by Kymber Jones
Chrys nodded.
“Why not start a life that leaves most of this life behind? Focus on the vineyards and getting to know your new family? Only do this job when you have to?”
“I know my Team has been trying to get me out for a while. They don’t want me in at all. But my family also knows it’ll be impossible for me to leave. I’m too valuable and know too many secrets.”
“So, live your life, practice, and then, when there’s a job that has to be done - not some bullshit job they can send any of the Teams to but one your Team has to do - then you step up and go on the mission. But once done, you go back to your civilian life. It would be like being in the National Reserves.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” Chrys smiled, leaning over to give Bret a quick kiss on the side of his mouth, surprising him.
“What was that for?” He asked.
“For being so great. I think you just saved my sanity. And after what you already did for me? You’re the best out there. Thank you.”
“I’m glad I could help you. Now, are you ready for this?” Bret asked.
Chrys looked at Bret and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
“No,” she admitted. “But, ready or not, I have to do this, so here we go. Are you ready?”
“Lead the way. I’ll be right behind you. Just know, I have your six.”
“Thanks.” Chrys opened her door and padded out of the vehicle before closing it behind her. She then quickly turned to run in the direction Salvatore and Timon were parked in and wait for the all-clear so they could enter. There wasn’t much time, Chrys knew, so her group would have to run faster than they usually did, but they would also have to stay quieter, which would be trickier than usual. And given she didn’t know how the group she was with worked, she was in for one Hell of a schooling. And fuck, she hated school! Chrys thought. This was not the place to learn such lessons, but damn they could use the help.
Crawling up behind Salvatore’s limousine, Chrys pulled out her K-Bar and punctured a hole first in one tire, then crawled to the next tire and did the same to that one. As soon as the other men in her group showed up, Chrys motioned for one of them to slash the front tires then move back away from the vehicle.
Indicating their gas masks, Chrys motioned for them to put the face coverings on. When she saw her men were protected, Chrys took a canister of high-level pepper spray and released it into the limo where their targets were sitting.
Instantly they could hear coughing and people shouting. The doors flung open, and people started shooting from both the front and back seats, no one bothering to aim at where they were shooting - just praying they would hit something.
“¡Malditos Putas! (You fucking Putas!)” Timón screamed. “¿Dónde diablos estás? ¿Eh? ¡Muéstrales tu puto yo (Where the fuck are you? Huh?! Show your fucking selves!)!”
“Vuelve aquí ... maldito imbécil (Get the fuck back in here...you Goddamn imbecile.).” Salvatore snarled at Timón between his own gasps for breath. “Ahora, antes de que yo… (Now before I…)”
Salvatore never finished his sentence. Timón fell to his knees, clutching his stomach, globs of snot dripping from his face.
“What the… (Che cosa...?)?” Salvatore began switching back to his native Italian, only to be cut off when he felt something hit his shoulder, knocking him back further against his soft leather seat.
Salvatore screamed in pain when two of Chrys’s men reached inside his car and pulled him out, dragging him resisting by securing an arm and pulling his hair.
“Who the fuck do you think you bastards are?” Salvatore demanded. “Do you have any idea who I am? What can I do to you?”
“I know who you are, you fucking piece of shit.” Chrys snarled, stepping close to his face. “I know what you do and how you do it. I know exactly how you’ve been into selling skin for the past twenty-five years, at least because you’re too fucking chicken shit to make money the honest way. But do I care who you are? Not a fucking bit. I don’t give a flying rat's ass who the Hell you are, only what you do. You’ve destroyed too many lives. The selling weapons and drugs are nothing compared to the humans you had kidnapped and sold like they were nothing. Why this place? Why are you targeting this particular girl?”
Salvatore spit on Chrys. “Kill me, but you’re not going to get shit from me Bitch. What can you do? A barely slip of a girl?”
Without a word, Chrys kicked one of Salvatore’s knees, forcing it to buckle under him and causing him to scream again.
“You’re a fucking dead Bitch!” Salvatore threatened her.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before, and better men than you have tried to take me out. But the thing is, no one’s succeeded yet. And you’re sure as hell not going to succeed. Now, why this place?”
“Fuck you.”
“I’d rather fuck Swamp Thing, thank you very much. I’ll ask one more time. Why this place?”
Salvatore smiled. “You have no idea who the brat you’re trying to help is, do you?”
“I know she’s a young girl you’re never going to get your fucking hands on. Now I want to know why she’s so Goddamn important to you.”
“Think about it. Do you think I would go to this much trouble for just one whore?”
“She’s a twin,” Chrys whispered.
“Who do you think blew up the trailer she grew up in, with their Step-Father and Step-Sisters still inside? Why did Marla's Step-Mom think she blew the trailer up? If I managed to train and sell the two of them together, my reputation would never be questioned. I could ask for any price, and no one would ever blink.”
“Too bad you won’t be alive to see that happen.”
“I’ll pay you whatever you want. Money’s no problem, as you know.”
Chrys snorted. “We’ve already found your accounts. It’s just a matter of time before we manage to break through your firewalls and transfer the money to our accounts.”
“A girl like you has to want something. Name it, and it’s yours.”
“How about you having a long, painful death before you rot in Hell? But, I’ll settle for being the one putting a bullet in your fucking head.”
Without another word, Chrys pulled her Baretta from the holster under the back of her shirt and quietly shot Salvatore in the middle of his forehead.
Turning away from Salvatore, Chrys walked over to where Timón was laying on the ground gasping for breath.
“Oh, give it a break, you son of a bitch.” Chrys kicked Timón’s leg away from her. “You’re not such a big man now, are you?”
“Fuck...you!” Timón gasped.
“What is it with all you limp dick bastards offering to fuck me? Sheesh! For once, I’d just like a real man to show up and prove he has a pair of balls, instead of all these marbles you lazy fucktoids have.”
“I’ll show...you...cajones (balls), Puta (whore). You’ll learn what that mouth of yours...is good for... with...them.”
Chrys gave a humorless laugh. “As gaging as that thought is, I think I’m going to have to pass. One, I’m hoping someone else will make me a better offer than what your lame ass just did, and two, necrophilia just isn’t my style. Now, casting them silver and wearing them as earrings after I cut them from your body sounds like an excellent idea. It’s too bad they’ll only make one pair.” Chrys gave a slight shrug. “Oh well, I guess my sisters and I will just have to toss a coin to find out who gets to keep the new earrings.”
Timón shrank back, trying to get away from Chrys but knowing it was futile.
“You...wouldn’t. That’s in...humane!” He cried.
“Inhumane! As if you know the fucking meaning of the word!” Chrys snarled, putting a foot on Timón’s stomach and making him scream.
“What you bastards do to the young children you kidnap is inhumane. What you do to the children’s family is inhumane. Don’t think for one second, what you’re going through is inhumane. You don’t know the feeling of inhuman treatment. And don’t worry, you’re n
ot going to live long enough to learn either, as much as I hate to admit it. I just need to know if Reynaldo is going to take over once you’re gone.”
“Sí (Yes), Reynaldo will replace me. He will...avenge me!”
“Yes, I’d like to see him try. At least he doesn’t pedal in skin. That alone makes him more of a man than you’ll ever be.”
Timón chuckled. “So you...think...Puta!” He cried out in pain, trying to move away from Chrys only to have her apply more pressure to him. “Reynaldo is a hundred times worse than I ever have been. You just haven’t seen it. He hides his crazy. Once he takes over, there will be no...stopping him.”
“Yes, there will. Don’t worry about old Rey. We’re already working to take him down as well.” Chrys informed him.
Timón shook his head. “You won’t be...taking Reynaldo down any time...soon. He has men in your Government, in high places. They do what he wants.”
“Then we’ll just have to take them down with him. But believe me, your entire family is going down. You’re just the first in a large puzzle that no one is going to miss. Especially the children you helped kidnap, torture, and sell.”
“How did you know...about the children?”
“Why Timmy, I thought for sure you would recognize me. Christy?”
Timón paled. “Christy’s dead.”
“No, I just escaped after the car accident and found a new home. And my correct name. Now it’s time for you to go to your new home. Nos vemos en el infierno, hijo de puta (See you in Hell, you Son of a Bitch.).”
Timón fell back as Chrys shot him one time in the head. Removing her foot, Chrys wiped the blood on the ground.
“This is Delta 1. Targets are eliminated. I need a crew out here to remove the bodies. What is the status at the Compound over?”
“Delta 1, Uniform 2, over,” Stone replied. “The Compound is secure. It took some heavy hits, but it’s still standing. There are two injuries for the MC but no casualties for our side, over.”
“Roger that, Uniform 2,” Chrys said. “Who’s going to send the cleaner over?”
“Delta 1, Papa 1,” Sven came on the line. “I’m already getting a couple of men out there to take care of things. The bodies will be removed in the next hour; we just need to get them out of sight until then, over.”
“Papa 1, Delta 1. 10-4. Thank you, out.”
Bret walked over to Chrys and put a hand on her shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go. Let’s put the bodies on the side of the road, so they’re not so conspicuous, then let’s get the Hell out of here. We should get back to the Compound to help out as soon as we can. It sounds like they can use all the help they can get.”
Chrys nodded. “Yeah, it does. And I know Uncle Jack said there were no casualties, and no one on the Teams was hurt, but I still want to see that for myself.”
“Alright then. Let’s get this done.”
* x * x * x * x * x * x * x * x *
“I can’t believe we managed to survive an assault of that magnitude,” Melodie said, holding her daughter Marcie close to her, almost as if she were afraid to let her go.
“Salvatore and Timón don’t play around when they want something,” Jack told her. “You guys are lucky. We’ve never known them to hold off on taking out their adversaries as they did here. They wanted something, but the question is, what did they want.?”
“Besides my daughter?” Melodie demanded. “I have no idea what those Bastards wanted, nor do I care. I’m just thankful they’re gone.”
“Well, those two might be gone, but you can bet your ass there are more out there, and they’re even worse than Salvatore and Timón could ever hope to be. They just don’t want your daughter, which is a good thing.” Tate said.
The door to the Compound opened, drawing everyone’s attention. Chrys strode inside with Bret and his men walking by her side. Something Bret said as he leaned down next to her face made her laugh, which brought a look of shock to everyone on her Team that managed to see the interaction.
Seeing the look of shock on her men’s faces, Chrys glared around at everyone and demanded, “What?”
“Nothing, Brat. We just haven’t seen you so happy before. We like it. Whatever he’s doing, he needs to keep doing.”
“I’ve been happy!” Chrys denied.
“No, you’ve always acted like you were happy to make us happy. You weren’t happy. There’s a huge difference.” Sven told her.
“Fine, Dr. Phil, whatever. I’ve never been happy before. Now, what was this I heard about Salvatore and Timón, and what they wanted? Did anyone here find out?”
Her men shook their heads. “No,” they said in unison.
“We never managed to find that out before we took their men out.” Uncle Jack said, holding onto his niece, Stella, who still looked like she was in shock by what took place.
“Well, we didn’t find out everything, I’m sure,” Chrys told them, then continued, “But, we did find out a little bit. The big question is, how much do you want them,” she indicated to the young girls, “To know about what’s going on?”
Melodie answered in a soft but firm tone of voice. “These three know everything that’s going on. They knew about everything before they came to stay with us, and we haven't tried to hide anything from them since they got here. We're not about to start now, either. So, whatever you have to say, you’ll say to all of us, not just a few.”
Chrys looked silently at Axel and Daelan, who both just nodded, neither one very happy with the decision.
Chrys took a deep breath as she faced Melody and spoke a second time.
“Annie was right when she claimed your daughter started the fire that took out her husband and children. Though I high-”
Marcie pulled away from her Mom, shouting. “I never did anything to them! I don’t know how the fire started! I swear!”
Chrys nodded. “You’re right.” She said, “You didn’t. Your sister did.”
Melodie looked confused. “But I don’t have another daughter - Marcie’s my only daughter.”
“We’re talking about Marcie’s twin here. She most definitely set the fire that took everyone out. That’s why Annie thought it was Marcie. The fact they are identical threw her off.”
Melodie shook her head. “That’s not possible.” Melodie denied, crying. “Melana’s been dead for fifteen years. She died on their first birthday. She went to the hospital with SIDS, and my Ex took her to the mortuary. He took care of all the funeral arrangements. I couldn’t handle it, so they gave me some medicine to keep me calm and resting.”
“I hate to be the one to break it to you then,” Chrys said. “But, Melana, is it?” Melody nodded. “She’s most definitely alive and kicking. However, those Bastards did their best to keep her alive, barely. That’s what took us so long to get back. We went to Marcie’s old house that blew up to look around and see what we could find. Salvatore admitted Marcie was a twin and that her sister was the one who killed everyone. That’s why Annie thought it was her: they look so similar. When we found out about Melana, we wanted to see if we could find her.”
Axel was holding both Melody and Marcie in his arms as they sobbed. The third happiest day in Melody’s life was the day she was reunited with Marcie. After spending twelve years searching for her and having no clue about where she could be, Melodie was absolutely over the moon when Marcie came back into her life. Now, to learn that the daughter she thought was dead practically her entire life was alive and close by? Axel didn’t know how much more of this Melodie could take.
“You say Melana is alive. Where is she? Do you know where she is?” Axel demanded.
Chrys nodded. “She’s here. She’s waiting for us to bring her inside. The thing is, you need to be prepared for what you see….”
Melodie flinched. “What do you mean, exactly?”
“I mean, Melana has been severely abused. She’s skittish around people. Not only is she severely malnourished, but she also has cuts and bruises eve
rywhere. Melana has rope burns and chaffing from iron shackles on her wrists and ankles and around her neck. I’m guessing she’s around seventy or eighty pounds, but we won’t know for sure until Doc checks her out. I’m also guessing she’s been sexually abused, but again, we won’t know for sure until she’s been looked over. We had to get a third vehicle to bring her back here, and Melana rode in it with me. She wouldn’t let any of the guys near her. That’s why I’m making the guesses I am, as well as based on her looks and attitude. However, the good thing is, Melana knows her biological Mom is here and that you had nothing to do with what happened to her. They told her just enough for her to know she was taken from her biological Mother without your knowledge and that you are under the impression Melana is dead, which is why you never searched for her. Melana knows she had a sister living there who never knew about her and was about to be sold to the highest bidder. That’s a big part of why she did what she did. Melana was trying to stop Charles and Annie from selling her sister to Salvatore. Even though Marcie didn’t know about her, Melana was still trying to protect her.”
“Oh God,” Melodie continued to sob in Axel’s chest, holding Marcie closer to her. “My baby. My poor baby! Where is she?”
“I’ll go get her. I just wanted you to be aware of her situation before I brought her inside.”
Melodie nodded. “I need to see her.”
“Give me a couple of seconds, and I’ll be right back.”
Chrys turned and walked right back outside. There she went and helped Melana out of a brand new, maroon Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat with 710-Horsepower. Opening the door, Chrys waited as Melana climbed out and savored the fresh car smell. God, she loved this car! Not only did it have speed, but it also had the torque, and she could do damn near anything she wanted with this baby! Sven was going to shit a brick when he saw this!
“Hey Mel, you ready to go inside and meet your Mom?” Chrys asked the girl shaking on the front seat.
“My Mom’s inside?” Melana asked, her voice full of tears. “She wants to meet me?”
Chrys nodded, smiling sadly. “Yeah, she’s inside. She had no idea you were alive. The first thing out of her mouth was her demanding to see you.”