Python

Either way, none of this shit fucking matters; what matters is that I have to find Destiny.

I start running toward the stairs, but that’s when I hear someone screaming right behind me. “GET THE FUCK DOWN!” one of the policemen shouts, pointing his gauge shotgun right to my face.

I stare him down and, moving slowly, I start raising my arms up in the air. “DOWN! I SAID DOWN!” he continues shouting, but I just take one cold-blooded step toward him. He points his shotgun up at the air and fires toward the ceiling, but I don’t even flinch.

Fuck this motherfucker.

I know, cool it.

Don’t look at me like that, okay? I know I shouldn’t be taking on the police.

But today I can’t risk any fucking delays either.

I take a few deep breaths and back the fuck down.

But if I get dragged down to a police station, Strokes is going to have a hard time handling the transfer of the new girls to Python all by herself. Not to mention that the police might decide to investigate Python after finding me here.

Yeah, fuck it, I’m not taking a chance.

I take a deep breath, ready to go for the shotgun in the cop’s hands, but that’s when the lights go off. The whole place goes fuckin

g dark, and all the doors that lead out swing open.

I use the momentary confusion to blend with the scared crowd once more, slipping out of a sight before the cop has a chance to unload his shotgun on me.

Out of the corner of my eye I see someone I’d rather not see: Lester fucking Vicks. That motherfucker is running this show. I should’ve realized this right from the start.

Somehow, I have a feeling that he’s doing this to Destiny because of me.

But how? And why?

The answers will have to come out later; right now, I need to find Destiny and make sure that she’s safe. But first, I fish my cell phone out of my pocket and fire off a quick text message to Strokes. Police raid at DD, I type and then hit send. She’ll know what to do in case Lester decides to pull the same stunt at Python.

The moment I see an opening, I run up the stairs that lead to Destiny’s office. Police are handcuffing everyone in sight, so I’m taking a huge risk just by being here… But fuck, I need to know if she’s safe.

I step inside her office, but the place is completely empty. I call her name just in case she’s hiding, but my only reply is silence.

Fuck, what do I do now?

Don’t worry, I’m not asking you.

No matter what the situation, I’m still fucking cool as a fucking cuke. I’ve been to this rodeo before. Not completely worried just yet.

I step out of the office and, noticing a door open on the side, I start piecing things together. I enter, head down a hallway and find myself at the top of a fire escape; on the way here every single door was open, so Destiny must have come through here with the police on her heels.

Running down the fire escape, I call my driver and tell him to pick me up on the back.

You know, you gotta appreciate his fucking response when I tell him to meet me outside the club.

“Already here, boss, turned the car around the moment I saw the police,” he tells me and it totally fucking justifies my hiring policy—only the best, only the most trustworthy.

When my shoes hit the concrete, the headlights of my limo flash once. The driver is just turning the corner, the large limo struggling to get through the tight alley.

Whatever you do, I do not want to hear the joke that’s going through your head if it’s going through your head of my limo being too big for Destiny’s fucking alley, okay?

I know I’m not that worried, but it’s still pretty serious. I gotta find that woman.

“I’ll take it from here,” I say as I open the driver’s door. “Go around the corner and get to Python and make sure everything is under control there.” He doesn’t even reply; he just gets out of the driver’s seat, picks up his cell phone, and starts heading over as I sit myself behind the wheel.