Love Struck Delusion

Chapter 251 - Leashed.

Raptor's POV.

"I told you if she laid a fucking claw on you I'd rip her apart."

"She just let her emotions get the better of her. I told her…?" Zeta cut me off immediately to scream.

"I don't care what you told her!"

I had just finished washing my face as she said that. However I kept myself calm because I knew this was going to happen. Zeta was under full influence of her venom and much like Hunter; she was letting emotion overtake her ability to reason. As I reached out for a rag from on top of my sink, the wolf yanked my arm back down to growl.

"Don't you dare play the good guy. All you ever try to do is make things work and sometimes that shit isn't an option. This bitch is nothing. She means nothing. No one would notice a thing if she just vanished."

"She means something to me." I replied.

I saw Pepper's eyes widened as she questioned if she just heard that right. Zeta on the other hand raised her growl up a notch as I tried to be the voice of reason once more.

"She's helped me. Saved my life. I may not love her Zeta, but she's at least my friend. And my friends have every right to hate me for the things I do. I had her friend killed. He may not have been around her whole life, but Black was a friend of hers nonetheless. She got emotional when I told her the truth. She yelled at me. Called me a fucking asshole. It's emotions. The same thing you're riding on right now. So take a second and listen to me. Calm the fuck down."

The wolf looked like she was about to be the next one to punch me and as things grew more intense by the second, Cody stepped up to urge us both.

"Break it up you two. Today is supposed to be a good day. No one is going to rip anyone apart and shit it's not even lunch time yet."

Zeta was gunning me down with her set of red orbs. I stared right back as Pepper came in to get between us. Her focus on me as she ordered me carefully.

"Go to the living room."

I stepped off slowly and did as I was told. Peek and Cody followed as Zeta broke off her sister's side to shout at me from no more than a foot way.

"Do you get off on being a fucking spineless prick Raptor!? Huh!? Do you!?" She proceeded to push me and instantly Cody got in front of the girl to shout.

"Oh!"

Pepper came back into the room like a speeding bullet to grab her from behind. Zeta held her ground and screamed at me as I was now on the couch.

"You're supposed to be a fucking man! You're a god and you're letting this bitch walk all over you!?"

"What the fuck do you want from me then, huh Zeta!?" I screamed back as Pepper ordered me before her sister could answer.

"Stop Raptor! Don't argue with her!"

"I want you to stop being a goddamn pussy! Do you hear me!?"

I wasn't going to sit here and take this any longer. This would be my first real use of this power. Before I did it I looked back at the wolf to reply.

"I fucking hear you Zeta! But I need you to open your fucking eyes and think for a second! I just got done losing my whole fucking family for the second fucking time and I'm sorry but I also lost my best friend Wreak to this bullshit! I'm not about to add another name to the list! Especially when she had no control over herself! Now do me a favor and fuck off before you really start pissing me off!"

Pepper's POV.

Zeta took her chance to leap forward at him, but thankfully I was between them and was able to stop her as she screamed back in pure anger.

"Your a fucking coward! You stuipd….?!"

Her words were cut short as Raptor disappeared. I looked back at the couch in confusion as Peek questioned.

"What? Where the fuck did he just go?"

"How did he…?" Cody tried to add on as Zeta brought back her growl to scream out.

"You motherfucker! Get back here!"

I tried to hold her in place but quickly lost my hold as she charged the basement stairs. I followed her to the top of them and looked down as she ran down them like a bat out of hell to see if that was where he had gone. But clearly it wasn't; because in seconds she came back up to head for the second floor now. I heard doors slamming as she checked every room to no avail. Only once she cleared the house did I hear her scream.

"Aghhhhhhh!"

"Oh man….this isn't good." I muttered as the two boys standing by the couch wondered.

"Should we do something?"

Unsure I replied.

"I don't know. She needs to calm down somehow."

Zeta was still screaming as Cody whispered to be safe he wouldn't get overheard.

"I think we should just let her get it out. She'll pass out from the venom in a few minutes if she can't get it checked."

I knew he was right, but still. She was ready to hunt that hedgehog down. Both of them in fact. I had no worries that Raptor was fine. He went somewhere away from here but god knows where.

Raptor's POV.

"Ahhhhh…...ahhhhhh…...ahhhhh…..?" I had to take a second to breathe. This power still felt like a good kick to the stomach each time I tried it. But I was away from that mess and that's all that mattered right now. Leaned up against the back side of my house; I focused on regaining my ground. Once I was okay I got moving out. A small walk around to the front door and then to the sidewalk gave me more than enough time to relax. During which I used what little I had to fix my face. I just wanted the swelling to go down and that's what happened after I had finished up. The sun was still beating on my face so I figured my best bet would be to get indoors sooner rather than later. I had no care for what I wanted to do. I just wanted to relax and lose myself in something other than the crap going on at my house.

As I walked down the street, I began to feel my phone going off in my pocket. When I managed to get it out of there, I saw the incoming call was private. I never understood how these calls came through labeled as such, but regardless I answered.

"Hello?"

At first I got nothing back, but just before I went to say it again; I heard back in a confused voice.

"Hello? Is this Raptor Voltz?"

It sounded like a pretty young guy to me on the other line and keeping things leveled I replied.

"Typically I was expecting you to be a robot when I didn't get an answer at first, but yeah this is him. I assume this is important if you managed to get my number."

I heard a faint chuckle come back, but shortly after the guy replied.

"I didn't expect you to answer a private call, but here we are I guess. Haha. Well seeing as you did, I need to inform you that my name is Heller and I've been asked to make contact with you on behalf of the network. I know my boss had already talked with you personally, but I've been told to speak with you now on his behalf."

"Yeah we've met. Not a bad guy. Serious but not bad. What's this about?"

As I walked I figured I'd get heading on over to Ron's. At least it was closer then the capital and at least there I could get a cold drink while letting Zeta relax for a few hours. In seconds Heller replied to my question.

"He's recently been thinking about the business you and him went over. I'm sure you know what I'm referring to, so I'm going to make this quick for you seeing as you're a busy man probably. He wants you to know that there are already twenty or so bids being placed on your old friend Archer in Afghanistan. The contract was opened as you may know recently by Ying PMC."

"Yeah I've heard." I replied as Heller went on to state to me.

"Those PMC's who are bidding are currently asking for permission from you to enter your country. Now I have a list of said PMC's. I sent them over via text to you just now. Take a moment and look it over please."

I put my phone on speaker and went to my texts to see the message. My eyes lit up when I saw all the names and all the prices they were willing to pay me to handle Archer. I've never seen so many zeros. Yet over half of them I didn't know. During my silence Heller said to me.

"Ying has more recently been killed as you may also be aware of. Now the contract is still honored since the company has since been transferred to Ying's second in command who still wants this handled properly. The numbers you see is how much that company is willing to pay you for permission. Now you don't have to select any of them. You can keep this to yourself if you see that as the best way forward for now, but the network suggests you let us know of your answer in the next two business days. By giving this number a call back you'll be directed to me and from there we'll go over what you decided. Does that sound fair sir?"

I had no reason to argue so I replied.

"Understood. I'll give you a call back when I decide."

"Thank you Mr. Voltz. I'll be expecting you."

The line then cut off and I was left with the list of names and a few concerns I now had. I didn't have the best idea on what to do now, but I had at least one person I could talk it over with and that was Hecan. I quickly called his number and in a matter of a few seconds the man himself answered.

"You caught me at a good time. I was just getting ready to lay down." He informed me as I chuckled and questioned.

"Lay down? You sleep?"

"Barely." He laughed as I then went on to say to him.

"I just got a call from the network and I wanted to ask for your opinion."

"Shoot. I'm all ears." He replied as I nodded and told him the situation. After which he said to me.

"I heard about what happened to Ying. It's a blessing in disguise if you ask me. Now regardless of the fact that Fort Drake didn't ask you for permission in the first place, it means that they are trying to make a point that all those other guys won't dream of making. How much are they offering you for Archer?"

"Seven point five." I replied as he went on to state.

"So twenty five percent of the contract. That's a lot and that's putting it bluntly. Most PMC's will offer you three or four percent if you're lucky. Drake is willing to pay you a hefty piece and on top of that they already showed you that they can get a job done right with what they did to Ying. They're probably still in your country right now just watching. If I were you I'd take my advice on this. I know what they can do and I know the man who runs them personally. He's a man of his word and he gets the job done right every time. He's never done wrong by me despite the people working for him being more or less loose cannons. But regardless those loose cannons normally work solo and under direct orders. Now things can work out okay if you let them loose on Archer sooner rather than when my people get around to it. Which is at the most another day or two Raptor. I already have troops flooding into Pakistan with supplies and much needed relief. Hopefully in another day or two, I'll be on my way down to you."

"Wouldn't this fuck things up? If they kill Archer somehow, how would we explain that happening before an assault is even launched?" I wondered as he quickly replied.

"I'm not telling you what to do here Raptor. Just be aware. You don't have to do anything here if you don't want to. You can just decline all offers, but sooner or later someone will come around to seeing you personally. Ether Drake or some other PMC. It's your choice. At the very least I have some mutual ground with Drake as is, so this could at least be a safe bet to hedge. Having a very skilled and tight knit group on your side, might be beneficial in your future. But you decide who to trust. For your choices shape your future."

"I know." I replied as I kept my pace on course for Ron's.

"Drake wants to be your friend Voltz. I'd think about at least hearing him out. He doesn't typically make you aware of his interests before he acts on something big. So this must mean something is on his mind. That's my advice to you. Now I'd like to get around to sleeping. Need anything else before I close up shop?" Hecan asked me as I chuckled and replied.

"No sir. Thank you. Sleep well."

"Oh you have no idea Raptor. Stay safe. Stay positive." Hecan cut the call right there and I took a moment to put my phone away. After which I grew back my ability to focus and get myself to Ron's. I'd spend some time here hopefully and just think about what to do with the network. Think about Hecan's advice and plan accordingly over a few whiskeys.

Hunter's POV, A few hours later.

For the last few hours I've been trying to cope and understand what has all happened since I've returned home. Raptor had broken me. I couldn't place any spot in my mind where I would be in his position. Where he would kindly watch as the man who had his family murdered killed off another man who gave it his everything to survive after hearing the truth about his sister. I couldn't do it. I had no sense of it. Even Raptor's words rang through me and I still couldn't process it. Was he always this cold? Was this just who he was and I just couldn't see it? Was I this dumb? I asked myself as I stared at my desert eagle which I had placed on my lap as I was laying down in bed trying to unwind.

The longer I tried to understand the more angry it got me that I didn't. I knew for a fact Raptor had no regrets about it. He stood right in front of me and said what he did and how Black deserved it. Can a man like that really lead this world right? As I sat here I began to cry. I wanted to kill him. I just wanted to find him and place a round in between his eyes. At least then I would know Black got what he really deserved. How can this just be accepted? How was I supposed to cope with it all?

With tears dropping off my chin and down onto my stomach, I found a single moment of peace before really taking myself seriously. I could do it. I could kill him. He trusts me enough to see me again I'm sure. Even after I hit him the way I did. He was soft that way. He'd never expect it. He'd just be blind till the very moment I pulled the trigger. Those wolves who guard him wouldn't even think twice. They listen to him and if he tells them to go away or look the other way; then I could surely end all this suffering. I just need to make things a little bit better. Apologize even. Then when I get him alone or somewhere I could try and run I could do it.

Picking up my gun and looking over it's surfaces really well; I soon asked myself out loud.

I'd have to shoot you twice Raptor. One shot wasn't enough the first time. Maybe more than twice. Make you feel the pain you caused Black to feel. Make you regret your choices. I'd love to hear him beg.

I was shaking in my seat. I wanted to do this. I had too. He deserved it. Black didn't. None of them did. I thought to myself as I lowered the gun again to breathe.

"Ohhhhh god." I mumbled into my hands as I looked up at my ceiling lamp. I was lost. Unsure of what to really do. My options were there but it was a matter of fear now. I don't think I have it in me.

I wanted to be able to move by this. I wanted to forget Black and even Raptor right now. Just ignore all these bad thoughts. But somewhere there I was still ready to end this all. To end him. Even if it was bad for the country, this would be good for the world. To have Raptor Voltz put into another grave. One he couldn't escape.

mT Shadow.