The Cunning

78

"Madison, you remember Harvey?" Jase asked.

Madison studied Harvey with an eerie childlike curiosity. "Why does he look so scared?" She tilted her head at him, like seeing an animal for the first time at the zoo. Her expression revealed nothing about the thoughts racing through her mind.

"Because I'm going to kill him," Jase replied. A sob escaped Harvey's lips, tears and snot streamed down his face and to everyone's surprise, Madison smiled. Not a crazy, deranged smile which would have been strangely more comforting, but a maternal smile. Jase narrowed his eyes. Madison sat beside Harvey.

"How old are you, Harvey?"

"Eighteen," he croaked. She didn't blink when a bubble of snot expanded from his left nostril and burst, spraying tiny droplets of mucus on his urine soaked joggers. No one was sure what to make of Madison in that moment. They had all expected distress or at the very least some display of disgust. Another tally on her chart for being unpredictable. It was possibly the only bonus to being a women in their environment. It didn't matter how many times you flashed your true colours and capabilities, these men still underestimated you.

"He's just a baby," she said, pouting at Jase.

"He's older than you," Jase replied, surprised at the caution and uncertainty in his voice. It was ridiculous because he was holding the gun, yet somehow she felt like the dangerous one. She turned back to Harvey.

"I'm just a baby as well. Here, at least. What did you do, Harvey?"

"He spoke to someone he shouldn't have," Jase answered for him. Madison puffed her cheeks, pushing Harvey's hair off his sticky forehead.

"Harvey," she cooed as if he'd done something naughty yet endearing, "you can't break cardinal rules like that." Sam looked at Jase, but he wouldn't take his eyes off Madison. Harvey blinked, pushing a tear out. She wiped it away with her thumb. "Don't cry. You knew what would happen if you messed up." Harvey's lip trembled followed by more whimpering. She turned back to Jase, aware that this wasn't about Harvey and what she was about to say could lead to both of them getting holes in their skull. "I don't think you should kill him." The air was sucked out of the room.

Jase's jaw clenched. His heart sank. The grip on his Glock tightened. "If I let him go, what kind of message do you think that sends?"

She rolled her shoulders. "Who cares? You're the one with the gun. We all make mistakes. Besides, shooting him in here will make a mess." Jase finally looked away from Madison, down at the gun in his hand, licking his lips. He didn't want to waste a bullet on her but he would. It was his only option now.

Harvey choked on his breath. "Thank you, Madison, God, thank you so-" he stammered, stopping when her attention snapped back round to him.

"Don't thank me." The switch was fast. Her tone changed, now all business, the playfulness subsided. Jase's body language was loud and clear to her trained eye. She took a cigarette from the packet on the coffee table, lighting it and inhaling before speaking. "You still broke a rule," she held the cigarette out to him, "here. Stop crying." With a quivering hand, Harvey took the cigarette, snivelling as he sucked on the butt. "Jase is right," Madison spoke again, "they can't have people running around, breaking code. Nothing works if people don't respect the rules." Jase's eyes narrowed. There was no telling where she was going.

"If you don't think I should kill him, what do you suggest we do instead?" he asked. There was a credit card on the coffee table, next to the cigarettes. Madison picked it up and crouched in front of Harvey, letting him take one last drag before she removed the cigarette from his fingers and left it to burn in the ashtray.

"Open your mouth," she instructed softly. Harvey shook his head, pressing his lips together. Madison rolled her eyes. Sometimes, you had to cut your losses and take what you could get and if Harvey wasn't going to lie down and take an appropriate punishment, then there was nothing she could do to save him. "Come on, you know how to do it. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here right now." The sound of the safety being turned off on Jase's gun caused Harvey's final shred of defiance to whither with a hollow blubber.

"Do as she says," Jase ordered. Reluctantly, Harvey abided, opening his jaws for Madison to slot the card in, slicing strings of saliva as it was wedged between the corners of his lips, stretching out the already cracked skin, causing them to bleed.

"Go back upstairs, Madison," Jase said. She frowned as he stood up, towering over her and Harvey.

"Why?" she asked, confused. He looked down at her, a softness to his expression that she hadn't seen in a while, reassuring her she'd passed his test. Her heart skipped with relief.

"You don't need to see this," he said gently. Madison had proven herself, not in the way he had expected but that was a given where she was concerned. He didn't feel it necessary for her to watch.

Kieran closed the living room door behind her. She was halfway up the stairs when there was a meaty crack. A muffled howl of pain ripped through her so raw it made her own throat burn. The sound was something she would remember for the rest of her life but it trumped watching Jase blow the poor kid's brains out. It was just like Lily had said, if you weren't a part of it, you were a lose end.