Vindictive (Complete)

III

    Thunder crashes in the dark sky, summoning the downpour of freezing cold rain. Charlie lifts his hood up and opens dante’s red car door. He gets in and slams it closed, rain flying in from the open garage door. Charlie backs out and Bobbie closes the garage door, leaving him out in the cold dark night. Charlie looks at the address and puts it into his map app. It leads further downtown, close to the homeless area. The address shows where the abandoned underground metro system is, where it caved in and was left to rot a few years ago.
    Charlie thinks about who could have wronged Simon and who would be foolish enough to do so. He doesn’t have a way to find out other than meeting them in person. He thinks if they cut his money they probably have it coming. The city grows pitch black around him, all the lights off in this part of the city. Homeless can be seen sleeping on the side of the road, and in trashed buildings off to the side.
    Charlie usually doesn’t venture this far as he doesn’t feel safe with all the homeless. His people at least have a group… rules. Homeless don’t have rules or leaders, they just steal to survive and no one can trust them. Charlie thinks about how he has sold to several homeless however, most buying with money they stole.
    A small fire burns under a bridge ahead, with a few homeless surrounding it for warmth from the rain. Charlie knows the bright red car will make a few heads turn, wishing he wasn’t driving Dante’s. He becomes a little jealous of Tomas, sitting and watching cable TV at Dante’s house. He knows Dante enjoys giving food to all his guests, a very generous man.
    The thunder grows louder, making the night roar loudly, the storm just hit at eleven. Rain begins to slam against the car windows, getting thicker by the minute. The outside storm drain was made for nights like this. Charlie turns right and is only a few miles away, closer than he thought.
    He turns on the radio to ease his muscles, knowing what he will do soon. He is okay with killing, he has become used to it, as much as a person can. It makes him feel uncomfortable when he has to shoot first sometimes, however. Charlie turns to a channel he loves, and bangs his head. He loves loud obnoxious that roars through the speakers, the louder the better. He could have been into music if his life was different. If it wasn't for his failures. If it wasn’t for Markus.
    Charlie looks back to the road and swerves the car, a homeless man standing in the road before him. He slams the break and just barely misses the fence, almost running the man over. Charlie grabs his pistol and aims it at the man, who is already gone.
    “Dumbass!” Charlie honks his horn and puts his pistol away, frustrated.
    He pulls back onto the road, looking out for anyone. The music continues to scream, no longer easing his muscles. He turns it off and focuses on driving on the slick roads. Ten minutes pass and the abandoned metro lies just ahead, the stairway chained off.
    Charlie parks the car behind a knocked over dumpster, hiding it from the road. He puts on his thick gloves. The rain continues to slam against the car, turning the ground to mud and the concrete slick. Charlie smiles at his boots and exits the car with his flashlight, locking the car. With his pistol in his pocket he feels safer, but still uneasy. After running over he can see the gate is locked and is fenced in with a “do not enter” sign. He stops and looks around the gate, noticing a small cut on the bottom right corner. Charlie slides on his chest and crawls through the cut, becoming soaked.
    The train system has quiet echoes carrying up through the pitch black stairway. He turns on his torch and slowly descends down the stairs, a little slick from rain rolling inside. The walls are covered in grime and rust, some making patterns and most hanging off the indent between the wall and ceiling. A few bricks fell from the ceiling and lie on the steps, making Charlie cautious. His body shivers from being wet and cold.
    He reaches the bottom and sees the check-in area, the turnstiles are rusted and stuck in place. The room groans from below, keeping Charlie on edge. He climbs over a turnstile, sliding on the metal. He doesn’t know how far down he has to go, but his mind keeps swirling. The brick walls are covered in slime and the floor has a layer of dust so thick it has footprints. Not only his own, but another set.
    Charlie shines a light and follows each step, leading further down into the abyss. Whoever this isn't afraid of anything, willing to go the extra mile. He descends down the stairs, leading to the bottom, where a tunnel can be seen where a train would be. The room is so dark he couldn’t see his feet if it wasn’t for his flashlight. The footprints lead toward the tracks, stopping at the edge.
    “Asshole.”
    Charlie drops down and follows the track forward, hoping to find him soon. The tunnel spirals down and to the right, only getting deeper. The ceiling looks unstable from below and makes him think about the cave in. He hates Robert for picking such an awful place, even though no one would find the body for a long time.
    He follows until he sees the cave in, further down the tunnel. The left side opens up to the other opening, the middle of the station. A small light can be seen down the way, making Charlie realize it’s him. Charlie pulls up his bandana and continues forward, concealing his face. He climbs up and follows the light toward the midway staircase, where he can see someone sitting. The person stands up and shines the light into his eyes, blinding him. Charlie throws up his hands and he turns off his flashlight.
    “Sorry. Do you have it?” He asks Charlie, walking up.
    Charlie stares at the man, his face hard to see in the thick darkness. His voice sounds familiar but the echo makes him unsure.
    “Yes. I have it on me.” Charlie reaches into his pocket, putting his hand on his pistol.
    “I have the money. I just want out of here.” The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out several hundred dollar bills.
    Charlie starts to sweat, knowing it's now or never. He needs to pull his gun. He needs to do his job. He needs to murder him.
    “You sounds familiar. Who-” Before he can finish he jumps in shock.
    Charlie pulls out his pistol, firing into his side. Sound echoes off the walls, hitting their ears like a sledgehammer on glass. The man yells in pain and pulls out his pistol. He falls onto his knees and aims his pistol with one hand, the other holding him up. 
     A bullet tears Charlie’s hoodie, barely missing him. Charlie dives onto the tracks and lands on his side, hurting his back. He slowly gets back up, his ears screaming. Charlie stands up, to see the man limping up the stairs, firing his pistol toward him. He ducks for a moment, waiting for the gunfire to stop. He needs to finish this. Charlie climbs up, aiming his pistol toward the top of the stairs.
     He can hear the man yelling in pain, slowly dying from the gunshot. A scraping sound can be heard from above, echoing through the room. He climbs up the stairs and sees something metal moving from the top of the stairs. Charlie panics when he realizes that it is a metal bench, being shoved down the stairs. It slams on every step, sliding down right on top of him.
     He leaps off the stairs and falls onto the floor, slamming his arm into the ground. The bench lands on the ground, mixing with the loud of Charlie’s moaning. The fall didn’t break any bones, just caused him extreme pain. He lies there for a minute, struggling to get up again. After a moment he stands up, his right leg limping. He shoves the bench out of the way and climbs the stairs.
     “Just… take care of her. I’m so very sorry.” The man is on his phone, leaning against a pillar in the room.
     All the doors are locked off, giving him no escape. This is it. Charlie shoots the man right in the chest, blood spraying out. He falls backward, dropping his phone and blood puking from his mouth. He lies still and gasps his last breath, the room going silent. A quiet sound can be heard from the phone, the screen shattered. Charlie stomps on it, breaking it into pieces. He knows he has to leave and fast.
     Charlie limps over to the body and shines the flashlight into his face, to finally see who had betrayed Simon. His heart drops and he can feel his stomach turn, like when your world finally, falls apart. His mind roars, his vision blurs, and he falls to his knees beside the man. He drools on his sleeve while screaming, his mind spinning.
     “Not again! Not again!”
     Markus flashes through his mind. He had done it again. He had killed someone he held close. He looks again at the man’s face, crying. His black skin and dark brown hair glow in the light, blood dripping from his mouth. Charlie looks into his hazel eyes.