Page 5 of Wick
"You plan on seeing your dad before you head out?"
With my hand wrapped around the handle of the door, I pull it open and soften when he mentions my daddy. "Yeah."
"Give him my best. Let him know I plan on visiting soon." Malik's hand grips the door just above my head.
Looking over my shoulder, I smile. I can be mad at Malik for a lot of things, but he cares for my dad like he is his own. And that alone means everything to me. "I will." Turning, I head towards my bike, leaving Malik standing in the doorway. I feel him watching me while I secure my bag, pull my hair back, slip my helmet over my head, then swing my leg over my bike.
"Vayda," Malik calls out, and I make eye contact with him. "Stay safe."
"Always."
After hours on the road,I make it to Scott's place. Not his home, but his base of operations. I also notice the other three vehicles parked nearby and immediately know who I'm working with on this mission. After parking my bike alongside his black Jeep, I head for the side entrance found on the side of the building and push the button on one of those doorbells equipped with a camera.
A deep voice comes through the speaker. "Whatever you're selling, I'm buying, sugar." I break out in a smile, then hear the door locks disengage, and I pull it open. Inside I find Travis aka Cowboy leaning back in his chair, with his booted feet kicked up on the tabletop in front of the security monitors. He gives me a good look over before standing. "It's been a minute. How are you doing, sugar?" he greets me with a warm smile before embracing me.
"I'm good."
"Aww, hell." Another voice echoes off the concrete wall. Turning, I see Burks, whom we call Preacher due to the fact he carries The Bible wherever he goes. Entering the room behind him is Thorstad, but his friends call him Thor. "Tequila." Preacher strides across the room, and I cast a smile his way.
"Preacher, I thought you were hanging up your boots," I mention knowing his sister's illness has taken its toll on him. And knowing cancer can affect the entire family, I would understand if he walked away from all of this for good.
"Now that Ariel is responding to treatment, she insisted I get back out there." His eyes light up as he thinks about her, and my heart hurts a little because I miss having that connection with Damien.
"Your sister is a strong young woman. If anyone can kick cancer's ass, it will be her," I say wholeheartedly. Glancing past Preacher's shoulder, I give a wave to Thor. "Hey, big guy."
"Good to see you, Tequila." He gives a quick nod.
"Well, now that the four of you have had your little family reunion, let's get the show on the road." Scott walks into the room with a six pack of beer in one hand and a stack of files in the other.
Gathering around the small card table in the center of the room, Scott passes the beers around as we pull out the chairs and take a seat. He then proceeds to hand each of us a file. "Satellite images appear to have uncovered a small camp belonging to the Cartel in Mexico on the other side of the Rio Grande. One of our sources tells us they have several young women who are currently being held in this location."
"These fucking piles of human waste make me sick." Cowboy scowls as he sifts through the images in his file. Young girls, that look to be no older than eighteen, with guns pointed at them as they are lead into an old storage building. "I'd like to hogtie every one of them, castrate them, shove their dicks down their throats and watch them choke," he fumes closing the folder.
"However, the women are not the reason for this mission. At least not top priority to our clients." Scott elaborates and anger rises between the four of us.
"What the hell, Scott?" I fume.
His hand goes up in defense. "Hear me out. You and I both know getting the women out will be a top priority, but these men are part of a much larger organization. The head man himself, Arturo Cortez, owns the property in question." Scott informs us.
"ArturoThe ButcherCortez?" I look up from the aerial images laid out in front of me. My blood runs cold. This guy is ruthless. He's known as The Butcher, well, because he butchers those who cross him. Word is, he gets off on it too. The sick fuck.
"Exactly," Scott clarifies. "He has these women right in his own backyard. We not only get those women out of there, but we take him down in the process. We take out one of the top three drug lords and human traffickers in the world." All of us glance at one another. This is a big fucking deal. This mission just turned into much more than an in and out rescue. We are being asked to help take down one of the largest Cartels in history.
After spending the next couple of hours going over every detail of our mission, I get the okay to cut out for a couple of hours before I'm needed to return. Hopping on my bike, I drive thirty-five minutes until I'm pulling into a familiar driveway. The front door opens before I cut the engine, and my dad steps out onto the front porch. My entire being relaxes the moment I walk up the steps and into his waiting arms. "Hey, Daddy."
"Hey, Pumpkin. I was wondering when you'd come to see me." He gives me a final squeeze before pulling back. "Let me have a look at you."
"I don't look any different then I did four weeks ago." I laugh, then grow somber. "I can't stay long." And my dad eyes me for a minute, waiting for me to divulge more information. "I leave first thing in the morning." He knows what I do, and being ex-military he knows I can’t discuss it further.
"I have leftovers in the refrigerator. At least stay for dinner." He walks inside, and I follow. "So, how's Scott?" he asks as I close the door and follow him to the kitchen.
"He's good."
Dad nods while he reaches inside the refrigerator; pulling out leftover ribs and a bowl of mac and cheese. "How's was New Orleans? And Malik?"
And there it is. I was wondering how long it would take for him to ask. "Good times," I say with a little too much cynicism in my tone. "Malik says hello, and he plans to visit soon."
My dad sighs. "This has been going on for too long, Pumpkin. Now, I don't know what is going on between you and Malik, but I wish you two would work it out."
