Hey friends...kind of a short one this week. Sorry for that. Things in the story are (obviously) getting pretty tense, and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging, waiting for another chapter. I also didn't feel right just adding filler (though the keenly observant reader will ask themselves exactly what"voices" Kozik heard and what Opie and Chibs were listening to from inside the Clubhouse where their ladies were hanging out...I may have written that out and could be persuaded to post it at some point), Despite it being short, I think you will maybe like it anyhow. Or at least I hope you will. Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to leave me some love!
They drove around the block for the fourth time and Kozik had very much had enough. Opie had insisted that they all take the van, as they would need a vehicle to get Tess home, and Chibs would have to be able to ride with her, in case she needed medical attention. Kozik found himself crammed between the giant Prospect and the way too skinny Prospect, listening to Chibs and Opie ramble on from the front seat about how they needed to case the area again. The waiting and the constant chatter over strategy had him ready to crack both their skulls open.
"We have driven by the house about seven hundred and sixty times," Kozik spat out, his teeth grinding together. "What exactly is it that you guys expect to see?"
They both pretty much completely ignored him. "Hand me the binoculars," Opie commanded, reaching his hand into the back of the van expectantly. The massive Prospect, Phil, hurried to comply. It was almost funny to see the large man move so quickly and clumsily. Even Kozik, in his intense frustration, had to admit that the binoculars were a good idea. Still though, he didn't see what was so wrong with blowing in, guns raised, and taking out anybody who stood in his way.
Chibs drove slowly as Opie peered through the binoculars. The house had been exactly the same, each and every time they drove by it. It was a large, comfortable looking house, in a normal neighborhood, on a normal street. It was set back from the road a ways, surrounded by shrubs and trees for privacy. There was not a person in sight; this was the sort of neighborhood where people worked during the day and had barbeques and peewee soccer games on the weekend. The shades were all drawn shut in Lex's house, and there were no vehicles parked outside, though there was likely plenty of room in the garage.
"Okay," Opie spoke up after their sixth trip around the block, pulling Kozik from his thoughts. "Here's what we do. If I am right, and I think I am, that blue house with the ugly stone walkway around the block, the one that's for sale? It backs right up to this piece of shit's house. I say we park there and go in through the back. Less chance of being spotted by one of the Bored Housewives of Charming."
"Sounds about right to me, brother," Chibs muttered as he began to drive around the block again, choosing to let Opie's reality TV moment slide away unmentioned.. Kozik nodded his agreement. He was practically crackling with energy now that they were so damned closed to getting her back. He took a deep breath and started gathering guns while the two Prospects eyed him nervously. He supposed that neither of them had ever done anything like this before. Sure, they carried guns, just like every other person around the clubhouse, but Kozik doubted either man had ever had a chance to use them before. He thought back for a moment, to the first time he had ever done a job for the Club. He just hoped neither of these two were as completely and utterly useless as he was.
He felt the van stop and watched Chibs slide it into park. Kozik immediately moved towards the doors, but was stopped when a large hand found the back of his hoodie. He immediately turned to find Opie preventing his exit. He met the other man's eyes, and was about to open his mouth and let fly a variety to curse words, when Opie spoke.
"We need to be smart about this, Koz," he said, calmly and steadily. "We go in there prepared, but ready to talk first, shoot second. Brains before bullets. Remember, the more guns get fired, the more chance that Tess gets shot, and we don't need that."
As much as he wanted to murder each and every person who had dared lay a finger on Tess, he knew that he had to be careful. Their deaths were not the most important thing; getting Tess back safely was the most important thing. Once they had done that, then he could turn his attention to painting the whole fucking house red with Russian blood. He nodded to Opie, indicating that he understood. They climbed out of the van, weapons concealed in bags and beneath hoodies and hurried towards the back yard of the vacant house. Chibs silently opened the gate and ushered them through before shutting it behind them. The backyard they had entered was clean and well kept, but the house it surrounded was empty, and it provided them a nearly unobstructed view of Lex's house. Opie made quick work of knocking one of the fence panels out, so that they could more easily peer into the adjoining yard.
Kozik knelt down and trained his eyes on the back of the house across from him. He wasn't sure what he expected to see, but from the back, everything looked shockingly...normal. There was a yard of grass that was well maintained. There was a small back porch, complete with lounge chairs. He could almost picture Tess and Lex sitting there side by side, enjoying the sun on a warm weekend. The thought made him shiver involuntarily. He was a small grill sitting in the corner of the patio. There was absolutely nothing out of place. What Kozik absolutely did NOT see was any sign of life coming from the house.
"Anything going on over there?" Chibs asked, where he sat back to the fence.
Kozik shook his head. "Not a damned thing. Curtains are all drawn, can't see inside."
"Shit," Chibs muttered.
"We're going to have to go in, hard," Opie explained. Kozik and Chibs nodded, where the Prospects stared dumbly. "You two," he pointed to the Prospects, "are going to take the van and go cover the front. That means stand there, trying not to look conspicuous, and stop anybody who tries to run. We will go in the back. Send us a text when you are all set."
Both Prospects looked so dead serious that Kozik had to bite his own tongue to keep from laughing, in spite of himself. He watched the two men lumber off, and he turned to look at the other guys. "You know that if anybody goes out the front, we are pretty much fucked, right?"
"Oh yeah," Opie agreed, while Chibs laughed quietly. "We had better make sure nobody goes out the front then."
They waited impatiently for the Prospects to text and say they were in place. As soon as the text came through, Kozik and the other two men scaled the fence. Since there was absolutely no opportunity for cover and they were in broad daylight, instead of sneaking across the backyard, they moved as quickly as humanly possible. They arrived at the back door and listened for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only half a minute or so. There was absolutely no noise coming from inside.
Ordinarily, the Sons didn't do delicate or quiet, but since they were in a residential neighborhood in the middle of the day, they opted to pick the lock instead of stomping the door in. In a less stressful situation, Kozik would have been incredibly impressed with the speed that Chibs had the door open, but he didn't have time for that now. He nodded his approval, to which Chibs shrugged and said, "Fiona taught me to do that when I was sixteen."
They wasted no time in storming the house, guns drawn. When he saw that it was completely empty, Kozik couldn't stop the aching disappointment, both for the fact that Tess was gone and the fact that there was nobody to punish for it.
Kozik made his way from room to room looking for a sign of Tess, but it wasn't until he got to the tiny guest bedroom that he first noticed one. The room was completely plain and ordinary, but the bed was unmade, as if it had been slept in, and there were drops of blood on the light colored bedspread. The sight of the blood made his heart sink. The fact that it was only a small amount did little to lift his spirits. Somebody had made her bleed, and that was unforgivable. Now that he was close enough to the bed to examine the blood, the smell of her overwhelmed him. He lifted the pillow to his nose and was taken back to a time not so long ago when he had been caught sniffing her hair. Though that had eventually ended somewhat disastrously, he wished more than anything he could go back to that time.
He didn't know where the other guys had gotten to, but he really didn't care, because he had noticed a small smear of blood, almost waist height, over near the door. Kozik stood near the exit and examined the blood smear carefully, trying to figure out how it might have gotten there. The fingerprints were obvious. Of course, he knew that Lex could have mistakenly left the smudge of red in his haste to get get the hell out of dodge, but the closer Kozik examined it, the less sense that theory made. The finger marks appeared smaller than a man's would be. Kozik was about the same height as Lex was, and no matter how he maneuvered and angled himself, he just couldn't naturally get close to making a mark like that.
Kozik left the small room and made his way out to the main living room, where he finally saw his companions. Opie and Chibs were gathered around a small table across the room. It was strewn with wires and some sort of machinery. There were no other people in the room, but Kozik could make out voices. He could almost smell the tension in the air. That isn't what caught his attention, though. Instead, he caught sight of another trace of red on the wall.
"Guys," Kozik startled the other two as he rushed towards the blood. Chibs and Opie joined him. "It's blood."
"It's not much," Chibs commented cautiously. "But it's definitely blood."
"Listen Kozik, it doesn't mean anything," Opie advised. "That could be anybody's blood."
"Look for more," Kozik insisted. "There's more around here somewhere."
They both looked at him like he was insane, but neither man argued with him. He searched the room, high and low, but it was Chibs that found the next spot.
"Over here," the Scot called from down the hall. Kozik caught up with him outside the bathroom. "Right there." Chibs pointed to a spot on the door jamb.
This wasn't a coincidence. He couldn't explain why, but Kozik felt like the blood was deliberately and strategically placed. Kozik wasted no time in pushing past Chibs into the bathroom. It was clean and orderly, all marble and chrome and mirrors, except for the small imperfection of red near the shower. Even years later, if someone asked, he would never be able to explain what made him pull the shower curtain aside and find her message.
Seeing her words, written in her blood on the shower floor made his own blood run cold. Kozik couldn't quite wrap his head around his crazy, incredibly smart, impossibly strong girl. How she had managed to gather information from her Russian kidnappers and find a way to leave him a message, he just couldn't grasp. This girl was hands down amazing, made of stronger stuff than him any day of the week.
He turned to find Opie and Chibs standing in the bathroom door. Three grown men, together in a bathroom. He would have made a joke at literally any other time, but right now, all he could say was, "We have to get to Oakdale."
Chibs nodded, while Opie stared at the floor. "Aye, we do brother. But we have to go back to the Clubhouse first."
Kozik grit his teeth, ready to fight this out if he had to. "No. We have waited long enough. I have to find her. So unless you can give me a good reason-"
"They have the Clubhouse wired," Opie cut in. "It's how they knew we were coming; why they were able to get out so fast, ahead of us. Tess is in danger, yes, but they haven't hurt her yet and there is no reason to believe they will. Right now, they are inside of us. Every member, every Old Lady, every child, every friend we have...with the information that has been shot around that Clubhouse, they are all in danger. We have to get back."
Kozik swore under his breath. He didn't want to admit it, but they were right. He would gladly risk his own life for Tess, but he couldn't bargain anybody else's.
"We go back to the Clubhouse now," Kozik agreed. "But as soon as we figure this out and get everybody safe-"
"Then we go get your girl back," Opie promised.