by Ben Swallow
What the hell just happened? Did he just leave us to die?
I look over to Bryan and see the same thoughts on his face. We don’t even have to say it, our eyes say it clearly enough. „Shit.”
After a few more moments, I finally break the silence.
„So… what do we do now?”
Bryan’s face turns grim and determined. „Now we stop playing games. We go to Cross himself.”
„You want to face the crime lord of Galmont by yourself? Are you mad?”
„Mad? What can he do, kill us?” Bryan chuckles drily. „He already has.”
I stare into his eyes and sigh. I guess he has a point. As much as I would enjoy spending my last day on earth with him in bed, I would prefer not dying at all.
„Alright. Let’s do this. Let’s kick his ass.”
I quickly grab my jacket while Bryan puts on a shirt, then we are already on our way to the Pit again. Or at least I thought so.
„Wait. This is not the way to the Pit. Where are we going?”
Bryan looks over me for a moment, one eyebrow raised. „Cross doesn’t live in the Pit. He can afford to live anywhere he wants. Hell, he even owns a fancy hotel.”
„Where does he live, then?”
„You’ll see.”
His lips are curled into a slight smile as he drives, like he is actually looking forward to this. My hands are trembling at the thought of facing down the crime lord of Galmont, possibly the most dangerous man in town.
My curiosity is only increasing as we pass through New Paradise and into what is commonly referred to in the Pit as the ‘Skyline’. The fanciest part of the city, where big office towers, expensive hotels, and other skyscrapers dominate the scene.
As we park in front of one of those skyscrapers, I can’t help but gasp. „No way a crime lord can just live here openly!”
Bryan looks over and chuckles. „Of course he can. That’s the kind of privilege money can buy. And don’t underestimate his influence. He has a certain… understanding with the city officials. He keeps crime under control and they leave him alone. Without him, gang wars would rip the Pit apart, so in a way, he’s in good standing with the Mayor”
„So he can just do whatever he wants?”
„Pretty much. Better him than someone else, I’d say. He’s not so bad, you’ll see.”
I’m still processing as we enter the building. I watch Bryan with a frown as he walks up to one of the security guards with a confidence I could never muster in a place like this.
The lobby looks like a mix between a luxury hotel and a high-class company building. Big sofas and chairs fill a waiting area, and the reception looks like straight from a spaceship with all the LED lights and built-in displays. The guards are subtle, but each a hunk of a man and armed with a pistol and a taser.
I’m a step behind Bryan as he approaches the guard, already imagining us being surrounded within seconds. But instead, the guard grins at Bryan and greets him with a fist-bump.
Before I even realize what is happening, the guard is already leading us up to floor 40 in the elevator. It’s not just almost ten times higher than the building I live in, I realize. According to the elevator, it’s the penthouse.
I follow Bryan trancelike as he steps out of the elevator and into a hallway. Four men stand guard left and right, all armed, looking at us suspiciously. They seem to ease up as the see Bryan, but maybe that’s just my imagination.
As we approach the big, metal doors at the end of the hallway, I whisper to Bryan. „Why do they all seem to know you? What is going on?”
„Well, Alice,” he chuckles, „I guess it’s time you meet my old boss.”
Before I can ask what he means, the doors in front of us open with a soft hiss, revealing the most powerful-looking room I have ever seen.
My heart skips a beat as I look into the room. It is huge, like nothing I have ever seen before. My eyes are immediately drawn to the exterior walls, which are entirely made of glass, so clear you can barely even see it. Instead, you look down on the city like a god, almost high enough to touch the clouds.
There are expensive-looking paintings on the wall, old statues and showcases are spread throughout the room. There is a vast arrangement of sofas and chairs around a table in front of us, big enough to provide a dozen people a place to comfortably sit together. I can see an open kitchen to my left, as big as my living room, and a spiral staircase with stairs made of glass leading up to a second floor above the living room.
And in the middle of it all, a man as powerful as the room.
„Bryan! It is good to see you again, especially in the company of a woman. Best not to repeat past mistakes.”
„Clayton. Yes, I do not plan on repeating history. I would love to catch up, but I’m afraid I don’t have the time for it.”
So now he’s on a first name basis with the crime lord of Galmont. I wonder how much else he hasn’t told me.
„I see you still like to speak plainly. Speak, then, but don’t forget who you are talking to.”
„I’m talking to a man of honor, am I not?”
Whatever else can be said about Bryan, he definitely has balls. He may be crazy, the challenging-the-most-powerful-criminal-in-town kind of crazy, but I can’t help but respect his courage. Cross doesn’t seem to agree, though.
With squinted eyes and clenched jaw, he stares at him for a second. „How dare you walk in here and question my honor.”
My heart is pounding with fear by now. With a look like that, even in an expensive, custom-tailored suit, Cross has an aura like a predator. Not the kind that stalks through the night, though. No, he’s the kind that kills without effort. The kind that has no enemies to fear.
And yet, Bryan is unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt in apparent calmness, pulling it to the side to reveal the black veins spreading over his chest.
„Then why have we not been healed? I was your trusted bodyguard for a year to work off my brother’s debt. Now you ask for another fifty grand, and we paid it with no complaint, overpaid even. And yet you let us die?”
Cross’ expression turns from angry to surprise as he sees the poison in Bryan’s veins. With a frown, he looks back and forth between us for a moment.
„Why are you coming to me with this?”
Now it’s Bryan looking at him in confusion. „You… you demanded my brother’s debt to be paid.”
Cross frowns back at him. „I honor my word. The debt is no more, you worked to pay it off.”
Bryan looks over to me in confusion, but I can only shrug. I have no idea what is going on, but apparently, neither do they.
„So… you did not send your men after us?” I dare to ask Cross.
„No,” he turns to me, looking down at my left hand. „It wasn’t on my command that you were marked for death. Who came for you?”
„Dahl. Is he not working for you anymore?” Bryan answers.
Cross’ expression turns from confusion to anger in just a moment. „That bastard. He has been trying to expand his territory, earn more independence. But considering his methods, I never granted it. I see he has taken matters into his own hands now.”
I would love to ask what will happen to us, if he can help us. But whatever happened, I still don’t have the courage to ask an angry crime lord for a favor. Or maybe I’m being smart, not lacking courage. I guess that is up for debate.
To my relief, after processing for a few seconds, Cross nods at us. „I know who is responsible for the mark. He used to work for me, before apparently, Dahl started paying him more than I do. I’ll send my men out to find him right away.”
I feel like a weight has been lifted from me. If he is determined to help us, I know we will be fine. There has to be a catch, though.
Just as I think that, he turns to Bryan. „Whatever happened, I do not wish to see you dead. However, you know how it works. I do you two a favor, you owe me. But as your time is rather limited, I will leave it at that for now. We can t
alk details when it is all done.”
„Thank you, Clayton. Whatever you need.”
Bryan and I sit down on the couch while Cross leaves to make a call. I still can’t believe that we just went to the head of the Syndicate, and he just helps us like that. I always imagined the lord of crime in Galmont a little more… menacing.
But I can’t complain. My chest has already started feeling uncomfortable, like a constant itch under the skin. I guess I don’t have much time left. I don’t want to say anything to Bryan though, no need to make him worry. I know how protective he gets, but we are already doing our best. There’s nothing more he can do.
I turn my head to watch him as he sits next to me, wringing his hands.
„So. Your old boss, huh?”
„Hard to believe, I know. It’s a long story.”
„When this is all over, I want to hear it.”
„Fine,” he chuckles. „It’s not that exciting though.”
Before I can respond, Cross strides back into the room. „Come on now. I know his location and my plan is set in motion.”
We quickly get up to follow him, back to the elevator and down into the garage. The way he walks still instills a bit of fear in me. Not just confident. He walks like a man who knows that no one and nothing can stop him. I wonder why he needed Bryan to protect him.
I was expecting a car as grand as his penthouse, either a big, fancy limousine, or maybe some high-tech battle-ready SUV. Instead, we get into a Maserati that somehow looks just like Cross. Aggressive, but in a noble way, not brutish. A car that has no equals in the streets of Galmont, just like him.
Bryan sits in the front with Cross, but to my surprise, not driving. That no chauffeur was waiting for us already has been surprising, but I never expected Cross to drive himself.
He must have seen my confused look in the rear mirror as he looks at me through it and says „I like to get things done myself. You see what happens if I don’t.”
I nod and quickly look away, still unable to hold his gaze. As we roll out of the garage of the building and onto the street, every passerby turns to stare at us. As we get out on the streets, Cross starts driving the way only someone like him in a car like this could.
We are far exceeding the speed limit, stopping for no red lights, weaving between cars on all lanes. I cling to Bryan’s seat in front of me, my entire body tense while I stare through the windshield in suppressed panic. Bryan seems to be rather relaxed, while Cross is fully enjoying the ride. He laughs every time he overtakes someone like he was in a race.
As we get closer to the Pit, all cars immediately swerve from the road as they see or hear us approach. They must already know who’s driving the car. But then suddenly, Cross slows down, and we roll the last minute quietly through the streets.
After he parks the car, he sits back and relaxes, only checking his watch occasionally. It seems weird that after a sprint like that, we would just sit here and wait. Why did we rush here like crazy, then? But I know better than to ask that.
After a seemingly random amount of time, Cross sits up and gets out of the car. „Alright, let’s go.”
Bryan and I quickly follow him as he starts striding away. Only as we walk around a corner do I realize where we are. We are going to the Black Moon!
As Cross throws the door open, all conversations inside stop immediately. I carefully close the door behind me as we follow him. I feel like a dog following their owner, the way we are constantly on his heels.
It’s funny to watch how he strides through the bar as if we were alone, never walking around anyone. But then again, he doesn’t have to. People move out of his way on their own, like he had an invisible magnetic field that pushed everyone to the side. A quick glance confirms that it’s not Bryan’s doing, though.
Then I finally see who he has in his sight. Without deviation, he has been walking in a straight path towards a man I now recognize. The thug who poisoned us.
I feel a little dizzy already, and although I tell myself that it’s just the bad air in the bar, I can’t help but wonder if that’s the poison beginning to kill me. I don’t worry too much, though. The man that is going to cure us is right in front of us, and how could he possibly say no to Cross?
As the thug realizes that he is Cross’ target, fear spreads on his face. He freezes, his beer half raised to his mouth, stopping for a moment, then falling out of his hand. As it shatters on the floor, the man jumps up and runs through the bar, pushing his way to what seems to be a back exit.
No! This can’t be happening, we are too close to fail now.
But as I look over to Cross, I see a satisfied smile on his face. He turns to us and nods.
„Go. My daughter should have him by now. You will get whatever it is you want. Just don’t kill him.”
His daughter? Why would he bring his daughter on a mission?
I stare at him in confusion for a second before I glance over to Bryan. He has a slight frown on his face but doesn’t seem as confused. I guess he knows how his old boss works.
Together, we briskly walk through the bar towards the back door, everyone getting out of our way the same way they did for Cross. It’s a weird feeling, especially since I’m used to having to work my way through crowds in the nightclub.
I can barely hold back a laugh as I remember when I was nothing but a hot waitress in a nightclub, dressing up so I would get tips. Now I’m rolling around with the head of the Syndicate, the boss of the biggest underground organization in town. I’ve definitely come far. Not sure if I like the direction, but as long as I can pay for my mother’s treatment, I won’t complain. I just wish my old boss would see me now.
I’m pulled from my thoughts as Bryan opens the back door and I step outside right behind him. A pretty young woman is standing there, apparently waiting for us. In front of her, the thug kneels and looks up to her like a dog waiting for a treat.
The woman must be Cross’ daughter, I realize. I somehow imagined a little child, but of course, she is almost as old as me, I would guess twenty-two, maybe twenty-three.
She looks at Bryan with a wide smile, completely ignoring me. „Hey Bryan. Did you miss me?”
„Of course, Joyce.”
I look over at him in confusion as I hear the total lack of emotion in his voice. What happened between them?
„Could you heal us now? The poison is starting to itch already.”
The girl, Joyce, steps closer to Bryan. As she starts unbuttoning his shirt, I can’t help but stare at her. I don’t understand why, but I feel somewhat betrayed, like she should not be allowed to get so close to him.
The feeling intensifies as she lets her hand run across his chest, now streaked by black veins reaching for his heart.
„Oh, that looks bad.” Turning to the thug, she commands him in an icy tone. „Heal him.”
The man immediately gets up and walks towards Bryan like a mindless drone. He takes Bryan’s hand, closes his eyes and concentrates. In relieve, I watch as the veins retreat from his chest, down his arms, and finally fade from his hand.
„Thank you,” Bryan sighs with relief.
„Oh? I had a different thank you in mind,” she smiles. Then she leans in to kiss him.
My insides turn cold as I stare at them, as she puts her arm around his shoulders, pulling him in closer. For whatever reason, this upsets me more than it should.
After a second, Bryan pulls back again, even though the girl barely lets him. „Please, you need to heal her, too.”
„Her!?” Joyce stares at me like she would like to rip my heart out simply for standing too close to Bryan.
„Without her, I wouldn’t be here with you anymore. I think she deserves to be healed in return.”
„Fine,” she scoffs as she points towards me, nodding at the thug.
As he touches my hand, I feel the pain in my chest fade away. I can almost feel the poison retreating through my body, fading out completely.
„Are you happy now?”
She leans in to Bryan again, but before she can press her lips on his, she suddenly recoils back.
I see Cross stepping out of the bar behind us as I glance back. The way he stares at his daughter and Bryan with disapproval, I can guess the reason why Bryan was fired.
„Thank you, Joyce. Leave us now, please, we have business matters to discuss.”
„See you soon, my love,” she whispers, blowing Bryan a kiss before she turns around and leaves. The thug follows her, still walking like a robot.
Cross looks after her with a frown for a few more moments before he turns to us.
„Now that you are healed, it’s time we discuss your end of the deal. I know Bryan is capable, and from what I’ve heard, so are you, Alice.”
I stare at him in surprise as he turns to me with a measuring look. I can’t believe he knows my name, or of my abilities. That’s what he must be referring to, right?
„So I have a job for you. One that will pay your debt to me, and if you do it well, might open the door for future opportunities.”
Bryan opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Cross continues. „I know, Bryan. It will not involve anyone getting hurt. I know that your talents lie elsewhere. But especially you, Alice, should have enough motivation to work for me. That money would surely benefit your mother greatly. So come into my office, tomorrow, 8 pm. We will talk details then.”
With that, he turns around and walks back through the bar, leaving us alone again.
I close my eyes for a second, sighing in relieve. I can’t believe it’s finally over, we are finally free from this creeping death in our veins. But I guess this adventure is far from over.
Opening my eyes again, I turn to Bryan. „What the hell was that?”
„Our part of the deal,” he frowns at me. „Cross said we’d owe him for helping us.”
„What? No, not that. Her.”
„Oh. Yeah. That was the crazy ex I’ve mentioned. She’s the reason I didn’t want to go to Cross directly. And if we are now working for Cross, she will make both our lives a living hell.”