Page 4 of The Brigadier

“I’m sorry, sir. I really am. I just… My addiction got away from me and I owed this guy a lot of money and I tried to pay him back and get clean. I really did. Ask my guys.” Now I understood what he was saying although his pronunciation of the various words was off given his swollen lip.

I glanced at my two men, Maxim rolling his eyes. It was always the same. They were sorry. They’d never do it again. They’d make it up to me. Right. If I had a dime for every excuse I’d heard, I’d be wealthy as hell.

Wait, I already was.

“Who did you owe money to?” I could tell Charlie didn’t want to tell me. At least he didn’t want to be considered a snitch. I guess that was something to say about his character. I nodded to Danny, who smacked him across the face. I could tell Maxim would have preferred a chance, but I wasn’t ready to hear the guy scream. Even now, it was unnerving as fuck.

I almost felt sorry for him. Drugs were a beast. When they got ahold of you, they didn’t let go.

Charlie was now blubbering, which I hated almost as much as the apologies. I held my weapon in both hands in front of me as I walked closer. “Who do you owe money to?”

The guy sniffed and did his best to look me in the eyes like a real man. “Bobby the Snake.”

Wow. The kid had it bad for heroin. Bobby was a notorious loan shark, the dude almost as twisted in his methods of convincing his ‘clients’ to pay back what was owed as I could be. With a fifty percent interest tacked on that exponentiated every week. “How the fuck did you get involved with this dude?”

Tears had found their way streaming down Charlie’s cheeks. He sniffed a couple more times before answering. “I sold my daddy’s watch at his store. One thing led to another.”

Which meant Bobby had sniffed out why. I shook my head. I actually felt sorry for the kid. That was very rare for me. I glanced at Danny. Sometimes we didn’t need to talk. We’d known each other long enough that we could communicate very well through nods, eye movement, and gestures. When he realized I wasn’t going to kill the kid, he was the one now rolling his eyes.

But he knew I rarely offered a second chance to anyone. Any single person, including women who fucked with me. Not that I laid a hand on them. I just sent them packing. I crouched down in front of Charlie, thinking about the little boy he had that I knew he adored.

I rubbed my eyes, hating this job. “Charlie. Here’s what we’re going to do. As you might imagine, you need to be punished for your actions. I simply cannot allow you to get off scot free. I have a reputation to uphold. However, this is your lucky as fuck day. But I’m going to tell you this. If you dare fuck with me again, there won’t be enough left of you for sharks to feed on. Do you understand?”

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Thank you, sir. I will be your best employee ever. I will make it up to you. I promise. I swear on my mother’s grave. God rest her soul.”

I waved my hand. “However, you’re going to tell me how much you’re into Bobby for.”

He sniveled again and nodded. “Fifty large.”

Well, fuck. That was enough money that his kid could be in danger. Also not allowed in my world. I guess I’d need to take care of the buzzard once and for all. “Alright. Your problem is going to go away. But because of that, I’m sending you to a live-in rehabilitation center I know of. Long term and highly effective. My expense. You will owe me and one way you’re paying me back is by staying clean. One hiccup and you’re gone.”

“Oh, God. Oh…” His wails were getting far too loud.

“Enough.”

“My son. I just…”

“I’ll make certain he’s doing okay. Now, take your punishment like a man. Alright?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

I rose to my feet, beckoning Danny toward the door.

“You really want to do this?” Danny asked, halfway amused.

“Yeah. My single get-out-of-jail-free card this year. Drop him off at Shepherd Farms. I’ll call ahead.”

“Wow, that is expensive.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll get it out of him.”

“In the meantime, what punishment do you suggest?”

I thought about it and noticed the group of sharp knives that had recently been washed. “He loses a finger, but I don’t want theother dinner guests interrupted. Make sure and gag him. And don’t let Maxim do it, for fuck’s sake.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, he is getting more aggressive nowadays. I’ll handle it.”

I clapped him on the arm and sighed. “I hate this crap. I thought we were past needing to resort to violence.”