I had been able to track down Enzo Alittori in the slums. It hadn't been easy, not that I had expected it to be. I had spent several hours going around in the slums asking about him, paying off some prostitutes for information and beating up a few pimps for theirs. In the end the information had told me that Enzo was in the company of a low class crack whore by the name of Vivienne Moreau on the lower east side of the slums.
That had made my mouth twitch up into a bit of a snarl. The lower east side was straight up slums. I had been in the slums all night but that portion of them was rough and horrible. Bodies had been known to stay in the streets for days, bloating and rotting, and no one would do anything about it. I understood needed to survive and ignoring things that distracted you but I knew the lower east side was all drugs, pimps, and whores. There was nothing good that ever came out of that part of the city.
Last I heard a dangerous drug someone resurrected from the Old Times had originated there. Thankfully the Doyens had smashed that operation immediately. Krokodil was no fucking joke. It didn't need to be distributed, so I was happy when the Doyens burned down all the drug dens that supplied it and killed all the people who knew how to make it. That was all the slums needed, a flesh eating drug that was cheap.
I shook my head as I moved through an oppressively disgusting alleyway towards the run down house that I now knew Vivienne worked out of. My gun was safely tucked on my side and it comforted me. I didn't want to hurt her but he still needed to be taken out if I wanted to get the marks and I needed the marks. I usually waited until my targets were done with their... business before I dealt with them but I knew Enzo stayed with his flavour of the night until the morning and I couldn't risk a daylight shooting.
I lowered my head, carefully watching my peripherals. These weren't good slums to be in, at all. Half the violence I had seen in the city came from these type of streets and even when I lived up in IronTown on Haven, similar streets like these had the same violence. Slums were slums no matter if they were human or beast.
A flicker of movement caught my attention and a familiar looking boy was holding a lit lighter and a cigarette that he was currently coughing on. I narrowed my eyes as I scowled. Of all the stupid and idiot shit to be up to! I fought back a growl, torn between finishing my job and grabbing Jovan by the ear and hauling him back home. My need to protect my family overrode everything else and I made a bee-line for the temperamental little beast.
"Jovan." The name came out on a wave of dominance and a growl and his head snapped up, his eyes widening as he dropped the lighter. Once close enough I snatched the cigarette from his fingers, throwing it on the ground before I grabbed his ear, pinching until he whined. "What the hell are you doing out here?" He did not need to be out here in the middle of the night. The thought made me bristle heavily. Anything could have happened to him out on these streets and I would not abide by such self-destructive behaviours.
He whimpered and grabbed my wrist, his face twisting with pain. "Getting away!" He yelped as I twisted his ear for good measure before I let him go to grab his arm. He rubbed at his ear with a scowl, staring at the ground.
"And the smokes?" I reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the rumpled pack despite his protests. I tossed them away and he set his mouth into a thin line and glowered at me. That was all I needed was to put a juvenile beast in its place. I smacked him upside the head, jolting him forward slightly. "El burro sabe mas que tu!" A growl rumbled from my chest as I watched as he rubbed the spot. "I don't want to see you with those ever again, comprende?" That was all Quinta needed to worry about, a delinquent little brother hellbent on getting cancer or addicted to who the hell knows what the cigarettes were laced with. I didn't have to be entirely smart to smell that wasn't just tobacco.
"Why do you care? You are just someone Quinta fucks for money." He spat the words at me and I stiffened, my beast wanting to punish him for his disrespect towards me and Quinta. The growl in my chest deepened until it rattled my throat. He needed to be taken over someone's knee and smacked something fierce.
I let myself slowly stand up fully, looking down at Jovan as my beast shoved at me. He must have seen his mistake in his choice of words because he instantly bared his neck in submission, his beast knowing not to fuck with the more dominant creature. I tightened my grip on his arm before I pulled out my gun. "You wanna be a little gang banger? You want to curse on your family for providing for you?" I shoved the gun into his hands and shoved him away. I spread my arms out at his face paled. "Go ahead, cholo. Show me what you have." If he wanted to be a disrespectful little gangbanger then I would treat him like one.
He stared at the gun like he had never seen one before, let alone held one. He glanced at me and shook his head, holding the gun out towards me quickly. "I don't want it." His voice was small and I shoved it and his hands back at his chest. I had the safety on and I knew he wasn't going to hurt himself or anyone else. I wanted the little disrespectful ass to learn some manners.
"No, cholo, you wanna be a gang banger. Wanna disrespect me and your sister? Your familia?" I crouched down, gaining eye contact with him. He looked terrified and I liked that. He needed learn when to keep his mouth shut and when to stop picking at people. "You talk big but out in these streets talking big isn't gunna get you anywhere. You need to back your words up. So back. Them. Up." I shoved at his hands again, making the gun and his hands bounce off his small chest he always had so proudly popped out.
He looked ready to cry and I kept my face emotionless as I stared at him. "You speak shit like that to anyone else out on these streets and they are gunna pull one of those out on you. What are you gunna do then, cholo?" His bottom lip trembled and he looked too scared to move. Reality was always harder to take in than fantasy. "Tell me!" His mouth was pressed tightly together and his shoulders shook in his little wife beater.
"Let me show you." A growl ripped out with the words and I yanked the gun away from him and flicked the safety off on it before I fired it twice into the side of an abandoned building, brick and mortar spraying as the bullets connected. The crack of the gun shot only mixed in the with rest of the gunfire in the night air. He jumped each time I pulled the trigger and looked ready to bolt. I grabbed his arm, stalling him before he could. "This is the life of a cholo, Jovan. Someone talks shit, they get shot. You disrespected me and your sister, out on these streets as a cholo that would mean you are as good as dead." I flicked the safety back on the gun, tucking it back into its holster before I grabbed his other arm, giving him a small shake.
"Do you want that life, little amigo?" That was something I never wanted for him but he needed to learn that out on the streets respect was key to surviving. He sniffled, his shoulder's shaking and his face pale as he stared at the ground, his chin trembling. I knelt in front of him, pulling him closer. "Little amigo, listen to me." I waited until his teary eyes met mine before I reached out and wiped his wet and sticky cheeks with my hand. "If I would have been anyone else, you would have gotten hurt or killed and then where would your siblings be? Where would Quinta be?" The thought of anything happening the the siblings she so loved was like a spear through my own chest. I wouldn't let anything happen to them, even if I had to shove them hard with a lesson to make sure they kept themselves safe.
"Life gives us harsh lessons and I didn't scare you to get back at you for your words but to teach you about respect, comprende?" I wiped at his cheeks again and he looked a hair's width from crying. "Come here." I pulled him tight to my chest, pressing his head to my shoulder as he shook. "I don't want to teach you these things, Jovan. I would prefer it if you didn't have to learn them but this is a hard world we live in and I don't want you hurt." I patted his head gently as he trembled. I didn't like having to push at him like that but he needed to learn. Our world had rules and when you broke them you could get hurt. I had to make sure he knew that.
Once his trembling slowed down I pushed him back slightly, making sure to make eye contact with him. "If you ever call your sister a whore or remark about my relationship with her in a negative light, tough guy image or not, I will pull down your pants in the middle of the street and redden your bare ass. You understand me?" His eyes widened as I stood up. He stared up at me and I nudged his head with a small smirk. "I'm serious, little amigo." If he thought I was bluffing he would be in for a serious surprise the next time he let his tongue move without thinking first.
"Now let's get you home." I grabbed his hand and he frowned up at me, wiping at his face with the back of his free hand.
"I know how to get home from here." At that I wanted to roll my eyes. I knew he probably did but I didn't want him wandering these streets in the middle of the night.
"Not letting you roam around alone, little amigo." That was at the very bottom of what I was willing to do. I would deal with my target later. I still had a few hours and already had an address. I was fine for right now. He, however, was not.
"No, I'm good. Its just over here." He started pulling me along as he pulled me between two buildings before he pushed over a broken board in a fence. "Its just right here." He looked back at me and I frowned slightly before I urged him to get into the backyard. He slipped through the crack and I vaulted over the fence. I could hear childish giggles from what looked to be a run down shed and there was a faint glow of light from the broken boards that made up the walls.
Jovan moved over to it, knocking on the poorly hung and very crooked door and the giggles were immediately silenced. The second oldest boy pulled the door open a crack and grimaced slightly at the sight of his younger brother. "Gunna run off again, Jovan? Or are you gunna hang around?" He seemed so intent on his brother that he didn't notice me. I looked over my shoulder. The house was dilapidated and had yellow paint peeling from the outside. I felt my jaw twitch, something wasn't adding up properly for me.
Jovan looked back at me and the other boy finally noticed me and his eyes went wide before he yanked his head back inside, murmuring something to the people inside, more than likely the rest of Quinta's siblings. Azuka quickly pulled him out of the way and yanked Jovan inside despite his protests at being manhandle by his older brother. Azuka just bared his teeth and closed the door. "What are you doing here?" He hissed the words out and I motioned for him to move away from the shack and he didn't hesitate as he quickly moved towards me. He looked tense and I didn't blame him.
"This your house?" I jerked my head towards the building and he narrowed his eyes at me as if unwilling to trust me. I already knew what address this was. Shitty house with peeling yellow paint behind the old liquor store. "Just answer the question, Azuka. I don't have time to play games with you." He kissed his teeth before nodding, his eyes glinting in the dark. "Why are you outside?" He shuffled on his feet and lifted his chin, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "Don't play with me right now." If we were where I thought we were then I was fucked completely and totally. If Enzo was in with their mother than it made the entire situation fucked even worse for me.
"Ma's got a guy in there. We come out here when she wants to fuck her johns." He kicked at the ground and a growl rumbled my chest as the anger surged.
"Fuck." That was all I needed, the kids outside while I popped off some douche banging their mother. This was turning into a straight up fucked night. I needed to make a plan for what the hell I was going to do now.
"What's up?" Akuza narrowed his eyes at me again and I ran a hand through my hair. I needed to figure this shit out.
"I've got some business with the guy she is with." I wasn't about to tell him that I was going to shoot the guy. I didn't want any part of that bit of me to touch them or Quinta. It was my shit and I would figure it the fuck out.
"Well I think they are a little busy mashing pissers at the moment." At the mental image I almost recoiled in disgust. That wasn't necessary, at all. I knew what Enzo looked like and I did not need that image in my head.
I scowled at him as I ran my hand through my hair again. "Was that really necessary?" He simply shrugged at the question, although I could have swore he had a touch of a smirk to his mouth as he did so. I darted my eyes back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. I quickly tapped my pockets, yanking out my smart phone. I turned on the data and shoved it towards him, I had some movie streaming programs on there. "Stay in the shed and keep them occupied." I jerked my phone at him and he looked confused.
I snapped my teeth at him. "You are not allowed to leave that building until I get back. Comprende?" They needed to stay away from the house until I got them.
He slowly raised an eyebrow at me. "Don't speak Spanish."
"Understand?" I emphasised the word and he shook his head.
"Not spanish."
I made a frustrated sound in my throat and turned him around, gently shoving him towards the run down building. "Don't be a smart ass." I hissed it at him as my beast grumbled at the slight disrespect he showed. I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with myself. Jovan was a handful all on his own. I made sure to wait until he was back in the shed and the door was closed as firmly as it could before I moved to the front of the house. I caught sight of the faded numbers spray painted on the front of the building and I shook my head with a sigh. It was definitely the right place.
I pulled my gun out and made my way up the front stairs, ignoring the crumbling concrete and rusted railing. I gently pushed the front door open, hating how the hinges squealed as I did so. I walked quietly through the front door, my gun hanging from my hand. I could hear the sound of grunting coming from the back end of the house. Enzo was clearly enjoying himself, though I could tell that Vivienne was faking her way through the ordeal. She wanted her drugs. The faster Enzo got his, she could get hers. It was the same thing with most of these Crack whores. Not that I blamed her, Enzo was an ugly bastard with a rotten personality. The phase 'a face only a mother could love'...I was pretty sure it had been coined for him.
I took my time surveying my surrounding, feeling the anger building inside as I looked at the conditions that Quinta's sibling were being forced to live in. The smell of mold and festering bacterias burned at my nose. This sight wasn't a new one to me. I had seen scenes like this a hundred times since I'd come to the downworld but I also remembered what it was like when I was young, living with my parents. They were too doped up half the time to bathe themselves, expecting them to clean a dish let alone a whole fucking apartment was like asking them to turn water to wine. Not gunna happen.
No kid should have had to live like that, it wasn't right. They should have been allowed to be kids, not have to worry about the people their mother was bringing into the house or if they would have food or simply a safe place to wash their hands. My beast growled, agreeing with my thoughts. He didn't like that his family was being forced to live in the conditions we were standing in. The thought that Quinta had probably lived like this as well, only made my anger sharper.
I ground my teeth together as I looked into the kitchen, noticing drug paraphernalia lined up on the kitchen table. I tightened my grip on my gun, the sound of Enzo's grunts building toward a crescendo. I walked softly through the small living room, the fabric on the couch was stained and torn. I could see the springs were starting to break through the back. A hazard for the smaller children. All they needed was a small cut or poke, and they could find themselves seriously ill.
I rolled my shoulders as the memory of my Bella sprang up in my mind. She had been my ray of sunshine in a world I hated and she had been snuffed out. Rage boiled in my gut at the reminder for just how easily her life had been ended, of how two little steps would have saved her life. I would never let another person I cared about suffer because of the poor choices of people that should have loved them.
As I moved into the hallway I nudged open the first door open with the barrel of my gun, peering inside. I noted the stained mattress with a pile of pink blankets, the floor covered with tiny pieces of dirty clothes. A small pile of worn books tucked barely out of sight, as if someone were doing their best to hide them. This had to be the girl's room. I smiled to myself at the thought of tiny little female with wild curls. She reminded me the most of my female, full of fire. She was definitely a little schemer, it was easy to see that she had everyone wrapped around her little finger.
I pulled back from the doorway, shaking my head as I turned back to the goal at hand. I lost my smile and focused on the anger. I needed the anger to do what needed to be done. I had come to handle Enzo, but after seeing the condition of things, I had decided that I was picking up a lot more than marks tonight. I wasn't going to leave those kids to spend another night in this shit hole when I could do something about it.
I heard the final grunt as Enzo got his release, my feet carrying me to the back bedroom. I knocked the bedroom door open with my gun, holding it steady on Enzo's hairy back. My eyes tracked to Vivienne, Quinta's mother. She met my gaze with a vacant look in her eyes, a look I had seen many times in my own mothers eyes. There was no bringing this woman back, there was nothing left inside of her but the need for drugs. There was no love, there was no life.
"Who the fuck are you?" She questioned, words slurring and gaze unfocused. She was already doped up on something, trying to adjust her clothes with clumsy movements to cover her body from view.
"The garbage man, just here to take out the trash." Enzo spun around, hand fixed on the zipper of his pants. I saw the knowing light flash through his gaze as the bastard realized what I had come to do. I didn't give him the chance to beg. I wasn't in the mood to waste anymore of my time in this place. It brought back too many painful memories of my own childhood. I simply pulled the trigger, and watched the bullet burn through his chest. Blood splattered across the wall behind him as his body fell to the bed.
His blood began to soak into the mattress, but Vivienne remained seated, staring at the body. I saw a flash of something in her eyes as she swung her gaze to me then slid to the barrel of my smoking gun. It was almost like she was hoping I would kill her too. I didn't know this female, and I didn't know what had put her onto this road, but I wasn't going to be her easy out. Not simply because I knew she was Quinta's mother but because a part me thought she should suffer. She should suffer for the choices she had made and how those choices had hurt those she should have loved and protected.
"I'm not going to shoot you. That would be a waste of a bullet because you're already dead." I remarked as I tucked my gun back into the holster and turned away from Vivienne. She could clean that shit up herself. I needed to make sure the kids got out of this shithole before they got hurt.