Page 6 of Carver
While he was happy to know the same thing couldn’t happen again, he also hated being treated like a pet. He never got to have friends like the others. He never got to meet the people she brought to her home like they did.
He might have worn a collar as the others did to show ownership, but his was gaudy and meant to show off. Theirs were functional pieces to label them as part of the servants.
Sometimes he wished to be as plain.
“You’ve caused quite a stir this time,” the doctor said, menace in his tone. “She’ll kill me if I can’t find a way to make you better. Then she’ll likely kill you too, pet.”
He shook his head, trying to let the other man know this wasn’t what he wanted. None of this was what he wanted.
“Help us both.” He whispered the words. His throat burned with the noise, for it had been days since he’d been given water before that morning. No matter how much he sipped at it, he couldn’t shake the pain. He couldn’t moisten the dryness coating him.
It was like that with everything in his small, lonely world. There was never any relief.
The doctor peered down at him. Leaning closer, he shined a light in Gideon’s eyes and tugged at his face. He longed to close his eyes throughout the process since it occasionally helped him zone out. If he wasn’t watching, then the bad things didn’t really happen.
“I’m not quite sure if this is anything more than dehydration and starvation. If you’re not better with proper nourishment and the antibiotic drip I’m going to administer, then I’ll have to come back and encourage her to take you to a hospital after all. There's only so much I can do in this setting.”
His words were bitter. Like he hated to even say them.
One of the guards scoffed. “You’d have better luck convincing her of literally anything else. She never takes him out of there unless it’s to bathe him. She’s even outsourced it to one of the other servants for when she’s gone. If it’s not done right, she kills them upon her return.”
“Then we’ll have to ensure he gets better! I think we’re all on the chopping block if her pet doesn’t get well,” the doctor replied, voice firm and final.
The guard cursed under his breath as the other said, “I agree. Let’s try to work together for once. We’re not the enemy here.”
They shared a look. It was one he recognized, even as an outsider. The doctor and these two guards didn’t have to like him to know he was valuable. So long as they helped keep him alive enough for the woman’s plans, then they could survive another day.
It was every man for himself.
Literally.
Three
“Everyone has what they need?”he asked the group of men surrounding him.
They each nodded to him as they adjusted the weapons strapped to their bodies. It was more than enough ammunition to face whatever was on the other side of the fortress Mordecai had built.
In his ear, Trix calmly said, “Thermal imaging shows most of the action is in the dining room. I suspect we’ve caught them at dinner time.”
“Perfect. I might grab a bite while we’re there.” Slayer chuckled as he patted his belly.
Slash shoved him. “Wouldn’t be worth it. It’s probably all drugged.”
Slayer paled. “Fuck. Bet you’re right. Never mind. We’ll hit up a 7-11 on the way back. I really fuck with those tacos.”
Carver shook his head at the men. They weren’t the most professional when it came to this stuff. Then again, it wasn’t as if they were a military organization or something akin to Tank’s crew. Each man here came to join the Angels of Ruin because they needed a family and wanted to find it on the open road.
After years of working and living together, it was no surprise they didn’t take shit seriously anymore. Sure, they would once the action started. But anything before that was subject to their jokes.
“Focus,” he barked. “We’ve got people to rescue and a shit ton of firepower to go up against. I don’t want to lose a single one of you simply because we weren’t all in.”
The men straightened at his words, all their jovial behavior fading away. Each looked ready to take on what would come next. He just hoped it went as smoothly as he wanted.
Trix took the moment of silence to instruct everyone on where to go. “We’ve got about ten men. She’s got… well, a lot more. I suspect most of them can’t shoot for shit. And considering we’ll have the element of surprise since I took out her cameras, we should be good.”
As they all got into position, Carver sent up a prayer to the universe that this would all go well. He wanted to do this favor for Tank, to get rid of the shit stain that was Mordecai and then get back to his club to move on with business.
Once they were all in position, he waited for Trix to give them the final green light. As soon as the countdown began, he felt a sort of calm wash over him. No matter what he did next, he knew he was on the right side of things. Mordecai had to die. There was no other choice. If it added another body to his list, then so be it. He’d kill as many shit humans as he needed to for the innocents of the world to stay safe.