Page 46 of Volt
The door bangs open, slamming hard into the wall behind us as Doc comes out. The rest of Leadership and everybody else who happened to be in the clubhouse at the time are right behind him. Everybody’s got a grim expression on their faces and a weapon in their hands. They march across the yard and stop a few feet in front of Zavala. With the attention of the now-outnumbered guardsmen focused on this host of armed threats, I’m able to sidle over to the group. I make sure I have a clean sight line to Zavala because if this shit goes sideways, the first thing I’m going to do is blow a hole in his head the size of a soccer ball.
The guys fan out, forming a loose semicircle behind Doc and Leadership. It’s a defensive pose but looks intimidating. It’s no doubt a show for Zavala, meant to display the kind of firepower we’ve got here. But Zavala’s guys don’t look intimidated in the least. Plus, as much as I hate to say it, they really do have the superior firepower here. We’ve got more guns and better flanking positions, but those MP69s even things up pretty fast. They can do some real damage.
“You got some real balls on you,” Doc growls. “What in the fuck are you doing here?”
A small grin touches Zavala’s lips. “I come in peace and all that,” he says, his tone still sounding refined. “I’m not looking for any trouble. Yet.”
“So, what do you want?” Doc spits.
“I wanted to introduce you to Garret Brady,” he says evenly. “Garret is the founder and CEO of Blackspear Security.”
“Yeah, good for him,” Doc snarls.
A sinking feeling settles down over me, and I already know what’s coming next. And judging by the look on Doc’s face, he does too. As does the rest of Leadership.
“Mr. Brady had a couple of questions for you,” he says.
“Yeah, well, I’m not in the habit of answerin’ questions asked by somebody I don’t know,” Doc spit. “Especially when they come around here uninvited.”
“As Mr. Zavala said,” Brady spoke up as if he didn’t hear Doc. “I’m the founder and CEO of Blackspear Security. Mr. Zavala has retained my company to provide security for him while he is in the area.”
“Don’t know what that has to do with anything,” Doc snaps, staring straight at Zavala. “But I will say this once—get the fuck out of here. This is private property, and your ass isn’t welcome here.”
“Two of my men are missing,” Brady says. “They went missing the other night.”
“Sad story. Still don’t know what it’s got to do with us,” Doc spits.
“I think you know,” Brady hisses. “I think you know exactly what happened to them.”
“Got any proof?” Cosmo grunts.
“No. But given the current situation, it seems more likely than not that you and your—club here—know what happened to them,” Brady says.
“You keep thinkin’ that then. Now, get your ass out of here.” Doc sneers. “Now.”
“Not going to tell me what you did with them, huh?” Brady asks.
“Ain’t got anything to tell.”
“Not even knowing they have families who are dying to know what happened to them?” Brady says. “Are you really going to deny their families some closure?”
“You want closure?” Doc asks. “Tell the families your boys ran off together or something for all I care. Now, are you going to go? Or do we light you up right here?”
As if that was their cue, everybody brings their weapons to bear. Which triggers an automatic response by Zavala’s guys—they raise their weapons. The air in the compound is thick, crackling with tension. It’s like we’re sitting on one giant powder keg and we’re all holding lit matches. It’s only a question now of who drops their match first.
Moving slowly and deliberately, I slide my sidearm out and flip off the safety. None of the guards are paying attention to me—not with the better armed, more immediate threat right in front of them. Which is good. I want them to forget I’m here because the second somebody makes a move, Zavala is dog food.
“This is not wise,” Zavala says.
“Neither was murderin’ our brother,” Doc says.
“That brother owed me a blood debt,” Zavala replies. “He killed my brother.”
The image of Prophet being shot flashes through my mind, and my blood starts to boil. I grit my teeth, telling myself to stay quiet. That it’s not my place to say anything. But I can’t control it and before I can stop myself, my mouth opens.
“Your brother was a piece of shit who started a war. He fired the first shots,” I growl. “He murdered some of our friends in cold blood. Your brother got exactly what was coming to him. Everything that’s happened is because of what he did.”
Zavala turns and looks at me for the first time. A slow smile crawls across his face as he recognizes me. I raise my sidearm, pointing it square at his face which draws the attention of the guards who round on me. Zavala merely looks amused.
