Kings of Anarchy

by Caroline Peckham

  “The first rule of running any kind of illegal operation is to associate yourself with it as little as possible by using lackies to do all the heavy lifting. So if it goes to hell they’ll take the fall for it.”

  “Pah,” the man spat. “And who are you then? Some fucking vigilante bounty hunter?”

  “If I wanted to collect the bounty on Donovan Rivers’ head, his death wouldn’t have been announced as a suicide, would it you imbecile?”

  My gut twisted at his words, but I wasn’t going to let my grief spill out now. Hate and revenge were all I was concentrating on.

  “Don’t you speak to me like that you fucking cunt,” the man snarled. “You think your bribes can sway my loyalty? I get far more than money outta my position, more than you could ever offer me. So when I get my hands on you, I’m gonna pull out your intestines and wear ‘em as a necklace.”

  “A colourful, yet pointless threat,” Saint said calmly and I had to admire him for how unshaken he was by this obviously powerful and violent man talking to him like that. “There is no tracker on this phone any longer and I’m sure you and your boss are scratching your heads right now over who may have murdered so many of your men.”

  “We got you pegged,” the man hissed. “We’re gonna come for your head and your family’s heads and your fucking pet dog’s head.”

  “I don’t have a dog but if I did it would be so well trained that a single flick of my finger would turn it from the most docile creature you ever met into the most vicious. It would maul you before you ever got near to hurting it, or me for that matter,” Saint mused, examining his nails like facing down death threats was a daily occurrence for him. “Your shortcomings are showing quite vividly now. And I am well aware I am talking to the wrong person. Do give my regards to your boss though.”

  “He’ll have your eyes plucked out and your nose ripped off. He’ll-”

  Saint cut the line, tucking the phone neatly into his pocket.

  “Why’d you hang up?” Blake balked as I just stood there panting for Saint and his psycho ways. Man, why was that so hot? Him taking control like that, talking to that guy like he was nothing and Saint was the king of the world…gah.

  “We now know his boss is male,” Saint said. “He won’t ever have met his employer face to face though, so I doubt there is much more he knows that is of use.”

  “So what now?” I asked, biting my lip as I tried to stop myself eye-fucking Saint. God why was I so into bad boys? No, scrap that. Why was I into cold blooded, sadistic boys? Mother nature was obviously fucking high when she built my libido.

  “Now, I will deliberate on what I have learned,” Saint said even though knowing this guy’s boss was male wasn’t exactly a significant clue that could lead us anywhere.

  “I love you, brother. Especially when your crazy is showing,” Kyan said.

  “It is one of my finer qualities,” Saint smirked and I couldn’t help but agree.

  I sat on the picnic benches outside Aspen Halls, watching while Danny, Chad and the rest of the football team made the Unspeakables line up before the wall of the enormous stone building while they threw handfuls of mud at them and I waited to see if any of them were going to crack and give us some information on the Justice Ninja.

  This morning, we’d woken up to find a giant brown cock scrawled on the stained glass window in what we were pretty fucking sure was human shit. Honest to fuck, someone in this school had taken a shit, picked it up and used it to draw a cock on our home alongside the initials J.N. Saint had almost gone full Saint and not one of us had been willing to get close enough to clean it off, so he’d ended up calling his maid, Rebecca, and offering her five grand to get her ass down to the house and scrub it off while we were in class.

  As the most likely suspects in this fun game of who hated us enough to make a shit mural on our house, the Unspeakables had needed interrogating so I’d volunteered to oversee it. But we’d been at this for over an hour and they had nothing to offer me, so I was giving up hope.

  Deepthroat had taken a face full of mud a few seconds ago and I laughed like it was hilarious, snapping a photo to forward on to Kyan before letting the fake smile slip from my face as they all gave their attention back to the game. It felt like clapping for a bunch of kids who needed constant reassurance that they were doing a good job from their daddy all the damn time. But I wasn't their fucking daddy. I was just a miserable son of a bitch with a painted on smile.

  I sighed as I lay back on the table, ignoring the bite of cold in the air as I looked up at the stormy sky. It wasn't raining yet, but it was clearly on its way. Just another thing to make this gloomy bastard of a day less enjoyable. I’d already had to sit through double math and geometry today, did the sky really have to start pissing on me too?

  I tapped my fingers against the wooden tabletop as Freeloader started crying and begging for mercy. Even that didn't make me feel good. In fact, it kinda made me feel like an asshole. And even though I was, I didn't need reminding of it right now.

  "All of you Unspeakable motherfuckers," I called without even bothering to look over at them. "You've got ten seconds to run the fuck away from here as fast as you can. Anyone who is still within sight after that will have the pleasure of having rocks thrown at you instead of mud."

  "Aww come on, Blake, it was just getting good," Chad begged, but I ignored his desperate ass. If he was bored that wasn't my problem to solve.

  "Ten," I called. "Nine, eight-"

  The shrieks and pounding feet of the Unspeakables making their escape reached me and it sounded like most of the football team had chased after them. But that wasn't my problem either. I didn't even bother to finish my countdown.

  I released a slow breath and stared up at the ever darkening sky before letting my gaze trail to the huge building beside me. Aspen Halls was old, the grey stone weathered by time and the endless rain that always seemed only moments from falling in this place.

  It was four floors of faux gothic beauty designed to make prospective parents of the richest kids in the world gasp and coo at its impressive architecture as they signed over thousands of dollars in fees for the privilege of sending their little darlings here. I'm sure they thought it was the best that money could buy. That their kids would much prefer to be left here in the middle of nowhere than spend time with their families. I mean, I supposed most people had no reason to believe that time might be precious, so it made sense. And it wasn't like I was unhappy here. I loved spending my time with the other Night Keepers and now Tate too. But if I'd realised that my time with my mom was running out, I would have made the most of every day I had with her.

  I watched as the forest green Everlake Prep flag flapped hard in the breeze that proceeded the rising storm up on the top of the building and I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to be way up there when the storm hit.

  "You alright, dude?" Danny Harper's voice drew my attention and I glanced around to find him standing there beside me, looking like he gave altogether too many shits about me.

  Danny was strange in that respect. Everyone else at this school flocked around me, kissed my ass and wanted to spend time in my company because of the status I held and the protection that might be offered if I saw them as a friend. But Danny actually seemed to give a fuck about me. He was the only one who ever seemed to notice that I painted half of my smiles on these days. The only one who ever asked if I was alright without looking half terrified that if I wasn't, I might use my power in this place to punish him for it. Maybe he really was my friend. I couldn't say I had a whole lot of genuine ones of those though, so it was hard to be certain.

  "I heard that lightning struck that flagpole during a storm over the summer," I said, pointing up to the top of the building. "Apparently the flag set alight and was burned to a crisp and they had to get a new one before term started up again.

  "Oh yeah?" he asked curiously, turning to look up at it and the dark clouds beyond.

  "What do you thi
nk it would feel like to stand up there while the rain was crashing down on us and the lightning was burning through the sky?"

  He considered that for a moment then turned to look at me with a grin. "I'd say it would feel like being alive," he replied, already knowing what I was getting at and clearly sensing my mood.

  I needed some kind of rush today if I was going to break this hopeless bullshit cycle I was descending into.

  "I'm pretty sure there's a roof access door inside," Danny suggested as he began to lead the way to the double doors which led into the building, but I shook my head as I shoved myself upright.

  "Nah. I say we take the more direct route." I pointed at the grey walls beside us and he hesitated as he took in what I meant.

  The bricks were old and the mortar crumbling in enough places that I was sure we would be able to find foot and hand holds to make it to the top. It was a long fucking fall if we screwed it up but that was half the fun.

  I smirked at the challenge and shrugged out of my blazer before shedding my tie and rolling my shirt sleeves back. Fancy ass loafers probably weren't the best choice for scaling walls but fuck it, that was what made it interesting.

  "You're fucking crazy, dude," Danny chuckled nervously but he shed his blazer and tossed it on the picnic bench alongside mine all the same.

  "Beats being miserable," I muttered and the look he cut me said he'd heard that, but he had the good sense not to comment.

  Thunder rumbled through the clouds and we both looked up, exchanging a glance which acknowledged that this was dumb as fuck and smirking as we moved towards the wall anyway.

  "Last one to the top sucks ass," I taunted as I picked out my first handholds.

  "I hope you don't mean that literally," he joked and my smile widened.

  "I guess we'll find out when you lose."

  "Three, two, one-"

  I jammed my fingers into the small gap between the bricks and began to climb as fast as I could.

  At first there were more than enough gaps and holes to let me heave myself higher, then I used the top of the first floor window to gain even more height, but as I made it to the second floor, I failed to spot my next grip.

  Danny laughed as he pulled ahead to my right and I cursed him as I was forced to shuffle in his direction along the side of the lead frame beneath me.

  Thunder echoed through the heavens again and the rain spilled from the sky, causing me to laugh as it saturated my shirt and carved icy fingers down my skin.

  I managed to reach a spot where there was another gap above me to let me move higher again and I kept climbing, determined to catch up to Danny as I looked up and found him passing the third floor window above me.

  I scrunched my eyes against the pounding rain as thunder echoed again and a flash of lightning lit the sky.

  The shiny soles of my shoes slipped against the wet bricks as I scrambled higher and for one heart stopping moment, I almost fell.

  My gut lurched and I barked a laugh as adrenaline spiked through me and I clung on for dear life while my feet kicked against the grey bricks until I managed to find another spot to jam my toes into.

  Danny had slowed above me and I could hear him cursing as either fear or a lack of hand holds slowed him down. I didn’t care which so long as it gave me the chance to regain my lead.

  I pushed harder, reaching the third floor and climbing higher as my heart raced and the wind howled hard enough to make my wet shirt flutter and slap against my back.

  It was fucking freezing with the rain pounding down on me but even the shivers dancing along my skin helped to banish that endless fucking heartache that had been whispering my name all fucking day. This was why I kept taking these stupid risks. Whatever it took to escape my own bullshit, whatever I could do to set myself free of the constant grief for at least a little while.

  I made it to the row of windows on the fourth floor and chanced a look down at the ground way below. My gut lurched as I took in the fall awaiting me if I fucked this up. I wondered if it would be enough to kill me outright or just hurt a whole hell of a lot. Probably best not to find out.

  A shout carried to me on the wind and I barked a laugh as I spotted Mila down there, yelling at Danny to get his ass down at once. She was hollering like a fishwife and it seriously sounded like he was at risk of castration if he didn’t fall to his death.

  Danny wasted time shouting back down to her and I grinned as I pulled ahead. With a grunt of effort, I reached the top edge of the building and heaved myself up.

  My heart leapt into my throat as the roof tile I was gripping suddenly ripped free and I yelled out in fright as I swung backwards for half a second before managing to save myself by gripping on tight with my other hand.

  I cursed as I looked down at the lethal drop below as I let go of the tile and it spun away to smash to pieces on the concrete path.

  Mila swore as she leapt away from it even though it hadn't even come close to hitting her and Danny yelled out for her to move back.

  I tore my gaze away from the dizzying fall before clambering up onto the roof with a crow of victory as I won.

  Danny wasn't far behind me and I offered him a hand, heaving him up over the edge where we grinned like a pair of fucking delinquents and stood there in the storm with the rain crashing down on us and our arms open wide to it.

  Lightning flashed through the sky again and I navigated the slippery tiles carefully as I headed for the flagpole where the saturated flag whipped back and forth wetly, looking pretty fucking sorry for itself.

  I climbed up onto the low lip of stone that edged the roof beside it and stood with my toes hanging over the edge as I looked out over campus towards the lake which was currently roiling and bubbling beneath the downpour.

  I glanced over my shoulder with a manic grin as I locked eyes with Danny before wrapping my hand around the metal flagpole.

  "Come on then!" I yelled at the sky as if I could taunt the storm into making the lightning strike while I held it.

  My heart was racing a mile a minute and the heady rush of adrenaline had me laughing like a madman as I kept my fist tight around the metal and waited out the storm.

  "Shit, man," Danny said, half laughing, half looking terrified as I waited for the next crash of thunder and the lightning which could decide my fate.

  The boom that tore through the clouds overhead was enough to make my bones rattle and I tipped my head back just in time to see a bolt of lightning carve the darkness apart right above my head.

  My heart leapt and raced and I came about as close to shitting myself as I ever had in my life before the light faded from the sky and I descended into fits of laughter instead.

  A door banged open somewhere behind me and Mila's voice carried over the pouring rain.

  "Danny Harper, you get your crazy ass inside this building right now or I'm putting you on a pussy ban for a month!" Mila yelled and I barked a laugh as Danny's face paled.

  "That sounds pretty serious, dude," I admitted and he nodded.

  "Thanks for the high, man, I'd better run." He turned away and headed for the door and I considered whether or not I was going to keep standing in the storm. That was the only thing about these fucking games we played. Whenever they ended, the rush ended too and I was left with the slow descent back into depression again. But it was usually enough to last me a few days at least.

  What I really wanted was to head back and find my girl, kiss her until she was breathless and hold her in my arms all fucking night long. But as she'd been staying in with Saint every damn night so that she could look after him while he healed, I knew there was no chance of that. I mean, it was fair enough, the guy took a bullet and broke bones for her and he was incapable of looking after himself properly, but from a purely selfish point of view it still sucked.

  "Blake," Mila called when I stayed where I was, my gaze raking over campus again like I was searching for something. "I think you should come inside now too, you've finished your game and...Tatu
m would be heartbroken if something happened to you."

  I turned to look at her, seeing the hesitance in her eyes as she fought against the desire to speak out on behalf of her friend and the desire not to piss me off. I couldn't help but respect her for it. Most people wouldn't dare to even attempt to tell me what to do. And if I was honest, the girl made some valid points. Now that the initial thrill was over, I was just a douchebag standing in the rain freezing my balls off and getting way too fucking wet anyway.

  "Well, as you asked so nicely, Mila, I'll be happy to oblige."

  Mila smiled widely and moved aside as I crossed the tiles and headed in after her and Danny.

  "You wanna come hang out at the common house?" Danny offered as we dripped our way down the stairs and I shrugged.

  "I guess so." There was plenty of booze down there for me to consume and I could use it to ride out the end of this buzz I had going. It sure beat a night alone in my room anyway. "Call the others and let's make it a party. If I'm gonna get drunk I might as well do it in style."

  Option number two in my quest to avoid my grief: drink myself into oblivion. Well, who was I to refuse an offer as tempting as that?

  T oday things were back to normal. For Saint anyway. Except for me, it was supposed to be a day I spent in an Applebees with Dad and Jess while we ate until our stomachs nearly burst before the staff brought out a cake and started singing. It had been one of the few constants in our lives as kids. Our birthdays. No matter where Dad was working, every state had an Applebees. Even if we had to drive four hours to get to it. And today, I was eighteen. With no family left to share in the tradition and no chance of spending it the way I once had.

  Last year, Dad had taken the day off work and driven me to Six Flags for the day, buying fast passes so we could skip all the queues and go on every single ride in the park. We'd had dinner at Applebees and hadn't left until it closed, losing ourself to the memories of the past. If I'd known that would be my last birthday with my dad, I would have treasured each moment more deeply, memorised it more exactly. The memories I had were chipped like damaged china, the edges scuffed and missing pieces. Had his shirt been blue or grey? Did we go on the Batman ride first or the Superman one?