CHAPTER TEN.

“Is this it?”

I looked at the big white house. In front of it, there were two shiny new cars parked, each of them probably cost more than my car and my apartment at once. The house itself was pretty nice – three-story building with two balconies facing the garden, and a porch. But when I gave it a closer look, although it was dark, I could see that whoever owned it didn’t take good care for it – some of the paint on the walls had come off, the flowers in the garden had dried up, so there was mostly just grass. There were two rocking chairs on the porch and a table, covered with empty bottles of beer. The “Home, sweet home” mat in front of the door was accidentally turned upside down and was so old, that some of the letters had faded, so now it looked more like “Hell, sweet hell”.

Shortly said, this place looked like it was owned by person with a lot of money, who preferred spending them on alcohol instead on something useful, like buying new paint for the walls for example.

This is where Ross Lester lived.

“Yeah.”, I said. “That’s the place.”

I glanced at Vic. Now, five days later, when we were finally there, he was watching the building anxiously, biting his lower lip. I wanted to keep him out of this, but he insisted to help me, pointing out that if Ross really was as strong as I had described him, then I wouldn’t be able to get him alone. I couldn’t disagree – Victor was right. I needed help. And even though I was afraid that he might get hurt, I had no choice. Besides, I was feeling much more confident with him by my side.

However, he seemed nervous, and of course he would be – he had never done anything like this before. To rob a pastry shop with a fake gun is one thing, and completely different – to break into a house and beat someone up. This time it was serious. It was for real. I was worried too, myself. I knew I shouldn’t be – we had planned everything, all the details, I even had a gun in case things go wrong, but I was still nervous as fuck. I had to play tough, though, one of us had to, and I knew this couldn’t be Vic. I had to keep the situation under control, no matter how afraid I actually was.

Now I looked at him and tried to smile encouragingly, putting my hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Everything will go just fine.”

He looked up at me and attempted a smile back.

“Sure, I know. I know, of course.”

“Good. Okay, then let’s do one last check before we go. Gloves?”

“On.”, he nodded and looked down at his hands.

“Umm... Realistic-looking water gun?”

“In my pocket.”

“Mask?”

“Oh! Yeah, right, I almost forgot that.”, he gave me an awkward smile, reached and took the black ski mask from the back seat.

“Thank god I reminded you, hm?”, I grinned a little. “Alright, put it on.”

Vic took his hat off and put the mask on instead. He didn’t put it right, though, so the eyeholes didn’t fit his eyes.

“What... This fucking thing...”, he tried to adjust it, but he just made things worse, now the eyeholes were on the back of his head. “...How the fuck did this happen?”, he giggled.

I shook head, smiling.

“You silly person.”, I sighed. “Let me.”

I tried to help him put the mask right, but he pushed me away.

“Nooo! Don’t touch me, I’m a mummy!”, he laughed, then changed his voice to a creepy whisper. “And I’m here to kiiiiiiiiiill yooooooooou...”

Victor tried to pretend he’s gonna strangle me, but because he couldn’t see anything, he didn’t know where I was and couldn’t reach me.

“Vic, stop it, we’re here to do some serious business.”, I reproached him, trying not to laugh. He ignored me and kept waving his hands around, trying to find me.

“FEEL THE CURSE-!” He finally reached me and lightly gripped my throat, pretending he’s killing me, giggling.

“Noooo!”, I chuckled, flailing. “Leave me alone, you jerk!” I pulled the mask up and uncovered his face. He let me go, still laughing.

“Okay, okay. Sorry.”

“You’re a fucking idiot, y’know that?”, I shook head, grinning, and poked his nose. That made him giggle again.

“Yeah, I know.”, he took the mask off completely and put it on again, this time correctly. “...How do I look?”

“Beauuuutiful, like a princess.”, I poked him again, this time in the ribs, teasing. He flinched.

“Don’t. I’m warning you, Kellin, don’t start a poke fight with me, because I’m damn good at it, you’re gonna lose...”

“We’ll see ‘bout that.”, I winked. “Once we’re done with this, you’ll get to prove yourself.”

“Oh yeah? Fine, challenge accepted.”, he laughed once more, then glanced at his wristwatch and went serious. “But, I say, let’s not waste anymore time. It’s about 3 a.m., we had to be already inside.

“Shit, you’re right, yeah, we must go. Well.”, I smiled. “I feel like I gotta say this… Good luck.”

“You too.”, Vic nodded, then, after a moment of hesitation, got out of the car.

I threw another glance at the house before going out after him. This weird worry I was feeling deep down in my stomach earlier returned, gripping my heart with ice-cold fingers. It was Vic I worried about, not me. I didn’t want anything to happen to him, and I definitely didn’t want him to get caught. I wordlessly promised myself I’m going to do my best to protect him and make sure I won’t let this happen, and then followed him outside.

The weak, warm wind softly brushed my skin, carrying dust and the smell of gasoline, tires and, for some odd reason, strawberries. It was quiet, but from that kind of silence, which consists all those other quiet little noises you don’t usually notice. When they’re gone, though, the silence becomes somehow thicker, heavier and unpleasant.

Vic was standing a few feet away from me, watching me and waiting, like a soldier waiting for further instructions. I nodded at him and headed to the house, walking cautiously and feeling more and more nervous with every next step. I heard Victor’s footsteps next to me, and unconsciously, without realizing it, I reached and took his hand in mine, for courage. Surprisingly, he didn’t pull back, he just looked at me and smiled a bit behind the mask, squeezing my hand gently. It’s always good to know that your friend is ready to bravely protect you with a water gun.

How reassuring.

We had parked the car at some distance, close enough to see the house, but also far enough to remain unnoticed. However, we had to walk for a few minutes until we get there. When were finally in the garden, I quietly went round the building, gently leading Vic along, and, avoiding the windows, I approached the back door. The back yard was even worse than the front one, it obviously used to be a fucking jungle before the sun killed most of the plants. All the windows were dark; everyone was sleeping, but I decided not to turn my flashlight on, just in case.

The door was solid, made of some kind of dark polished wood. There wasn’t a doormat or any other extras like that here, obviously no one used this entrance much. Want it or not, I let Vic’s hand go and started looking for something in my pocket. Finally, after a horrifying moment, when I thought I left it in the car, I found what I was looking for – a picklock, a bunch of picklocks, actually, because I wasn’t sure which one would work for this door. The last couple of weeks I had been stubbornly practicing (and failing) at picking different kinds of locks, to be prepared for this moment. It would be much easier to just come in through a window, but the closest open one was on the second floor, and we couldn’t get there without a ladder. Breaking in through the door was the best option.

I knelt and took a closer look at the lock. Honestly, I couldn’t really distinguish it from any other lock I had tried to break. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, though – behind this door, I supposed there might be a security alarm, which would start going off the moment we enter. That was what I was hoping for. I needed Ross to notice we’re here, but at the right time, not yet...

Alright... I concentrated on the lock, poking it with different tools. I didn’t really know what I was doing, I was just trying my best to remember what I had learned for the last few weeks, and not panic if it didn’t work. And for a few minutes it really didn’t. The clock was ticking, but the stupid door remained closed. Vic was patiently waiting for me, uneasily looking around, his eyes glancing down at the watch every now and then. I started getting angry at myself. I had to calm down and concentrate, I had to think, I had to...

Click.

My eyes widened.

“Yes! Yes, we’re in.”, I whispered and looked up at Vic, grinning. “We’re in.”

Although it was dark and he was wearing a mask, I could tell he smiled.

“Awesome.”, he whispered back. “Now what?”

“Now,” I got up, “you know what to do. Meet you inside.”

* * *

No alarms. There were no fucking alarms.

Ross Lester was woken up by a loud thud downstairs. Startled, but too sleepy to get up right away, he opened eyes and blinked. But no more noises followed, so, convinced it was just a dream, he started falling asleep again...

THUD!

There it was, again, that noise! So it was for real. Ross sat up, now wide awake. His wife, Jenny, was calmly sleeping next to him, completely unaware of what was going on. He decided not to wake her up and quietly slipped out of bed, heading to the door. Before going out, he hesitated. It could be nothing, it could be just a squirrel or something like that, but what if there were thieves? No, he couldn’t go check unarmed. He needed his shotgun.

He kept it leant against the wall between the window and the wardrobe, half hidden behind it. It scared Jenny, otherwise he’d keep it next to his bed, near his head, for reassurance. Now he carefully took it, and cautiously went out in the corridor.

Silence. But silence could be deceiving, yes, whoever made the noses, now they were probably just hiding, waiting for the right moment to get away, or even attack him. This thought made him grip his shotgun harder.

It was dark, but turning the lights on wasn’t even an option. Ross wanted to remain just as unnoticed as the unknown intruder.

The noise had come from downstairs. He silently started going down, looking around the whole time, his ears ready to sense even the slightest sound, but all he could hear was his own breathing. It was almost like the stranger, or whatever it was, had vanished into the thin air, but Ross knew that was impossible. He knew they must be still there... Still waiting...

After searching the second floor, he finally got to the first one. One of the flaws of having such a big house was that searching it was a real pain in the ass. Frowning, stifling a yawn, Ross crossed the corridor, turned around the corner and...

“Boohoo, motherfucker.”, I grinned, my gun almost stuck in his face.

Ross Lester’s eyes widened and crossed as he looked at the gun, then up at me, but he didn’t drop his shotgun, just the opposite – he held it tight to his body, as if it was a teddy bear. This almost made me giggle, but the situation was serious – the biggest difference between shotguns and teddy bears is that teddy bears can’t shoot out bullets and kill people, at least as far as I knew.

It took him about half a minute to recognize me, and when he did, the surprise on his face became even bigger.

“I know you... I know you, you’re Kellin, Jenny’s ex.”, Ross finally said. Even though he looked scared, his voice was steady and calm. “What do you want?”

“I need to talk to you. So please.”, I stepped away, revealing the living room. “Drop the weapon and be my guest.”

I motioned to a chair and lightly poked him with my gun, hoping this was enough of a hint for him to sit down. He nodded and took a step towards it.

But instead of sitting down, he suddenly turned around, grabbed my wrist when I least expected it, and hit my hand in the wall, forcing me to drop the gun. This got me unprepared, I didn’t expect him to react so quickly, so I couldn’t do anything else than gasping and dropping my weapon. I felt the heavy panic in my chest as I realized I had failed once more. Thank god, I had a backup plan... But this had to wait.

Ross Lester pushed me inside the living room, his shotgun pointed at me. I stumbled in, almost tripping up in the carpet.

It seemed that now we had changed places.

“Now, Kellin, why don’t you be my guest and tell me what the fuck you’re doing in my home, hm? That would be nice.”, he smirked.

“What do you think I’m doing?”, I answered him with a question, trying to gain some time.

He shrugged, but his gun stayed fixed on me. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

I hesitated.

“I’m here to talk about Jenny.”

Ross raised eyebrows.

“Oh, I see. Do you usually make all of your conversations with a gun in your hand? Does that give you more guts? Because it seems like it, without it you’re just a pussy, who breaks into other people’s private properties. So I repeat one more time. What. Do. You. Want. From me. And this time you better answer me or I’ll fucking shoot you.”

I rolled eyes. “Already told you. I’m here to talk about Jenny.”

“What about her?”

“Ah, nothing much... I was just going to ask you politely to stop beating her all the time.”, I hissed.

“…Ahh, So that was it.”, he grinned, amused. “You came here all alone, to defend your precious wife from her evil new husband? How sweet. So sweet that it might get me sclerosis.”

“I think you meant diabetes, you goddamn idiot.”, Vic murmured behind him, and his water gun lightly touched the back of Ross’ head.

Just on time.

I maybe enjoyed that asshole’s surprised expression a bit more than I should’ve, but a big grin stretched on my face as his eyes widened in horror. I got up, theatrically kicking the chair back.

“I never said I came ‘all alone’. I brought a friend.”, I shrugged, then leaned down and picked up my gun.

For a few moments Ross just stood there, frozen. Then he ducked and made a weak attempt to struggle, trying to hit Vic with the shotgun, but he found himself on the ground. Even armed only with a water gun, Victor was still dangerous enough to throw our opponent down and kick him hard in the stomach. I raised eyebrows, impressed.

“Well done, Bonnie.”, I grinned. “But leave the rest to me, please.”

“Sure, Clyde.”, he chuckled and, keeping his gun pointed at Ross, stepped away, letting me approach.

I stood next to the moaning man on the floor, who was now murmuring curses and trying to get up. I pressed him back down with my foot.

“Oh, no, you’re not going anywhere.”, I snarled. “We have an important conversation to finish. Bonn, take his shotgun away, please.”

Ross didn’t object, maybe having two pistols pointed at his head was making his huge self-confidence a liiiittle bit smaller. Carefully, I leaned down, now pressing him to the ground with my hand, my other one still gripping my weapon.

“So, Ross. I’ve been hearing some complaints for awhile. I’ve been told that you drink a little more than you should, and when you do, you like being quite rude to your wife. I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt her.”, I added ironically. “It just happens, right? But, as far as I know, it happens pretty often, and I don’t like that at all, Jenny doesn’t, too. So I was wondering…” I grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head closer to my face, then murmured in his ear, “…what if something like that just accidentally happens to you?”

“You won’t dare to hurt me.”, he muttered. “I know guys like you. You just talk big. But in the end, you do nothing, because you’re afraid.”

I raised eyebrows. That cocky bastard didn’t know when to shut his mouth, obviously. Slowly, but surely, I was going from angry to very pissed off.

“Perhaps. But you know what? I’m done with being afraid.”, I said and hit his head in the floor.

Surprised, Ross couldn’t even scream, he just gasped and closed his eyes as his forehead met the dark polished parquet. I didn’t hit him really hard, but enough for a small wound to appear above his eyebrow, and probably caused him a little brain concussion. However, this was only the start – after I’d be done with him, he probably wouldn’t be able to walk.

“Every single time you’ve hurt her…”, I continued, hitting him once more, this time harder. “Every single time you’ve made her cry…”, and once again, breaking his nose. “…I’ve been telling myself I should do this. Every fucking time she called me at night, crying on the phone. Yeah, we didn’t get along well, at all, we don’t even talk anymore, but every time you beat her, she’d still call me, wanting to hear my voice. I wonder why she doesn’t leave you. She says she loves you. But I think she’s just afraid of you…”

I got up and kicked him in the chest, probably breaking one or two ribs.

“You must be a really sick fuck to hurt such a beautiful, fragile woman. Actually, you must be a sick fuck to hurt a woman at all.”, I frowned, disgusted. “Damn, guys like you make me feel homicidal.”

I kicked him again. He screamed and his arm twisted in a strange angle.

“You know… that what you’re doing is a serious crime… right…?”, he mumbled after he could finally take a breath.

“Yup, I know.”, I shrugged. “Sue me.”

“I will… The boys in jail would be pleased to see your pretty face…”, a crooked grin appeared on Ross’ face. “They’ll surely enjoy your company…”

That made him receive another kick in the already broken arm. My anger blurred my reason, all I remember is that I kicked, and punched, and pushed, and hit, until I felt Vic pulling me away from the man on the ground, making me stop. We weren’t here to kill Ross, or get him into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. We were here to teach him a lesson.

“Kellin, that’s enough. Let’s go.”, Vic said, still holding me, in case I decide to go back on beating Lester.

“Yeah… Yeah, okay, you’re right…”, I said, still trying to catch my breath. I turned to Ross, who was now lying in a small puddle of blood and urine. “If you do anything to her ever again… My friend here will come back for you.” Then I remembered a line from a movie I had watched, and added: “I’ll be waitin’ for you in Hell, fucker.”

We left him there, almost unconscious and silently crying from pain. I almost thought we were going to get out without any problems, when suddenly I heard a really familiar voice from the stairs.

“Ross? What’s going on, what was that noise?”

Approaching footsteps followed and I knew we didn’t have enough time to leave. I turned around.

Jenny was standing in the other end of the corridor, her long, curly dark-blond hair was falling on her shoulders, reflecting the weak moonlight. She hadn’t changed at all since I last saw her (which was about a year ago) – her white skin, the fragile figure, now dressed in a baggy T-shirt, the small scar in the corner of her mouth, which always made her smile look wider and even prettier. Yeah, now I remembered why I used to love her. How can you not love such a perfect, elegant creature? The only thing, which was different than before, was the dark bruise around her left eye.

That bastard… All my regrets disappeared, replaced by satisfaction from what I had done to him.

Jenny noticed me and froze, on her way to the living room.

“…Kellin. What are you doing here…?”, she finally could say, after a moment of silence. Then, without saying anything else, she ran to me and hugged me.

Surprised, I couldn’t react right away, then hesitantly wrapped my arms around her, hugging her back.

“Kellin, what’s going on with you? The police called, they said you killed a man… I told them it’s impossible, but they insisted to interrogate me, and since I didn’t get any further information, I thought they had arrested you…”

“No, I’m fine…”, I shook head. “And about why I am here… I came to set you free. And say goodbye.”

Jenny pulled back and looked at me, confused.

“Set me free…? Say goodbye? Kellin, what are you talking about?”

“Ross won’t touch you anymore. Ever. From now on, you’re safe.”, I smiled sadly.

“What…”, her eyes widened. “Kellin, you didn’t… Did you?”

“No, I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking. I just made sure he will leave you alone.” I looked away, then back at her. “…And you… take care. Find a better guy, and a better life. Okay? I want you to promise you will, because next time, I won’t be here to help.”

“Kellin… Kellin, I don’t understand what you’re saying, what do you mean, you won’t be here…?”, Jenny stepped away, her face pale. “Please, tell me what’s going on…”

“Shh.”, I gently pulled her closer by the wrist and put my finger to her lips. “Promise me. That’s all I want from you.”

“Kellin…”

“Promise me.”

Our eyes met, hers still open wide and full with worry.

“…I promise.”, she whispered. “But…”

“Don’t.”, I shook head. “Don’t spoil it.” I smiled a bit. “Now. You better call an ambulance for the poor Ross. He needs someone to take care of him.”

“O-okay… But I don’t understand…”

Still smiling, I leaned in and gently kissed her cheek. “Goodbye, Jennifer.”

Then, before she could say anything else, I turned around and left the house, knowing that was the last time I see her before I die. I didn’t want her to know, though, I didn’t want to worry her more… It would be much better if she just thought I was leaving the country or something like that. I wondered if she would miss me… Probably not... Maybe sometimes. But most likely she wouldn’t. That didn’t matter, though. I felt like I did the right thing.

Vic was silently waiting for me outside. When I went out, he looked up.

“How did it go?”, he asked.

“Good enough.”, I murmured in reply. “I… I’m done with it. It’s over. Now please… let’s just leave.”

Victor nodded slightly. “Of course… Come on.” He gave me a weak smile and took me by the arm, leading me towards the car.

I smiled a bit while walking after him.

“Well… that was more fun than I thought it would be.”, I poked him with my elbow, teasing him. “You were right, you really make a great Bonnie.”

“Told ya.”, he chuckled. “And honestly, sometimes you’re almost too badass for me to handle. Mr. Clyde Badassness.”

I laughed a bit. “Hell yeah, I am. You’re not that bad, too.”

Vic looked at me and smiled.

“…Thanks, Kel.”

“It’s Clyde.”, I winked. “Get it right, man!”

“Riiiight, sorry.”, he rolled eyes, then went more serious. “So… That’s two down, three to go, right?”

“Yeah.”, I nodded. “Two down, three to go, and a month and twenty-three days left.”

“Oh… Only a month and twenty-three days…? I’m sor-”

“I try not to think about it.”, I interrupted him. “You should try that too.”

We finally got to the car. I unlocked it and got in, followed by Vic.

“So where are we going next?”, he glanced at me while putting on his seatbelt.

I looked at him and grinned, making a dramatic pause.

“…We’re going to Las Vegas.”

END OF CHAPTER 10.