Zander picks up on the second ring.

“Gabriel, hey, what’s up, brother?”

“Did you go hunting tonight?”

“Yes, why?”

“I need in on it. I’ll meet you there. Save me some of his ass.”

“You got it, brother.”

I pull up at the warehouse we use. It’s in the backwoods of the swamps. It’s far enough down south that no one will hear the screams from our guest. It’s also the perfect location to get rid of any body parts or bodies. I see two cars: Zander’s, and his crew’s. Humidity is so bad down here, it makes the smells unbearable, but I’m used to it. I’ve done enough of this shit growing up that I’m immune to it now.

I walk through the door and see two of Zander’s crew members smoking, then Zander stands with Liam...Liam, I forgot I told Zander to bring him on his hunts. Shit! I guess now he’ll see the other side of me, too.

Zander impatiently says, “Well, Gabriel, we were wondering how long we had to wait. Our guest is getting restless.” Zander points and continues, “This gentleman here is Mr. Bourg. He works as a chiropractor and owes our family a great sum of money.” He pauses and turns to our prisoner. “Mr. Bourg, this is my older brother, Gabriel.”

Always the gracious host, Zander continues with our introductions.

“You see, Mr. Bourg, our brother rarely involves himself with the pleasantries of collections. When he brings his high and mighty self to our side of the bayou, it is something you will never forget. He’s a joy to watch. You’re in for a real treat.”

I look over to see my youngest brother watching from the corner. He’s looking at Mr. Bourg with remorse...well, that shit won’t work.

Turning toward him, I ask, “Liam, Mr. Bourg owes our family money. What do you think we should do?”

Liam reflects on what I asked, then says, “I say we give him a chance to pay. Maybe he needs just a little more time. Zander, Gabriel, not everyone has the means to pay on time, but he could get it eventually.”

“OK, Liam, let’s hear how Zander has dealt with Mr. Bourg. Zander, please tell Liam all about our guest.”

I take a seat at the table that’s set up. This might take a while, but it’s important for Liam to understand why this part of our business is necessary. Crossing my arms and settling in, I give Zander a nod to continue our lesson.

“All right, Liam, time for you to learn. Mr. Bourg here started gambling in our establishment a little over a year ago. He, like others, started off on a winning streak. Then the rug got pulled out from under him and he started losing. It started off with small amounts, like his paychecks, then he started borrowing from the other less legal parts of our business. At a slight interest rate charge, of course. He continued to lose and win small amounts but never got ahead. His original debt started out at thirty thousand dollars; now he owes us a little over fifty-five thousand. He was visited by me and my friends about three months ago. On our visit, he promised he would pay, he would have all the money he owed us. Supposedly, he had an uncle who died, and he would be coming into an inheritance. I, of course, being the good guy I am, waited patiently for him to come and pay his debt. Now, I’ve learned he began gambling at another casino that does not belong to us. So now his debt has increased, owing two different casinos, but we do have an offer from the other casino that if we found him and disposed of him, they will pay us our original debt. On the other hand, my guys have found out he did get the inheritance from his dead uncle.”

Liam looks to Mr. Bourg, then turns and looks towards me as if he is conflicted.

“Now it’s my turn to finish the lesson, Zander. Liam, he owes us a great deal of money. To you it might not be that much, but if you add up all the people who owe us money, it’s quite a lot. We cannot let them get away from paying us. We owe banks just like everyone else, and we’re charged an interest rate. We have over a thousand employees who count on us for their paychecks.”

I wave my hand at Zander’s men. “Look at Sam; he is getting married next year. And Bobby; did you know he has a wife and five children who depend on him? They depend on us to pay them their salaries, so Bobby can put food on the table for his children and clothes on their backs. If we don’t get paid, they don’t get paid. We lose everything, and they lose everything. I don’t know Mr. Bourg personally, but Bobby, Sam, and all of our other employees are like our family. Liam, we protect our family.”

I stand and walk to Liam. Putting my arm over his shoulder, I ask, “So tell me, Liam, what do we do with Mr. Bourg? Do we let him go? Or should we get what we can out of him and show others they can’t do this to us? If anything, he can be a message to others not to fuck with our family.”

Liam looks at each one of us. Defeated, he says, “Do what you need to do. I get it now.”

“Good, Liam. This is usually Zander’s area of expertise, but I want to play tonight. You will watch and learn from each of us. Eventually, you will play, too, Liam, and learn to make the tough decisions.”

Zander breaks our conversation up. “Okay, you two, I enjoyed the lesson, but I have a date later tonight and I would like to attend, so, if you don’t mind, can we get on with it?”

I let go of Liam and stroll over to Mr. Bourg. He looks scared shitless, as he should. I plan on taking out a lot of aggression on him. I need this so badly. I start by removing my jacket and tie, then I roll up my sleeves. Let’s begin. I punch him so hard across his jaw, a tooth flies out. God, that felt good. The beating continues with punch after punch till he passes out. I take a seat, needing my energy for what’s coming next.

I question, “Zander, you said he got his inheritance? How much?”

“According to my guys, two hundred thousand, but we haven’t been able to get it out of him where it is.”

“Well, let’s see if I can find out, shall we?”

I have Sam throw a bucket of water on Mr. Bourg to wake him up. Once he’s up, I ask him where the money is. Of course, he gives nothing away, so now it’s time to up the ante. I pull out a short sledgehammer. I show him the tool, letting it get the desired effect I want. It does its job; he starts screaming as I swing the sledgehammer into each of his kneecaps, breaking the caps instantly. I let him scream and holler till he can’t anymore. I ask him again and again; he offers no answer. Next, I take the sledgehammer to his hands now. The screams continue.

A knife is my next tool. I start cutting through the skin covering his chest with long incisions. He can’t take much more. I go back to punching upper body shots until he is panting. I ask one more time. His voice is now low, but I can hear him trying to tell me something. He informs me he has a son he was planning on leaving the money to, but he can’t take anymore. He then tells me where the money is hidden.

“Zander, did you get that?” I ask.

“On it!”

Zander makes a call to one of his other guys, who is close to where Mr. Bourg says the money is. We all sit back and wait for confirmation. When the call comes in verifying the location and amount of the money, it’s time to finish this. I walk up to Mr. Bourg and thank him for being cooperative. I also tell him I will make sure his son gets his share of the money. Then I walk behind him, wrap my arm around his neck, and break it. He dies quickly; this is the fastest way I can give his death to him.

I now inquire, “Zander, how much does he owe our other friends?”

“Not much, eighteen thousand.”

“Fine, take seventy-five thousand out for our cut, then take a finger from Mr. Bourg with the eighteen thousand and send it to our friends in a package. The rest of the money goes to his son. Got it?”

“Got it!”

I walk back to Liam and look him in the eyes. “Liam, do you know why we are sending a package to them with his finger and money?”

“No, why?” Liam asks.

“Because it shows them we are honest and trustworthy. It also shows them we always get our man, and it will let them know not to fuck with us.”

I grab my shit and head out. I start to drive, not knowing where I’m going. Before I know it, I am pulling up to my mother’s house. Maybe I just needed to be under my mother’s roof to feel the security and safety of being home.

I needed tonight; it helped me more than anything to take the edge off, and I didn’t think of Fallon one time. Beating someone or taking their life is always hard; it always takes a lot out of me. You never get used to it, and it can slowly destroy you. Every time, it takes a piece of my heart and soul.

I park and go around to the side of the house where the kitchen is located. Knowing no one is awake. I disarm the alarm, then reset it. I just want to get something to eat, clean up, and then crash for the night. Dropping my jacket off on the back of a chair, I walk over and open the door to the fridge. The light from the door opening catches a shadow. I look up and see Fallon staring back at me.