Page 97 of Lord of Debauchery

With walkie-talkies our current source of communication, Constantine gave the go order. We were coming in from all sides, taking out the soldiers assigned to walk the perimeter.

As a kid, I’d been brought up to believe I was invincible. My father had mostly encouraged it, allowing me to find refuge in what others would call dangerous hobbies: rock climbing, bungee jumping, surfing, and skiing. I was the adrenaline junkie of the family, something my mom and dad had believed I’d outgrow.

While I’d put those types of risky endeavors on the back burner when I’d moved up to being a lieutenant on my dad’s team while handling a significant volume of our day-to-day operations, the burning need had obviously never left.

I was completely in my element as we approached the secondary entrance, the one that had purposely been left off every schematic. I was being fueled by adrenaline and caffeine at this point, which suited me just fine.

At some point exhaustion would settle in but not until she was safely in my arms.

The rush of what I used to be also fueled my anger, but only enough to keep me on the edge, my senses heightened.

We were all dressed in black, our faces blacked out with the use of special paint, using the encroaching darkness as a partial cover. It also allowed us to use our infrared goggles, guiding our way through the thick foliage.

The two and a half days after the attack had been a whirlwind but it wasn’t as if we hadn’t been planning for this moment while engaged in our separate regimes. Those with solid leadership skills didn’t react, they acted on threats that were necessary. They were cautious in their undertaking, never letting their cards be shown.

That was one thing Pops had been good at training, ensuring I respected our privacy in all things.

However, I was also no arrogant fool. Without the help from every member of the Brotherhood, including the covert group led by Stavros, there would be no chance of success. None.

I would hold that thought in the back of my mind, providing my thanks when the job was done and we could all breathe easier.

So much of what had occurred seemed like a blur, an ugly fog that I’d tried to wade through but right now my mind was crystal clear, eager to finish this.

We swept through the forest like a well-orchestrated machine, waiting until the last minute to cut the power.

With precision kills, bodies of the enemy soldiers began to drop, which meant the folks underground had been alerted.

It was only a matter of time before they charged, but little did they know what we had in store for them.

As soon as explosives were placed on the main hatch, the power was cut and we backed away. The explosion was contained as it was supposed to be, allowing us to throw open the steel door and turn on our high-powered flashlights.

The closest I’d been to an actual war was through Camden’s eyes, his firsthand knowledge that had left a terrible imprint on his life.

With only honor as his reason, he’d encountered a sad yet authentic training ground for membership into my world.

It was days like today I valued the man more than he knew.

It was also times like this I realized how fucking lucky I was, including for my strong family ties. Not everyone had that.

I’d likely taken my life for granted, including the money and notoriety, the backup help in the form of my soldiers and their unyielding loyalty something I’d come to expect. Now I understood how valuable they were.

As I suspected every member of the Brotherhood did. As soon as we made our descent, it was another moment of utter chaos, shots being fired from every direction. We’d been prepared, initially using smoke canisters to help clear our way. As we fired off calculated shots, able to see clearly through our goggles and carefully crafted beams, slowly the peppered gunfire began to cease.

But we’d yet to make it to the main control location, the oversized room one an entire war could be controlled from. While the nuclear missiles had long since been disengaged, that didn’t mean other weapons hadn’t been installed.

We arrived just outside the room with caution.

Another crafted explosive was placed on the door, all of us taking cover as Camden pressed the mechanism.

The blast was horrific given the location, shrapnel flying everywhere. There was no time to check on anyone injured. It was full go, or we’d lose the momentum.

Yet as I rushed inside, another round of bullets flying, I did what I could to keep my patience.

Until I found what I was looking for.

As suspected, holding court inside the room was my uncle Mitchell and one of my two cousins. David was just as smug as I thought he’d be, acting very much like he was ready to take the international spotlight. I couldn’t care less whether either one survived the incident. What I hadn’t expected was seeing Kenya tied to a chair, her own father pressing the barrel of his weapon against her temple.

In the next moments that passed, an eerie silence took hold, captivating the entire room. With our soldiers outnumbering theirs, it wasn’t going to be a fair fight.

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