Chapter 2: Laney
“Shit, I didn’t expect that these fuckers followed me,” Meryl cursed.
She grabbed something from her side. I realized that it was a gun. Then, I noticed Stephan dive underneath the desk towards my left, fiddling for something in the drawers. There was another crash, and debris flew through the room.
“Is it really them though?” Stephan asked her.
“Yeah, it’s definitely their men. I saw one of the guys and he looked familiar. Shit, if we get separated, take Laney and go to the safe house. You know, the one that we never use. I’ll round up the rest of the members for a conference, but you know the answer to this already.”
I felt my throat grow dry. Stephan nodded. “Indeed. Laney, follow me, and stay really fucking close.”
I nodded, scrambling over towards where Stephan was. His gaze darted towards the left.
“See that vent there?”
I followed his gaze. It was much bigger than the vents around the rest of the room.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“That’s the vent that’ll take us to the underground passageway. Robert told me to only use it in emergencies. That’s where we’re going,” he explained.
I felt my body grow rigid. Could I do this?
The sound of gunfire crashed out all around me. I heard the bullets whizzing past my head. Then I heard groans. Someone was hit. I looked to my right to make sure that it wasn’t Stephan. It wasn’t, but I somehow already knew that.
“You two need to get the hell out of here, now!” Meryl said, as she dived in beside us.
“But—”
She glared at me as I spoke.
“Laney, if you value your life, don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay. We’ll meet there and regroup. Just … take care of her Stephan,” Meryl said.
Stephan nodded, holding my hand for a second.
“Don’t worry, she’s safe with me.” He smiled at me.
I blushed. Stephan really did care, no matter the fleetingness of his gaze. He was soon focused on our way out again. My pulse grew more rapid, sweat dripping from my forehead onto the floor, my eyes darting about erratically. I could still hear the bullets ricocheting around the room, and then, the sound of something metallic being thrown onto the ground.
“Shit, grenade!” I heard Stephan shout, pulling me into his arms as it went off. When the deluge of smoke filled the area, he pulled me over towards the vent, grabbing the sides of it which were indented and pulling on it. It quickly came apart like it was nothing.
There really was a secret path behind it. He pushed me inside and I quickly darted downwards. He then turned around, taking the vent and closing the pathway.
“But what about Meryl” I asked.
I didn’t want her to get lost. I looked at him, and then, he sighed.
“She’ll be fine. She’s strong. This is kind of normal for her. she’s used to it.”
“Are you serious? She’s used to … to this?”
Stephan nodded, his face hollow.
“She’s actually a mercenary, so she knows how to get out of situations like this. She’s going to buy us some time to get away. No doubt they’ll figure out there’s some path here if we keep talking. We have to keep going,” he insisted.
I had so many questions, so many worries, but I kept them to myself. I trusted Stephan. For one, he didn’t leave me to die out there and then is also seems like he actually wants me to be a part of his life.
Although I didn’t condone violence by any means, I knew that the only way to survive this would be to move. We walked down the path. Stephan got in front of me, stopping to look around, and then, he went right. I followed him, and we went through a series of gates that only he could open. I wondered how he was able to do just that, but, as if he read my mind, he spoke.
“These gates have been here since I first joined The Ravens. Robert showed me how to open them. It requires a ring with the seal on it.”
I looked at the ring. Holy shit, I couldn’t believe that this was really happening. It made sense though, to have a backup plan like this. We made our way past the first doorway, down a couple more paths, and then, Stephan stopped.
“Alright, we want to go north so … it’s this way.”
He continued to move, and I followed him, not daring to look back. I definitely was grateful to have Stephan here by my side. I don’t know what I would’ve done if we had separated. I didn’t know what I would’ve done had we ended up staying there in the room with the guys who were trying to kill us.
Would I have lived? I felt like I was holding him back. For a long time, the two of us didn’t say anything.
“Back there … I’m sorry that you got involved. I guess there were people following both of us, waiting to strike,” he said.
“Yeah but, why did they attack the moment I was about to mention my ex,” I said.
Stephan suddenly went quiet, turning away. He knew something, I could see it on his face.
“You know something, don’t you, Stephan?”
He hesitated, but I did understand why. Something about his identity had something to do with the attack, something to do with me.
“Laney, do you know of a guy named Daniel?”
I paused trying to remember.
“Wait, that’s Audrey’s ex, and … Alex’s best friend,” I said
“Well, that’ who we are dealing with. I didn’t want to say anything about it, but, your ex, Audrey, and Daniel are all tied into this. I wouldn’t be surprised if … if they knew you were with me because of this.”
His face was hollow, and I could sense that he was a bit worried about getting me involved because of that. I did understand why, I always kind of felt like we were all connected somehow.
“So, you’re saying that Alex is a part of the Tigers then?” I asked.
I mean, Alex did do some weird shit. He was always busy on Saturdays, which was weird to me. I thought it was because he cheated, but I guess not.
“Yeah. I needed to confirm it, but Meryl did message me, saying that they were one and the same person. I’m sorry for not telling you this sooner, Laney, but I felt a bit worried about what you might do if you knew the truth.”
I was honestly worried. I didn’t know what the hell Stephan would do in this case, or even what was next. The two of us were together, sure, but the mess that we were about to get into seemed to span multiple parts of our lives.
We stopped about half a mile in, and Stephan looked at me with a serious glance.
“We’re going to meet with the rest of the people up above, but there is something I need to ask you, Laney, something that I need an answer to. I’m serious about this.”
I paused, looking into Stephan’s eyes, and then, he took a deep breath.
“If you do need to face your ex, will you … run away? Will you go back to him, even if he tempts you with the nicest of offers? Because, well … I could see him doing this. I know Daniel, he’s a bastard, and I’m sure that Alex has similar feelings. I know they’re working together, so, Laney, please tell me the truth.”
I felt my throat grow dry. I didn’t think Stephan was testing my loyalty, but there was something about this which felt mildly insulting.
“It’s a little rude you thinking that I’m going to leave you, Stephan,” I said.
“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about if he takes you away, will you fight? Will you fight for the group, not just for you or for me?”
I thought about it. I did want to think so, but I honestly had no idea what in the world might come from all of this. What type of life I was about to experience and what level of danger was out there? But then, I nodded.
“I will. I will fight for you, for everyone. The thing is though, I don’t know how to fight. I’m a bit scared,” I said.
He looked at me, nodding in response.
“There is something I’m going to give to you after I meet with everyone. I’ll give to you once we get
there,” he said.
I looked at him, and I could sense that this was serious. He then started to move faster, up through the vent and over to the new place. When we got in there, we were in a small home. It looked so normal, minus the five people in the dining room, and a screen in one of the seats. It had a picture of an old man on the screen, and he seemed to be in pain.
I knew where we were.
These were all the people in the Ravens, looking to start a fight, and looking to figure out if war was an option, or if this fighting could be prevented.
Chapter 3: Stephan
I stepped forward, seeing the five people there, and the screen with Heusinger on it.
These were the top people in The Ravens, the ones in charge of different sectors.
In the north was Elliot, the south Cody, the East Mercutio, the West Claude, and, of course, the one overseeing the press and covering up the tracks was none other than Ryan, one of the top journalists in the state. Whenever a case would come forward that needed to be erased, he was the one who did it. From forging records to even just hiding the truth, he was the person who did it.
Whether it was a good thing, or a bad thing was up for debate, but I wasn’t the goddamn moral police. I was just here as the leader.
“There you are, Stephan. How was it?” Elliot asked.
“Alright. We had to use the vent in the safe house on 2nd Street. That place was blown up by The Tigers. Did Meryl say she was coming yet?” I asked.
“Meryl sent me a text. She said she had to go the long way to come here. But she said she was coming and—”
As Cody was about to say a few words, I saw the fridge door open up, and Meryl made her way in. I saw Laney’s eyes widen, her mouth agape at the fact that even the fridge was a secret passage.
“No way,” she said.
“Yeah way. Which by the way, I double, and triple checked? I was being tailed till I went to one of the alleyways and then into the sushi bar on 5th Avenue. They lost me there, and, of course, I used the men’s restroom to get over here. Which, by the way, someone tell the owner to clean that place, it’s fucking disgusting,” she said.
I chuckled. That was so typical of Meryl to worry about something so trivial in the entire scheme of things.
“I’ll talk to Yaka about that. Anyway, have a seat. Laney, please do the same,” I said.
She looked at me with widened eyes, silent but assessing the whole situation. I could tell that she was nervous about what all of this might entail for us. I waited until everyone was in place. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat before speaking.
“Alright, Heusinger, are you feeling any better?”
He didn’t say anything. I could tell that the monitor was hooked up to show me that he was alive he seemed to be in a coma. His chest was moving up and down rhythmically.
“Meryl, how is he doing?” I asked.
“Not good. Heusinger is out of commission. I did have Erika hook him up to the monitor to show you the situation, but other than that, he’s pretty much unable to do anything. I guess it’s up to all of us,” she said.
I nodded, listening to them. I didn’t really think that he would be of any help either.
“So, is it confirmed for sure that Daniel launched the attack?” I asked.
“Yes sir. I did a scan of the area where the attack happened. It’s definitely Daniel’s work,” Cody explained.
“Indeed. I’ve had people patrolling the area,” Mercutio added.
“Same here. My guys are ready to fight if there is word of that,” Claude said.
I didn’t want to fight. I felt like if we fought, it would be giving in to what they wanted. But there was no way in hell I was going to sit here on my ass and just let them continue doing this to us. I realized I had to ascend to my position of power, even though I didn’t really feel ready to take on something like this.
“Gentlemen, and of course, ladies, we have to do something about this. I’m not sure how bad things will get from here on out, but it’s obvious that they’re becoming relentless with their attacks. Do you know of any other attacks which may happen?” I asked.
“Yes sir. There were reports of the Tigers coming to my area, getting ready to attack us,” Cody said.
“Same here. I’ve been preparing a few traps to help get rid of them too,” Mercutio said.
“I see. So, we’re going to need to attack, to fight back. Well, Daniel won’t fight directly unless it’s with me, and I don’t really know what to do about that right now. But I don’t know for sure if it’s time to declare war. If we do that everyone could be in danger,” I said.
I looked at all of them, and they all seemed to be looking to me for an answer.
“Stephan, you know our hands are tied. If you don’t fight back, they’ll just continue attacking. We might be next,” Elliot said.
I listened to him. It seemed from the serious looks on all their faces that it was the case everywhere else. I didn’t want to subject all of my comrades to danger just because of my own unbridled fears. But I did worry about what might come from this if we did attack.
“Is she the target?” Cody asked, pointing at Laney.
Laney remained silent. I shook my head.
“No, she’s just a victim of circumstance. I’m the target. They probably think that now that I have a girlfriend, I’m going to be completely distracted. But that isn’t the case. Laney is a big part of my life, and we’ll formulate our own plans.”
Elliot looked at Laney, and then back at me.
“You do care about her a lot, don’t you?”
“I’m surprised, especially since I’ve always reported that you don’t have a girlfriend or anything. Should I tell the news outlets about that or keep it silent?” Ryan asked.
“Keep it under wraps,” I snapped, gripping the table. I didn’t want people to worry about my social life right now. There were bigger things to worry about.
There was nothing but silence, and then, Meryl looked over at Laney.
“There’s one question I have for you, Laney,” she said.
Laney tensed up, and I extended my hand, holding it there as she looked into Meryl’s eyes, feeling scared of whatever Meryl was about to ask next.
“Stephan told me that you know Daniel. Did you date someone who was connected to him?” she asked.
Laney tensed up, and then, I heard her sigh.
“I don’t think he has anything to do with this, but I did date Alex, his right-hand man for a bit. I never knew he was a part of this group,” Laney explained.
“So, we have a girl here who has connections to the enemy? Gee, Stephan, want to paint a larger fucking target on our backs?” Cody said.
“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s the right move, Stephan,” Elliot said, his eyes darting about.
“You’re putting us all in danger for a girl,” Claude muttered.
I felt the anger coursing through my body.
“You do realize that I can’t control what these bastards do, right? I didn’t ask for them to come after Laney and myself. They just … they just did,” I snapped.
“Relax. We know this,” Claude said.
“Yeah. We’ll support you every step of the way. Just be careful. You never know,” Elliot said.
I felt anger ghost through my body, and I could see Laney shifting in her seat. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable in being here.
I guess the only way to really prove to these bastards that she was harmless was to prove that she’s here for me.
“Guys, Laney had a bunch of chances to leave, but she didn’t. Know why? She cares about me. I love her, guys, and I’m not going to leave her alone. We’ve been through too damn much to give up,” I said.
I felt like I just vomited out a bunch of words. Everyone there looked shocked, minus Meryl who had a smug look on her face.
“I always knew you were a fucking sap there, Stephan. Well, I can see it in her eyes. She’s innocent. Whether these guys beli
eve me is up to them, but I do believe that you have a right to have her around if you think that she’ll help us,” Claude said with a wink.
I smiled at them.
“Yeah, I know that Laney is a good person. She didn’t run away when the base was attacked. Whether her past means anything is a moot point, but for now let’s wait and see what happens next,” Meryl said.
“Indeed. But, if there are attacks, you have full right to attack back. I’m not going to officially declare war, but I do want us to protect ourselves. I think the next step is to find Daniel and get this settled. I’m not going to get anyone else here involved besides myself, Meryl, and Laney,” I explained.
They all nodded.
“Alright. I guess this meeting is adjourned,” Ryan said.
“Yes, it is. And, Ryan, please keep me out of the press as much as possible. There’s a lot going on, and I don’t want it to affect the future or anything,” I said.
“Will do, sir,” he said.
Everyone parted ways, and then, I noticed Meryl hanging around.
“Can I talk to you for a moment, Stephan?” she asked.
I had no idea what this was about but judging from the loon on her face I figured it was something important. I quickly followed her over to the room over to the right. She then closed the door and locked it.
“You do realize what you said, right? That you love her?”
Holy shit. I didn’t even realize I uttered those words like that. I looked into Meryl’s eyes, and then, I nodded.
“I … I did, didn’t I?”
“Do you really love her, Stephan, or was that a slip of the tongue? Because, I saw how she looked at you as soon as you mentioned it. She expects you to explain yourself.”
Shit, I didn’t know what to do. I felt like if I let this go on, it could hurt her, but I did have feelings for her, feelings I didn’t really know how to explain.
“I don’t think … I don’t think I was lying there. I’m just surprised that I mentioned it the way that I did,” I said.
“Yeah well, you told her as well. You should tell her how you feel, Stephan. I can see the upset on her face.”
Inked MC Boxset: Books 1-6 Page 11