Chapter 8

Master Black....

I grip the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white from the effort but I don't loosen up my grip.

In half an hour, I'll be inside Balthazar's territory.

Fucking hell!

Every time my eyes land on his goons, lounging around in luxury and living a perfect life, I want to slaughter them all. I want to see their warm blood soaking through their red uniforms and coating the neat and clean marble floors of his fortress. I want to tear out their cold hearts and mince their bodies into chunks of flesh and feed them to my dogs.

Yeah, I would love to see all that red colour painting my hands.... I would love to watch them dying the most painful deaths imaginable….

But I can't.

I'm bound with a very important responsibility.

And that is my only priority.

At least, for now….

As soon as I had got the information about his return from the United States, I'd jumped inside my car and decided to see through this transaction today only. I don't know exactly for what reason he went to America but I've got some clue.

He had mentioned to me about some girl he had to pick up from there. I was a little suspicious when he told me that he had to collect her as a payment for a centuries long debt. But my suspicion didn't last long when he confided in me later that this girl actually belongs to an Irish family but she's living in New York at the moment for some reason.

My men haven't come up with anything about this debt yet, they think that he's lying and I think that too, but I need proof to believe that. I would have never believed him if he had said that an American family owed him anything…. As he and his family never had any connections with other countries. But if it's an Irish family then there can be possibilities.

He didn't tell me anything else though and I'm not going to sit quietly until I know every last thing about this debt. My men are digging up information about this debt again.

There has to be some paperwork done on this deal as a legal proof and if there was paperwork then it must be buried under the stakes of documents in some court of London. Something tells me that he's got ulterior motives for this girl. The way he was trying to avoid talking about her, gave away his intentions which didn't appear ideal.

Taking a girl as a payment for a debt, that's disturbing.

I have to dig deeper now. Maybe this bastard has got more shit to hide than I had thought of. Balthazar has no idea how much I already know about him and his family background. And I think I probably know more about him than he ever does.

I know what his wife had done to him and his daughter. His whole family is a bunch of fucked ups, single minded, selfish and perverts.

True fuckers and a shame on every human being.

A loud honking brings me out of my infuriating muses and I look in the front view mirror to find a red car signalling for me to stop. I glance up to look in the distance at the traffic lights and see the yellow light blinking, giving way to the red light.

Ah! Fucking traffic rules….

I clench my jaw, curve my lips and shift to the fourth gear and feel the speed of the car match the speed of the flow of my boiling blood racing inside my veins. I'll live as I want and if someone has any problem with that then I'm ready to shut them up right now. Even if it's the police.

“Never let rage control your mind. You should control your rage and use it for achieving something better.” My baby brother's sweet and innocent voice rings inside my head.

The speedometer has started blinking which means I've crossed the safety limit. Fuck this! Even though he's just a kid, he knows about this world better than me. Messing up with the police at this moment can cost the lives of many girls and I can't afford that.

I let out a deep breath then finally, after a lot of effort and a few deep breaths, I loosen up my death grip on the steering wheel.

Not today…. but very soon.

Shifting the gear, I slow down the accelerating speed of my car and bring it to a full stop near the crossing road. Then I try to control my outrage.

Breathe in, hold it in for a second, breathe out…. I'm doing this for him, I'm doing this for a good cause.

By the time I've cooled off enough to think rationally without seeing red, I've crossed Balthazar's territory and now I'm driving in towards the front gate. The huge structure, that Balthazar calls his personal jail, is looming inside the gates like a haunted house.

Why the fuck isn't he getting rid of this godforsaken place?

It seems to get a little more old and wrinkled, every time I come back here for my next batch.

The surrounding area is full of nature, there's not even a trace of their footsteps outside the bordered area and Heaven knows how much I'm glad for that.

Soon, there will be no trace of these mafias either.

I'll make sure of it.

——————

“Sir, we can't let you get inside.” A guard, dressed in all red comes up to me and returns my business card that I had given him for security checking purposes.

I keep my expression cold and blank. “May I know why?”

“Your batch isn't ready yet. Boss has told us that you were supposed to come and pick them up next week. You're early, that's why our system can't trace your ID.”

Stop feeding me your bullshit!

“I see.” I clench my hands into fists.

Will it be such a crime to break his fucking jaw, right now….?

Probably, yes.

I fucking hate talking to these robotic men. Their eyes are always blank of any kind of emotion, as though they are dead.

Bloody Balthazar!

I know he injects some kind of weird formula in there system to help them tolerate every kind of torture.

And I also knew that something like this was going to happen.

That's why I've come prepared.

I hide my excited grin and release a deep breath, pitying them for what I'll have to do with these already emotionally dead men.

I put my ID back inside my wallet and shove it in the back pocket of my pants. Without another word, the guard turns around and starts walking back towards the front gate.

I wait for a beat then slip my phone out of my pants' pocket and dial Bert's number.

“Show time, brother.”

“Ooo yeah! Knock 'em dead, bro.” I smile when an enthusiastic reply comes from the other side.

“If you insist then… Hell yes! I will.”

I hang up and almost immediately, the front gate swings open.

Bert has done his job.

Now…. it's my fucking turn.

Smiling, I take out my trench coat from the back of my car and put it on. My hands are already itching with anticipation. I want to grab my gun and put a bullet through that guard's skull right now.

But I like to see their faces before I put a bullet through their head.

Nothing gives me pleasure like seeing the fear in the eyes of the person I am going to kill, the glistening sweat on their forehead and the slight trembling of their limbs. It's been a while since I have killed someone.

I came here today, because I knew that I would be able to start up a war without any particular reason.

They will never know what hit 'em.

They chose to mess with the wrong person, now they'll face the consequences.

But I know it would be a waste of time to chase down the guards and kill them. They are emotionally dead, they won't be able to fulfil my needs.

I fix my eyes on the guard and open my coat to grab the handle of my 'Smith and Wesson .500' and as soon as the guard crosses the gate, I pull it out and aim at his head.

With a cold smirk, I cock the hammer and without any hesitation, pull the trigger. The bullet rushes out of the muzzle soundlessly, leaving behind a gust of energy which sends thrills running up my veins.

Fuck yes! This is the thing I live for.

The guard is on the ground in no time at all, the bullet has pierced through his skull and there's blood, warm and dark, sipping out of the hole in his head.

I don't wait for the other one to come out and shoot me. I start moving and before he can make sense of what has happened, I put a bullet through his head. There's no fun in killing these poor robots but I don't have any problem in doing so if they dared to come in my way.

I look up at the cameras when I get near the gate and smile, I know they can see me. My smile is the one which says, "It's your fucking turn now. I'm coming for you."

I slip my phone out of my pocket and call Bert while staring up at the camera. “Now, Bert. I'm moving inside.”

“How many?” My brother asks, his breath suspended. I can hear the rapid tapping of keys in the background.

“Two.”

“Awww… that's not very impressive.”

“I only got my hands on two. There are still a lot of them inside. You just wait. I'll give you a good count for bragging.” I reassure him, grinning indulgently.

“I am going to hold you up on that.”

“Alright. Duty's calling.”

I hang up and within the second, the blinking camera is shut down and the gadget has bowed his head in front of me. Smart! I don't tolerate people or even machines who dare to stare me right in the eyes.

I shrug my coat, adjust the collar and crack my neck before stepping inside Balthazar's property.

And here goes nothing….

——————

Gun held up in my hand, I push open the door of Balthazar's office and move swiftly in front to aim my gun directly at the person standing inside.

“Monsieur, It's been a while since the last time we met. To what do I owe the pleasure to have you here.…”

It's fucking Balthazar only!

He greets me in his heavy, now shaking voice. That means he already knew that I was coming for him.

Hmm…. but I liked the underlying fear in his tone. It tells me that my unexpected arrival has shocked him as much as scared him. Good.

“Pleasure, huh? I didn't know that you would be so pleased to see me barge inside of your castle like this and kill your so-called guards. Either I would have laid some more corpses.” I slap away his attempts at peace offering. I don't give a shit what excuse he has to give me for such an irritating act so I get to the point directly.

“Where are the girls?”

“In the basement.” He replies immediately as though he's in a hurry to take me down there and then get me out of here.

Well, can't blame him after what I've done to his men.

Without another word, I turn on my heels and get out of the office, leaving him to come scrabbling behind me. And he does so, making me suppress my smirk.

I know how much he fears me…. And I like that.

“Master Black! I would really like to apologise on behalf of my idiot men. They are new and know nothing about you. Either I am sure they would have never behaved so disrespectfully.” Balthazar says in a serious tone, cold nonetheless.

But sadly, the damage has been done.

“No need to apologise.” I glance at him, sideways and hear the evident sigh of relief he releases. “They won't be able to repeat it again.”

“I — I am not getting you, Master Black.” He speaks, hesitantly. His upright spine shrinks a little when he tries to walk faster to keep up with my pace. He's almost running now.

“What is there not to get? I said they won't repeat it again,” I look straight ahead. “That means they aren't alive anymore.”

Balthazar pales and that pleases me, immensely.

Yeah, that's right fucker.

I have slaughtered them with their own weapons.

Why should I waste my bullets when they come so willing to get killed by me with expensive weapons in their hands?

The fault is never of the weapon, the fault is always of the man who is using it. Balthazar might have hired some badass goons but by injecting that drug in their system (to make them loyal to him), he has destroyed their minds. They are no longer able to think on their own, no reasoning of anything, they can only take straight commands.

Huh…. Sometimes I feel bad for them….

Shaking my head, I walk across the hall to the passage which leads down to the basement. I know this place by heart. Three turns and two intersections, that's what it takes to get to the room where he keeps those innocent girls chained down, more than 50 men looking over them to kill anyone at the spot if they tried to escape.

My blood heats up and my mind goes blank with rage whenever I think about facing those utterly helpless girls begging and crying to be set free and how mercilessly Balthazar ignores their pleas and ships them off.

We are inside the passage now, where the darkness conceals my features.

One day….

One day, I'll ship him off like those girls. I'll show him how it feels to be in their position and how much pain and horror they go through when so many unknown men ravish and use their body for their pleasure everyday.

I'll make him pay for every fucking cry of those girls.

We finally emerge out of the dark passage and come to a dead end, which is the huge red door. I approach the door of the room that has heard so many girls' screams and cries and has seen them getting marked and sold.

“I hope that my batch is ready.” I state in a low voice before moving towards the basement room.

“Yes, Master Black. They are ready for you.”

I'm dead sure that the sight will blow off my cover as soon as I'll hear a single cry.

Fuck! I can't have that.

I take a final deep breath and wipe my expression clean.

I'm doing this for him, I'm doing it for a good cause.

Yeah, I can do this…. I think....

I insert the key in the lock which Balthazar has handed me over and twist the knob. The door unlocks with a soft click and without overthinking my decision, I shove open the red door.