Page 23 of Carnage
I exhalewith relief as we pull up to Redlight. Finally something familiar. What we’re doing here in the middle of the day, I don’t know, but at least we’re not driving around the shittiest neighborhoods in Mistone interacting with some seriously scary dudes anymore.
I’m not sure why Leon brought me with him today. He never takes me on his rounds, but he’s being weirdly clingy today, and I hate it. I love it when he leaves the house. Even though there’s always one of his thugs guarding me, it’s better than being under his thumb, but today he insisted I come along.
“Tell Phil to let the guys in when they get here,” Leon says to No Neck. “And tell someone to grill me a steak. What do you want to eat?” he asks me.
“Um, a sandwich is fine.”
“Ham and cheese?”
“Sure.” I shrug. I’m not hungry, but I’ll eat just to have something to do.
What I really want is a peanut butter and banana sandwich, but they don’t have that here. It’s a weird little nightclub, not a diner. Maybe when we get back to the house, I can make abanana milkshake. That would taste good right now. Assuming Leon remembered my banana fetish and put them on the grocery order this week. He doesn’t always remember.
Inside the club, he leads me to the usual table and gestures for me to sit down while he excuses himself. It’s a rare moment of solitude, but I know it’s not real. There are eyes on me. There always are.
I fidget to avoid putting my arms or hands on the sticky table and try to ignore the thoughts of all the people and substances that might’ve graced the chair I’m sitting in. Eww.
Leslie, the owner’s sister, comes over to the table, offering me a smile. I bet she was pretty once, but all that’s left is the evidence of many years of drug abuse. She’s good now, I hear, but the effects linger. She has several missing teeth, scarred skin, and her black hair is straggly and thin. She looks just like Phil, except decades older, but to hear him tell it, she’s five years younger than him. She’s a “Don’t do drugs, kids” poster if I’ve ever seen one.
The time passes uneventfully, which is fine by me, but Leon is getting impatient waiting for the guys he’s expecting to show up. They’re exactly twenty minutes late, and he’s pissed. He keeps checking his phone and huffing while I pick at my sandwich. The bread is stale, which doesn’t exactly make me feel good about the freshness of the lunch meat. I sniffed it before I took a bite and it seemed okay, but one can never be too cautious when it comes to food safety.
“Where the fuck are Kyle and Loon?” Leon yells to no one in particular. “They’re never late and they asked for the meeting.”
“I don’t know, boss,” No Neck says. “I can call them.”
“I’ve been calling them, asshole. Something’s not right. I can feel it.”
“We’re safe here,” Phil says from the table beside us. He’s looking down at some paperwork, but he seems to be paying attention, at least.
“No shit,” Leon grumbles. “Fuck this.” He angrily tosses his napkin onto the table and grabs my arm, pulling me to my feet. “We’re leaving. If they can’t respect my time, they can fuck right off.”
My chest tightens as he practically drags me to the door. I hate it when he’s in a bad mood. He’ll almost certainly take it out on me, and what that looks like is becoming increasingly unpredictable.
“Leon, wait.” Phil hurries in our direction. “We didn’t go over the books yet.”
“I don’t care about that right now. I’ve been disrespected. I’m not sitting around here waiting for them to show up like they run me or something. Fuck that.”
He kicks the door, and when it swings open, we’re faced with an open SUV and two men groaning and nearly unconscious, beat to hell.
The scene shocks me as fear spreads through me. “Oh my god.”
Leon rushes over to them. “Kyle. What the fuck happened?”
Kyle, I guess, can barely open his swollen eyes. His lips part and Leon leans in closer. Kyle reaches up, feebly gripping Leon’s shirt in his fist. “G-g-go.”
I back away slowly as the terror intensifies. Leon was right. Something’s wrong.
“What, man? Go?”
Tires squeal to my left, and in a sudden whirl of activity, my world goes dark and my feet leave the ground. I scream as strong arms tighten around me and Leon yells my name. A gun goes off and I freeze with fear as I’m tossed into a vehicle and it takes off. I can still hear Leon yelling for me and the sound of car enginesstarting, but whoever is driving this one must be fast, because the other cars start to sound distant very quickly.
Oh fuck. I’ve been kidnapped.
Did one of Leon’s enemies decide to use me for ransom?
What’s going to happen to me now?
The hood over my head is pulled off gently, and then I’m staring into the warmest brown eyes I’ve ever seen.
