by R Weir
“You doing OK, Ray?” I asked.
“Fine,” he answered. “I can’t believe this—I thought you two bozos were my friends.”
Mack stepped over and slugged Ray in the stomach. In his defense he didn’t drop to his knees, but did bend over, gasping for air. Raven with her tall boots kicked Mack in the shins. He hopped up and down several times in pain. I tried not to laugh, but did smile broadly. Mack, once the agony subsided, went over to retaliate, but Ray stepped in between.
“What are you going to do, boy?” Mack said.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Ray said, the fear now gone from his face. “Do what you want to me, but leave her alone or I swear…”
“Oh, we’ll do what we want to her and do it over and over again until she begs us to kill her.”
Raven lunged, but Ray halted her. He turned to face her, hugging her tightly.
“Isn’t this sweet,” said Grady.
“Is she as good screwing as the other girls you nailed at The Hustle?” said Mack.
“I guess we’ll find out,” replied Grady, while sexually gesturing with his hips.
“Show a little class, gentlemen,” I said. “I know it goes against your nature, but give it a shot. You might even like it.”
Both turned to come after me but stopped when two cars approached. The first contained Roland, with a different man driving. He slithered out and pulled out Dona with him, flinging her to the ground. Somehow he had found her and now I had another wild card to deal with.
From the next car Marquis stepped out of the driver’s seat, while out the passenger side came Leather, dressed all in black leather, with a fur cap and coat on which probably were tortured a hundred minks to manufacture. She walked over and stood at the center of the group, Marquis walking two steps behind her. She came in front of me and slapped me hard across the face. It was a good slap, though not the hardest I’d ever gotten from a woman.
“Before me stands the silent partner,” I said while rubbing my face.
“You crossed the wrong woman,” she stated firmly. “Now all around you will pay dearly.”
Over to Melissa she stepped, looking her up and down. She took the back of her hand and ran it down her face and across her chest. Melissa tensed up, not appreciating the touching, but held her ground.
“Very nice,” said Leather. “How is she in bed, Jarvis? I bet she is a wonder at fucking. The boys will find out and maybe even I’ll have a taste.”
She leaned over to lick Melissa’s face, but Melissa stepped back this time.
“Oh come on, honey. Haven’t you ever been kissed by a woman before? You might like it.”
“Well, I see where Mack and Grady get their manners from,” I said. “So I’ll say to you what I told them, show some class, lady.”
She turned to face me with a pleasing expression.
“The only thing I’m going to show you is your balls after I have them cut off. While you are bleeding to death we are going to take your sweet honey and poke her in every hole she has.”
“Is this what you did to Ariela before you killed her?” I asked.
She smiled brightly, licking her lips.
“The boys had some fun before snuffing her and dumping the body.”
“At their leader’s beck and call.”
“Of course. She had to pay for letting you get the drop on us and stealing our hard drive with the recordings.”
“You were there, too.”
“She vouched for you. Said you were easy pickings. Had no problem giving you a hard-on when she gave you a lap dance, and she believed we could manipulate you. Silly bitch was always weak. She had a soft spot for Ray before understanding all he wanted was pussy, hers and others he could taste.” She turned to Ray and Raven. “Is this your latest honey, Ray? She seems so exotic. Of course, he screwed all denominations at the club.”
“You killed Ariela?” asked Ray.
“No one told you this?” said Leather.
“No.”
“Had our pleasures and dumped her in a cornfield,” said Mack.
“Dad, did you know this?”
Bill came over and placed his arm around him.
“I’m sorry. It was my decision not to tell you.”
“Why?”
“I was afraid it would set you back on the progress you had made.”
“You can’t shield me from bad news. I’m not a kid anymore. That’s why I’m here to face up to the mess I caused.”
“I know, and I’m proud of the man you’re becoming standing with you here today. I want all the best for you, son—to be free, happy and with someone you love.” He glanced over at Raven and smiled. “Fault me all you want, but I always have your best interests at heart…because I love you.”
Ray’s eyes met his father’s, saying all that needed to be said. Bill put his arms around and gave him a solid hug.
“Can we get on with this?” stated Roland. “Too touching for me. All talk and no action is boring.”
“No different with you, Roland, murdering Jack and torching the salon,” I said.
There was no smile for him, only a growl.
“As I told you before, they didn’t mean to kill him but we would have. I had other ideas of how to make him pay. I would have peeled his skin off a layer at time, if given the chance, before killing him. He had it coming for stealing my money and screwing my girl. Would have been more fun, but one doesn’t always get what they want.”
“How did you find Dona?” I asked.
He grabbed her by the hair, lifting and kissing her, biting her on the lip until it bled, licking it as if it was sweet.
“Dumb bitch has been using her credit card; only a matter of time before we tracked her down.”
I thought I’d gotten them all from her, but she must have held one back.
“What will become of her?”
Roland laughed, a horrid sound that made my skin crawl.
“Remember that video I showed you,” he said, “of the whore who betrayed me? Well, I have an encore planned for Dona that will pale in comparison. It will be a glorious multi-hour finale before she breathes her last breath.”
Dona attempted to break free, but Roland held on with one hand while grabbing her in the crotch with the other. She screamed out in pain, his fingers digging in.
“What happened at The Hustle?” I said, trying to bring his attention back to me. “I heard there was a scuffle.”
“Pretty slick you putting us together,” he replied after releasing his grip. “You knew they’d record me and try to blackmail me. While fucking three of them I saw the camera and called to my boys to come and destroy their equipment. Dirk stabbed the guy at the front entrance. A fight ensued and guns were drawn. The cops showed up before any shots were fired and dragged us all in. Sweet Leather and I had an opportunity to converse. We put two and two together, surmising what you had done. We now had a common enemy to strike back at. We coordinated our resources and here we are.”
“I had hoped you’d all shoot each other and that would be the end of it—silly of me.”
“Poor planning on your part,” said Roland. “Now you’re here and will die. Like Leather said, we will enjoy your two sweet ladies first and there won’t be a damn thing you can do about it.”
“Once we finish with all of you,” added Leather, “we will track down Ray’s mother and sister and do a number on them. They weren’t around when we grabbed Ray.”
Rachael and Monika had gone to Kansas to visit relatives, per Bill’s insistence. Ray wouldn’t go and wanted to see this to the end. Raven, of course, was sticking with Ray.
“Next, we’ll find your other client, the ex-wife of Jack,” added Roland. “I want a piece of her too since she is the one who hired you. Bring her to my chamber and have my way until she begs me to kill her. Schedule a doubleheader with her and Dona.”
“Wow, can you all really be this evil?” I asked. “You seem like a cliché. Something you’d see in bad
B-movie. I almost want to laugh; it’s such a bad script you’ve written. A movie I’d walk out on.”
I did laugh, out loud so all could hear. I wasn’t showing fear, though it was there underneath my skin. Still thinking I was wobbly Dirk stepped over and took a swing at me, which I slipped and gave him a roundhouse punch to the ear, staggering him and sending a shiver up my arm. I was flexing my hand to bring back the feeling. I was glad I put on my fingerless leather gloves to provide some protection.
“I know you want a piece of me, Dirk, for killing your partner. Come on, let’s see what you’ve got.”
Removing my coat I stepped back and away from the group, creating space, luring him, bouncing on my toes, thinking I was Ali against Foreman. Dirk was larger and heavier, probably in fair shape, with lots of muscle but lacking in speed. I doubted he was as fast as I was, so quickness was my friend. He lunged towards me, trying to grab me. I stepped to the side and banged him again with both hands cupped together on the back of the head. He went to his knees but was back up again showing he was tough. As he turned I kicked him in the groin, but it didn’t land flush, as he twisted enough it didn’t have the full impact, though he did gasp and buckle over some. I punched again with a right, but he rolled to the ground and I missed. Flexing my hands to keep the blood flowing and the stinging at bay, I continued to dance. He bounced up and charged me, so I hit him right-left, but he muscled through, getting me in a grasp, lifting me and squeezing with all his might. My arms were free so I popped him on both ears, and gouged at his eyes with my thumbs. He dropped me in pain, and since he couldn’t see I hit him with another combo, elbowed him in the left temple, and kicked his legs out from under him. Backward he fell, hitting the ground with his head. With no quit in him, he still got to his feet, though he was swaying and likely seeing halos. I was about to finish him off when Roland yelled.
“Enough! Rocky, kill him!”
“No I want him to die slowly,” stated Leather. “I want him to see the horrible things we do to his girl.”
Melissa screamed while Bill moved in front to hold and shield her. I turned around to face Rocky, still flexing my hands. He had a Glock in one gloved hand and pulled out my Beretta from his pocket and pointed it at me. I heard Roland yell “do it” and Rocky tossed me the gun, and drilled Dirk in the head, dropping him dead to the gravel. I grasped the Beretta and turned and shot Mack twice in the chest before he could raise his weapon, while Rocky nailed Grady with one bullet to the skull. We both turned our sights on the remaining three. Marquis slumped to the ground whimpering in fear. Leather stood tall and defiant, but didn’t appear to be armed. Roland had grabbed Dona and held her in front of him, a gun pointed at her head.
“I don’t know what the fuck happened,” yelled Roland. “The two of you stay back, or I’ll kill her.”
Leather looked at Marquis on the ground and kicked him.
“You pussy,” she said. “I should have known you’d wimp out.”
“Leather, you’d better join him,” I said.
“Oh, you won’t shoot a woman,” she said, “you haven’t the balls.”
She was right, I wouldn’t; killing a woman wasn’t in my DNA, as I had proved at Dave and Busters several months earlier. Rocky though, had no problem with it, turning and shooting her in the head like the other two without a second thought. Startled, Roland flinched enough so Dona tried to wrestle the gun from him, gouging at his eyes, a burning anger giving her new strength. In the struggle, the weapon went off and down she fell. Roland turned towards me, blood streaming down his face from the scratches. His gun hand raised and before aiming I put two bullets into his chest with lethal accuracy, knocking him straight back a few feet, now dead and descending to the depths of hell where he belonged.
I went over to check on Dona. She was bleeding badly and I attempted to apply pressure to the chest wound. She winced in pain and you could see the life was draining from her.
“Hang in there,” I said to her.
“It’s OK,” she said. “I’m free now. I really wanted to find something else I was good at like you said, Jarvis, but I couldn’t. All I ever was good at was being a whore. So maybe in the next life…” Her eyes stared up at me, though lifeless now, and she was gone. She never stood a chance and it made me sad.
Roland’s driver had taken off during the melee. So other than Marquis, everyone else was dead. The scene was a mess, with bodies everywhere. It wasn’t a pretty site. Rocky walked over to Marquis and before I could say anything, shot him in the back of the head, adding to the body count. He handed me his gun, a tape recorder and microphone, my cell phone and began walking away. With blood on my hands, I went over and cradled Melissa, sensing she was in shock, which made two of us. Bill took my phone and dialed 911.
Chapter 44
The better part of a week had passed as I drove west on 6th Avenue. So much had happened since the shootout, I couldn’t recall it all. The entire endeavor was a blur. Police, paramedics and the coroner came. Reporters swarmed in droves and had to be held back. Everyone was in shock at the carnage. We were grilled for hours and days on end. It wasn’t over, either. The men and woman who died were bad people, so no one cared much; but still they couldn’t let something like this go without questioning. All our stories were the same. We had been kidnapped, threatened and attacked, and had killed to save our own lives. With Bill being a police officer, it helped. The recording of the confessions that Rocky captured of Roland and Leather didn’t hurt either. It all seemed unreal, but true. It had gone down, but not the way I had thought it would. Killing was going to be a last resort, but the precision of Rocky’s shot told me otherwise. I was on my way to question this at the office of the man who had arranged his presence, Brandon Sparks.
Melissa had been in shock as I suspected, and needed medication to help her. She stayed in the hospital for a day, and when I brought her home, she told me she had some thinking to do and would call me. Our two-week vacation was now in jeopardy, as was our relationship. I hated she had been there to see it all, and cursed myself for letting her be dragged into this mess. For now, the reservations for Hawaii had not been cancelled. I held out hope a trip would heal us. All we had to do was get on the plane, get in the air and land in paradise.
My phone rang and it was Trey again. Good news would have been pleasant to hear.
“The Hustle burned to the ground last night,” he said. “Nothing left of the place.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“No. The place has been closed since the massacre. Lots of accelerant all over. It was a pretty old building and by the time the fire department arrived, it was a total loss. Ownership is in question so the city will likely condemn it and it will be leveled, the land sold off to someone who will use it for something a little more upscale, or so we hope.”
“A playground for kids would be a nice change of pace,” I stated. “Maybe I can get someone to buy it and build one.”
“Good luck,” Trey said and hung up.
When I arrived at the office, Sue was there to greet me. I followed her to an elevator and we went down to the lower level. I was quiet, not doing my usual banter with her.
“No sexist remarks from you today?” Sue said.
“Not feeling playful,” I replied.
“Sorry to hear. I actually enjoy the exchanges between us. For a man, you have some spunk.”
The door opened and we stepped out.
“And you have a fine ass!”
“That’s more like it. If you didn’t have a dick, you might be worth exploring.” She turned and went back into the elevator. “Mr. Sparks is down the hall, third room on the right.” I think I saw her smile ever so slightly before the door closed.
I located the sign saying “Shooting Range.” Once inside, I saw another female from behind walking away and out the other exit. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn’t explore further as Brandon walked out of one of the stalls, protective glasses covering his eyes, ear
protection around his neck. He came and crushed my hand in glee.
“So good to see you, Jarvis,” he said happily. “Welcome to my gun range, where I can stay sharp and work out my frustrations on a paper target shaped like my enemies.”
From what I could see there were eight stalls, the other end a few hundred feet away. It was odd seeing something like this in the bowels of a building, but for a man like Brandon Sparks, nothing was out of the question.
“Quite a setup,” I said.
“Care to fire off a few rounds?”
“I didn’t come armed.”
“Won’t be a problem; I have several handguns for you to choose from. I believe you carry a Smith and Wesson .38 and a Beretta PX4 9MM.”
No surprise he knew the weapons I used.
“I came to talk. Should we head upstairs? It appears we aren’t alone.”
There was one other person a couple stalls down, shooting.
“Nothing you can’t say down here.”
“I’m a little concerned about what happened at the quarry. It didn’t go off like we had talked about.”
“You mean the killing?”
“Yes.”
“Well, as I’ve told you before, my men are free-thinkers and don’t always do what I tell them.”
Frowning, I did my best not to lose my temper.
“Come on, Brandon, I find it hard to believe. You run a tight ship and your men are loyal. I think they do precisely as you tell them. I’m not certain you are telling me exactly what you have planned.”
“Jarvis, the best plan is a flexible one. You are too rigid sometimes. What happened was for the greater good. These were bad people whom no one will miss. The world is a better place since they are gone.”
“What of the one innocent woman who died, Dona?”
“Collateral damage; a shame, but she was a woman who, in the next life, may find peace. She hardly had much of one from what I have heard in this one.”