Next chaptah up for ya! I gotta go quick, so read!
And I know the part about Vann's sister is like "Dancing Revolver", with that girl who got killed and all that, but I don't care! Wooh! So there! Anyways, like I said, read please, and review as well!
+
They reached the Red Ice as quickly as possible, alert the whole way for enemy gangsters. Even for his injuries, Vann was as fast as ever, and never made the slightest complaint or impained noise the entire way. When they entered through the doors of the saloon, they were greeted by the sound of silence.
Then an utterly relieved voice, that Alex recognized as Gryff's, yelled, "It's Vann and Alex!"
The sound of guns being uncocked came next, then as her eyes adjusted to the lighting she realized they had been expecting an attact. Looking at Vann, she saw he had learned the same thing; a slightly worried expression was in his eyes. The Coyotes surrounded them as they headed for the bar, all of them silent, waiting for one of them to ask a question first.
"Where's Eamon?" Kett said at last, breaking the silence.
"In a safe place," Vann replied. He took a seat at the bar, then his face recognized surprise. Alex followed his gaze, and saw behind the bar, Leah. "Where's Renn?" he asked tensely.
The girl was silent for a moment, then she burst into tears. "Tthey ttook her, the SSnakes!" it was hard to understand her words through her stammering sobs. Alex felt her stomach drop; looking at Vann, she saw his shattered expression.
"How did that happen?" he asked, his voice slightly catching.
"We were all out on patrols, save for Kale 'n' Zad," Thom explained quietly. "They came charging in here, and shot both of 'em, then dragged off Renn when she tried to fight. Nearly got Leah, too, but one of the Snakes watchin' out the door announced Lucius was coming, so they left in a hurry."
Leah made a choking sound, and her sobs grew louder. Alex reacted to instinct, and rising, she slid over the bar and hugged Leah comfortingly. The girl gripped her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder, while Alex stroked her head and shushed her gently. She looked at the others and realized they were watching her closely, and she realized in irritation they thought she liked Leah. But Vann wasted no time.
"Where is Lucius?" he asked sharply.
"Here," the man replied, and the group parted for him to come up to Vann. "Kale an' Zad are downstairs. Kale was shot in the shoulder an' the knee, an' Zad in the stomach an' thigh. Ev'ryone else's here, 'cept for Eamon."
"A'right, this is what we do," Vann said. "Lucius, take Gryff, Soren, Kett, Thom, and Trent, and sweep through the western Snakes territory. Alex and me will take ev'ryone else through the eastern side. Kill ev'ry single Snake you see, without hesitatin'. Leave none alive. If you find the leader, though, bring 'im back to the saloon, an' detain 'im in some way. Play with 'im as much as you like."
Alex looked at Vann sharply at the last bit, and his blue eyes met hers evenly. She shivered at what she saw in them; all he held was a cold hatred. Then she remembered that him and Eamon were bloodbrothers, and Renn was his love. As well as that, his gang, his family, had been put in danger, with members being shot. He had a right for vengeance.
Lucius and his group had loaded up on guns and ammunition and other weapons, and now headed out the door. Just before leaving, Lucius saluted Vann with a .12-gauge rifle, and said, "We'll get 'em all, man." Vann nodded, and he vanished out the door.
"Let's get goin', lad," Vann said. Alex nodded, and gently, but firmly, disentangled herself from Leah's tight grip.
They grabbed up the remaining weapons and hurried out. All of them had to sprint to keep up with Vann, who was running towards the Snakes' eastern territory at a full-out charge. As soon as they crossed the border into the enemy quarter, they were greeted by gunfire; the Snakes were waiting. Vann had always been a daredevil, but now that he was being driven on pure hatred and rage, he was untouchable.
Snake after Snake fell to their bullets. Alex didn't remember how many she had shot; she just fired at those shooting at her. Dimly she could feel little grazes touching her figure, but if there were any other injuries, her fierce adrenaline rush was wiping out the pain. They drove on through the Snake land, slaughtering like demons. At one point Alex saw a Coyote fall, an older man named Tarik, but Vann never halted, never looked back.
Through his rage they stumbled upon the Snakes' main nest. The real bloodshed started here, as well as Alex's rising guilt and hesitation. At one point she struck down a Snake in the chest. As she approached him to finish him off, his pleas filled her ears.
"No-please-no-please-no-don't-kill-me-I-beg-you-please-no-nooo!"
She raised her pistol and aimed it between his eyes. But his cries were distracting her, and her breathing became shaky. Shooting someone had never been so hard before...but then a nearby gun fired, and the man's head split like a watermelon. She flinched and looked at who had fired, and found Vann next to her. His gun was still aimed at the man, and he fired again, and again, and again, until the man's body was torn to pieces, and lay in a thick pool of blood.
Alex backed away cautiously, watching Vann. No emotion crossed his face as he fired; his finger seemed to be working on automatic. As the gunfire stopped elsewhere, the room was pitched into silence, and everyone watched Vann. Finally, his gun ran out of bullets, and he stepped back. His face was as smooth as stone, but his blue eyes glowed like jewels, filled with his hatred.
"Vann!" That was Lucius. With his group close behind, he reached theirs. Standing next to Vann, he looked silently at the pieces of flesh, blood, and bone laying before him, then he looked at Alex. She held his gaze, before lowering it back to the body. "Vann, we found the Snakes' leader."
"Where is he?" Vann asked coldly, and put a new clip in his gun. Moving faster than anyone had ever seen him move, Left-Shot Lucius knocked the gun away from Vann, and gripped him tightly by the shoulder.
"There is no time for this!" he growled in a low voice. "Yes, they've killed countless Coyotes, an' they shot Eamon, an' you, an' Alex here, an' they took Renn, an' your sister, but now we got other things to take care of!"
Vann looked at Lucius, silent and immobile. Then his face crumpled, and he turned away quickly, covering his eyes.
Alex found herself standing next to Gryff. "What happened to his sister?" she asked in a whisper.
Gryff never took his eyes off Vann as he spoke. "Snakes and Coyotes have a long, long history with each other, even before Vann, or Eamon for that matter, joined the group. They've been killing us for years, and we've been killing them in return. Shortly after Vann joined, he crossed the old leader of the Snakes, and nearly killed him in a fight.
"That cowardly bastard decided to take it out on Vann's sister Allie, who was a barmaid in a saloon on the other side of town. One night, the Snakes snatched her while she's heading home, and take her to their base. Not only did they rape her God knows how many times, they tortured her slowly, for hours on end, before finally killing her. When Vann found out, he went berserk, and went after them, but they expected it, and ambushed him, and left him for dead. That's what started all this, and caused Vann to flip so fiercely after you guys got shot, and Renn taken."
"I never" she stopped, not knowing what to say. Gryff nodded understandingly, and they remained silent, watching Vann and Lucius. The latter had taken over control of the gang for the moment, and was issuing commands.
"Soren, Kett, take a few men an' search the nest, see if Renn's here. Alex, Gryff, an' the rest of you, take the Snake asshole back to Red Ice."
Everyone immediately obeyed. Alex saw the Snake leadera man just a little younger than Eamon, with dark tanned skin, short-cut curly black hair, and shifty black eyes. They had his arms bound painfully behind his back, though Alex felt no pity for his pain, and she made sure he knew it. Gripping the binds, she yanked on it, causing him to give a yelp, then she shoved him forward, out the door. As they headed along, back to Red Ice, she kicked him to keep him moving, her own rage just barely in control.
When they reached the Red Ice, the leader was dragged to a corner of the saloon and tied to a post. As the others circled around him, Alex suggested to a terrified Leah to go downstairs. The girl obeyed, and Alex was tempted to go down as well; she really didn't want to see what they would do to this man, but she had to see it, it was her duty as a Red Hill Coyote.
Sitting at the bar, she tried to ignore the sound of the man's screams and pleading, while she waited for Lucius and Vann to return. A thought struck her suddenly: perhaps Vash, Mister Love and Peace, had been right.