Far Too Young To Die

Chapter Seventeen

"Wow, you're a good actor, Jack." The boy, who he knew as Ronnie, said with a chuckle as they all got into the back of the van and sped off.
"Oh, I knew that. But I wouldn't have to be to fool them, they're all pretty gullible." The older smirked, rolling his eyes as he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Want a cigarette? You're gonna need it if you're gonna get through this next part." One of the others, known as Nick asked. He seemed to already know the answer, however as he pulled out a lighter and a box of cigarettes from his pocket.

Oh right, Jack had forgotten about that part. With a sigh, he nodded and took the box and lighter offered to him.

"So, go over this part again..." he said as he took a cigarette and put it between his lips and lit it.
"Basically, we're gonna kick the shit out of you. Okay, well...maybe not like that, but just so you look pretty rough. We gotta keep this convincing after all, even if they are gullible. We can't take risks." Ronnie shrugged, looking almost sympathetic at the expression of slight worry at the idea of it.
"Don't worry about it, it'll be worth it in the end. We can live like kings once Victor and his crowd are gone, you won't regret this."

Jack nodded as he considered everything they'd have after this. Yes, he'd finally be able to do what he wanted without having to consider anyone else, without having to worry about his actions would affect his gang. God, the sheer idea of freedom in itself was like heaven to him. He'd do anything to get that, and if that meant he had to kill Victor himself...well, he'd do exactly that.

They arrived outside the most cliche, typical venue for this type of operation: an old abandoned warehouse. This was the place that most of the dirty work was carried out, and this was the only place outside of the headquarters where it wasn't unusual for Michael to be seen.

It was considered too dangerous for him to show his face in public for any length of time. He had a lot of enemies, unsurprisingly. Michael going into town would be like Franz Ferdinand cruising around Sarajevo in his open top car while Gavrilo Princip was buying his lunch - a bad idea with deadly consequences.

"Are those guys still following us?" Ronnie asked, grabbing his gun.
"Nope, don't know where they are but they won't be far so we'll need to get a move on. You ready, Jack?" Nick asked, looking towards the older boy with a raised eyebrow. With a sigh, he nodded.
"As ready as I'll ever be." He said, and with that, he was dragged out of the van and into the shitty abandoned warehouse.

***

It had been about fifteen minutes since they had arrived at their destination, and yet here they were, Victor and Olivia arguing as Alex sat in the back seat trying not to throw up from worry for his boyfriend. It had all gotten so real since they had stopped driving.

"Victor, I'm twenty five years old, you can't tell me—" Olivia started, only to receive a loud sigh from Victor as he knew exactly what she was about to say.
"Yes I can! I'm doing it now because I didn't do it before and we saw how that ended. Now, I'm going alone and that's final. I'll be back." He said sternly, leaning over and grabbing his gun from the glove compartment.
"But he's my—" the older girl started once again, determined that she was getting the last word. Victor seemed to not listen however, as he slammed the car door behind him and headed off to where he had been told Jack was being taken.

As he approached, he spotted a familiar car and quickly went over. That's where the boys would be, surely they wouldn't go in without Victor there? They weren't—

Never mind. Victor cursed softly as he saw no one in the car. They had gone in there on their own. He was gonna kill them if Michael didn't kill them first. And, by the sound of the gunshots he heard next, he could only assume that's what happened. He didn't have time to waste though, so he quickly ran to the entrance of the building, then stopped. Come on, Victor, you're better than that. Never go in through the front door, its too obvious. They'd see you!