“Alright. Be right back.” Henry ran upstairs. He came back down in seconds with his vest on over a shirt with several weapons stashed in it. He quickly put on a hoodie and his ball cap.
He glanced at me. “They have no idea who they’re fucking with.” Henry was back. “Everyone stand back. Nick, get the sniper rifle and go upstairs. I’m going to go out there. If anything happens, put some lead in them.” That was a little blunt. I didn’t like the plan one bit because it wasn’t well thought out…not that any of our other plans were ever well thought out. He was being a bit too much of a loose cannon for me right now, though.
“You got it, boss.” Nick grabbed the sniper rifle and extra ammo, and ran upstairs to the front bedroom.
“Henry, you can’t go out there! He’s aiming right at the door.”
“Elaina… I’ve got this. Trust me.” “Crazy Henry” had arrived, and I knew not to fuck with that Henry. I backed off because there was no way that I could change his mind, and if I tried, he would just explode. We didn’t need any more of that for the time being.
“I love you.” I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“As well.” He kissed me on the forehead. I grabbed Claire, and she pulled me into the kitchen so we could watch out the window. Thomas ran upstairs with Nick.
We heard the door slowly open, then Henry’s booming voice. “Is there an issue, gentlemen?”
“Oh, god…” I covered my eyes.
“An issue? Of course there’s a fucking issue,” said the mangy-looking guy holding the gun. “Two of your people stole gas from vehicles we have already claimed.”
“Ah, I see. A simple misunderstanding.” Henry smiled. The mangy man with the gun didn’t return the gesture.
“It’s more than a simple misunderstanding. You see, this is our neighborhood. And it was fine until you waltzed in here and thought you were going to move on in.”
“Actually, we were only staying the night. We can be out of your hair in the next hour, and you can have your precious, rundown neighborhood back.” The older grubby man with the wrench smashed the passenger side window of Sophie’s truck. I saw the muscles in Henry’s jaw twitch.
“Oh shit, Claire. Oh shit. This is going to end badly.” I could almost hear Henry’s teeth grinding together.
“Please. Stop doing that.” Henry was doing his best to be calm. “I’ll give you back your gas, and we will leave.”
The man with the gun shook his head and laughed maniacally. “Nope. You will give us everything you have, including that truck.” He pointed at Henry’s truck.
Henry looked surprised by this man’s brazenness. Then his face shifted, and just like that, “Program Henry” took over. “I don’t think so, mate,” he said in a low, gruff voice.
“What makes you think that we’ll let you go alive?” The guy with the wrench began laughing like a lunatic. “What makes you think that you’re the only one who has attempted this, then attempted to walk away?”
“You have no clue who you’re fucking with,” Henry growled. The two men laughed. Henry wasn’t laughing. He gaze was strong and icy. He was ready to strike, like a waiting rattlesnake. One more jab and it was on.
“Do you have the queen on speed dial?” said the mangy younger man, mocking Henry’s accent. They laughed again. Henry’s face was unreadable.
“Claire…,” I whispered. My entire body was trembling.
“I know. Trust him. He knows what he’s doing.” Then the older man with the wrench continued smashing Sophie’s truck. We heard a whistle, and the man with the gun looked around.
Henry saw his opportunity and jumped him, putting him in a headlock. Then he wrestled the gun out of his hands, tossing it behind him, and pulled out a knife. He pressed the knife to his throat. He struggled, but Henry was far too strong for him.
“Now. Let’s renegotiate, shall we?” He glared at the older man.
“Let him go, or I’ll fuck you up.” The older man seemed a little nervous, even though he spoke as if he wasn’t. I assumed the one in the headlock was his son. After all, they both seemed to have a similar mangy look about them.
“We can’t let him do this!” I grabbed Claire before she ran out.
“What happened to ‘he knows what he’s doing, and we have to trust him’, Claire?”
“We can’t go around killing people!” she yelled.
“Lower your voice! He hasn’t killed anyone yet.” I focused back on outside.