Blood for Blood

by Simon Smith-Wilson

  ‘Have you heard from the Murdock Empire about a ceasefire?’

  ‘Talks are underway with Jasmine Murdock.’

  ‘Will John Riggs Junior receive a fair trial?’

  ‘We have some of the finest lawyers and judges coming over from the United Islands. They will oversee the JR trial when my brother is brought to justice. But this isn’t just about my brother. We are setting up law in North City. It will be firm, but fair. I will bring security and peace back to the great citizens of this incredible city.’

  ‘Will you be running in the elections in three years?’

  ‘I honestly do not know. Our first concern is to make sure the local elections run smoothly. We have several key things that I want to bring in. You have been given information packs about all of these things. We want to create identification cards for North City citizens, which will make it easier for them to find work, as the jobs will go to registered voters. You have to vote in North City if you want to live in North City, but to get an identification card you must prove you can improve our city. The second stage will be the local elections. We plan to hand power back to the people on the ground. This system will allow local councils to invest the money in the right way, which will allow all parts of our city to prosper. And then we have the Presidential elections, but only elected councillors can run for. I have a lot of work on my hands between then and now. I have not decided if I will run or not.’

  More questions came his way.

  ‘Thank you very much,’ said President Riggs.

  ***

  JR and his men marched over to the hostages. JR looked pissed, but that was what happened when he watched his brother’s press conferences. ‘He needs to know that I am not fucking around. There will be no trial for me. I am going to rule this city. He thinks he is so fucking clever with his talk of police and elections. I will show him the real future of North City.’ JR kicked a hostage in the face. The chained up people started screaming. They separated, as much as possible, as he walked into the middle of them. JR turned to the eight or so people cowering to his left-hand side. ‘Execute the lot of them.’

  ***

  Samantha held the gun in her hands. She hadn’t fired it yet and already her heart was thumping at a million miles an hour. Anne was stood beside her, guiding her aim. They were parked in some back alley, but within the glow of the raging fires spewing from the distant refinery. Anne had drawn some crude pictures on the far wall. Bullet holes covered the wall. This firing range had been used many times.

  ‘When you’re ready just gently squeeze the trigger,’ said Anne.

  ‘Okay...’ gulped Samantha.

  ‘You can do it,’ said Hazel. ‘It is scary at first, but it gets easier.’

  ‘Hazel is right. It’s about time you learn to handle a gun. Safety is your number one priority in North City. Hazel has been training down here every single day since we moved here. You can never be too careful.’

  Samantha nodded her head and applied pressure to the trigger.

  The gun went off, the little girl yelped.

  Fear and excitement swept over here. She didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.

  ‘Good shot,’ said Anne.

  The bullet had hit the badly drawn person in the right hand.

  ‘That was mental,’ laughed Samantha. ‘Can I do it again?’

  ***

  The pram was pushed across the grubby carpet. A sweaty man in a shirt and tie sat in the corner. He wasn’t paying much attention to Chelsea or the baby. Hazel nut coloured eyes scanned the jobs pinned to the wall. Little white cards were plastered over wooden notice boards. It was a clear sign of progression for North City. The last time Chelsea came to the job centre was four years ago. She had been looking to escape her job as a dancer at the club. She would happily do that job right now. It always paid good money. Four years ago there had been only six cards pinned to the wall, and they were all to do with sex clubs or prostitution. In four years so many jobs had become available in North City. Chelsea looked down at her beautiful baby. By the time she was an adult, North City would be full of prospect and potential. Nicola could be anything she wanted to be.

  ***

  ‘Do you think it will work?’ asked Marcus.

  He was sat in the ground floor restaurant of the hotel. There was a nice little section with leather armchairs positioned in front of a widescreen television. A black coffee rested on the coffee table beside him.

  ‘It will work,’ Melissa reassured him.

  ‘Good. I just want this week over.’

  ‘This time tomorrow JR will be nothing more than a memory.’ She slipped her hand into his and gave it a little squeeze. That was all he needed. This little gesture of support sucked away all the pressure and stress that had been gathering on his shoulders. He just had to stop over thinking things. This week was moving at a million miles an hour. He just had to focus on the things within his control. ‘You have a phone meeting with the President of West Valley in ten minutes. I should go prepare.’

  ‘Okay.’ Melissa got up to leave. ‘Melissa?’

  ‘Yes, Mr President.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  ***

  Danny sat in the front seat of his sports car and answered the call.

  ‘Is it true?’ asked Travis, without any pleasantries.

  ‘Yes. I found Elizabeth’s car,’ replied Danny.

  ‘Shit. Have you told your mother?’

  ‘Not yet. That is where I am heading.’

  ‘You think the Riggs Crew got her?’

  ‘I don’t know. I have divers sweeping the river as we speak.’

  ‘I am going to meet a contact. If the Riggs Crew had a part to play in all this, then he would know. Keep me informed of what you find.’ And with that Travis hung up. Hate boiled within the depths of Danny’s stomach. Who did he think he was? Who did he think he was ordering around?

  ‘Just one more day,’ Danny told himself. ‘And that cocksucker will be gone, too.’

  ***

  ‘Is he insane?’ asked Melissa, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  Marcus said nothing.

  The room was full of advisors, all of them watching the breaking news story. Nobody said anything. They could feel the toxic cloud of tension pouring out of the new President. On the television screen men, women and children were running out of the airport waiting area. They had been stripped naked as if they were to be humiliated in front of the whole world. Not a single person managed to get more than fifteen feet from the main door. Three masked gunmen stepped out of the airport and opened fire with automatic weapons. At no point did the news network cut the footage. They played the thing on a loop, over and over. There was no television watchdog in North City. They could show what they liked no matter how graphic the nature of the footage was. The majority of the people were killed, but several rolled around in agony. A few could be seen screaming. The gunmen retreated back inside leaving the dead bodies on the tarmac and the wounded with no chance of help.

  Marcus got out of his chair and left the room.

  Not a word was said.

  ***

  Ariel answered the door on the third knock. She knew who it was before answering. The beautiful redhead wrapped her think dressing gown around her body and held it tight. She wanted to make sure that no skin was on display.

  ‘Hey,’ the landlord greeted her with a smile.

  She did not smile back.

  He could tell something was up straight away.

  His confidence took a one-way ticket on the fastest plane out of North City.

  ‘You okay?’ he asked, nervously.

  ‘Yeah,’ replied Ariel, attempting not to make eye contact with him.

  ‘You seem different. Is it because of what happened?’

  ‘We went too far,’ she told him.

  ‘You regret what we did?’ he looked a little hurt.

  ‘I don’t, but... I have a child.’

  ‘So do I,’ he replied
, ‘Ariel, I like you.’

  ‘I like you, too.’

  ‘I have more of the stuff if you want to come over. I got the lust dust for us.’

  A big part of her was screaming out, ‘Yes!’ It was the part of her brain addicted to the euphoric feeling of the ultimate orgasm, but she couldn’t do that to River. She did love him. Yes. Things between the two of them were falling apart, but she did love him.

  ‘I can’t do this. I’m sorry.’

  She went to close the door, but a strong hand forced it open.

  ‘Didn’t you enjoy it?’ he asked. ‘Please, be honest with me.’

  ‘I did. You know I did.’

  ‘Okay,’ he sighed, defeated. ‘If you change your mind you know where I am.’

  Ariel closed the door.

  ***

  ‘That’s it. That’s the answer,’ River told the empty office. He groaned into the palms of his hand, as he sat back in his chair. ‘That is how I can fix the situation.’ His mind kept replaying the events that happened last night. There were blanks. He had never had blanks before. River was sure he hadn’t drunk that much, but what he did remember was the feeling. He could still feel that overwhelming sense of absolute pleasure erupting within his groin. The things he did to Kerry would stay with him for the rest of his life. Half that stuff he wouldn’t have dreamed of doing to Ariel. It was just so damn naughty, but Kerry had let him use her. ‘That is the only way.’ He tried to shake the thoughts out of his head as if he could knock them out of his ear and stamp them into the carpet. ‘I will give her the manager’s job.’ He was planning to anyway, but this ended his problem. ‘Ariel will never know. And with Kerry gone it won’t ever happen again. This is the only way. She will be gone in a few weeks. I can move on with my life again. Ariel won’t have to find out.’ This fact didn’t change how ashamed he felt for having the affair.

  ***

  A blanket of white snow covered the landscape. Chelsea stood before her lover’s grave. She had never understood why people spoke to headstones, but now she was starting to get it. This made her feel closer to him. It was a focal point to direct her words.

  ‘I did a job search today, but there is nothing. I have no skills or experience. North City is changing. All those years of dancing and escorting mean nothing anymore, but I am not depressed. You don’t have to worry, Riley. I have a plan you see. I know what needs to be done. I am going to start it tomorrow. I will become the new Hand of God. I will continue what you started. This might be our destiny, you know? You wanted to change the world, and you have. You changed my world. You made me so happy in our time together, and you gave me a beautiful baby girl. I will always love you for that. I will tell her all about you when she grows up. She will know that her daddy was a hero. I won’t be here tomorrow, so don’t worry if I don’t turn up. I am going to deal justice, just like you. Tomorrow, the world will become a safer place after I kill Travis.’

  ***

  Kerry sat in the toilet cubicle. The place had that horrible chemical smell from where it had been bleached. This wasn’t the ideal place to have her break, but she just needed to be alone. Last night had got just as she had planned. It was a hot night, and she did enjoy it. She had always loved sex and last night had been pretty damn good. She just had to keep it up. How was River feeling right now? Kerry knew him. He would be frightened, guilty and full of self-hate. These were emotions that would guarantee her the transfer and promotion to store manager. It was crucial that she kept the facade up. She had to keep making advances on River, force him to feel uncomfortable and heighten those horrible things he is feeling. He would have to give her the transfer just to get her out of his life. It was a cruel and nasty thing to do, but he would get over it, in time.

  ***

  Danny made a clicking sound with the inside of his mouth, as he walked through the vacant hanger. He spun his key ring around his fingers. The young man was feeling pretty damn pleased with himself at this moment in time. Everything was going exactly to plan. His mother had been rattled. Travis was rushing around all over the place looking for clues. Their men were wasting their time searching dead fields and polluted water. Elizabeth was locked up. He could do what he wanted; nobody was watching him. It was time to enter the next phase of the operation and hit them hard.

  ‘What the fuck?’ Danny stopped in the middle of his makeshift camp.

  The metal chains that bound Elizabeth were on the floor unlocked.

  How had she managed to escape?

  ‘Fuck you!’

  A sharp pain ignited across the side of Danny’s face. He stumbled sideways and crashed into the wooden table he had set up. Warm liquid trickled down the side of his face. Elizabeth charged forward; a metal pole raised high above her head. Instinct took over. Danny threw up an arm to block the blow. He screamed out, as a bone-crunching snap filled the air. His forearm was broken.

  ‘You’re a fucking dead man,’ screamed Elizabeth.

  She raised her metal bar a second time, but Danny kicked out, catching her shin.

  Elizabeth fell down on top of him.

  Danny grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her to the side, as he attempted to roll over and gain the dominate position. His right arm was in agony. It felt like it was on fire. He straddled her torso and placed a hand around her delicate throat.

  ‘You little bitch.’

  Thumbs were dug deep into his eyes, pushing his eyeballs back into their sockets.

  Danny pulled away. His vision was blurry; tears gathered in damaged eyes.

  Elizabeth coughed, rubbing her throat, but was first to get to her feet. She picked up the metal pole and came at him a second time like some kind of wild animal hell bent on shredding its prey to pieces. Danny panicked. His plan went out the window. This was a fight for survival. He was no match for her. Never had he been in a situation like this. Elizabeth was clearly mad. Danny pulled his sidearm with his left hand, aimed and fired.

  He fired again and again.

  Elizabeth dropped face first onto the floor beside him.

  Blood trickled from her mouth.

  Her eyes were open, but the lights were out.

  Elizabeth was dead.

  ***

  The television flicked off, as she tossed the controls down onto the couch. Ariel sighed, deeply. She was pacing the room without actually realising she was pacing the room. Last night she had made a decision to stop all this. River was her baby’s father. Things were not great, but they could be fixed. They could be. The problem was the nagging desire in the darkest part of her mind. The part that loved that orgasmic feeling, as the lust dust flowed through her body. That addiction to that incredible feeling was pushing her closer and closer to the door. The landlord was just down the corridor. He had what she wanted, but last time things had gone far too far. It would only be worse this time around. She held up her hands. They were shaking. Her heart was thumping. Sweat was starting to gather on her brow. She couldn’t do this. She needed it. Ariel scooped up Alisha from her play mat and headed for the door. Shame filled her soul, but it was a feeling she was able to deal with.

  ***

  ‘You have to stop crying,’ whispered Axel. The red-haired assassin was sitting alone in his dark hotel room. The curtains were open, giving him a bird’s eye view of North City. This place had changed so much in the last five years. ‘It won’t be long now. I promise you.’ He wiped a yellow cloth along the silver blade of his samurai sword. ‘I know you’re hungry. I know you are. I will find you fresh blood soon. Yes. Yes. I will get only the best for you. This is the son of a wealthy man. He is a warmonger, a general of an invading army.’ Axel smiled a deranged smile. ‘Yes. I will feed you his heart.’

  ***

  Samantha handed the empty plate to Hazel, who was playing waitress this evening.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘You’re welcome,’ smiled the pretty young girl.

  Samantha watched her shuffled out of the room, avoiding the couch and door
. It amazed her how this blind girl could function so well. It was like she had some kind of internal map built within her brain. Hazel knew where absolutely every bit of furniture was, distances between doorways, and could find everything she needed, as Anne made sure that things were placed back in the same place every single time.

  ‘What do you think?’ asked Travis, as he sipped on his coffee.

  ‘She’s nice,’ replied Samantha.

  ‘You like her?’

  A smile and a nod answered his question.

  ‘Good. You know you can spend more time here if you want.’

  ‘I don’t think mum would let me do that.’

  ‘Well, this is a choice that you can make. She is your mother, but I am your father. You can live with whoever you want to live with. We can turn the front bedroom into your room. We can be a family again, wouldn’t you like that?’

  ‘Yes.’ Samantha loved the very idea of it. It was all she ever wanted. It was all Travis had ever wanted to. He wanted his daughter back in his life. On his travels around this dark and dreadful world, he had done some horrible things and made some very bad decisions. His mind drifted back to the woman he abandoned and the baby she was carrying. That had been the lowest point of his life. He swore he would change when he returned to North City. He had got a job, made a name for himself and built a small operation. The next step was to start a family. Anne was the perfect woman, and Hazel was such a sweet girl. The thing that was missing was Samantha. He wanted her back. If Kerry was planning on taking her out of the city, then he would take her daughter away from her, but it wouldn’t be by force. That would never work. Samantha had to make this decision herself.

  ***

  ‘You can go in now,’ said Fiona.

  The head of one of the eleven families got out of his chair and headed through the wooden doors into Jasmine’s office. Two suited and booted bodyguards remained sat in the waiting area opposite her desk. Both men looked as mean as they could come. They were the type of people you didn’t want to meet in an alleyway on a dark night. Relief washed over her, as the phone rang. It would give her something to occupy her time. Fiona answered on the second ring, whilst rotating her swivel chair to the side so that she could face in a different direction.