Page 14 of Nick

“Sorry for your loss.”

She waves me off. “She lived a full life. Now it’s just me and my useless father.”

“Is that who you are here with?”

The lady tuts at me. “Curiosity killed the cat, Nick. Be careful around here, but no, that’s my husband.”

Nodding, I decide not to ask any more questions.

“However, if you are curious and find me alluring, we can make arrangements. We have an agreement of sorts, my husband and I. I can use others to meet my needs. At his age, he finds it difficult to keep up with my voracious appetite,” she tells me as her hand goes from my wrist to my crotch.

Jumping up, I scowl at her. “I’m sure you’re aware of the rules, ma’am. Excuse me.”

She pouts as I walk away. Fuck my life.

Artur joins me at the buffet. “Problem?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Natasha often needs reminders of our rules.”

“I believe that.”

He walks away to chat with another couple as I grab another bottle of water. I wish I could help that young girl. Shortie would probably kick my ass for letting her go tonight, but it’s a complex situation. Since I haven’t heard from the FBI, I’m not sure what to do other than to make notes of names and faces. If I tried to do something tonight, I’d get the shit kicked out of me as the best case scenario. At worst, she or Gabs would disappear into the sex trafficking ring I'm pretty confident is happening. Bringing Mr. Fitzgerald and Artur down is the only way to ensure the situation ends permanently. With a little luck, this will all be over soon. I'll reach out to Fawx and let him know my suspicions when I update him later tonight.

After another week of dealing with a pissed off Patrick and my third Tuesday fight, I stroll a lot slower to my usual room to observe the other open rooms upstairs. The first seems to be just business discussions, and the second room has people playing poker.

I bypass my usual room so I can glimpse the other rooms. Three men are using the naked, tied-up woman in blue from last week on a movable cross. That’s a sight I wish I could erase from my mind.

Continuing on, I pass a few curtained off rooms, another open room with two men and a woman sitting at a table in heated discussions. A couple of empty rooms are next, followed by a room with two men watching a naked teen dance for them. The last room is open and empty. I only saw two girls from dinner earlier in the rooms, the two who were here last week. I wonder where the rest of the girls are? There were 8 total tonight. Most of the dinner guests are here, but not all. Maybe there's another area I haven't seen yet?

That completes the circle and leaves me back where I started, so I grab my usual cold bottle of water to watch the fights in my room. Artur isn’t inside, but a few people are talking and drinking. So we have drugs, human trafficking, sex, and illegal fighting so far. Quite the enterprise.

Chapter 12

One Friday night after my fight, Patrick drags me into his disgusting bedroom. “It’s almost time, son. Mr. Fitzgerald is about to get what he deserves. When the time comes, I expect you to back me without question. Then I’ll rule all of Tennessee,” he smiles.

“What are you planning?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Look, I’ve been here for months and done everything you asked without complaint. If you expect me to back you, then I need to know what’s going on. I won’t jeopardize the people in Charleston.”

He thinks it over, watching me. “Alright. I’ll give you something. I’m taking over the drug trade. I’ve been building a crew loyal to me as well as distributors who are tired of Mr. Fitzgerald taking too high a cut. Soon he’ll have to make an appearance at the bar, and I’ll take him out,” he smiles, a manic gleam in his eyes.

It won’t go the way Patrick wants. His ego is too big to realize how much smarter Mr. Fitzgerald is, not to mention Artur. I need a plan. Would it be better to inform Artur or keep quiet? My family's my priority, so I need to think this through. If Artur's as on top of things as he seems, he's probably already aware of the coup. I think the smartest move is to keep quiet and see how it plays out. I can always claim worry about my family.

Patrick calls me into his office the following Friday before the bar opens. I noticed more of his men hanging around than usual today. “It’s happening tonight. Be ready. After the fight, come find me and…” he says before there’s a commotion in the hallway. The door bursts open, and Artur enters with several men.

“Patrick, Nick,” he nods. “It seems we have a problem.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Artur. We were just discussing the fight,” Patrick smiles as his men enter the hallway, blocking Artur’s exit. I step back, flush against the wall, as a fight breaks out. Sliding along the walls, I make my way to the door and duck into the hallway. There are men everywhere fighting. A mixture of navy blue uniforms and people in regular clothes are trying to beat the shit out of each other. I do my best to wade through the men to make my way to the bar area so I’ll have more room and can see the extent of this mess. It’s an old fashioned brawl. Seems no one is carrying, which is strange. I've seen the navy clad men with weapons when we delivered the crates from the train station. Maybe that's the only instance where they're allowed weapons?

As soon as I step behind the bar, a guy comes towards me, swinging. He's in regular clothes, but I'm not familiar with his face. I don’t know most of these men, so I’m not sure which side this one's on, and I don’t have time to ask, as I duck under his right hook.

For the next several minutes or hours, I fight my way through the masses. Once I’ve knocked out another guy, I catch Artur in my periphery with a gun to Patrick’s head, walking him into the room. I don’t know why Artur thinks it’s a good idea to get in the middle of this, but before he can do anything, two things happen at once. A knife lodges in his upper arm, and a guy gets thrown into his side. The gun flies from his hand as he stumbles to the right, and Patrick takes the opportunity to get lost in the crowd. I drop to my knees, looking for where I saw the gun go, and I find it against the front side of the bar. Grabbing it, I need to find Patrick. This ends tonight.

Scanning the crowd, I see Artur stepping back through the hallway door with two men in front of him. There’s a group of men at the front doors huddled together, but I don’t see Patrick. When the front doors open, I head that way, knowing the bastard will run.