Still carrying the sheets, I entered my lair. The first thing I did was check her GPS. Nothing came up. I tried to get the signal to ping back. Nothing. Not even a fucking blip. It was as if I was conducting a séance with my fucking computer. Like trying to contact the dead.
The minute that thought popped into my head, I threw everything on my desk to the floor. Pencils and shit scattered everywhere—except the sheets; I still held those.
“God fucking dammit.” I rubbed my temple, thinking back to training. ABCs… Nothing. Fuck. It was no use, I couldn’t think straight. Flashes of Lenny, tied up or abused, kept slamming into my head. The things they could do to her…
Well, I knew very well what they could do to her, because I’d done them to others.
I screamed and grabbed my computer by the monitor, ready to throw that off the desk too. I’d never felt so undone. So utterly fucking helpless. I gripped the computer until the screen went blank and then the blackness stared back at me, but in that blackness I could see my face reflected back.
Taking a deep breath, I let go. As cathartic as it was to break my shit, it wouldn’t help Lenny. Not yet, anyway. I hadn’t had a chance to move on to the Bs of the ABCs. I picked up one of my phones and stared at the glass for a split second before punching in the number. When the line picked up, I didn’t give him a chance to say hello—or fuck off.
“I need a favor.”
“You don’t have any favors left,” Charlie replied. He sounded serene, almost lazy. I stood up again, crunching over pencils so I didn’t smash my computer.
“Well then I will owe you something, fucker,” I growled.
“Chill your shit before you say something you’ll regret, Vic,” Charlie growled right back. I looked again to the face of my computer, wondering when I’d transformed from the calm, stoic man everyone knew into this hulking, bear he-man.
“Lennox is missing,” I explained, turning away. “I don’t have shit to chill.”
There was a pause before Charlie asked, “What do you think I can do?”
“Give me his number.”
“Don’t fucking do it, man,” Charlie immediately replied. I expected him to tell me no. That was the way in our world. We didn’t say yes, not immediately. We demanded blood.
So, yeah, I expected Charlie to tell me to fuck off. I expected him to demand a favor, just as I had the day I’d saved his life. I expected that—fuck, I was ready for that. I didn’t expect a warning. Whatever game he was playing was new. I didn’t have time for new. Somewhere Lennox was playing the old game, the dirty game, the game I had spent my life mastering.
I ran a hand over my face, wondering if I could tear off the skin.
“What the fuck are you getting at Charlie?” I demanded.
“You don’t understand,” Charlie replied. “Seven is not a savior, he’s—”
“What would you do if you were in my place?” I cut off.
There was a long, heavy pause before Charlie responded. “I would do the exact same thing.”
“So just give me the goddamn number!”
“I wish I could help you. I wish there was some way I could help. You have no idea. I really wish I could offer some fucking service. You’re the reason I have Vera.”
“Well, do you have any contacts in GEM?”
“Fuck no! After what happened with my leg? You kidding me?”
“Does Seven?”
Another lingering, pressing pause followed and then Charlie responded, “If anyone does, it’s Seven. Crazy fuck.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“You know what this means,” Charlie warned. “The type of favors he demands go beyond money. They transcend borders. You won’t be able to hide from him until you’re dead. Maybe even death won’t stop him.” The way Charlie spoke made me question—not my resolve, but Charlie. I’d always thought Charlie and Seven got along—well, as along as someone can get with a man like Seven.
There was dirt between them now. Soil dug up from a graveyard. I didn’t have time to dig into it, though; I had my own shit to shovel.
“I know.”