Aces Kill Kings

Chapter Ten: Lingering Affairs.

The days following my punishment were miserable. I was forced to endure not one more lashing but three more. My back was covered in cuts, and bruises. My jaw was sore from the gags I had to wear. My voice was nearly gone from the screaming. While I was punished the others had a quiet ceremony for Robert. Evidently Marshall had taken a few of them to collect his corpse and bring him back for an autopsy. Nevada and Amara confirmed that he was dead before I even reached the mansion, whether Omen added the bullet in his skull or not. The blood loss from the previous wounds would have finished him if Omen hadn't. Harley just sat and sobbed in their room. I couldn't blame her. None of us spoke. It was silent and dull. I needed time alone to heal honestly.

"Zane..?" A quiet voice called behind me. I looked and there was Diego.

"Yes Diego?" I continued to walk toward the front doors.

"Where are you going?" He asked, matching my pace quickly.

"Out to calm down."

"That's not safe anymore." I saw the nerves in his eyes.

"Diego, the day I hide away because of another Ace is the day I kill myself." He flinched at my words. "You and Landon need to go train. If I am not back by 2 am then come look for me."

"But, Zane, you're hurt." I sighed, trying not to let my annoyance start to show.

"Diego, I know. Trust me I still feel the blood trickling down my back when I bend in the wrong direction. I know I am hurt. I know the risks of leaving this mansion. But I also know if I stay here Harold is going to do more. And I would rather give an enemy the rank jump for killing me than give Harold the satisfaction of finishing killing off my family. So unless you are going to forcibly stop me from walking out this door, go train with Landon."

I opened the door and when he did not stop me again I kept walking through, into the outside at dusk. The dark red of the sky blended into deep purple clouds. Black buildings stood out against the skyline as I walked through the alleys. The cold air was soothing to my skin, even through my shirt. I was not hiding tonight. I was not an Ace tonight. I was myself. The plain gray t-shirt and dark blue jeans just didn't scream KILLER! like my other clothes did. I made it to the edge of the Heart's territory and climbed to the roof of an abandoned house. The cement dug into my palms as I pulled myself onto the roof. I laid back against the roof and just laid there. The wind shifted slightly as thunder rumbled in the darkening sky, No longer red but instead a deep shade of purple and the clouds now black. I allowed the silence to consume me, to swallow up my pain. The crack of lightning rang out but I barely flinched. Soon the rain would come and wash away all of my problems.

I could hear people running down the side streets, hurrying home before the rain began. Again I did not react, I had no fear. Minutes passed as I awaited the cold showers. When the sky turned black, both from the cover of night but also from the clouds the heavens opened up and cried. Pouring the icy rain down over the cities. It chilled me to the bone at first but after a short adjustment period the rain soothed my body. The way my shirt clung to my chest and stomach allowed the water to pass through, chilling my burning flesh. I continued to lay there, outstretched on that concrete.

Thunder roared violently as the lightning struck all around. No one would come out in this weather, or at least I thought. The shuffling that first reached my ears didn't concern me. It could have been anything really. That was at least what I told myself. My eyes stayed closed against the pouring rain. The thuds of what sounded like bootfalls concerned me slightly. Again though I tried to push the thought as just a man being late to leave for his home. However the feminine chuckle that sounded just above me was enough to shock me into sitting straight up. Instantly pain shot down my back from my wounds. I turned as I rolled onto my feet trying to stand quickly. The black leather coat threw me for a split second. Who the fuck are you? That second of confusion was all she and her accomplice needed. The other person grabbed me from behind, twisting my arms back and locking a pair of handcuffs on tightly. I struggled, pulling out of their grasp but still caught one way or another. After seeing them both in front of me it started to set in. Both had red studs on their shoulders, not clubs.