Brooke could see herself standing at the sink, her eyes wide. “Who asked you to do what?”

  Luca had avoided the question. He gave her the revolver and looked deeply into her eyes.

  “You need to leave. Now. Please, just trust me. Take the car and drive to Whitestead. Don’t stop unless you have to take a nap. If you ever come across someone who says they are part of something called the Arrows, run.”

  Brooke opened her eyes. Lee had said that if she didn’t do what he told her to, she would get killed. She was in the exact same boat as Luca once was – and he had refused to do something; she wondered what it could have been.

  It still didn’t make sense, though. Why would Luca want this? He ran away from it himself, so why put it on her? And where was he now?

  The phone rang. Brooke's heart skipped a beat. Reaching for the phone, laying on the bedside table, she swore to herself. ‘Private number.’

  “Hello?”

  “Meeting, same place, in one hour.” Lee’s voice.

  Brooke sighed. “Okay.”

  The call ended. One hour. I can do this.

  ***

  Once she arrived at Mystie Club, her heart rate increased. She told herself to stay calm, and not open her mouth, unless necessary. Raven met her at the door; she looked like she had been up all night; her eyes were puffy and red, too much coke. She didn’t seem as cheery and energetic as last night; instead, she quietly led Brooke down to the main room.

  Lee was sitting at the bar, surrounded by three men. Brooke tried to hide her anxiety.

  “Good, we’re all here,” he began. “Ace has asked us to take care of some members of the Arrows.”

  Great, Brooke thought, does that mean murder?

  “They have occupied a base of ours, in the Rerton Mountains.” Lee opened a manilla folder and sorted through some papers as he spoke. “They knew very well it belongs to us, so they will be expecting you.”

  “Rid or drop?” one of the men asked. Brooke had no idea what that even meant.

  “Whatever comes necessary,” Lee said and handed over the folder to the man. “Fill Abby in on the details when you leave, it is her first time.”

  The man who now held the manilla folder turned to Brooke. He had semi-long, coal black hair and beard. His eyes also appeared black in the dim light. “John,” he said as he shook her hand.

  Brooke nodded, he knew her fake name already.

  “Get out of here. And good luck.” Lee left the bar and began walking towards the office. Brooke followed the men back up the stairs, and out on the street.

  John told the other two to introduce themselves, Brooke shook their hands, not remembering their names. All she could think of was the mission at hand.

  John opened the door of a pickup truck, the size of a family Jeep, and told Brooke to get in the front seat with him. She did as he asked, keeping her mouth shut.

  Once he started the engine, he turned to look at her. “So, all you need to do is stay close to me, okay? You’ll be fine, I’ll tell you what to do.”

  Brooke heard the sound of guns being loaded in the backseat. “I… I don’t have my gun.”

  John smiled, his narrow, thin face changing shape. “Look in the glove box, there’s your gun.”

  Brooke opened the glove box. Inside it lay a semi-automatic pistol, Glock.

  “You know how to use it?”

  Brooke picked up the gun. “I think so.”

  “Good. You may not have to anyway.”

  May not, Brooke thought, God, get me out of here.

  “Here, have some of this,” one of the guys in the backseat said as he leant forward, handing Brooke a tiny bag of white powder, a bag of coke.

  Brooke glanced back at him; he looked like a stock-standard example of how one would look after using drugs for years on end. “I don’t think so,” she said and reached to give it back.

  The guy pushed her hand away. “Don’t be a pussy, take it.”

  “What’s your name again?” Brooke felt the anger rise within her.

  “Garett.”

  “Okay, Garett, no thank you.” She threw the bag, aiming for his face, instantly regretting it.

  Garett and the other guy both laughed out loud. Brooke glanced over at John, who was smiling.

  “You’ll regret it,” he said, focusing on driving the truck.

  The hell I will, she thought as she ignored the laughs and nasty comments flying from the backseat.

  ***

  The drive must have taken at least half an hour. Brooke had started yawning, needing to go back to bed, get a proper night’s sleep.

  The mountains appeared all around them. John parked the car on a dirt road, seemingly out in nowhere.

  “Garett, Sam, you go that way, stand back, hide behind the tower and wait for my command,” John said and pointed up the mountain to their left.

  Garett and Sam nodded and began running up a narrow, gravel path. John turned to Brooke.

  “We will go this way, just follow my command.”

  Brooke did as he said and followed him through the mountains. The cold breeze made her shiver, and she felt slightly nauseated. John stopped at a high fence, shielding an old factory-like building inside. He crouched down, Brooke did the same.

  “See those guys there?” He pointed at the front door of the factory, where two armed men were standing, chatting to each other.

  “Yeah.”

  “Arrows. This is our base, and they just let themselves in.”

  “Didn’t you have… people here? Guards?”

  “Yep, they left to get more supplies, and these guys were quick to jump on the opportunity. The stuff is in a basement, inside the building, they can’t get in there without a code.”

  Brooke nodded and watched as John placed a magazine into his semi-automatic pistol. He then pulled out a walkie-talkie from the back pocket of his black jeans. He spoke to Garett and Sam, making sure they were in their positions, then he told them to approach the men.

  “Follow me,” he whispered and moved to the side, closer to the entry of the fence. “Only shoot if they shoot at you.”

  What? Brooke thought, if they shoot at me, I might just die before I can aim.

  John noticed her concern. “Just be ready, aim at the man on the right, your gun is already loaded.”

  Brooke did as he said, with shaky hands, she aimed at the man to the right.

  Garett and Sam calmly walked through the gate, guns at the ready. Naturally, the Arrows pulled out their guns as well. Brooke could vaguely hear them talking, or shouting, to each other. Sam asked them to leave, Garett told them to fuck off.

  She got a fright when John fired a bullet, which landed on the ground, in front of the Arrows. They both moved back but didn’t lower their weapons.

  Garett yelled something before firing himself, hitting one of the Arrows in the foot. He got down on the ground, hugging his leg with both his hands, dropping his weapon.

  Everything happened so fast. The next thing Brooke knew, Sam had picked up the other man’s gun, and the Arrow to the right surrendered, dropping his gun to the ground.

  “See,” John said as he rose, “that was easy enough.”

  “Aren’t there more inside the building?” Brooke asked, sensing a troop of Arrows storming out of the warehouse.

  “No, Lee made sure we got here when these guys were alone. Come on.”

  Brooke followed John as he walked through the opening in the fence. But when he passed Garett and Sam and proceeded to walk to the Arrows, she decided to stand back.

  “You are free to leave,” John said. “Tell Mr Zac Evans to stay the fuck away from our bases. And if we find something missing, we’ll come after you.”

  The Arrow who took a shot to his foot spat on the ground, nearly hitting John’s shoe. “Cowards.”

  “Get the fuck outta here!” John screamed as he aimed his gun at the man’s head. The Arrows sprinted to a white truck, the one with the hurt foot was limping, looking like a coward himself.

  “Search the base,” John told Garett and Sam. “Abby, follow me back to the truck.”

  Once back in the truck, Brooke felt her head spin, she opened the passenger door and threw her breakfast up, it landed with a splat on the ground. Her stomach rumbled, and her heart was racing. It felt like she would get a heart attack.

  John gently touched her back. “Let it out.”

  She took his advice and tried to relax her muscles, puking until there was nothing left inside her stomach. She settled back into her seat and wiped her mouth, using the sleeve of her jacket.

  “I was pretty fucking scared my first time as well,” John said. “It’s normal.”

  “I never signed up for this.”

  “I know, but you’re in it now, there’s no turning back, trust me. You just have to grab the bull by its horn and get used to it.”

  Brooke sighed. “Fucking bullshit.”

  John reached into the back seat and picked up the bag of coke. “Want some now?”

  Brooke let out a short laugh. “Will it make me sick again?”

  “No, it shouldn’t.”

  She pushed away any thoughts of it being stupid, as she now seemed to be living a stupid, and dangerous life, anyway. She emptied the contents of the bag on top of the dashboard. John handed her a short straw, and she sniffed the coke; feeling it enter her nose, and slowly run down her throat, making her heave.

  “Drink this.” John handed her a can of sports drink. She took a couple of sips and closed her eyes, feeling a rush reach her brain, making her nerves calm.

  “Feeling better?”

  “Yeah, much better.”

  Chapter 6

  The rush didn’t last long. Brooke was back in her warm, soft bed at about one in the afternoon. She was trying to sleep, but her eyes wouldn’t stay shut. When they had arrived back at Mystie Club, Lee handed them all a nice paycheck, everyone except Brooke, of course. John had explained that she would start earning money once she was more experienced. She didn’t even want to become more experienced. She didn’t see Raven this time; maybe she had finally gone home for some sleep.

  Laying on the bed, Brooke felt like her limbs had gone numb. Every muscle, except for her heart, had gone to sleep. Her brain just wouldn’t stop rambling; pictures, old memories, and other general thoughts kept spiralling inside her mind. She didn’t pay any attention to it, though. All she was doing was staring at the ceiling, hoping her eyes would get tired and close by themselves.

  That’s what drugs do to you. She wasn’t stupid. She knew why she couldn’t sleep. The only problem was that she also didn’t have any will or drive to get up and do something else, none at all.

  ***

  Later, the alarm at the door beeped. Brooke sat up on the bed, confused. It took a few seconds to get her arms and legs to work again and move all the way up the stairs.

  “Who’s there?” she asked as she pushed the speech button.

  Some cracking noises came through the other end, before a voice said, “Abby, it’s John.”

  Brooke frowned, what was he doing here? “Come in,” she said and pushed the unlock button.

  A couple of minutes passed before John knocked on the door. Brooke ran her fingers through her hair before opening.

  “Hi,” she said and rubbed her eyes, “come in.”

  John, carrying a backpack, walked inside. “Did you check the camera as well?”

  “What?”

  “When I rang the bell, did you double check that is was me?”

  Brooke shook her head. “No.”

  “Always check the camera.” John walked into the kitchen and placed his backpack on the counter. “How you been?”

  Brooke yawned. “Just tired.”

  John glanced around the room. “Nice place.”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry, has Lee told you to come here? Or what?”

  He laughed and scratched his short, trimmed beard. “No, I was thinking you might want some company.”

  “Oh.” Brooke walked over to the white couch and sat down, “I’m okay, really, but I don’t mind you being here.”

  John smiled. “Got something to drink?”

  “Help yourself.” Brooke nodded towards the fridge.

  Feeling cold, and tired, she wrapped herself up in a red blanket while John opened the champagne bottle and poured it into two glasses. He then walked up to the wide, glass windows and pulled the black curtains down, killing any light source in the apartment. Brooke reached for the remote on the coffee table. It was strange-looking, and until now, she hadn’t known what it was for. She pressed random buttons until one of them made the ceiling lights turn on. She played around with the dimmer, making sure it wasn’t too bright.

  “There we go.” John handed Brooke a glass of champagne, then sat down on the other side of the couch.

  Brooke took a sip, although she didn’t really feel like drinking, it didn’t matter, it was the best champagne she had ever tasted. Light, fruity, and not too dry.

  “You should protect yourself more.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Dye your hair, get a tattoo, use thick makeup, anything.”

  Brooke took another sip, savouring the flavour in her mouth before swallowing. “I don’t even think someone is after me, I haven’t seen anyone suspicious, and, I lived for two whole nights in my car, why didn’t anyone kill me then?”

  John placed his glass on the coffee table. “Well, that I don’t know. Lee was looking after you. The Arrows are smart, they wouldn’t try and kill someone where they could get caught.”

  “What do you know about me, and why I am here?”

  “Probably everything,” John smiled. “I generally know what’s going on.”

  A glimmer of hope. “Do you know Luca? Where he is?”

  “Ah.” John rested against the backrest of the couch and crossed his legs. “Lee decided not to tell you, I have to respect that.”

  “No, you don’t.” Brooke finished the champagne. “I might not want any company here tonight, after all, then. I mean, why do you all expect me to be nice and friendly when you won’t even tell me where he is?”

  “Calm down,” John said in a low voice, “if you want to get some information, you gotta earn it, and you gotta work for it. Now, there’s a reason he hasn’t told you, but you need to understand that information doesn’t just come to you, served on a silver platter. Patience.”

  “It’s all bullshit.” Brooke rose from the couch and went to get more champagne. “And for some reason, John, I think you think that as well. Or you wouldn’t be here, spending time with me.”

  “It’s all money, Abby. Money moves mountains! You just haven’t seen it yet. If you want money, and you want to live a hassle-free life, you gotta play the game, and stick by the rules.”

  Brooke brought the bottle to the table and topped up Johns glass. “You’re right. I haven’t seen it yet. All I care about is knowing where he is so that I can strangle him to death.”

  “Whoa.” John laughed. “I thought you wanted to know where he is because you love him! How wrong was I?”

  Brooke sat back down, leaning forward, her elbows resting on her knees. “He dragged me into this, it was his plan for me to get… involved with you guys. I never asked for that. I just wanted to live my life in peace. Not to mention all the lies. He must have been lying for the entire year we were together.”

  “There’s no peace. You either live on the streets and beg for money, or you work your ass off at a boring job for eight hours a day, and barely make enough money to pay for the bills, or… you do what we do. Yeah, it’s risky, and absolute shit, sometimes, but I’d pick this life above all the other options available.”

  Brooke nodded, trying to understand what he was saying, trying to be open-minded. “I could see that. Sure. I just don’t appreciate being dragged into it, against my will.”

  “Got beer?” John pointed to the fridge. “I prefer beer.”

  Brooke couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I bet you saw it yourself when you opened the fridge.”

  “Indeed, I did.” John grabbed the six-pack from the fridge and placed it on the table. “Now, what can I do to brighten your mood a little? You always seem so… tense.”

  “Hah, yeah, I do feel tense alright.”

  “Want some party supplies? I got plenty.” Without waiting for an answer, John pulled out two bags of coke from the inside pocket of his black, suit-jacket.

  Brooke couldn’t help but feel like it was a good idea, a great idea, in fact. It was like her boundaries and morals had gone out the window. What was the point of anything anymore? Might as well live a little.

  John read her facial expression and emptied one of the bags on the table. Using a credit card, he formed four straight lines of the powder. Brooke watched as he sniffed up two of them, then he handed a straw to her.

  Dreading the horrid taste in her throat, but anticipating the rush, Brooke sniffed both lines, one after the other.

  And that’s when time began to fly by, and with the curtains down, Brooke didn’t even notice. The rush made her want to chat, it made her want to know everything about John, and it made her feel no boundaries whatsoever about opening up herself. They talked for hours, laughed, and finished almost all the alcohol in the fridge.

  Brooke moved closer to John as he prepared a couple more lines each. She watched him as he carefully made sure all lines were equal. “You don’t seem so bad,” she said. “Not like some of the others.”

  “Who are you referring to? Garett? He’s a bloody meth head, don’t pay him any attention.”

  Brooke laughed. “Well, yeah, Garett, and what’s her name… Raven.”

  “Oh.” John sniffed a line. “Raven’s alright.”

  “You know her well?”

  “She’s a friend, has been with us since she was a teenager, basically. Had a difficult childhood, and all that stuff.”

  Brooke picked up the straw from the table and sniffed a line, coughing as the stuff went down her throat. “She just seemed… I don’t know. Fake?”

  “Oh, yeah. She does. But if you get on her good side, she can be a lot of fun.”

 

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