Kerri was rigid with terror, not even flinching with that gun in her mouth. She knew one wrong twitch could make the gun go off accidentally, or even deliberately. She knew the end result would be the same. But she did notice the bruises on Chaz’s face, Dino standing with a slight list to one side.

“You and your slick Hollywood boyfriend,” Chaz sneered, “You thought you could shut me down, go over my head? Don Paulie’s men nearly beat us to death, lady! I’m lucky to have a tooth in my head!”

He jammed the gun deeper into Kerri’s mouth, the cold metal pressing against the back of her throat.

“Lucky for us, your boyfriend’s courier never turned up at Don Paulie’s office with the money. ‘Course, it wasn’t really luck, was it? Now we got an extra two hundred grand, and we’re sitting pretty when Don Paulie comes back to us, nice and apologetic. ‘You boys was right,’ he says, ‘y’got big t’ings ahead of you’s.’” Chaz chuckled, mean and shrill, shaking his head. “So he gives us another fifty G’s each just to bring him your pretty head … among other parts.” Kerri gasped, spine still rigid, palms pressing flat against the wall behind her. “Yours and Richie Rich’s, of course. Don Paulie don’t like to be made no fool of. You didn’t know that, and the tuxedo didn’t know it. But we did. And knowledge is power, right?” He screamed, “Right?”

Kerri could only nod nervously, that deadly weapon still sticking into her open mouth, jaw muscles starting to cramp on both sides of her face.

“You and that walking mannequin you go out with, think yer so great. Think yer some big-shot actress, running around with your tits out ? You two don’t know shit about life in the real world, sweetheart, but you’re about to find out.”

Kerri quivered, but he kept her pinned with that oily gun in her mouth, coating her tongue with that sickening metallic taste.

“See, me and Dino here, we work for a living, we work hard for that living! We gotta do shit you’d never dream of doing! We go places you’d never make it back from! You think you’re so great? You got nothin’ on workin’ men like us, and yer kind never will. You rich, fancy jerks make me sick! My daddy was a fisherman, drowned when I was six years old! While you grew up with a silver spoon up your ass! You make me sick, all o’ you’s! You think you can just steal the country, just take whatever you want, do whatever you want whenever you want? Just because you're so rich and pretty, flashing your legs and your tits and that pretty pussy of yours; I don't think so.”

Kerri gasped, near to vomiting all over that terrible gun, still jammed into her mouth.

Chaz looked Kerri over with a greedy grin. “And we’s allowed to do whatever we want to, Candy Pants, it’s a no-holds bar!” Chaz licked his lips. “I’ve been waiting for a crack at you for some time, baby.” He sucked in a stream of air through his pursed lips, spit bubbling in his mouth. “It’s gonna be so good, sweet face. I’m gonna do you in ways your pissy pants boyfriend couldn’t even dream of. You’re gonna know what it’s like to be with a real man… for a little while, anyway.”

Kerri wanted to spit in his face, to knee him in the groin, but with that gun sticking in her mouth, she knew even the slightest movement could be her last. It took all her self-control to remain still and silent and not give in to her feelings of rebellion and offense.

It would be a fight she would never win.

Chaz snickered, glancing around. “Lots of rooms in this fucking hotel. We got nothing but time and the whole place to ourselves.”

“Well,” a familiar voice said from behind Chaz, “Not entirely to yourselves.”

Chaz spun to see Harden standing behind him, having sneaked in from the back of the house through the same opened door the mob goons had used. There was no more time to reason it out. Harden moved in a flash. As soon as Chaz pulled his gun out of Kerri’s mouth, which Harden seemed to know he would do, Harden smashed him in the face with the butt of his own handgun, a silencer already affixed to the barrel.

Kerri ducked out of the way, as Chaz fell to the floor at Harden’s feet still clutching his own handgun, and Harden stomped on his wrist, cracking the bones and sending the gun sliding out of his grip.

By this time, Harden had leveled his own gun at Dino, who was drawing his own from the back of his pants. He managed to get the gun in hand before Harden’s silenced gunshots muffled through the house. Thp, thp, thp! Three holes burst open in Dino’s chest as he toppled back against the front door.

Kerri looked up, slowly raising herself to her full posture. “Take his gun, cover him.” Harden ordered as she scrambled to pick up the black automatic handgun just out of Chaz’s reach, his wrist still pinned under Harden’s foot.

It was then that Kerri noticed the smartphone in Harden’s other hand. Still holding his own gun with the other hand, he used his fingertips to swipe the screen a few times. He turned the screen down so Chaz could see it.

A familiar diatribe came leaking out of the phone’s little speakers, matching video of Chaz menacing Kerri on the screen.

“Lucky for us, your boyfriend’s courier never turns up at Don Paulie’s office with the money. ‘Course, it wasn’t really luck, was it? Now we got an extra two hundred grand, and we’re sitting pretty when Don Paulie comes back to us, nice and apologetic. ‘You boys was right,’ he says, ‘y’got big things ahead of you’s.’” Chaz chuckled, mean and shrill, shaking his head. “So he gives us another fifty G’s each just to bring him your head.” Kerri gasped, spine still rigid, palms pressing flat against the wall behind her. “Yours and Richie Rich’s, of course. Don Paulie don’t like to be made a fool of. You didn’t know that, and the tuxedo didn’t know it. But we did. And knowledge is power, right? Right?”

Chaz looked up from the floor. “Please, don’t… don’t!”

Harden smiled menacingly before swiping the screen again, tapping a few buttons and swiping again. “Just let me go, Dude. You won’t have to pay me a thing … I’ll even get you your two honey back, I swear it!” No answer came back, and Kerri’s attention was riveted to their contest. “I’ll get you an extra twenty. You gotta get paid for your bag man, right? His family’s gotta be taken care of, I get that … me more than most!”

Chaz begged Harden, “Please, I … I’ll do anything, anything you want! You need somebody taken care of, you got it. I’ll push a button on anyone you want, man! They’re gone! And you know I’ll be loyal, ‘cause you’ll always have that video, right?” Harden pushed a few more buttons, swiping the screen again. “Hey, we can work together and take out Don Paulie, I can be your man inside. I’ll have you runnin’ North Jersey in less than a year, man!” Harden merely pushed a few more buttons on the screen. Chaz screeched out, “You can put that away, Boss, I’m with you now!”

Harden swiped the screen again, his eyes cold and judgmental, looking down at Chaz.

Chaz turned to Kerri. “You, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean it, I wasn’t gonna do anything bad to you, I swear. I was just, y’know, acting like a big shot. But I wasn’t gonna rape you, I swear it! Tell him to stop, tell him to put the phone away!”

But Kerri said nothing, both hands on the gun that was pointed straight at Chaz’s heart, not that he had one.

Harden swiped his screen again, and Chaz’s voice took on a tearful desperation. “C’mon, man, I got a wife and kid! Don’t do this!” Harden just stared down at him, grim-faced, unmoved. Kerri’s hands started to sweat, the gun slick in her palms as her stomach began to turn.

Chaz was panting with greater desperation. “Okay, okay, you fucking asshole, why don’t you just kill me right now, leave Don Paulie out of it?” Harden glared at him, stepping down a bit harder on his broken wrist, causing Chaz to writhe in pain, eyes clamping shut before refocusing on Harden above him. “What’s the matter, you pussy? Don’t you have the guts to do it yourself? Prove to your little girlfriend that you’re a real man and do what a real man has to do! Why don’t you take control for once in your life?”

Harden swiped the phone screen again.

Chaz’s head sagged, lolling on the hard floor. He looked at Kerri. “Then you do it.”

Harden said quietly, “Don’t, Kerri.”

“You shut up,” Chaz hollered at Harden, returning his attention to Kerri. “You cow, you ugly whore! You worthless cum bucket!—” Kerri’s arms began to twitch, fingers at the ready. But she knew what his ploy was, and that this was a test of her self-control. She was not about to succumb to his trickery. “I’m gonna get out of this,” Chaz rasped at her, “Then I’m gonna come back for you! And I’m gonna take you apart piece by fucking piece, you hear me? And I’ll enjoy that!”

Harden pressed down harder on Chaz’s wrist, the man groaning in pain and looking back up at Harden. “Stop it, Jesus, it fucking hurts!”

And as he looked up at Harden, Harden swiped the phone one last time and then slipped his smartphone back into his pocket.

Chaz asked him, “What’d you do? What did you do?”

Harden looked down at Chaz, a little half smile on his chiseled features. He asked calmly, “Aren’t you gonna answer your phone?”