“Stupid son of a bitch!” Barry spat at the TV as he watched Gilbert happily join in a toast as the news about one major get-together was reported on the late night news.
“What is it, Barry?” a concerned Barbara asked from the kitchen. She hurriedly came to the living room, and upon seeing Gilbert’s gleeful expression on the television screen, shook her head. “Barry, just change the channel. Don’t let him get to you.”
“But look at him, woman! Look at him! Having the time of his life!” Barry seethed. “He put me in this wheelchair and feels not a fucking shred of remorse! And now he’s out there drinking champagne and feeling all fly, and I should feel nothing? I feel something, okay, I feel something! The slimy piece of shit!”
“Look, Barry, don’t keep doing this to yourself. I said that man won’t get away with it. I know who my God is, and He doesn’t let fools like these-“
“ISN’T HE LETTING THIS FOOL ENJOY LIFE? HUH? DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT GOD WHATEVER WHATEVER! THE MAN CAME AND DESTROYED MY LIFE FIFTEEN YEARS AGO! FIFTEEN FUCKING YEARS! WHERE WAS GOD WHEN HE CAME AND HURT ME?”
Barbara sighed. The boys were upstairs, so they couldn’t hear their father going off, but this was just threatening to be one of those moments. Those moments where the rancour in Barry’s heart turned into an erupting volcano, and everyone around was at risk of getting burned by spitting lava if they found themselves within ten feet of him.
She had too many scars from these sorts of eruptions and was not going to indulge him any further. She simply shook her head and walked away, heading for the handicap staircase to warn the boys about their dad’s mood.
Barry was too busy throwing his tantrum to notice she had walked away. His focus was solely on the man in a blue tuxedo, standing next to the Caucasian woman in a matching blue dress.
Seeing this heartless ex-friend of his get to live lavishly while he wasted away in this chair really pissed him off to the highest degree. After being good to this man, look at how he was showing off his wealth after paying him back in the most horrible manner possible!
Truth was, he was already annoyed before turning the TV on. So this had only worsened his mood.
The Romeo gentleman had called him that morning with an update on the assassination plot.
Operation Toad Takedown had failed. He had not been able to get the desired shot, and Gilbert drove away before anything else could be done.
“Are you serious right now? Are you freaking serious right now? You didn’t get the desired shot? What is the meaning of that? Look, I hate rubbish, do you understand me? Foolishness! How do you get paid such huge amounts of money and fuck up? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He hadn’t given the young man any space to speak for himself afterward, immediately hanging up.
He’d leave him to his boss. He was sure he would know what to do with the boy.
In the meantime, he could only watch on in fury as Gilbert’s joy at his high living was captured on the news for all to see.
“Good Lord I can’t wait to hear the news of your untimely death on the television soon, Gilbert Addison,” he murmured to himself. “I can’t wait. I’m not gonna let up until you die a horrible and miserable death. I promise you that, you bastard.”
***
“… and all he did was just sit there. Sit there like some dumbass idiot while the targets drove away. It was only after they moved that he responded to my shouts. I have no idea what the fuck was wrong with him, boss. Whether he’s scared of motorcycle sounds or what. But that was one helluva unacceptable fuck up. Terribly unacceptable.”
Romeo stood before the desk of Rex Bruschi, head down as Rex held up his phone, listening to Koni rant about the rookie’s failure. It was clear Koni was not impressed with the young man, and was letting his superior know about it.
The look on Rex’s face was a dark one. Not entirely surprising. He did not take kindly to hearing of failure from his henchmen, and there were usually unpleasant sanctions for those that messed up.
As Koni continued to lambast Romeo’s conduct, Rex continued to nod and give short responses as he put his feet up on the table.
“So boss, I dunno what you’re gonna do, but, that’s my report on this nigga. He’s a motherfucking screw-up. I don’t get how you can let a fucking motorcycle throw you off balance so much that you don’t remember you got a target to hit. I really don’t.”
It wasn’t the motorcycle. It was much deeper than that, Romeo thought to himself. He would’ve loved to explain himself, but who didn’t know that Rex cared about emotional issues as much as a hungry lioness cares for an abandoned calf?
Rex sighed as he looked at him, shook his head, and put his feet back down. “Alright, Koni. I got you. Lemme deal with the nigga for now. You’ll hear from me soon.”
As he hung up, he faced Romeo. “Young man! What did I tell you I don’t tolerate when I first gave you this assignment?”
Romeo, still with his head down, responded. “I-I-incompetence, s-s-sir.”
“And what would you call that display I’m just being informed about?”
“I-I-It’s an… it’s…”
“It’s what? Stop stuttering like a dumb bitch and speak like a fucking man!”
“It’s incompetence, sir!”
“Good! Now am I a mean man if I fire you from this place and tell you never to set foot here again?”
Romeo shook his head violently. “No sir. No sir.”
“Perfect.”
Rex sprung to his feet and moved to the side of his table, giving the young man the hardest of looks.
His heart pounding in his chest, Romeo could only brace himself for the sacking. I can’t believe I’ve fucked this up so badly. Just as I thought I had the chance to do something for myself…
“Yet I won’t.”
Romeo immediately looked up in shock.
Was Rex actually giving him another chance?!
What in the world?! This was incredible! And stunning!
It was well known throughout Basilisk Garrison that Rex rarely gave second chances. He was not a fan of showing grace to his people, so everyone had to get it right. If you didn’t, you just had to prepare for the sack.
“Yep. Another chance. I dunno why, young man, but I see a lot of potential in you. And somehow, I… I don’t wanna let that go just like that. It just wouldn’t go down well with me. So… I know Koni’s decimated the shit outta you. But, I’m giving you another shot at this. Just because I believe you’ve got what it takes to be one of the most dangerous motherfuckers Basilisk Garrison has ever housed.”
Romeo brightened up at the sound of those words. Oh, how wonderful it felt to have someone believe in his capabilities! Even if they were in violation of the law.
“Thank you so much, sir! I really appreciate this! I won’t let you down, sir, I-“
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Just get back to business and quit spewing niceties like a little girl. And be warned, I won’t be taking it lightly if you fuck up again. If I hear another shitty report about you from Koni, I will kick you the fuck outta here and let Denny and V.A break some bones before you leave. Am I understood?”
Those kind of threats were not pleasant to hear, because Rex would have them carry out such orders. Those two heavily built behemoths were not guys you dared to mess around with; they were quite easily the most dangerous men he knew without guns. He had already seen those two shatter a man’s skull that week, so he knew this was no empty threat. “Y-y-yes, sir. Well understood.”
“Good. Now get out of my office and go work on killing Gilbert Addison.”
Romeo walked towards the exit, feeling like a bucket of sweet warm water had been dumped on his head. Unbelievable to think that he had actually unlocked a good side of a god of the criminal world. This was something he would certainly treasure and ensure he did not take undue advantage of…
“And young man.”
He turned to Rex.
“I am not joking with you. You fuck up again, and you will not be the same young man you were when you entered this place. And that’s not in a positive sense. Understood?”
Romeo nodded a little too hard. “Yes sir, that’s well understood, sir.”
“Good. Now get out.”
Well, that’s a surprise! Romeo gets another chance? We can only wonder if he’ll take it. Coz Barry certainly wants vengeance now…
