Pretty Little Weapon

Viper Gang

The green eyed man assesses me thoroughly with amusement.

And before I can react he crouches down and scoops me up from the curb like I weigh nothing.

Panic floods through me, and with the little energy left I claw at his arm, and hit him in the chest.

He doesn’t even grunt. He just tucks me against his side like I am a mildly inconvenient package and walks back to the car.

“Put me down.” I say, though I’m not sure I could walk if he were to put me down. “Where are you taking me to? Somebody help!”

My screams echo, and it’s obvious there’s no one to rescue me in the middle of the night.

The man clucks his tongue with annoyance. Faster than I can blink, he digs his fingers into the side of my neck.

My eyes roll to the back of my head, and I’m knocked out.

When I come to, the first thing I see is a white ceiling. I stare at it for a few seconds, before I remember the man abducting me by the side of the road.

I practically leap out of the oddly comfortable bed I was placed in. I stumble a bit, my legs having just recovered from the trek.

I move to the door and try to open it. But it doesn’t budge. I must have been locked in.

There is nothing in the room a camera mounted above the door. It’s red light blinks and is focused on me.

Knowing that a camera was monitoring me while I was unconscious creeps me out. But being carried off by a stranger takes the cake of creepiness.

I face the camera, and begin to talk to it. “I know you can see me. I’d like to know where I am.”

The camera blinks and nothing happens. I feel ridiculous for expecting anything otherwise.

But how would I know how security cameras work? Alessandro had shown me one in passing, and it’s not like the Crimson Gang allowed the lower ranks using technology!

I sit back down on the bed and wait, because there is nothing else available to do.

The door opens twenty minutes, or what feels like twenty minutes later. A woman stands in the frame. She is around my age. Maybe a year or two older. Her hair is dyed a vibrant shade of purple.

She looks me over once, then smiles. “You’re awake. Come on. Let’s go.”

If I weren’t abducted, I would’ve instantly followed her because of how gentle she sounds.

Instead, I bristle. “Where am I? And let’s go where?”

By nature I’m meek, so I try my best to look menacing. But I must come off more as a wounded little animal, because she looks at me sympathetically and says.

“Don’t be afraid. No one’s going to hurt you. Just come with me, and you’ll see.” She nods outside the door, and I realise there’s a rowdy hallway outside.

When she turns and starts walking, I begin to cautiously follow her.

I’m taken aback by how busy the hallway is. And even more surprised when it leads to an open field.

I had grown up thinking Crimson Estate was the most imposing thing in existence.

Witnessing the massive structure before me, I realise how wrong I’d been. All over the walls, are electric monitors. Above the field, is a glass dome.

People move about focused on their business, and I notice they all look menacing. Most have weapons at their side.

Is this another gang?

The woman leads me through a set of green doors, and we step into what looks like a replica of the assembly hall I was kicked out of, hours ago.

Except this is bigger, with a far taller stage.

People are assembled, murmuring to their neighbour. On stage, is a burly man. Kneeling with his arms tied behind his back.

“What’s happening?” I ask the woman that brought me here.

She glances at me with mild surprise, like she forgot I was there. “Execution of a traitor.”

“Execution?”

She nods, eyes focused on the stage.

Another man appears. He’s equally brawny, but more slim. A scar runs down one side of his face, and I can only imagine what horrific event left it behind.

“That’s Paul. He’s the second in command.” The woman explains to me.

I’d like to ask what exactly he was the second in command to, but I clamp my mouth shut as Paul steps on the alleged traitor’s fingers.

The sound of his bones grinding is awful, but for some reason I don’t look away.

When Crimson tortured traitors, it was never this animalistic.

Paul kicks the traitor in the ribs several times. He stamps his boots into the centre of the man’s face, and I’m surprised he hasn’t begun to beg for mercy.

“Begging for mercy is only for the weak.”

I realise I must have said the last part out loud, because the woman responds. “And a man who leaks information to the Crimson Gang doesn’t deserve mercy.”

Her docile expression is replaced with a hard look. She says the words “Crimson Gang” with so much venom.

I feel threatened knowing, the woman is spiteful towards my former gang. But I keep my mouth shout and listen to her rant.

“Crimson is made up of low lives. And that’s saying something, given I’m a criminal myself.”

The malice in her tone turns into a humorous one, and I can only nod as I absorb her words.

There are various mafia gangs across the country. But Crimson has dominated for decades, while the smaller ones pay tribute to Crimson or stay out of its way.

Only one gang has ever grown enough to rival Crimson.

The Viper Gang, which was always causing trouble for Alessandro and his family. In particular, their leader was known to be quite vindictive.

“Which gang is this?” I ask, though I already guess it’s one of the smaller ones. I run a mental list of their names.

“Viper.” She says.

The imaginary list stops. “What?”

She looks at me with mild amusement. “This is the Viper gang.”

To say I’m shocked is an understatement. My mouth hangs open, processing the information when a third man appears on stage.

“That’s our leader. Don Felix.” She practically squeals his name, and stares at the stage with awe.

Around me, I can see the women sigh dreamily as he walks towards the traitor. That’s when I see him clearly.

From how reputable the Viper Gang was, and the grotesque way Alessandro described its leader, I had imagined the Don would be someone old.

But the Don isn’t old. Not even middle aged. He’s probably a few years older than me. Tall and a dark-haired, with a jaw that looks like it was sculpted.

“Paul, it’s enough.”

The moment he speaks, the scarred man stops bashing the traitor. Normally I’d be afraid of how authoritative he sounds, but a feeling of familiarity washes over me.

Almost like I’d heard the voice somewhere.

It’s when he gets to the centre of the stage and looks down at the battered man, that I see the colour of his eyes.

They’re a deep shade of green.

The same ones that had looked down at me last night with amusement.

My brain catches up half a second later. It’s him. The leader of the Viper gang picked me up from the side of the road!

I don’t have time to finish processing that , because the man, who’s apparently Felix, draws a gun from his side.

He c***s it, making the hall go absolutely silent.

“Now everyone. I think you’ve had enough watching Paul pulverise Carlos. Don’t you think we should cut good old Carlos some slack?”

No one says anything, and he laughs as if he’d just made a joke.

Then he raises the gun, aiming it at traitor Carlos. Without flinching, he shoots the man square in the head.

Blood splatters all over his clothes and he smiles.

It is a terrifying smile, not because it is cruel, but because it looks genuine. His eyes are filled with satisfaction as he places his gun back in its holster.

The hall erupts into cheers, and I feel a swoop in my stomach, urging me to hurl.

I’d never witnessed something so brutal at Crimson.

Felix’s eyes move through the crowd. It almost looks like he’s taking in the sight of his people, but from the way they narrow, I can tell he’s looking for someone.

And then his green orbs land on me, and they stop searching.

His smile widens, and he calls everyone’s attention. The hall quiets down immediately, ready to listen to their Don.

“It’s unfortunate what Carlos chose to betray us to Crimson. A waste of someone we trusted.” He pauses, letting that land. “But today, while you were all preparing for this, I was picking up something far more valuable than Carlos ever was.”

His eyes are still on me, and I feel like prey cornered by a predator. Whatever he’s about to say, I can tell will determine the course of my life forever.

He lifts his finger, pointing directly at me. Four hundred faces turn to follow his gaze.

“Allow me to introduce the newest member of the Viper gang. Our secret weapon, Hazel Atwood.”