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Feeling more secure, I left the alley and headed to my next destination.
I tracked my little prodigy to Cedar Avenue. Even in the crowd, from homeless to drug dealers, he stuck out with his brand-new clothes. He was being harassed by what looked like two lower-level thugs. Red faced, he argued with them as they tried to clean out his pockets.
One grabbed him by the throat and slammed him on the wall.
I said nothing as I ran up on one thug and sucker punched him on the side of his temple. Stunned, he stumbled away, trying to catch his bearings. The other still pinning Roman looked over his shoulder and shot me an unimpressive look.
“Get the fuck out of here if you know what’s good for you, man. This is Steel Hawk territory.”
All that rage from this morning came crashing back, which is why it was easy for me to grab this motherfucker by the scruff and shove him into the same wall he held Roman on. I then jabbed him in the stomach. He folded into himself with a groan, but straightened, and swung on me. I ducked and body checked him, then got my hand wrapped around his throat and squeezed.
“Okay,” he wheezed. “You win.”
But it wasn’t enough. I channeled everything I had into my fists and started pounding on him. He never stood a chance.
By the time I stopped, he was bloody and swaying on his feet, he spit out a few teeth. He collapsed at my feet. I kicked him in the side three times.
His companion tried to rush me, but he was too slow and unwieldy. I just knocked him headfirst into the wall. He joined his friend on the ground.
Lifting my foot, I curb stomped him until I heard an audible crack. Blood gushed out the sides of his ears and spilled onto the pavement. I then stomped on the other guy’s groin. He sobbed in pain.
Roman was tugging on my shirt. “Come on boss, we got to go.”
We ran down a few streets, until we could no longer hear the sirens.
“Why’d you do that?” Roman panted. “You could’ve been caught or arrested!”
I shrugged. “You looked like you were in trouble.”
“I was handling it,” he snarled.
I shook my head. “You weren’t doing shit, and now I know I’ll need to step up your self-defense lessons. We can’t have something like that happening ever again.”
“It would’ve been fine had you just left it alone,” he mumbled.
Ah, it embarrassed him that I saved him. I slung a heavy arm over his shoulders. “I hired you for a specific reason. And right now, you can impress me by taking me to a guy who can produce travel documents. The best you know. Money is not an issue.”
Roman nodded.
Our journey to the place was done in silence. People we passed gave our bloody clothes a cursory glance but quickly averted their gaze. Those in this neighborhood knew to mind their business.
We headed inside a hole in the wall shop and talked to the shadiest guy I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting. When I told him I needed a passport for Roman, there was a gleam in his eyes that disgusted me. I figured I might have to kill this asshole at some point. But it’d have to wait.
The guy guaranteed I’d only have to wait one day for a passport, a new social security card, and a birth certificate for Roman that labeled me as his father. I could have it by morning, which was the absolute fastest I could get it.
I was initially annoyed with the change in plans, as I had wanted to leave for Winchister Falls that afternoon, but when a text came in from Roger, I assumed it was fate that I stuck it out another day. I could now meet with some allies to secure more firepower.
We walked down the back streets to get back to our suites. The doorman at the hotel said nothing when we arrived, just shot me a raised eyebrow. I remembered the rules. I always played nice with the service people who could see everything I did. I nodded back and offered him a smile along with a crisp hundred-dollar bill. He beamed and thanked me for my generosity.
After we ordered room service and ate a quick lunch, Roman and I changed and headed back out. Roger had sent the coordinates from another number. It was local enough to walk.
Before we went into the rundown warehouse, I pulled Roman aside. “When we get in there, do not open your mouth.”
“Why?” he asked, his eyes wide with childlike innocence.
“Because you don’t know shit about anything, and if you open your mouth, I may have to kill another person to protect you.”
He wasn’t shocked, but I could tell my answer made him more curious than anything else. “What do you want me to do?”
