Tainted: Origins of a Psycho

Retribution (Part Two)

Vincent:

My body froze entirely as I listened to the persistent knocking on the front door.  The clock on the wall showed that it was past two in the morning, so I had to wonder who in the hell would come here at this time of night.  I pressed my body against the door and peered through the peephole, but all I could see was a dark silhouette.

Violet shouted into her tape as loud as she possibly could and made a run for the door, while Dad sat there as quiet as a statue.  He was never the kind of ask for help, even if he knew his life was in danger.

I kicked the back of Violet's leg and she fell back to the floor, but the commotion was enough to catch the uninvited person's attention.  The knocks on the door became louder and I raised the pistol in front of me when the door was eventually kicked in.

Standing on the other side was a large man.  There was a cigar hanging out of his mouth and a shotgun in his hands.  His green eyes landed on me first, then he turned his attention to Violet and Dad. 

I waited for him to point his shotgun at me so he could set them free, but instead he laughed and ran his hand through his white hair. "Jesus Christ." He said, his voice gruff and full of amusement.  "I've seen plenty of domestic disputes in my day, but this one really takes the whole fuckin' cake."

I pointed the pistol at him. "Who are you?"

He placed the shotgun against the wall and raised his hands up. "Easy, kiddo. I'm not trying to stop whatever the hell this is. I'm looking for Victor."

Dad tensed in his seat and he mumbled something inaudible, which caused the stranger to smirk. "Oh damn, is that you under all that tape, Victor?" He shook his head and chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day that you were a dumbass in distress."

The stranger looked back at me and said, "You mind if I take the tape off his mouth for a minute?  There are some things I need to talk to this asshole about."

My fear was replaced with confusion.  "Who the heck are you and how do you know my dad?" 

"Your dad and I go way back, kid."  The smirk left his face and his eyes were filled with guilt.  "Seven years ago he paid me to run over his own mother."

"W-what?"  My knees buckled underneath me and I had to grab hold of the dining room table to keep from falling.  "You're the one who killed her?"

"I'm not proud of it."  He said, rubbing the back of his neck.  "Your dad offered me a lot of money."

"I don't believe this." I threw my hands on my head and began pacing back and forth. This whole time I thought grandmother's death was a tragic accident due to drunk driving, and now I'm finding out that my own father had her killed.

I stepped in front Dad and ripped the tape off of his mouth. "What do you have to say for yourself!?"

Dad ignored my question and decided to address the stranger instead.  "How are you still alive?  I thought I had you killed in prison, Francis."

"Your goons stabbed the shit out of me, but one of the guards stopped them before they could take me out. I had to spend two months in the infirmary to recover from the wounds, two miserable months of nothing to look at but Nurse Beth's fat ass."

"You've come to kill me then?"

"I was going to." Francis admitted, "But it looks like your kid beat me to the punch."

"Wait a minute!" My voice echoed through the room like a roar from a lion. This situation had gone from being tense to rather ridiculous. "You're saying that you want him dead as much as I do?"