Chapter 1 - Trial
I stood where they told me to.
The room felt ominous. Too quiet, like the kind of quiet that pressed against your ears.
Ronan Callahan and his second in command Gabriel stared at me almost….accessing.
"Name?" Gabriel asked
"Agnes Fenton"
A pause.
"Where are you from"
"Small town in Ohio"
"Family?"
"None"
"Your placement here was established how?"
"I was brought in with the rest of the batch from the raid on the blood cartel"
He paused again. Stared at Ronan. Then stared back at me and opened his mouth to say something else but Ronan beat him to it.
"Do you wish to get revenge for your boss?" He asked, eyes calm without a hint of emotion.
"No"
"Why not?"
"I do not see the purpose towards such endeavor"
"So your loyalty is flickering?" He asked again, his brow raised.
"My loyalty lies to whoever I'm under, I do not chase frivolous things such as revenge" I said face straight.
"Do you believe what happened to your boss was unfair?"
"There's no such thing as life being fair or unfair, the weak simply die because they are weak while the strong and powerful conquer because they are strong"
"So you believe he died because he was weak?"
"Yes"
He stared at me in thought.
"Do you know what kind of a man I am?"
I swallowed. My heart slammed relentlessly in my chest.
"I've heard rumors, although I do not care for them, so long as I have a roof over my head and food to eat, I do not care if it was given to me by satan himself"
"If I ordered you to kill someone you liked....would you hesitate?"
Fuck.
"Emotions are fleeting and unnecessary, I do not indulge in things like that."
"You don't sound afraid," he said.
"It is an unnecessary feeling since it doesn't change the outcome of a situation"
Ronan smiled a slow predatory smile. Then raised his hand, his finger moved and Gabriel stared at him and nodded his head.
"Bring him," he said into the walkie.
I stared confused. Soon enough a man walks in with a boy in tow.... The f*****g bastard. He knew me and Mikey had become close, he was only a child and I practically felt this need to mother him. Mikey was led to stand in front of me and a gun was set on the table in front of me.
"Kill him," Ronan ordered.
The boy's head snapped towards him in shock.
And he immediately dropped to his knees, begging.
"Please Mr Callahan, I haven't done anything wrong"
I hesitated for a second. Was he f*****g serious.
Too bad I didn't have time to think.
I picked up the gun and moved towards him swiftly.
There were 3 things involved in this situation.
One - he committed a crime, if he did, it meant his death was on him due to his foolishness.
Two - it was either Ronan Callahan was a sick man who enjoyed things like these.
Three - it was either this was a test and there was a 9 out of 10 probability that the gun wasn't loaded.
I hoped it was the latter.
I stood in front of him and he stared at me, eyes wide in fear and plea. I didn't think, I pulled the trigger and a click sounded.
Mikey had his eyes shut tight. Tears streamed down his face.
Relieve tried to surface but I pushed it down.
I stared at Ronan and Gabriel.
"It's not loaded" I stated.
"It isn't," he replied.
The boy was led out of the room in a shaky mess.
"You did well but you hesitated" Ronan stated.
I didn't reply.
"What do you know about the Bone cartel?"
"I know you're a powerful man Mr Callahan and I heard you only choose those at the top of their game, I only wish to be under the strong"
He smiled almost unnoticeable. Then leaned back
"We'll see how long this attitude of yours keeps you alive" he said lastly and soon enough I was led out of the room.
I made my way back towards the room I was called from, a sigh of relief left my lips softly. But dread followed close behind it, heavy and persistent.
Phase 1 was complete, I was in.
Which meant the real work was just beginning.
I needed to update my team, let them know I had passed the first stage.
That I was still alive.
But everything felt different now.
I'd caught word earlier that Callahan was hunting a mole within his crew. Interrogating the new recruits was just a scratch on the surface.
How he'd gotten wind of it so quickly, I didn't know, but he was Ronan Callahan after all.
All I knew was that nothing here happened without a reason. Everything had descended into chaos, ruining our plans.
Schedules changed. Guards doubled. Movement restricted. The way I saw things, there was no way Callahan was leaving any stone unturned. A mole had to be provided to quench his thirst for the hunt, else he'd just have to kill every single one of his new recruits and the plan would all go to shambles.
As if it wasn't already…. communication with my team had been cut off days ago by necessity, not choice.
They'd be worried, I knew that much.
A guard stood outside the room door and opened letting me in, the moment I entered, conversations died down.
Every head turned towards me.
I kept my expression neutral, my pose relaxed.
I was just another recruit who'd survive her first encounter with the devil.
Inside, my pulse hammered violently.
I just needed one opening, one moment, and I would find a way to let them know I was still breathing.
I took a seat on the floor close to Mikey, he didn't look at me. As expected.
“I had to, you know right,” I said softly.
“I know,” he said quietly. “It just scared me how easy it was for you”
“I calculated the decision before I took it,” I replied. “if you had done something then it really couldn't have been helped, I'd have been your best bet to an easy death Instead of the torture you'd face. If you didn't then I knew it was all a test” I said smiling.
Purposely leaving out the fact that he really could have died if it was neither of the two.
He smiled back at me.
“You have your way with words,” he said.
“Come here” I said, stretching my legs out flat and urging him forward.
“You look like you could use a bit of sleep”
He gingerly pushed himself closer as he lay down on my lap.
I had a feeling he was a victim of trafficking, when you find them this young, you just know how.
I let my head fall on the wall behind me. If everything went right, he wouldn't be here by the end of year, I'd make sure of that.