Part 18- Getting Away With Murder by Papa Roach
I hastily made my way up the cracked concrete steps of the old abandoned mental hospital. This was the place where Sammy told me Billy and his gang made their drugs, and the first location I thought to look. Four Roses had crossed my mind, but I figured barreling into a crowded bar and opening fire wouldn't be a smart idea, so I started my search here. I wasn't exactly sure of what I expected to happen, and I knew that they would have the advantage with me coming onto their territory. I would have to be as quiet as I could be until I found them and hopefully pick them off one by one if I could, and if that wasn't an option then I just hoped my reflexes were sharp enough.
Inside it was dark. There were occasional fluorescent bulbs flickering on every now and then, but no light sufficient to guide the way. What little light that could be granted allowed me to glimpse the graffiti that dirtied the walls which covered nearly every inch of the deserted hospital. If the numerous collages of skulls, curse words and gang symbols weren't enough of a decoration for the hospital, garbage and debris also littered the hallways. This did not help my advancement into what I hoped would be my victory, but I continued despite this slight setback. Every now and then I would hit a glass bottle with my boot or step on some broken glass. I would have to stop, hold my breath, and listen for any sign that someone had heard or spotted me. I felt that I was nearly to the heart of the hospital when the hallway I was walking came to an end and branched off into new corridors to my left and right. I saw steady light coming from an open doorway a few feet to my left, and I stepped back against the wall of the dead end hallway as a shadow passed over the threshold. Voices soon followed.
"I don't know where the fucking bottle went. You had the damn thing last."
"No, you were supposed to hold the shit for me while I cooked them damn stuff."
"Listen, it's not that big of a fucking deal. Just go get another one from the fucking supply."
"Fine, I'll go do your damn job sense you can't seem to do it yourself." I heard something slam down on a table then swiftly approaching footsteps. I hurriedly made my way inside the first room that I could find and hid next to the door.
"Fucking dumbass, can't even keep up with one damn bottle," One of Billy's thugs walked into the room not taking notice of me and walked to one of the various boxing scattered on the floor. He bent over one, grabbing something inside then standing back up. I was too frozen to move or think of what to do, but I needed to do something fast. I was only a matter of seconds until he spotted me. I pulled the revolver from my coat pocket. When he didn't move right away, I quietly but quickly approached him with my gun thrust out in front of me. He seemed to be gazing out of the nearest window and I wanted to take my shot, but also didn't want to give myself away. I stopped when I noticed a large metal canister on the floor. A piece of duck tape was stuck on the front labeled "red phosphorus" in sloppy handwriting. Holstering my gun again, I snatched it up off the floor and wrapped my hand tightly around the cold handle.
"Looking for something?" I asked, and his distraction from the window faded as he swung around to face me.
"Who the hell-?"
The confusion dropped from his face instantly as I lunged at him. He brought his arms up defensively, but I kicked my left foot out and caught him under his ribs. He cried out and lowered his arms. I took the opportunity to slam the canister down on his head as hard as I could. He flailed out and grabbed onto my shirt as he fell to the floor. I stumbled after him, but caught myself with my free hand. I got up on my knees as he fumbled for something. Straddling his torso, I put my knee in the crook of his arm as I heard the cocking of a gun. He cried out.
"Spin-!" he started to scream, but I brought the canister up above my head and then down into his face. Abruptly he was silent, yet I wasn't satisfied. I hit him again and again. The vile substance splashing inside the container and his blood splattering, but I couldn't stop. It wasn't until I heard the crack of his skull and a voice that I stopped. My breathing was ragged and hard, my arm was aching; I felt like an animal.
"Yo, Dog. What's taking so fucking long? This shit's drying up… Oh shit!"
The shot reverberated through the small room and out into the hallway. He jerked back as the bullet went through his head, spraying the hallway walls with blood. I put the guardian back into my boot and thrust myself off of the floor and out into the hallway, stepping over the dead body. I withdrew both RZ-10s from my waistband and advanced to the lighted doorway. There was a giant room filled with tables and suspended baskets each filled with a red substance. The stench was strong and I found it more difficult to breathe here rather than in the scorched ruins of my home. No one was in sight, but I was sure my shot could have echoed throughout hollow corridors of the hospital. It was no secret that I was here anymore.
"What the fuck was that?" he spoke to himself.
It had sounded like a gun shot from down stairs in the lab. He couldn't be certain, but he figured maybe some of the B-Street might have come in and tried to take over. Get some free drugs to sell while taking the few of them out. Seemed possible, yet no other gunshots ensued. Odd if there was a gang battle going on down there. He snatched up his cell phone and called Billy's number.
"Answer the fucking phone Billy," Heco paced the room. He really didn't want to go down there. Not that he was scared or anything. He loved the action, just not the mystery.
"Fuck!" he yelled when Billy failed to answer. He decided to call him one last time before finding out what was happening. He knew he was meeting with Bones, but he felt this was an emergency enough and didn't feel anxious about interrupting. He descended the stairs as he heard the first ring.
I advanced into the room, my eyes darting everywhere for any sign of movement. It was cluttered and I didn't want to look anything over; make a mistake like I already had so many times before. I wasn't sure where I would go or what I would do if I made it out of this room, out of this building, but by the end of the night I was going to make sure my family would never be hurt by them again. And Delia… It was because of her that I was here. Her absence was a hollow mark in me, and the violence that was left behind ate at the edges of what was left. Like a parasite, I needed to get rid of it, get it out of me. Revenge was my remedy.
A cock of a gun, then a boom and glass shattering over me; I dropped to the floor as another shot rang out, hitting another glass contain except this was contained liquid, burning liquid. I screamed out and wiped my exposed hands on my jeans as small red welts started to appear. I quickly slid to the nearest table and kicked it on its side so it faced where I thought the shots were coming from. My hands shaking and burning, I held the guns up to my face and slowly peeked out from the table. There.
I recoiled when he fired another round from his shotgun and I was lucky his aim was a bit off. I shot back up as wood splinters flew around me and started shooting in his direction, alternating between the two guns in my hands.
"Fuck!" he yelled. His right arm dropped limply to his side. I stood up from, keeping my aim on him. He fell against the wall, hitting some cans and buckets on a nearby workbench. Then something caught my eye.
"Fucking bitch!" he screamed, clutching his right shoulder, "You're fucking dead, you hear me! Dead! Just like your parents and your stupid bitch of a friend!"
"Not before you," I said and aimed at a can that read flammable. I didn't have much time to duck back down as the can exploded and as I fell to the ground I heard a simultaneous scream as well as the all too familiar sound of a gun. Catching the breath that was knocked out of me, I rose up from the floor and looked over to where one of Billy's men lay dead. He was slumped against the wall and fire burned holes through his clothes. His exposed skinned was horribly burned, but I didn't think he seemed to care too much considering his face was gone. That and he was very much dead.
I looked down at the shotgun that lay a few feet from him, facing in his direction. He must have dropped it when the ether exploded, causing it to go off and consequently shoot him in the face.
"Lucky you," I turned towards the small fire that still raged on the work bench. It wouldn't be long before it reached other cans, causing them to explode. I needed to find Billy and the rest of his guys before the whole place blew up.
"Son of a bitch," Billy exasperated as he looked down at his cell phone. Heco was calling again for the second time.
"A problem, son?" Bones asked, obviously agitated. They were in the middle of an "important" meeting, if any sane person could call the planning of new ways to make and solicit drugs important. Many would call it a felony.
"Jamie, Tommy, I want you guys to go back to the office. See what the hell Heco wants," Billy commanded two of his men. As they turned to leave, he yelled after them, "And tell him to stop fucking callin' me! The fuckin' prick…"
"You done? Can we continue with the discussion at hand, Billy Boy, or are one of your boys gonna come runnin' in here peeing his pants and interrupt us again?" Bones mockingly asked Billy.
"No, go on," he sighed, and looked down. He glanced towards Bodie who sat beside him.
It's gonna be a long fuckin' night, he thought to himself.