Hunter felt a firm grip on his shoulder. Without looking back, he already knew who it was.
It was a cold Friday night and him and his friend Joe had chosen to come to Fellas Corner with only one motto for the night 'No leaving until wasted'. But now he knew, he might not be able to stick around long enough to even feel tipsy.Hunter looked back and saw Hector King standing behind him. Hector nodded at him and then began walking away slowly. Hunter knew that he had to follow after his boss.“What happened?” Joe asked Hunter.Hunter shrugged, stepped off the stool and gulpped down the last of his whiskey.“You're probably not coming back, are you?” Joe asked him.Hunter didn't respond, he just grabbed his leather jacket from the bar and shook Joe's hand bidding goodbye. He took one last long pull at his cigarette and then placed it in the ashtray. He then followed Hector outside. At the door of the bar were too very sexily dressed women and he walked out backwards looking at them. They were smiling back at him, obviously enjoying the attention of such a good looking man. He winked at them and finally turned around to see his boss waiting. They often referred to Hector as King. They then walked together a few steps away from the club where Hector's car was waiting.They got in on each side and Hunter sat there waiting for his boss to start talking. It was only when Hunter heard a shuffling in the back seat that he had noticed Marco Bianchi sitting there.“Hunter.” Marco acknowledged him.“Marco.” Hunter 'greeted' back.Marco Bianchi was Hector King's consigliere. The 'wise man', who gave the boss advice on most topics that concerned the family.“Guess what Hunter.” Hector said.“What, sir?”“The rock that the son-of-bitch Marcus Grayman was hiding under had finally been struck by lightning.”Hunter frowned, trying to make out what his boss meant by that.“We found him.” Hector finally cleared the confusion.Hunter's gray eyes widened.“Son-of-a-bitch has been hiding in North Sunningtan all this while. Right under our noses and no one smelled that rat.”Sunningtan wasn't actually 'under' their noses like Hector had said. It was in another state in the country.Hunter continued listening. He had never met Marcus Grayman but he knew exactly how much Marcus Grayman was wanted by Hector and for many years now.“Who found him?”“One of our men on that side saw him stocking up on groceries at a store called Greenpastures, followed him and discovered his hideout. And I have the address right here.” When he said 'right here' he waved his cellphone slowly.“So, what are you gonna do to him?”“Nah, I want you to take this one. You know how much Marcus Grayman means to me. You know the great deal of distress he caused our family when he broke the most precious rule of all. He sold me out to the feds and got me 2 years in, had to pull some strings to get out early.”Hunter had heard Hector tell this story at least a million times.“Do you know how many days in two years?”“730?” Hunter said it like he wasn't quite sure.“Seven hundred and thirty days…” Hector repeated slowly. “For 730 days I had to let Colin be in charge even though I knew Colin wasn't close to ready.”Marcus Grayman was Hector King's under boss back in 2012. That year Marcus wanted out. He decided that he was done with the mob and wanted nothing to do with that life anymore.Although disappointed that he had lost a good underboss that would some day take over after he was gone, Hector King did not have a problem with that. According to how things worked, members of the mafia were allowed to leave the family if that's what they wanted to do. But even though they were out, the oarth of silence was to never be broken or else, you'd pay with your life.Everyone knew that. Even the lowest ranking gangsters and the street dealers knew it.Marcus Grayman broke that promise. After a month of leaving the family, he reported Hector. He told the authorities everything he knew about the family including who ordered the trigger on a cop named George Walker.The cop incident had been investigated for five months before Marcus finally confessed and saved the FBI bureau a ton of time and energy. Hector King was trialed and then sentenced to 2 years incarceration. The 2 year sentence sent a raging commotion throughout the country because they couldn't understand why he only got two years when he was supposed to be sentenced at minimum 30 years, according to law.After the sellout, Marcus Grayman disappeared and no body knew where he was, until now.“You know you mean a lot to me,” Hector continued telling Hunter. “And nothing would make me more proud to see you settle that debt for me.”Hunter nodded, feeling evoked. Hearing Hector talk about him like that only made him feel more encouraged to continue being the perfect mobster. Hector was like a father figure to Hunter.Hunter grew up in an orphanage where he recieved zero affection. In the orphanage the social workers and nuns refused to give the children supper if they misbehaved during the day, and as a result, Hunter slept hungry most nights because he kept getting into trouble. But he could deal with an empty stomach even if it was three or four consecutive nights, he eventually got used to it. He worked it out, as long as he didn't think about the rumbling stomach, he'd be fine until breakfast was served the next morning. What he couldn't get used to was Miss Jackson, who was the child psychologist.She insisted that Hunter needed 4 sessions a week because he 'needed a lot of help'. Those 4 days a week, were worse than the feeling he felt when he was starving or being whipped. He remembered the days very well, it was always a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and a Friday.Miss Wendy Jackson would take him to her office and lock the door. When they were outside and the other children, social workers and nuns were present, Miss Jackson was the warmest person in that place, with the kindest words and biggest smile. But once they entered the room and he heard the key turn, she'd turn into a monster.She'd do things to him and tell him to do things that did not feel right. Even though he was only 6 years old, he knew that something was very wrong.After every session, thirty minutes, she'd give him a bar of chocolate and tell him to never tell anyone about what happened during their sessions. He would then return to his bed and cry and feel guilty but at the end of the day, when he was starving he'd eat the chocolate. That continued until he was 10, the eating of the chocolates, as for the abusive sessions it continued until he managed to run away from the orphanage. He was 14 when he ran away.After a few months out in the street, he started selling drugs for a gang in the streets. That only lasted three months until he was busted for selling to an undercover cop.He was taken into custody and interrogated. They told him that he only had to answer one question and they would let him walk, 'Who was he dealing for?'.He refused to give up the name and was thrown in juvie. He stayed there for three years, and every month of the first two years, the detective would come back and ask him the same question, with the same reward of letting him walk and everytime he'd keep quiet.A month after he was finally out, Ray's boys, the drug lord came to find him and brought him to Ray. And that was the night Ray took him to Hector King. Hector King had heard about his great oarth of silence and had wanted to see him. Hunter would never forget that night. For the first time in his life, he felt important.“What's your name, kid?” Hector had had a huge cigar between his thumb and index finger.“Jake.”“Your full name.”“Jake Scott.”“Ray told me you're an orphan.”“Yes…”He stared at the boy for a few seconds before he said, “From now on, you're Hunter King. You're a special kid. I see myself in you and I believe that... with proper training and time, you'd be very useful around here.”Before Hunter had time to even process all the praise Hector was giving him, Hector turned to Ray and said “And from today, he goes where I go. He's got a lot to learn.”That being said, Hector turned around and went to fill up his glass at the table against the wall.Hunter looked around and everyone was staring at him, some looked unhappy about what the mafia boss had said, some looked envious and some looked at him like he was a joke and Hector would take back his words.“You heard him little fella.” Ray had hit him lightly on the back. “Follow him.”Ray then gave him a little push forward, and when Jake looked at him, Ray smiled. That was the first time Ray was smiling at him.And he did just that, he followed Hector to the table and when Hector saw him, he offered the boy a glass of whiskey, his first time having whiskey. He was 17. Hunter had never felt that important, wanted, like he finally had a purpose.And now, 8 years later, and Hunter still felt the same way whenever Hector praised him.“I want you to settle this debt for me.” Hector said. “I want you to go to that place and take that rat out.”Hunter nodded.“And before you pull the trigger, I have a message that I want you to pass on to him.”“What's that sir?”“I'll phone you when you're standing in front of the son-of-a-bitch.”“Okay.” Hunter nodded. “So when am I doing this?”Hector glanced at his watch just for a split second. “Tonight. Take Joe with you.”The all black SUV pulled up softly in front of 32 Small Street, Windsor, Suningtan. A quiet and posh neighborhood. The houses here were all double stories and had gardens that looked so perfect it looked fake. Posh cars were parked on their driveways, all of them except for Marcus Grayman's driveway. There was no car. The men had switched off all car lights so it would be harder to spot them. Although it was dark, 11 at night, there were street lights in the street which pretty much luminated over everything. So there was not much cover.It had taken them 4 long hours to get to Suningtan from Bellerose. But Hunter was used to this. One time, Hector flew him and a few of the other men over to Japan to settle the rivalry between their consumers, two Japanese drug lords. Hector had only gotten involved because the Boryo-feisu rivalry between the Boryokuda drug lord and the Sukafeisu drug lord had caused a big drop in supply and demand and it was affecting King's income. 'Nothing gets in
Hunter pulled up in front of Hector King's mansion. He could see Joe waiting at the sliding gate. Joe was wearing a beige hoodie and khaki pants with white sneakers. He always had the best sense of style.A few feet ahead, Hunter could see Joe's batted 2008 Opel Cadette parked. Yes, Joe might wear the latest sneakers and always stayed on top of fashion trends but he seemed stuck back in time when it came to cars. He always said that the best car models were the ones made before 2009. What a joke. And since he didn't have a solid reason for keeping his worn out car that was handed down to him from his grandfather, everyone just assumed that he was stingy and didn't want to spend on gas or anything else for that matter unless it was clothes and alcohol.Hunter got out of his 2019 Mercedes Benz and pulled off his shades as Joe raised a hand to catch Hunter's attention as if Hunter would miss him in plain sight. Hunter looked up at the blazing sun and then clumsily pulled off his leather j
Joe rushed down the stairs as Hunter followed suit, trying to catch up. Joe looked mad. Although he hadn't said anything to King about what really went down and just stayed silent through King's millionth repetition of the Grayman story and watched Hunter entertain King by laughing and nodding occasionally, Hunter could see that Joe was upset! It was so easy for Joe to sit there with a long face because King had only been looking at Hunter throughout their fifteen minutes there. When Joe rushed out the front door and began stomping down the descent, Hunter began jogging after him. “Joe! Joe man.” Hunter called after him. “What?” Joe answered, not stopping. “Can you at least hold up?” Joe only stopped walking when he got to the sliding gate and was waiting for it to open wide enough for him to go through. “Joe, man.” “What bro?” Joe turned to him and snapped. “Relax man. What's wrong with you?” Hunter asked him. "What's wrong with me? Really?” Joe answered and then walked out th
Hunter approached the dance floor where the girl was dancing. When he reached her he stood in front of her and looked into her eyes smiling. She was smiling back at him too and still moving. She was much shorter up close and looked younger too, twenty maybe. Not older than twenty-one. Hunter wasn't much of a dancer himself, so he watched her body, trying to memorize the steps and then slowly join in. She looked down at his feet as he copied her steps and then looked back up at him and they began laughing. Hunter noticed that when she laughed, her face brightened up and she looked like the happiest person on earth. With their eyes glued to each other, they laughed and danced like they were the only two people on that dance floor. Hunter couldn't remember the last time he's had so much fun with just one bottle of Hew Point in his system. Probably never. “I'm Hunter.” He shouted over the loud music so she could hear him. “I'm Becca.” She responded. “Nice meeting you.” He held out a han
Hunter jerked awake by the sound of his ringtone. He slowly sat up on his couch, looking around his flat as if he had woken up in somebody else's house. It felt like something was different but he didn't know what. It was quiet, no surprise there. His flat was always quiet, his neighbors too. Whenever he was alone, his flat was always quiet, but his neighbors only seemed quiet because he had sound proof walls.When Hunter was about to get up from his couch, he noticed that he had a blanket over his legs, and he was naked under the blanket. He frowned, and that's when he remembered. Where's Becca? He got up and pulled on his boxers. His TV was on stand-by. He quickly ran to pick up his phone on his one seater where he had thrown it last night. The call dropped before he could pick it up. It was Joe. With the phone in his hand he walked to the kitchen. “Becca?” He called. When he got to the kitchen, there was no one there. “Becca?” He waited awhile just to make sure she wasn't there.
Tonight Hunter was wearing a suit, the only one he owned. A black suit. He wore it with no tie, because he didn't have one. What would he need to own a tie for? He didn't like dressing formal. It always made him feel funny. He believed that suits were designed for people at a high hierarchy and that whenever an ordinary person wore it, they would all of a sudden start behaving like they were now important, out of the blue, a somebody. When he stood infront of his closet an hour ago and the suit caught his eye, he found a reason to finally wear it. He was now one of the people at a high hierarchy. He had every right, even so, he was still not comfortable in a suit. Suits suited people like Hector and some of the capos, depending on their line of management, but him? He didn't think so, even though he was the second in command now. He had set the meeting at 7pm and he was walking in at 7h05. This warehouse was one of their interrogation sites. It was hard for anyone to find it if they h
Hector King was coming down his stairs when Hunter was walking in. Hector had a glass of whiskey in his right hand. You could see that he had just filled the ice because the glass looked misty. It was now almost 10pm and Hector was still in a suit. “You shot my best man.” Hector said when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He stopped there. Hector was wearing cream suit pants and a navy blue golf t-shirt which was tucked in. Hunter lowered his gaze, he knew that Hector would be mad about this. How mad, he had no clue. What if it cost him his new position?Hector then continued towards him and came to stand before Hunter. Hunter couldn't look Hector in the eye. “You shot Ricardo.” Hector repeated, as if Hunter hadn't already heard him the first time. “I know I told you to run shit but I didn't know you'd go and shoot Ricardo.”“King, I can explain.”Just then Hector's front door opened. Hunter knew better than to get distracted while Hector was staring him down, so he didn't look
“I still wanna know, bisexual women feel both dick and pussy, right?” Joe was drunk, talking in Zahn's face. “Now, people claim that lesbians don't feel dick at all. How's that possible?”Zahn looked at him like he was annoying her. “That's cause they don't.”“Man leave her alone man.” Hunter laughed, pushing Joe backwards on the couch. Joe and Zahn were both sitting on the three seater with another girl between them. On the two seater, there were two other girls and then Hunter was seated on the one seater with a girl sitting on his lap. “He's stupid.” Zahn said, drinking from her bottle. She was wearing a vest, showing off her tattoos. Both her arms were covered in red, green and black ink. Most of which were entangled branches and flowers. Zahn had black dread locks, dyed blonde at the edges, the sides of her head was cut low and the dreads were in the middle, like a mohawk. She was African American and light skinned. Both her nostrils were pierced, a ring and a stud. She was prett