by Lauren Hunt
I worked for the Murphy brothers as an enforcer doing the dirty work that nobody else wanted to deal with. I was good with my fists and never dreamed of doing anything else. The money was good and the hours even better. I'd rather go to jail than rot in a nine-to-five job.
I parked outside the Murphy's Pub and locked the car. The sun was barely overhead but I needed a drink after that meeting with Paulie. I looked around at my surroundings, scanning the crowds for any danger. My job could be pretty hazardous and the Murphy's Pub had seen its fair share of drive-by shootings. When the coast was clear, I entered the bar.
Harrison was behind the bar, cleaning glasses with a white rag. His handle-bar mustache made him look like a bartender from those old western movies. “Give me the usual, Harrison.” I sat down at the bar as Harrison put a bottle of Jack Daniels in front of me. The alcohol burned nicely on the way down. It was already taking the edge off.
“How's my favorite motherfucker doing?” a loud Irish accent asked.
I turned my head to the side to see the younger Murphy brother, Ian. He was already bald but it didn't phase him. He would have shaved his head anyways. Five gold rings sat on each finger of his right hand. You never wanted to take a right hook to the face from Ian unless you wanted imprints of all five rings in your flesh.
“I'm one step closer to finding the guy who stole the drug shipment.” I took a swig from the bottle and let it slowly drain down my throat.
Ian slapped me on the back and took a seat next to me. “What did our little rat cough up this time?”
“Paulie didn't have a name for me but knows a drug addict who was talking about the heist.”
Harrison put an empty glass in front of Ian and filled it with whiskey. Ian downed it all in one gulp. “You do whatever it takes, Ryker. I want my drugs back and I wanted this mess cleanly thrown away.”
“Don't worry about it, boss. I got it under control.” I was confident I'd have this all cleaned up by tomorrow.
Ian held my face in his palms and kissed me on the mouth. Some sort of Irish thing but I'd gotten used to it. “Don't let us down,” he told me. Ian left and the stench of cigarettes still lingered in the air.
Ian was the entire reason I was in this business to begin with. After my mom passed away, my father didn't want the burden of raising me so he sent me off to a boarding school when I was ten. I was a scrawny kid with no meat on the bones. The other kids used to call me noodle boy and beat the shit out of me. I used to walk around the halls with black eyes and bruises. The headmaster never even gave me a second look.
That all changed when I met Ian and his brother Russel. For some reason they took me under their wing and taught me how to stand up for myself. They probably felt sorry for me. I learned how to not only throw a punch but how to take one. Soon enough the Murphy brothers and I were running the boarding house. A boy couldn't even go to the bathroom without our permission.
Those were the best times. When we felt like kings of the world. Like nothing could stop us. Then we were put out in the real world and had to fend for ourselves. We had to beg, borrow, and steal but the O'Malleys finally built themselves an empire with me at their side. But the bigger the empire grew, the more problems we had to deal with. More people wanted a piece of our pie and it took all we had to protect it.
This latest with the drug shipment stolen was just another in a string of thefts. If what Paulie said was true, then the O'Malleys were taken by a common drug dealer. If word got out, every Dick and Jane would try to steal from us. I had to finish this.
I took one more drag on the whiskey bottle and filled up my flask. I had a long day ahead of me and only booze would get me through it. I winked at Harrison and left him a tip.
–
The building on Luther Ave had been abandoned for some time. All the windows had been broken or shot out. Vines were creeping up the sides, making it more like an urban jungle. It used to be the shining center of what was supposed to be the new business district in the city. But the group ran out of money and the building and the district were never finished.
I entered the tower through the opening at the bottom where two large doors used to be. Bums littered the giant lobby that would have been magnificent if it was ever completed. I carefully stepped over each one until I got to the elevators. I pressed the button and cursed aloud when I realized that the elevators weren't operational. I opened the door to the stairway and started my way up.
Twenty flights of stairs later and my legs and feet were burning in hot lava. Sweat poured down my face and dripped onto the floor. Drinking all that whiskey was probably a poor choice. This chick better know some info.
I walked into the hallway and peeked my head in the open doors. The place was exactly what you would expect of a drug den. Stained mattresses lay in every room and that was the only furniture. The place reeked of piss and shit probably because the toilets didn't work. Most of the addicts I passed by were all men, gazing up at the ceiling with bands tied around their arms.
I came to a room at the end of the hallway with a woman laying down on a mattress. She was a little younger than me with jet black hair. Her jeans and t-shirt were all ripped apart. I could see what Paulie meant when he said she could be a hot piece of ass if it wasn't for all the drugs. She would have definitely been one of those sluts I'd take home and fill with every drop of my seed. But not this shell of a human being in front of me.
Tempest
It had only been a few hours since my last fix and my body was already screaming at me for more. I checked under the mattress and pulled out my little baggy of gray powder. There was only enough for one last taste. I'd have to figure out a way to get more tonight or else I'd probably die. My money was all gone and I was too weak to try and steal more.
Tonight I'd have to use my womanly ways to get more smack. I didn't even want to know what I looked like anymore. My little room here didn't have a mirror and I didn't care to find out. I'd never been with a man before and I had kept my body untouched all the way through college. But now I was ready to throw it all away for just one more fix.
I emptied the contents of the baggy carefully onto my silver spoon. Had to make sure I didn't waste any by spilling it. I pulled out my lighter from my back pocket and tried to trigger it. My shaking hands were getting worse but I was finally able to light it. The heroin bubbled on the spoon and I knew it was ready.
Injecting was the best high—straight into the veins. It was the only way to fly. I took my syringe and soaked up all the smack from the spoon before piercing my arm. I didn't even bother taking the syringe out before I fell back on the mattress in a blaze of glory. Life never felt this good before.
Reality faded away and I found myself back at that same college party a couple years back—the first time I ever got a taste of drugs. My entire life I had been such a perfect student, always studying and getting good grades. Everything changed when I went to college and met my roommate, Sarah.
Sarah was the complete opposite of me. She didn't come to college to get good grades. No, Sarah wanted to party and fuck as many guys as possible. But that was her choice. It didn't have to be mine.
The first semester, I played the good student and kept to myself. Sarah would nag me to go out with her and I'd always said no. My parents had spent their entire savings to get me to college and I wanted to make them proud. That was all true but deep down I was scared to death. I never really had any friends growing up and I was terribly frightened of going to a party. What would I even talk about with strangers?
Once the semester was over, I didn't have anymore excuses left. It was the last night before everyone went back home for winter break and Sarah was talking about some huge party being thrown by Alpha Beta Kai—the biggest bro fraternity on campus.
“Tonight is the big night, Tempest. You're finally going to a party with me,” Sarah stated.
I laughed her off and shook my head. “I have a lot of packing to do tonight. My parents are picking m
e up in the morning.” I placed my neatly folded clothes into a suitcase.
“Not going to work this time. You're coming with me or I'll drag you there myself.” Sarah grabbed the clothes out of my suitcase and threw them back in my drawers. “You'll have plenty of time to pack. Now let's go.”
I stood there, my feet firmly planted on the ground. It would take a bulldozer to get me to move. But really all it took was Sarah's hand grabbing mine and pulling me out the door.
We came to a giant mansion with the fraternity letters nailed to the front door. The music was screaming from inside and there were already drunk people littered all over the front lawn. We walked inside to find the place filled to the brim with people. People squeezed through the crowds with their red cups raised above their heads to avoid spilling.
“Want something to drink, Tempest?” Sarah asked, swaying side to side to the music.
One drink, Tempest. That's all you get. I was a little nervous to try alcohol for the first time but I couldn't escape it the rest of my life. It was time to dip my feet into the pool. I nodded to Sarah and she ran off. I rested awkwardly against the wall and watched the students dance. A guy tried to come up and ask me to dance but I politely declined, my face turning an apple red.
Sarah finally found me and shoved a cup in my hand. “Whiskey and coke,” she said, grinning.
I took a sip and almost coughed it up. There was barely any coke in there. Sarah should never be trusted to mix drinks. I took another sip and it burned a lot less. The alcohol was already going to my head and my anxiety was disappearing. This partying thing wasn't too bad. I don't know why I had been scared for so long.
“You cool, here?” Sarah asked, “I'm going to go find John.” The name sounded familiar and then I remembered that he was the guy Sarah kept interrupting my studying to talk about. John was a senior and apparently God's gift to woman according to Sarah. I told her I'd be fine and she went off to find her prince charming.
The rest of the party was a blur as I continued to fall deeper and deeper into alcohol. I was full-on drunk from just one drink and it felt terrific. Turns out, I love to dance. I didn't even know my body could move in those ways.
After my feet felt like they would fall off, I went out to search for Sarah. She was probably having sex with John. I found her in one of the downstairs bedrooms sitting next to John and snorting powder off a coffee table. Every warning bell in my head went off telling me to run as far way as possible. But Sarah waved me over and my drunk self couldn't say no.
I plopped down on the couch and watched John snort the drug. I thought it was cocaine but later I knew it was heroin. John sniffed up as much as he could and wiped his nose back and forth, his eyes all big. He handed me the rolled up dollar bill and I sat there not knowing what to do.
“Come on, Tempest. It will make you feel like a million bucks,” Sarah whispered in my ear. I was too drunk to say no. Didn't all the celebrities do this? I bent over the coffee table and placed the money in my nostril. I didn't even remember snorting anything. Just a sudden rush of relaxation. I sat back on the couch with the biggest smile on my face. Sarah looked at me and grinned. I just chilled there for hours, staring at the wall. I'd never felt this at peace before. It was like I became who I always wanted to be.
But heroin was never as good that first time. In the beginning, I did it a couple times a week to get through the hardest classes. Then my tolerance began to build up. I had to use more and more just to get that same high. Soon I was using it everyday and selling my school books just to pay for it.
I dropped out of college and didn't have the courage to tell my parents. I just ran away. Ran away from everything. The only thing that mattered was the high.
And it felt so damn good.
Back on my piss-stained mattress, my high was hitting its peak. Every time I injected, I was reminded with why I could never go back to my old life. This was who I wanted to be. Life could never be this good without drugs.
My high was interrupted when a tall guy with bulging muscles came barging into my room.
Chapter Two
Ryker
I had one rule when working for the Murphy brothers: no women or children. I didn't mind asking someone a question but I would never lay my hands on a woman. And the O'Malleys knew that. Respected it. This junkie whore with a needle still in her arm was no exception.
I walked up to the frail figure on the mattress and looked into her sunken eyes. There was nothing there. She was as high as a kite. I picked the syringe out of her arm and threw it across the room. This chick would have been a knockout if she didn't let the drugs take over.
I never liked drugs. Never got the taste for it. Most of the men I worked with used because we were around it all day. But it wasn't for me. My drinking problem was already enough for me. No reason to fuck up my life even more.
I lifted the girl until she was sitting up. “I'm looking for your dealer?” I asked politely. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and drool dripped from her lips and onto my arm. I shook her shoulders a couple times until her eyes came back and looked at me. “Who is your dealer?”
No response. I wasn't going to get anything out of this junkie. But I couldn't go back to the O'Malleys empty-handed. My only option was to take her to my place and get the info out of her when she sobered up.
In the back of the head, a small voice whispered, “What are you doing, Ryker?”
Tempest
This steroid-fueled monster was screaming at me and messing with my perfect high. Everything out of his mouth just sounded like gibberish. I covered my ears but he wouldn't stop. I wanted to yell at him to get away from me but I couldn't find my voice. I felt like Ariel in the Little Mermaid. If only I could sing again.
The man picked me up and I tried to call for help but all that came out was a whimper. He carried me through the hallway and I felt like flying. The entire New York cityscape was beneath me as I flew through the clouds. Superman had nothing on me.
One of my homeless neighbors came out of his room and tried to take me away from the monster. The man knocked my neighbor to the ground and kept on walking. He carried me down the stairs and it went on and on. Down we went into hell not stopping for anybody.
Suddenly we were outside and the sun was blinding. I tried to shield my eyes but the sun was just too bright. There was no way too keep it out. If only it could be night time.
The man threw me into his car and we drove away. The nice rumbling from the passenger seat sang me softly to sleep.
Chapter Three
Ryker
The junkie threw up in my pristine Dodge Charger and I wanted to toss her out the car. The whole thing was going to have to be detailed after this and it wasn't going to be cheap. This wasn't going to be worth it.
I parked and lifted her limp body from my car. She was sound asleep now. I carried her into my apartment building and old Mrs. Jones from a few doors down peeked out from her door. “Everything okay, Mr. Ash ?” she croaked out, raising an eyebrow.
“Don't worry about it, Mrs. Jones. Just go back inside.” She harrumphed and closed her door. I was probably going to miss out on her Christmas cookies this year.
I unlocked my apartment door while still holding the chick. It wasn't hard since she barely weighed ninety pounds. I navigated through the mess of dirty clothes and empty pizza boxes, making it to my bedroom. I dropped her on my bed and she instantly curled up with my comforter.
I wondered how she got in this mess in the first place. Her black blouse and jeans were torn and ripped but I could tell they were expensive brands. Did she run away from something or someone? Drugs can really fuck up a person's life.
The O'Malleys weren't very patient and I'd have to give them an update soon. What could I tell them? I kidnapped the junkie and now she's held up in my apartment. They'd think I was crazy. But there was a method to my madness. If I could get her to speak about her dealer, the O'Malleys would look the other way if I didn't chec
k in with them tonight.
I went to the kitchen and looked for a clean glass. The place hadn't been cleaned in years and I didn't even remember the last time I used a glass. I went to the sink and filled up a dirty one with water. It was the best I could do. I placed the water on the nightstand next to the bed. She'd wake up soon enough and be deathly thirsty.
I splashed water on my face in the bathroom, staring at my dirty mug in the mirror. What if she didn't give up the dealer, Ryker? Torture was my best tool in the toolbox but I couldn't do that to a woman. No matter what. The O'Malleys had been forgiving when I'd refused torturing a kid a while back. But this was different. They'd cut this chick's head off if it meant getting their drugs back. I just had to hope that I could convince her to spill her guts.
