Part 14- The Ghost by I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
They were at the old mental hospital, also known as "the office", where they cooked and stored most of their products. Only Bodie, Joe, and Heco were currently with Billy, gathering up more hits to sell on their corners. Billy had been in the middle of stashing money in his bag from sells earlier in the night when he heard his phone ringing from inside his coat pocket. He accepted the call, giving a curt greeting.
"What the fuck do you mean you got some trouble I need to take care of?" he yelled into the phone. The men surrounding him instantly stopped what they were doing and listened to Billy's side of the conversation.
"No, I think that's your damn problem. If you hadn't have been stupid enough to-" Billy stopped midsentence as a muffled voice bellowed from the other end; the guys knew it could be none other than Bones. Suddenly, Billy eyes widened and he swiftly turned towards the three men in the room with him. He snapped his fingers, signaling them to stand by him and listen; he turned the speakerphone on.
"- know who she works for. I don't care who she works for, I just want you guys to get the fuck over here and fuckin' fix it! You guys work for me, so stop playing with your dicks and get your asses up here! All of ya!" A click was heard and then a dial tone before Billy could utter another word. The three guys only caught the ending of Bones' rant and stood there confused about what was going on.
"What's this all about?" Bodie asked, looking at Billy who shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"The girl, she got a hold of some of Bones' guns. He thinks she's with some other gang and wants us to take care of her," he spat on the floor.
"What the fuck do you mean "she got a hold of some of Bones' guns"?" Bodie asked Billy incredulously.
"The fat shit said some guy came in there, bought them for a friend or something. He said he followed him outside to see where he was going and saw a woman stick him in the gut, grab the guns and haul ass away from there. He's obviously high off his fuckin' ass if he would sell his shit to a stranger."
"How are you sure it's the girl?"
"Because Bones said it was some young, curly-headed bitch and what other girl do we know runnin' around here, getting into our fuckin' business?"
"You don't think she'd go to the police, do you?" Joe asked.
"Well, Bones obviously thinks she's with some other gang, which she's either trying to help blackmail or sabotage us. Either way, he wants us to fix this shit he's started. You'd think the fat fuck'd have the motherfuckin' brains not to do something like this."
"Well, it's not like we weren't gonna take care of the bitch one way or another, dog," Bodie answered.
"Yeah, but she also didn't have a bag load of fuckin' guns, did she, Bodie? Now we got a bigger situation on our hands. Who knows what kind of shit she could pull with the type of artillery Bones sells!" Billy got into Bodie's face, his eyes bulging.
"I don't think it's worth losing our temper over," Bodie said with quiet anger. He tried to stay calm, but was finding it increasingly difficult with Billy constantly getting in his face. "I doubt she'd bust in here and start shooting us up anytime soon. We've got the same shit from Bones as she does, probably even better. She's getting bold, though, so we gotta get to her before she does anything impulsive."
"Such as kill a man?" Billy suggested. He wiped his nose and regretted doing the line of coke earlier. It was messing with his head and tonight was not a good time to be impaired. He laughed at the predicament they were in, shaking his head and turning away from all three men. He laughed again, running a hand over his shaved head before placing them on his hips.
None of them had thought she was serious when Billy reiterated the conversation he had with Mona on the dance floor, saying that she was going to kill them all. They had all laughed at the prospect, Billy being the only one concerned about the matter. He figured she might try for another fight, but didn't think she'd be capable of trying to actually murder him and his crew. He felt foolish for thinking so, but realized he hadn't swung too far from home.
"Come on, dog. It's fuckin' nine of us against her! You think we can't win this?" Bodie asked Billy, starting to let his pent up anger go. Billy turned to glare at Bodie over his shoulder.
"Bones is sure he saw her kill this guy, whoever he was?" Joe asked, trying to ease the tension between the two. Billy kept his eyes on Bodie a second longer, both men tense. He finally turned completely around, facing them again and looked over at Joe.
"He seemed pretty damn sure, the way he kept ramblin' on about it."
"So, we take care of it tonight then," Bodie demanded, still starting at Billy intensely.
"This is too fuckin' good!" Heco shouted suddenly. No one noticed how deliriously excited he had grown with every word they had spoken, "I call first fuckin' dibs!"
"Heco, this isn't like a fuckin' toy we have to share," Bodie turned his aggravation onto him. Heco laughed dementedly.
"It is to me."
Billy rolled his eyes, running both hands over his face, "Heco, you're high. Shut the fuck up... I want you guys to call up the rest of the crew. Tell them to get their asses over here, now," he ordered them, before turning away and walking into an adjacent room. His senses were in overdrive and he felt his head spinning. He didn't want his boys to see how vulnerable he felt with his anger right now. He had a hard time keeping himself from lashing out at Bodie just a few minutes ago. He felt he was slowly losing his mind.
Pull your shit together, he thought to himself. He wouldn't be able to get through this if he couldn't get his mind straight. Save the rage for her.
She was the one, after all, who was causing all the tension between the gang. Ever since they had first spotted her and caught on that she was more than a typical dweller of downtown Columbia, they had been like a pack of rabid dogs at each others' throats. He wasn't going to lose control because of her. He worked too hard to get the status he was at now, and he would put a fucking bullet through his own brain before he would ever succumb to anyone.
"You're on my side of the track now. I say who lives, I say who dies. This isn't your war anymore." Billy remembered what he had said to her last night in the club.
"I say who lives," he said to himself, standing straight and pulling out his torch lighter. He flipped it open, striking the flame to life with his thumb. He watched the orange, blue glow, licking and dancing in the air as a small draft blew through the room, "I say who dies." He whispered, and with a flick of his wrist the lighter snapped shut, smothering the flame. Billy felt his lips twist up into a smile.
The hot water stung as it ran down my body, contrasting with the cold air around me; it caused my skin to rise in goose bumps. I let the spray weigh down my hair, water covering me completely. I closed my eyes, thinking about what had just transpired no more than two hours ago. The blade as it plunged deep into his stomach. The horrible sound it made as it ripped open his flesh, his eyes wide and disbelieving. I shook my head, squeezing my eyes tighter against the memories. The extra guilt I felt was a burden I didn't expect to have. It weighed me down, making me slump my shoulders in shame and remorse. What had I done? Even though I tried to convince myself that I had no choice, that he wasn't even a good person, I had still killed a man. What reason did I have for murdering Todd? I tried to focus on the thought that maybe I had saved someone's life by taking his. Saved the next person he had planned on mugging or worse yet, violating. I also wanted to think that I had been saving him too, saving him from himself. That still made me a murderer, just or not. I ran the hand that I had used to take someone's life through my hair, pushing down water through the long tresses.
You would be a murderer, anyway. Once you kill Darley and his men, any innocence you have left will be gone, I thought. It still didn't make me feel any better.
I had hidden the guns underneath the basement stairs after examining them, figuring out how each one worked and what damage they caused. I was especially intrigued with the two RZ-10s. They seemed powerful and elegant; capable of taking down a bull with one, smooth shot. I didn't think my parents would find them in such a short amount of time. They knew the basement was off-limits for the most part, since I had taken it over and remolded it to be my new gym. The expenses for my classes as well as a gym membership had been too much for them to pay, so I used all of our old, dusty equipment that had been stored away, finding use with them instead. It had worked out quite well, using all the advice I had gotten from the staff and other members before I left. It allowed me more time in my boxing classes and the shooting range as well. It was a lot more convenient, too. I also chose the basement as my place to ponder, to plan. I was down here a lot, and they knew not to disturb me often.
I hadn't asked them what they had talked to Abby about, or what she had said to them, but I figured it might not have been so bad. They both seemed to be in pleasant moods today, smiling at me with warmth rather than sympathy and regret. I'm sure she left out the drinking part, both of us sobering up fairly quickly when we left; her out of concern for my well-being, me out of anger and distress after my so-called "dance" with Billy. So many emotions had run through me, I was completely exhausted when I had gotten home, sleeping all night and through most of the next day. I felt rested enough now, though, and hopefully the feeling would last until tomorrow night. I was going need it for the events to come. Tonight, however, I wanted to spend my last few hours with my family. Though I fervently hoped I would get to see them again, I wasn't counting on it. The least I could do for them before I caused them anymore pain was let them know how much they truly mean to me. That I love them and Delia so much that I am willing to die for them. I won't tell them what I'm going to do. I'll just make it known that this may be my last night with them, ever so subtlety at least.
Frowning, I shut the water off, goose bumps rising on my flesh again as it had turned ice cold. I reached out, grabbing my towel to dry myself off. After wrapping the towel around my body, I headed to my room to change into my pajamas. I dressed monotonously, wringing my hair out and towel drying it before gathering dirty clothes scattered around my bedroom floor, taking them downstairs to the laundry room. Just as I pressed the button for the wash to start, I heard a crash come from the back of the house. I chuckled, figuring my mom had dropped something in the kitchen again, both of us usually being so clumsy. Then I heard her scream.
My heart kicked it up a notch as my stomach settled down to my feet. I turned, jogging of out of the laundry room and into the hall when I heard another crash and struggling. I could hear my mother's screams, but they were muffled this time.
"Annette!" I heard my father's strangled cries coming in the opposite direction. I whipped my head around towards his office as I heard a pop and a bright light illuminated his open door before it was followed by darkness.
"Randall! Ran-" my mom started to call, but was cut off.
This isn't happening, this isn't happening! I screamed silently. I didn't know which way to go. I was torn between saving my father or my mother. I turned my head back around to look towards my dad's office again, hearing struggles, but seeing nothing. I looked back down the hall towards the kitchen, but I was still blind as to what was actually happening. Either way, I was risking losing the both of them. I started towards the kitchen.