So this is a story I've been working on since early 2016, but just never got around to actually starting the publish process. Trigger warnings for this fic include: drug abuse, physical, mental, and sexual abuse, graphic depictions of gore and violence, and anxiety disorder symptoms. It's gonna be an angsty ride, but I promise there is a happy ending and feel-good stuff throughout. Enjoy!
A girl named Sunshine was enjoying the feeling of sunlight on the skin of her face for the first time in almost a month when the rusty cadillac from her nightmares pulled up to the curb in front of her. She knew it was coming and she knew who to expect when the driver approached her, but she still struggled to control her trembling. His black boots stopped a foot away from where she sat against a rotted building, waiting. The young woman tried not to show the fear that was churning in her stomach as she looked up at the tall man. He looked down with dark eyes and took a last drag of his cigarette before throwing it away.
"Jesus, kid, you look like a fucking cancer patient. What'd you do, lose thirty pounds?"
Sunshine gave him a sour look, her sarcastic nature peeking through the fear. "I don't know, Tombstone, you tell me. It's not like I haven't been lying in agony for the past month, too hurt to go out and get proper food."
The man scoffed. "You did that to yourself. And I see that your mouth still works. Better watch it around Bullet or you'll be out for longer than a month."
Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt her skin prickle painfully as her body pumped out a cold sweat. She looked down at her lap with a clenched jaw.
"Whatever."
She heard him chuckle darkly and looked up to glare at him without pretense. Her eyes swept back to the empty cadillac and met his again challengingly.
"What, no backup this time?"
He cocked his head. "I thought you learned your lesson last time. Besides, I've always got backup." He opened the black jacket he wore to flash the butt of the silver gun at his hip. "Remember this guy?"
Sunshine nodded mutely. Oh, did she remember.
"So are you going to come with me willingly today?" The condescension in his gravelly voice made her want to stick her switchblade into his stubbly throat, but for the sake of her survival she merely nodded stiffly.
"Good. Now get the fuck up. He's waiting."
The car ride out of Manhattan felt to Sunshine like she was riding to her own funeral. It wasn't the first time she'd felt this way in a car with Tombstone, and it probably wasn't the last. He was practically the Grim Reaper himself, except he had a nine millimeter instead of a scythe and he had tattooed skin stretched taught over his sinewy muscles and angular bones. In the right lighting the man looked like he had sunken holes for eyes which was something he used with pleasure to intimidate people. That and his creepy fucking grin. Sunshine shuddered at the memory.
She didn't want to remember the last time she'd taken this ride and the consequences it eventually led to, but she couldn't stop it. Last time she'd been screening all the calls on the phone that they'd given her, and when they finally found her wandering the streets and dragged her to Bullet she'd given them hell every second of the way. As soon as she was in front of the Big Boss himself, she'd exploded.
"What the hell is this?"
He looked up from the work on his desk and stared at her with red-rimmed eyes that screamed with a pent-up rage.
"You haven't been returning my phone calls. Or showing up for work." If only she'd recognized the sound of danger in his voice, but through her naiveté and cockiness it passed right over her head.
"Yeah well, I've been busy." She crossed her arms and glared right back at him.
His eyebrow raised. "Busy? Busy doing what? Dumpster diving and selling trash?" The armed guards behind Sunshine chuckled darkly. She bristled quietly as the imposing leader slowly stalked around the large oak desk, never breaking eye contact.
"I brought you in because I have an important job for you to do. You still owe me the bond, remember? That's not going to pay itself back."
Sunshine scoffed.
"You seriously think I'm going to work for you? How dumb are you?" The men in the room stiffened. "I know what you do, and I know what you want me to do. If I get caught, it's no county jail I'm going to. It'll be prison, for a long time. I'm not risking my freedom just because you're too stupid to know a con. I didn't sign any contract, so you don't have any legal standing to make me pay back the money. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some trash to go through."
She turned to go and was immediately punched in the stomach. The air left her lungs and she couldn't seem to bring it back in as she hunched over, holding her middle.
"What the fu-" she wheezed but a slap to her face shut her up and had her staggering to one of the carved chairs.
Bullet leaned back against the desk, silently thinking for a moment. His next words made Sunshine wish she'd just kept her mouth shut. It was a command that made the blood drain from her face and her knees weak.
"Take her to the Warehouse. Prep her but don't start until I get there."
"Yessir."
"Wait-!" A rag was stuffed into her mouth as the muscled guards dragged her from the ornate office.
If only she'd kept her mouth shut.
A sudden dip into a pothole jolted Sunshine back into the present. She was thankful for the distraction because remembering what came next always made her throw up. Giving Tombstone the satisfaction of seeing her do that was the last thing she wanted, so she busied herself by pulling her long auburn hair into a neater ponytail and checking herself over again for any smudges of dirt or food on her sweatshirt or jeans. As someone who lived on the streets and ate from the trash Sunshine typically didn't care what she looked like, but today she didn't want to attract any unnecessary ire over her appearance.
Tombstone glanced at her from the corner of his eye from time to time, seeming to enjoy her growing restlessness and anxiety as they got closer to their destination. Sunshine's heart beat loudly in her ears as they neared the barbed wire gates to the compound where Bullet made his headquarters. Tombstone spoke quickly with the guard waiting at the gate, who waved them through. Going from the car and into the dark office where everything had gone wrong was a blur for Sunshine, but as soon as she entered everything became sharp.
The second her eyes focused in the dim smoky light and she caught sight of the mob leader, with his dark hair slicked back and his red tie against the black of his tailored suit, she knew she'd been wrong about her description of the lithe man who'd brought her there. Bullet was the true Grim Reaper, and Tombstone was his scythe.
He was sat in a large cushioned chair by a cold fireplace away from the giant oak desk where she'd last seen him sitting. A large German Shepard lay quietly beside him. No doubt it was one of the many dogs he'd trained, which was something Sunshine heard was a hobby of his. She eyed the dog as Tombstone brought her near, but it made no move nor sound. After a moment she finally looked up and was immediately caught in the gaze of the main source of her nightmares.
Bullet took a drag off of the black cigarette between his fingers and blew out the sweet smoke without breaking eye contact with Sunshine. She tried not to look away, determined to win this game of intimidation, but she lost. He chuckled darkly as her eyes flicked away briefly.
"Come over here." He said, his voice like black oil. Sunshine stood still, crossing her arms, not wanting to obey. She wasn't one of his damn dogs. He noticed her stiff stance and his eyes became dangerous.
"Now." He said calmly, but there was an undercurrent of power, of danger, that made Sunshine's back itch. She let her arms fall to her sides as she begrudgingly walked forward to where he was seated. She stopped a few feet away, trying not to show the unease she felt. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was making her feel like she wanted to crawl on her hands and knees. His cruel smirk told her that he knew it anyways.
"Sit." He said, indicating with a nod of his head to the footstool beside him. She sat.
He took another drag from the cig, slowly sucking the chemicals in, watching her with predator eyes through the curl of smoke that lazily escaped from his mouth. She felt like a bug nailed down to a board. She felt naked all over again as his eyes swept over her, no doubt imagining the last time she had been before him. He seemed to have a glint of something in his gaze as he returned to staring intently at her face.
"I feel like we started off on the wrong foot." He finally breezed out. He flicked the ash from the cigarette. Sunshine watched the soot fall to the floor, near his designer shoes.
"Last time you were here things went a little sour. I don't usually treat first offenders to the Warehouse, but, you see, one of my prized dogs, a Shepard I raised from birth, got killed in a hit-and-run that day that you were brought in, and, well, I was quite...distraught...already." Sunshine recalled with terrible clarity how distraught he had been.
"Then you come in, all attitude, assuming you have any power whatsoever over the situation you have sold yourself into." Sunshine mentally flinched at the word 'sold'. "I'm sure you'll understand now that I have no patience for people who….tug at their leash...as if they are in any way in control of where they go in life anymore after making deals with me." He took another drag. Sunshine swallowed, feeling like her mouth was a desert.
"No one controls me." She said hoarsely. Bullet laughed without mirth. The sound made her skin prickle.
He leaned forward and grabbed her ponytail before she could flinch away. She tried to reach up to pry his hand off, but Tombstone's gun appeared an inch before her nose.
"Hands down." He said lowly. She slowly let her hands drop, never breaking eye contact with the barrel. Her heart sped up and she felt the buzzing of anxiety begin to bloom in her heaving chest. Her scalp stung as Bullet pulled the ponytail holder, freeing her hair. The copper locks fell about her face and sweat began to bead at the base of her neck. The gun disappeared as Bullet flicked the hair band away.
"Wear your hair like this from now on when you come here." He said, sitting back. Sunshine's nose flared and she gave him a murderous look that he apparently didn't like. He grabbed her hair again, rougher this time, making her wince and whimper. She clenched her fists to keep them from going back up to pry his hand loose.
His mouth was at her ear, and she shuddered as she felt his lips move.
"Say 'yes sir' when I tell you to do something, girl." He squeezed his hand and as the pain intensified she finally gasped and cried out.
"Okay! Yes Sir! Please stop!" Her hands came up involuntarily but stopped halfway as the gun flashed in front of her face again.
Bullet looked at her with a satisfied grin and then let her go, finally sitting back for good and putting the cigarette between his lips.
"Good girl."
Sunshine rubbed her tender scalp and tried to blink back the tears threatening the corners of her vision.
"From now on you will answer your phone whenever I or Tombstone call you. Not answering will result in a reprimand. Don't try to run, because we will find you. Don't try to go to the police, because they will not help you. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir." Sunshine replied in a small voice, eyes downcast. Then, "What sort of reprimand are we talking about here?"
Bullet and Tombstone shared a dark glance. He did not answer her, only flashing his teeth as he asked, "How's your back doing?"
Sunshine knew the question was rhetorical, but wanted to prove that his intention behind asking it didn't affect her. She moved her shoulders in a shrug, feeling the tight skin there protest the movement. Her nonchalant facade was betrayed by the shaking in her voice.
"Perfectly fine."
His smile tightened. "Good. Then you should be able to work without a problem. We will contact you about your next assignment soon. I suggest you prepare yourself for it until then."
There was a pause and Sunshine realized that he was waiting for her to reply.
"Yes sir." She said quietly.
"Also, there is some paperwork that you will need to sign." A man in a well-tailored suit appeared with a small stack of papers, which he placed on the end table beside Bullet's chair. "This is a legally-binding contract, detailing the amount of money that was used to pay your bail, as well as some additional administration costs, and of course the cleanup bill from your treatment at the Warehouse. All of which should also help motivate you to do your job well."
Sunshine took the papers with shaking hands and skimmed over the contents quickly. Her heart dropped in her chest at the final numbers.
"You added four thousand dollars." She choked out.
Bullet's eyes glowed red as he sucked on the cigarette again. He looked like a demon as he blew the smoke out with his reply. "It costs money to run a business, sweetheart. You're lucky I don't charge interest."
The man in the suit, who Sunshine figured was one of Bullet's lawyers, handed her a pen and flipped to a page marked with a colorful stickynote.
"Sign your initials here, here, and here, and then sign your full name here and print it there. Today's date has already been written in."
She did as she was told, but only after dropping the pen twice. She just couldn't seem to grip it. She knew she was signing her life away, but there was nothing she could do about it. And now she couldn't even try to get the law to help her, since legally Bullet had every right to pinch every penny from her going forward. Oh, god, this was really happening. She finished scrawling her full birth name in shaky print and then handed the papers over. Bullet took them and added his initials and signature, reading over her name with a pondering look. Once he was done the lawyer looked over everything and then affirmed that everything was signed and filled out properly.
Bullet nodded to the girl.
"I look forward to finally seeing what you can do for me...April O'Neil."
Without waiting for her to reply Tombstone grabbed Sunshine's arm and pulled her up, escorting her to the door. Once out into the hallway Sunshine felt like she could breathe again, but only just. She felt the panic attack that she'd been holding down push it's way up her torso, threatening to elicit a scream from her, but she held it down.
Her thoughts weren't even coherent, such was the deep-seated terror that she felt erupting within her. Faceless guards and other goons within Bullet's employment blurred past as she was dragged through the compound. As soon as they were outside Sunshine wrenched her arm from Tombstone's grip and began to stiffly walk away.
"Jesus, kid, calm the fuck down." He grumbled, pulling out a cigarette.
Sunshine stopped and shook her head, hating the feeling of her hair against the skin of her cheeks and neck. She felt her wrist for another hair band but there was none. She felt claustrophobic. She needed to get her hair up. She needed to breathe.
Oh, god, Bullet was going to kill her. She knew it. She was going to screw something up eventually, and he was going to kill her for it. No doubt he would disfigure her further, perhaps chopping off a leg or two. Not her hands. She needed those to work. But her legs….
Oh, god. She felt sick. She was going to throw up. She was-
She tried to control her ragged breathing, and managed to suck back enough air that her head didn't feel as lightheaded anymore and her heart rate slowed down from level ten to level seven. Sunshine knew that her counting ritual would help alleviate her symptoms further, but she didn't want to do it in front of Tombstone, not even with her back turned. She didn't want him to somehow corrupt it with his presence.
"Come one, kid. I have to escort you the rest of the way."
She didn't move.
"Unless you want your ass full of bullets?"
Sunshine looked up at the sniper towers and gave a shuddered sigh, turned and walked past the skeletal man towards the rusty cadillac. He made an annoyed noise around the cig in his mouth and followed her.
The car ride back into the city was silent, but inside Sunshine's mind thoughts were buzzing like frantic bees. One thought in particular had been a pinprick of worry-now a full-blown razor-blade of panic-ever since she'd agreed to that damn offer almost two months ago.
What the hell had she gotten herself into?