CHAPTER 36:
RUNAWAY RABBIT
HEAVENS, JUST when Nikolas thought that he couldn't get any angrier, that runt just had to prove him wrong over and over again. Alright, he was prepared to catch them in that kind of situation — it was unavoidable, going in the back alley from club with just one person usually meant fucking on the wall or however they wanted. He was really prepared, he just hoped that she had a single ounce of sanity left in her to say "No".
Who the hell decides to fuck someone after losing their memory?!
But for some unknown reason — no, he was certain now, it was jealousy — seeing her on her knees about to give head to someone else really pissed him off. Not to mention that the certain someone was number one on the list of people Nikolas currently wanted dead. He didn't think much when he took out the gun: he had intended to kill him from the very start, now he simply had one more reason to do so.
Taking a step towards Snake, he noticed him widening his eyes, he grinned at that sight. Sadistic nature of his raised on the surface of his skin, he wanted to laugh at the pitiful sight his target was in.
Good. He deserved every single ounce of what will happen. Forty-two. Forty two people, out of whom were thirty-six innocent bystanders, died that day when this man betrayed them.
He killed them and laughed it off, he only saw them like a livestock — nothing more, nothing else. Just pawns he could step on, that man didn't hesitate to kill anyone if that was going to lead him to the top.
Precisely the kind of men Nikolas hated — anyone willing to sacrifice anyone for the sake of achieving their goal was scum in his eyes.
"Look what the birdie brought us tonight," he spoke, licking his lower lip. Why yes, he was sick bastard himself, he won't hide it. Sometimes, for the sake of protecting someone innocent, you have to become an even greater evil then the one you're hunting down. Unfortunately, when you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you and you end up becoming the kind of bastard you were fighting against.
The same was with Nikolas. Sure, he had Vincent who did his best to give him normal life, he had a younger sister that had nothing to do with their world and loving friends that kept him on the right track — but his burden was too great for that. Being one of heads of the underground, he had no choice but to allow himself to be tainted. If it weren't him, someone else would've had to take over that burden and that someone might not be someone who shared the same ideals like he had. They could break before the pressure, too — Nikolas was prepared from the very beginning by his grandfather to take over that role so he was a hard nut. The same was with Vincent, but Vincent never caught up to his father's expectations. Not even when they dragged and killed Vin's wife did he snap and went on a killing sphere. He grieved, he didn't show it to anyone — he just wasn't cut out for that kind of work.
Nikolas truly did admire him. It was rare, but Vincent used to break here and there when he thought no one noticed, but Nikolas saw everything. He only had his father so he lived up to expectations of his grandfather and tried his best to take over a big part of Vincent's burden.
Close you heart, don't let anyone in and act like you font care — it was simple, really. Trust was what killed his mother, so he hated traitors the most. Even if they were his best friends, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them if they did the same.
Yet, it was precisely that isolation and caged reality that took Ava away from him.
"Ah, this is quite surprising, indeed," Snake replied, his voice almost sounded like hissing to Nikolas. He really lived up to his nickname, didn't he?
"True, I left the town just for a little bit and you're back? Don't tell me you thought you could raise again with me on the watch?" loading the charge, he only innocently smiled at Snake who was too stunned to properly try to fight. He didn't even have the weapon.
He heard that the Nikolas wasn't around for a month. He had hoped that the bastard was dead or something, so he decided to visit Numbers and tell them about his future plans. The "Lion's Cub" was supposed to have been neutral grounds, no mafia should've had reign over that club. He hadn't expected to be tailed, either. Why the fuck would he? He's been hiding in the shadows for years, no one should've found out about him being back.
He didn't expect to face trouble tonight, not after that deal he made with Russian.
"No way, you know the good old me? I'd never think of doing something so outrageous." He stood up, acting as if he wasn't affected by Nikolas' entrance at all.
He was sucker for trouble, after all.
"Ah, right — good ole you would've casually threw a C4 and kill forty-two people just for show before disappearing from the face of Earth. Yeah, I'm quite familiar with your old ways, Snake." He raised his gun towards him, nothing gave away that he hesitated or was rethinking his choice. The night was chilling at that moment, yet he stood proudly, without even giving a single sweat or gulp. He was used to those situations, how many of them had he already killed on the behalf of his job? For the sake of that stupid pride that in order to give others ended up taking away everything from him.
This was just another traitor he was supposed to take care of as the head of family. Why the fuck did he think again that he could run away from it all?
"Ah, it was an accident. They were too suspicious of me and wouldn't stop following me. People in that Caffè were just on the wrong place in wrong time and your members... Well, they were too pushy."
They've already gotten suspicious of him transferring to the other group and betraying them, so they constantly had people tailing him in return. Those who had died, died because he casually strolled out of that place before throwing a bomb inside — not a single soul survived, and there were even children among them.
The same day, he went to the other group and killed their leader, Wolf, and although no one confirmed it, he took over his position. Whoever Numbers were, they didn't really give a damn about it because they stayed low past this half decade and followed him, their meeting inside was gis proof to that.
"That wasn't the reason why you had to kill them, you son of a bitch!"
"Hey, my mother was a really nice woman. Pinp that overdosed herself and killed my brother, but a nice woman."
"And you apparently have a nice screw let loose. Don't worry, I'm sure this bullet will fix your head once it ends up in there."
He had always had some problems with head, yet he didn't show it much. Nikolas noticed the signs here and there, yet ignored them because he thought that the guy had control over them.
But boy was he wrong.
Alis could only sit down and watch with her lips parted. Her eyes still wide from when she saw him pulling out his gun, her whole body trembled and she was finally able to feel the coldness of the night with her own skin that was previously dulled by the alcohol.
That man she was sure to have stood in front countless times, she wondered if she had ever witnessed him in that state. Holding his gun, heartless like he wasn't about to take someone's life.
What were they talking about? Mafia? Bombs? Killing innocent people? Was she really part of that all? Did they stand side by side as he took someone else's life?
A memory of her hands stained in blood hit her once again and she gulped. The feeling of blood running down her skin was so familiar that she could feel it's stench.
She had killed someone, didn't see?
Has SHE taken someone's life?
She couldn't possibly know. She wanted to get drunk just so that she could no longer think about questions whose answers she didn't have.
"I assure you that I don't need any maintenance to work perfectly. Past was past, let's get over with it, I personally had nothing against you — you're just standing in my preferred future position."
Nikolas fought the urge to snort at his words. He knew the rules, do not betray the family that's keeping you safe. Do not talk about family business outside the family. Omerta. Everything you do, you do for the family. Family's all that we got, the only ones to protect our back, to walk
"But I have something against you. So do forty families of children you killed there!"
"Oh, wait, wait, wait! Don't put all the blame on me, I had no the choice but to fight when cornered, in fact — if you want to blame someone, blame the ex-boss of the Numbers!" He said as the biggest grin formed on his face, Nikolas pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. What boss? The one he killed.
"Wolf is dead and I have no reason to drag the dead in this personal quarrel!" Removing the safety, Nikolas aimed for Snake'w head. Safe kill, no worries that he'll survive and stuff.
"You killed him, don't blame it all on someone who didn't want to play by your rules!" It will all be done. Another burden from the past ready to be erased forever, one that Nikolas was willing to erase.
"What are you talking about, that pushy was never fit to be the boss. He was just acting like one while the other one pulled all the strings — everything we do, we do for the family, right? I just followed the rule, getting rid of pests and making them our new underlings! I did everything for us, for the sake of Raiders standing on the top of the underworld! And I got what? Labeled as the traitor!?" Bullshit. Everything he was saying an it family part was a bullshit, he just wanted to see Numbers despair, to see Alice crumble to the ground. Girl who had everything he didn't have and threw it away. He couldn't stand her.
"Oh, shut it up! If there was another boss, we would've known, where was he for past five years?"
"This! This is what I'm telling you, everything for the family! I was after the bad guy for the sake of it and now I've brought you that boss on a silver tray! Look at her!" He pointed his finger towards Alis, Nikolas shook his head lightly, letting out a breath. He couldn't believe that, no — he didn't want to.
He didn't want to believe in many things concerning her, did he now?
"That's the original number One. Codename: Rabbit."
He moved his head, ready to shake it, praying that he was just bullshiting just to get away from death. Yet when he turned and saw he terrified expression, the way her eyes widely stared at him, not in denial, but in fear — he started to think the otherwise.
He couldn't find any information on her past, after all.