2:25 pm

Undisclosed warehouse, New York City

Nikki looked over at Simon who was wearing a scowl on his face as he continued staring at the same spot on the side of the warehouse that he had been looking at for the last 10 minutes when she finally said,

“What’s wrong Simon?” He blinked a couple of times and brought his gaze over to Nikki and looked into her eyes for several seconds before releasing his breath and saying,

“I don’t know. I haven’t felt right since we were briefed on this mission. I don’t know what it is. I have verified for myself what we were told during the briefing, I just have this weird feeling…” He looked back into Nikki’s eyes, “It’s probably nothing.” Nikki paused for several seconds considering his words and then she said,

“Maybe it’s because Dante isn’t here with you?” Trying to snap him out of the funk he had been in since they were briefed on their current target 3 days ago. The team had been tasked with eliminating Curtis Madison, one of the most powerful men in New York and also one of the elite political power brokers in the country. Madison was rumored to have control of candidates in both political parties in DC and he had powerful connections all over the country. The team had been informed that the main source of funds Madison used to swing political favor came from the sale of illegal arms, right here in the US. He was making millions selling illegal arms to street gangs and then backing political figures who were supposed to be working to eliminate gangs and illegal arms in the country. The hypocrisy alone was enough to get Simon’s full attention, but for some reason, he also had reservations about the job.

Simon looked back at her and said, “I would love to have him on this job with us, but that isn’t it. I verified all of the intel we were given and it is all as they said it was, I just have a feeling….” His attention moved to the blacked out SUV that just pulled into the parking lot. He activated his comm unit,

“Bravo 1, do you have eyes on the SUV that just pulled in?”

“Roger Alpha, switching to thermal now…reading 4 occupants.”

Simon thought for a few seconds and then hit the comm again,

“Bravo 2, do you see anything on the north side?” A few seconds later, they heard static and then,

“Negative Alpha, every..” They heard a grunt. The doors on the warehouse opened a second later and men dressed in full tactical gear came pouring out. At the same time, the doors opened on the SUV and 4 heavily armed men exited the vehicle. As men were still streaming out of the warehouse and moving towards both sides of the building, Simon keyed his comm,

“Bravo 2, pull back, it’s a trap.” Static was all he heard in response and then the comms went dead.

Simon flung his door open, grabbed Nikki’s hand and pulled her out the door right behind him as bullets began shredding their car. The two were crawling towards the dumpster just behind the car, glass and bullets flying all around them. Once they got behind the dumpster, Simon put his shoulder into it moving it forward about 2 feet until a manhole was visible underneath. He quickly pulled the cover back and Nikki was climbing down the ladder a second later. Simon followed right behind her after securing the cover back again and pulling the pin on the grenade he had already rigged to the opening. Once they got to the bottom, Simon grabbed her hand and activated a small flashlight and they headed toward the east as fast as they could. Simon had learned long ago to always have a back up plan and a way out of any situation. His preparation had saved him more than once and he would never have Nikki with him without one. The tunnels were a virtual maze and unless their pursuers knew where they were going, they wouldn’t find them. The booby trap would also buy them valuable time to make their escape. After several turns, they came to another ladder and climbed up and found their back up vehicle waiting for them. Simon was seething as they headed back to the Farm, not knowing the status of Dead and Lee.

3:50 pm

Ida, it turns out, is an acronym for Idiot Deserves Asskicking. At least, that’s what the Rage said after spending some quality time with the jaywalking jackass. I will give him this, the little fucker didn’t go down easy. Not that it helped him any in the punishment phase, it just isn’t a good idea to strike out at the Rage, he strikes back. Violently.

I got carried away in my last post talking about my mom and didn’t give you the Ragesearch results that brought the Rage and I to his doorstep in the first place. His behavior could have been enough, but you know we are thorough and wouldn’t waste the Rage’s talents on someone undeserving. No, Ida deserved all he got…. and then some. Do you know why he was walking in the first place? Several of you naturally went to drunk driving. Why wouldn’t you, that would have been my first guess, but we would have been wrong. Ida stepped it up a notch and went with vehicular assault. Second guess would be that he is a road rager himself, right? 0 for 2! He went after his ex-wife and her new boyfriend. With a vengeance. Both ended up in the hospital, the boyfriend for 6 weeks. Ida was granted a free stay on the state’s dime for 6 years for that little bit of work and had his driver’s license permanently revoked. Finally, the government did something right.

I’m pretty sure that he learned to be an even bigger dick while on the inside because after he got out, he dabbled in drugs, theft, and more assault. He spent a few more years as a guest of the state before walking into our life. He hasn’t had a legitimate job in over 10 years and the only ones that will miss him are his bartender, the strippers and I am sure, his parole officer. It’s a good thing because there isn’t much of him left to find.

Ida is a good 5 inches shorter than I am and maybe I got a little complacent due to his size, he isn’t physically imposing. I figured with his rap sheet, he wouldn’t miss an easy opportunity, so the Rage and I set one up for him. When Ida was leaving his favorite watering hole, we were waiting about 2 blocks from his house. When we saw him approaching, we went into stumbling drunk mode, making an easy mugging opportunity. You may cry entrapment, but if he wouldn’t have come after us, he would have been just fine. You know that’s not the truth, but there is some logic in the statement. Anyway, it was too much temptation for Ida and he slithered up behind us as we were approaching the entrance to an alley on our right, just as we expected he would. What we didn’t expect is that the little fuck weed was carrying a sap with him. That’s a piece of metal usually wrapped in some leather, its sole purpose to whack someone in the head with it. Check out Amazon if you need further description, we found some there.

We were waiting for him to lay hands on us and then we would have turned the tables, but instead, sap to the side of the head. Down we went, noticing some really interesting constellations we didn’t know existed until right then. He followed it up with a swift kick to the stomach and that turned out to be the exact wrong move….for him. When his foot contacted my stomach, I grabbed it with both hands and rolled as hard as I could right at him. His knee bent a good 120 degrees in the exact wrong direction and a very loud popping sound could be heard right before the high pitched wailing. I think that’s what I heard, my left ear is still ringing from the whack to the head. Don’t worry, the sap later ended up somewhere Ida really didn’t want it to. I quickly knocked the little shit out and once I regained my composure, and balance, I hefted him up and half dragged him to the transport that was parked further down the alley. He woke up once while I was trussing him up for his last ride to the Farm so I returned the favor and turned his little weapon back on him. The rest of the ride was very peaceful, only the sounds of “Nobody Gets Out Alive” by Kevin Rudolf and the Rage’s rendition of that song could be heard.

By the time we got back to the Farm, my head was pounding and the Rage was in no mood for any long drawn out punishment. He went for the surgical strike and placed the sap securely in a place that would give Ida the best posture for his obituary photo and then stuck him straight into the incinerator. We left him for about an hour to figure out where he was and then we turned it on….low… and went to bed. By the morning, there was a pile of ash no bigger than a hockey puck.

My lady pointed out the obvious to me the other day that no matter how hard we try, we aren’t going to make a dent on the dickhole driving population with our mission and, after last night, I can see her wisdom. I just don’t know if it’s worth it anymore….

11:20 am

The Farm

Nikki had been looking for Simon all over the farm and she finally found him inside the large barn, standing in the middle of the floor looking up at the ceiling. She walked up behind him and put an arm around him and laid her head on his shoulder for a few seconds before saying,

“I miss him. I miss Eve too. They both grew on me so fast, I didn’t realize just how much until they are not here every day.” She sighed and came around front of Simon and handed Eva to him. “We did the right thing Simon, they have a chance to have a real life now without all of the danger that follows us around. Besides, it’s not like we won’t be seeing them again.” She smiled a weak smile at him, trying to tamp down the sadness she was feeling. Simon put his arm around her shoulder and lead her out the door.

“I know we did the right thing, I just didn’t know it would hurt this much not having them around. I sure could have used his help last night.” He said, rubbing the side of his head. Nikki stopped walking and after a couple of steps, Simon stopped and turned around to face her. She looked him in the eye and said,

“Maybe now would be a good time to let your mission end. You know in the end, you aren’t really going to be able to change anything don’t you? As long as they make cars, and human beings drive them, there will be terrible driver’s out there. You have been given an opportunity to let the Rage help those that need his particular set of skills, there isn’t any need to risk yourself chasing after every idiot out there who can’t drive, especially with no one watching your back. Besides, we need you right here taking care of us.” She looked directly at Eva, who had Simon’s nose pinched in her tiny little hand and then back into Simon’s eyes. A smile broke out on Simon’s face, followed by a tear sliding down his cheek.

“If you don’t rescue my nose from this little Rager, the only thing I will be doing is getting some plastic surgery.” He said while gently prying those tiny little fingers off his reddened nose. “Maybe you’re right Butterfly. Are you ready to resume your role as the family chauffeur?” He said as he put his arm back around her shoulder and headed toward the main house. Nikki had a huge smile on her face as they walked toward the door and then she remembered why she was tracking Simon down in the first place.

“Rob called earlier and he wants us to call him back. There is a new mission for the team if you are up to it?” Now, Simon’s smile matched hers as they walked into the house and down to the Ops center to make the call.

2:55 pm

Sorry I have been out of touch for the last couple of days, but we have had a change in our family dynamic. I was able to convince D that he should pursue a different path than the Rage and I are on and he finally agreed. I am happy and proud that he took this step because it shows his development as a man. He did not want to stop working with me, but he has someone in his life that he cares about, maybe more than he cares about himself. He is making this decision for her and to be able to have a future together. They both have such amazing gifts and I am sure that whatever path they choose, they will be helping others along the way. I’m just having a tough time adjusting to them being gone. D doesn’t say much, but I can always feel his presence when he is around me and I miss it. He is also the most capable operative I have seen and he will be missed in the field. The Rage is a little grumpy too having lost his best buddy so Ida picked the worst time to walk into our life.

Before we get into that, I have a Q&A that I have been avoiding for a long time and since I opened up about my changing family dynamic, I will share more. The question is about my mom. I have mentioned in the past a lot about my dad and you know how he left this world but I have received several questions asking about my mom since I have mentioned her a couple of times. My mom was taken by cancer about 7 months after my wife was killed in the car crash that was meant to kill me. To say I was distraught would be like saying the Rage is a little bit grumpy. She was my rock and if I hadn’t had her to lean on when my wife was taken, I don’t think I would have come through it. She was a saint of a woman, to have lived with my dad all those years. I didn’t exaggerate with any description of the man, but my mom loved him anyway. Cancer is way more deadly and malevolent than the Rage ever could be. It is as brutal and relentless a killer that the world has ever seen. It took everything from her and left her nothing but a shell of her former self. The Rage was already starting to develop before she died, but once we saw her take that last breath, I knew right then that the Rage would be with me the rest of my life. I have worked very hard to direct that energy to doing good and I think, for the most part, I have succeeded.

Ida would disagree. I tried to show him the error in his ways and give him a way out, but apparently he had a new shovel and just wanted to dig himself a deeper hole. I sent him our usual message, through text this time to drive home the fact that I have access to that information, but Ida replied like a man who will shortly be down one digit…at the very least. I don’t know if it is the proliferation of violence in the media, movies, TV, and video games, but I’m pretty sure people think they are untouchable, that nothing can get to them. And then they meet the Rage and that look in their eyes when they finally understand the dire situation they are in is the only reality that they will ever know. It is the realization that they are going to die very shortly, very painfully, and there is nothing they can do about it. The Rage has a scrapbook of photos of those looks if you ever want to see it…. Hang out in the left lane long enough and you may be in there one day yourself!

We tried with Ida, but it was wasted effort on our part. We are prepping for a solo night Op right now. I hope Ida made some cookies for us, it might be a long night and the Rage likes to keep his energy up.

10:40 am

The Farm

Dante was hanging upside down from a rope he had secured in the rafters of the large barn. He spent a good amount of time up there, working things out in his mind. He liked the peace and had always enjoyed climbing. He found the skill worked well in the situations he found himself in with Simon on their missions so he stayed in practice. This morning, he was texting back and forth with Eve while she and Nikki were out running errands. He heard the barn door open on it’s well oiled hinges and Simon walked in and stopped in the middle of the floor directly below him. Without looking up, Simon sat down on the floor and then laid back, looking up at Dante. Dante secured his cell phone and waited. After several long seconds Simon finally said,

“I have been selfish with you Dante. When I first met you, I saw the skills that you had and I just went about making you better so you could help me. I justified doing so for the wrong reasons. What I should have done is taken the time to find out more about you and found a way for you to make a life that didn’t put you in harms way all the time.” Not liking the way this conversation was going, Dante nimbly unwound the line wrapped around his legs and quickly descended to the floor next to Simon. Before he could reply, Simon held up his hand and continued,

“I know what you are going to say Dante and I understand. It’s the only life you know, but it’s the easy way out…for both of us. You have so much more to offer the world than working with me, possibly, hell, probably, getting yourself killed in doing so. In the last several months, you have been shot and now you were just tortured.” Dante opened his mouth to argue when Simon added, “Eve took a bullet as well Dante. Is that the life you want for her, could you really live with yourself if something happened to her because she wanted to be with you and put herself in danger? How about if something happens to you, where would she be then?” Those piercing gray eyes cut right through to Dante’s core and he just blinked back at Simon, knowing what he was saying was the truth, but feeling like his guts were getting ripped out at the same time. Dante studied the floor for a few seconds as the silence hung in the air between the two men and then he looked up at Simon and asked,

“What am I going to do, this really is all I know? And besides, who is going to watch your back?” He pinned Simon with his questioning stare. A small smile crept up Simon’s face and he said,

“You don’t have to worry about me and you know it. Besides, I have Dead and Lee if I need them. What I don’t have is another one of you. If something happens to me, I need to know that Eva and Nikki will be taken care of and I know I can trust that you will take care of them. You need to be out of this life to be able to do that.” Dante let the words sink in, still reeling from the conversation. He shook his head and asked again,

“What am I going to do?” Simon studied the young man for a few seconds and then said,

“Go to school. You have an incredible talent with your art and you also understand computers and programming more than half of the college graduates out there. Go to school and refine those skills and find a way to help others with them. Maybe you can help kids that got sucked into the gang life like you did. Nikki has been spending a lot of time with Eve and found out that she would love to go to college and study journalism. She has a passion for writing and she has some real talent. She has spoken with some of her contacts at her college and after reviewing yours and Eve’s transcripts” a smile overtook his face, “they have agreed to let you start working with one of the professors for the rest of this semester to bring you up to speed and then you can start taking regular classes this summer.” He finished and then let Dante process what he said. Simon could see the conflict in Dante’s eyes and added,

“If I get into a situation where I need your unique skill set, I will call you. I also spoke with Rob McShay and once you complete college, you could go to work for the FBI if you have the desire to do so. They aren’t all door kickers, there are specialists for every discipline imaginable.” He put his hand on Dante’s shoulder, gave it a squeeze and stood up. He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the handle and said,

“Think about it and talk to Eve. If this is something you want to pursue, we need to get you up to the school shortly. Oh, by the way, you do realize it’s Valentine’s Day right? Did you get something for Eve?” He turned the handle and walked out the door. Dante was just standing there in the middle of the barn staring at the door. What just happened….. Valentine’s Day, holy crap, he totally forgot. He quickly put his gear away and went running out the door toward the car.

3:05 pm

I met Ida today. Before we get into that horror story, I want to touch on a Q&A. I have been getting lots of questions about D and Eve being part of our team. I have to admit, I have asked the same questions myself and I am still struggling to find the right answer. Maybe the only right answer is one that they have to answer for themselves. Both are adults and capable of making their own decisions. I have shared some of their past that brought them into my life and unless you have lived through what they have, you wouldn’t understand why they are here taking part in what we do. Well, most of what we do. Sometimes the Rage likes to work solo. I would be particularly weary of the solo Rage if I were you, he gets way more creative when left to his own devices. Hey, speaking of devices, he has some new ones. Maybe Ida will be lucky enough to experience them. Not Ida’s luck mind you, the Rage’s.

What did Ida do to garner all of the Rage’s attention? You will be happy to know we are entering into new territory with this 7 day old curdled toe jam. Ida is a pedestrian road rager. Our first. I was on the way to the store to pick up some more Huggies, the baby goes through them like the Rage goes through torture tools, when this dipshit walks out directly in front of the car. 50 feet ahead, is a pedestrian crosswalk clearly marked, but Ida thought he owned the parking lot and that he could cross anywhere he wanted. I hit the brakes and came to a shaking stop about a foot away from him. Did he show contrition and apologize, move out of the way and let me continue on….with the Right of Way? Nope, he cemented his reservation at the Farm by giving us the one finger salute. The Rage is wanting to know if I cut it off, dip it in liquid metal and then let it harden, if we can use it to beat Ida to death? I think he might be onto something here…. We can at least drive it through one eardrum and out the other if need be. I’m pretty sure we won’t encounter too much resistance in there.

The next question you are going to ask (because I know my Ragers so well) is how can I track him down since he wasn’t in a car. Easy enough, we borrowed the store’s security cameras and when he made his purchase, we tracked it to the credit card receipt that was generated at that moment. You have to love technology. I think Ida may disagree when the Rage tries to stuff an Ipad up his ass for flipping us the bird though. He doesn’t seem to concerned about the possible negative review Ida may give us. I think the Rage got cocky when we signed up for Amazon Prime and he gets all his toys without paying for additional shipping. Speaking of new toys…. You will just have to keep reading.

1:25 pm

The Farm

Simon was at his workstation, Eva in her usual place in his left arm, and Nikki was sitting at her workstation staring at the blank screen.

“What is it Butterfly?” Simon asked without lifting his head. Nikki shook herself out of the trance she was in and after a couple of seconds she replied,

“What…nothing, why?” Simon stopped clicking and leaned back and turned his chair to face Nikki, and regarded her for a few seconds, not saying anything. He had a small smile on his lips and he just waited, watching her. Finally, she blew out a breath and leaned back in her own chair and said,

“It’s the kids, Dante and Eve. Are we doing the right thing with them? I mean, I know we aren’t, but I understand why we include them, their lives put them on this path. I just don’t know, after Dante was taken and….” she paused, choking back the emotion before continuing, “Eve was beside herself with worry. What if something worse had happened, could you live with that, could I?” She finished with a pleading look in her eyes. Simon looked into her eyes for a few seconds and then rose from his seat and walked over and laid the little wiggler in Nikki’s arms and he crouched in front of her and kissed her gently. He had his hands on her knees while he crouched in front of her and said,

“The entire time Dante was gone, I was going through the same thing over and over in my own head. How can I let him be part of this, but I also know how. He was in this life before we crossed paths with him and I was just trying to help him become better so nothing would happen to him. When it did, I was doubting everything we were doing myself. Not the two of us, this is who we are, but I agree. The problem is getting him to accept it and make the decision to lead a different life…if he even can.” He smiled up at Nikki and then pulled her into his arms, Eva squirming between them. When he felt Nikki relax some he leaned back and said,

“I will talk to him when the opportunity comes up. I know he will resist the idea, but if the timing is right, we’ll just see. Until then, what do you say we take this little princess outside and let her play in the sunshine while it’s here, maybe wear her out some…” He finished with a look in his eye that had Nikki’s body temperature rising. She stood and after situating Eva on her shoulder, took Simon’s hand and they walked out into the beautiful afternoon.

10:50 am

We just ended one of the largest drug cartels the world has ever seen and you won’t hear one word about it… unless you are a loyal Rage reader and then, like always, you will get the truth about what really happened. Let me tell you about the end of Ol Henry.

Have you ever heard the expression, “He bit off more than he could chew?” Well, that would apply to my boy D. He is tiny, but mighty! Henry found out way to late just how mighty. He had abducted D and if that wasn’t asking the warden for a pen to sign his own death warrant, he then tortured him. My boy, tortured. That didn’t go over too well as you can imagine. I’m not the only one who loves that boy. There are 2 ladies and 2 of the most deadly men with a long range firearm the world has ever produced, that are more than fond of the boy. Do you have any idea the skill level it takes to fire a bullet from one moving boat and hit a target the size of a cantaloupe at almost a mile away….also bodding up and down on a boat? It’s more than the mind can process. Unless you are Dead and Lee! They processed it quite nicely, thank you very much.

But first, D had to do his thing. He was able to escape from an inescapable situation and was the quarterback for this particular razzle dazzle play. When we get the family together, there isn’t much we can’t accomplish, especially if violence is on the menu. Hey, we didn’t start it, but when one of us is in trouble, we will most definitely finish it. And that’s just what we did.

Once Dead and Lee started popping corks, I like that analogy, D did a magnificent swan dive off Henry’s ship and once clear, we blew a hole in the side of the bad ship lollipop. Henry tried to escape on his helicopter before the ship went down but when a young man has to relieve himself during the night and uses your gas tank as a Porta John, the Heli isn’t going to Copter to well. He made it about 30 feet from the boat before nose diving into the ocean. I would have been happy to let him find his buddies in the bellies of the sharks, but this dick fungus has some secrets that some of my associates would like to have. Reluctantly, we fished his cold limp ass out of the drink and D had several hours to let him know how much he didn’t appreciate the attention he was given while a guest of Henry. He made him sing like the Rage on a bender at the karaoke bar…off key and blood curdling. I couldn’t have been more proud.

I guess it’s appropriate that this story ended right where it started, out on the water. There’s just something about the sea that calms the Rage……

6:55 am

Atlantic ocean off the coast of North Carolina

The sun had just risen and their plan was just about to commence. Dante and Simon had been communicating all through the night making their plan and doing further surveillance. The alarm went out not too long after Dante escaped, but no one had come close to uncovering his hiding place. Under the cover of darkness, 2 sport fishers had moved within a mile of the large ship and had fishing lines in the water trolling for their catch. Dante could hear a small motorboat in the distance closing position on the large ship. A couple of crew members were at the rail on the port side watching the small boat approach. When it got closer, Dante saw Nikki at the helm and Eve was next to her, both wearing revealing swimwear. It had been unseasonably warm for the past several days and they had used that to their advantage. The men at the rail were ogling the ladies, making comments among themselves and carrying on. As the small boat came to the side of the ship, Dante heard Nikki yelling up asking them if they had any extra fuel, that they had gotten off course and were about out of gas. The men, sensing some adventure of a dark nature, agreed they could spare some fuel and said they would be down to helo tie up their boat. Nikki yelled back up,

“That would be fantastic.”  When she said this, Dante saw one of the men’s head disintegrate into a cloud of pink mist, and then another, and then another. By the time he heard the sound of the first gunshot, 5 men were either on the deck, headless, or had fallen overboard into the water. That was his que. Dante rose from his perch on the deck and ran at a full sprint toward the dead men and vaulted over the railing without slowing down. He flew through the air and saw the ladies on the small boat right before he extended his arms over his head and sliced through the frigid water. It was all he could do not to inhale from the shock of the cold water, but he made his way to the surface quickly and came up a few feet from the boat. Nikki already had the boat heading his way and as it approached, Eve threw him a rescue ring and once he grabbed hold, she quickly pulled him to the rear of the boat. When he reached for the boat, Simon’s large hand grabbed his and in one smooth pull, had Dante standing in front of him on the back of the boat. Eve quickly grabbed him into a teary bear hug and pulled him into the cockpit and wrapped a towel around him.

Simon nodded to Nikki who threw the controls to the stops and the small boat quickly sped away from the larger ship. Simon looked back and saw 2 more bodies fall into the water off the side of the ship courtesy of Dead and Lee who were on the 2 sport fishers with their sniper rifles almost a mile away. Simon just smiled, appreciating the skill level of the 2 men. When the small boat was far enough away, Simon pulled the small remote from his pocket and hit the button. A huge hole opened in the side of the ship and a second later, they heard the explosion and felt the impact ripple over their boat. Nikki slowed and the 4 of them watched the ship list to the side and begin to sink. They heard the unmistakable sound of a helicopter motor starting and saw the blades turning on the deck. Simon looked over at Dante who just smiled back at him. It would be a short ride for The Razor.

9:55 pm

Cargo hold of unknown ship

Dante was jolted awake by the cold water that was thrown on him. He was still in the cargo hold of the ship and had lost all track of time. There were no windows and only a single light bulb illuminating the space. He shook the water out of his eyes and took stock of his situation. Pretty well screwed summed it up. He was naked and strapped to a metal chair, his arms secured behind his back and his legs secured to the legs of the chair. Razin, or The Razor as he is appropriately nicknamed, spent a good bit of time with Dante yesterday and again today. His body was covered with small cuts, courtesy of Razin’s straight razor. One of his eyes was swollen almost all the way shut and his head was pounding from lack of food and water and the occasional punches they delivered.

There was just one man in the room with him now and it wasn’t Razin. Dante let his head fall to his chest again and when the man came at him to punch him in the face, Dante feigned left and brought his head up into the man’s chin, cracking his jaw. The man dropped limp at his feet. Dante had been working on the restraints throughout the night and almost had his right hand free. With one last burst of pain, his hand slid out of the right cuff. He leaned down and pulled the man half up on his lap and searched him, finding only a small pocket knife. It would do. Dante opened the blade and was able to work the lock on his left hand and then on the ankle restraints. Now free of the chair, he reached down and snapped the man’s neck. There was no use for pretense at this point, this was a war now. Dante tried to raise Simon through is comm but realized that the signal was likely being blocked by the ship’s hull. He needed to get topside and let Simon know that he was alright.

Once he had taken the dead man’s clothes and put them on, he went to the door and saw the hall was clear. He left the hold and secured it behind him again. He heard two men approaching from in front of him and quickly ducked behind a set of stairs and they walked right by him. He wasn’t ready to start open combat right now, not knowing how many men were on the boat and having no weapons. He just needed to make contact with Simon.

Over the next 15 minutes, he continued his cat and mouse game, moving one deck up at a time. Finally, he could see daylight peeking from the bottom of the door one deck above him. As he was about to take the stairs, he heard Razin’s voice,

“I don’t believe the kid was some random pick pocket out to steal my wallet as he said, there’s something about him. He has scars all over his body and he didn’t react to the razor the way the others did. I don’t like it. Go take care of him and throw his body overboard.” Dante heard the other man reply,

“Da” and heard him moving toward the stairs. He would have only a few minutes before the alarm was raised and they would know he was loose on the ship. He needed to buy a few more minutes so he ducked back underneath the stairs and waited. The man came down the stairs and was about to go down the next set of steps when Dante jumped from his perch and threw a flying elbow right into the back of the man’s neck. He went down into a pile and Dante quickly drug him out of sight under the stairs and made sure he wouldn’t be getting back up. After securing the man’s weapons, he continued his ascent into the daylight.

Once on deck, Dante saw a helicopter over on one side of the deck and a large pilot house in the middle. He tapped the spot on the back of his neck and started calling to Simon. There was nothing but static for a few seconds and then he heard,

“Dante, are you alright?” Simon asked with urgency in his voice. It felt like a warm blanket just got wrapped around him and he quickly replied that he was alright and gave Simon as much intel on the ship and his situation as he was able to. Simon told him to stay hidden and that the team was close. Once they got on scene, they would come up with a battle plan. Dante was just happy to be out of that stinky ship’s hold and into the sunshine. He found a secure location that he could keep an eye on what was happening on the deck of the ship and got comfortable. Or at least as comfortable as he could with all of the Razor’s recent gifts. He swore he would repay him tenfold when all this was over.