Page 55 of Beast: Part Two

Without a word, Zel walks over to the guard, he’s still spreading mulch as he goes. As soon as he’s close enough, he tosses the mulch bag to the ground, pulls out his gun and fires a tranquilizer into the guard’s neck. The guard is too slow to react.The tranquilizer guns were provided to us by D.O.E. We didn’t want to kill any innocent bystanders if we didn’t have to.

The guard drops to the ground. Hawk joins Zel, and they pull the man into the bushes before covering him with the mulch. The tranq should knock him out for four or more hours.

I toss the weed eater I’m carrying to the ground. Seth climbs off the lawn mower without cutting it off. The noise will serve to keep up the charade and distract anyone inside from knowing we aren’t still working.

We move as a unit toward the back of the house.

“Unlock the door,” Priest says to Albany.

There is a second’s delay before her voice comes through the earpiece. “Alarm is off, and the door is unlocked.”

People will never know how easy it is to break into computer-controlled alarm systems. Zel leads the way inside. We stay low with our tranquilizer guns out in front of us.

“You have a bogie coming around the corner to your left, Beast,” Alicia’s soft voice says in my earpiece.

I turn the corner and fire off a tranq. It hits the maid in the chest. She drops quickly.

“Thanks,” I say in response to Alicia.

“You’re always welcome,” she hums.

When I look to my right, Priest is looking at me shaking his head. He doesn’t speak as he goes back to moving through the house.

We quickly take down the second guard and the butler.

“Where is O’Cleary?” Priest asks.

“Upstairs in the shower. His room is on the second floor. Last room on your left.”

We follow the directions Albany gives us. Keeping our ears open and staying alert. The sound of the shower tells us he’s still in the bathroom.

Priest enters the room first with me bringing up the rear. We take up the full space of the room. I stand close to the door keeping my eyes on the exit. Priest sits on the bed. He will be the first person O’Cleary sees when he walks out. Hawk is on the wall beside the bathroom. It will put him behind O’Cleary. Seth is leaning against the wall behind Priest’s head. Many is beside me and Zel is on the wall across from me. We have every inch of the room covered.

The shower water cuts off and I’m brought back to the night I killed Andrew. It was the night I promised Summer, I’d never leave her again. A promise I’ve had to break.

“It’s for her own good,”I remind myself.

The sound of drawers closing in the bathroom brings me back to the moment. We wait another five minutes for the door to open.

Samuel O’Cleary steps out of the bathroom in a fluffy white robe. He’s in his early forties. A businessman that inherited his family’s billion-dollar, multinational, confectionery, food, holding, beverage and snack food company. Their products are in every grocery store worldwide.

“Who the hell are you people?” he asks alarmed.

“You signed an excommunication order on us, and you don’t even know who we are?” Priest asks.

Sam’s eyes narrow before a slow smile appears on his face. I’m used to his reaction. The Royal Crown did not fear the Church.

Sam chuckles. “Oh, you’re part of that little Church thing,” he sneers walking further into the room. He goes over to his dresser and pulls out some boxers. Without a care in the world, he slips on his underwear underneath his robe before turning back to us.

“What can I do for you men?” he says cheerfully. “But make it quick, I have things to do.”

Priest turns to look at me. “You weren’t lying. They don’t fear us.”

I shake my head.

“Fear you,” Sam says laughing. “Why would we fear what we own.”

Seth starts to chuckle. Priest follows along with Hawk, Zel, and Many all joining. Priest stands from the bed, tugging on the sleeve of his jumpsuit.

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