23
Lucifer
Rage and anger are the things that can make a man stupid, lead him to make mistakes. But it can also galvanize.
I can’t afford to be stupid now. Not when so much is on the line.
I don’t know what Simon had to do on Lily’s phone but I am thankful for what it’s doing. I am able to hear now everything that is being said, even if I have to bear through the screams.
They have hurt Lily, and it’s her screams that hurt me the most. She is in this position because of two soon to be dead men. Bart will die, if I find him he dies. Hearing Marshall’s voice makes my blood fucking boil.
“Where is the fucking family portrait!?!” Marshall bellows out.
I hear more scuffling then I hear a female grunt painfully as she tries to gasp in air. The motherfucker is hitting her, I know it. I hear a loud slap of skin on skin as I can only imagine him hitting her like the little bitch he is.
Looking up ahead of me, Andrew is driving at a near reckless pace, but he keeps control of the wheel as we race to where they are holding Lily.
“Simon. Where are we with all our guys?” I ask.
“Word is completely out to all men, converge on location. Snipers will be in position within five minutes.” Tilting his head to the side, he holds his phone tight to his ear. Then smiling, he looks over at me. “Fake officer down call has just been put out across the city. All police districts will be busy soon, the one we will be in will have a riot started at its outer edge.
Nodding, I pull my pistol from the thigh holster. “I want this location locked down tight. I don’t give a fuck if the national guard is called in, no one comes into the district until we are finished.”
“One sec,” says Simon into his phone as he switches to the other line. “Marco, it’s good to speak with…”
“Two minutes from location,” Andrew says over his shoulder.
“Where are we coming in at?”
“Straight from the front,” Andrew says and looks over to Simon who nods.
Putting his phone down, Simon disconnects the call to look at me. “Everything’s a go on our side. Marco has heard of our issue. The fucking Japs are spreading it all over the city that they are fucking around with you. They think they have the edge. Marco has decided to push at every single place he can. He is taking on the Yakuza in a big way, no paybacks expected.”
“Good, he can have every single fucking business or front they have as soon as this is over. We will assist in every way, have them fully removed.”
“This should cut the head off of the snake, Lucifer. Anything that’s left won’t be much.”
“They will more than likely go to the Russians for a refuge…” Simon says.
“Call Vladimir. One million to them if they bring me fifteen heads from the Yakuza.”
“Jesus… Lucifer…”
Turning my gaze from the road ahead, I say, “Is there a problem, Simon?”
He looks at me for a very long time, and I don’t doubt he is questioning my thoroughness. “Are you sure you want to go this far?”
“They took something that is mine, Simon.”
“Fuck, do you love her?”
“Of course.”
“Alright, I’ll tell them, but you know how fucking crazy the Russians are. They are going to most likely bring the heads to you. Like literally.”
Grinning, I say, “Good, I’ll fucking send them on to the bosses back in Japan.”
We slow down as we roll through the Japanese section of the city. It looks like the streets have cleared themselves after they’ve seen all the cars of my men rolling through. I doubt any of my guys have bothered to hide all the weaponry they are bringing to the fight.
“Snipers in place. Back, front and sides are all covered. We have men down the street as well, in all directions, looking for hidden exfiltration sites.”
Stopping in front of the building, I wait until Andrew hops out with his AK aimed at the front of the small grocery store. Stepping from the vehicle, I pull my M4 to my front and begin to stalk into the store directly behind Andrew.
I’ve never served in the military, never been in the police. All my training and expertise has come from the men I have employed. They are who keep me alive, and I them. Andrew, though, was former special teams, and so were most of the men I have surrounding me.
Walking through the doors we are instantly on the offensive as a long burst of machine gun fire erupts from the back of the store, exploding glass and dry goods all around us. The man shooting at us, though, is obviously untrained in any form of shooting discipline as he wasted a whole clip of bullets to hit nothing but shit.