Chapter 9

Rogue

Chapter 9

Masen

“Jasper, how you doing man?”  I walk out of my bedroom onto the balcony overlooking the pool.

“I am fine Masen would you stop worrying about me!”

“Who said I was worried? I always ask you how you are doing!”

“Sorry, I thought…”

“I know what you thought...listen, I wanted you to be aware of the meeting I plan to hold just as soon as I get back to Chicago. I am in California right now. We have something big about to happen. So, I need you to plan on holding a meeting at the riverfront warehouse. I only want to do this announcement once and I want everyone to be there from the bosses of each family down to the soldiers. I will let the soldiers address the associates themselves. I understand that not everyone will be able to attend, but try to get as many of them there, when I get back.”

“Whoa, wait, you want the soldiers also?”

“I just want to make sure nothing gets lost in the translation of the orders that I am about to lay down. This is too big for there to be any balls dropped. I also need you to have Roslie look into a private jet. The organization is going to need one on a regular basis for the next six months.”

“What is going on Masen?” I can hear the concern in his tone.

The front gate buzzes.

“Jazz, I promise I will tell you when I get back, take care of yourself man because I am going to need you.”

“I am fine Masen. Trust me.”

“Good, call me if you need me.”

I hang up as I walk to the door to key in the code to give the driver to the van access to the grounds. I walk outside with the keys to the VW. A bubbly teenaged girl climbs out of a van, “Hi! I am here for the rental!” She eyes me up and I look at her like she is crazy.

“How old are you?”

“22...why?” Her eyes light up and she is getting the wrong impression.

“You don’t look old enough to drive,” I look around her and see the side of the van has the rental agency’s logo on the door, “but who I am to argue. I am not the one who hired you, here you are. It is that ugly piece of shit in front of the first garage door,” I toss her the keys, “do me a favor, take it slow around the curves going back down. Even an experienced driver could drive right over the edge.” I warn her before I walk back inside. I would have no issue with the car going over the edge, but I would hate the idea of her being in it when it does. I hate VW’s. They are loud, annoying, ugly, and even when they are cherried out, they are still loud, annoying, and ugly as hell.

I log into my computer to check my email. Zafrina sent me a few links on the Swan file. She has gathered information on both of them, so I take a few minutes to review it before I head downstairs.   

There is a note with one of the links.

Warning Live Password Masen, get in and get out. Don’t linger unless you know where she is.

I get up and peek outside in the hallway and listen. I can hear water running from her shower in the guest bathroom.

I rush back to open the link to find a facebook profile.

Shocked is an understatement.

Bella has a facebook profile. I check her settings really quick to see if it is private or open. It is set to private so I don’t have a lot of time. I hate social media. I have never used it for a number of reasons. The first and foremost is that you cannot remain anonymous if you create a facebook profile. What is worse is that once you start actually utilizing the features facebook offers, you are pretty much painting an arrow aimed straight at you. The more you add, the more the world knows. Family, friends, jobs, school, pets, children. All of it becomes a smorgasbord of information on your life especially if you utilize the features.

I move fast since I am now currently logged in as her. I check to see if she has anything that would lead her to become aware that her account has been accessed from an unknown location. She is clear and I scroll her wall. She doesn’t post often, but there are a few recent posts. One is a photo of Chicago taken from a balcony. “Spending time with Charlie in Chicago.”

There are a few other random posts of jokes, and memes.

I move up to look at her list of friends and start screencapping page by page. Then I move over to her photo section.

She has an album labeled “Daddy’s little soldier,” so I open it up and scroll down.

The photo seems innocent enough. A father with his little girl dressed up like him. However, I also note that the soldier’s face is cut off. I am pretty sure this was done intentionally, considering who he is.

The next one is of Bella a few years older, but still wearing the same uniform her father has. I find it interesting considering little girls are supposed to like dolls, and tea parties. What I really notice is how happy she appears. She looks like any other child. Both photos have comments as to how cute she is.

It is the third picture that causes the hair to raise on the back of my neck. The comments below the photo are common, people like it, some ask her if she has gone hunting yet. It is the question that unnerves me that is bouncing around in my head. No one else seems to notice she is actually working on her accuracy and her targets are not deer or elk. She is practicing to kill, but the outside world seems oblivious.

It isn’t until the next few photos that those commenting, seem a little more concerned with a little kid like her handling a weapon with so much power.

Bella’s reply is that she loves target practice and the one training her is one of the few top snipers in the military who had retired. She assures them that he, nor her father would ever let any harm come to her or anyone else. She adds that she is using dummy bullets as a safety precaution.

I take notice right away that is not the case with this photo. The shell casings are right there on the table next to her.  She is shooting live rounds and she holds that weapon like she were holding a fork or a spoon. What amazes me is that she has the strength or so it appears to keep it steady.

The last photo is the most unnerving. If she has been handling weapons like this since she was old enough to walk, how good could she really be with one today?

The day will come, when I finally find out.

The next photo, causes me to check the date to see when it was posted.

It was over two years ago. As clear as day, she is sending out a message. I am not sure if it is intentional, but from my point of view she is giving a fair warning.

I log out quickly, and head out of my room. As I pass her door, I can hear her moving around now. Gustavo had delivered our luggage first thing this morning and she had excused herself to go change after breakfast. I knock on her door, “Bella, I will meet you downstairs, I am going to pull the car out.”

“Okay, I will be there in a minute!”

I make my way to the garage and choose the Jeep to ride in, because we are heading back out to the desert. Just as, I pull up she is coming down the stairs. Her laptop case in her hand and she stops and scrunches her nose up at me.

“What?”

“We aren’t actually driving into the desert Masen.” She rolls her eyes and climbs in.

“I beg to differ, I want to know what else is out there besides that place.”

“We already combed the area...it is secluded. Nothing around for miles. Daddy checked it out.”

“Why do you call your father Daddy? Aren’t you a little old for that?”

She glares over at me, “I just never bothered to call him anything else.” she glances out the side window and I take off heading for the freeway. “He will always be Daddy to me.”

Two hours later I find myself standing here watching Bella and Garrett spar in a ring. They have a training room set up with a fully equipped gym and some of the best equipment here where they train and practice. Garrett goes down hard, but he jumps back up, snapping out of the daze she just put him in. Her legs are long enough to strike him from a distance and the speed at which she does it, reminds me exactly of Bruce Lee. Back in the day camera's were not fast enough to catch his speed and to keep his opponents safe he never used his full strength, because if he did, he would seriously injure them. They would never see it coming until it was too late.

"Damn, you been practicing."

"Maybe," she laughs, "or maybe you are just getting slow in your old age."

"Oh, you are gonna pay for that one." Garrett burst forward, and came at her with all his weight behind him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, slamming into her. He picked her up and threw her to the ground. I could hear the air leave her lungs as he landed on top of her, but he rolled away from her quickly, jumping back up.

"What the fuck was that?" She gasps, trying to catch her breath as she stands back up.

"Sorry, I cheat." He chuckles.

She took a minute to catch her breath then, took her stance. He attempted to kick her but she blocked it before it connected.  All I caught was a blur of her arm, then her entire body lifted up off the ground and she roundhouse kicked him so damn hard, it spun him completely around. You could hear the sound of her foot connecting with his face echo through the training center.

She did not need much space to assault anyone. Nor did she need the leverage, which pretty much showed me that she has gone easy on me the few times I nearly assaulted her.

When Garrett turned around to face her, his eye was swollen shut, he spat out a mouth full of blood cursing, "Fucking hell!"

"Sorry, but you know how I feel about cheaters." she shrugs.

Either Garrett or myself, anticipated her next move until it was too late. Bella’s speed is unbelievable and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. She lunged forward repeating the same move Garrett pulled on her. Garrett was lying flat on his back cursing up one side and down the other. He rolled over but she had already jumped back up.

“I think that is enough.” She held her hand out for him to take.

By the time it was over both of them climbed out of the ropes and you could clearly see who won that session. Garrett looked like hell, and Bella didn't have a mark on her.

"Masen's turn." Garrett coughs out.

"It would not be a fair fight." I state. They both look at me surprised, "I would just shoot her before she landed the first blow. See, not fair. I find guns so much better at knocking down an opponent, and I don't even break a sweat." I turned around and walked away laughing to myself.

“Pussy.” Garrett calls out but I ignore him walking out to go check out the stockpile of assorted weapons that just arrived.

I grab the hammer and pry open the first crate. It is loaded with several of the same type of weapons.

“I have been waiting anxiously for these!” Garrett says.

"A bow and arrow?" I laugh while she just stares at me, her expression stone cold and unaffected.

"What?" I continue to chuckle.

"The first wave has to be as stealth as possible. This gives us the advantage. They won't hear us coming. You pull out an AK 47, or one of the hand grenades, and you are going to wake up the entire state of California. Deadly silent and accurate as hell. Calibrated to take down a fucking Elk in the woods, which is much bigger than a blood or crip walking down the street in the hood. It's effective on either of the two, trust me."

Now, I feel like a fucking idiot and I suddenly realize, how often I underestimate her, but then I am reminded of what she has already accomplished and proven beyond a doubt.

"Show me. Teach me what you know and I promise, not to laugh again."

She smiles, and bats her lashes at me, well I think that is what that look was. "I really like your laugh, I hope you do it again...laugh I mean."

I smile at her as she and Garrett gather a bow each and several arrows. I follow them out of the opposite side of the complex and onto a field outside that is set up for target practice.

Garrett has already taken his position next to her. We pause to watch him fire off a few arrows. The first one misses. He makes a few adjustments on it and after that, he is hitting the outer edges of the bullseye each time getting closer to the center.

“I love this fucking toy! I just wished I could still see out of both eyes.” he laughs and I can’t help but chuckle at how much he looks like a little kid in a candy shop with his shiny new toy.

“My turn.” Bella takes a minute to make a few adjustments on it and then gets into position and loads an arrow and takes aim. She inhales then exhales slowly and pulls the string back.

Garrett has moved to stand on the other side of her, holding a hand full of arrows. She lets the first one go and it flies past the target altogether. She makes a few adjustments on it and takes aim again after Garrett hands her another arrow.

From that point on she starts firing. Each arrow hitting dead center, then she begins to pick up her speed taking less time to aim. Garrett hands her another arrow over and over barely keeping up with her. It is amazing to watch. She turns to me and hands me the bow, moves behind me to guide me on how to hold it, but there is no way this will work.

"You are much taller than me, so ummm...you need to uh.... get behind me." she is stumbling on her words, but I reposition myself. I flash her a devious smile, moving around and bringing my arms around her body to put my hands over hers.

“Take your stance just like this. Make sure you are centered. This isn't the bow you will be using. Each bow needs to be fitted to the one using it, so keep in mind and don't get discouraged. Hold your fingers in an L shape and place the bow in the curve of your hand. Your trigger needs to be between your first and second nuckle, like so."

"I aim next?"

"No, you need to noch your arrow first then you use your site to take aim."

I catch a wave of the sweet scent of her long dark brown mane that blows in the wind. Fuck, she smells amazing.

She mimics the steps of what I am supposed to do, where to load the arrow and how to hold it before pulling on the string.

  

Then she steps out from under me and lets me try it on my own.

I follow her instructions and pull back the string. I am a little surprised by how much tension and the strength it requires to just accomplish that. I take a deep breath and look at the target and where I want to hit. I let it go. It misses the mark by a mile and I curse.

“Again.” she says, handing me another arrow. Garrett disappears but reappears with more arrows.

“Let it go when you exhale.” She instructs and I follow her lead. On about the tenth try, I manage to hit the outer edge of the target.

“It looks easier than it actually is.” I groan, but I don't give up.

“Practice makes perfect.”

“Says the one that has been using it since she first learned how to walk.” I mutter.

She tilts her head and looks at me curiously. I realize the slip I just made but try to cover it up. “Your father started teaching you at what age again?” I ask trying to deflect that to the information that she and her father shared with us the night we had dinner.

“Since she was kneehigh to a grasshopper.” Garrett laughs.

“See.” I smirk and turn to take aim again. It takes me an hour before I am close to the bullseye, but she is right the more I practice the better I am getting.

“So, my question is how does one conceal this big of a weapon? It is going to be pretty obvious don’t you think to anyone else out there who may happen to see us?”

“These are only used to take out those guarding the bigger hotspots. Like the warehouses, the hideouts, and their stomping grounds. We won’t be carrying these on the street. Once we take out those patrolling, then we switch to much more stealthier weapons.”

“I take it all your people have undergone their training.”

“They all need to be updated to the current job. This isn’t New York and these guys are not typical mobsters, they are going to need a little extra training. Garrett is in charge of that. All you have to do is schedule your team in groups of ten to come out and spend some time down here where they will be trained. We then go through a selection process of who can handle what position when the time comes. I think between me, Garrett, my father, and you, we can come to an agreement on who will be on which teams when the time comes. Each one is unique but I will explain all that later. Right now, we need to set up surveillance at a few new locations.”

“Gustavo beat you to it young lady. He even updated the computer system.” Garrett interrupts.

“Show me.” she demands and he leads us back to the computer room that is his station. I sit back and watch him go into the system and bring up a few camera’s around a warehouse. You can tell they are hidden by their surroundings.

“Why is this new?” I ask.

“They are paranoid, with good reason. They move their headquarters often, but there are some places that stay put and have been for years. Those will be the easiest to hit. They are creatures of habit, the old school members.”

“First, my father’s team goes in first, makes contact with the target and he will bring them back here. Once they are interrogated and have given up any new information, only then will we move in. It won't be long though, these guys are important and if they go missing for too long, the entire operation could be jeopardized because they will scatter.”

“I say it is time for a fucking drink.” Garrett turns to head back inside. Bella follows with me in tow.

“Please, any place but that damn honky tonk shit you love so much.” Bella looks back at me mimicking a gag as if she is about to throw up. I laugh because it is behind Garrett’s back.

“You never seem to mind the view of endless cowboys when you go with me.” he snorts as we return the weapons to the crates.

“Masen?”

“What?”

“You like country music?”

“Not particularly, I mean I listen to it on occasion but it isn’t my first choice.”

“Well, at least you didn’t say no, so there is hope. You are driving.” he adds as he climbs in the back of the jeep and settles in.

After we have maneuvered our way out of headquarters and are back on paved highway again, I follow the directions Garrett gives me. The sun is starting to set and I can’t believe the day is already over.

I pull up in front of a small bar in Los Angeles and hand over my keys to the valet driver as I climb out. I can hear live music nearly bumping the roof off the place and I fall behind Garrett as he leans in to the bouncer standing at the door. They exchange words, we are let in ahead of those in line that don’t hesitate to shout profanities at the big motherfucker that just gave us access ahead of them. He crosses his arms over his chest and glares out at them. I can’t help but laugh. It reminds me of the clubs I can get into, anywhere in Chicago. It is all about who you know, and apparently Garrett knows a few people.

The club is busy, but not so much that you can’t make you way around. The sounds of country music that I don’t recognize fill the speakers overhead and we make our way to the bar. Garrett orders a bottle of whisky and three shot glasses. “First round is on me. What kind of beer do you drink Masen?”

I am not a huge fan of beer so I simply state, “Whatever you are having is fine with me.”

“Alright, make it three drafts of my usual darlin’.” he winks at the girl tending bar. She can barely see over the damn thing and I don’t see her looking more than around twenty years old herself. A few minutes later she artfully sets up three shot glasses, pours the whisky in all three without spilling a drop and sets the bottle down, sliding them in our direction. I watch her move around the bar with ease and I can tell she has been doing this for a while.

She pours three beers with little to no foam on top, sets down three coasters and places our beer in front of us. I look over at Garrett and thank him for the beer and take a sip. It doesn’t taste that bad so I chug a little down.

“A toast.” he holds up his shot glass as Bella picks up hers and I follow. “This is the first of a fond farewell to the bad guys.” he throws his back, and Bella follows with me right after her. The alcohol burns as it goes down and warms me up from the inside out.

Within five minutes, there have been three females asking both Garrett and or myself to dance. I shake my head no and continue to drink my beer. I catch Bella’s gaze in the mirror in front of us and smile at her each time. She can’t help but smile in return.

Over the course of the next two hours, we have talked about everything from preferences for gun makers, to the outrageous names we have heard alcoholic drinks named after, most of them sex. The topic shifts to fantasies and Garrett is all too willing to share what his ultimate fantasy is. All three of us are well on our way to drunk and at some point we had moved to a table and are sitting around it.

“He wants to fuck on a mechanical bull.” Bella waves at him and rolls her eyes before she finally gives in and laughs at his attempt to defend what he believes is the hottest fantasy ever. She argues with him over the ability to stay on the bull, he argues that all the girl he is fucking has to do is stay on him. They banter back and forth like brother and sister.

“One of these days I will get a call from the hospital and they will tell me, Garrett here, just had a horn ectomy. That is when someone has to get a fake mechanical bulls horn removed from his ass, after his failed attempt to have sex on it.”

I laugh out loud at the visual. 

It doesn’t take long for Garrett to accept one of the offers to dance. We watch him and laugh at his antics and the way he is starting to show signs of how drunk he really is. I have little room to talk. I am feeling the effects of all the shots we have taken as well as the beer I have consumed.

"You sure you don't want to tell me? Garrett isn't here now."

"Garrett isn't the reason I haven't disclosed mine!" her face is flushed, her eyes red and glazed over.

She keeps her head down, but it don't matter I can still see her face turning beet red.

"No."

"No you want to, or no you don't want to?" I take another drink of my beer.

"You don't give up do you?" she is starting to look frustrated.

"If I gave up so easily I never would have gotten where I am today Miss Swan."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, are you going to finally give in and tell me?" I push.

"Fine." She takes another sip of her beer and sets her mug down, sliding it off to the side, leans forward with her elbows resting on the table, her arms now crushing her breasts together in a position that nearly spills the beauties out over the top of her shirt right in front of me. My eyes naturally lock on to them and I stare for a beat too long when I finally meet her gaze again, she has a smirk on her lips.

"Typical male pervert, why are you all so fascinated by tits?" I can't help but smile.

"Guilty as charged, so sue me for admiring the view, it is a spectacular fucking view Miss Swan." I nod towards her cleavage, "if you don't believe me, take a look for yourself."

She rolls her eyes, "I have seen it, thanks." "Well it is a first for me, so I hope you don't mind if I admire it."

Her expression transformed, her eyes growing darker, hypnotizing me with the way she looks at me now. It is heady, seductive and devious look I have seen. She unleashes that expression on me at the same time she starts to spill the dirty details of her most desirable fantasy.

I tune everyone and everything going on around me out.

"I imagine a night spent with a person you have this magnetic attraction to. One that doesn't involve handcuffs, or threesomes, or kinky sex in a dirty motel room. I am talking about a night where two people share a passion for one another so intense, neither of us can barely breathe. It is a night of pure uninhibited sex between us that lasts all night long. We do it on every possible surface, in every position we dare try. The sex is raw, intense, full of passion. None of it is planned. I don't see it coming, you know, just attacked by lips and overpowered by his sheer strength as he takes control over everything. I have the pleasure of getting mauled by him completely, tossed around like his rag doll, bending me to his will this way and that way. It all starts with a kiss and from that moment on, he manhandles me, forcefully tearing my clothes off until I am naked. I am thrown up against the wall, rough, forceful, but the kisses are still very passionate. It isn't violent the way I am making it sound, it is all consuming his lips and tongue crying out to devour me, holding nothing back. He wastes no time when he thrusts himself inside of me, sweat pouring off our bodies while he is fucking me so hard up against that wall, leaving his marks all over me, on both the outside, even deeper on the inside. I will feel it for days afterwards. But it doesn't stop there, I give him whatever he wants, I will ride him, let him watch me touch myself, whatever his heart deires that I can do, I willingly give to him. I will swallow every inch of him. He owns me and is allowed to take me where ever he chooses, from the front of from behind, as often as he wants. I am there to pleasure him all night long, as he is there for me."

"Behind?" my brow lifts up with my question.  "Yes Masen, I did mention dirty, and anal sex is great! Don't knock it till you have tried it." she winks. She just fucking winked at me and now I think she is teasing me.

"Oh, no I have tried it Isabella, I am just a little surprised you have." I grin.

Her lip curls up and she licks her lips seductively, "It is a fantasy that is never going to happen, because men don't think the way we women do so the whole idea of it is ridiculous to even go on fantasizing about. That is why it is a fantasy. Fantasies don't really happen. They are just a tool to lie in bed at night and daydream about while I touch myself." She picks up her mug and throws the rest of her beer back.

She moves to sit back in her chair all while smiling at me. She is proud of herself, though I am not sure why.

"Ready to go? We need to get Garrett and get out of here, we have a long day planned out for tomorrow."

She is fucking crazy if she thinks for a minute that I am going to stand up right now. God I hate her, and what is even worse, I want her more now than ever.

"I am not done with my beer yet." I take another sip of it, milking the rest of it for as long as I need to.

"You know in all fairness, come to think of it, you heard mine and Garrett's but we haven't heard yours." She states while her lip curls up on the right side.

"Heard whose?" Garrett interrupts taking his seat reaching for his beer. Bella's smile grows a little more devious, "I just told Masen my fanatasy, but he is holding out on his."

"Ah, I see." he chuckles swallowing back the last of his beer, "I am just in time then." He starts to sit back and wait for me to speak. I cut them both off.

"I am done." I stand up throwing a wad of cash on the table and I head for the front door, with both of them hot on my trail.

RobsHandMonkey

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