Page 60 of The Thief
Our warehouse was across town, on a disused, rundown industrial estate. There weren’t any houses close by, and no one ever ventured onto the estate, so it was perfect for us. Somewhereprivate we could carry out our... more important work.
I turned off the road and pulled onto an uneven path full of potholes and littered with crap. The rarely driven path that’d lead me to our warehouse. Once I reached the end, I parked beside our van, but no one was out here. The place was deserted and dark, the ideal setting for what we were about to do. My brothers were already inside. I just hoped they hadn’t started without me.
I stepped out of the car, glancing around as I did to make sure I was definitely alone, then I headed to the door of the warehouse, checking my phone one last time before I pocketed it and pushed my way through the door.
As I made my way inside, I could already hear muffled cries of pain, and the low, menacing tones of my brothers. When I walked into the main room, I could see two men strung up by their arms from the ceiling with chains, their feet grazing the cement floor, but only just. I didn’t recognise their faces that were covered with sweat and splattered with blood, but I didn’t need to. I already knew who they were.
The Brown brothers.
Numbers Four and Five.
They both wore jeans, but that was all, and from the state of their bare torsos, my friends had already enjoyed a few whips and lashes to get the party started.
“You started without me,” I said, sauntering over to stand beside Adam.
“We did. But at least we didn’t finish without you,” Colton said, grinning and throwing his knife in the air, catching it like he was a clown doing tricks in the fucking circus. The circus of hell.
“What happened?” I asked, turning to Adam.
“We got lucky,” Adam replied, staring at the men strung up. “Because these two are fucking morons. We caught them walking out of their mother’s house a few hours ago.”
“We hit the jackpot,” Will added, but Devon just huffed.
“They may as well have walked into the nearest police station and given themselves up. They might’ve gotten off lighter with them. No such luck with us. We’re gonna make the most of this.”
“But where’s the fun in giving yourself up?” Colton smirked. “Being chased is so much better. Really gets the blood pumping, you know?”
Colton put his tongue out, licking the blade of his knife like a freak as he tilted his head and groaned at the two men.
“But Holmes swore they’d gone to ground,” I said, not quite believing how this one had played out. “He said they’d stay hidden till it all died down.”
“You’d think they would’ve stuck to that, wouldn’t you?” Adam replied. “But apparently, these two were so fucking stupid they didn’t have their ticket out of here booked soon enough. Apparently, they were leaving tomorrow. And so far, from what we’ve managed to gather, the rest of the gang have already left the country. Or so these two say. But I don’t trust a fucking word that comes out of their mouths. Which is why we needed you here. We need to... step things up a bit.”
I knew what he meant. They weren’t talking. Methods needed to be intensified. Things were about to get ugly.
“So, break it down for me,” I asked, needing clarification. “Have they given you anything on Numbers One and Three?”
“They said Three is in Portugal. Funny they can’t seem toremember his name, though. And One? Yeah, they know The Ghost, but he’s so fucking elusive that’s all they know about him... his fucking codename. Which is bullshit. We know it, they know it. And tonight, they’re gonna tell us everything, even if I have to cut it out of their brains myself.”
The others were holding knives, a tyre iron, and machetes, all ready to continue their interrogation. I walked over to the corner of the room and picked up a butcher’s knife with a curved tip. Perfect for slicing and sawing. Then, I strolled over to stand in front of the two men. But they weren’t men to me. They were the animals who’d taken Jess and Ava hostage. Number Five had helped Number Two kill the young guy with the phone. Number Four had stood over us, making my two girls feel threatened. These two animals had pointed their guns at me as I knelt on the floor in the middle of the bank. They’d forced innocent hostages to go with them in their getaway van and terrorised them, tortured them, then left them at the side of the road like fucking animals.
Whatever happened here tonight, they deserved it.
We were doing this for the innocent people they’d hurt and killed.
Iwas doing this for revenge.
For my girls.
I walked up to the first guy, my eyes piercing into his as he stared back at me defiantly.
“Which one are you?” I asked, tilting my head, waiting for him to speak.
I didn’t think he would, but he swallowed, twisted his head to the side and spat out his bloody spit on the floor. Then in his distinct Scottish accent he said, “Fuck you.”
Ilifted my knife, pushing it against his neck, watching a trickle of blood ooze from where the tip penetrated his skin. “Let’s try that again, shall we? Who. The fuck. Are you?”
His jaw ticked as he snorted and huffed out his breaths through his nose, then when I pressed the blade harder against his throat, he spluttered, “Ro... Rory.”
