ICE
“Son of a bitch.This was not how I expected tonight to go.” We fuckin’ reek of gun powder, blood, sweat, and now gasoline. When Rage and I went upstairs in Winslow’s McMansion, it wasn’t a surprise to see that opulence surrounded the greedy little fucker. The gold in the floor alone was probably real. What shocked the shit out of Rage and me was that Winslow was already dead, a knife stabbed through his heart, blood everywhere. This was not a job of a novice. Someone knew what they were doing and how to cover up their tracks. No blood smear or shoe prints that my eye could see. Not any normal knife either, one that has intricate designs and is bladed in four different directions. That fucker was designed to kill someone and let them bleed out, not giving Winslow a chance in hell.
“You could say that again. This isn’t the least of it either.” I couldn’t find Crush or Shadow when we came in. Found the open door, and it led us through tunnels, which, yeah, we knew about, but not enough to know the fucking haunting and eery like setting. We caught up to the guys pretty quickly, and when we did, neither of us were ready to see what we saw. Prison-like cells flanked both sides the deeper we went; the lighting was shit, making it hard to see where the tunnel ended. It was the whimpering that had me locked up tight, my eyes swiveling from one area to the next. Women, and not just women either; it looked like young girls in their teens were being held. It was safe to assume it was against their will.
They were barely clothed, some cuffed to the walls inside the cell, others cowering in the corners. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my day after being deployed multiple times, but nothing prepared me for seeing what was going on in Winslow’s underground tunnels. The most unsanitary conditions of them all, there wasn’t a drop of running water, only a bucket in each room for them to piss and shit in. Some of them were so emaciated it was a wonder they were still alive. The hardest thing was what had to be one of the younger girls there, probably fifteen or so, begging for God to make the pain go away and take her away from this place.
Fuck, it was a disaster of epic proportions, and it pissed me off that none of us knew what was going on and didn’t make this end sooner.
“Put a call in to Massimo. He’s got an Italian family that knows what to do in these situations. The guy will let them stay, if that’s what they want, workin’ for him in different capacities. If not, he’ll locate their families and get them where they need to be,” Shadow says, hands on his hips. We are all carrying the weight of what’s going on around us. Each of us knowing this could have happened to Gigi. Hell, that’s probably why Winslow had her cornered. It’s Crush who I’m worried about more than anyone.
“That’s good. Where’s Winslow’s woman, though?” Crush asks. He’s seething, rightfully so. It was his turn to take care of business, to extract revenge, and someone took it away from him.
“Not sure, but I’ll drive by her house and grab her. Might need Brody to bring in another van,” I suggest.
“Not a bad idea. You call the cleaners?” Rage asks Shadow.
“Haven’t had time. I’ll do that now. We’re going to need to move these girls outside, and fast. Once I make the call, you know what they’ll be doing to this place, and it’ll be from the underground up.”
“Fuck.” Crush paces. Pissed as he is, he’s holding it together. The thoughts running through his mind are probably the same I’m having. His vengeance is gone, Gigi could be here if he didn’t step in when he did, and now there are more questions than answers.
“I suggest we open the cells, leave them open, back away slowly, and let them know to go outside. Pretty sure Massimo’s people will have women with them, but that won’t help us out if the cops start swarmin’ before things are taken care of,” I tell the guys.
“That’s a good idea. Alright, let’s divide and conquer. Shadow, make the call. Crush, you okay?” Rage asks. We’re all trying to gauge his reaction to how shit is going down inside of his head right now.
“I am. Not so sure I’m thrilled about owing Massimo again. One day, he’s goin’ to collect, and it’s goin’ to be big. I’m okay because we’d be fucked with knowin’ what to do with these girls. At the same time, I’m pissed as fuck because it wasn’t me endin’ that piece of shit’s life. All I really know for sure is that I’m ready to get this done and over with and get to my woman. Obviously, I still want Vungle. There’s no way she’s not in on this. The two of them were in it together, no doubt about it.” Crush says what I’m thinking as well as believing.
“You’re not wrong. Let’s get this done. I need alcohol and my woman.” Rage has a gleam in his eyes. There’s something to be said about adrenaline; when it’s there, you’re ready for anything, but when you’re coming down, it’s nice to be buried inside the woman you love. It gets my ass moving, ready to be with Collins myself.