Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
The man on the table blabbed first, his words tumbling over the men in the stretchers as they all tried to speak first.
“Everyone, shut the fuck up!” Kage yelled. “One at a damn time… Table boy,” he glared down at him, “you go first.”
“Yes, yes! My name is Leonardo, man! I work for Francesco Sivero! You killed his nephew, Salvador. He sent us!” he tattled, spilling all the beans with tears in his eyes. “I can give you his address!”
“Francesco Sivero, yeah, I know that he sent ya. I figured that out a while ago. I don’t need his address; got that, too. I want to know where he is RIGHT NOW. He and my grandfather workin’ together on this? In cahoots?”
“No, no! They’re on the outs! ’Cause of Sal’s death, see?”
“Hmmm… interesting. Now, one last chance. Where the fuck is Francesco?”
The man hesitated… “He’s at home. I swear.” The man’s eyes were practically pleading with him.
“Awww, that’s too bad. I would have loved to have him party with us tonight. I guess that’s one less burger to put on the grill, huh? Damn… what a shame. Cazzo!” Kage cocked his head and smiled down at him. “See? I know a lil’ Italian, too. You were lookin’ for Grandma, but found the wolf instead… Tsk, tsk … in bocca al lupo…”
“AHHHHHH!” The eyes of the man on the table bucked as a large knife was impaled in his gut. Kage drove it down with both fists. His pent up rage released itself at their intrusion, their audacity, all of his unresolved issues and anger coursing through his veins! Grabbing the chainsaw from the surgical tray, he began cutting off the fucker’s extremities as the other men watched, screaming and crying out in horror.
“OH, GOD! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” one of them blubbered, crying his eyes out.
Kage hummed to the music as he went along, taking care of his busy work. Blood splashed all over his plastic apron. He tossed the legs and arms into a bucket, then looked over at the three remaining men.
“Now, accordin’ to my calculations, and the cameras of course, there’s ’bout five dead men in the woods on my property, and three more dead in a car. My cousin took care of that… what a sweet young man. That’s not including your buddies scattered all over my gotdamn house like a stack of cards. That’s a lot of y’all for just one man. Lil’ ol’ me.” He shrugged. “Seems your boss thought since I was heavily outnumbered, things would go his way.
“One thing they say about a wolf is: never go to his den to confront him. He turned up the music. The Black Keys crooned ‘Psychotic Girl.’ Kage began to dance, line stepping with the chainsaw in his hand. It dripped blood, leaving a trail of glistening red gore all over the vault floor. He sang the words, falling into the groove.
“…Please,” one of the guys on the wall begged, a stream of drool dripping from his mouth. “We’ll give you anything.”
“I’ve got all I need, boys. Nothin’ you have, I want. Now, I’d love to stay here and chitchat, but I got a pretty lil’ lady to meet at the school dance. I can’t wait all night to pull y’all tight, so ol’ Chester the Chain Saw will have to babysit y’all in a jiffy.”
“NO! NOOOO, MAN!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!”
Marching up to the boys hanging on the wall, he raised the roaring chainsaw high in the air…
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
A Hole in One, and That Rings True
Kage puttered along in his cousin’s big black truck. Poor Phoenix… Sorry, man. All of his musical performance shit was in there: amplifier, keyboard, microphones… He ended up doing a no-show due to Kage’s undesirable callers, and that made him feel a tad guilty.
Kage pulled up to Poet’s house, noticing his motorcycle parked alongside the greenhouse. Only a couple of lights were on. From the cameras he’d installed around her home, everything appeared normal. He turned off the radio, and things drew instantly quiet, with the exception of the crickets. He looked around, ensuring he didn’t see anything strange or out of place one last time, then tossed his cigarette butt out of the open window, grabbed his gun, and headed to the front door. Before he could knock or ring the bell, the door swung open and Poet fell into his arms. Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she squeezed him tight. He could feel it even through his shirt.
“Thank God you’re alive!”
He hugged her back, looking over her shoulder at Phoenix sitting at her kitchen table drinking a bottle of beer. The guy slowly rose to his feet and made his way over while he kicked the door closed with his foot.
“Heeeey, man.” Phoenix got in on the hug, still gripping his beer, then winked at him.