Vindictive (Complete)

VII

    Seagulls bellow and glide through the air. Water crashes against the shore, water rising and sinking like children on a trampoline. The sunrise shines on the open water, like a mirror. Small islands can be seen in the distance, like distant worlds. Charlie pulls up in his truck behind Isaac, who has been waiting not too long.
    He climbs out and takes a deep breath of the ocean air, refreshing. Fedor’s home lies on the shore, attached to a long dock with crashing waves all around. Truly a beautiful home, which is also armed to the teeth. Charlie knocks on Isaac’s window, light thudding. Isaac opens his door and steps out.
    “Let’s do this.” Isaac mentions, heading towards the door.
    They knock on the large wooden door, waiting. The door swings open, Fedor answering. Fedor Ivanov is an older Russian man. He is rather large, muscular and bald. He has a few tattoos and blue eyes.
    “Charlie.”
    Fedor opens the door, letting them in.
    “We need a few things, and we need to discuss a few things too.”
    Fedor chuckles, like he sometimes does.
    “What?”
    “I no longer work for Robert. We plan to kill him.” Charlie informs Fedor.
    “You two? Alone?” He takes a step back, rubbing his bald head.
    “Robert will fall. I promise you.” Isaac speaks up, saving his rage from those who deserve it.
    “Well. I’m glad you two came. I need business though, so what of Robert until then?”
    “We will buy from you, only. You will have business. Robert has others, and isn’t loyal to your efforts.” Charlie continues to walk with him, to the back.
    “Mmm. You’re right. I won’t sell to Robert anymore. I am a man of my word, that’s how I have my job. However, if you die then I will continue to sell with Robert.”
    “We won’t.” Isaac mutters.
    The cabin on the water is cozy. There is a bear rug on the floor, next to a lit fire. The wall facing the water has full windows, creating an amazing view of the water. The house is a few miles from the nearest town, being secluded from the city life. They can see his dock from inside, with his personal boat at the end.
    “Come with me.” Fedor takes them into the hallway, to the end.
    He pulls the carpet back a little, revealing a hatch under the carpet. He grabs the handle and pulls it up, stairs leading down into darkness. He slowly descends, flipping on a light at the bottom.
    “My секрет… eh. Secret.” Fedor mentions, the room opening up.
    His basement has three metal sliding windows on the walls, with padlocks. Fedor opens them all, sliding them up and slowing an excessive amount of weapons. Pistols, revolvers, assault rifles and shotguns in the middle. Grenades, flash bangs and molotovs on the left, next to knives. On the right he has bullets, every type needed.
    “What do you need?” Fedor leans against the wall, looking at his selection.
    Isaac scratches his head, not knowing what to choose.
    “I need something… subtle for now. I also need something to clear a room, without an explosion. I need one alive.”
    “I know what you need. Flash bang. No explosion.”
    Fedor tosses Isaac a flash bang, heavier than Isaac expected.
    “You need a handgun, for your pocket. No number, untraceable. Very illegal.” Fedor takes off a small pistol, smooth sides and well taken care of.
    “Treat it well. Nine millimeter.” He tosses Isaac the handgun, smooth to the touch.
    “You fire before?” Fedor rubs his head.
    “Once. A shooting range for my birthday, as a child. I know how to use it.” Isaac puts the pistol in his inside coat pocket, snug.
    Isaac pulls out his wallet, looking at Fedor.
    “One thousand, two hundred. For both. I'll give you ammo.” Fedor crosses his arms, waiting.
    Isaac counts the money, tossing in an extra twenty. Fedor grins, tossing him two boxes of ammo.
    “Don’t shoot anyone I wouldn’t.” Fedor closes the windows, locking them.
    They all exit the basement, lights off and carpet covering the hatch. Fedor shakes their hands, glad to do business. They walk to the door, ready to leave.
    “Because I like you two. Make sure you come back.” Fedor hands them both balaclavas, to cover their faces.
    “Thank you.”
    They exit the door, waving goodbye.
    “Спасибо… thank you. For your business.” Fedor closes the door.
    “Why is he in America?” Isaac asks Charlie.
    “Well,” Charlie chuckles, “He said he liked our money. He also seems to enjoy our women.”
    “What now?” Isaac asks, ready to begin.
    Charlie’s phone rings, Robert calling. Isaac stops, looking at him in the eyes. 
     “Put it on speaker, I want to know what I’m dealing with. Don’t let him know anything. Everything as normal.” Isaac waits.
     Charlie answers, pressing speaker.
     “Hey, blond haired fuck! I need you to do something tonight!” Sucking can be heard, even through the phone.
     “What do you need?”
     Isaac continues to stare.
     “I have some more heroin needing delivery. I need you to go to this address. The little kid wants a taste of the good shit! He has the money.”
     “Sure thing. I’ll be there.”
     “Good boy! Make daddy proud!”
     Robert hangs up the phone, making Isaac agitated.
     “I hate him. I can’t wait to torture him. Now, Tomas first.”
     Charlie nods, pulling up Tomas’s phone.
     “We are actually close. There is an abandoned mill in the hills a few miles from here. I am going to call him, telling him I need his help. We will wait for him to arrive, and catch him by surprise.” Charlie adds.
     Isaac nods, liking the idea. The phone rings, Charlie tapping his feet. He doesn’t want to do this.
     “Charlie?” Tomas answers.
     “Tomas! I need some help. I am doing another deal at the mill, remember the place?”
     “Yeah.”
     “Well… they are known to tip well.”
     “Really?!”
     “Yes. Because you have helped me so much I want you to get the cut, since Alex is dead.”
     Charlie holds his breath, begging he doesn’t tell Isaac he killed him.
     “I’m so sorry about Alex, Charlie. I need the money. Sitting on my ass getting fat from Dante’s food is killing me. I need work. I should be okay enough to go. He removed my cast now, my arm is fine.”
     “I’ll see you soon, we should arrive at the same time.” Charlie hangs up, pointing to the cars.
     “We need to get up there and prepare, he is on his way.”
    “Who is Dante?” Isaac asks, curious.
    “Dante is a friend of mine. Nurse. He buys from me but doesn’t associate with Robert.”
     Isaac nods, getting in his car. They both drive down the road, into the hills. The trees grow high into the sky, blocking the sunlight. The road gets a little rougher, the road not taken care of. Isaac follows Charlie closely, enjoying the feeling of his new gun in his pocket. He is ready to use it, ready to shoot it.
     They arrive after a few minutes, looking at the old mill, metal with old glass windows. Moss and weeds hang down from the roof, nature taking the building back. They park outside, getting out. The front door is open, rusted and worn.
     “We will find somewhere inside to take cover, and wait for him. He is a damn good shot. I can’t guarantee anything; Only that he will come, fast and armed to the teeth.” Charlie enters the building. 
      The glass dome at the top is broken, a tree branch sticking through and weeds hanging down. The sunlight trickles through, enhancing the green wildlife inside. There is a walkway above, with a control room in the center of the building. The bottom floor is a maze with several wood cutting machines about, large saw blades around.
    “I’ll take the top.” Isaac walks to the bottom of the stairs.
    “If I hide below, and call him my way you can open fire from above onto him. Right?” Charlie walks between machinery, out of sight.
    “Yes.”
    Isaac reaches the top, walking toward the control room. The windows are covered in dirt and have cracks all over them. The control room has weeds hanging across the glass, down towards the floor.
    “How old is this place?” Isaac calls below, about to open the door to the control room.
    “Old. Older than us both.” Charlie continues to walk down the building.
    The machines are old and rusted, probably rusted shut. Nothing inside would work even if they had power. Rotted wood logs are stacked in the left corner, never cut. The floor panels have several holes, showing the basement. There are several rusted motors below and rotted wood chunks that fell down, never cleaned.
    Isaac enters the control room, the door squeaking shut. There is a big hole in the floor, where it rotted open. The controls are covered in dust and have no power to them. Hard hats and old metal cabinets lie around the floor, some flipped over. The hole open below shows Charlie, looking around below.
    “Charlie! Lead him to this hole above you, and I’ll take the shot!” Isaac calls down.
    Charlie turns around and nods, second guessing himself. He doesn’t want to kill his partner, but understands he follows Robert first. Robert needs to go, therefore Tomas needs to.
    “That will work! I’ll call him to the back, he will follow! If you miss… well just don’t!” Charlie calls back, stopping in his tracks.
    They hear a car pulling up. Charlie runs behind a machine in the back, taking cover. Isaac lies down on the floor, waiting to hear entry. After a long minute they hear the car turn off, and silence fills the air. They wait.
    “Charlie?!” Tomas calls out, after a minute.
    “I’m in the back, we have one of the buyers here! The other is late!” Charlie calls out.
    They can hear Tomas walking slowly, on the base floor. He can feel something isn’t quite right, and is taking it slowly.
    “Charlie are you okay?!” He calls out, looking around him.
    “Yeah! He’s around the back waiting for the others! You’re right on time!” Charlie calls out, gripping his pistol tightly.
    Isaac slowly lifts his head, seeing the back of Tomas. He gets onto his knee and pulls out his pistol, his hand shaking. He has never killed anyone before, but has decided it is the right thing to do. He has convinced himself, to his very core. He aims his pistol, his hand becoming steady. This is it. No turning back.
    During this moment, luck had a different plan. Isaac’s phone begins to ring, Rose calling after a rough morning. Everyone jumps in surprise. Isaac fires, the gun echoing across the walls of the mill, deafening them all. Tomas roars in pain, the bullet hitting his right side as he turns around.
    Tomas opens fire, bullets deflecting off the metal and almost hitting Isaac. Isaac slides across the floor, towards the door and away from the hole. He pulls out his phone and hangs up, denying her call. He pulls open the door, stepping onto the walkway.
    “Charlie! Help!” Tomas leans against a machine, gripping his side as blood leaks out.
    Charlie doesn’t answer, and makes his way across the right wall. He needs to kill Tomas fast, and bury his secret with him. Isaac cannot know he killed Alex. No one should know. Charlie can see Tomas through a crack leaning against the machine, looking around.
    “Charlie dammit! Charlie!” Tomas grips tight to his pistol, aiming it around.
    Charlie aims his pistol through the crack in the machines, ready to fire. He fires, the bullet scraping his arm.
    “Fuck!” Tomas takes cover from Charlie, realizing.
    “Charlie! Who’s side are you on?! Are you trying to kill me?!”
    Tomas goes quiet, ready to shoot anyone, even Charlie. He can hear running above on the walkway, causing him to aim above, looking frantically. Isaac can see the stairs are too open, and will get him shot. Below the walkway is a pile of rotted wood, which Isaac takes his chance. Isaac leaps off the walkway, causing Tomas to fire.
    The bullet misses Isaac as he falls onto the wood, out of view. Tomas keeps holding his side, becoming frantic. He knows this could be his end, betrayed.
    “Charlie you bastard! You stabbed me in the back?! After everything?! For what?! What secrets do I know?! Is this about Alex?!” Tomas screams, moving across the left wall.
    Charlie panics. Knowing that if Isaac hears him, it is all over. Charlie runs back across the wall, after hearing Tomas stepping on glass. Tomas opens fire towards Charlie, hearing him run. The bullet hits Charlie’s leg, causing him to collapse.
    Tomas saw Charlie, and begins to advance towards him. Charlie slides across the floor trying to take cover beside the saw blade machine. The floor panels are sealed shut, making the basement locked tight. Tomas stops beside the machine Charlie is next to, ready to fire.
    “Last chance, Charlie. Nowhere to run.” Tomas aims at the pistol above the concrete platform, waiting for him to get up.
    Isaac can see Tomas, and quietly advances. He aims his pistol, opening fire. The bullet rips through his chest, blood spraying across the saw blade and across the platform. Isaac runs up, as Tomas begins to turn around. Isaac grabs his arm, causing him to fire in the air. He shoves Tomas into the saw blade, slicing his back open.
    Tomas falls onto the platform, dropping his gun and breathing his last. Charlie slowly stands up, gripping his leg. Tomas’s dead eyes look up toward Charlie, looking into his soul. Charlie’s stomach drops, the death of his partner setting in. Isaac grins, having a taste for blood. Power. Isaac can feel a flood of overwhelming power flow through him. He loves this feeling.
    “What a mess. What a fucking mess.” Charlie squeezes his leg, closing his eyes.
    Isaac pulls off Tomas’s coat, handing it to Charlie.
    “Wrap this around your leg, slow the bleeding. It looks like he grazed it and you should be fine. You just need to clean it.” Isaac picks up Tomas’s pistol.
    The number is scraped off. Ten mimileter.
    “I have a friend. He will help me if I need.” Charlie thinks of Dante, who is loyal to him before everyone else.
    “We need to clean this mess up, and get his car out of here. Is it his car?” Isaac asks.
    “No. Probably Dante’s. He borrowed the car. I’ll take it back and leave my truck with Fedor. He will help us clean this up. Let’s go get him.” Charlie limps out of the mill, Isaac following.
    They drive their cars back, and offer to pay him to help them. He agrees and brings bleach with a tarp. Charlie cleans his leg in the bathroom, not as bad as he thought. They all drive back in Isaac’s car, Fedor joining them.
    “Have you ever cleaned up a body?” Fedor asks Isaac, as he drives.
    “No. I’m sure you have?”
    Fedor laughs, shaking his head.
    “More than I can count.”
    They arrive again, bringing Fedor and bleach to the body. Tomas lies on the platform, untouched. Blood is everywhere, covering the floor and machines.
    “Сукин сын!” Fedor swears at the blood, shaking his head.
    He sets the bucket of bleach down next to the tarp, looking at the body.
    “Who threw him into the saw blade?” Fedor looks at them.
    “I did.” Isaac replies, grinning.
    “Tупица. Stop grinning. I thought you said you could shoot.” Fedor shakes his head, rolling the tarp across the floor.
    He tosses the body on the tarp, rolling it up and taping it closed.
    “I will have my men dispose of the body, the right way. We just need to clean the blood off. It will still remain, but to the naked eye will be gone. Police will have no reason to check.”
    Fedor begins dumping bleach on the blood, including Charlie’s blood. They scrub for hours, the blood slowly disappears from the naked eye. The blood finally gone and they smile.
    “Job well done. For the cleaning and removing the body… two thousand dollars seems fair enough.” Fedor turns to them.
    Isaac and Charlie look to each other, both opening their wallets. They both give a thousand, making Fedor smile.
    “Good business. I like getting my hands dirty.”
    Isaac drives Fedor back with the body, sealed shut to not bleed in his trunk. Charlie takes Dante’s car and they help Fedor carry the body inside.
    “My men are on their way, they will take him by boat and remove the body. No one will ever find him,” Fedor turns to Isaac, “Next time, just shoot. No shoving into saw blade. Tупица.”
    They shake hands and exit his home, stopping at the cars.
    “Robert will know what I’ve done, very soon. He will know something is wrong. Isaac, we need to act fast.” Charlie leans against the car.
    Isaac stops by his car, thinking.
    “We have the gear we need. We just have to finish our plan. What time are they at the hideout?”
    “They are usually there during the night. Some leave around two. We need to attack at midnight.” Charlie replies, thinking about killing Robert.
    “I suggest you finish taking care of your wound and give it more attention. I will check in with my girlfriend and make sure she’s okay. I don’t want to lose her over this. She just can’t know. Tomorrow night we will meet up somewhere close to the bridge, go by foot.”
    Isaac opens his car door, ready to leave.
    “I will take Dante’s car back, and have him look at my wound. We will call and find a place to meet around ten. Tomorrow night we will stop by, and see how Robert is doing. Let’s shoot this bastard.” Charlie wants to see Robert get what he deserves.
    They enter their cars, and go their separate ways. Isaac looks at his phone, several texts from Rose and one missed call. Isaac calls her, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. She might be eating dinner in her dorm room.
    “Isaac? I’ve tried to contact you all day!”
    “I’m sorry Rose. I was… well I’m not going to lie. I was thinking of Alex all day, and felt weak. I just couldn't do anything.”
    “Isaac,” Rose sighs over the phone, “I know you miss Alex. I really do! But you can’t put your feelings for him between us. The funeral was two days ago. I don’t want you to forget about me. I’m sorry if it sounds selfish but I’m here for you. I want to help you get over this together! Not have this drive us apart.” Rose waits for his response.
    “I’m sorry Rose, I promise I won’t let it drive us apart. I’m just… well it will take me a few days to move past this. I promise I’ll try to contact you more.”
    Rose sighs and waits a few moments before speaking.
    “Relationships take work. I’m willing to wait until you start feeling better. But Isaac, I won’t be around forever. Just please work with me during this time too.”
    Isaac considers her request, accepting.
    “I will. Love you.”
    “I love you, too.”
    Isaac hangs up, focusing on his driving. He can picture Tomas’s face as he drove his back into the saw. He feels powerful. He feels free. The taste of blood tastes good on his tongue, ready to kill again. He will avenge Alex, at any cost. He believes Alex would want this. He believes he is the good guy. The two pistols feel heavy against his chest, reminding him.