"Jase, he didn't get in the car!" Tommy shouted, bursting through the front door at half-eleven that evening. Jase looked up from his phone. He hadn't heard anything in the past two hours and now he knew why.
"What do you mean he didn't get in the car?" he asked, his body stiffened. Tommy shook his head, raking his fingers through his sweat-damp hair.
"He didn't get in his car. He must have been tipped off. He left in someone else's car-" he replied. Jase grit his teeth. Only one person would flake so quickly.
"Where's Harvey?" Tommy's eyes widened when the pin dropped. Jase growled in fury, launching the trap phone across the room. Luckily the Nokia was tougher than any touch screen, hitting the wall and dropping to the floor in all its brick-like glory. "That sly little cunt, I knew we couldn't fucking trust him." He pulled a metal box out from under the sofa, taking his keys and unlocking it. Inside was the sister to the Glock in his car, and six magazines. "Adam's still out there. Get him to find Harvey. I want him back here, now," he demanded, loading the gun and pulling the slider back.
Half an hour later, Adam was dragging Harvey through the front door, kicking and screaming and embarrassingly effortless for Adam to overpower. Harvey was all flailing limbs and red faced. Apologies tumbled through his lips in desperate gasps, but not a single denial. He knew he'd fucked up, this was a pathetic attempt at damage control.
"Please, Jase, you have to listen! They caught me snooping, I had to tell them; they were going to kill me!" he shouted, visibly shaking as he was thrown onto the sofa. He made to leap up but a swift glare from Adam pinned him in place. He sank back down, eyes wide, shimmering with tears. He looked as scared as the girls that had been thrown on the same sofa. "Please, Jase, I didn't know what else to do, I panicked-"
Jase sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. "Shut up," he said. The calmness in his voice only unsettled Harvey further. He had heard stories about things Jase had done but he never expected to be on the wrong side of him. Harvey took a few deep breaths, clocked the gun in Jase's hand and lost control of his bladder with a childish whimper.
Adam laughed at the dark patch that spread on Harvey's joggers but no one else muttered a word. All eyes remained on Jase, waiting for his next move.
"You knew the risks you were taking coming into this. You begged me to involve you, you even tried to convince me you were ready for a bigger role," Jase said, lighting a cigarette, "Yet, the second push comes to shove, you rat." He looked at Sam. "Go and get Madison." Sam's brows furrowed.
"Why?" he asked.
Jase took a long drag on the cigarette. Madison's words about lions listening to the opinions of sheep had rested heavily on his mind since she'd said them. He was worried that the mistake he'd made wasn't in his treatment of her; it was in taking note of others. Showing them their thoughts mattered. He was handing out power to nobodies.
Before he made any drastic decisions, he wanted to see what Madison was made of, how far was she willing to go? If she wanted to play, he would give her one final chance to back out by showing her what happened when someone crossed him. And if she didn't react to the situation the way he wanted, well, then he would just kill Harvey and Madison then and there. No one would question his intentions again. He hoped it didn't come down to it but he was prepared to pull the trigger should Madison play the good Samaritan. He could handle her wanting freedom for herself, he wouldn't tolerate her trying to save everyone around them, it was a nuisance.
"She likes games, I want to see if she likes this one," Jase replied. Sam left and returned a few minutes later, Madison strolling in behind him.
"You wanted me?" she asked, her eyes going from Jase to Harvey who was damp from various bodily fluids, hoping Jase was more bark than bite but knowing deep down that wasn't the case. Madison could feel she was about to witness the extent of Jase's cruelty. She braced herself.
"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.