Page 51 of Lady Death

“What the fuck?” he hissed, wiping his face. “What is this shit?”

Davorin let go of her and she scooted back as far as possible, watching him. She closed the ring and waited. His Deathman in front turned to look at them.

“Boss?”

Davorin’s eyes watered, and he wiped the tears away, no doubt smearing some poison into them.

“Ah!” he cried. “It burns.”

He coughed and gasped for air, only to cough again.

“Boss?”

Davorin turned to look at her. The cool, calm, and arrogant crime lord was gone. Panic and anxiety blanketed his face. More coughing, turning into an agonized wheeze.

“What did you do to me?” His tone bordered on hysteria.

“I poisoned you.” Keres flickered her gaze at the Deathman. “Tell your goon to give me his gun and maybe I’ll give you the antidote.”

“Do it!” Davorin ordered and the man handed over his nine mil. “The antidote. Give it to me! Right now!”

The gun was passed to her.

“There’s no antidote, you idiot,” she mocked, pointing the gun at him. “You’ve ingested sarin powder. And this shit was found in a lab somewhere in Russia, so I’m betting it’s pretty potent stuff.”

“No!” he shouted. “No, no, no!”

He furiously wiped his face, as if that would save him.

“That’s exactly what I said to my rapists,” she mused. “I’m going to take a page from them and ignore your protests.”

She flipped the safety off the gun, and before anyone could react, she moved the barrel and shot the Deathman in the face. Blood and brain matter flew everywhere, and Keres had to wipe it off her cheek. The SUV swerved a little as the driver glanced in terror at the dead man crumpled next to him. With her ears ringing with the reverb, she swung the gun to point at the driver.

“If you want to live, keep driving like normal,” she ordered, pressing the barrel against the back of his head.“Understand?”

“Y-yes,” he replied.

When she was positive he wasn’t going to give her any trouble, she refocused on Davorin.

“Sarin is a terrible way to go,” she said, with a small shake of her head. “About now your breathing should be very labored because fluid is accumulating in your lungs. I imagine it must feel like you’re drowning. Heavy chest tightness. Blurred vision. Paralysis.”

He coughed had turned into a desperate rasp, and he frantically clawed at his throat.

“When your men raped me and failed to kill me, I swore I’d do anything to avenge not only myself but my friend as well,” Keres continued. “I learned everything I could about you. Your businesses. Importing drugs. Selling people like they’re cattle. Running guns. You’re a really, really bad man.”

“Please,” he wheezed. Drool started to drip from the corner of his mouth as his muscles seized.

“I know there are bad people everywhere, because I’m one of them.” She shook her head. “You made me, you know.Youcreated me. And now you’re going to die, and I’m going to sit here and watch the life leave your ugly fucking face.”

“My m-men will kill you.”

“I know,” she said solemnly.

It only took another minute before Davorin slumped in his seat, staring into eternity. Gasping for air as his brain tried desperately to stay alive. The death rattle, it was called.

Then his chest stopped rising.

It was over. She’d done it. For Abigail. For Jonathan. For Darby. For herself. The monster was gone, and the most heavenly sense of peace descended over her. Leaning her head back, tears of relief gathered in her eyes. Blinking them away, Keres turned the gun back onto the driver.

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