Chapter 3 (Gunner):
Yes, I have a plan. I always do. The problem. No one, and I do mean, no one is going to like this plan. I am not naive. I don’t have the resources or frankly the talent to take down a man like Pytor with the amount of power and men he has under him. What I do have, what I’ve always had, is my smarts and my ability to focus under immense pressure. My ability to put aside the opinion of others. This situation, however, is a little more complicated. Since this involves my girl’s friend. Almost everything major move I make will get back to her, and this plan I have is enough to send Dana over the edge. She will not approve, but she doesn’t understand this is the only way. I’ve gone over it one hundred times in my head. I'm not a fucking superhero. I'm one man. Given that, this is the only plan that will not get us all killed. Hopefully.
Now I have to break it to Anatoli and Tobias. Tobias, psh, he’ll have no problem with it. I am a little worried about Anatoli’s reaction though.
“You’re not going to like the plan,” I warn sternly, looking directly at Anatoli. Then I turn to Tobias. “However, you both know this is not a normal situation and normal tactics do not apply here. We have to get creative.”
“I’m getting impatient,” Anatoli snaps.
“To get Pytor we have to make him think he won. That’s the only way a man like him will let his guard down.” I see Anatoli’s eyes narrow suspiciously. Tobias cocks an eyebrow, curious and seemingly impressed. “Bottom line, he’s needs to take someone. It’d be controlled, but that’s when he’d let his guard down. When he thinks he’s hurting Alex.”
“You want us to let him take Alex again! You are out of your fucking mind. She’ll lose it. She won’t be able to endure it again. I’m fucking serious Gunner.”
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be Alex.”
Tobias busts out laughing. “Wow. Your reputation precedes you. You’d really let him take one of your little posy. Your woman would kill you.”
“You don’t think I know that!” I snap. “She’s going to fucking kill me. I don’t want anyone I associate with to get fucking taken! I can’t think of another way, and this guy has to get fucking taken down. This dude Rex has lost enough. I need to make sure Alex and her friends are safe and then I can go home. We’ll make sure no serious, lasting damage comes to whoever it is that goes.”
Tobias just laughs. He really is a sick fuck. He’s enjoying having me around, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“You two are fucking sick in the head! I mean I’m not a saint, but good God. You want to let that man take a woman so he thinks we won? What the hell? Can’t he take me. It’s not like I'm not high on his shit list.”
I cock an eyebrow. I knew Anatoli was the softer of the two, but I wasn’t exactly counting on his strong moral compass.
“He’ll just kill you,” I say regretfully. “That won’t help us. We are doing this so we can get him to let his guard down that way we can move in after… the person who takes him shoots him. She’ll have a gun. We go in after she weakens him.”
“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FUCKING MIND?” Anatoli bellows, but Tobias quickly shushes him and looks at me intently.
“It’s not a bad plan. He’s got too many men. If we go in alone. We’ll all die. No question. Even if we did a surprise ambush. So that said. Who’s he gonna take? Are we gonna tell them?”
Anatoli lets out a loud disapproving scoff. Even I scoff a little. “Of course I’m gonna tell them. I’m not gonna fucking let him take a woman without telling her what we are up to.”
“And how else would she get a gun and know to shoot him.”
I laugh at his sick as shit mind. “Yeah that too.”
“So who’s he gonna take?” Anatoli asks, his voice low. Then he winces. “Who does Alex know?”
“Only her and Sam. The rest are guys. She only cares about one of them, but he’s not going in. No question. Pytor isn’t as slow with men. He’d die quicker, we’d have less time, and if we lost this guy we might as well kill Alex. She wouldn’t survive it.”
“So Sam’s your girl?” Tobias smirks.
“I didn’t include my girl on that list,” I seeth. “She is not getting taken. That is not up for debate.”
“You know if I ever have something against you, you’ve told me exactly how to get to you.”
I step up right in his face. “If you hurt my woman I will end you. You will see first hand how I got my reputation.”
I hear Anatoli literally growl and roughly push us away. “I’m teetering on the edge of killing one of you as it is so don’t freaking piss me off right now!”
We both step away. Tobias smirks and I realize he’s just playing with me. He enjoys knowing my weakness, just like the guys from Occidere did. I shutter a bit. I know I’m being overly defensive, because, one, it’s Dana. Two, I don’t trust Tobias. I don’t trust him at all. It’s clear he’s controlled because he is around Anatoli, who he for some reason listens to. I’d be scared to know what made him who he is and what would happen if went off on his own.
“So Alex is only friends with two females?”
“Does that surprise you? Besides these girls are extremely close. Sam is practically Alex’s sister. They lived together for a while. Alex helped raise Sam’s baby.”
Both men look shocked. “She did?!”
“Yeah.”
“So Sam then,” Tobias shrugs.
“I thought of Sam first too. She’s strong. I worked with her for a short while, actually. The problem is she got taken by a group of drug dealers I was affiliated with back in the day. They tortured her, and I do mean tortured her. They beat the ever living shit out of her with a stick, raped her, they destroyed this girl. She made it out physically and mentally for the most part, but she is riddled with scars and still has bad nightmares. I don’t want something to happen to her and she can’t recover from it. She doesn’t deserve that shit.”
“That just leaves your girl and Alex.”
“No that just leaves Alex because my girl is staying out of this fucking shit.”
Anatoli looks at me seriously. “All the macho shit aside. Do you honestly believe we can keep her safe if we do this? Do you honestly think she’ll survive it? Is this really the only way?”
I sigh heavily and look them both in the eye showing them how much I mean what I am about to say. “I honestly believe this is the only way. In fact, I know it is. You know it is. I do think she’ll survive it. She’ll struggle. Relapse in bad habits, but she will survive it a hell of a lot more than if we put one of her friends in there. She’d die of guilt. Plus, she has Rex. That dude can see Alex through anything I’m beginning to believe. He knows her freaky well. I’ve never seen anyone handle her insanity or calm her like he can. With him, yeah, she’ll be good. We can keep her safe. We will plan. I will keep Rex in the loop. He’ll be key to pulling this off. We’ll tell Sam soon enough. We will run through several plans and scenarios. We’ll keep her safe. I’ll be sure of it. I’ve learned in my life that planning, calm and intelligence is the best weapon you can have.”
“Agreed,” Tobias nods.
Anatoli sighs. “Call this Rex guy. Alex mentioned him to me years ago. Make sure he’s in on this. If he’s not we think of a new plan.”
His tone leaves no room for discussion. I’d get Rex in on this. He trusts me, but I’m not gonna lie. This is not going to be easy. I rattle off a text.
Me: Call me when you are alone.
It doesn’t take long at all for the phone to ring.
“Rex,” I answer as I walk away from the other two guys.
“Alex just left. What’s going on?” His voice is cold. I recognize it. It is the same voice he had when we discussed the death of his sister.
“Rex. We have a plan but you are not going to like it.”
“It must be bad if you are giving me a warning verses just throwing it at me.”
“It is,” I affirm.
“Fuck, it has to do with Alex. Fuck Gunner! What?”
“Rex. Listen to me. Listen. Don’t let your emotions control this conversation.”
“I’m listening,” he gets out through a clenched jaw. I know if I was anyone else he would have said no and hung up by now, but we have history. He’ll let me explain.
“Rex, I’m no idiot. This guy is way past my level of connection, and maybe even raw skill. All I have on him is my ability to out think him and to stay in control. That’s fuck all. The only way to get this guy is to get him to let his guard down. To make him think he’s won. Bottom line, he’s got to take someone. It can’t be a guy, I wish it could, but he’d kill him too fast. Pytor doesn’t care for men. His track record shows that. It needs to be a woman. That leaves us with two options, and I’m not sure Sam could take it right now. Not after what just happened to her. Not to mention we both know Alex would suffer more knowing a friend was in danger, again, because of her than if we just made her the bait. It would all be controlled. I will assure you of that. The utmost planning will go into this.”
“You’re not joking.”
“No. I’m not. Do I ever?”
“Gunner, I… I can’t do that to Alex. She’ll break. I can’t lose her. Not again. She can’t face him. She’s murdered because of him. I’m scared she’ll do worse. More. I don’t know. What if she kills herself?”
“If one of her friends gets taken because of her she surely will, and then you will definitely lose her.”
I hear Rex sigh several times. He knows this is the only option. “I can’t do this Gunner. I can’t.”
“Rex!” I snap. “I sure as fuck don’t want to either. You think Dana will forgive me for this shit? For being the fucking mastermind behind it? I just have to put on my fucking big boy pants and do the job. That’s all there is. The job… right now. This guy has to end if you want Alex and anyone she’s close to to ever be safe again.”
He pauses. He didn’t think of this. He now knows I may be sacrificing just as much as him.
“Alex has to approve. If I sense any hesitancy coming from her we think of something else. I don’t know what, but something.”
“Done.”
“Then… I guess I’m in.”
… and just like that the game is on again. I feel it in my blood. In my bones.