Page 41 of Retribution

“Hey,” I called, sheathing my stiletto and aiming my gun.

He backed away and lifted his cane, pressing some trigger in the handle to detract a sharp pointy blade.

“Ha, I see you got a weapon.”

Blam! The sound of the magnum echoed through the space as I hit him in the knee. I didn’t want to kill him because I was saving him for Sandy or Blaze.

He sank to his knees. “Arrrrghhh!”

I walked over and stood over him, grabbing the cane and smacking him upside the head. He bowed low, gripping his head.

“Awww, you’re worshiping your queen.”

He raised his upper body, looking up at me and reaching behind his back. I aimed for his wrist and let off a round. The slug hit the bone and shattered it.

“Aaaaahhhhhhh!”

“Ooops,” I apologized. “Didn’t mean to disfigure your hand.”

People were heard outside the compartment and footsteps approached.

“What the fuck?” someone exclaimed.

I whipped around to see Blaze, Luca and Sandy staring at me.

“Ooops,” I said again, looking at Luca with my puppy eyes.

Sandy and Blaze moved at the same time, coming to pull Santiago up. That’s when they saw his knee wound.

“Damn, Ciara. You messed him up really bad,” Blaze said.

“I wanted to save him for Sandy.”

Sandy came over to me. “I’d be honored if you take care of him for me.”

“My pleasure.”

I knew they all wanted to see me in action, and I loved the attention. I looked around the space for anything I could use instead of my knife or my gun. Then it hit me, the drugs. He was manufacturing that crap for the streets.

“Luca,” I called, jutting my head at the table.

Blaze leaned back against the wall, watching me keenly as I took a package and ripped it open with my blade. Luca took hold of Santiago’s head and held it backwards.

Using the handle of the cane, I slapped his mouth. He bawled and opened wide, allowing me to dump a portion of the powder inside it. When he tried to spit it out Luca clamped his hand over his nose and mouth, sealing them shut.

He could not pry Luca’s hand away because he was busy using his good hand to nurse his shattered wrist. Santiago gulped and swallowed while searching for air. A few minutes later, I dumped a bigger dose into his mouth. I relished watching as he began to froth and spit. As the drugs worked, Santiago lie thrashing on the floor.

“Is he going to die?” I asked Luca. “Will that amount kill him?”

“No, but the whole package might.”

“Open up,” I instructed. I wanted to empty the entire packet in the m’fucker. “Why does his eyes look like that?”

“I think he’s dead,” Luca announced.

“He’s not moving.”

Blood was oozing from his nose and mouth.