Page 21 of Volatile Obsessions

? Wild for the Night - A$AP Rocky, Skrillex, Birdy Nam Nam, and Lord Flacko ?

Burning Ramos to a crisp was oddly satisfying. It somehow seemed to melt away all the stress mounted on my shoulders, no pun intended. For the briefest moment, amongst the unrelenting sparks and voltage, bliss replaced grief. I felt weightless, yet brimming with such privilege and sovereignty.

His cries did nothing for me.

Nothing.

If anything, they prolonged that sense of peace within me.

Thinking about who expected him home, what his loss would do to his loved ones, what the consequences could be after the fact…nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Simply put, the man was a casualty of war. Nothing less, nothing more.

Cruel and heartless, perhaps, but I didn’t have a heart. Sympathy wasn’t a quality I possessed nor cared to possess. The world didn’t give two fucks about me when everything I ever cared about was ripped away at the seams, so why the fuck should I give a shit about anyone but myself?

Why the fuck should I trust anyone else?

Instilling trust in people was pointless, and often times, entirely misplaced. Loyalty meant nothing to our species unless it suited them and their needs.

“We’re ready, boss,” grunted Roscoe as the last of my newly acquired army hopped out of the van and gathered in the alley way across the street from Black Widow.

The war on Lux was sheer minutes away from commencement. With Ramos out of the way and the Queen fully aware of the newcomer who was a clear threat to her business, Vic had finally given me the green light to get the ball rolling.

That newcomer was me by the way, in case you hadn’t connected the dots already—if you hadn’t…c’mon, mate, pay attention.

“It’s showtime, fellas,” I declared, glancing around my entourage as I took one last pull from my smoke. “Masks on. Let’s rile up the Queen of Miami, shall we?”

They nodded, each of them knowing exactly what role they played in this preliminary and rather petty experiment. Tonight wasn’t so much about hurting anyone or reducing numbers. It was more a test of Lux’s strengths and capabilities.

A taste of what she was made of.

Judging by what I heard of her sultry voice, I imagined she tasted pretty damn sweet… Didn’t share that shit with Vic, though. Not even a peep in regards to her accent, which for the record—yes, threw me off. I most definitely was not expecting the Queen of Miami to sound like that.

Slipping my mask in place, I blew out a cloud of smoke and flicked my cigarette into the street, cocking back the slide on my firearm with ease. “I truly loathe repeating myself, but for the sake of covering all my bases, I’m giving you lads the run-down one last time, so listen carefully. Move quietly, stay alert, and don’t get too comfortable. No unnecessary noise once we get inside either. Keep your identity hidden at all times, and for the love of God, stay the bloody hell out of her office. Oh, and if any of you so much as tamper with one hinge on the outside of that building, we’re going to have a massive fucking problem. Are we clear?”

Another round of silent nods ensued, their faces all hidden behind different masks; some creepy, some downright terrorizing. It was like The Purge, except no one was dying tonight.

Not yet anyway.

Ten minutes later, the whole lot of us had broken into Lux’s empirewithout incident. Bodies hard at work littered the first floor where all the make-up production clearly took place. Well, used to, because when she and her crew waltzed in later this morning, they wouldn’t be getting much of anything done except clean up, and alerting customers their orders would be a tad delayed.

Happy Monday, Miss Mercier.

Materials used to create the make-up had been unpackaged and spilt around like confetti. Boxes ready for distribution had been ripped open and emptied onto the floor, colorful powders and shards of glass splattered around the now broken packaging. Several machines had been vandalized and broken, too, including conveyer belts and all their according electrical wiring. These guys were thorough, leaving not one thing unopened or standing.

As for me, I’d yet to touch a thing, and not because I didn’t want to. I was just waiting, waiting and watching. Stalking along from space to space. My move would come last and I preferred it that way, gave me a moment to supervise these monkeys and enjoy the mayhem unfolding before me.

The brunt of it all was what would probably hurt Lux most.

Her weight.

Her supply.

The room used to separate and package all her, we’ll call them pharmaceuticals, was the perfect cover-up. A well- thought out operation. One would think the scales and baggies were used to weigh and distribute make-up. Everything blended in seamlessly.

I was impressed to say the least, so impressed I found myself shaking my head in slight disappointment as I glanced around the space. It’s a shame I had to ruin it for her. In another life, we might’ve been great partners. She was obviously an intelligent, resourceful woman, and those were two qualities I admired. Rare to come by these days when sharing a business with someone.

Alas, this wasn’t that lifetime, nor would it ever be. Lux would loathe me through each and every one, in any way, shape, or form. Couldn’t fault the woman, considering her life was about to go from lush to mediocre, but I didn’t care either way.

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