Well – hopefully this should be coming up in the directory now as I've changed a bit of the contents in some chapters previous, allowing me to lower the rating. Happy days!
12. Job done
Clay and Nick jumped over Antonio - as he pinned Joe to the floor - on their way to his comrade who was just jumping to his feet.
Nick's attention was distracted as his gaze fell on the iron barred cage behind his opponent.
Inside, paced a black haired wolf, barely larger than a cub walking back and forth on a floor of torn clothing, and dirtied rags, his front paw pained him as he limped trying not to put too much weight on it. This was Nick's son, Matthew. He knew it instinctively.
Matthew was caught by Nick's attention, stopping his pacing and tilted his head in thought. He gave a little high pitched whimper, settling himself on his rear hunches, before standing back up again as he continued to stare at his father.
Startling Nick, Matthew growled deep in his throat and threw himself forward into the bars snapping his jaws as something whizzed past Nick's ear biting the skin at his neck. With a yelp of pain, Matthew gave one last bark, stumbling backwards shaking his head, trying to regain balance, before groggily collapsing onto his side. A yellow tipped dart sticking out of his flank.
The younger Sorrentino turned to see the hoarse voiced man throw down a tranquiliser pistol in a snarl of rage. Nick jumped at the bars in frustration trying to break the lock that held the gate shut, as he watched helplessly as the wolf cub's body morph back into that of a young man.
His skin was swollen and heavily bruised in places along his naked form, his bottom lip split, and dried blood had settled above his left eyebrow. Nick felt pure white hot fury grow in his stomach, lashing fire down his arms, willing him to take action! With a scream of rage he lunged at the hoarse voiced man, his vision nothing but red.
"NICK!" Clay bellowed, as Antonio pulled his son back out of harms way.
There was a loud bang; Antonio grunted stumbling back over Joe's unconscious body. The un-named man swore - Seeing his target get to his feet. He went to raise the firearm a second time and was caught off guard from Nick grabbing him by the throat - with his free hand the werewolf crushed the bones in his fingers as he clasped the gun, releasing another shot before it dropped to the floor.
Clay stepped around and broke the padlock that locked Matthew into his cell. The boy's eyelids fluttered, trying to fight the drugs in his system - taking in the blurred form of Clay before sinking back into unconsciousness.
Nick looked over at his father, as the older Sorrentino squatted over Joe's body and snapped his neck – letting the body fall to the floor in a crumpled mess.
"You alright?" He asked looking at the blood soaking the top of his left arm.
His father shrugged, glancing at the wound. "Just a scratch." He said with a sly grin.
"You're a bit of a cheap shot." Nick growled into the now unarmed man's ear, letting him whimper as he threw him to the floor, and walked over to his son.
"Are there any other people who know about this?" Clay asked roughly dragging him to his feet.
The guy replied with a; "Fuck you!" This earned him a punch in the kidney.
"I said - how many others?" He asked coldly, but firmer than before, putting a stronger grip on the man's throat.
"Four! There are four of us." He wheezed spittle flying from his lips.
"Why did you take the boy?" Antonio asked standing tall above him.
The man took a deep breath waiting for the next shot of pain. "He took out one of my buddy's kids – so we thought we'd teach him a lesson." He said through gritted teeth. "That was before we knew what kind of freak he was." He hissed.
"Matthew didn't kill anyone!" Came a shrill voice in the direction of the stairs. Although Clay kept his grip he took in a deep breath, flaring his nostrils to smell Belle standing on the steps with Elena not far behind.
"And you Billy Richards are nothing but a coward, who beats defenceless women and young kids to make yourself feel like a real man." She growled walking up to him and staring him straight in the face. She was a few inches shorter than him at eye level, but Clay couldn't help but admire the cold fire that burned in her glare at this man; Billy Richards.
She gave him a once over look. "You're nothing, but scum." She snarled.
Before anyone could react, Billy – the hoarse voiced man – lunged forward at Belle, freezing her in her movements as something pricked at her neck. Clay released his grip automatically as Belle gasped in fear.
Billy had his arm wrapped around her throat with the broken fingers disjointed at odd angles, a needle filled with a transparent fluid poised at her neck in his good hand. He moved behind her, using her as a shield.
"Get out of the way!" He barked at Elena as she moved cautiously away from the stairs. "Nobody move." He growled eyeing the rest of them, backing up.
Belle chanced a glance at Elena and blinked twice. A blink in return, as Billy hoisted her backwards up the step. She stumbled, the needle grazing her neck as he yanked her back up.
A snarl of pain roared from the man; one of rage from the woman. "You bitch!" He swore, stabbing the syringe into her shoulder, as she spun away from his grasp and aimed her palm into his nose, revealing to everyone the carved wooden knife handle sticking out from his belly.
Elena lunged as Nick saw Belle stagger backwards, shaking her head before she lost her footing and fell backwards. He caught her just before she hit the ground. Clay jumped over them both, hand morphed into a claw and split Billy's throat with the help of his wife.
"Belle…" Nick gasped alarmed, brushing the hair from her face to check if she was okay. She lay as if sleeping, eyes closed, lips slightly apart, her breath shallow as Antonio crouched down beside his son, pulling the needle slowly from her shoulder in case the metal tip snapped – the plunger only depressed halfway.
"Nicky?" Antonio nodded in the direction of Matthew, his muscles twitching as his eyelids flickered.
Reluctantly leaving Belle with his father, he strode over to the cell his Son was being held in and threw the gate open, ripping it from its hinges - it bounced on the floor with an echoing clang. After pulling the yellow tipped dart from his thigh; Nick checked Matthews pulse, watching his eyelids flicker more strongly now.
His eyes fluttered once or twice trying to hold his concentration. "Mom…?" He wheezed his voice dry and barely audible. He waved his hand about in the air as Nick reached out to steady him.
"It's okay Matthew… your safe." Nick said, feeling the fury reignite and writhe in his stomach at who could have done this to his own flesh and blood. "Your safe now Son." Biting on the inside of his cheek - Nick glanced at Belle, who lay still unconscious on the floor where Antonio was keeping a close eye on her.
A thud as a body hit the floor broke their concentration as Matthew started to stir, fighting whatever drugs were in his system. All eyes turned toward the body slumped against the floor at Clay's feet. The blonde bombshell stepped over the body to look over a metal tray at numerous vials and syringes, studying them meticulously.
"Ketamine…" He sniffed one of the vials and sharply pulled it away from his nose, handing it to Elena for confirmation, whilst Antonio handed him the one retrieved from Belle. Clay nodded in confirmation.
"It's just an anaesthetic." She informed Nick looking over Belle's prone form, as Clay knelt down to check over Matthew, starting with his pulse and pupils.
"I think he may have a broken rib, but the rest is just superficial. I won't know more until he's awake. But I reckon he'll be alright." He stated, listening to his breathing as he gently pressed sections of his torso, and inspected his wounds. Clay's medical knowledge almost reached Jeremy's standard, due to his predatory instinct to hunt. In his youth, Clay poured over books on human and animal anatomies to further his predatory hunting skills.
"Right… backpack." Elena muttered clearing her throat as she pulled up the sleeve on Antonio's shirt. She found the pack discarded halfway up the staircase. "Here…" She called to Nick throwing him the silver Mylar sheeting. Pulling out the small medical kit, Elena cleaned Antonio's wound and roughly bandaged it up, as Nick wrapped the sheeting around his son, cradling him as he picked him up leaving the basement to lay him down in the back of the rental car, as Clay followed with Belle in his arms.
As soon as they got back to Belle's house, Matthew was taken to his room to rest, Belle likewise – both still under the influence of the anaesthetic.