Page 81 of Burn With Me

The rage continued to simmer throughout my body, creating an energy that refused to be contained. I was done waiting.

Pushing open the car door, I grabbed the small pack I needed and marched across the street and down a walkway that connected the streets. There was an overgrown bush poking through the fence, and I stuck my arm inside and grabbed the baseball bat and my second backpack. The hideout was essentially a shithole of a home that Benny didn’t stay at all the time, but tonight was Wednesday, and the intel I’d gathered said he always came here to play with the girls midweek, without fail.

It was a rundown piece of shit of a neighbourhood. One of those spots that the cops knew had drugs, gangs and whatever else going on, but a lone officer patrolling this area would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. The chances of the officer making it out alive were somewhere between slim and none. Even if the girls had happened to escape, they’d never actually be free. They’d be caught before they made it to the end of the street.

My hand slipped into my pocket, and I pulled out my phone to check the camera feed. Sure, enough, Benny was with each girl chained in the room and sleeping on the floor like large dogs with him. Meanwhile, he slept comfortably in a king-sized bed. This would be the last night that he slept so soundly.

Pulling the black mask down into place, I became one with the shadows. Through my freedom, I’d learned that I needed to be unseen. The ability to blend with the crowd when I didn’t belong had become my art.

Stepping from one shadow to the next, it felt like I was playing a child’s game. I dipped low under windows and made sure to avoid the range of the motion detectors that would flash on if I moved into their line of sight. There were multiple cameras set-up, but I’d brought my handy scrambler with me and currently had it in my backpack. It would seem like nothing more than a static glitch as I passed by the place.

Reaching the back door for my target, I pulled out the key I’d made earlier and slipped it into the lock. With a soft click and the whispered whoosh of the door opening, I was inside the house. What was it with bag guys that they felt like they had to live like pigs. The place was disgusting with dirt and grime so thick that you felt yourself getting a disease just staring at it. Bags of garbage that reeked lined the back hall. Were they planning on simply burying themselves in garbage or once the house got too full simply move to the next?

I shook my head as I closed the door behind me. The television was indeed on in the kitchen, the sound of laughter from some sort of sit-com drowning out any sound my boots may have made as I moved. The house was dark except for the light that was glowing softly from the kitchen area.

“I need ta take a piss. I’ll be right back,” one of the guards said.

“Again? Man you need to get that shit checked out. It’s not normal to go that often.”

“Whatever.”

Stepping into the enclave that had a door leading to the basement, I became perfectly still as the man heading to the washroom walked right past my hiding place. I could make out his face clearly as he sucked in on the cigarette hanging from his mouth. The little tip glowed brightly in the darkness. He belched loudly, disappearing inside the small bathroom that stank of piss. It was rank as he opened and closed the door.

Moving quickly, I snuck from my little hiding spot and stepped into the kitchen behind the guy sitting at the table.

“Hey can you grab me a beer,” the guy asked as the board under my foot squeaked.

“No more beer for you,” I said my voice low and raspy.

They guy only got his head partially turned when my baseball bat connected with the side of his head. One blow and the guy was out cold or dead. I didn’t really care which as long as he remained quiet. Falling forward, I saw his body hit the table and smash into the pizza boxes that were probably from their dinner tonight. A little bit of blood dripped from his nose and I swung the bat around in my hand tempted to take another strike, but I heard the bathroom door open and the fan turn off.

If this idiot had been paying attention, then maybe he would’ve stood a chance. I managed to get into position beside the door before the glowing cigarette made it around the corner.

“You want a beer man,” the guy called out. Of course, there was no answer. “Yo, did ya fucking pass out again?” The glow came closer to the door. “Fuck man, you know that the last time you fell asleep the boss lost his shit when he found out.”

Once more the oblivious man marched past me, and into the kitchen he came. The guy was a big man, not quite as tall as I was, but he obviously spent a great deal of time working on his arms and chest, because he looked like he could audition for a wrestling movie.

“Fuck, I told you…” The guy grabbed his friend’s shoulder and then paused when he noticed the blank stare and the blood.

He spun around, but I was already prepared and jabbed the baseball bat hard into his windpipe. The cigarette went flying as he groped at his throat. His eyes were wide with panic as he stumbled back and dropped to his knees. He was already dead. That blow was hard enough to crush his windpipe, but the little demon that lived in my mind pushed for more violence. It had me swinging the bat for the side of his face.

The sound of bone crunching under the blow was delightful. It was like an appetizer to an expensive steak meal. I waited until he collapsed face-first on the floor, his fingers twitching before I made my way toward the electrical panel and the device that I’d already installed. Unzipping my backpack, I pulled out a brick of the C4 and finished setting up the timer.

Thirty minutes would be more than enough, and proceeded to close the panel door. Making my way to the stairs, I stared up at the wooden mountain and cracked my neck. I spotted the first tiny dot I placed on them that blended in with the rest of the scuffs and dirt. Placing my foot on the mark, I was glad the stair made no noise. With steady precision, I climbed the most treacherous part of the entire journey.

Benny liked to sleep with a gun under his pillow, which meant if he woke up before I had a chance to incapacitate him, then things were going to get a whole fuck load nosier and deadly. The adrenaline surge would be fun, but I didn’t have that much time. Reaching the landing, I rounded the corner and did the exact same act with the marks I’d placed on this floor. Having a dirty home really could kill you.

The door was closed, but I’d already broken the lock with a quick jimmying inside the handle, and as I suspected the handle turned with a touch of resistance and then smoothly turned to open. There Benny was, sprawled out naked as a jaybird on the bed. Like anyone actually wanted to see that.

The one girl to the left of the bed sat up straight, the handcuff and chain jingling slightly as she moved. I put a finger to my lips and prayed that she could see the action with the only light coming from the small nightlight and remain quiet. The nightlight was of a naked girl bent over, showing off her ass, so it looked like her pussy was glowing. Class, this guy was nothing but class.

Stepping toward the bed, I stared down at Benny’s body. I had no idea why people liked to sleep naked. If your house was ever on fire, then you were running out of there in your birthday suit. Definitely not what your neighbors wanted to see. The girl closest to me shifted away so her back was in the corner as she wrapped her arms around her knees. Raising the bat over my head, I took aim and froze as his eyes popped open, and he pulled the gun from under the pillow to point it at me.

“Whoever the fuck you are, you’re gonna wish you never stepped…” I ducked as his arm jerked up and a bullet lodged itself into the ceiling.

The girl on the opposite side of the room, who I thought was asleep, was now screaming like a pint-sized banshee. She’d moved as quick as lightening and had wrapped the chain holding her around his neck.

Benny’s arm swung around wildly, and the gun fired again. This time the bullet was too close for comfort as the lamp beside the bed exploded from the impact of the stray bullet. Jumping into action, I brought the bat down hard on his wrist, and he screamed and stopped fighting the girl long enough for her to take a tighter hold. I picked up the gun in my gloved hand and stepped away to set it out of reach before returning to the bed.