The Bet ✧ (Chooch Bambalazi)

8.

Wichita, Kansas

Third-person pov:

Major Vaughn Liceman sits at the kitchen table with his elderly mother. "Have you heard anything from Michelle?" She asks him. Liceman grunts at the name of his daughter, he still feels betrayed by her. "No ma'am, let's keep it that way" he replies harshly. They eat breakfast together in silence. It's been just the two of them for so long, that's the way Liceman likes it. After they've finished eating, he helps his mother settle down on the couch for a nap. Whilst she sleeps, a picture on the living room wall catches Liceman's eye.

He approaches it and feels his heart shatter. It's a picture of him and his late wife with their daughter Michelle when she was just a young'un. A single tear rolls down his left cheek, Liceman wipes it away roughly with his sleeve. Deep down, he misses his little girl though he would never admit it out loud. His mother occasionally asks for Michelle, at times when she can remember. Her amnesia gets the best of her, Liceman struggles to deal with his mother's blank memory. It hurts even more when she can't recognise her own son.

---

Salina, Kansas

Michelle's pov:

Just my luck to get drugged twice. I can't help but cry at the thought of Gina, I would do anything to see her again. She must be so worried but I'm not allowed to use a telephone. I wipe my tears and calm myself down, I don't want anybody to see me vulnerable. An hour or so passes before the door is finally unlocked and Stefan walks in. "Chooch wants you downstairs in his office" he grumbles. "Tell him to suck-" I begin to cuss when Stefan shoots me a look that says 'don't even think about finishing that sentence.'

I huff and go downstairs to the office. Chooch is standing in front of his desk wiping himself with a towel. "What the fuck have you done!" I exclaim, his bloodied clothes are making me feel anxious. "Rodney is usually one to talk but today he's being a bit quiet so...My men taught him a lesson" Chooch replies casually.

I approach him with fire in my eyes. "DID YOU KILL MY COUSIN?" Before he can even answer I go into attack mode and push him over his desk. His body falls flat onto the floor, the belongings on the desk go flying. "Michelle!" He shouts furiously. I don't even give him the time to stand up, I'm already on top of him beating him with the leftover strength I have. "I...HATE...YOU" I scream at him between gasps of air. 

Suddenly, he flips us over and pins me down against the floor, he squeezes my wrists. I notice his nose is bleeding from where I shoved him. "You're giving me a fucking headache" he scolds. Using my knee, I aim for his balls and he lets out a high pitch wail in pain. He releases my wrists and crouches over as he grabs his dick in agony. I spot his fallen gun nearby and seize it in my shaky hands. He lifts his head up, our eyes meet. "Princess...Put the gun down" he sighs. I shake my head and point it at his. 

"Move it Bambalazi" he slowly stands to his feet and I take ahold of his arm. Peering out of the office, I see that Stefan is nowhere around so I take Chooch prisoner down in the basement. I tie his whole body up to a chair and keep the gun pressed to his temple. "Where's Rodney?" I demand. "He's alive Michelle, I didn't kill him. He did get beat up though" Chooch answers truthfully. I grab onto his hair and yank his head back hard, he yelps in distress.

"You...You sicken me. I don't know who the fuck you think you are but let me tell you something, I'm a Liceman. And you don't mess with Licemans. My father taught me a lot over the years and you're underestimating me Chooch. Things will change around here whether you like it or not."

He looks at me with puppy eyes, he's trying to tease me into feeling bad. Instead, I'm gonna tease him worse. I take a seat on his lap and kiss his lips roughly. He mirrors my hunger, my need for him. After a few minutes I pull away, he whimpers at the loss of connection. "What do you want princess? I'll give you anything" he pleads,  defenceless under my control. "We'll talk about this more tomorrow" I haven't felt this powerful in a long time, it feels amazing. No wonder Chooch is the way he is.

"What? Don't you dare leave" he struggles against the rope. "Or what Chooch?" I taunt him. Words don't leave his mouth, we both know he can't answer me. I smile at him and back away slowly towards the door. "Michelle" he calls out. I ignore him. "Michelle!" He repeats louder. I ignore him and head out of the door, locking it behind me. "MICHELLE" he screams in torment. 

I ignore him as I listen to his muffled cries for help. Now, it's time for Stefan to pay too.