Page 91 of A Vicious Rumor

I turned to look at Paper who was still trying to tackle Scissors. Looking at him up close, I realized he must be on some sort of hallucinogenic as well because the crazed look in his eyes was not right.

One of the guys dressed in black grabbed the microphone. He was huge, bald, and covered in tattoos in every place imaginable. "Sorry to drop in on your party," he laughed. "But, we're here for Tyson Stone. Anyone seen him?"

The entire crowd pointed to the middle of the field. I moved in front of Tyson instinctively. If these men took him, there was no telling what would happen. Tyson really needed medical care. If he didn't get it, I was worried he'd end up permanently injured or worse.

They walked over to the four of us, casting shadows across each of us in their own way.

"Hey look, Dino," one of the guys said to the big guy. "They've basically already done our job for us," he snickered.

I turned to look at Paper, but he was still struggling with Scissors, who didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation.

"Pity," the man apparently named Dino said. "I was sort of looking forward to having some fun with him."

"You're a sick bastard, ya know that?" the other said.

I could feel Tyson try and move behind me, but I moved to block him. "Don't you dare touch him,” I said.

"Now, she's someone I could definitely have some fun with," Dino said, turning his attention to me. He moved forward and grabbed me by the hair. I screamed in pain as I was all but wrenched up off the ground.

I tried to turn around and fight my way back to Tyson. He passed out as he was trying to reach for me. In that moment, I didn't care about myself. I didn't care about anything. Tyson needed help! He needed a doctor!

"Luca!" I screamed, who had finally gotten Scissors to pass out. "Help!"

He turned and realization dawned on him as to what was going on. The men were dragging me further and further away from Tyson. Further and further towards a situation I knew I might not come back from.

Paper walked towards us calmly, and one of the guys flagged him with his gun. "I don't think you wanna do that, kid," he said threateningly.

Paper cleared his throat and gave him a truly venomous look. "I guess you're not familiar with who I am," he said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them against his shirt. He put them back into his pocket, then ran his fingers through his normally perfectly combed hair, ruffling it up. "Recognize me now?" he asked.

The men all stood there looking at him. Finally one piped up. "Are you the boss's kid? I thought you was in college?"

"Yeah, yeah, at the academy," another one chimed in.

Paper pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is an academy," he said. "And yes, I am Constantino Maldonado's son."

"You don't got his last name though, do ya?" one of the guys asked.

Paper shook his head and smiled at him. "No, I do not."

"Then we don't answer to you," he said, but the guy named Dino shook his head.

"Yes, we do," he said. He let go of my hair and all but threw me forward. I scrambled away from the men and over to Tyson. I didn't even hesitate to pull my phone out to dial 911.

"Looks like you should get going," Paper said, tilting his head towards me. "Cops usually come with ambulances."

The men all turned around begrudgingly and made their way back towards the parking lot.

"One last question," Paper called out after them. "Who authorized this hunt?"

They all looked pretty uncomfortable until finally Dino spoke up. "No one," he said. "But the kid wasn't answering our calls."

Paper cut him off. "Next time, I'd stick to the protocol. And my friend is no longer on the roster. Do we understand each other?"

They nodded and turned around. By this time, most of the crowd had fled in fear. Paper came over to me as I was fumbling with my phone. My fingers were shaking so badly I was having trouble unlocking it.

He grabbed it out of my hand and shook his head. "Better not to have the authorities involved. We can take them both to my place. I'll have a physician brought in on site."

I looked up at him, totally stunned. I didn't know if I could trust him now. It seemed as if I knew even less about Paper than I thought. Yet, at the same time, what choice did I have?

---