Heartless || •OG• ✔️

Chapter 33 - Charlotte

"Are you fucking kidding me? This is bullshit! Is Jericho your right hand, or am I? Do you even know?"

Charlotte pressed her hands against the desk, Jimin seething behind her with his lips curled up and his fists trembling by his side. After last time, she had an idea of how he'd react to the news. She was hoping he'd be a bit understanding, but he seemed to let the logic behind her decision fly over his head.

Jimin was leaning on the backs of his heels in her bedroom. The one she was sharing with Jericho for the time being. It felt wrong to have Jimin in Jericho's room, but she brushed those feelings aside and stood. The chair shook as she did, the light pouring in through the window. She preferred the daylight over the light bulb. Each time she used natural light over artificial, she got memories of the greenhouse. The times she was at peace.

"You're benching me again? Char, I can come up with 10 good reasons why you should bench literally anyone other than me. For one, I can fight better than all of them," he said, Charlotte holding up her hand.

"If there's a fight, it'll be long-ranged. Pistols." He huffed and blew a strand of his hair out of his face. "That means we need June and Kayden there. June for obvious reasons, and Kayden because he's good at that shit. Asa and Theo are our two interrogators. They'll get the job done. Jericho and I are the ones who need to oversee the plan. We need someone to stay behind to take care of Ivan and Ariel. If we didn't need Theo, I'd leave him here to watch Ivan, but we do. I'm sorry Jimin. You need to stay. It's a 6-seat helicopter anyway, we need to leave someone behind."

"Theo should be doing this, Asa can torture on his own. So I'm supposed to sit here while you're out there, fighting for your life? Toronto is mafia central, you'll be lucky if you last 5 minutes without getting caught," he said, stepping a bit closer. The light stopped right before his feet, cloaking him in the shadows while Charlotte remained in the light.

"If someone were to break into the pub, it'd be a close quarters fight. You're the best close quarters fighter in the group. It makes more sense to leave one amazing fighter behind rather than have an injured man who's a diplomat stay here. You know I'm right."

He did. She could tell based on the way he set his jaw and unclenched his fists. There was a silent submission in his eyes as he loosened his posture. Any fury that was resting inside him flew into the air. She kept herself against the desk, staring at the man who deserved so much more than he got. She wished there was a way to give him closure. Peace.

"We won't be gone long. We're going to fly up to Canada, find this contact of his, then get out. Ivan didn't get hurt for nothing, I promise. The High Council will pay for everything they've done. We'll make them pay."

"Honestly Char, I'm not sure I agree with that," he said, and she backed up, tilting her head. "We're perfectly fine here. I want to make those bastards pay just as much as the next person, but not at the cost of more bad shit happening. When is it enough? Ivan is fucked up for life if he even wakes up, and who's next? Jericho? You?" Jimin paused, his eyes widening. "Ariel?"

"If you don't want to help us, no one's forcing you to. You can stay here with Ivan and Ariel for the rest of your life, but what about her? She's a kid, you want her to spend the rest of her life hiding because she's associated with us? She deserves to go to school, make friends and not be scared she'll get them hurt or worse. If we don't take down the High Council, that'll never happen. I won't let another kid go through what I did. I fucking won't. There's no point in living if I can't even go outside without fear. Ariel deserves better. Ivan deserves better. You do too, and I wish you could see that."

"What if we tried getting out of here? Out of the country, I mean. If you're flying to Canada, can't you go somewhere else too? Plastic surgery, new IDs, new lives," he said.

"I'd love to, but we're flying into Canada illegally since we're crunched for time. First we'd have to find a plastic surgeon who can alter our faces to the point where they're unrecognizable, then we'd have to find a country with little to no mafia presence, then we'd need new jobs, then we'd need to become citizens of the country without arousing suspicion and getting locked up for being illegal, then we'd need to rebuild everything we've ever known about ourselves from bottom up. No matter what path we take, it's borderline impossible. I'd rather die trying to make a difference than lose myself trying to stay the same. If you don't agree, I won't force you. It's your choice, Min."

There was nothing left to say. Jimin accepted his role in the plan and departed the room, leaving the door open. She left after him, descending the stairs to the bar. The rest of the group was waiting there, June handing them weapons.

It was time to go.

~~~

Canada was beautiful.

The vibrant streets of Toronto were beyond compare. It was busy at night, people crowding the streets and covering the sidewalks. There was no sign of damage anywhere. The concrete was smooth, the roads recently paved, the buildings having chips occasionally but were otherwise untouched.

Charlotte adored the moonlight and how it highlighted her disguised body. Her black, short wig, the glasses and colored contacts she had, her baggy clothes to hide her figure. With a sharp breath, her pale hands tried to capture the rays peering down at them, but it was to no avail. There were too many flashing signs on the sides of buildings. They drowned out the natural light and replaced it with the artificial. It made her frown.

Bricks and concrete made up most of the space. Other than the hurried folk who were spitting into their phones, the people seemed friendly. Some even waved to them as they passed.

"I hate this place," June said, the others snickering at him.

"What's wrong? Too happy?" Asa asked, June mumbling to himself before answering.

"I don't like crowds. They scare me."

"You can handle your job, but you can't handle a group of people?" Charlotte asked, which resulted in her getting flipped off by the man. She chuckled and went back to enjoying the smell of bacon in the air. It was radiating out of a restaurant on their left. Its doors were swung open with an eccentric man waving his arms to invite people in. Charlotte wished they had the time to spare.

June kept his hands in his pockets and peeked at the directional signs placed at the intersections. They were spikes of metal telling them where to go, June reading them and whispering the path to himself.

There was a Y-shaped intersection up ahead, and they kept on the right side as the roads and sidewalks split off, a slim, maroon building directly across from them. June paid it no mind and instead led them down a narrow alleyway between two hotels. Both hotels were pale, and Charlotte questioned if going this way was worth the trouble.

Kitchen staff from the restaurants inside the hotels were piling out to throw their trash in the dumpsters in the alleys. The staff waved to them, and everyone except June and Jericho waved back. They wished each other a good night and went on their way. Charlotte had to admit that, even with her disguise, she was shuddering under every glance she got.

The others were all covered as well, Theo carrying a bag on his back full of supplies. June had a mask on that he took from Ivan, wearing dark clothes to blend in. He was the least disguised of them all, but at least it was better than nothing. The others all had funky hair colors, contacts, clothes, and disguise changes hiding inside their jackets.

Jericho walked by her side and wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her covered body to help keep her warm. She leaned into it and didn't care how pissed at him she was. In that moment, temporary heat was more important than the desire to curse Jericho out for what he did in his past. The past that was likely forgotten. It wasn't like it was up to her to forgive him. She should be the one who moved on. She mentally tried to, and she was amazed when it started to work.

They kept traveling down the dim alleys with gravel crunching into their shoes. Each wall they faced was unlike the last. Some were white, others were cyan, others were crimson brick with clay smeared in between each rectangle. No matter where they went, it seemed like they were going in circles.

"June, do you actually know where we're going?" Charlotte asked.

"I do. I memorized the map before we left, not to mention Theo has it in case I forget." Theo reached inside his coat's pocket and pulled it out as if that proved June's point. Charlotte remained quiet through it all, kicking at the surface beneath her.

"You know," Kayden said, the others turning their attention to him. "I always dreamed of coming to Canada and living here. Learn French and travel across the entire country. But... I always thought of doing it with Jericho."

Jericho halted his hand from moving up and down Charlotte's arm. He still stayed close, but the warmth seeped away from her. She trembled, only this time, he didn't do anything about it. The silence that followed had Kayden clearing his throat and pretending he didn't speak at all.

"Almost there. This guy, Isaac Solomon, he's the Ivan Belmour of this area. Runs all the big game. One time he needed an assassin willing to go global. Guess who that guy was?" June asked, pointing his thumbs at himself. They were alone in the alley now, which was unlike the rest of the stretch. Regardless, June kept his voice down. "He was eternally grateful for my help and let me know that if I ever needed any favors, he went to a certain bar for alone time with his buds. He gave me the directions and told me to bug him after 8 o'clock."

Charlotte didn't need a watch. The moon was rising in the sky, and although the nightlife in Toronto was a frenzy, she was able to tell it was nearing the next day. Whatever bar June was talking about was surely rundown and in the corner somewhere. Out of sight to protect them as much as possible.

"It's right up here," June said, turning to see a metal door waiting for them. It reminded Charlotte of a kitchen door the way there was a silver handle that was more like a latch. June approached, them peeking up and noticing a camera above it. There was a light active, and it was a shade of rose. "Well, hopefully they won't recognize me, but just in case." June flipped back his jacket and held the butt of his holstered pistol.

Right as he was about to knock, the door kicked open, revealing a man as tall and wide as Theo. A silenced pistol was pointed in June's face. When he went to retaliate, the gun went off, and it was followed by a scream. Charlotte got pushed back by Jericho, but the fight was over a second after it began.

June whacked the man on the throat with the butt of his gun, stealing the silenced pistol and shooting him through the head. As soon as he dropped to the ground, June kicked his corpse over and over, shouting obscenities between each kick.

"Fuck. You. You. Little. Piece. Of. Shit!" June said, panting after he was done with his rampage.That was when Charlotte noticed the blood coating his hand, and she stepped out from behind Jericho to see what was happening. June grunted and raised the silenced pistol toward the corpse, but Theo was quick to step in.

"June, I don't care how much he hurt you, silencers don't get rid of all the noise! If we're lucky, no one noticed, but if we're unlucky, we have cops on the way to see what the fuck just happened," Theo said, June blowing his curls out of his face.

"That bitch shot off my two favorite fingers! What the fuck!?" June replied, huffing and lowering his arm. Then, he shot the deceased man in between his legs, earning him several glares. "My aim is better, that was a much smaller target than my fingers."

"Come on, let's get out of here already. June, let me see your hand," Theo said, June agreeing albeit reluctantly.

"No clues on what mafia he was running with. I don't know why he thought he could take us on alone," June said as Theo inspected his fingers, Asa digging into the bag on Theo's back so they could get medical supplies.

They were staring at the entrance, Charlotte letting out a breath before speaking. "We have to keep moving. Bandage him and move at the same time, I'll take point. Asa, Jer, Kayden, take rear. We need extra protection back there now. It kills me to say it, but June's right. It's weird one guard came out to greet us." June smirked, Charlotte flipping him off. "Follow me. Carefully."

Charlotte drew her pistol and went inside first, checking the doors and corners since they were the most dangerous areas of the room. It was eerily familiar. Not because they had seen it before, rather since it was a kitchen near identical to the one in their pub.

Tiled floors that were cracked and dusty sat underneath their toes. Cabinets were thrown around with their drawers open. Nothing was inside those drawers that Charlotte saw. The sink had running water, but everything else was void of any life. Fridges were shut off, lights were broken or not working, ovens were rusted. There were only two working burners. It was as empty as Charlotte felt at that moment, her thoughts betraying her sturdy posture.

One by one, the others came in, Charlotte sweeping the rest of the room. They checked under tables and inside each movable object. No one was there except them. That raised one question: why was there a single man sent to take care of them?

"Jer, Kay, watch our rear. Asa, on the corners. Theo, patch June up," Charlotte said.

Theo agreed, instructing June to sit on a counter of metal. They dusted it off, Charlotte coming over to inspect the state of him. If nothing else, at least June had two pistols now. He couldn't wield them since he only had one index finger, but they had an extra weapon in case they ran out of ammo. There was no such thing as too much ammo.

June had his index and middle fingers blown off, the ring finger bent by fragments of bones that exploded off of the other digits. His pinky and thumb were the same way, all his nails caked with blood, bent at unnatural angles.

"Char, get me a bucket of water in case June passes out," Theo said as he groaned from his shoulder pain, taking out his knife.

"What?" June asked as Charlotte did as she was told. There were no buckets, so she took an empty cabinet and filled it. "You can't be serious."

Theo heat up the knife, the blade searing and hissing. It smelled of smoke and rotting flesh, a copper taste creeping up Charlotte's tongue from the aroma of blood becoming too strong."I'm serious. We don't have the supplies to stop your bleeding, so cauterizing it is. We'll need to get you on painkillers and antibiotics as soon as possible," Theo said. "We don't want to seal bacteria in, but we don't have much choice. Someone get him a rag to bite down on."

Jericho tore off a piece off his shirt and gave it to him, June folding it and biting down. Charlotte saw there were two doors leading to the next room. Asa was watching it while Theo did his job, everyone awaiting the deadly sounds the knife would make.

A minute later, those sounds came.

It was a sizzling noise that vibrated Charlotte's spine. It started subtle, then it boomed through the room, followed by muffled bawls. Rotten flesh hit the air, Charlotte tasting each drop. She held her ground and stayed by the doors. There had to be a reason there were no more men storming into the room. She had a feeling the answer was behind those doors.

Charlotte went back over to Theo and held the cabinet in case, due to his shoulder, he couldn't. However, June was awake. He was panting, the gag plopping onto his lap because of the exhaustion he was faced with. There was liquid dripping down his skin, Theo bandaging the cauterized wound.

"June? I need you to talk to me," Theo said.

He inhaled and exhaled three times before answering. "You... are a shitty fucking doctor."

"Noted. Next time I'll go slower," he said, then, to Char, "we all good to move?"

"Clear. Waiting on you and June." After he was patched up, Charlotte placed a hand on his knee. "Are you okay?"

June peeked at her with his eyes popping open. Then, he relaxed his shoulders. "No, not really, but I'll push through. I have to."

She agreed, helping him down. He limped over to the next room, holding the silenced pistol in his good hand while his bad one pressed itself against his chest. Together, they formed a plan. With only looks and hand signals, they crowded the door. Charlotte was in the lead with Jericho, and they burst down the door in time to see an empty restaurant.

Carpets of Persian red stretched out. They were vacuumed, little rhombuses two shades darker than the rest of the fabric sewn into the surface. The rest of the dining area was similar. Dim lighting with boxy lights hung up, pillars of maroon holding up the structure.

Charlotte allowed her shoes to sink into the dry carpets, taking in the unmistakable scent of beer. There was smoke too. Cigarettes, maybe. The tables were too clean to give off a scent. There were no candles or centerpieces on them either. Just pale tablecloths and wooden bodies.

As soon as they turned into the area, Charlotte realized where the cigarette smell was coming from. There were three men waiting for them, sitting at one of the tables nearby. Four chairs were there, the empty one pushed back as if someone departed it.

They were all smoking, cards in their hands, glasses of alcohol by their side. The ones sitting across from one another were tan-skinned, gray jackets on top of creamy attire. The one who was taking a long puff from his stick was a few shades darker than the people he was sitting with.

"When you're in this job long enough," he said, coughing out rings of smoke. "You know not to trust anyone. So why should I trust you, Mr. Byun?"

"If you knew it was me, why did you shoot my fucking fingers off?" June asked in a shout.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Kayden asked, the man holding up his hand to bring them to a silence. Charlotte was amazed that it worked. Next, he gave a grin with his full lips, his already sharp cheekbones raising up.

"My name is Isaac Solomon. Congratulations, you passed my test."