Chapter 23
“The perimeter looks quiet enough, but there have
been signs that someone is inside the building. I’m going to move in to stake
out the perimeter,” Agent O’Connel got prepared to make his rounds of the motel
perimeter. He tucked his gun in his
ankle holder and winked to his partner. Then he quickly began to stalk the yard
with expertise and experience.
“Someone’s out there,” Ramon said flatly, taking a
quick look from the upstairs window.
Zalia looked worried, “Stay inside and be quiet, they might be some nosy
vagrants.”
“Uh-uh,” Ramon said, he had caught a clear view of
the man prowling the yard, “Looks like some official.”
“Damn!” Zalia breathed, “I have to call my
father. This just keeps going from bad
to worse... I think we may have to abandon this project.”
Ramon looked startled that Zalia would give up so
easily, but he wasn’t upset. He usually
went with the flow, Zalia’s flow anyway.
Ramon sighed and watched her leave and took another glimpse from the
window and gasped, “Zalia, come here...” Then was a gunshot fired.
“What the hell?!”
Zalia was at the window in time to see the man going down in the yard
and a figure in black not too far from him holding a weapon. “That idiot! Who is that?” Zalia cursed,
please have let the man be alone.
Please let them be able to move his body and car and tracer to another
location. Please... No such luck.
Another gun was fired. Zalia saw
the body in black lurch back towards the door of the motel. Zalia and Ramon rushed down the stairs quickly
to see who was the fool who had gotten them all busted. There was a cluster of black clad people in
the downstairs hallway. Brody stood in
the midst of the madness looking panicked and pale, “That guy was a cop. He brought his partner... I bet they’ve
already radioed in a whole platoon of more cops. We gotta get out of here, we gotta bail!” Zalia watched as
Brendon punched Brody square in the face, “YOU IDIOT! You’ve ruined everything! Now we can’t run if we wanted too! Every cop in the city will have this place
under surveillance and shoot our asses if we try to make a run for it! What
were you thinking?”
“I thought he was a bum... I just wanted some...”
“You irresponsible buffoon!” Zalia yelled. She pushed
her way through the crowd, “We may all be dead now because of your thirst for
blood! I’m calling my father, he’ll know what to do.”
“Screw your father! I say we handle this
ourselves! Now that they know we’re
here, why not go public? We can voice our demands directly now,” Brendon was
rubbing his chin on his thoughts, his green eyes twinkled.
“Brendon, now is not time for fun! We have a serious
situation here!” Zalia snapped, “I am calling my fat...”
“THIS IS THE FBI, AND THIS BUILDING IS SURROUNDED...”
“Damn it!” Zalia cursed feeling her stomach jump into
her throat.
“PLEASE RELEASE YOUR HOSTAGES AND EASIER MEANS WILL
BE USED TO DEAL WITH YOU...”
“Deal with us?” Kenyon questioned, “Oh hell no. I
ain’t going to jail. I will go out in a blaze of glory if it means taking
everyone of those fags downstairs with me!”
“No, no! We can’t kill them now. That makes us target
practice,” Sean yelled, “We have to negotiate with them... We have to... We’re
going to have to find some way to call them and communicate with them...
They’ve got to work with us. I mean, we
have what they want, and they’ve got what we want. We can be reasonable.”
“That’s the freakin’ FBI, Sean! They’re not
reasonable, they’re trigger happy!” Trinity spoke up, the third and last female
of the operation, Sean’s girlfriend.
“He’s right though, we need to communicate with
them,” Zalia was rubbing her temples... How did this go so wrong. How did they
get found so quickly... Ariella! Ariella of course had been followed. Stupid girl. Where was Ariella? “Where’s
Ariella?”
Brendon looked about in surprise, it was the first
time he had noticed she was missing, “Where is she....” then his eyes hardened,
“She’s probably in the basement. She’s
the reason we’re in this mess. The stupid bitch was followed! Damn it to hell!”
He threw his fist into a wall wishing it was her face.
“Calm down, what’s done is done,” Zalia began, but
Brendon advanced on her causing Ramon to have to step in and block his path.
Ramon stood inches taller and broader than Brendon, and Brendon soon backed
off. Zalia smiled in appreciation of Ramon. “I’m going to call my father, and
see what he has to say about this... Until then there is to be no moments of
any kind that might alert the FBI that there are more of us here, and that we
might be moving against them.”
Brendon made a face behind her back as she left, and
turned back to face a stony Ramon. He growled and headed for the basement
stairs. His rage was so blinding he
could barely see, or think. He forgot
about his face mask and just ripped open the door to the stairway and tore down
them three by three, and sure enough there she was... Chatting with them...
Though she, and the fags all looked up in shock and fear at his arrival. Good,
he thought, at least they had some common sense to be afraid.
“Don’t worry. Zalia is really trustworthy, and she
will make sure you get out of this,” Ariella was telling the Boys, “I know you
don’t look at us very positively and who could blame you, but you’ll be ok.
I’ll make sure of it, and I know Zalia will make sure of it. I know Brendon’s
scary but Zalia’s got him in check, really.”
“Are you sure about that?” the skinny dark
multi-colored haired one asked.
Ariella nodded, “Her father’s in charge. She’s the
one that made sure you got your medicine.” She nodded to the blond one, who sat
on the couch looking pale and tired.
“We thank her for that,” the tall, good looking one
said to her lightly, “It’s helped a bit. He really needs some fresh air
though.”
Ariella nodded, “It won’t be....” a gun shot was
heard quickly followed by another, “What...?”
“Oh God,” AJ moaned, “What’s happening now?”
“I... I don’t know,” Ariella felt her anxiety
building. Was it Brendon? She knew she
should go up with the others, but she looked around the basement at the pale
drawn faces of the former performers.
They looked sick with worry. They probably thought this was the end. The
blond one was starting to make funny noises.
The oldest one, the good looking one, was trying to persuade him to calm
down. The sobbing noises got louder
followed by short gasps and fits of coughing. “Damn, Nicky calm down, come on.
You’re scaring me.” By then everyone had turned their attentions away from the
guns to their ailing youngest member.
“Come on, just breathe! Water, water, someone get him water,” Kevin was holding Nick,
rocking him back and forth as he struggled for a good breath. In fear of
suffocating, Nick had begun to panic, making the attack even worse. Ariella
stood watching the scene in horror, please don’t die she willed Nick, watching
his eyelids droop from lack of oxygen. Please don’t be dead, she wished for
Brendon upstairs, but no sooner had she wished it, had the door flown open.
Brendon flew down the stairs undisguised and more furious than Ariella had ever
seen him before. She gasped, her first impulse was to run, but she was
frozen. Brendon reached her first and
grabbed her by her long hair and jerked her to him with a rough tug. His hands
found nice niches around her throat as he then began to strangle her.
“Hey let her go!” Howie yelled trying to come to
Ariella’s aid, but was sent stumbling back as Brendon kicked him, and withdrew
his concealed weapon, he kept one hand around Ariella’s throat, “So you like
her huh? What all did she tell you about herself? Did she tell you she’s a
whore’s daughter.... That’s why she acts the way she does, bad breeding.”
Ariella felt the tears of shame and anger splatter
against her cheeks. She stood humiliated.
“What kind of a person are you to where you feel it
necessary to tear down this nice girl’s self-esteem...”
“Nice girl... Hello she helped put YOU HERE!!”
Brendon yelled in a rage, “And she also helped LEAD THE FREAKIN’ FEDS HERE!”
Brendon punched her and Ariella cried out and spit the blood from her
mouth. Kevin tried to rise to her
defense, but Nick was clutching his hand too tightly for him to move away.
“Feds...FBI, here?” AJ looked hopeful and confused,
“Are you going to let us go?”
“Not without our damn money.... DAMN IT WOULD
SOMEBODY SHUT THAT KID THE HELL UP?!” Brendon pointed his gun at Nick who
cringed and honestly tried to quiet his breathing. He began coughing as soon as
he released the breath he held in. He doubled over his knees and stayed that
way.
“He’s sick Brendon,” Ariella said in a timid voice,
“He can’t breathe.”
She braced herself as she sensed Brendon’s hand
rearing back for another blow. He struck her in the side of the head, hard with
the butt of his gun. Blood flew from one ear and she tried her hardest not to
cry out. Brian cried out for her, and
covered Nick’s ears from the cacophony of Ariella’s tortured cries. Brendon
began to drag Ariella up the stairs, he glared at the Boys each in turn and
then slammed the door closed on them.
Leaving them in the dark about the new situation that was ahead of them.