Chapter 18 : King & His Castle
The house was unlike anything Reggie had even seen before. It was a huge mansion the was built in the 1920s. It looked like a governor's mansion not the place she'd expect to find crawling with gangsters but, as the car pulled up, it was.
The parked the car in the garage and the two men got out of the car. Joe immediately walked off. Pitz stayed behind, opened the back door and peered in. He looked at Reggie and could tell she was nervous, terrified or both. "Hey kiddo. I'm suppose to take you to the boss. You've got nothing to worry about. He's a good guy. You can trust us." He held out his hand.
Reggie reluctantly took the offered hand and Pitz smiled, "you remind me of the boss's daughter. When she was a kid she was afraid of her own shadow."
He led her into the main house and over to a room that looked like a mix between an office and a hunter's man-cave. There was a big screen television on the wall with a boxing match on and the rest of the walls were covered with large taxidermy animal heads. Reggie thought to herself, "I've never seen an elephant before and this is how it happens. Excellent."
Sitting at his desk with a cigar in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other was an intimidating looking Irish-man. He was an older man with a beer belly but still had muscles that said he could beat you if need be. He had a sociopath's cold stare. He cloud rip your still beating heart out from your chest, making you watch while he eats it and feel no sorrow. This man is all business.
Another man sat on a couch not far from the desk. This man was looked older than Sid. His hair was cut short and he had no facial hair. He had the same cold eyes. He sat close to the arm rest playing with rings that adorned his fingers like it's was a tick he did when he was thinking.
Across from him was the same couch with a different man on it. He was skinny and weak looking. He couldn't sit still and would constantly tap his foot. His hair his dark and unkempt but not long. He has an unmanaged beard that is spotted with grey hairs and have his teeth are no longer in his head.
As soon as the man behind the desk notices Pitz and Reggie the look of evil drains from his face and he smiles warmly at them. "Hey there young lady! My daughter told me much about you. Seems you mean something to my grandson. I promised to keep you safe and get you some help. I am Henry Holmes and these two gentlemen are my sons Eli and Dickey."
Reggie waved and smiled and the two men nodded back.
Henry looked at Pitz, "any trouble?"
"No sir. Ginger wants to level their entire operation. I kept reminding her that we are professionals and she doesn't have the clearance."
"She's just pissed off about her fucking lab. Tell her to go choke a transient." Eli said tweaking his rings then watching his father.
"How can you tell what Gingers thinkin'?" Dickey asks Eli, "shit she's worse than the old man."
Henry rolled his eyes and picked up the phone on his desk. "Hello. She's here I need someone to get her ready for tomorrow."
Seconds later a woman enter the room. Henry said, "Reggie tomorrow we are going to take you to a special hospital. Right now Mary here is going to get you all settled and comfortable. Make yourself at home dear but stay out of the third floor and the basement."
As soon as Reggie left Henry sat down in his chair and said, "alright shall we get down to business. Pitz have a seat...
"Your sister ain't the only one whose pissed about that lab. The body business was going great in Utah till those fuckers burnt it down. I'm so pissed that what I have Ginger doing is only a piece of the revenge I have in store for them. In fact I spoke to Ginger before you all came here and told her what to do with the ringer. Then what will happen after."
"I take it she don't know what we're doin?" Dickey asked scratching his head.
"My fucked up son is right. You don't even know what we are doing. Only Eli does because it's his hobby we are taking advantage of.."
"That's a bunch of bullshit." Dickey shouted, "daddy I am nothing but loyal to you."
"All you care about is the paycheck so you can stick it in your veins you useless shit bird!" Eli barked. "Why do I have to work with this idiot?"
"He's your kin." Henry answered.
"What's your new hobby Eli?" Pitz asked.
"I've been going down to Mexico and scalping gangsters. It started as me taking out the competition but I just enjoy it some much I can't stop..." Eli started.
"Eventually Eli made his way to the people who own a contract with the group from Cainville, the ones Ginger is having trouble with..." Henry added.
"Long story short, their boss should be placing a call to his new boss any minute and well you're looking at him." Eli laughed.
"You're in charge of a Mexican drug cartel?" Pitz asked.
"Just in name. What the fuck do I want in drugs? I gave it to Pops to run. I just want to spill blood across the border like the fucking Chupacapbra."
"If anyone's wonderin' I'd be absolutely honored to run the drug operations..." Dickey ranted, "I mean, I know all about the stuff..."
"Do I look stupid to you?" Henry barked? "Over my dead body. We know you're a fucken genius when it comes to this shit because you haven't pissed clean since you were 14!"
Dickey recoiled, his body refusing to make eye contact with his yelling father. Henry continued berating him, "Lazy good for nothing. Piece of shit! You're the only one who didn't finish school. You're useless as tits on a bull! I let you sit in on these meetings and tag along with your brother out of respect for your mother. If it wasn't for her you'd be in my fucking fireplace by now!"
Dickey tries to say something like, "I tried daddy, I tried I just..."
"Get the fuck out! Go empty the rooms!" Henry roars.
"You heard him. Skedaddle!" Eli chimes in like a spoiled child as his phone begins to sing.
Henry rubs his temples. "Alrighty, where were we? Eli answer the phone."
"Hello." Eli greets.
"This is Walter from Cainville. What do I call you." Walter spoke on the other line in an all business tone.
"Elias. I'm the man you'll be dealing with from now on. Lest you want to suffer the same fate..."
"No sir that won't be a problem."
"Good let me start by saying I want the double the order by the last day of every month and if you fuck me, are late, or come up with any other funny business you can expect triple the punishment. I'm a very cruel man and I always collect on my debts. We clear? I know it's not like you have a choice. I just want to hear you say yes."
"We are clear sir. What kid of protection can we expect?"
"Why I didn't get myself a bunch of fucken trouble makers did I?"
"No there is another group here, causing some problems. We might have to take them out."
Eli, Pitz and Henry looked at each other and smirked. Eli spoke straight-faced into the phone, "keep me updated."
"Yes sir." Walter obediently answered.
Eli hung up the phone and looked at his father. "Yes sir, no sir. Now I know why you do it. That man is your bitch."
"It's good to be the king." Henry smirked taking a puff of his cigar.
"I don't understand why you're throwing away the family business by having Ginger be the heir and not your first-born son."
"Just cuz you're my first-born don't mean you should take it personally. I know what I'm doing. You just get used to listening to your sister."
Pitz's cellphone rang and he answered it quickly. "Yes. I'm with him. Alright I'll get back to you and someone will be right there."
Pitz hung up and looked towards Henry. "Boss, we've got a situation at the meat-packing plant. We found that rubber neck that's been taken pictures. How do you want me to do him?
"I need a new ashtray. I'll take care of him. If you don't mind joining me?"
Pitz nodded.
Henry smothered his cigar on the poorly chopped off maxilla that sat on the side of his desk. He looked at Eli, "we are done here. Make sure your dumbass brother ain't up to anything that would embarrass our family name."
Eli left the room obeying his father.
Henry opened his desk drawer and pulled out a wooden baseball bat that was chipped and covered with blood from previous tortures. He swung it around a few times and passed it to his right hand man saying, "I am going to need a new once of those tomorrow."
"Has it been a week already?" Pitz laughed, knowing that Henry's wooded bats only last about two or three victims tops and in their business that translates to a little over a week, "we are busy boys."
Henry reached in the drawer once more and pulled out a set of bloody knuckles. He slipped them on his fingers and punched the air like a boxer a few times then kissed his knuckles and said, "it's good to be the king."
Dickey glances back and forth to check that the coast is clear before making his way through the door that leads to the third floor. He looks in to the third floor. Just an unassuming dark hallway that's lined with several doors. Just as he's about to cross the threshold and frail arm comes out from the darkness and grabs his shoulder causing him to holler.
A woman in her late fifties comes out of the darkness. She looks like she was a dead ringer for Ginger in another life. She laughs hysterically pointing at the butt of her joke.
Dickey sees who has just play a prank on him and quickly regains control of himself. "Nice mother."
"I try." The woman smiles and chuckles, "actually no, no I didn't. I was up there checking on things when I heard a noise. Thought it was that nice fucked up girl. Gonna scare her from getting curious. When I saw it was you I couldn't help myself."
"The old man sent me up here. Anything to do?"
"What you don't think I can take care of it?" She jokes, "no there isn't. Check in a bit. I turned the gas up."
The two walked over to the kitchen where Eli was raiding the fridge. He looked as this mother and asked, "I'm trying to pack up a meal for dinner where's all the plastic wrap?"
She thought to herself for a minute, quickly looking up towards the third floor and back down at her son how was waiting for an answer, "it's all being used."
"Mrs. Holmes?" Called Mary entering the kitchen.
"Mary I've told you hundreds of times, call me Ava! Mrs. Holmes was a wicked old bitch, but don't ever tell Henry. He is a momma's boy!"
Mary smiled politely, "yes Ava, I just wanted to let you know that Miss Mudgett is resting in her room for the night."
"Wonderful. You can call it a night!" Ava looked towards her sons, "and you two as much as I love you, you have homes of your own use them."
"Dickey don't momma!" Eli added like a child.