I’ve got John in the car seat beside me; I zip-tied his wrists together so he’d be less of a problem. Nothing stopped his pleading, his pathetic begging. I’d feel bad for him except he shows no remorse for putting Alice and Cierra in danger. No concern for anyone but himself, despite landing himself in this situation.

“No no no! No man!” he cries out in objection as I pull up to the storefront that masks the headquarters for the Asian mobsters that have been tearing up Vegas in search of him. “Not these guys! Anyone but them!”

I ignore him. I don’t want to give them anything, not after what they did to Alice, but I have no choice. If I want my girls to be safe, I’m going to have to give them something in return for the two men I killed.

Immediately once I’m out of the car I can see two guys that are trying their best to look as if they’re hanging around outside the shop casually stiffen. They know I’m not here for the shops supposed purpose of imported rugs and incense.

I haul John out, grasping his arm tightly as he cringes and struggles weakly.

“I’m here to see your boss,” I tell them. They’re both trying to look tough but they’re not doing a good enough job to intimidate anyone but John. “I’ve got a present for him.”

One of them heads on in, presumably to speak with the boss, while the other escorts me inside, taking me into a back room. But he stops me before I go any further.

“We’ll wait,” he says, hand still lingering near his back where he undoubtedly hides a gun. It’s a waste of time really; at this distance, if it came to a fight, I’d snap his neck before he could get that thing pointed at me.

But I’m playing nice. And I’m waiting with the now dumbstruck and silent John.

Time stretches on until another thug I’ve not seen before comes out.

“Why should the boss see you? He’s doing some important shit right now,” he says bluntly.

“Tell him Mark sent me. Macario. I’ve got a package he’s been missing, and I want to deliver it,” I tell him. My buddies name seems to do the trick and the thug heads back inside.

The other man is staring hard at me, trying to make me cower, but it won’t work. I might not walk out of here, but I’m doing the only thing I can to save the only people I care about, so it’s worth it. I would trade my life for Alice’s without a second thought.

Moments tick by slowly, and John starts to fidget again, breaking down once more, though he knows well enough to hide it a bit better this time. He knows any ounce of weakness he shows in front of these guys will be later used against him. I can’t bring myself to pity him, but I wouldn’t want to be in his position.

Finally, when it seems like we’ve been waiting for hours, the man returns and ushers us on in.

We head down a hall until we come to a door, where a big bruiser of a guy pats me down and confiscates my gun.

“You’ll get it back after,” he tells me.

I don’t say anything. I know it’s time to just play it cool and quiet. The faster this is over with, the faster I can get back to my place. I know Alice must be worried about where I’ve gone, but I didn’t want to screw things up between us again. I just want to make this exchange and then be done with it. I wanted to be able to tell her she’s safe.

I’ll figure out what to do after this is all over. I’ll find some way to make a straight living, something that’ll give Alice and Cierra a decent life. A happy life.

I try not to smile at the idea of us all being a family as I head on inside with John in tow, finding myself in a very packed, unfriendly looking office. Behind the oversized desk made of marble sits a big guy in a black suit with two guards at his sides. Apparently these guys like working in twos.

“Well, I certainly did not expect Macario to hand over a present like this. I figured we were in competition here,” he says from behind his shaded glasses, a grin on his face. It looks poisonous, even if he is playing at being pleasant.

I can’t wait to get out of this life.

“This is me paying my respects,” I lie. “I’ll see to it that Mark’s happy. I just want everyone happy.”

With that, I push John towards one of the thugs, and he takes the deadbeat off my hands. He’s not my problem anymore.

“So that’s that then?” the mobster behind the desk asks me, not used to any generosity in our line of business.

“That’s that,” I say firmly. “Hopefully that eases any tension between our two organizations,” I say. I might as well make it seem as if that’s the reason for my ‘gift’.

Silence reigns over the room for a while before he nods to his thugs and the tension eases. Just a bit. The air is still thick enough to cut with a knife, though, and I’m careful not to betray any emotions, any thoughts. I’d be foolish to underestimate the power in this room.

“Then thank you. And perhaps I’ll even forgive the little shootout at one of our stores I hear Macario’s operation might be behind,” he says, and though it was not only Macario’s operation behind it, it was me who did the shooting, I remain unfazed. I can’t let a flicker of anything show or he has me.

All the same, he studies me a while before waving me off. I don’t sigh in relief, but I feel it, deep in my gut. This is finally over.

“Run along then, give Macario my thanks,” he says, looking to John with a sadistic smile.

I turn and head out without waiting another moment. I don’t want to know what they plan to do with the jerk, but even he probably doesn’t deserve it. I can’t let myself feel pity, though. He was more than willing to put Alice and Cierra’s life in danger just to save his own skin.

I step out of the room but behind me I hear words that make my blood boil.

“Nice of you to finally join us John,” says the boss, “and here I was thinking I’d have to torture your whereabouts out of that pretty woman of yours out back.”

Alice!

The door shuts behind me and without thinking, I act.

My fist is in the one guard’s throat, doubling him over in pain as he struggles to breathe with a caved in larynx. The other guard has time to slug me, at least knowing better than to try and grab for his gun.

It’s a brutal punch from a big guy, but I take it and roll with it. Instead of crumpling I quickly rebound and kick him in the side then grab the back of his head. I slam his face down onto my knee, breaking his nose and maybe killing him. I can’t stop to check. There’s no time for anything but getting back into the office. Prepared.

I grab my gun from the first guy I took down and then crack him over the back of the head with it.

I open the door to the office once more, but already, it’s emptied. They’ve gone through the back exit, and I quickly follow through, coming to the shadowy den of the gang’s operations.

It’s a big open room with curtains separating the walkway I’m on from the warehouse floor below. Down below, I see the mob boss, John, several goons and most importantly: Alice. The beautiful woman of my dreams, helplessly tied to a chair.

“The woman comes with me!” I shout out, and that startles the other gangsters who look up at me. That door to the office must’ve had soundproofing, because they have no idea I very noisily already took down two of their own.

Even more importantly, they have no idea the hellfire that’s going to rain down upon them if they don’t give me my woman back.

There’s three of them, and they have the advantage of knowing this place better than I do. But I still have years of experience. Military, and prison. Combined, that experience makes me more lethal than even they know.

“He shouldn’t be back here! Fire!” shouts the boss, and all hope of a peaceful mediation are gone. But then, I never really expected that was going to be how this went down.

The goons go for their guns, but I’m quicker. I blow one guy’s head off before either can even open fire. John panics and tries to run, and the second goon runs after him, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him back to the ground.

The distraction, though, gives me the second I need, and I end that man’s life as well.

Which leaves the boss between Alice and me.

He grabs her shoulder, tugging her in her chair and making the wood scream against the floor. She cries out around her gag, and I shoot him in the shoulder, which sends him sprawling back, losing his grip on her.

We might actually make it out of this alive, I tell myself.

But the thought comes a moment too soon, because I fail to see the goons coming into the office I just left, and there’s no time to take them out first.