Serving the Bad Boy: War Hawks MC

by Carmen Faye

  “I wonder what went wrong between then and now. That doesn’t sound like the makings of a pharma-feud,” I replied, thinking about Graham’s information.

  I stood and paced back and forth in front of the bench. After a couple of repetitions, Graham stood as well. We began walking again.

  “I know that Hamilton was getting upset about constantly coming in second to Poole. I know that some of the wealthy people he had connected me to were looking for a way to get to know Ali and have a similar arrangement with him as they had with Hamilton, but that Ali was too morally grounded to accept,” he said.

  “What? We’re talking about a guy who has been knowingly sending his brother into danger over things he should be dealing with himself,” I said. “I have a hard time putting stock in the morals of someone like that.”

  “Well, I don’t know what Tarek has told you, but to the rest of the world, Ali Poole is a really good, albeit reclusive, guy. He makes large donations to every medical and children’s charity you can think of. He personally sponsors several outreach programs to at-risk youth and pays the bill on a day of well-visits once a month with several pediatricians to provide healthcare to children in low-income families. That’s all public information,” Graham added.

  I didn’t know what to say. Tarek had defended him. I had formed my conclusions on the little I had seen, not knowing they were brothers or any of this new information.

  “Okay, well it all makes even less since then,” I said finally. “Why would a man as good as that hold a debt over his brother for protection? Why would he not have done more up to this point to get Tarek out of this mess he created? What will he do now that Hamilton has the last of his family?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Graham replied. “The more pressing question to me is what are you going to do now?”

  He looked at me expectantly. I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to like what I had to say.

  ***

  Tarek

  “Ah, my arm,” a voice cried from one of the rooms in the large building before us.

  It looked like a poorly kept school or mental hospital. The grounds were in need of attention; vines were growing up the side of the building. The windows had the ashen look of not having been cleaned in years.

  Up close, the sights and sounds were even worse. There was a faint scent of blood and other bodily fluids and excrement in the air. We hadn’t even entered the building yet. My stomach turned at the thought of what we might encounter.

  At that moment, Hamilton breathed in deep, relishing the scent of suffering around him or perhaps at knowing he was the cause.

  I could hear one of the guards behind us gag and stifle a choking cough. I looked at them both and saw each of their eyes was watering. I imagined mine must be too, despite their swollenness. I couldn’t feel it.

  “I don’t imagine your brother would appreciate this the way I do,” Hamilton said, finally stepping forward and opening the door.

  Two more guards turned to face us at first, but immediately resumed their position when they saw the leader of our party.

  “I don’t think even Hitler would appreciate this,” I replied.

  He simply shrugged.

  “Then, no one is the visionary I am. If people aren’t willing to sacrifice for research – for progress – then they are not worthy of the improvements that come from it,” he stated.

  He stopped at a window and knocked for the attendant.

  “You are sacrificing other people’s lives; I don’t think that counts as you sacrificing anything,” I said.

  “Hello, Mr. Hamilton,” an attractive redhead said coming to the window. “How can I help you today.”

  “I’m admitting another patient for one of our trial studies,” he said simply.

  She nodded and pressed a button. After a long, loud buzz a set of double doors on a far wall opened.

  “Oh, no,” Mr. Hamilton said with a shake of his head. “This man will be a part of my private research.”

  “Yes, Mr. Hamilton,” she said, a smile spreading across her face.

  She continued to smile as she pressed another button. A bookshelf in the waiting area slowly began to slide out of the way revealing a door that was not previously visible.

  She and Hamilton shared a malicious grin. Then she licked her lips at him and coyly waved goodbye. Hamilton turned to lead the way. I gave the woman enjoying the idea of whatever was to come for me one last look.

  She blew me a kiss as she stepped away from the window again.

  My skin crawled at the types of things that must have gone on between the two of them outside of business hours.

  I received another nudge to the back from the gun of one of Hamilton’s men who had accompanied us to the facility, for lack of a better word. I made my way after Hamilton, but I was in no hurry, despite the constant poking from their guns. I wanted to see what I could. I needed to remember the way out to plan my escape.

  I refused to stay in this place and be tortured.

  I imagined the other people in this place didn’t deserve whatever they were getting either, but I would have to figure out a solution to one thing at a time.

  “Once upon a time, this place was considered state of the art. No one knows it, but it still is,” he said, chuckling to himself. “When I purchased the facility, it was a shambles inside and out. I will admit, I have not done much to repair the façade, but as you can see, the interior has been remodeled rather nicely.”

  I didn’t say a word. I followed silently taking in this world I was being thrust into indefinitely.

  The walls were a sickly green. The floors were a shade darker. Everything was trimmed in a yellow that resembled the stomach fluids you throw up when there is absolutely nothing left.

  The hall was lined with what resembled hospital rooms, but with much different equipment. The nearest I could guess was operating equipment, but the bulk of what I saw had no place in any medical facility, research or otherwise.

  I still heard agonizing screaming and moaning. It seemed through the vents and walls around me. The stench from outside was much worse the deeper into the building we ventured. Hamilton’s mood seemed progressively got happier and happier as if the sounds and smells rejuvenated him.

  The guards accompanying us began failing, taking a knee and having to cover their ears and mouths. One seemed to be experiencing some sort of panic attack.

  “Please!” Hamilton turned, “You are ruining this. I can’t even enjoy myself. If you can’t take it, just leave. I’m sure Mr. Poole and I will be just fine, won’t we?”

  He turned to me after scolding his employees. I was still looking at the two of them on the floor. Both guards were doubled over now as if they were physically sickened by everything that was around them. I wanted to do the same, but I couldn’t let this place beat me yet. I had no idea how long I would be here, and I knew there was much worse to come.

  Hamilton began walking again, and I still stood looking at his men on the floor.

  “Come along Tarek,” he called. “I almost wonder if I should have hired you from under your brother. Most people on my staff don’t have the stomach to come here, much less work here. You seem to have a much stronger constitution than most.”

  “I’m sure that is meant as a compliment,” I replied, following on at my own pace.

  My imprisonment or admission seemed to be becoming more of a guided tour. Hamilton began explaining things about the building and the research he had conducted there.

  “I’m not a fan of animal testing. It seems unfair,” he said at one point. “Why experiment on something that can’t communicate about the experience? Why experiment on something that has nature to care for it? It seems a waste of time, money, and effort in my opinion.”

  “It probably spares more lives, don’t you think? Isn’t that worth something to you?” I asked.

  “Not any that are worth saving. Most of the subjects here are transferred from prisons or drug rehab
ilitation facilities. Most are poor; some are completely homeless. All of them have little or no family left to miss them or have made life so difficult for their families that their loved ones are better off without them around,” he replied. “I’m doing the world a favor.”

  He stopped in front of another door. He seemed to be waiting for me to show some sign that I understood and agreed with his rationale, but I felt more disgusted with him by the minute.

  “I can see you don’t understand,” he said, unlocking the door. “Perhaps you are closer to the bottom of the barrel mentally than I gave you credit for. Maybe you are only the brawn your brother has used you for.”

  “He hasn’t been using me,” I snapped.

  “Oh, hasn’t he?” he said, realizing he had struck a cord and enjoying the result. “I believe I have seen your work a time or two. I know some of my men have.”

  “I take care of people who intend to do harm to my brother or hinder the progress his research brings. There is a big difference,” I argued, feeling myself grow hotter under the collar.

  “Oh, is there?” he said, spinning to face me.

  He stepped closer to me until he fully closed the distance between us. My hands were the only things still bound from my abduction. I considered swinging my clasped fists at him, but I had counted numerous cameras as we made our way down the hall. I knew that even if I laid Hamilton out right now, I would not make it out of this building alive. I needed to hold my temper and reserve my energy until I could see some means of escape.

  “Nothing to say?” he said, taunting me now that our faces were inches apart. “You’re thinking about turning on me, aren’t you? Debating how far you can get if you strike me down now.”

  I straightened my stance but maintained my silence.

  “I think you and I would have a fun rumble,” he said, with the same eagerness he had at the redhead’s lip licking smile as we entered the office. “Regardless, I will have fun with you. I doubt you will enjoy it.”

  He turned back to the door we had reached and pressed a thumb to a scanner near the door. It slid open revealing a room with only a bed with a variety of straps.

  “Your suite,” he said, making a grand gesture as if showing me a luxury hotel room.

  “I suppose now you just expect me to climb on that bed and strap myself in?” I asked, stepping into the room and eyeing him and the bed cautiously.

  “You don’t have to right now,” he replied without any inkling of disappointment in his voice or body language. “I don’t have time to begin working with you as I would like at this moment. I have a prior engagement.”

  “Oh, well, I would hate to make you late,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Don’t you worry, though. I will be back soon to have a little quality time with you,” he said from the doorway with a mock-friendly smile. “I look forward to our time together.”

  He pressed a button on the wall, and a variety of panels began to open and eject things. There were a variety of medical utensils as we well as renovation type tools, including a few drills and saws.

  “Looks like you intend to spend quite a lot of time together,” I replied, trying to conceal my mounting fear.

  “Oh indeed,” he replied. “When your brother comes, and I assure you he will, I hope to bring a second bed in here. I want you two to be at arms-length of each other. I want to harmonize your screams. I want to leave you matching scars and defects until you no longer recognize each other.”

  He stepped back out of the door and left me alone in the room, surrounded by the devices he intended to torture me, and eventually Ali with. As the door closed, I heard him begin to laugh.

  I heard his laugh all the way down the hall until he was out of the door hidden by the bookcase again. As I turned to face the bed and all its accouterments, his laugh continued to ring in my head, deafening, maddening, and unable to be silenced.

  Chapter 17

  Annie

  “You want me to take you back to Perry Hamilton?” Graham turned away from me and kicked at the ground. “I should have known you’d try to go back and save the wealthy cast out. You need to ask yourself why his brother keeps him hidden!”

  He was pacing back and forth in front of me, clearly displeased. His face was red in some areas and pale in others, with his ears completely flushed.

  “I don’t want to go back to see Perry Hamilton,” I said quietly, knowing the relief this offered him would only be momentary.

  “But you said I wouldn’t like what you had to say?” He paused, clearly confused.

  “You won’t, but that wasn’t what I was going to say.”

  “Okay, what were you going to say?” he asked, coming closer to me.

  I was hesitant. I knew my request would be more difficult for him than going back to a man he had been assisting in terrible acts.

  “I want you to take me to Poole Pharmaceuticals,” I said calmly. “I want to speak to Ali Poole face-to-face. This is all his problem. Tarek is his brother. He needs to be the one to fix this and deal with Hamilton. Not me, not you, and not Tarek.”

  “Do you realize what you are asking?” Graham asked, his voice rising in pitch.

  “I do,” I said. “I am asking you to take me to see a man you have been helping to sabotage. I am asking you to take me to the equal and opposite of Perry Hamilton, who may have a bone to pick with you about your hand in all this. Then again, he probably has bigger fish to fry than a man who leaves doors unlocked and provides a means to a selfish rich man’s ends.”

  “He probably has people gunning for me,” he said, becoming panicked and shaking his head rapidly. “After the Gala, he has probably pieced together a tie between Hamilton and me. He probably wants my head on a silver platter.”

  “What about all the good you were just trying to convince me of about him?” I asked, more than frustrated by his company at this point. “I am starting to believe you may deserve whatever you have coming from either side at this point. You’ve not earned your success; you have purchased it with questionable actions. Now, you show nothing but cowardice when you have the opportunity to change sides for the better and possibly make amends.”

  “I can go anywhere and change for the better,” he threw back. “I will repent, return any luxuries I have gained, or whatever you want me to do to be the good man you thought I was. Don’t ask me to be in the middle of this any longer.”

  I sighed and looked him over. Graham Stevens had been my boss and friend for a while now, but I felt like I was with a complete stranger. I looked at the other people in Columbus park with us. They seemed as strange and novel to me as he did. The world I knew was gone.

  The version of me that drifted through the world was gone as well.

  “Graham, do what you want. Your life is your own, and you have all but ruined it if this is the man you choose to be from now on,” I said, standing up from the bench we had shared many times before. “I want to speak to Ali Poole and hear his end of all this. I will find a way to save Tarek and bring down Perry Hamilton as well. You can either help me or not.”

  I stared at him hoping he would make the right choice, but I could still see the fear in his face. He looked to the ground and then around the park. His eyes looked as if he expected someone to leap out from a random bush or tree and attack at any moment. As he eyed the strangers walking and jogging past, he seemed to tense up more, like he was imagining each of them as a threat.

  He gulped loudly, and then looked me in the eye again.

  “I will take you to the main office. I can’t guarantee Ali will be there. I can’t promise he will see you,” he said softly.

  “That’s all I ask,” I replied.

  “I mean it, Annie,” he said more urgently. “Not a lot is known about Ali, but a lot of people say he has a temper. He does a lot of good, but he’s not known for being the nicest or easiest guy to talk to. He avoids interviews and the few times he has been stopped in public people said he seemed cold and detached
.”

  “Well, people say a lot of things. Most of what people say is just bandwagon fodder they heard from someone else,” I said, undismayed.

  “He probably already knows that Hamilton has Tarek,” Graham continued. “You may be wasting your time. “

  “If he is not out doing something about it, I will be his motivation. That’s no waste. It’s never a waste of time to do the right thing or try to save someone,” I said firmly.

  I could tell he was still trying to discourage me, but he was losing steam and painting himself in more of a negative light.