Page 41

FORTY

Vlad

M y new stress ball was hated at birth. Who the fuck names their kid Ronald? It’s setting them up for failure, maybe not to be a pervert but still failure none the less. His house is as pathetic as the man himself. There are countless books with dust layering the tops, all proudly displayed, but they’ve never even been opened. He must have some form of social life if he’s out on a Tuesday night. Checking my watch, it’s already 11:15pm. Ronald wouldn’t find the type he’s attracted to at this time and if he does, people need to watch their fucking kids.

Going through the rest of his staged life, his fridge is even more pathetic. There’s half a block of cheese and a jar of what looks like peanut butter. Who the fuck keeps it in the fridge? Weird fucking cunt. The inconsiderate bastard is late for his appointment with death and there’s not even a drink to offer the reaper.

I can’t even kill him straight away. Not with this clown having new footage. His gloating over everyone being able to see what made the seven-year-old with blood dripping down his chin shows he’s too fucking close to one of the fuckers who recorded everything to sell. There are no ties to Russia, but everyone hides that shit and the key scraping in the lock stops my musings.

I stick to the wall and wait for dirty old Ronald to step through. His footsteps drag and he curses under his breath as none of the lights turn on despite the rapid clicking of the switch. My sight has adjusted to the dark, but the dumb fuck is drunk, taking the fun away as he stumbles through. Stopping right in front of me as his senses scream danger, I can’t help myself and lean forward.

“Boo!”

My dark whisper has a scream piercing the air and my laugh follows.

It ends in a sigh as he falls on his ass and I let the lights come back on as I turn on the controls for his power. He grunts in pain as I smile wider and press my boot over his dirty dick. Levity fills my voice as I open my arms so he can see me fully.

“Look at me Ronald, I’m all grown up. Do you still think I’m pretty?”

Every message on their perverted thread is engraved into my skull like it was posted directly to my brain. I press harder in the hope one of his balls pops. It’s not that difficult to achieve, but it all depends on the angle.

He passes out before I can even finish my introduction. My mood sours instantly at the change in the air and she’s not as quiet as she likes to think. What the fuck is the world coming to when a man can’t even fucking kill in peace?! The kid from the warehouse has followed me like a bad fucking smell and the boredom in my tone isn’t faked.

“If you’re trying to scare me, take your mask off. It’ll do the trick.”

She’s tiny, barely an adult, and filled with rage. Pretending not to be affected by the insult, she shows her youth and steps out of the den and sits on the back of the sofa, staring down at Ronald. Looking back up at me, my words sink into her slow-ass brain.

“Are you trying to call me ugly?”

I want to punch her in the face, but keep my hand back when the lights show just how small she is, how weak.

The wish is evident in my voice as I pull out the rope for my new punching bag.

“When you were born, your mother took one look at you and ran back into the woods.”

Acting like it’s Santa’s passive-aggressive grotto, the kid makes herself useful, sliding off the sofa and tying up the cunt’s feet. There’s no hurt in her voice as she looks up his body and forces a smile on her face.

“Oh, is that where she went? Were you and her neighbors, or?”

There’s a knife on my thigh and I could easily throw it straight into her fucking eye. Kicking the unconscious fuck as she stands, she hardens, making me delay my harm.

“Is he dead?”

I haven’t gone through his electronics and there were too many videos linked back to him for me to stomach looking through. Softening my tone as much as I’m able to, I don’t look at the kid as I ask, “Did he touch you?”

The scoff before her answer is weird as fuck until she gives useful information.

“They weren’t allowed to touch me. Yulia was given orders that I be trained only .”

Hoping blood makes her talkative enough to give me what I want, I grab the fucker’s bound hands and nod to his feet.

“Come on, pipsqueak.”

My earlier assessment of her being like me was wrong. I’m better, and I loosen my hold, making her carry most of his weight as Dima gives the all clear.

She continues talking as we walk through the hallway to the kitchen.

“He doesn’t look like any of the clients I know.” It doesn’t stop when we reach the kitchen. “Yeah, he could be the video-only client. But then he wouldn’t know anything.”

Her chin drops to her chest, and she lets out a harsh breath as she continues arguing with herself. She’s crazy, and she has no background, we can’t even find a name for her, as though she doesn’t exist.

Dima is sat waiting in the van as soon as I open the doors. His brows come together when he sees the kid and I loosen my hold on Ronald again when we descend the steps into the garage. The extra weight pulls her forward and she whisper hisses, “Weak-ass bitch.”

My entire body hardens, and I grab the fucker using both hands as the van door opens. She nearly falls as I pull his feet out of her hands and throw him in the back.

The kid doesn’t make any fucking comment regarding my perceived weakness and climbs in after him. She stands on his face, her boot pressed against his cheek and pokes her head between the two front seats. Dima assesses her as he hits the switch for the doors to close. She’s violent as fuck, and creepy, there’s an eeriness around her presence and it’s as though she’s not an actual person, but an entity. It makes sense, considering she has no digital footprint which is virtually impossible.

The usually miserable fuck tries to hide his laugh, taking her in.

“Is she one of your wife’s rejects?”

I should dump her outside Steorra when Inessa gets unbearable. They’d probably kill each other or become best friends united in their goal to drive me insane.

Pipsqueak’s quick to correct his insult and has a knife at his throat before he can counteract the move. Her eyes narrow, but there’s no life in the hue as she insults him.

“Most people say hello, you rude fucking ogre.”

I take the knife from my newest recruit and close it before putting it in my own pocket.

“Sit the fuck down.”

She doesn’t move and I decide I’ll put her under Valentin. It’s his punishment for having tantrums all the fucking time. Dima is a former street kid, but he controls himself and grumbles towards our new whatever the fuck she is.

“What’s her name?”

My lips twitch, giving the same answer and she tries to hide her laugh.

“Khuy tebe.”

He shakes his head and starts driving as the kid talks to herself. No sound leaves her, but her lips move, letting small pops fill the air. Viktor used to do it when he was younger, make the smallest popping noises by pretending to be a fish. But she isn’t doing the same movements, it looks like she’s saying words. The sound is irritating as fuck and Dima tenses with each small pop of air. His eyes narrow as they flick between the dark road on our drive to the warehouse to the weird kid through the mirror.

There’s a twisted smile on my face as we reach the warehouse. I get out as Dima hits the switch and grab Ronald, stupid fucking name, I let the fucker’s head bounce on the concrete as I drag him out by his ankle. Pipsqueak laughs and Dima goes still, a crease forming between his brows as he looks between the two of us and shakes whatever thought he’s having away. He gets out and comes to my side as the kid dawdles after us. His voice is low, and I nearly drop the fucker I’m going to torture.

“How close are you?”

He looks from me to the little murderer behind us.

I know what he’s asking and my hand itches to wrap around his neck.

“She’s a kid and I’m fucking married.”

I gave Inessa my loyalty in return for hers, I’m not going to fucking tarnish it when I know she’s crazy enough to do something stupid. Then I’d have to fucking kill everyone she allowed to touch her and knowing my wife she’d pick weak cunts just to fuck with me further.

We continue walking into the warehouse, the steel door clangs, and the lights hum as soon as we step inside. Anastasia has already set up everything that we’ll need before completing her own secret project. Dumping Ronald in the middle of the concrete that’s been covered with plastic, I straighten and remove my mask.

“Are you going to kill him?”

For fuck’s sake, the kid doesn’t shut the fuck up asking obvious fucking questions. My monotone response has her rolling her eyes, showing her age.

“No, I’m going to pamper him. Look around at the spa.”

She mumbles something under her breath and moves out of the fucking way for once as she stands beside Dima. Looking up at him, she tilts her head to the side, and I leave her to annoy the fuck out of him with her charming personality.

“Why do you look like that?” she asks him.

Hooking Ronald to the ceiling, I push against his legs as I raise the chain and he spins, like a little ballerina.Dima’s grumble fills the room and pipsqueak copies it before insulting him again.

“Yeah that’s not words. And you kind of look like you need to take a shit, you shouldn’t wait, it’s bad for your health.”

The human repeller has Dima leaving before the fucker has even woken up. She sighs to herself and lowers to the floor with her legs crossed. Leaving the syringe for the moment, I ignore the fact she’s acting like a fucking toddler and my voice is deadly.

“How old are you?”

She shrugs and leans back on her palms being cryptic as fuck.

“Young enough to make mistakes, but old enough to know better.”

I’m going to have fun killing her, it will be satisfying as fuck to see her dead eyes and not hear whatever bullshit she comes out with.Her eyes are already halfway lifeless so it will be an improvement.

She copies me as I cross my arms over my chest, and she doesn’t react to the look I know promises the murder I’m planning.

“Where did you come from?” I ask.

More proof that I was cursed at birth comes out in a fake sweet voice as she holds up a forefinger on each hand and I could kick her in the face in this position.

“You see, when a mommy loves a daddy, they do a special hug, and a stork will come. The stork will give them a little bundle of joy and they all live happily ever after.” Dropping the bullshit sweet voice, she nods towards Ronald and stands. “The nonce is awake.”

Her accent and vocabulary are weird as fuck, showing she’s been everywhere but lived nowhere.

“How long did you spend in England?”

I’m smug as fuck, knowing I keep catching parts of the kid’s lies and she doesn’t answer as we get to work on our punching bag. Turning to Ronald, I don’t bother with pleasantries and get my anger out of the way. My arm rocks back while he’s still dazed from being unconscious and he rocks back as I land a blow to his ribs. The chains screech and pipsqueak scoffs, “You’re doing it wrong.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

I sound defensive to my own ears, arguing with what I think is a teenager. Or some creature that’s inhabited some poor fucker’s body. She shrugs and moves further away, going to the table set up with weapons. It makes me pause. She doesn’t seem like she’s going to kill me, hopefully she’ll use one of them on herself.

I get back to Ronald and he wheezes through his begging.

“Please, I don’t know who you are.”

That’s a fucking lie. He’s been watching me every night, well five-year-old me. He and his little band of pedophiles have all gloated about me being weak, having no fight. Now it’s my fucking turn. His begging makes me leave my head, and each time I blink brings a new image through.

His cheek is split.

His eye is swollen.

He can’t breathe and I stop taking a step back. He’s punctured his lung, cutting my entertainment short. It’s not enough to finish it completely, just enough so we can have a conversation.

Ignoring the smell of piss, and I’m pretty sure he’s shit himself, the filthy bastard, I wipe my hands of his disgusting bodily fluids. I sound calmer as I curl my hand into a fist to get his blood out of my knuckles. Picking up the towel from the bench of weapons, I fold the fibers to a point to get into each crease between my knuckles as I ask, “Who sent you the video?”

The kid is full of rage and answers when he refuses to. “I know you get that shit from Yulia, where is she?”

I pick up the large hunting knife and take the two steps back to the edge of the plastic. He’s crying harder, begging for his life, but I’m trying to find any memory of someone with that name.

“Please! I don’t know.”

The little shit tries to run at him, and I drag her back by her nape. She swings at me.

What the fuck?

I’m helping her and she’s just a ball of rage.

It’s self-defense and reflexes that have my body reacting and my fist lands on her ribs. The second is just for satisfaction when she gets the wind knocked out of her with a punch to the kidneys. My hand was going to help her up, but Inessa’s call comes through as I throw the knife into my target. Stepping away from the noise machines screaming at each other, I relax, answering the call.

“Where are you?”

Sleep fills her voice, and she sounds adorable as fuck.

Ever since the night I fucked up, my queen keeps checking up on me. For some stupid reason, I like it and haven’t missed a single call. Keeping my answer short as the kid steals my fun, I grumble something that sounds like warehouse. The little shit picks up a knife and my voice is a bark, pissed at her fucking distracting me.

“Put. It. Down.”

Inessa goes silent and steel comes through the speaker.

“Where are you, Vlad?”

I like the way she says my name in that pissy tone and give her my undivided attention.

“Warehouse, what’s wrong?”I answer.

The sheets rustle as she moves, and the brat puts the phone down. Going back to Ronald the reprobate, I admire the work pipsqueak has done. It matches mine. The cuts aren’t deep enough to kill him, and she hasn’t used too much force that he’ll shut off. She assigns herself as my junior, copying me at my side as I ask, “How do you speak to Yulia?”

Whoever the fuck Yulia is has shit about me and it’s going to be a beautiful day when I rip her to fucking shreds.

Snot mixes with blood on the fucker’s face and he cries out in pain, spilling all his sins.

“I don’t anymore. I just got sent the video and told it was free.”

Disgust works its way through me. Even on the brink of death the fucker assigns no value to life talking about children like they’re a fucking commodity, a free fucking sample of chocolate in a grocery store.

The sick cunt.

Pipsqueak goes back to her game of cutting him and she cuts away the leg of his trousers so his nasty dick remains covered. Her brows come together, and she looks even younger as she taps the bloody flat of the blade to her chin and her fist twists as though she’s concentrating.

“What to do? What to do? Hmm.”

He starts screaming as I reach the table, so she’s obviously picked something to do.

Going through the different grains and acids, I’m stopped from my torture when the door opens. Expecting it to be Dima, my entire body freezes in confusion at my queen storming through with a face like thunder. She pauses, seeing the kid and anger has her fists balling until she turns around. They both look confused as fuck, obviously recognizing each other and Inessa gives the pipsqueak a name.

“Ana? What are you doing here?”

Rushing to Ana with worry, she holds her arms and gives her a physical once over.

“Did you find Nina?”she asks, with worry creasing her brows.

The kid is like a fucking phone book, she just holds random names and Inessa forgets I exist. Shooting Ronald in the leg to get her attention, her head snaps up with a warning. Fuck that, she’s my damn wife and my bratty queen. No one else gets her time when I’m in the same room. Even Viktor knows to always keep one side open or move so she’s always beside me.