🔍 Silver Tongue (Slow Updates) 🔎

A Bad Plan is Better Than No Plan...Also, Plans are for Suckers

It was completely unbelievable that my scrawny ass could take Darren unaware, but I had a proper cover. One that would equal parts piss my brother off and make sense.

I walked into Ivan's office, the metal barrel of Darren's pistol pressed against his back. I left him with his underwear, but nothing else. I imagined my brother had been warned several times what was coming to his office. But sometimes words couldn't do a story justice.

Ivan behind his desk, eyes wide, as Darren dropped to his knee at my nudging. Seeing one of his closest friends mostly naked and being held at gunpoint by his sister wasn't likely something he expected today, or ever.

I hadn't expected Max to be there, too, hovering near the glass window. That was the first error of my plan, and others were sure to follow.

I stood in between Ivan and Darren, the pistol on his skull. Darren had warned this was the most important, in case Ivan was further gone that we both hoped and shot first instead asking questions.

"What are you doing, Em?" Ivan asked. His tone was different than yesterday, evoking a genuine compassion. "Why is Darren...?"

"Naked on your office floor?" I finished, pushing the barrel against Darren's skull. "Ask him."

"Did he hurt you?" Ivan asked, his protector instincts kicking in.

I shook my head. "The opposite, actually. He offered to take me away from all of this. To take me somewhere safe." I snickered. "I fuck him once and he swears his love to me. I figure, I bring him here and we deal with him together."

Ivan looked sick, as if he was just seeing the situation for the first time. "Max, have Darren removed from here," he croaked.

"No!" I snapped. "We will decide what to do with him right now!" I waved the gun towards Max, backing him against the wall, before swinging it back to Darren.

"Em, don't be rash," Ivan said. "He didn't commit a crime."

"Who says he won't?" I asked. "Who says he won't snitch? That he won't call Virtue and tell him where you are?"

Ivan's eyes flitted from me to Darren, raw indecision in his eyes.

"I think she's right," Max offered, holding his hands in submission. "Hear me out. He could ruin everything."

"You know I wouldn't do that," Darren begged. "I just wanted to get her out of here. She doesn't deserve to be involved in this."

"You don't get to decide what I deserve!" I snapped. I sucked in my excitement, my call center training being useful for once. Hiding my real feelings from troublesome customers was something I was actually good at.

"Everyone shut it!" Ivan yelled.

I found myself not wanting to speak. Waiting to see what Ivan would say. It was an instinct that fought against my logic. I should keep needling him. I knew it, but I didn't want to anymore.

"Em, put that gun away," he said. "We're going to figure this out."

My arm went slack, and I struggled to keep my pistol aimed towards Darren's bare chest. Darren raised an eyebrow and a breath caught in my throat. I understood the surprise, I was ruining the plan because I was listening to Ivan instead of the other way around. But Darren need to keep his cool. If Ivan found out we were playing him, it would be worse than before.

Why couldn't I keep the gun pointed at Darren? Why was I listening to Ivan when I didn't want to?

When the gun went off, I shrieked. I rushed to Darren as he fell, placing my hands over the hole in his chest. He had the nerve to smile at me, as if saying, I told you you'd get me killed. No anger, just humor.

"Get him some help!" I screamed. I didn't care about Ivan at this moment. Just Darren. We knew the risk. Darren was happy to take it. To trust in my wild plan. He knew he was risking his life, but for him to die over by inability to hold a gun properly was...it was just ridiculous.

I looked to Ivan, tears streaming down my cheeks. It was his fault we'd walked this line. He wasn't my brother anymore, I finally realized. Ivan was dead. This asshole was Silver-

I screamed as pain laced through my scalp, fingers interlocked in the strands of my hair. Something hot seared my temple and I cried out again. It throbbed mercilessly.

"Open your fucking mouth and I shoot her," Max said, his hot breath rustling my ear.

It took a second to realize that what had burned me was the barrel of Max's gun. Which meant...

"You shot Darren, you bastard!" I screamed, flailing. Then something slammed against the back of my head and everything went dark.