Page 8 of The Torturer's Target
“I’ll kill that motherfucker for no fee at all, sir, and I’ll do it with a big smile on my face,” Boss huffed and stared out of the tinted, tempered glass window.
“I know you would, Bose. I know you would.” A smile feathered Max's lips.
An hour later, Max stood in front of the large, ornate front door of his home, and with deft fingers, he entered his security code. A low beep echoed through the entryway as he waited three seconds for the door to unlock. He pushed it open and entered a well-lit foyer with marble flooring stretching out before him, leading to the upper part of the mansion.
As he stepped into the living room, he could hear Zeus barking in excitement. The dark-furred pit bull rushed to welcome him, wagging his white-stained tail with elation. Whining and barking cheerfully at him. Max smiled at Zeus and knelt down to his height, opening his arms. Zeus jumped on him, placing his paws on Max's chest, and licking his face.
“Hey, boy, did you miss me?” Max greeted, petting Zeus affectionately.
Max had had Zeus since he was a pup, and now he was nearly six years old. Zeus was one of his favorite things in the world.
“Let’s head upstairs,” Max said to Zeus, and got up from the floor. Zeus followed him, his tail wagging behind him excitedly.
When they reached Max's room, Max opened Zeus’ treat jar and gave him some special treats, which Zeus gobbled up almost instantly. Max let Zeus stay on his bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
“Gotta wash off the stress and germs from work,” Max took off his damp clothes and stepped into the shower.
Tesiera was dressed in her usual all black leather outfit. Straps and sheaths crossed her leather pants so she could keep her weapons handy. She tied her fiery hair in a ponytail.
He was home now. It was time to strike, and she was ready for it.
She tucked a Sig in small of her back, and another in a shoulder holster. Her leather jacket provided ample concealment. She shoved a stun gun in one jacket pocket, and a small can of pepper spray in the other. She had a holster strapped to each thigh each with semiautomatic pistols nestled inside. Tesiera tucked a small revolver in an ankle holster.
Underneath the hem of her trousers was a hidden sheath with one of her favorite knives. She had a collection of blades ranging from daggers, bushcraft knives, boot knives, SEAL knives, and Bowie knives; name a knife and she’d pull it from her collection and demonstrate a hundred ways she could use it to end a life.
But this one was her favorite; she’d be delighted to use it to slit that bastard neurosurgeon’s throat.
“This fucker is going to hell tonight.” Venus smirked as she watched Tesiera strap on her weapons. She knew Tesiera never went out without a weapon, but she was suited up with nearly ten now, just for one mission.
Venus. That’s all anybody knew her as, because she didn’t have a known surname. In fact, no one knew where she came from. She suddenly showed up at Big Cat’s house one evening over fifteen years ago, and he’d been training her ever since. Tesiera first met her when she was thirteen, and Venus beat her in hand-to-hand combat. But fifteen years and hundreds of duels later, Tesiera could easily best her.
Now Venus a member of Big Cat’s Soldiers and on her way to being the first female capo he had ever had. Tesiera liked her because of her strength and her intelligence. She had brown hair and hazel eyes, and her ebony skin was inked with numerous tattoos—bizarre and so intricate that no one could really grasp its concept.
And she liked to smoke.
“So, what’s your plan? How are you going to end him?” Venus asked and took a puff of her joint.
“I’m going to sneak into his house. And then I’ll kill him,” Tesiera answered, still working on her hair.
“Do you think it will be that simple?”
No, Tesiera didn’t think it would be that simple. She had shadowed the man for two weeks and confirmed that his two bodyguards were highly skilled just like the files had said. Tesiera was never one to underestimate her enemies, so she planned to kill the surgeon before both men could sense what was going on. She had spent the last two weeks digesting every bit of information her uncle gave her, tracking down Max and following him. She will succeed tonight.
“I will kill him tonight,” she repeated with conviction. The job should be done in less than an hour. She’d torture him so that he’d beg her to end him while squealing like a pig. She’d make sure of that.
Venus chuckled, taking another drag. “What about his two bodyguards? They live in that mansion, right?”
“I have everything planned out. Unless they sleep in the same fucking bed with him, they won’t know I’m there until it is too late,” Tesiera shrugged.
Venus believed her. If anyone could sneak into a heavily guarded mansion and assassinate its owner, it would be Tesiera. She took another drag from her joint, and as she exhaled, she said, “Finally, after twenty years, you’ll avenge your father’s death, huh? I’m happy for you.” She was always cautious when approaching the topic of Tesiera’s father’s death; she knew how much Tesiera hated talking about it or hearing anyone talk about it.
Tesiera nodded curtly. She picked up the last gun, checking its magazine before slipping it into her holster and strapping it on. Next, she picked up her favorite knife, running her thumb over its cold, sharp blade, before tucking it into the sheath at her ankle. Turning, she walked out of her apartment.
The countdown to Max's final moments had now begun.
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CHAPTER 4. THE MISSION.