Vices and Maces

Chapter 61: Oh Shit Things are About to Go Down

Even though it was sunset, the air was still warm when Virgil and Roman left Daisy's bakery. The meeting was short, though they had dragged it out as long as they could. Neither of them wanted to say goodbye just yet.

"Thank you again for all of your help," Roman told Virgil. "If you would like you can stay at our place for the night. I don't imagine staying at that factory is very comfortable." In more ways than one, though that didn't need to be said. "Plus I'm sure Janus would be happy to see you again."

"Oh no, I'm fine, but thank you for the offer," Virgil told him.

"Alright. Oh, speaking of Janus, they figured out how to heal all of their injuries! I mean, it makes sense that shapeshifters could do that, but they just figured out how."

"Really? Even their leg?"

"Even their leg, we went to the doctor this morning to make sure it healed okay. The doctor said it looked good! Healthy scar tissue."

Virgil smiled. "That's good! Are... are they okay like psychologically? Or mentally? I mean... They went through something horrible."

"They try to hide it, I know they do, but I think they have nightmares sometimes. I woke up one night and heard talking. I think my brother was calming them down, they did sound upset."

"Yeah..." Virgil nodded. "That's to be expected. I'm happy they have someone that can help them. I'm so thankful... If I had to save them on my own then I don't think I could have taken care of them. We would have been caught and killed already."

Roman felt guilt build up when he remembered he almost refused to help. "I'm glad we were able to help. You... You've done a lot for us and I really appreciate it. Are you sure you'll be safe at the factory?"

"I'm sure. Oh... but..." This was taking a huge risk, one he wouldn't be taking if Janus wasn't fully healed. "Tell Janus to keep an eye on their bracelet tonight."

"Their bracelet? Why?"

"Don't worry about it, they'll know what it means. I'll be fine, I promise. It's getting late, I should get going. There's deer in the forest and they come out at this time."

Roman gave him a smile. "I hope we can keep in touch?"

"Aw, what, do you like me?" Virgil returned the smile, though it was more of a smirk. "Now I have two gang leaders who can't resist me."

The vampire rolled his eyes. "You might be imagining things, Virgil, you're not as irresistible as you think."

The dragon laughed, "Oh? Well you seem to be proving otherwise."

"Yeah whatever." Roman felt the nervous butterflies in his stomach. "Just stay safe. Don't hit any deer, and don't let Black hurt you."

Virgil pulled out his car keys. "I will, you stay safe too. It'd suck if your brother was the only Bleeding Rose leader."

"Oh you have no idea," Roman laughed. "I'll see you later?"

Oh gods, Virgil hoped so. "I'll see you later." He started walking to where he parked. He didn't know where Roman's car was, or if he even took a car, but it clearly wasn't this way since he wasn't following.

The drive to the factory was quiet. It was a drastic difference than in the bakery with Roman. It seemed like they were just talking the whole time they were together. It was nice to spend time with him, and Virgil was growing quite fond of him.

Maybe... maybe it was time he did something. Maybe it was time to get his freedom back. Go against Black in some way. He could tell the police everything, but that didn't seem like enough. Black was smart, he could control the whole gang from behind bars if he needed to. No, he needs to die if Virgil ever wants his freedom, and the whole gang needs to collapse.

Some more loyal employees might try to take their revenge against him, if it gets out who did it, but as long as everyone else is safe Virgil doesn't care. As long as Anna, Janus, and now Roman are safe.

It would need more planning to do, once Black is dead Virgil needs to figure out how to make sure no one else tries to take over the gang. But he'll worry about that another night. He had a good time with Roman, and he wanted to focus on that for now.

Virgil parked his car in the parking lot next to the factory. He made his way to the side door, unlocking it before going in. The sun was already down by now, and the moon was up, shining its bright light down on freshly bloomed purple flowers.

~~~

To say Logan was tired was an understatement. He's been following dead end leads all day, and he just wanted to wrap up a number of old cases. He didn't want them to turn into cold cases, but it was starting to look like he'll have to.

And as much as he hated working in the office, for once he wanted to spend the rest of the day doing just that. Looking through notes, waiting for forensic, whatever else he needed to do. Thankfully it seemed like most of his coworkers were either too busy or too tired to bother him.

"Hey, did you hear about that car factory outside of town?" someone asked, talking to someone else, but Logan still listened in.

"Oh yeah, some guys think it's a base for one of the gangs," another responded. "Have we checked it out at all?"

"Nah, for some reason the chef won't sign the okay on a search warrant."

"Ha, gee, that old sell out? What a shock."

Laughter followed that. There were rumors of the chef being a corrupt cop, and Logan was starting to believe it. If there is a base of some sort there, then it needs to be checked! Even if it's just rumors!

Maybe... maybe it'll be alright to do some illegal poking. After all, Logan could just play along with the corrupt cops if caught. If he's not killed that is. Maybe his parents were right, this is a dangerous job. But if Logan can do just one thing to save lives... it'll be worth it.

When he finally was able to leave, he quickly wrapped up anything he needed to do before grabbing his keys. He made sure he had a gun on him before heading to his car, pulling out his phone.

He quickly typed out a text message to Patton, "I'm going to be working overtime tonight. I'll be home late, be sure to get some dinner. I love you."

He didn't wait for a response. Instead he turned on the engine and started driving off, going in the opposite direction. Towards the 'car factory.'