Side Story #1 - Colt - Page 21

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When it came down to it, that was Colt's biggest concern as well.

Could he get away with killing these two fucks?

His gut was telling him that... yes, he could. It would be a risk--and perhaps an unnecessary one--but he probably could. Despite not having planned this all out tonight specifically, he was fairly confident that he wouldn't get caught.

But that was a criminal's hubris, wasn't it? He'd seen it countless times before. They never thought anyone would find out. They were always so confident. Sure, he might've had a few advantages over the average criminal. He wasn't a fucking idiot, for one thing. But that still didn't change the dangerously similar thinking that was going on here.

It might just be better to let the capital cops handle it from here and see where the chips fell. He didn't know if he could trust those cops to actually do their fucking jobs, but maybe that was the lesser gamble to take in this situation. Making someone disappear, much less two someones, would be no simple feat.

The conscious thug was still glaring at him. Colt didn't much care for the look in the guy's eyes, but it did make him a bit curious. Did he have something to say?

Colt pulled the gag out of the dude's mouth.

"You're so dead, motherfucker," the thug said, almost laughing despite his face still being full of rage. "Do you have any idea whose business you've just interfered with, you fucking moron?"

No, but he was very much interested in knowing. Colt just waited in silence, hoping the guy would tell him on his own.

"You've just made an enemy of the Muett family."

Colt nodded, more to himself than to the idiot in front of him. Sometimes, he had to admit, he actually kind of loved criminals. Their widespread dumbassery, while dangerous, could also prove very helpful on occasion.

"What're you nodding for?" the guy said. "Tryin' to tell me you already knew that? The fuck you did!"

Colt hadn't meant it in that way at all, but he saw no reason to correct him now.

"If you really knew who you were fuckin' with here, then you never woulda set foot in this house!" The thug had been quite calm with this threats before, but now he was raising his voice. "Who the fuck are you, anyway, huh?! Think you can just come in here and do whatever the fuck you want?!"

This loudmouth was starting to make too much noise, but Colt didn't want to shut him up just yet, in case the guy decided to share any other valuable information of his own volition.

"When the bosses find out about this, you're dead! I hope you know that, shitwad! And not just you, either! Your whole family, too! Anyone you ever loved! Or liked! Or even thought about liking! They're all fuckin' dead now! You understand?! Fuckin' dumbass, of course you don't! If you did, you'd be shittin' yourself, right now! I honestly can't believe how much--"

Colt stuffed the gag back in his mouth. That was enough. Tough talk and empty threats weren't valuable information.

And yes, in all likelihood, those threats were empty. Organized crime wasn't typically in the habit of wiping out entire families for the actions of a single person, even if they knew that person's identity. The mess that would make and the attention it would draw from the authorities--they wouldn't want that. The higher ups were usually smart enough to avoid that kind of heat, unlike the brainless thugs like this guy who did their dirty work.

However.

Colt was in a unique position. His family was very small. These thugs obviously didn't know his identity, but if they somehow ever found it out, their bosses might just decide that killing him and his two kids wouldn't be making too much of a splash.

We couldn't have that.

'You ever heard of this Muett family?' Colt asked.

'Yes,' said Bohwanox. 'They're one of the bigger players in the capital, but as I understand it, they haven't been taking any big actions, lately. Right now, the cops are focusing on the Rindols, who are kind of like the Muetts' rivals.'

The Rindols again. Colt hadn't informed Bohwanox of his distant relation to that family, nor did he intend to. Even the Rindols themselves wouldn't be aware of it, so there was no point. It was still unpleasant to keep hearing that fucking name, though. He could see why his grandparents had wanted to get away from this country.

At this rate, maybe he would, too. He didn't want to throw away months of work, trying to build a stable home for the twins to grow up in, but if the situation kept escalating like this, that might just be exactly what he needed to do.

For now, though, things were still manageable.

'Do you know if Keith Hopper is linked to the Muetts?' said Colt.

'Oh, yeah, he is. I'm not too clear on the exact structure of their organization, but I believe they're actually comprised of multiple smaller families with the Muetts being the top dogs. Almost like a "gang royalty," even.'

'Mm.' Colt had to admit, that did make them sound rather powerful. And if they were rivals with the Rindols, then that would mean that the Rindols were pretty fucking dangerous, too.

All the more reason to not leave any loose ends.

'Give me some strength again,' said Colt.

'What are you going to do?' said Bohwanox.

'Exactly what you wanted.'

The reaper paused. 'You sure?'

'What, you changing your mind again?'

'Not in the slightest. But are you sure you can get away with it?'

'Only an arrogant fool would say he was sure of that.'

'Okay, well, do you at least have a plan?'

'Yeah.'

'Wanna share it with me, then?'

'Clock's ticking, Boh.'

'The cops aren't on their way, yet.'

'Even so, the longer I stay here, the riskier this becomes.'

'Fine.' The reaper grabbed his shoulder with a phantasmal hand.

Colt felt the vigor pump through him anew, wiping away his fatigue completely. He breathed deep, and then immediately went to the garage. He opened it, then walked across the street to the thugs' car. He got in, turned it on, then backed it up through the driveway and into the garage. Then he closed the garage door again.

He returned to the thugs and hoisted the unconscious one up over his shoulder first. They were pretty big guys, so he'd have to make two trips to the car, and they both wouldn't be able to fit in the trunk. He decided to stuff the unconscious one in the backseat and the conscious one in the trunk. He made sure to recheck their bindings as well, just in case. They looked fine.

Unfortunately, the hostages would have to remain tied up at least until he got back, so he checked their bindings as well. The homeowner chick had actually managed to wriggle partially out of hers, so he fixed that. She was not pleased.

He decided to be courteous, though, and typed up a text message on Janet's phone--not to send to anyone, but just to show her so that he didn't have to speak and risk her recognizing his voice. The text informed her that he would return shortly and release them all, unharmed. He showed it to the other two hostages as well, and then gathered their phones and put them in a cabinet in the kitchen. He didn't want to risk any of the hostages somehow managing to dial the police while tied up.

After that, he opened the garage door back up, got in the thugs' car, and headed out.

Boh moved to join him, but Colt disliked that idea.

'I need you to stay here and keep an eye on the kids for me,' he told him. 'And the hostages.'

'They'll be fine. I need to go with you so that I can ferry the souls after you're done.'

'I'll tell you where they are after I get back. It's more important that you warn me in case anything goes wrong here while I'm gone.'

And reluctantly, Bohwanox agreed.

Colt backed the car out onto the driveway, got out, closed the garage door again from the inside, then exited the house from the front door to get back into the car. It would've been simpler if he'd had a garage door opener, but he did not. And taking an opener with him would've been a bad idea, anyway, considering he was about to go create another crime scene and didn't intend to bring this car back.

He had a destination in mind. Even though Colt hadn't been planning to kill anyone tonight, the truth of the matter was a little more complicated than just that. These last few months that he'd spent fixing up his little cabin in the woods and raising his kids, he had also had plenty of time to consider the various worst-case scenarios for his eventual visit to Orden and return to civilization.

And one of those worst-case scenarios had looked not entirely unlike this one. He hadn't imagined these exact circumstances, of course, but the idea that he might need to kill someone and hide the body... well, of course he'd thought of that.

Which was why he'd gone out of his way to find a good spot in the woods.

Unfortunately, Snider was such a small country that there were no major bodies of water that he could make use of. Rivers with strong undercurrents, particularly those that led out into the ocean, were often used for these sorts of terrible purposes, but densely forested areas could also serve quite well. It would require a lot of digging, though. Colt didn't have a shovel on hand, but that would be no problem, of course.

The lights of Orden faded from his rearview mirror. He began to run out of paved road, replaced by a bumpier dirt one, and then that, too, disappeared. Soon, he was driving through tall grass and into the forest.

Technically, this was the same forest where his cabin was located, but it was on the opposite side of Orden. The forest circled most of the way around the town, breaking only in the direction of Lagoroc and for a few small roads that led out of the country.

Eventually, the forest grew so thick that he could no longer proceed with the car, so it truly was the end of the road.

The car would be even more difficult to dispose of than the bodies, Colt knew. He'd have to reduce it scraps. He could deal with that last, though.

He exited the car and checked the backseat again. The guy there was still unconscious, apparently, having not budged at all. For some reason, Colt decided to check his pulse. It didn't matter much now, but yeah, he was still alive. Colt yanked him out of the car and onto the uneven ground, then lugged him up over his shoulder again to start carrying him deeper into the forest.

The prime location was still a short trek away.

He'd picked it for three reasons.

The first was the soft ground. While his destruction ability didn't care how tough or rocky the area was, all the mud and loose dirt would make the hole much easier to fill back in and conceal. It would be rather suspicious if he left a big patch of dirt and leaves in the middle of otherwise solid rock.

The second reason was the formation of the ground in the surrounding area. It jutted up in some places, creating some sneaky little coves that wouldn't even be noticed unless you were observing them from the right angle. Perfect for an extra layer of concealment.

And the third, final, and most gruesome reason was the insects. There were several enormous ant hills in this area, hidden amongst the trees and underbrush. Insects were one of nature's best tools for hastening decomposition. True, they might not be necessary if he just dug a deep enough hole, but hey, the added help wouldn't hurt.

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