by Marcia DM
“Sarah…” Bruno mumbles. “Just do it.”
“Yes, listen to him. Continue your work.”
“No!” I yell from the top of my lungs. “Do you think I want to torture him, instead of you? I’d fucking do a number on you. But guess what, working you won’t bring my mother back!”
“Yes! That’s it, give in to your anger.”
“Don’t you get it? You won’t get away with this. You’re making me torture the only family I have left, and for that I won’t forgive you.” Leon laughs hysterically. “Only a psychopath, not appreciated by his father, who treated him like shit, someone who doesn’t know what life is, means or feels, would laugh in a moment like thi—” Leon’s knuckles connect with my cheekbone before I can finish that sentence. I hit the ground, but at least the laughter stopped.
Two punches in the face on the same spot. I’m on a roll today…
Bruno starts to shake in his chair. The pain woke him up from his slumber and the rush of adrenaline is making him curse incredibly fast. It’s impossible to understand what he’s saying.
Leon picks me up. My legs are shaky, and the right side of my face feels like molten lava. Leon dusts my knees and with a sick tone he says, “Oh, Sarah. I didn’t really want to kill your mother. You see, she was extremely polite and kind with me when I visited her. But you see, you weren’t home. Remember? I wonder what you were doing in the exact moment I severed her head from her body. Fucking him, perhaps?” He points at Bruno. “Doesn’t matter now.” He walks back to the table. “I’m on the fence about what tool you should use next. Why don’t you come over and pick it yourself?”
I go towards the table. It has items of all shapes and sizes. Of all the items on it, I can make out a scalpel. Bruno used it to make little cuts on my arm, which will never completely heal, leaving scars on my skin for the rest of my life.
“Ahh, a scalpel. How very educated of you. The choice of a surgeon or a lethal, precise killer. Everything is a matter of perspective. Don’t you think?”
I walk towards Bruno; he’s not looking at me this time. Maybe because he’s mad at me, or perhaps he doesn’t wanna make me feel defeated.
I stand behind him, kneel and start to slowly cut his shoulder. He jerks his shoulder away in pain and I promptly stop.
“What do you think this is, a tattoo parlor? Continue.” The scalpel is extremely sharp and that little dab at Bruno’s shoulder makes a deep cut with almost no force applied. “I SAID, CONTINUE!”
I pull my act together and comply with his demand. But before I can hurt him more, I hear a loud noise and the ground shaking. The tools clatter on the table. I hold a scream mid-throat and look at Leon for instructions. Leon ignores me and tilts his head at Bad Blood, ‘go check what that was.’ Everybody in the room looks worried.
Everybody, but one.
Bruno.
He’s…
…smiling.
CHAPTER 35
SARAH
“Redbeard, what the fuck was that noise?” Bad Blood says on his radio. “Redbeard? Can you hear me? Does anyone know where the fuck is Redbeard!? Anyone!?”
“Quickly, go check what the hell that was!”
“I’m on it, boss.”
Bad Blood walks out and leaves us with Leon.
This is it! I have to do it now.
“Please, tell me this isn’t you, Professor. Because if it is, it will only bring you pain, the kind that does irreparable damage. And by that I mean I’m going to shoot her in the hea—”
“Me? How could it be me? I’m hogtied to a fucking chair. Aren’t I?” Bruno interrupts. Hearing his calm and confident voice is giving me courage. I still have the scalpel in my hand and a rope in front of me.
I have to do it now.
“Do not interrupt me. Don’t forget your place,” Leon says.
That’s right— keep arguing.
While Leon is still distracted, I start to slowly cut Bruno’s bindings.
“Or what? Are you going to torture me? Oh, wait! You already are,” Bruno says, and shifts his hand to give me more space. That means he notices!
“This is nothing compared with what’s coming your way.”
“You’re not gonna surprise me. I’m the one who taught you everything you know, and I didn’t even show you the big-boy stuff.”
“I believe you will be surprised. This is a case where the apprentice surpassed the master. Besides, think about it. It is one thing to be on the giving end of the pain, but it’s entirely different to be on the receiving end.”
“Hahahahahaha,” Bruno laughs hysterically.
“What is so funny?”
“Hahahaha. You think I didn’t try every single method on myself first? Hahahah—”
The laughing suddenly stops.
Leon looks extremely spooked, like someone who just saw a ghost.
“What happened, cat got your tongue? What would your father think if he saw you right now?” Leon remains silent. “He told me you wouldn’t amount to anything. That’s why he begged me to teach you my ways. He begged, like a dog.”
“You betrayed us!” Leon yells. “We trusted you, and you stabbed us in the bloody back!” He’s filled with anger. “My father would be proud of me. I’ve tracked and killed our traitor!”
“I ain’t dead yet, kiddo.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that. But soon I will kill this cow in front of you. After she tortures you for days.” He is so focused on arguing, that he still hasn’t noticed what we’re doing.
“You betrayed yourself when you fooled your mind into thinking you could pull that torturing shit on American soil and get away with it. Not on my watch, you pathetic little shithead.” Leon turns his back to us, takes a deep breath, regains his composure and faces back our way.
“You know what will happen when you pass out from pain?” Bruno says nothing. “I will rape her first. Once I’m satisfied, I’ll let the rest of the guys have a pass. I’m going to rip her to pieces and the screams will wake you up, only to be a helpless witness. How do you like that? Do you think I don’t have the balls to—”
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Another explosion? What’s going on?
The laptop shows a cloud of dust. Carter is lying on the ground and there’s literally a big hole in the wall. Suddenly, a massive shadow appears from outside and steps in. It’s a man. Tall. Long black hair. With extreme ferocity, he kicks the biker in the chest, who falls on the floor; then, he shoots the biker in the head once. He unties Carter, helps him up and on his way out, he walks towards the camera and crushes it with his hand, killing the video feed.
What the fuck?
“So… Professor… That counts as a squirrel. And since Carter decided to bolt, that means she dies now instead,” Leon says, still looking at the laptop.
“Aaaaaarhhhhhhh!” Bruno doesn’t let me finish cutting the rope; he breaks free and stands up in the same motion. Still grunting, he throws himself towards Leon. Leon reacts, but it’s too late— Bruno is already onto him. They both hit the ground and Leon has nothing to defend himself with. Bruno starts to throw punches and they are all connecting with Leon’s face.
“Say-that-shit-again. I-fucking-dare-you,” Bruno says while rhythmically punching Leon.
I’m mesmerized, unable to move. But I can feel what Bruno feels. His hands and mine are one. Every punch he throws feels like mine, as if it’s me swinging. I feel Bruno’s power on every blow, I feel my vengeance burning even harder, making my heart pound stronger. I don’t need to kill him myself. I’d rather watch this.
But my happiness fades away the minute Bad Blood returns, jumps in and tries to separate them. The three of them are grunting and panting. I join the fight only to receive an elbow to the face from Bad Blood. Bruno hears me scream in pain, shoves Leon to the wall and clings to Bad Blood. Bad Blood manages to break free from Bruno and pushes him back. Bruno falls down. His body must be feeling worn by the torture.
“Can you walk, b
oss?” Bad Blood says after picking Leon up. Leon looks like shit.
“Yes, I can.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“No! I have… need to kill this traitor.”
“Everybody’s dead out there, we need to go now!” Leon nods.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Bruno whispers, clearly in pain.
“Oh, please. Like you’re going to fight me in that condition, and protect this bitch.”
I crawl towards Bruno.
“If you follow us, you’re a dead man,” Bad Blood threatens.
“He won’t,” I reply before Bruno can.
“Listen to your bitch.”
They walk out.
We had him.
We really had him. We had the chance to remove a drop of evil from this glass of mediocrity that we call ‘life.’
We had him.
CHAPTER 36
BRUNO
The purr of a chopper engine sounds in the distance as Asad and Bad Blood escape, while we’re still stunned by the situation we just survived. Sarah remains silent and won’t let go of the scalpel.
“Babe, it’s okay. They’re gone,” I say, and approach her with caution. “Come on, give me the scalpel. You don’t need it anymore.” My voice finally reaches her, and she gives it to me. I surround her with my arms, holding tight. I really thought this was it, I feared I was never going to see her eyes, hear her voice, feel her touch ever again; or even worse, I’d see her die in front of me, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop it. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay!?” She wakes up from her trance and yells at me passionately. “Are you fucking kidding me!?” She snaps at me, which is kind of funny. “What’s so funny, asshole?” Maybe it’s not that funny.
“Nothing, it’s just… I’m happy we’re alive, and to be completely honest, you’re kinda cute when you’re angry.”
“Mmmmhm,” she mumbles; her face automatically changes from contempt to fear. “Your—”
“My hands are fine, don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s get out of this shithole.”
“Wait!” She runs to the table and takes Asad’s laptop. I’m so proud. “Might be useful.”
Fuck, I love her.
“Good thinking.” I grab her hand and we walk together through a hallway. Rage made a mess, no surprises there. The entire compound is still covered in a big cloud of dust, but not so thick as to prevent me from finding the exit.
When we get to the entrance, Redbeard, his two followers and two more bikers lie on the ground, dead; eyes wide open, big poodles of blood. All of them were armed, and yet there’s not a single bullet casing on the ground. They never saw him coming. The crackling sound of fire still burning the choppers mixes with Sarah’s screams of fear when she sees the bodies. “Don’t look at them, look up and walk straight.”
“Why’s everyone dead? Who did this?” She says.
“Not important right now. Let’s go, don’t stop,” I reply. A few seconds later, she gasps loudly.
“Where’s Carter!? We have to help him.” She stops short and pulls my arm.
“Ouch! Be gentle, please. You did just torture me, remember? He’s safe.” I chuckle.
“S— Sorry. But, safe? What do you mean, safe? That man— he looked… sinister.”
“Safe. That’s all that matters now, and we must get away from this place, pronto.” I give her a little pull and she follows me again.
We get to the car and jump right in. I open the glove box, pull my cell out and text Rage— WE’RE OUT.
Rage replies instantly: COPY. ENJOY. Explosions occur right after the text. The warehouse goes up in flames immediately.
“Oh, my God! What happened?”
“Tying up loose ends, that’s all. Let’s get the fuck out of here. Someone will report this soon enough.” We hit the road fast, put some distance between us and the shit show back there, and leave the Devil’s Head corpses to burn in Tartarus.
You’re probably thinking what happened back there looks like a plan or a military operation that went as expected and planned. But we really didn’t plan it like that at all. To be honest, it was more like, “I’ll be in there playing bait, you get to be the hunter.” We knew from intel gathered that there’d be around six to eight men. One at the door, probably a high-ranked member, a Sergeant at arms or similar, plus two low-ranked ones patrolling the front. Two extra low-ranked ones patrolling the back and one guarding Carter. That’s six, plus maybe two more inside the warehouse for shift covering or whatever. When we arrived, and I saw eight choppers, I knew our calculations were not mistaken, and I knew then that Rage would be able to handle them. Picking them up, one by one. That’s one of Rage’s many specialties— one shot one kill. He never misses. He probably only brought eight bullets, the cocky asshole. You might also think, “Wait, if Rage is so good at being stealthy, what’s the deal with the bombs?” Well, you see, Rage loves bullets, blood and bombs. As soon as I heard the first bomb going off, I knew it wouldn’t be long before Rage got to Carter. The rest was in my hands. But there’s something we didn’t plan or expect— Asad and Bad Blood getting away.
FUCK.
While I let my One-77 take me to the rendezvous point, I spy on Sarah out of the corner of my eye. She’s looking all around, frantically scanning everything that moves, waiting for Asad to jump in front of us.
“Babe, easy. You’re safe, and Carter is safe. Trust me.” She takes a deep breath.
“How can you be so sure, Bruno? How do you know he’s not following us?”
“Who, Asad? How could he? They ran out back in the opposite direction, scared.” I put my hand on her thigh, squeeze it a little and say, “They gave it their best shot and failed. I’d be shitting my pants if I were them. Plus, with the bashing I gave him, it’s going to take him at least a few days to open his eyes and actually see.” That does it. She looks reassured now.
We finally get there and I can see Rage’s Jeep Sahara —black as a shadow, tinted bullet-proof windows— parked in the alleyway waiting for us, just like we agreed. I park my car behind it and step out. “Stay here,” I tell Sarah before closing the door.
“Okay.”
Rage steps out of his vehicle and we meet halfway.
“Thanks, brother.” I thank Rage and we give each other a handshake. He nods. “The motherfucker ran off in the last minute, thanks to Bad Blood. That means, the hunt is not over for me yet.”
“I can track him down,” Rage points out.
“I know. How long until you locate him?”
“A couple of hours; three, tops.”
“That’s good. How’s my cousin?”
“Look for yourself.”
I peek through the backseat window and see Carter, beat, but breathing. I open the door and behind the swollen face I can still see his dandy smile.
“How are you feeling?”
“Peachy, cuz.”
“Okay. You don’t look so good, though.”
“You are one to talk. Have you looked into a mirror lately?”
“Uh-huh,” I turn around and signal Sarah to come over. She approaches the Sahara from the opposite side, opens the door and sees Carter.
“Oh, my God! You look like shit!”
“I know! I thought that was a spa. They ripped me off, but to be honest I still look more handsome than Bruno,” he says as she helps him get into my car.
Sarah’s laugh echoes through the alley. Rage observes them with a curious look on his face.
“I should get going. This shoulder of mine needs stitches,” I say to Rage.
He scoffs, gets into his Jeep and drives away. I watch him disappear as he turns left, still in disbelief that we’re safe and whole. I managed to get them back to safety thanks to the nightmare driving that Jeep.
Sarah’s voice brings me back to reality. I turn around and see her signaling me to hurry up. Carter looks at her and tries to laugh, but his laughter is interrupted by pain, his face shows it. I walk
towards the car and get in.
Blood makes you a relative, but loyalty makes you family; and there it is— my family, my happiness. My heart pounds in my chest; I breathe in all the air I can take and exhale all of it, renewing everything about me.
I wish Dante was here.
I turn around and face Carter. “You still look like shit… How are you holding up?” He really does. He doesn’t look like a playboy anymore; he can barely open his eyes, he has bruises all over— he looks like a goddamn rainbow.
“Yes, you said that before. There’s no way to get an instant un-fucked up. I’m alright, I guess… Thanks to the ‘bomb lover’ back there. Should I ask who that was?”
“You shouldn’t,” I reply. “Your place or mine?” That’s the usual question we ask each other when we’re in trouble. When we were kids, Carter always wanted to come over to my house, mostly because his father never welcomed him with open arms.
“Depends… Any vodka at home?” He asks.
“Nope.”
“My place it is.”
I notice Sarah looks at us like she’s watching a tennis match at Doctor Frank-N-Furter’s house. She looks terrified. But that’s who we are— complicated and simple at the same time.
I should leave Carter alone for the time being. His ego must be way down under a pile of shit, and a simple pat on the back is not gonna make him feel better. No, Carter’s routine involves getting black-out drunk, fuck a random woman he meets God knows where and feel like shit for a while.
Until something clicks.
I pull over at his place and ask Sarah to wait inside the car. I’ll be Carter’s crutch. Carter clings to my shoulder with one hand, grabs his ribs with the other and limps forward.
“I got this, you shouldn’t leave her alone.” I turn back and see Sarah looking at us with her worried eyes.
God, I love this woman.
“You’re right, I should get back.”
I turn around and he says, “Hey, listen. I… huh… just wanted to help and I fucked up.”
“You’re a D’Amico, you’re bound to fuck it up.” I throw a jab at his shoulder, making Carter chuckle and groan at the same time.