Page 1 of Nitro

Nitro

I pop three rounds into the glass door and the group of us quickly make our way into the small clothing store. Rooster had made it very clear to the owner two days ago that if he didn’t have his protection money by today, the Purged would get what he owed in other ways.

I almost feel sorry for the owner. Rooster has been rolling through the area demanding that all these small businesses pay for protection or be forced to close. I guess today's the day that we put Mr. Ichan and his big and tall clothing store out of business. I’m the first one in the store and go straight to the register to see if there is anything in there that we could take that would appease Rooster. Piece by piece he’s growing his club, but it’s never enough. Not even when he was the president of the Spawns was winning enough. He wants to decimate everything in his path. The problem that he doesn’t seem to understand is that he destroys himself in the process. Talk about being your own worst enemy.

“Nitro, what you got in there?” Lefty calls out.

“Shit man, about fifty bucks.” I pluck the money out of the register and put it in my pocket before I walk off, getting out of the way of the other Purged members. Most of them are drunk and falling over each other. I can’t fucking stand how sloppy they get, especially when we are supposed to be on mission.

“I’m going to check in the back. Maybe there’s a safe or something?” I talk over my shoulder and make my way into the rear of the store. I can hear the rest of the guys breaking shit, but I’m trying to focus on what’s going on in front of me. The last thing I need is someone jumping out from around the corner to take me out.

I hear what sounds like a bottle hit the floor and I stop in my tracks. Shit, there’s someone else in here.

I draw my gun and slowly make my way in the direction that I heard the noise. I push open the door and see an older man and a young boy with curly blond hair huddled in a corner. Fear plastered all over both of their faces.

Fucking hell, they shouldn’t be here. I don’t lower my weapon, but I do my best to signal them to leave. The Purged isn’t like any motorcycle club that I’ve ever been around. They don’t care about the community or each other. It’s more like a big fucking riot than a clubhouse. Just as I’m about to open my mouth to tell them to go, Rage walks up behind me and shoots the man.

“No! Daddy!” The small kid cries and leans over his father’s body.

I watch in almost slow motion as Rage swings the gun over and aims it at the kid.

“What are you doing? We don’t need to do that!” I try to grab for the gun, but Rage pulls the trigger before I can. The kid’s head snaps back as the light quickly dims from his eyes. The screams for his father still replaying in my mind.

My insides clench and I have to snap my jaw down tight to keep from throwing up. He'd just killed that little baby like it's nothing. He had taken that child’s life like he was a God and it was his given right.

“Come on, Nitro, you know better than that. We don’t leave any witnesses, no matter what. Kids, women, old men, they all go down if they cross the Purged. Rooster was very clear. They should’ve just paid when they were supposed to.” Rage claps me on the back, shrugs and goes back to search for more valuables to take for Rooster.

I squeeze my eyes shut to stop from staring at the little boy that is now laying limp on the floor. This is what I’m a part of now. This is what Shepard is asking me to do. I thought when he'd told me to infiltrate the Purged that it was going to be a simple thing, maybe one or two weeks. It’s been months and I’m still here. I’m still in so deep Rooster has named me his fucking VP.

Even when Rooster was with the Spawns, he was a crazy fuck, but I never had to go around and kill fucking kids. If I didn’t think that they would roast me on a spit if I even went against anything that Rooster said, I’d try to put a bullet in his head right now. This shit is crazy.

I’ve been here trying to find out what his weaknesses are. There are loads. Rooster isn’t the most organized person in the crew, but where he has weaknesses, he makes up for it with manpower. When I got here a month ago, there was a few dozen members of the Purged. Now there are more than a hundred members and not all of them are at the clubhouses. Fuck not even all of them are in the same fucking state as us, but they all would stop what they are doing and help Rooster the second he asks.

“Nitro, what do you think about this? You think Rooster would want this?” Mike runs up behind me and shows me a small case of coins. They look like they might be collectibles, but I wouldn’t fucking know.

“Yeah, bring it, he may be able to sell that shit or something.” I shrug and walk around him. I don’t want to be in the same room as the dead kid and man, just another reminder that I’m stuck playing spy at the expense of my soul.

“Awesome! I wonder what I’ll get for bringing this in.” Mike jumps up and down in excitement. One way that Rooster is able to keep everyone happy is his reward system. If one member is able to bring in something that Rooster wants or specifically kills someone Rooster wants dead, they are rewarded. Sometimes it’s new pussy, other times it's drugs, money, or whatever we have on hand is divvied that way.

It’s like we’re fucking pirates.

In order to get the good booty, all Rooster’s needs must be met. I get first dibs on whatever comes in, because I’m the VP and according to Rooster his closest friend.

This is what my life has come down to. I’m the best friend to a fucking psychopath. I’ll do anything for my brothers, my real brothers—The Spawns of Chaos. I just don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to play this ruse without losing myself or how long before Rooster realizes that I’m not on the same team as him. Any traitor is as good as dead to him. If he figures out that I’m the biggest one out of all of them, I know the level of pain that he would inflict would be nothing short of fucking torturous.

I’d be fine if I thought my brothers at home were working their asses off on their side to get me the fuck out of here, but every time I talk to Shepard it’s like they have no actual drive. More and more, I’m starting to feel like my brothers have left me to rot.

I don’t have time to think about that. Right now, I need to think about what I have to do to keep my cover. “Hurry the fuck up! I don’t want to have to deal with the fucking cops if they decide to show up.” I order everyone in the main room of the clothing store.

“If they do show, we’ll take them out. They should know not to fuck with the Purged!” Lefty shouts and laughs as he pulls his cock out and starts peeing on the clothes that are on the floor.

“I don’t give a fuck about what you think. I’m giving you a fucking order. Hurry the fuck up!” I grab the back of his head and shove him forward hard, causing him to make a mess on himself.

“Damn Nitro, fine, I heard you. We moving.” Lefty grumbles as he grabs a random piece of clothing and wipes his pants.

I pull out a smoke and start on my way out of the store. All I’ve been able to recover is a paltry fifty dollars from the cash register. “Ya’ll got five fucking minutes.” I say over my shoulders as I walk over the broken glass to get back outside.

The few Purged members that came with me on this run, file out after me, holding whatever they were able to find for Rooster in their hands.

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