Page 50 of CJ

“I’m tired of your accusations, Tehren. I’ve secured the cargo and brought it literally to your feet. What game are you playing?”

He turned quickly, looking at his driver. Waving him forward, he told him to shine the headlights into the hold. Beyond the first stacks of crates, it was obvious that there was nothing there. Somewhere, there were hundreds of crates of weapons, ammunition, uniforms, and vests that they’d paid for. But they were not in this ship.

“Wh-what on earth,” she stammered.

“Explain yourself, Mikella,” said Messina. “Did you really believe we wouldn’t notice hundreds of crates missing?”

“Me? Perhaps you should explain yourselves! The cargo was there when they left America. What did you do? Did you send someone to pirate my ship?”

“Your ship?” frowned Fayha. “It is our ship. Our cargo. You seem to quickly forget that this is a business of the four of us.”

“Bullshit!” she screamed.

Two rifle shots echoed in the night as the headlights of the car were shattered. Mikella ducked to the ground, cursing more because her beautiful suit was now soiled. No one would dare to kill her out in the open.

“Get me out of here,” said Messina to his man.

“Sir, we can’t. The shots are coming from there. They have the advantage. They could have killed us but haven’t.”

“Who are you?” yelled Tehren.

The crates stacked on one another suddenly opened and dozens of men in black stood aiming directly at them. Their bodies and faces were covered in thin black mesh. Mikella didn’t care.

“Kill them!” she yelled.

Her own men began firing at the dark figures, only to be greeted by them casually kneeling and returning fire with care. As her men began to fall, her three partners became more and more concerned.

“Did you set this up?” yelled Fayha. “You did this! You thought to drive us away in fear!”

“I did not, you idiot. They’re firing on me as well!”

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” said Ham, stepping out of the crate. He looked at Mikella and smirked. “And whatever you are. Don’t fight. We’re going to kill you all.”

“Money. We have money,” said Messina.

“Good for you,” said CJ, stepping out of the crate. “You fucked with the wrong people. No one touches our goods without asking, and no one survives after killing our brothers.”

“I bought those goods fair and square,” said Mikella. “I have the invoices. My sister secured the purchase. I didn’t kill anyone’s brothers.”

“Your sister attempted to steal the contract and failed. She’s currently in solitary at a federal prison and will most likely be charged with treason, murder, and a few other interesting things,” said Gator.

“No,” said Mikella. “No, I spoke to her just hours ago. She texted me.”

The men said nothing just staring at her. She turned to search for anyone who was still alive who would defend her. In the distance, they could hear sirens approaching.

“We won’t be arrested,” said Mikella. “They know better than to arrest us.”

“You’re right,” said Ham. Patrick, Christopher, Matt, Kev, and Rush zip-tied the foursome together, forcing them to sit on the dock as the sun began to rise. The dock workers themselves were smart enough to run when the bullets began to fly. They wouldn’t be offering any assistance. “If the explosion doesn’t kill you, the note we’ve sent to the police will encourage them to kill you first.”

They heard the soft whisper of the Osprey above them, and Ham turned to the men, nodding. CJ walked toward Mikella and fired a single shot into her stomach. If she lived, it would be a long, painful recovery. If she didn’t, he was okay with that.

“That’s for the men you and your sisters killed. Brothers who served their country without fail. I hope you enjoy hell. Tell me, why kill Weathers and Yarrow?” She stared at him wide-eyed, then laughed, the blood seeping through her suit, unable to use her hands to stop the bleeding.

“They were too smart for their own good. They knew that Alana was using Yarrow and devised a plan around her weakness. Sex and men. Irena discovered it, met them here in Cyprus, and killed Yarrow and eventually Weathers. I had nothing to do with it.”

“You had everything to do with it, and you’ll pay for it all the way to hell.”

They felt the soft breeze of something strange as the men disappeared to the top decks of the ship.

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