Page 45 of Tormented By Regret

“Would you stop glaring at him already? Your eyes are gonna pop out of your head.”

“Shut the fuck up, Scorn, this ain't your business.”

“The hell it ain't! It's cutting the Prez's time, and he has some important shit to say!”

I slowly sat down, grimacing at all of them. “Bandit is alive,” I started, and all their attention fell on me.

“He owes me a plane, but he's a survivor. Colt, you're bringing him back.”

“But…”

I stared down at him and I watched his jaw flex.” I’m sorry, do you have something more pressing to do than follow orders. My orders.”

Whatever he was hoping to say, he kept it to himself. As best he should. I then moved on to more important matters.

“Hoax, pull it up on the big screen.”

We waited a couple seconds until Hoax had brought up the information. I glanced over at Powertrain who looked every bit the scared man I didn’t think he’d be. He kept it hidden well, but I knew my men, and he was shitting bricks. At the same time, I could see the rage as his hands folded into fists in front of him. Powertrain wouldn't go down without a fight, and he was itching for one.

“Ronald Hargrave is a psychopathic murderer. A few weeks ago, he killed a woman out near Lake Michigan. The killing was brutal.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Malice asked.

“Nothing and everything. One of our own has suffered at his hands already, and now he wants to take another innocent soul. One who is near and dear to all of us.”

“So, we play bodyguards now?” Macabre chuckled.

I turned to him, giving him a stern look. “If you want your sister to live, I suggest you take things more seriously.”

“What the hell does that mean?” He glanced from me to Powertrain, until Lee finally broke the silence.

“You don't have to cover for me, Prez. They need to know the truth.”

I gave him the floor and he began to speak. He recounted the incident back at the college and how, right as we sent him out to pick up Whisper, Ronald Hargrave escaped from the mental ward. He'd entrusted Hoax to watch over Lucy Whitfield, the woman who had been killed. Powertrain's voice cracked as he spoke of her and the family she left behind. You could clearly see that it wasn't easy for him to recount the events, but he got through it.

Hoax then cut in. “He left a cryptic message in his 9-1-1 call.”

“He gave himself in?” Macabre asked.

Hoax shook his head. “Not necessarily, but he is a sick fuck.”

“I then received a phone call from the fucker, a couple days ago.” Powertrain continued.

“He threatened Whisper.” He said quietly, looking directly at Macabre.

“Now I'm definitely lookin’ to hurt you…” Macabre threatened.

He reached out to him, but Tick Tock did me the favor of slamming him back down into his seat. “Stop being such a fucking hot head, man. Powertrain brought her here to keep her safe. He did the right thing.”

“If she wasn't with him in the first place…”

“Because that's his fault?” Scorn cut in. “You better cool your shit, Macabre, cause now you're getting on my nerves.”

I slammed my hand down on the table and they all stopped to look at me. “I realize we're all on edge lately, but I need you to be on full alert until we find this asshole. Any problems we may have with each other, will wait.” I looked at Macabre and Powertrain, “Understood?”

“Yes, Prez,” they both nodded quietly.

I've got Smoke down in Tijuana monitoring who crosses that border, although I doubt that motherfucker's going South. I've put out an alert and I talked to Maverick up in Atlanta. He's ready to send some backup if we need it. And we've got a new Chapter in Canada…”

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