by J. L. Drake
She turned and walked over to the table the cooler was on. She picked up her cell phone and pressed the number that would speed dial Roger and his partner, Jack Parsons. He answered on the first ring.
“I have meat to deliver,” she said with a smirk and a glance at the man on the floor.
Chapter 3
A faint tapping barely made it through the motel room door as someone knocked. Moving cautiously forward, Sonya reached up and spread the ugly, thick curtain covering the large window of her room. Two large, tall, muscular men were standing outside.
She moved over to the door and opened it quickly. “What the hell took you two so long?” she snarled, motioning the men forward into the room before closing the door behind them.
“Keep your panties on,” Roger said, and laughed. “You look good with dark hair and eyes, by the way.”
“Whatever,” she snapped, and stalked over to the table to slip on a pair of rubber gloves. “Get him out of here so I can clean this place.” She nodded toward the man lying on the floor beside the bed.
Jack stepped over to the man, dropped a folded duffle bag on the floor, and looked down at him. “Got us a big one this time—older than normal too. Are ya slippin’? Can’t ya get the young ones anymore?”
Roger laughed, but choked it back when she spun to glare at them with hostility scrawled across her features.
“I’m not slipping, you ass!” she ranted. “He was off by himself, and since this was our first ‘pick up’ here in Pittsburgh, I thought I’d better get in and out fast. I didn’t want to get noticed or draw attention, now did I?”
Jack smiled and crossed his arms across his chest, staring at her. “What’s got ya all pissy? Didn’t he tickle your fancy? I mean…he’s such a stud and all. Since he apparently didn’t please ya, I’m willin’ to take a stab at makin’ ya happy.” He winked at her and watched her face darken as her anger intensified.
“In your dreams, fucker,” she hissed with her hands balled into tight fists at her sides. “Keep talking to me like that and I’ll beat your face in with the four-inch heel of my shoe.”
At that Roger and Jack both bent over laughing.
“You’re both assholes. Do your job and get that bastard out of here.”
She turned and stomped into the bathroom with a container of disinfectant wipes.
“I don’t think she finds you attractive, Jack,” Roger squeaked out, still laughing.
Jack gasped for air and wiped a tear from his eye. “I don’t think I could ever match up to this guy,” he said, and motioned to the man on the floor. “If this is what she’s lookin’ for, I’ll never be her type.”
“I can still hear you!” Sonya hollered from the bathroom.
This caused them both to start laughing again, just as they were starting to get their mirth under control. When they finally calmed down again, they maneuvered Bill’s body into the large duffle bag they’d brought with them. It took some finagling, but they finally managed to get the portly man encased in the bag.
“A little help, princess,” Roger called, and Jack chuckled. “We need you to open the door.”
With an audible huff—even though she was in the next room—she stomped out and tugged the motel room door open.
The men lifted the bulging canvas bag and headed out the door hastily.
Jack smiled suggestively as he passed her. “I’ll be waitin’ for ya,” he said.
She ignored him, but he saw the tightening of her lips across her teeth and he knew she’d heard what he’d said. His laugh carried easily on the cool air of the quiet night, and she shut the door behind them to silence it.
***
Shrugging off Jack’s smartass remarks, Sonya got to work cleaning the rest of the room. She’d finished in the bathroom already, since there hadn’t been much in there she’d touched. Besides, all the smooth surfaces were easy to remove fingerprints from and she’d been doing the cleanup sweeps for years—she was a pro.
She grabbed a roll of clear box tape out of the small suitcase she’d stashed in the closet when she’d arrived, and unrolled a generous amount around one of her hands with the sticky side out. She then pressed the hand with the tape to the bedspread to lift any fibers or hair from where Bill had been on the bed and then on the floor, after which, she pulled the tape off, threw it in the trash, and pulled a small vacuum out of the case. She plugged it in and vacuumed the motel room to pick up any other stray strands of hair or particles.
Satisfied that she’d done the best she could with the room, she packed everything up, grabbed the trash can liner with all her trash in it, and deserted the room, wiping down the door and knobs with another disinfectant wipe as she headed out. After stowing the trash, cooler, and case in the trunk of her car, she wiped off the room key and put it in the drop box by the motel office.
***
“You really shouldn’t tease her so much,” Roger told Jack as they maneuvered Bill down the narrow outdoor stairway of the motel. “Someday she’ll drug your ass and have you stripped for parts.”
“As long as she strips me,” Jack joked, being careful as they descended. “She may be a vicious bitch, but she’s hot.”
Roger sighed and shook his head, knowing Jack wasn’t going to listen no matter what he said. Jack was the newest man on their crew, since Peter had decided to quit and take up a “real life”—as he put it—in Ohio. Roger knew Peter’s decision had more to do with a woman he’d met than anything else, and he’d wanted to go legit before things got hairy.
Glancing at Jack again as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Roger contemplated how far Sonya would allow him to push her before she pushed back. He’d known her for three years and she scared the shit out of him. There was something broken in her that he couldn’t place. It wasn’t so much that she was crazy, it was more that she did sadistic things to anyone she felt like with no remorse. He honestly believed she enjoyed shredding people’s bodies. He’d watched her do it once, assisting Dr. Jennings in “surgery,” and it was enough to turn him off the woman no matter how good looking and seductive she was. Over time they’d settled into a kind of brother/sister relationship. He was fine with that and never thought about anything more.
“Are they always this heavy?” Jack asked with a grunt after accidently stubbing his toe on a concrete parking stop, stumbling, and bringing Roger’s thoughts back to the present.
“No, they’re various sizes, actually,” Roger replied. “It could be worse…he could be this heavy and really tall.”
“True,” Jack said, straining a little harder to keep ahold of the bag since his grip had slipped a bit when he’d stumbled. “Can you get the doors?” He nodded toward the white van they’d arrived in.
Roger nodded, bent over, and put his end of the bag down on the ground. Jack did the same. Once Roger had the doors open, they lifted the duffle bag into the back of the van.
After they shut the doors again, they looked around to make sure no one had noticed their movements. No lights were on and the only noise that could be heard was the sound of sporadic traffic on the nearby street beyond the short concrete block wall that shielded the motel’s parking lot from the general public.
After a silent nod as they agreed there was no immediate threat, the men walked around each side of the van to climb into the front.
Jack drove two miles to an abandoned manufacturing district and continued to the building they’d set up the surgical room in for the “operations.” They were just pulling into the cracked, warped parking lot when Jack spoke again.
“Do ya think Sonya would go out with me?” he asked.
Roger shook his head. “That depends. How strong is this death wish you have?”
Jack frowned. “She can’t be that bad. Come on, she’s just one woman.”
“One woman who would kill you just because she took the notion to,” Roger said, trying to make Jack see reason. “Watch yourself with her unless you want to be in his predicament.” He n
odded to the cargo area behind them.
Jack flexed the muscles of his strong arms as he brought the van to a halt close to the docking bays of the building. “I think I can handle her.”
Sighing, Roger gave up trying to make Jack see reason—he apparently needed to learn on his own how dangerous Sonya could be.
They got out—not even bothering with being quiet, since there was no one in any of the buildings around them—and pulled open the back doors of the van. Together they pulled Bill out unceremoniously and started carrying him toward the ramp that led up to the door.
“Did you call Jennings?” Roger asked.
“Shit!” Jack exclaimed. “I knew there was somethin’ I’d forgotten.”
Roger rolled his eyes and bit his tongue, not wanting to berate the man, but damn it, he was tired of having to remind Jack of everything. He missed the smooth efficiency he’d had working with Peter. He’d accepted the fact he’d have a new partner to work with when Peter quit, and he and Jack did get along rather well, but it wasn’t the same as before.
“We’ll get him inside and then we’ll call,” Roger said, keeping his tone flat and even.
“I’m sorry I forgot, man,” Jack said.
“Maybe you should worry more about your job and less about Sonya and whether or not you can get her into bed,” Roger snapped as he bumped his elbow on a pointed, rusted piece of metal railing.
“Geez,” Jack grumbled, “there’s no need to get all touchy and personal about it. I just forgot.”
“I know,” Roger sighed. “I’m sorry. I just hope Sonya gets here before this guy wakes up. She’ll be able to give him more drugs while we wait for Jennings, if need be.”
“Hell,” Jack said, grinning, “I can knock the guy back out. One good punch and he’ll be in la-la land for hours.”
“We can’t do that,” Roger said. “Hitting him would damage too much tissue—you’d be surprised how much they can harvest and we can make money on.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Roger said, pausing to unlock the padlock they’d put on the door. “It’s amazing actually.”
“But they make really good money off the parts, right?” Jack asked. “I’m just asking ‘cause that Jennings guy promised me a lot of money, and it kinda made me nervous he couldn’t deliver.”
Roger laughed as they entered the building and carried Bill around an array of broken down, rotting factory equipment. “You’ll get your money—don’t worry about that. Just keep your mouth shut and your head down and you’ll make a killing.” He snorted at his witty innuendo.
“I can handle that,” Jack said.
They climbed into an old elevator approximately halfway through the main floor of the defunct facility, and after closing the gated door, hit a button and started descending.
“When should I call Jennings?” Jack asked.
“We’ll get this guy downstairs on the table, ready to strip, then we’ll call,” Roger said. “I’ll call Sonya too, to see how far away she is, just in case.”
“How long does it usually take her to clean a room and get out?”
“Usually around fifteen minutes,” Roger said with a shrug. “She’s pretty damn good at it.”
They stopped talking when the elevator came to a halt with a bump. Roger pushed open the gated door and helped carry Bill out into the large, musty basement. They laid him down on a plastic-covered table and Jack flipped the master switch on one of the generators, which caused bright light to flood the room.
They both took a moment to make their calls. Roger was done first and started to strip Bill’s clothes from his body; Jack joined him in his efforts after he too ended his call.
“Jennings will be here in a half hour, max,” Jack said, frowning down at the man in front of them. “Ya don’t think she actually has sex with them, do ya?”
Roger made a sound of disgust in his throat. “I sure hope not. Some of them have been pretty nasty.”
Jack laughed. “How far away is she?”
“She’s just pulling out of the motel parking lot and will be here soon.”
“What do we do after we get Mr. Stud, here, naked?” Jack asked, trying to distance himself from the task.
“We’ll wash him and tie him down to the operating table,” Roger said. “Why? You having issues with this part of the job? If so, just think about all the money you’re making and it will be a lot easier.”
Jack nodded and did what he had to do.
***
Sonya threw her cell phone into the passenger’s seat with a growl of angry frustration; it landed on the black wig she’d taken off once she’d gotten in the car. Jack hadn’t called Jennings, which cost them extra time. Doesn’t he know we’re supposed to be as quick and efficient as possible? she thought, tightening her grip on the steering wheel.
Her foot pressed down harder on the accelerator as she thought of all the things she’d like to do to Jack. All the things that would make him scream and beg for mercy. She knew she couldn’t carry them out right now because they needed him for jobs, but when the jobs were over, she planned to have a little fun with him.
She sped through the dark, almost deserted streets toward the abandoned brick factory they were using, to assist in the operation when Dr. Jennings arrived.
She pulled her blue compact car in beside the white van and climbed out, thinking about what she had planned for Jack—he’d pay a dear price for pissing her off. She planned to scare the living shit out of him and make him remember his duties―at least until she could do what she really wanted.
Following the same route the men had taken earlier, she was soon opening the gated door, exiting the elevator, and stepping into the basement. Completely ignoring Roger, she marched right up to Jack with a saucy smile on her face. She reached up, cupped the back of his neck with one of her hands, and kissed him, letting her other hand trail down his chest toward his crotch.
When she pulled away slightly and smiled up at him, he smiled back and said, “I knew ya’d come ‘round, babe,” right before he cried out in pain and fell to his knees.
Chapter 4
“Sonya!” Roger yelled, and stepped forward to make sure Jack was all right. “What are you thinking? We need him to be able to work.”
She backed away from Jack with a smirk on her face and blood on her hand.
“Fuck!” Roger yelled again. “He’s bleeding! What did you do?” He turned to look at her and noted the blood on her hand and a small scalpel blade protruding from her fingers.
“Oh, he’ll be all right,” she said, blinking innocently at Roger and smiling. “It’s not a deep wound.”
“Ya crazy bitch,” Jack wheezed as he tried to climb to his feet, cupping his testicles with his hand. “Ya stabbed me in the fuckin’ balls!” He teetered for a moment as the room spun around him before he fell to the floor again with an agonized grunt.
Sonya pursed her lips and made a tsking sound. “Ah, poor baby.”
“That’s enough,” Roger barked, stepping up to Sonya and glaring at her. “You can’t go around stabbing men in the balls. I mean, you could really mess him up.”
Her gaze never wavered from his and he noted there was no remorse in the depths of her green eyes.
“Can’t I?” she asked sweetly, standing taller. “Because I just did. You really are blowing this out of proportion. I barely broke the skin. He’s in so much pain because it’s a sensitive area. Hell, all he’ll need is a bandage.”
Roger dragged his hands through his thick black hair and growled, knowing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. In her mind she’d done nothing wrong. She’d only given Jack what he deserved. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before asking her what he really wanted to know.
“Why?” he asked, trying to calm himself, glancing at Jack who was lying on the floor, covered with sweat. “Why did you do that to him?”
Sonya laughed, slid the scalpel out of the sleeve of the jacket she’d donned
before leaving the motel, and held the cold steel blade coated in blood in front of her face.
“He forgot to call Jennings,” she said flatly. “He won’t forget to do his job next time, now will he?”
Roger frowned. “So…this has nothing to do with him teasing you earlier?”
“Please!” she exclaimed, and rolled her eyes. “You guys acting like children isn’t worth stabbing someone over.” She shook her head at him like he was a wayward toddler. “I don’t like the teasing, but him not doing his job really pisses me off. We have to be careful and pay attention, and he wasn’t.” With a shrug she stepped around Roger and knelt beside Jack. She cupped his chin in her hand and showed him his blood on the scalpel. “You think this was bad? Fail to do your job right again and you’ll get worse. Do you understand?”
Jack glared at her with anger sizzling in his eyes, which kept his fear of her hidden. He didn’t answer.
“Do you understand?” she screamed in his face, bringing the blade close to his nose so he could smell the blood.
“Yes,” he ground out.
“Good,” she chirped, letting go of him and standing. “I’d hate to have to cut your balls off.”
“What’s going on here?” a masculine voice boomed.
They all turned to the source of the voice to see a gray-haired man who looked to be in his mid-forties—Dr. Jennings had arrived.
“Nothing,” Sonya said, smiling and walking away from the men to go take a shower and change into scrubs.
Roger and Jack looked at each other, and then back at Jennings, not saying a word.
“Why’s he bleeding?” Jennings asked with a slight frown, motioning to Jack. “He could contaminate the surgical area.”
Roger sighed deeply and dragged his hands through his hair again. “Sonya,” he said with a shrug.
Jennings smiled and looked down at Jack. “What did you do to piss her off? Did you learn your lesson? I hope so, because I don’t need this shit happening on a regular basis. We run a tight ship here and you’re either onboard or you aren’t. I can find another thug to do my dirty work if I need to.”