Razor’s Mark
(Marked Book 1)
By Gracie Meadows
ISBN-10# 1-945012-72-2
ISBN-13# 978-1-945012-72-3
© Copyright 2016 Gracie Meadows
Edited by Vinvatar Publishing
All Rights Reserved
Artwork by Alexis Belle
Published by Vinvatar Publishing
Website: Vinvatar.com
Prologue
“Tell me who the fuck you told and we can stop all of this.”
Beaten, John was now sitting tied to a chair as it leaned on its back two legs, tilting his back against a wall.
“Fuck you!” Opening his eyes, John watched as a man with crooked teeth and a cigarette nodded to his goons, and suddenly water dumped on his face again, cutting off all air supply. He did his best to hold his breath, holding out without gulping down the buckets of water, but the fuckers seemed to understand his tactics and hit him square in the gut, making him bellow out, swallowing the water, unable to catch his breath, making his lungs ache with the need for air. This form of torture hadn’t been done in years, at least according to his research, but then again, people who were in his predicament didn’t survive to tell the tale.
Just as he was about to gasp for the last breath, it stopped.
“Seems that you have tight lips. We got something for that.” Someone jabbed him with a needle and everything around him got fuzzy, creating a dream-like facade.
Who would have thought a simple audit would cause all this shit? Sure, he had stumbled onto some information that would change everything at his company, and then some, but he just didn’t have all the facts as of yet. He had only told one person and right now, he needed to keep her safe. They didn’t know about her, and God forbid if they ever did. What they could do to her was far worse than what they could do to him. However, whatever they gave him started to work in his system, shutting his brain off completely, and he knew it would be the end of him.
“Time for you to talk.” And the sound of a generator came to life. The man with the crooked grin looked at him with two cables in his hands.
Shit, this was gonna hurt.
John didn’t know how much more he could take before they would just kill him. He had faith in her to know what to do with the data he’d given her, and Jason would have the rest of the information she would need. He had set up a plan just in case this happened. He was glad he did. Suddenly the cables hit his wet skin, and he screamed as electricity surged through his body, his teeth shattered as he closed his mouth. Over and over they shocked him. His vision was already gone, and as they placed the cables on him again, he whispered, “Faith,” and the world around him went silent and still.
Chapter One
The sound of rain on the roof resonated louder than normal. Today was a rainy day, but it didn’t stop him from his daily life. The only thing he couldn’t do was ride his bike. On the over clustered and narrow streets of DC, he’d learned the first week that his big pick-up truck wasn’t going to work for getting around. Sure, he still had it parked at his place, but he’d gone and purchased an Indian Chief Classic, to make going anywhere quicker and easier for him.
Setting up his tray, he made sure everything was covered and sanitized. His gun was sitting on his tray table, and the cups were put to the side. He didn’t have any appointments this morning, so he did the small walk-ins. Casper was the only one who had someone this morning, and Tex was coming in this afternoon.
Sparkle was bouncing around the front of the storefront cleaning and singing along with some classic rock ‘n’ roll. Not his normal preference, but it worked well with the customers. Sparkle was a receptionist and piercer extraordinaire. Just about everyone in the shop could do nipples, ears, belly buttons, and noses, but if someone wanted their clit done, a Prince Albert, or some other specialty piercing, that was all her.
Jason "Razor" McCoy was one of the original team members of Ink Spot. He’d met Sparkle at a convention in Vegas. She’d noticed his ink and asked about them. When she pointed to the one on his arm, he’d told her it was his work. Instantly they became connected through art. She didn’t tattoo but was opening a studio with her roommate, Mary Jane, who was a tattoo artist. He’d been the first male to join the team. And now here he was in Washington DC, tattooing just about every type of person.
He went to grab a cup of coffee when the bell jingled over the door. A middle-aged man with a red Bazinga t-shirt walked in. Looked like Casper’s customer was on time. The man was a total Star Trek fan, which was part of a realistic style of tattooing he didn’t really enjoy, but Casper did. Razor preferred more of a new age when it came to his personal style.
Guy specialized on anything tribal or Japanese.
Tex, well, he was an odd one, doing mostly horror, and black and whites.
Mary Jane was the best for portraits and pin-ups. And that completed their little team.
Drinking his coffee, he signed into his laptop to check his email. He hated electronics, but he didn’t have a choice when it came to today’s day and age. Everything was connected to the web. He saw a few emails about conventions, but he didn’t do the bookings, that was all Sparkle.
Not finding anything interesting, he went over to watch Casper work. Casper was from England, and when he first came into the shop, it had been Mary Jane who worked on him. He came over to visit a friend and didn’t leave. The guy had mad skills, and it showed.
Right now, he had the Enterprise Federation Starship on the man’s front thigh. The stencil was already in place, and he was outlining the ship. Casper was crazy good with fine lines and perfect for tattoos like this. The detail on the ship was extremely important and, if not executed right, would look like a giant gray blob on this man’s thigh. He’d seen it several times, but Casper had been able to fix them all. As he watched the black ink go into the needle, the door chimed once again.
“Hey there, what can I do for you?” The sweet, sing-song voice of Sparkle alerted him. He looked up and saw two young women looking at pictures. Oh, joy! Just looking at them he could tell it was going to be a tramp stamp, a rose, a butterfly, or some lips on their hipbone or ankle. Not that it was bad, but it was easy work for him.
“Hey, Razor.” Walking over to where Sparkle stood he listened, waiting to see what he was going to tattoo. “This is Tiffany and Mandy.” He nodded to both of them, which made them giggle. “They each want to get a simple ladybug on their hipbone.”
“Sure, I can do that.”
He watched as Sparkle pulled out some paperwork. “I just need to get some ID, and you need to sign a consent form along with this personal information sheet that lists any medical conditions that could affect your tattoo.” The women pulled everything out and started to fill the information out. Going over to his station, he pulled out red, black, and white. He went and pulled out some gloves, a clean razor, and the ointment needed. It was a small tattoo, so it wouldn’t take that long. He drew up a ladybug to use on both women.
Once they finished the paperwork, they followed Sparkle over to him. “Okay, who goes first?” He didn’t like to socialize as much as Casper, which was why he was nicknamed after the friendly ghost.
“Tiffy will,” the other woman said. He didn’t really care either way, but nodded, indicating she needed to lie down on his chair.
“Where exactly do you want it?” When she pointed to her upper hipbone, he nodded. “You need to lower your skirt and panties on that side.” Once again the giggling started, but she did as he said. He wet the area before pulling out his razor, shaving the small baby hairs to create a smoother surface. Once the area was dry, he applied the stencil. Handing he
r a mirror he asked her if the placement was okay.
She agreed, and he had her lay on the table.
“Okay, if the pain gets to be too much I will stop to give you a small break. Try to breathe through any pain and don’t move. Too much movement and you could have a line you don’t want.” He snapped on a pair of latex gloves before filling the cups with color. Dipping his gun into the black ink, he waited. “Okay, here we go.” He started with a simple outline; then he would fill it in with the color. Her squeak made him realize she wasn’t a fan of pain. “Talk to your friend; it will help distract you some.” As he went to work on the color aspect of the tattoo, he heard them talking.
“So, I heard there is a major party going down tomorrow. John is going to be there with his new girl. I want to show him that he was stupid for dumping me.” It was more and more dribble, but the women ignored him as he worked on them. Once he was finished with the first one, he handed her a mirror once again to make sure she liked it. Needless to say, she loved it. Cleaning it up, he bandaged it before he cleaned up and set everything up for the next girl. Forty-five minutes later he was done.
“Okay, ladies, you’re all set. Head on over to Sparkle to check out and get your ointment and care instructions.” They thanked him before he turned and cleaned his station. Mary Jane had shown up but looked like crap compared to her normal put together self.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. Food poisoning. Bad sushi, I think.”
“Don’t puke in here.”
“What’s wrong, Razor, the big bad tattoo artist afraid of a little vomit?”
“It’s not that; it’s that the shit smells and makes me gag. I’ll have you know many people have issues with puke. It's chunky, and I’ll pass.” This made her chuckle before she covered her mouth and sprinted to the bathroom. Damn, she was bad. She came back out drinking a bottle of water.
“Hey, Razor, I know you're off for today, but can you take my appointment. It’s not a pin-up or anything, just something kinda abstract from what I was told.”
“You sure, Mary Jane?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure, I got you covered.”
“You’re the best.” She did a half smile, before heading out the door.
The day was pretty steady; he’d gotten a few interesting tats done, and one belly button piercing when the front bell rang. This time, a shady looking guy walked in.
“Hey, man, what’s up?” Razor asked while Sparkle was in the back filling something.
“Got an appointment with Mary Jane.”
“Oh shit, man, sorry, she's sick today, but she said I could do it if you’re cool with that?”
“Can you do this?” The man handed him a sheet of paper. It looked biomechanical. Various gears, and very intricate. Not his specialty, but he could do it.
“Sure.” Razor handed him the paperwork to fill out. Sparkle came back over to get his ID while he went and fixed the stencil. If this came out how he saw it, he just might add this to his portfolio. He set his tray with new razors and several gloves. The guy already had a sleeve, so he wasn’t new to ink. As he approached, Razor snapped on gloves waiting to get started.
“Where we putting it?” The guy, whose name he learned was Devon, wanted it on his chest. This could work.
Standing next to him, he started to shave the few hairs that were on his chest before laying the stencil down in place. It was sick looking even before he got started. The placement made it appear as if the guy’s flesh was gone and underneath he was a robot. Definitely one for his books to show off later.
Devon pulled out his phone and plugged in headphones before laying down on the table. While Devon got situated, he swapped his gloves for another clean pair. This was going to be at least a six-hour tattoo, which would put them right at closing at ten.
Listening to the hum of his gun, he held the barrel and concentrated on the fine details of the design. He changed it slightly, but only to fit his chest. The concept was kick ass, and he wanted to make sure he did it right. It was black and white, but it worked. Ignoring the world around him, he got to work. He didn’t need someone talking to him, but a few times Tex came over to look at his work, and Devon asked a question here and there. Once it was done, he cleaned his work before showing Devon to a mirror.
“Damn, this is tight. Oh shit, you made it look like it's part of me.”
“Yeah, I added some lowlights and highlights, so it makes your skin look as if it is torn and shredded. I had to go back and do some more shading to give it more definition and a 3D effect.” Razor had to say this was one of his better pieces.
“Hell yeah. Fuck me mad. This is, wow, so much better than I thought!”
“Glad you like it. Now come on over here, I want to take a picture of it, and put the goo on before covering it. I’m sure you know all about aftercare and all that shit, right?”
“Yeah, not my first rodeo, man.” After finishing and taking a picture, he settled the bill where he was given a fat tip; he loved those. Drinking money.
“You clean up your station, I’ll turn everything down,” Tex offered. Razor nodded and threw the gloves away and took his trash out. It was still raining outside, but the nightlife was going strong. After both he and Tex locked up for the night, he jumped into his truck and headed home. Getting to his apartment, he parked his truck and headed inside. That's when he saw some people waiting for him outside his door.
“Can I help you?” His whole body was on alert, not sure what to expect. He didn’t do drugs or gamble; well, not with cheap ass bookies.
“Are you Jason McCoy?”
“Depends on who's asking.” Both men were in suits, one reached into his pocket and pulled out an ID.
“I’m Agent Broody, and this is Agent Cane. We’re here to talk to you about your brother.”
“Yeah? What did Mr. Perfect do now?” Razor knew his brother worked at some high tech, high clearance type of job. His parents used to point out that his older brother was more successful and that he was helping people while he simply colored on people’s skin. But they’d died a few years ago, and John was the only family he had left. Then again, his older brother was from his father’s first marriage, so technically they were half-brothers.
“Mr. McCoy, can we go inside?”
“I don’t think so, just tell me what he needs? Is he in some type of trouble?”
“No, none of that. I’m sorry to have to inform you, but your brother was killed yesterday.” Razor stood there frozen, not sure what to say or do.
“I think we should go inside; we have some questions we need to ask you.” This time, he nodded and opened his door letting them inside. Somehow, he knew this would turn his world upside down.
Chapter Two
Faith Hillman was never seen or heard at work, but if they needed information or something analyzed on a situation, they came to her. She had been working for Hamilton and Rogers for six years now as part of a research and development team. She came straight to them right out of college, which she had graduated early. Now, at twenty-six, she was still one of the youngest in her field.
Currently, all of her training and brainpower were focused on the incriminating information she had before her. And Johnathan was nowhere to be found. He’d given her an assignment but asked for it off the books. What she’d found out could possibly cripple an entire company, and cause a breach in national security.
Not trusting anyone, she gathered her laptop and left the secured building. Everywhere she looked, she felt like eyes were on her. She wasn’t one for being paranoid, but after what she found out, she needed to be.
“Hey, Faith, where you running to?” It was only about noon on Thursday.
“Oh, heading to get some lunch,” she told Ivy, the receptionist at the front desk.
“Do you want some company?” Okay, this was a first from Ivy.
“Oh no, that’s okay. I’m just go
ing to read and eat a sandwich at the food court. It’s warmer today.” She smiled sweetly at her, hoping she would buy her excuse.
“Oh, okay. Well, see you later then.” And just like that, Faith was dismissed.
Trying to walk calmly to her car, she jumped in and locked the doors. Clicking on her cell phone, she tried to call John again, but it went straight to voicemail. Damn him, growling to herself she drove home. Her one bedroom apartment wasn’t much, but it would do until she’d saved up enough money to buy a house in Arlington, outside the District.
Getting out of her car, she ran upstairs into her apartment, shut the door and set all three locks. She didn’t know what to do, or who to trust with this. So many people could be involved. John had the rest of the information to tie it together, but she’d never expected that she would find what she did. Her body was shaking when the sound of her email pinged. Pulling out her phone, she saw it was from John. As she opened it, it didn’t look normal. Crap, he’d sent an encrypted email.
Grabbing her laptop, she pulled up a secured internet connection before loading her email program. Clicking on John’s email, she started to enter different sequences of encrypted code before a video finally popped up on her screen. It was John. She put her headphones on and listened.
“Hey, Faithy, I want you to listen very carefully. If you have gotten this email, it means I’ve either been taken captive and can’t get to my computer to reset the program, or I am in fact dead. Either way, I need you to know that you’re in danger. The file I sent you has a second part to it. I sent it to someone else I trust, which is where I’m sending you. My brother, Jason. No one would suspect me to send you to him. He won’t know you’re coming, so you need to tell him I sent you. If he tries to push you away, tell him I’m calling in his debt to me from third grade. He owes me so he'll know what that means. I’m sorry, Faithy, so sorry I got you into this mess, but you need to hurry. Go to the shop he works at. It’s called the Ink Spot. I’m sure you can find the address.”
Razor's Mark: (Marked Book 1) Page 1