TRISTAN
“I thought you said more of our guys would be here,” Elliot murmured into the dark. It was cold outside, fully winter, and the wind was biting through my layers. I looked up at the building. It was completely dark. It didn’t seem out of the ordinary for the building to be dark in the middle of the night, but the fact that the loft wasn’t lit up was troubling. Our people were supposed to be waiting on us.
“I did. They were supposed to be here. Maybe the power is out up there.”
“Or maybe this is a trap and we’re fucked,” Seb said.
“I’d prefer to think the power is out.”
“Let’s just go,” Elliot finally said, pushing his way past us and into the building. It was dark as hell inside with all of the staff gone for the night. I had told Melody on the phone to send everyone home, including herself. She was leaving to go back to her own apartment when I got off the phone with her to wake Seb up. I didn’t need anyone getting caught in any potential crossfire just because they had to work the late shift.
We pressed the button for the lift, and as the door opened, I sighed. Blood. We all swore at the same time. We all knew that this wasn’t just a break-in anymore. It was an attack.
“How many of our people are we going to find dead up there?” Seb asked.
“If they got all of them? At least ten.” I walked into the lift first, and they followed. The ride up to the top floor was long, with the metallic stench of blood filling the air.
“Alright,” Elliot said as the lights indicated we were almost there. “Eyes open. Guns up. No one dies.”
“No one dies,” Seb and I both repeated.
The doors shifted open into the loft, and it was dark, really dark. There was one light still hanging from the ceiling, flickering and buzzing like a fucking horror film. We all gripped our guns, instantly on alert. The adrenaline rushed through my veins and made me hope there would be someone there waiting for us. I was ready. After seeing Elliot stabbed and Scarlet shot, I was out for revenge. I wanted to taste their blood on my tongue and watch the life drain from their pitiful fucking eyes.
No one hurt my people and lived to tell the tale.
We ushered ourselves out into the open space, keeping our heads on a swivel, making sure no one was lurking in the shadows. Tables were overturned, the carpets squished with blood, and the walls were peppered with bullet holes. They didn’t go easy on us. They were here to make a point. I did a quick head count of the bodies on the floor. Seven. Some I could tell were ours, and others I had never seen before.
“I’ll check the rest of the open space. You and Seb go check the back bedrooms. We’ll go upstairs together,” Elliot ordered.
I nodded and headed off towards the bedrooms, Seb in tow. After checking through each one and getting the all clear from Elliot, we all headed upstairs together, Elliot leading all three of us.
Three more of our guys were dead at the top of the landing. As we made our way down the hall, we had to step over four more. Two were ours, two were unknown.
The last door to check was our gym, and the wooden door was littered with bullet holes. Elliot looked back at us, knowing that this was the last place anyone could be if they were still in the loft and alive. He turned the knob quietly and then thrust it open, quickly taking stock of the room before he stopped dead in his tracks.
Even in the dim light, I could see him turn white as a sheet. I saw him swallow.
“El,” I started, but he turned towards me and held up his hand.
“What the fuck is going on?” Seb asked, pushing past me. As he got to the doorway though, Elliot grabbed him. But it was too late. Seb screamed. It was a sound so excruciating that my teeth ground together and my body went cold. I felt nothing but dread as I watched Seb’s face contort in pain as he choked on a sob.
“No,” he whispered and pushed his way out of Elliot’s arms and into the room.