The Cunning

78

"Jase, he didn't get in the car!" Tommy shouted, bursting through the front door at half-eleven that evening. Jase looked up from his phone. He hadn't heard anything in the past two hours and now he knew why.

"What do you mean he didn't get in the car?" he asked, his body stiffened. Tommy shook his head, raking his fingers through his sweat-damp hair.

"He didn't get in his car. He must have been tipped off. He left in someone else's car-" he replied. Jase grit his teeth. Only one person would flake so quickly.

"Where's Harvey?" Tommy's eyes widened when the pin dropped. Jase growled in fury, launching the trap phone across the room. Luckily the Nokia was tougher than any touch screen, hitting the wall and dropping to the floor in all its brick-like glory. "That sly little cunt, I knew we couldn't fucking trust him." He pulled a metal box out from under the sofa, taking his keys and unlocking it. Inside was the sister to the Glock in his car, and six magazines. "Adam's still out there. Get him to find Harvey. I want him back here, now," he demanded, loading the gun and pulling the slider back.

Half an hour later, Adam was dragging Harvey through the front door, kicking and screaming and embarrassingly effortless for Adam to overpower. Harvey was all flailing limbs and red faced. Apologies tumbled through his lips in desperate gasps, but not a single denial. He knew he'd fucked up, this was a pathetic attempt at damage control.

"Please, Jase, you have to listen! They caught me snooping, I had to tell them; they were going to kill me!" he shouted, visibly shaking as he was thrown onto the sofa. He made to leap up but a swift glare from Adam pinned him in place. He sank back down, eyes wide, shimmering with tears. He looked as scared as the girls that had been thrown on the same sofa. "Please, Jase, I didn't know what else to do, I panicked-"

Jase sighed, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. "Shut up," he said. The calmness in his voice only unsettled Harvey further. He had heard stories about things Jase had done but he never expected to be on the wrong side of him. Harvey took a few deep breaths, clocked the gun in Jase's hand and lost control of his bladder with a childish whimper.

Adam laughed at the dark patch that spread on Harvey's joggers but no one else muttered a word. All eyes remained on Jase, waiting for his next move.

"You knew the risks you were taking coming into this. You begged me to involve you, you even tried to convince me you were ready for a bigger role," Jase said, lighting a cigarette, "Yet, the second push comes to shove, you rat." He looked at Sam. "Go and get Madison." Sam's brows furrowed.

"Why?" he asked.

Jase took a long drag on the cigarette. Madison's words about lions listening to the opinions of sheep had rested heavily on his mind since she'd said them. He was worried that the mistake he'd made wasn't in his treatment of her; it was in taking note of others. Showing them their thoughts mattered. He was handing out power to nobodies.

Before he made any drastic decisions, he wanted to see what Madison was made of, how far was she willing to go? If she wanted to play, he would give her one final chance to back out by showing her what happened when someone crossed him. And if she didn't react to the situation the way he wanted, well, then he would just kill Harvey and Madison then and there. No one would question his intentions again. He hoped it didn't come down to it but he was prepared to pull the trigger should Madison play the good Samaritan. He could handle her wanting freedom for herself, he wouldn't tolerate her trying to save everyone around them, it was a nuisance.

"She likes games, I want to see if she likes this one," Jase replied. Sam left and returned a few minutes later, Madison strolling in behind him.

"You wanted me?" she asked, her eyes going from Jase to Harvey who was damp from various bodily fluids, hoping Jase was more bark than bite but knowing deep down that wasn't the case. Madison could feel she was about to witness the extent of Jase's cruelty. She braced herself.