Michael gulps loudly then says, “Seventy-sixth Cutters. They the local H dealers.”
“Why did they come after you Michael?”
“Be…Because…” he looks around himself, at the guys on the floor, and his mouth shuts.
I walk over to Michael and put a bullet into the couch cushion beside him. “Did I say you could stop talking Michael? All of it, right now. The truth. You stop talking again and I put a bullet in your stomach. That’s a long, painful death. Choose.”
“I owe them ‘bout fifty-thousand dollars. I was supposed to sell a bunch of heroin for ‘em, but the cops caught me and I snitched. Police want me to be a mole or some shit for ‘em.” He’s looking around the room. The guys sitting on the floor are all staring at him with jaws dropped and mouths open.
“What’s this have to do with Aaliyah?” I ask. “Why come for her?”
“Because I been hidin’ out, didn’t want to go near them. One of the big guys with them know me and know Aaliyah from school… So I bet he went for her to get me.”
“And since you’re a snitching little bitch he has to get to you through your family. But doesn’t know you have been written off by Aaliyah, so now she is in danger or worse. Mina could have been hurt or worse. The only two people in my world I care for, I would do anything for…”
He just stares at me, and I stare at him for a long moment. I look at the guys sitting on the floor and say, “Ya’ll welcome to help me rescue my girl. If not, get the fuck out.”
Not a single one of them stays. Like I said, fucking pussies.
I watch the guys leave and look back to Michael. “Your boys don’t look too loyal to you, or happy either.”
He mutters something but I let it go. He’s the same as them, a little pussy bitch.
“Okay, I need to get ahold of the Seventy-what-the-fuck-evers... How would I go about that?”
“You gotta call Tin-Tin. He the guy we know.”
“Number?”
He pulls up his phone from his pocket but I snatch it out of his hands as soon as he locates the number.
Turning my back to him, I start out of the apartment. I ask him as I get to the door, “You coming?”
He looks down to his lap and doesn’t say a fucking word.
* * *
I used to spend my days fucking around when I was between jobs—women, booze and late nights were my specialty. Shit, even during jobs I would fuck around if I could get away with it. There isn’t one person from my past, except for my best friend Lucky, who would believe that I have settled down to be family with Aaliyah and Mina. Shit, when I told her I think of Mina as mine I was absolutely honest with her. We’ve been together a couple of weeks and I think of her as my own. Color don’t mean shit to me, never has and never will. Neither does blood. Didn’t matter with Lucky either. We may have been raised by different parents but he was still my brother.
I have been catting around since I could sneak out of my house. I mean it too; I was chasing after girls from puberty onwards. Drinking isn’t foreign to me either, been doing that off and on since I could sneak a can from the fridge. Never did drugs, that shit’s for the fucking birds. I don’t think Aaliyah really notices I quit smoking because I didn’t do it around her. But those past vices have gone somewhere ever since I got to Cincinnati. I haven’t even thought about them since I met Aaliyah and Mina. For my girls I have stopped those things without even thinking about it.
Only reason I have even thought about needing a smoke is because I am trying to work a miracle. I’m sitting in a blacked out BMW, about ten miles from where Aaliyah is being held.
“Frank, I don’t give a fuck where the fucking armored car is. I want it right fucking now.”
“Seamus, I can’t get one just that quickly,” he says to me in an earnest voice.
“Frank, I don’t give a shit if you have to go on a fucking heist for one. I want it now.”
“Seamus, four hours is the…” he says back.
“Cancel the favor, plus all the money you gave me.”
There is absolute silence on the phone. “Christ, Seamus, what the hell are you getting yourself into?”
“Someone took my girl,” I say, my voice faintly cracking. Right now I have no clue what they are doing, but I know it isn’t good. I don’t care if I die saving her, but right now I don’t see us getting out easily. Not without her getting hurt. I don’t want to die, but for her and Mina, my life is useless without them.
“I’ll call you back,” he says and disconnects.
“Motherfucker!” I yell as I forcefully restrain myself from braking the phone up.
It’s been three hours since Aaliyah was taken and I’ve barely been able to control the rage in my body. I am not a calm man when it comes to these kinds of emotions. But right now I know that going berserk will only get Aaliyah hurt or worse.
Fucking god damn!
My phone vibrates in my lap about an hour later. Picking it up and swiping it open I say, “Frank.”
“What is your current location?” he asks.
Telling him the cross-street I am at, I ask, “How soon?”
“One hour, full tactical load out. Do you need soldiers?” he asks, and it’s like fucking sweet music to my ears.
“No, on the soldiers. I need all the gear. Vest for me and another. I’m going to possibly need a doctor at the end of this too.”
“Got it, I’ll get one moving for you. Total cost is a million point five.”
“Fuck me… Who’s soul did you sell to get this done?” I ask wondering but truthfully it could be mine for all I care. Aaliyah is what matters now.
“Seamus, my boy, if you only knew,” he laughs out loud and I get a weird feeling about it.
“Shit,” I say.
“Talk to you later.”
“Yeah, about that…” I say and give him a shopping list of shit I will be needing as soon as I am done with getting my girl back.
* * *
A dull black colored armored vehicle pulls up behind me. The driver is an old friend. She hops down, out of the truck.
I climb out of the BMW quickly and say, “Doc! Good seeing you again.”
“You too,” Rose says as she motions me to the truck. It’s the middle of day but since time is of the essence I don’t really care about the whole being sneaky shit.
“Hop in,” she says.
Climbing up into the truck, she holds her hands out. “Give me the keys to the car. How hot is it?”
She’s asking how recently have I stolen it.
“Pretty hot,” I say.
“Got it.” She starts walking to the car. Over her shoulder she tells me, “Call Frank soon as you’re done. I will come get you in a safe car.”
Nodding my head, “Tell Frank I need a safe house too.”
She nods and gets into the vehicle. Pulling away quickly, she is gone before I really notice.
I peek into the back of the vehicle and smile. Yeah, Frank knows my full tactical setup for something like this. I climb into the back and strap myself into a bulletproof vest before loading out the ammo clips into the AR-15 fully automatic rifles.
I hop into the front seat and shift it into drive. This fucking thing is heavy and sluggish but is built like a fucking vault on wheels.
* * *
I don’t even get looks from those I drive by or any of the cop cars I pass. I mean from the outside this thing looks like any other armored car except it doesn’t have a single emblem on it.
The first time any eyes are raised a bit is when I start driving it into the slums. Shit like what I am driving doesn’t come through here. The closer I get towards the apartment where Aaliyah is, people are no longer merely curious, they’re moving quickly away from the roads. They probably figure I am SWAT. That’s good because I want people avoiding the place I am at.
Idling the car across the way from the apartment building, I watch the guys up on the second floor balcony, and two men on the roof, take notice of
me. I give ‘em a little wave as I shift the car into first gear. I know it’s going to play hell on the engine but I need it to get to speed nice and fast.
Holding down the gas pedal, I don’t bother using the break as I jump the vehicle over the curb and then through the more dirt than grass front lawn of the building. Good thing I put on my seat belt. I get slammed forward as I fly right through the front left apartment porch window and frame.
I will say this about the old brick building I drive into; it’s made of some sturdy shit. Not sturdy enough to stop me from making it about four feet into the living room. But pretty good stoppage, none the less.
I see four guys sprawled out around the vehicle as I push the door open and hop out. Immediately, I hear two rounds hitting the back of the armored car. Guess they aren’t surprised anymore. Each guy in the living room earns two taps to the chest and one to the head from the rifle. Dead and dead is good for me.
I hear Aaliyah’s garbled cry out, “Seamus…” from the rooms beyond the living room. I want to go there but I feel more than hear a bullet whiz by my ear.
Dropping and spinning around, I put two bullets into the stomach of a guy whose pants are way below his hips. He drops to the ground and as soon as I see his face I put another bullet right through his eye.
More bullets hit the back of the vehicle on the other side, and as I check under I see a couple of legs standing about fifty feet from it. Shooting at their calves and ankles, two drop, and another one takes flight away from the bullets and death. I put a few bullets into the fallen torsos of the guys and then turn back for Aaliyah.
I am death right now, fuck any who get in my way of Aaliyah.
Moving slowly towards the bedroom, a male voice yells out, “Who the fuck out there?”
Not answering, I grab a baseball cap from a dead body and toss it into the room at about head height. Five wild shots ring out form the room and as soon as they finish I yell, “Aaliyah, be right there baby.”
“I’m going to kill this bitch, man! You come in here and drop your piece!”
Fuck that. I come to the edge of the room and walk right in. I lift my AR-15 to my shoulder. Aaliyah is looking bad. Blood is all over her face and I swear most of it is so swollen I can barely see my baby. I look into her eyes instead of his and say quietly, “Stay still, baby.”
He shifts his hand on the gun as he starts to talk, “Who the…”
Don’t know who he is, and I don’t care. I pull the trigger of the rifle and it puts a near perfect through the hand holding his gun. I watch as the gun drops out of his hand and falls to the floor. Fucker would have been smarter to have held his finger on the trigger. He lets go of Aaliyah as the pain races through his body. He is feeling all those painful little nerves light up in misery.
Quickly moving to her side, I sit her back down into what must have been her torture chair. The fucker tortured her.
Movement outside the room draws my attention as a guy tries to get a view of what is happening in the room. I shoot him through the throat.
I look back to the guy sitting on the bed, howling in pain. He ain’t dead yet. That’s not good for him.
Walking over, I put a bullet straight through his foot. I don’t think he registers what happened for a few seconds, then the screaming intensifies. A bullet through the elbow of the arm that’s holding down onto his foot stops him cold. I think he passes out but I don’t give a fuck. This piece of shit hurt my girl, my woman. I don’t give a fuck about Michael or his deals or being a piece of shit, cunt ass pussy motherfucker.
Walking over to him, I place the extremely hot barrel of the rifle against his cheek and watch as it sizzles. He wakes, quickly screaming, his bad hand slapping up to touch his cheek. It’s funny to see his reaction when that causes even more pain.
A bullet through his balls comes next, his eyes rolling back in his head follows that. I debate leaving him there like that. He will be the nutless gang boy. No, this piece of shit hurt my woman. Mine, no one else’s. His string to Aaliyah needs to be cut. I don’t give a fuck if they hunt Michael down and kill him, he is a lost cause. He will never be able to give them any information to where we are going to be.
I place the barrel against Tin-Tin’s forehead. His eyes are slowly opening as I smile at him and pull the trigger. Turning from him, I lift Aaliyah up in my arms and make sure I can still shoot my rifle that is under her legs.
Moving quickly out of the room to see all the collateral damage, it doesn’t slow me much as I run first to the passenger door. I put her in the vehicle then move to the driver’s side door. Hopping in, I lock us up. Slamming the vehicle into reverse, the wheel’s screech and the metal of the roof and sides squeal loudly as the hulking vault on wheels rips itself from the apartment.
We move quickly backwards as we drive through the yard and over the curbs. A couple of rounds hit the windshield and engine hood but don’t do anything but mar the paint. I laugh as I give them the finger. Stupid fucking cunts can all die.
I slam the gears into drive and rip down the road. My hand goes to console as I grab my phone, pushing the number I had left up on the screen.
“Seamus, done so soon?”
“Where can I drop the armored car off? I need an extraction with Rose. One wounded.”
He tells me where and I quickly look over at Aaliyah. She is so broken looking right now my heart is falling through the floor of the car. She is only sitting in her seat because of the belt wrapped across her chest and waist. She is slumped over and I’m guessing has passed out because of all the pain. Her chest rises and falls normally, thankfully.
“Frank, I need you to pick up two extras. One a child, age one and a half, the other elderly. Tell her I sent your guys. Bring them to the safe house.”
“Got it.”
We disconnect and I drive as fast as I can to the drop point for the vehicle. I don’t see a tail but I don’t want to take any chances. I circle around the area and try to make my path there as random as possible.
* * *
Rose comes out of the bedroom Aaliyah is resting in, wiping her hands on a towel. She was in there a long time with my girl. She smiles as she squats down in front of Mina and I. We have been playing dolls and dragons for a long while now, since Mrs. Robins went to lay down and rest in a spare room.
“Everything is going to be okay, Seamus. She looks like hell right now, but besides a couple of stitches here and there things are okay with her face…” She play tickles at Mina which thankfully elicits a good response from my little monster. Mina giggles and skooches away.
“What about her body?” I have to ask because I saw the bruises all over her chest and ribs.
“Couple of cracked ribs, that’s it. Nothing else that I can tell. We could always get some imaging done, but I don’t think it’s needed right now.”
Nodding my head, I look from her face and out the window. It’s dark out there but thankfully peaceful.
Looking back to her I ask, “Good, anything else we can do for her right now?”
Shaking her head, “No, I got fluids going in her, and I have a good pain med in the IV. She will be out for a while. It should help her rest and recover.”
I smile as I stand, swooping up Mina into my arms. It’s a good thing Frank knows how to stock a safe house. I smile at Rose with my most winning smile and ask, “Mind watching over Mina for a couple minutes while I go see Aaliyah?”
For all of Rose’s confidence, she blanches. “Um… I’m not really that good with kids. I can tickle but that’s about it.”
Laughing, I say, “That’s not a bad thing at all. All this one likes to do is growl.”
Helping a smiling Mina into Roses arms, I ask, “You ever cooked spaghetti? That’s mine and Mina’s favorite food.”
Rose’s eyes go wide at me. I laugh loudly before heading into the bedroom.
There, I freeze for only a moment—it hurts to see her like this. But I am positive she is going to be okay. I would fucking ki
ll god and the devil himself if I had to. She is not leaving my side again. I kiss her lightly on her cheek then her forehead. I stand up and turn to help with dinner.
A small moan has me turning back quickly to Aaliyah. Her eyes are open and her lips are in a small smile.
I kneel down beside her, “You okay, baby?”
She moves her head slowly in a nod. “Yes.”
I lift her hand and kiss it with all my heart.
“You need to rest,” I say quietly.
“I…” she says even quieter than I had spoken.
“Baby…”
“I…” she starts again, this time her voice is stronger, but still so weak. “I knew you would come for me.”
A tear trickles down my cheek as I think of how long she had to suffer because of me. Because I couldn’t be fast enough to get her out of that hell.
She raises her hand and wipes it away. “I love you, Seamus.”
“I love you.” And with all my heart I mean it.
Fuck, I hate emotions. I hate being all lovey-dovey. But Aaliyah is dragging it out of me.
She closes her eyes, the medicine taking her back to sleepy land. She mumbles, “And my bed doesn’t suck.”
I laugh quietly as I release her hand and head out to help Rose with dinner.
Epilogue
Aaliyah
The pain was pretty bad for the first few days. The swelling all over my face freaked Mina out pretty good. But the cracked ribs were the worst of the problems. Every time she would climb on me or I would bend down to pick her up, the pain would make me gasp and just about collapse.
I didn’t like having to rely on Seamus so heavily, but I did. Mrs. Robins was a godsend though when it came to helping me out while Seamus would leave to take care of all the stuff caused by Michael.
Where to even start with all the drama Michael created by being so stupid and selfish? He screwed up so bad with the gangs around here that his body was found in front of a police station, barely alive. I think whoever left him there thought he would die before he was found. He got real lucky. Real fucking lucky. Because if I found him myself, I would have killed him. He put me and my family in jeopardy. His stupid, brainless head got me tortured, almost murdered. I can’t simply ever forgive that. I called his hospital room and told him I was leaving. When he asked where I said I was moving on with my family, then I hung up.
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