Page 24 of Zeus's Sinner

"I'm not in trouble, but I'm pretty sure trouble might be coming our way."

"Fuck, what is it?" Sven's voice grits out.

"I came to this no civilization town to find Father Joseph, but when I got here, there was another man already pressing him. I saw from a distance, but seems like he has the same deal that we have with Father Joseph going on. I got into a little tussle with the hired muscle and managed to swipe his wallet. Got some information figured out that he's working for Rupert Giles."

"What the fuck! Not this man again." Luka complains.

"We don't need this shit right now. " Sven says, but to Luka and not me.

"No shit. You think I don't know that we don't need this shit right now, but what do you expect us to do, just sit back and let that man swipe our allies and territories out from underneath our noses."

"Those that are loyal won't go anywhere. The ones that ain't, it's time they were replaced anyway." Sven tells Luka, and it's strange to hear how the two of them work through shit. It's going to be interesting when they really start to get into the business of running the family.

I allow them a second to get that out before I continue, "Anyway I managed to find my way into the convent and locate what the priest was hiding from him, one part of it I was able to remove but the other I can't." I didn't want to say on the phone that there was a radioactive material just sitting there under the church on an open line. It was already bad enough that I was saying all of this.

"What do you mean you couldn't? You got caught?" Luka asks.

"No, it's a Banner project." I say and hope that Luka still understands when I talk in code. He used to, but it's been a long while since I've had to.

The lines go quiet for a second before they come back and Sven is notably calmer. "We're going to need to find a way to transport it. If it's in the case, it should be stable enough. If not, then everyone needs to be alerted."

I'm actually happy to hear him say that. At least he gives a shit about what happens to the people in the convent.

"Noted. What about Father Joseph."

"He's against us. If there was a problem, he should have notified us. We'll do what needs to be done. Dagger hasn't been to Alaska in a long while." Sven says and Luka grunts out in agreement. I don't want to have the man killed, but that's what my orders are.

"Alright, I'll head back tomorrow or the day after and pick up what we need. I may need to take a ship in. There's no way that I can get on a plane with it." I say, and both Sven and Luka agree again.

"Good Job Zeus." Sven says.

"Make sure it stays that way, we'd hate to have to demote your ass when you got back because you can't listen." Luka jokes before he hangs up the phone.

I shake my head, but a slight twinge of fear nestles in my gut. They will demote me, and not only that, if it's bad enough I know the two of them will kill me.

* * *

A banging wakesme up from a deep Inessa filled sleep.

"Zeus... Zzz... Zeus." Someone croaks out my name from the front door. When I turn my head, I see it's almost two in the morning. I'm not expecting anyone and no one knows that I'm here. I grab my side arm off the table and slowly make my way to the door. There is no peephole and it's so dark outside I can't see through the side windows.

I pull the door open slowly just to peek who it is.

"God no, Inessa." I fling the door open, and she tumbles in my arms shaking so furiously, I think she's having a seizure.

"Cold. So cold. Please. Help." She begs, and I hear her try to cry, but nothing comes out.

"Hold on. Just hold on, lamb." I tell her and I carry her to the bedroom where the fire is roaring. I set her down in front of it before I run back to the front to close and lock the front door. I rush to the lining closet and pull out ever blanket and sheet that's there. Running back to the room, Inessa hadn't moved, she just laid where I left her and shivered. I see the puddle of water dripping off her cold clothing and I know I need to get her out of that before she catches hypothermia.

I drop the blankets next to her and lift her from the ground so she’s sitting up. "Inessa, I have to get you out of this habit, okay. I need to get you warm."

She shakes her head no at first, and I'm tempted to just do it anyway. But I don't want to go against her will. I tell her again, hoping she understands how necessary this is. "Inessa, I need to do this. You'll freeze with this on. I have to take it off.

She cries and drops her head down, but she nods. I move fast to get the fabric off her skin but the first tug, and she screams in agony, I know why she was telling me no.

I move slower and when I pull it up I see her back and legs are black and blue peppered with whip marks.

"What... who the fuck did this? Who did this to you?" I do my best to keep and leash on my anger, but just looking at this is enough to make me want to blow up the world.

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