TORTURE ME_ The Bandits MC(160)

“You’re thinking of the ocean, you idiot,” Chase teased his fellow knucklehead.



“Alright, knuckleheads, radio silence unless it’s important. If there’s a chance they might see us, there’s also a chance they might be able to listen in on this frequency,” I told them.



My nerves were beginning to knot up in my stomach as our target grew closer and closer to us. It wasn’t because I was worried about Ivan or Dimitri, or even the job we were doing for the mayor. I was worried about Julia. I was worried for her safety.



My veins ran icy cold as I realized I was going into the very situation I had hoped to avoid with her. It was Lisa all over again. I could see the scene with Lisa playing over and over in my head. I couldn’t let the same thing happen to Julia, but I was sure we were too late. There was little opportunity to avoid it at this point.



“What’s going on, Gage? What are you thinking about?” Ricky’s concerned voice came over the line, snapping me back to the water with the yacht getting ever closer to us as we approached it. I could feel the mounting tension among my men. It was an eager kind of tension as they readied themselves to pounce.



“Alright, guys,” I said, deciding to address the operation ahead of us. “In just a few moments, we’re going to be diving into the water to swim the rest of the way to Ivan’s yacht. I want to thank you all for coming out here with me to hopefully finish this rivalry for good. We have a mission ahead of us. I’ve given you all the names of the men we’re supposed to capture for the FBI to pick up on the boat later.”



I took a deep breath and sighed. I was as ready as I was ever going to be to do this, but I wasn’t ready at all. I was just tired of this shit. I was ready to get back on top and simply maintain our position.



“This is going to be another gunfight, guys. Understand that there is a chance we won’t all make it back. Let me thank you now for your commitment to the MC. Everyone here tonight has already proven themselves to me by showing up and showing that you’re ready to go through with something like this,” I continued.



“You suck at motivational speeches,” Ricky joked over the line. “Guys, let’s go kick this Russian’s ass!”



Everyone cheered over the line, and I heard the splashing sounds of my men diving into the water to swim out the rest of the way to the yacht. I was the last one in. I had my doubts about our mission. I had my doubts about how trustworthy the mayor was, but I felt like I owed it to Julia to do whatever I could to try to save her. I’d fucked up in the past, and this was my last opportunity to get it right. If I couldn’t set the record straight by taking out Ivan, then at least I wouldn’t have to wake up in the morning to face another day of failure.



“What time is it?” Ricky asked as we got closer to the boat.



“I don’t know. Probably about three or four in the morning,” I told him. “Why?”



“There are people moving around on the boat,” he said.



“That’s probably just security,” I told him. “Chances are Ivan and his higher ups are asleep at this hour, resting up for tomorrow’s big deal.”



“Or your buddy, the mayor, gave us up,” Jorell reminded me.



“I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt.” I looked at the people walking around on board. There were only a few of them. It wasn’t enough to be more than just security. We were going to be fine.



“If you say so.”



The line went silent again.



“Everybody look for a way up. If you find one, let the rest of us know,” I ordered the team as we reached the boat.



We quickly found ways up onto the deck.



“What now, fearless leader?” Ricky whispered.



“Now, we start shooting,” I said, pulling off my night vision goggles and approaching one of the guards from behind. I put the barrel of my handgun right against the back of his head and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out in the darkness as he crumbled at my feet.



“Jesus Christ,” Chase exclaimed. “Next time, silencers.”



I laughed. “You know, guys, in the old days, we would be in the process of fucking over the mayor and FBI right now.” The first shot felt so good I started musing.



“What do you mean, Gage?” Ricky asked cautiously.



In our all-black suits, we were able to hide in the shadows all over the boat, which was good. I ducked down as one of the dead guy’s comrades came around the corner to check on his friend with the new hole in his head. I heard men talking in Russian as they came out to see what the commotion was.