Hi guys! Hope you enjoy this new chapter :)
11. No Body, No Crime
Anna stared down at the pistol that Reaver had just handed her. The craftsmanship of it was absolutely beautiful, she'd never seen anything like it. As she slowly turned it round in her hands, she was able to appreciate the tiny engraved details on the silver hardware. The silver barrel and detailing contrasted nicely against the dark, mahogany grip. It was a far cry from her old, trusty pistol, with its rusted hammer and discoloured barrel. It still worked though, not that she'd ever killed anyone with it. While living in Bowerstone Industrial, her pistol was used more often than not to scare away drunk men and rats.
"A gun?" Anna questioned, looking up from the weapon in her lap. Her green orbs met Reaver's as he leaned casually against his desk. Anna sat in one of the leather chairs opposite.
"Yes. In case it gets ugly," he explained. Anna widened her eyes slightly at the different possibilities that could happen tonight during her meeting with the union group. The one she wanted to avoid was any kind of death, but she supposed a gun would make feel more protected, just in case things went south. But as she thought of the different outcomes, another consideration popped into her head.
"Aren't you worried I won't just turn around and shoot you?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow at the businessman in front of her. Completely unphased, Reaver chuckled.
"I don't know, do you plan on shooting me, my dear?" he asked, making his way around his desk to sit down on his large leather chair. He rested his elbows upon the tabletop and leaned forward slightly, eager for her response.
"Well uh, no?" Anna admitted. Despite her hatred for the man who sat before her, she felt they'd found an understanding and a mutual interest that would help both parties. Killing Reaver at this party would get Anna nowhere and they both knew this. Reaver was all she had.
"So no, I'm not worried," he replied, smirking. Anna nodded, feeling a little ridiculous before slipping the gun into the inside pocket of the jacket she wore.
"I've also hired two of my men to accompany you, again, in case it gets ugly," Reaver explained, looking down at the paperwork that scattered the dark, wooden desk.
"Why?" Anna asked, watching him as he flicked through the different bits of paper before stacking them in one neat pile, his attention then returning to the ex-rebel in front of him.
"You'd hesitate if the situation got difficult. These people were your friends. But the hired men are under your orders, they're there to help you," he said. Anna's youthful skin crinkled as she frowned at the businessman's comments. She hated feeling underestimated, but she hated it more when the reasons seemed justified.
"I suppose you're right," she said quietly, biting her lip as she thought about it.
"I'm always right, my dear," Reaver said, turning his attention back to the workload in front of him. Anna exhaled deeply, thinking over her plan. Blackmail or making threats was the best option and the safest, no one would have to get hurt that way. Threaten Thomas to disband the union and everyone could leave unharmed.
"I'll see you later," Anna announced as she rose from the chair. Glancing at the deviant who continued to scribble things down on the paperwork stacked in front of him, he didn't seem to even acknowledge the girl as she left his presence.
The air still felt warm and thick as Anna stood in front of the Riveter's Rest. She cautiously glanced around, the streets of Bowerstone Industrial seemed unusually empty, which didn't help the ex-rebel's nerves. Balling up her hands into tight fists she could feel how clammy they were. She'd definitely underestimated how difficult helping Reaver would be. It felt morally wrong.
"There she is!" a voice called behind her. Quickly turning on her heals, Anna was met by two very large men. The one of the left had a shaved head, a dark, black beard and a scar across his right cheek. The other man was taller and had his mousy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, with two faded tattoos under his dull eyes. On closer inspection from the ex-rebel, she noticed his entire body was inked with an array of badly done tattoos. Their appearances easily intimidated the young girl.
"Mercenaries?" Anna guessed, her voice trembling slightly. The man on the right nodded.
"Aye. This is Sam and I'm Danny. Reaver told you we were comin'?" the blonde man asked. Anna's green eyes scanned each of the men before slowly nodding.
"Yeah, he did. I… uh, we're meeting some people inside," she explained, the nerves inside of her seeming to double and the growing lump in throat was making it harder to talk. Never in her life did she expect to work alongside mercenaries. But then again, never in her life did she expect to have the money to pay for such a service.
"Reaver gave us the rundown. You don't need to be scared of us, princess. We're on your side," the mercenary, Sam explained. A cheeky, grin appeared on his face and he suddenly didn't look as scary to Anna. She smiled slightly in response.
"Sam's a big ol' softy. Like a teddy bear," Danny explained with a chuckle as he led the group into the tavern.
The inside of the building looked fairly generic. The bar sat at the back of the room, with several stools placed at it. Tables and chairs were scattered throughout the establishment, with several occupied by regular customers. As the group entered, Anna could feel several eyes fall on her. Suspicious looks came from those enjoying their drinks and faint whispers could be heard as they made their way to the bar.
Anna kept her head down, not wanting to be recognised by the customers or the staff. She allowed her long brown waves to cover the majority of her face as she walked behind the two mercenaries to get to the bar.
"What can I get for ya?" the bar man asked, he eyed each one of them sceptically as he cleaned the countertop of the spilt beer that stuck to it.
"We're here for the union meeting," Danny explained to the barman. The man's attitude suddenly changed, and a small but welcoming smile appeared on his face.
"Oh aye, meeting is takin' place downstairs in the basement. You're just in time," he said, gesturing to the back door that led down to the cellar below the tavern.
The stairs down were old and rickety. Each step the group made caused the wood to creak and groan. The room below was ordinary enough. A storage room used to house the tavern's beers and ale. Large barrels of the stuff lined the brick walls and there was shelving on the far side that was crammed to the brink with mysterious bottles of liquor.
"Let me do the talking," Anna whispered under her breath as they entered the room full of men and women. The union group talked excitedly amongst each other, all with drinks in their hands as they waited for the meeting to start. The clock tower in Bowerstone Market had just struck 7pm and the seven chimes could be heard faintly in the tavern. As Anna and the two men entered, Thomas was just getting ready to start the evening's gathering.
"Anna!" Thomas said excitedly, his eyes catching a glimpse of her behind the two men. Hurrying over to her he embraced her quickly, in the same friendly way he had before, "I'm so glad you came. We're just about to start."
As Thomas pulled back from the hug there was a loud bang. Time suddenly began to play in slow motion. There was a loud, blood-curdling scream from a woman as Thomas dropped to the floor. Anna's eyes widened in horror; he had been shot. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. This was exactly what Anna had longed to avoid.
"Tom!" she screamed in terror as she collapsed to her knees, her hands quickly pressing down on the bullet wound on his chest. Attempting to stop the bleeding. She wasn't a doctor, she'd had no medical training, she was running simply on instinct and adrenaline. Focusing all her attentions on her injured friend, she was blind to the chaos around her. The two mercenaries had created their own assault. They hid behind the beer barrels that were stored, firing shots at the union group and as a shot flew past Anna's head, she realised that the union members were firing back. Herself and Tom were trapped in the middle of a bloody clash and there was no way to move the dying man out of the way.
"Tom, Tom, please, stay with me," Anna pleaded, pressing down harder on the wound. But as she looked down, she could see the blood pour out in between her fingers, trickling down onto the stone floor where his body lay.
"Anna," he mumbled quietly, his eyes fighting to stay open.
"It'll be okay Tom, I'll get you out of here," she said, her voice panicked and scared. Tom's lips curved upwards ever so slightly.
"I won't make it. B-but I have died for what I believe in," he said, his voice extremely weak. Anna shook her head in horror, this couldn't be happening. Her instantly tears filled her eyes and began to stream down her cheeks like a waterfall.
"Tom, no. Tom, can you hear me?" she asked over and over again but there was no response. He was gone. The ex-rebel sat there, coated in her friend's blood as the last of the bullets flew past her head.
"Come on, princess. We need to get outta here before the guards come," the mercenary Sam said, gripping her wrist tightly and pulling her to her feet. She stood there, frozen in shock and fear. The feeling and movement in her legs completely absent. That was the last thing Anna remembered before the world went black.
The ex-rebel awoke to a feeling of warmth and the peaceful rhythm of being rocked. For a moment she dreamt she was a child, back in her mother's safe and loving arms but it didn't take long for reality to set in. The stench of gunpowder and beer quickly alerted her to her surroundings. Her eyes flung open instantly and she looked up at the man who was carrying her, Sam.
"Our princess is awake," he said with a cheerful voice that enraged Anna to her core.
"Put me down," she spat and without any hesitation she was immediately dropped. The fall to the cold, stone floor was short, but the impact came keen, "Definitely not what I meant," she added, her tone still cold and vicious.
Returning to her feet, she glanced down at her once pristine clothes, not covered in a mixture of dirt, gun powder and blood. Her eyes returned to the faces of the two mercenary men, narrowing in anger.
"What the fuck happened?" she asked, unable to control her temper. The two men looked at each other, feeling completely unintimidated by the small girl that stood in front of them.
"Exactly what was supposed to happen. Reaver paid us to destroy every person in that room, excluding you of course," Danny explained. Anna's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't quite believe she had trusted Reaver and fallen for his tricks again.
"They weren't meant to die!" she shouted in anger.
"Yes, they were," Sam said calmly, "Now come on. We promised we'd return you safely to the boss man."
Anna shook her head and laughed almost hysterically.
"Like that's going to happen. I'll walk," she told them, turning sharply on her heals and walking out from the dark alley way in which they hid.
"You're really going to walk? All the way back to Millfields?" Danny shouted, sounding somewhat amused by the ex-rebel's determination.
"Yes. If I stay with you any longer, they'll be two more dead tonight," she replied, not even bothering to turn around and see their reactions. But she could imagine they were still completely unphased. It was hard to intimidate two large, muscly men when you looked like a mouse to them.
"Ha! We'd love to see you try," they responded, laughing at the threat. Anna continued to walk away, the feeling of anger and heartache growing inside her. Reaver was going to pay for what he did.
Oh no! And just when Anna and Reaver were beginning to get along (kind of)! Will hopefully have the next chapter up soon.
Thank you for reading! Reviews, follows and favourites are greatly appreciated!