accept you killing only in the most extreme instances, if you bring a cop into the picture.”
Ahhh, fuck a duck! “Really? That’s your counter-offer?”
“Take it or leave it. This marks the end of our negotiations. If that’s not good enough for you, then you are on your own. But I will be notifying my cop friend of what your partner sent to me. There may be nothing he can do, as you’ve stated. But we won’t know unless we try. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your name out of it.”
He had given me a lot to think about, and a very short time to mull it over. It was either yes or no on this rooftop. The only cop I trusted was Alexi, but he really didn’t know who I was. Did I bring him into this, expose myself to him? Should I risk the relationship we had to save countless innocents? Could I expose Jordan? Fuck, fuck, fuck… I hated this ultimatum shit, but it was better than trying to go at this alone. I’d put Jordan in danger if I tried to take him with me to Russia and shit kicked off. Well, it was good news for Richard… or maybe not. I still wanted to kill that asshole, but I was guessing I’d have to convince Mr. Morals over there that his death would be just.
If he read Richard’s mind and got all the information I needed, I could cut that asshole loose. But if he didn’t agree with the kill, Richard had to go with us to Russia. I knew I wasn’t going to like playing with others, but twenty-five years of killing people had to end. One way or another.
“You have a deal.”
“Good. I was hoping we could come to some sort of understanding, because I really want to take these motherfuckers out.”
“Well, that is one thing we do agree on.”
“True. So, do you have a cop in mind?”
I snorted. “One that I’m fucking, yeah.”
He made a little noise as if shocked that I had said what I said. “Are you shitting me? You’re going around killing people and fucking a cop?”
“Who’s investigating my crimes, yes.”
“Well, no one can say that you aren’t bold… or stupid.”
“Watch it.”
He held his hands up. “Just saying, that’s risky.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
“He must be amazing in bed.”
“He is,” I said, and couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“Wait a minute… are you in love with this cop?”
There were those words again. And they were words I couldn’t deny. I was in love with Alexi, and that was one of the reasons I was so afraid to tell him about it. But he was also my best shot at getting a cop to take me seriously and work with me. I just hoped the risk was worth the reward. What if he tried to arrest me for the murders I had committed, and Jordan too? I didn’t need that fucking outcome.
“It’s complicated,” I said.
“I’ll say.”
“Look, the thing is, I know a cop, okay? So, can we get off this rooftop and go home? I’m actually hungry and I need to check on my hostage.”
“You have a hostage?”
I nodded. “One of the smaller fish in that pond, but I know he knows more than he’s telling me. He’s been using knowledge as leverage.”
“And you will want me to read his mind.”
“Of course.”
“This guy goes to jail when we’re done. No killing him.”
“Well, I did tell him I’d let him go after we get to Russia.”
“But you were lying.”
“Maybe. It all depended on what you were going to say.”
“I hope you’re not lying to me about what we agreed on.”
“I only lie to criminals because they don’t deserve my integrity or respect. We’re fighting on the same side, so, what I told you is my word. I will not go back on it,” I said with a bit of attitude.
“Fair enough, I guess. Okay, lead the way to your home.”
“Hideout.”
“Of course.”
“Did you drive here? I mean, I hope you didn’t dressed like that.”
“In a rental car, yes. But I didn’t show up to pick up the car in my outfit if that’s what you’re asking.”
I laughed. “I’d hope not. All right, follow me.”
We left Griffen Towers and climbed into our individual cars. I wondered what Jordan would think about our new friend. I called him on com while driving.
“How did the meeting go? You didn’t blow it, did you?” he teased.
“I wanted to tell that motherfucker to jump off the ledge and see if he could fly. But, I kept my temper in check.”
“Why?” J asked.
“He’s against the whole killing thing and wants me to work with a cop.”
“Oh, two big problems for you.”
“Tell me about it. We came to a compromise. I’ll kill only when I have to, and we have to bring in Alexi.”
“Oh, wait, do you think that’s the best idea?”
“What choice do I have, J? I sure as hell ain’t taking you to Russia, but I can’t do this alone. Not to mention, this guy has some sweet ass skills. We need him.”
“What are his skills?”
“He can read people’s minds and go invisible.”
“Oh… Okay… yeah, we need him on our team.”
“I know. So, I have to do whatever it takes. I just pray that Alexi can forgive me.”
Jordan was silent for a little while, which was starting to concern me, then he spoke. “Well, maybe once he sees what we’re fighting against, he’ll be less inclined to arrest us both.”
“Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Okay, babe, I’m on my way home.”
“I’m almost done with dinner. Roasted lamb, potatoes, and string beans.”
My mouth watered just hearing those heavenly words spoken. “Be still my heart and stomach, why don’t you.”
He laughed. “I made some ramen for Richard.”
“Better than what he deserves.”
“I agree, but I didn’t want to watch him starve.”
“That’s because you’re a wonderful human being. It’s a shame your family can’t see that.”
He was a little silent and I knew I’d struck a nerve with him. Jordan didn’t like to talk about his family much. About how they had rejected him when he came out as gay.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring them up like that,” I apologized.
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. They hurt me, and they are as dead to me as I am to them. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Drive carefully
.”
“Always.” I ended the call, but had to mentally kick myself for my faux pas. Jordan’s parents and even his brother had cut all communications with him almost a year ago. He had to drop out of university because he couldn’t afford to go anymore since they stopped paying for it. That was some cold-blooded shit, if you asked me. Well, fuck them, like he said. He was back in school because now, he had the money. And I’d gladly keep killing and robbing criminals to keep him happy.
I checked my rearview mirror and my superhero friend was still driving behind me, but I could tell his mask was off. Probably a good idea since he had windows people could see through. Of course, the shadows covered his face well enough that I couldn’t see his features through the mirror. This night was going to get even more interesting once we got home and he met my other “guest”. Strange thing was, I was looking forward to it. I wanted to know what Richard was hiding from me, and the Black Knight was about to reveal it all. Bring on the teamwork.
CHAPTER FOUR
We both pulled into the hideout. I figured I would call it that for the time being. Really, it was home, but Jordan liked the mystery, so hideout it was. When the Black Knight climbed out of his car, he had his mask back on. This wasn’t going to work. He already knew where I lived, and we were going to just have to expose ourselves to each other.
Jordan came over to me and took a nice long gander at our guest. “So, this is the Black Knight?” he asked, looking the man up and down. “Extravagant costume. Dark, looks deadly.”
I snorted. “Deadly would be a gross exaggeration.”
“Don’t have to be deadly to be dangerous to criminals,” the Black Knight remarked, then he looked at Jordan. “And who is this gorgeous man beside you?”
“His partner,” Jordan replied.
“Well, partner, do you have a name?”
“You get that when you take off the mask,” Jordan said, beating me to it.
“I guess it’s only fair since I’m in your home. But what about his mask?” the Black Knight asked, nodding in my direction.
“I’m willing to take mine off if you are. We can even do it at the same time, at the count of three.” I grabbed the edge of my mask just as he grabbed his. “Are you ready?”
“Sure.”
We were looking each other dead in the eyes, daring the other to punk out. Not sure if this was a good start to this team-up, but it was intense, to say the least.
“One,” I began.
“Two,” he continued.
“Three,” I concluded. And on that count, we both snatched off our masks.
“Mmmmm, with a face like that, it’s a shame you have to hide it,” Jordan said as he took a good, and I mean good long look at the Black Knight.
“Yeah, what he said.” I had to admit, the motherfucker was hot as hell and totally my style of man flesh. He was obviously mixed, black and Asian, and the blend did wonders for his gorgeous features. Light brown eyes that were beautifully shaped and crowned by perfectly arched black eyebrows. His nose was narrow, and his lips were shaped perfectly for cock sucking, just like I liked them. Yeah, he was easy on the eyes, that was for sure.
“I would say the same about you, Cobra,” Black Knight stated. “So, are you two… together?”
“Why are you asking?” I asked.
He shrugged. “No particular reason. Just the way your friend is staring me down, looks like he could eat me alive.”
I turned to see Jordan gawking at the man. You’d think he’d never seen a hot dude with what I was sure was a muscular bod underneath all that leather before. “Jesus, Jordan, how dick deprived are you?” I asked.
Jordan looked up at me and scoffed. “I could use some dick.”
“Before you two go off to do what you do, perhaps we can get down to business first,” the Black Knight said.
I looked at him and nodded. “Works for me.” I turned and pointed at Richard Tate tied to the chair. “That son of a bitch right there is one of the people behind the Killing Game. He has information we need, but is withholding. Now, I could torture the shit out of him, but that’s not a guarantee he’ll tell me the truth and I can’t go into Russia with the wrong information. The asshole is spiteful enough to do just that to make sure he sticks it to me in the end. So, that’s where you come in.”
Black Knight pursed his fine-ass lips and put one gloved finger to them in contemplation. “If I get this information from him, what do you plan to do with it?”
“Well, I was planning on killing him, assuming his persona, and going to Russia in his place with you as my bodyguard.”
“No, that won’t do.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I figured you’d object to that.” About a second later, I muttered, “Pansy-ass,” under my breath.
“Be nice,” Jordan chastised.
“Yes, please, be nice. We can have a lot more fun that way,” Black Knight remarked.
“Okay, let’s get this shit out of the way. You know where I live and what I look like. I’m not going to be calling you Black Knight all of the time. What’s your real name? We’ll tell you ours,” I said.
“Well, I already know his name is Jordan,” the Black Knight admitted as he pointed at J.
I scoffed. “How did you find that out?” I knew my tone was serious and accusatory, but I needed to know how much he already knew about us.
He laughed and raised his hands up in defense. “Calm down. I only discovered it when you asked him how deprived for dick he was.”
Oh shit… so I was the one to blow our covers around here. Damn it!
Jordan slapped me on my arm. “You sure did say my name.”
“I was a dumbass, I realize that now. Okay, back to the point… I’m not going to be using your alias during all this shit, so what is your real name?” I asked.
“You really don’t have the patience for this lifestyle, do you?” he asked.
“I tend to work alone in the field and my partner knows all about me. So, I don’t have to play this stealthy crackhead game. It’s not my thing,” I said.
“I see. Fine. I take it that your prisoner over there can’t hear a word we’re saying. That would be the only reason you’re speaking so candidly.”
I nodded. “Sound-cancelling headphones. He can’t hear shit outside of a jet landing in his lap.”
“Fine. My name is Bishop Kyeong.”
“Korean?” I asked.
He smiled and nodded. “My mother was black, my father was Korean. Okay, now your turn.”
“Eric Cayden. I’m just a white man with a big dick and I know how to use it.”
“Oh, for crying out loud,” Jordan laughed and slapped my pec. With a roll of his eyes, he introduced himself. “I’m Jordan Watts.”
“So, we’ll use our code names when we have to,” Bishop said.
“Good. Now, what did you have in mind, since you’ve ruined my plans?” I asked.
“I get the information from him without him even knowing I’m doing it. We take him with us to Russia and we’ll know if he’s telling the truth because we’ll already know the truth. We take down the next tier in this organization. Work with our cop friend to get him everything we gather. These people should be held accountable for their crimes.”
“These people put themselves above the law.” I pointed to Richard Tate. “That asshole is pretty much untouchable. Nothing links him to this organization.”
Bishop shrugged. “So, how did you find out about him then?”
“Because the other motherfuckers I tortured gave me his name. Had I not done things my way, I would never have known about him. Yet, he’s some recruiter for this shitty organization. He brings in the money, and that makes him a player in my book. But damn if I have anything that’s incriminating, so you can bet your bubbled ass he’ll walk.”
“Been checking out my backside, I see,” Bishop retorted.
“When your dumbass cape wasn’t in the way… yeah, I took a gander,” I said.
He huffed a
chuckle and turned to look at Richard bound and gagged to the chair he was wiggling in. “Looks like he might have to use the bathroom.”
“Honestly, if I didn’t care about the mess he’d make, I’d let him shit and piss his clothes and sit in it. Fucker likes to watch others be tortured to death.”
“So do you,” Bishop said. “As a matter of fact, you like to get your hands bloody with it.”
“Only if the person deserves it. Look, is this going to be issue between us? I’m not apologizing for how I work.”
“I’m only noting your sociopathic personality. I’ve never worked with anyone like you before. It’s going to take some adjustment. I’m willing to do so because taking down this murder ring is bigger than the both of us.”
I rolled my eyes. I hated having to listen to his high and mighty bullshit. He saw the same videos I had. The image of that little boy being tortured to death still played in my mind. What helped me sleep at night was knowing I had made sure his killer also knew what it felt like to die that way. If this sanctimonious asshole didn’t get that, well, I didn’t give a fuck.
“Well, start getting adjusted, because I’m not giving you any more fucking concessions, got that?” I stated, pointing at him.
He held his hands up, surrendering. “We came to an agreement on the roof. I know where we both stand. So, are you cool with the new plan?”
I nodded. “It’s fine. But I’m going to let you know one thing, we’ll do it your way. We’ll submit the evidence we know about Richard and anyone else we can find… who I don’t have to kill—”
“Only if you have to under the direst of circumstances,” Bishop interjected.
I rolled my eyes again. “Yes, Gandhi. Now, back to what I was saying, if they manage to escape the swift hand of justice and walk free… I will be handling business my way, because at that point, your way would have failed. That is what I consider to be dire circumstances. This will be non-negotiable.”
Bishop didn’t respond right away. In fact, we had a little stare down in silence so thick, you could chop it with an ax. Finally, he took a deep breath and sighed. “You go against everything I try to stand for and yet you don’t. You’re a fascinating man, Eric.”
Exposed- Episode Six Page 4