NUMB

19 - Brothers bonding

!W! Use of strong language and mention of violence and blood.

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*Staten Island*

*Cindaku's Den*

"What!?" Asmodeous rubbed his face, following with a string of curses in Indonesian. "First, Valreen McHenry, what in the world were you thinking, and second, that is the stupidest suggestion I've heard from your mouth!"

"I was thinking of making a statement, Asus!" Valreen literally barked at his best friend. "Those people had caused enough destruction already and nobody will stop me from taking revenge for both my sons! Not even you!"

"And you think I don't want revenge!?" Asmodeous raised his voice. "They made me shoot my own son, Val! All I can think of is how I'll kill that son of a bitch! And now that I know it's a he, I can add a few more ideas to my list!"

"Thanks to me that is. But you can't ignore what I said, Asus. If the women of that gang are tattooing their boobs, how in the world are we supposed to find their identities!? Not every time a woman of this gang would be available to tag along and we can't become monsters to beat the devil, like we did with Camille Belcourt. We need someone permanent! And from what Alec had told me, Night Ghosters had allied with Black Cobra, so there's one more gang involved in this. As much as I believe in our people, you can't deny the fact that they'll be more deadly now!"

"Motherfucker!" Asmodeous grabbed the mug kept on the table and slammed it against the wall, shattering it into billions of pieces and Valreen let out a heavy sigh. "Why the fuck would those two gangs unite!? What will they get out of an alliance!?"

"You can't deny that Night Ghosters are the deadliest and most dangerous gang, Asmodeous. It's not the first time people have tried to make a deal with them. This deal with Black Cobra seems successful though. So whatever it is, it can't be good."

"I need some fresh air," Asmodeous said and marched out of his cave-shaped office from the second door into the open land outside, leaving Valreen all by himself.

"Asmodeous! You asshat!" Valreen groaned and followed his best friend. As he stepped out, a cold breeze brushed through his face and he tilted his face up to look at the dark clouds glowing with a flash of thunder. A small drop fell on his cheek and he inhaled the scent of freshwater they were surrounded with, sending a wave of calmness through his shaken-up nerves.

"Go in, Val! Leave me alone!" Called a voice and he tilted his head in his friend's direction, noticing how that man was gazing at the endless ocean, standing at the very edge of the shore, not caring that the tides were high.

"You crazy man!" Valreen mumbled under his breath. "We need to discuss this issue, Asus! And can you please not stand so close to the ocean! You almost drowned in the military, right in front of my eyes if you remember!"

"Your heart is getting old," Asmodeous said dismissively.

"Son of a...." Valreen rubbed his temple, strode towards his idiot friend, and grabbed his hand to pull him back, earning a deadly glare but he didn't care. "Do you want me to tell Magnus you're being careless with your life!? I'm sure you'd love getting scolded by your son!"

"Would you let me think in peace, Valreen!"

"No! We need to discuss this, Asmodeous! I will keep going after his men until we come face to face with the faceless leader! And there's a big chance that there'll be women too! None of us knew Bleeding Chimera was a woman, a young woman more ever! So you-"

"Do that stupidity and I'll be forced to bring Tatiana and Magdalene in between!"

"Asmodeous!" Valreen gritted his teeth. "What else do you want me to do then!? Sit and wait for them to kill one of us!?"