Confined

Chapter Nine - The Beast

The car door slammed shut behind me as two more cars pulled into the parking lot. Weeds pushed through the cracks in the faded pavement. Izaha fell into step beside me and the rest lingered back to secure the area as we approached the darkened corner where two abandoned buildings met.

A lump sat huddled in the shadowed corner, shaking as we got closer to it. Tony gave us a nod where he stood off to the side. Earlier that day, I received a phone call that Sal had been found. I was surprised when they told me he was alive, but just barely. Sal had been missing for two weeks, already assumed dead. I had sent his family my condolences, along with enough money for them to leave the city if they chose to. I thought they had been foolish in holding out hope.

But then Sal had been found. He refused to leave his spot in the corner and fought furiously against anyone that came near him. Now he was alone, enveloped by shadows from the setting sun. In the dark, I could barely make out his features.

Sal's hands were cradled to his chest, stumps where his fingers used to be. His shirt was gone, exposing his torso littered in bruises and cuts, some deep and some shallow. His eyes were a bloody mess and his head swiveled from side to side with every step we made. At a safe distance, I crouched in front of him, motioning for Izaha and Tony to take a step back, even though Sal couldn't see them. 

"Sal?" His head whipped to the side at the sound of my voice, and what was left of his eyes settled on me. "Sal, it's Jaime."

He only shook his head back and forth. I scooted closer to him, bringing a hand to rest on his shoulder. He jumped under my palm but didn't make a move against me. "It'll be okay. We'll get you all cleaned up and back to Lesa and Ben."

He finally stilled and opened his mouth. He let out only a strangled groan before giving up. I noticed then that his tongue was gone too. I shut my eyes for a brief moment. No matter how many times, it never got easier.

"Come on, let's get you up."

He unclasped his hands. In his open palm was a bloodied piece of paper.

*****

Izaha passed the note to Cole who read over it with a crease between his eyebrows. It must've been bad if Cole can't even crack a joke about it. "What does that mean?" He asked, handing the paper back to me.

"Fuck if I know." I tossed the paper onto the desk with a disgusted glance at the neat scribbles. I must've read over it a hundred times by now.

Pass your Pawn.

"We'll keep a closer eye on things from now on. If you find anything suspicious, report back immediately." There was an edge of frustration to my voice. It has been months, close to a year now, since we've heard anything from Pavlov and now he wants to play games?

My phone vibrated on my desk, the screen lighting up with a text message from Victor.

She's just settled in the library. -V

While it normally put me at ease knowing that Ava was growing more comfortable here, tonight it did the exact opposite. I clenched my fists under the table, my agitation rising. 

"How's Sal?" Cole asked. He hadn't been there when we brought him in during dinner. I kept my mouth shut, angry enough that if I opened it, I didn't know what would come out.

"He'll live." Izaha answered for me. "Lost vision in one of his eyes and severe damage to the other. All of his fingers were amputated. No internal bleeding. They wanted him to live."

"If Pavlov thinks he can get away with hurting my family, threatening me, he is sorely mistaken." My fist crashed down on the table on top of the note. Hearing Izaha talk about it aloud caused my blood to boil. "Have you gotten anything out of Ivan yet?"

Izaha shook his head. "He's not talking. If he hasn't said anything after a couple more days, he probably won't."

I nodded, knowing Izaha's right. "I want his resources cut off, men gone. I want him to be completely defenseless. Start subtle. I don't want him to know what we're doing until it's too late."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea." Cole suggested. He paused before continuing. "It would make him more reckless and bold to know he had nothing left to lose."

"He'll be more manageable. Easier to deal with." I argued.

"I agree with Jaime. If we whittle away his supplies, he won't be much of a threat if he does strike." Izaha sided with me.

"And what if he attacks before then?"

"We can handle it. We're bigger than he is anyway. But it'll be much easier if he's weakened." I rose to my feet, pressing my palms against the desk. The damn note taunted me from my peripheral vision. I was about to dismiss Cole and Izaha when something hit against the wall right outside the door. All of our heads turned towards the hall. 

I crossed the room in two strides and wrenched open the door, hitting the wall with a loud bang. When I stepped into the hallway, I wasn't sure who I was going to catch spying.

Ava's round blue eyes stared at me from a few feet down the hall where she stood next to a crooked painting. My eyes narrowed into slits as I stalked toward her. With every step I took, she took a small one away from me. I stopped only when I saw the fear that flashed across her face.

"What are you doing here?" I tried to control my anger, forcing my voice low.

"I... I was..." She stuttered, stumbling back.

"Why were you spying on me?" I took another step forward, roughly grabbing her arm.

Ava jutted her chin out, the panic in her eyes replaced by defiance. "If you didn't want people eavesdropping, maybe you should close your door."

I frowned, biting down the fury running through my body. "Why. Were. You. Spying?"

Her jaw slackened a little, finally realizing how angry I was. "I didn't mean to. I just heard yelling and-" 

A sense of relief flooded through me quickly followed by doubt and suspicion. I couldn't seem to think straight with her eyes staring right at me. I pushed her away from me, letting go of her arm.

Ava's foot caught on the carpet, and she fell backwards, landing on her elbows. The hurt in her eyes that she tried to quickly blink back caused my heart to drop. I stuck out a hand to help her back up. "Ava, I'm-"

She ignored my hand, quickly picking herself up off the floor, turning on her heel and bolting through the door that led to the kitchen, leaving me standing in the middle of an empty hall with an outstretched hand.

After a few seconds, I heard someone shuffle behind me and I turned to see Cole poking his head out the door.

"Jaime?"

I shook my head, passing by him when I walked back into my office. There was too much to deal with tonight, and my head was already starting to throb at the thought of it. I dismissed Cole and Izaha, ignoring their questioning stares and pulled out a glass and whiskey decanter that I kept in my desk for times like these. 

It's going to be a long night.