Dragon

XI

"Are you ready to begin now?" Frank spoke, sitting on a chair before Lucy, staring at her through his haunting mask. 

She only nodded slowly, looking up at Drake, who stood beside Frank, for assurance. He nodded to her and she looked back at Frank. 

"We've got holes in this entire situation," Frank began, the sight of his mask keeping her still. "We're going to need you to fill some of them, as many as you can. Understood?"

"If I don't?" she dare ask.

He was still and she gulped quietly. She didn't need to know anything about this man to know that he was lethal. "That is not an option," he said, his voice low. 

"Where should we start then?" she asked, wanting to lighten the sudden dark atmosphere.

"Let's start with Beastein," Frank said. "The two of you should go ahead and spill what you know. Before this situation gets any messier for the rest of us."

"Beastein is the leader of Purgatory," Drake began, easing the pressure off her shoulders. "Others in the gang call him The Beast King. Every time he picks out the favorites of his slaves, he gives them a name. It is always the name of an animal that reflects the individual person's skills." He ran a hand through his dark hair, sighing heavily. "Just as mine is dragon 'cause of the welding I did in the gang and I was always playing with fire. And her name's Reclusa, after the brown recluse. She specializes in poisons, assassinations, and undercover work. After you get a name, you get a tattoo of the animal on some part of your body, done by Beastein himself. It's a whole ritual he enjoys doing."

"So, I've got two of his favorites sitting in my club, both betrayed him and both have a bounty on their head," Frank said, sighing.

"That's not the worst part," Drake continued. "She's his treasure. Every once in a while, he'll pluck the strongest woman of his slaves and give her the title of treasure which makes her his woman. Lucy is his treasure, his most prized possession."

"For fucks sake," Frank snapped.

"And he burnt down Beastein's biggest, most successful hideout to the ground as well as burning half of his face almost completely off," Lucy chimed in.

"Two fucking jackasses," Frank grumbled, standing up and rubbing his tense neck tiredly. "Both of you assholes fucked him over badly and now you're here, in my club. I outta shove that fucking exhaust pipe up your urethra now--" Frank snapped, taking a daring step towards Drake. 

Drake quickly put his hands up in surrender, chuckling sheepishly. "Why do you think I kept my shit a secret? If I go around telling everyone what I did, Beastein woulda found me sooner."

"Well look at us now. He was gonna find you no matter what."

Drake gulped harshly. Frank was right. No matter if he had never told a single soul of his past, Beastein would find him. He always would. 

"Now that we know why he's after this asshole," Frank snapped, turning his attention to Lucy. "Why is he after you? Besides running from him, what'd you do to make him want to kill you dead? If he had any personal vendetta against you, he woulda done anything to kill you by his own hand but he's okay with anyone killing you. So, what the hell did you do?"

Frank and Drake looked at her, watching a dark shadow fall over her. 

"I killed the Saber."

Drake went rigid, his eyes widening. Frank, however, looked between the two, readying to pop a gasket. "Anyone gonna explain."

"Are you serious?" Drake asked Lucy, completely disregarding Frank.

She nodded slowly, her head down. 

"You were set up to do it," he said and she nodded once again.

Frank continued to look between the two, his arms crossed over his chest. He cleared his throat, finally catching their attention. 

"Saber is Beastein's brother. Older brother, for that matter. He was supposed to take over Purgatory after their father died but Beastein was obsessed with the gang and he didn't want to hand it over to his brother," Lucy explained. "So, instead, he sent me to kill him in his sleep. To make it seem like a suicide but I was set up. Beastein turned on me, said I did it on my own accord and has been sending his henchmen to get rid of me so this information doesn't get out."

"Makes sense why he doesn't care if you die but someone else's hand," Frank said. "You just need to be disposed of."

Lucy nodded. "But him," she pointed to Drake. "Beastein wants to make him suffer and to kill him himself. He's a target but Beastein wants things done specifically when it comes to him. He's got something planned."

"Why the fuck did you have to be a moody teenager and burn his face," Frank snapped.

"He was a mean guy," Drake said, pursing his lips. "Your ass woulda just fucking killed him."

"You bet your ass I woulda," Frank snapped back instantly. "It avoids shit like this. When you got unfinished business, it always follows you."

"So, Beastein is going to keep sending men to kill you and as for me, it's still unknown," Drake said, Lucy nodding. 

"We'll interrogate the guy you brought tomorrow," Frank said. "In the mean time, since we're going to be offering you our protection and help, you're going to have to contribute something to the club," he began, Lucy looking at him a bit worried, a million things running through her mind. "You okay with training a bunch of jackasses?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she blinked a few times at him, completely dumbfounded.

Hello everyone!

I apologize for the slow updates. I have been moving houses, working, and going to school on top of having no internet at my new house I have been driving back to my old house every morning just to attend my classes and do homework. Things have been very hectic and very busy and, honestly, just draining. 

I'm hoping to update a few more times this week so be prepared for that.

Also, you guys are SPECTACULAR. Are you kidding me?? You guys have nearly pushed The Saints' Devil to 2M views! I love you all so much! Thank you for your endless support and please continue to vote and comment!

With care,

D. M. Brightwell