Money Man

chapter Thirty-three

Seth

“ God sees all. He’s coming back,” I say as I stand in front of St. Augustine’s Church.

For the last four days, the guys have been hitting every church Lucien found that was connected to Corbyn. They’ve stolen almost twenty million in cash.

Kyra went through with her research and discovered that this last Church was our best chance of running into Adam. Today was the day he delivered the money. And it was the first day I was making my reappearance.

“I’m glad to finally have you back, brother.” Lucien says in my head.

I’ve been out here a couple hours now. I’ve caught a few nasty looks, collected about six dollars in change, and I’ve been provided two cups of coffee and a cheeseburger. However, I have yet to see the man I’ve come for.

I turn to look up at the large building built in 1893. There is a ramp that goes from the street to the front door. The ramp’s tall retention wall doesn’t allow me to see the front door or for anyone at the front to see me.

“How’s it going, Seth?” Zel’s voice comes through the earpiece.

Zel is on top of one of the buildings nearby with his M24. Beast, Maksim, and Many are down the street in a catering van. If things go left, they are all ready to help.

“Pretty productive day,” I reply. “I made six dollars.”

I hear a long sigh in my earpiece.

“They should’ve been here by now. Maybe Lucien got the wrong church,” Maksim says.

“No,” I answer. “My brother is never wrong.”

The jury is still out on that guy. I know everyone else has accepted him, but I still don’t trust him.

“You don’t trust anyone,” Lucien says in my head. “Maksim has proven his loyalty. Plus, I’ve been monitoring his movements and phone calls. He’s had no contact with Corbyn or his siblings.”

“Looks like I’m not the only one that doesn’t trust him if you’re tracking his calls.”

Luc chuckles in my head. “ Yeah, well, Priest didn’t raise a fool.”

At the mention of his name, there is a tightness in my chest. I shut my eyes to stave off the ache.

“I know it hurts, brother. You don’t have to hold it in.”

My eyes pop open and I shake my head. “Get the fuck out of my head. I have work to do.”

“Look alive, Seth,” Beast’s voice comes through the earpiece. “We got action heading toward you.”

Looking down the street, a line of black SUV’s approaches the church. They look like the caravan we’ve been waiting for.

“Alright,” Zel says. “Once you get inside the church, I will have limited view. When you get down in the basement, I’ll be completely blind.”

“Soon as you clear the entrance, let us know,” Beast says. “We will come in behind you.”

I knew the plan. We’d discussed it many times before we left the house. I didn’t need the run down again.

“If one more person speaks, I’m taking this fucking earpiece out.”

“Is he always this much of an asshole?” Maksim asks.

The resounding yes from Zel, Many, Hawk, and Beast almost makes me chuckle. Although Hawk and Angel aren’t here, they are monitoring everything through the earpieces and from the street cameras around the building.

The line of SUV’s pulls in front of the Church. I count seventeen men in ill-fitting black suits and one man wearing dark shades, a black trench with a dark gray shirt and jeans. He’s tall, but nowhere near as tall as Maksim and Beast. He has the same color blonde hair as Beast, but his is cut short and styled like those pretty boys that make videos of themselves walking in slow motion at gas stations.

“I found Adam,” I whisper into the earpiece. “I have to admit, little brother. I think you got the better genes out of all of Corbyn’s cum drops.”

“I really prefer the other twin,” Maksim says with a sigh.

The priest, dressed in his robes, runs off the ramp and down onto the sidewalk.

“Adam,” he says approaching the guy I assumed was the sibling. “We were expecting you hours ago.”

Adam looks back and forth down the street. He glances at me, but quickly assesses me and then looks away.

“Corbyn’s dealing with some pest. We’ve been having to move some shit around. A couple of our churches have been attacked.”

The priest shakes his head. “Should we be concerned?”

“No, they only strike when I’m not there. They are not that bold to try it when I’m around.”

He’s a cocky little bitch.

“I’m going to enjoy killing this asshole,” Zel says, feeling the same way I do.

“Well, come on,” the priest urges. “I have everything ready to go.”

Five of the men with Adam pull large duffle bags out of the back of the truck. Each man carries two to three bags at one time. Adam then directs his men, making two of them stay out front to keep watch. The others, I’m assuming, are going in with him.

Adam starts to walk off, but stops. He taps one of his men on the shoulder.

“Hey, get rid of the bum,” he says before following the priest and his men up the ramp and into the church.

The guy appointed to deal with me starts walking in my direction.

“Show time, brother,” Lucien says in my head.

“Aye, you, get your shit and get out of here,” the guy says.

He shoves my buggy over, pouring out the contents onto the ground. I bend down pretending to pick up the stuff. He leans down and grabs my shoulder. I pull the knife out of my leg holster and drive the blade into the bottom of his chin. He gurgles up blood. I pull the blade out and then slice through his neck, finishing him off. He starts falling, but I catch him in my arms. Gently, I lie him down on the blanket I was using and then cover him up.

Taking off the dingy long winter jacket, I toss it down. Turning my head from side to side, I release the tension.

Here we go. Wiping the blade off on the coat, I make my way up the ramp toward the front door. Both men Adam left behind eye me suspiciously. The one on my left places a hand at his back as if he’s going to draw his weapon. The one to my right approaches me.

“Hey, aren’t you the….” I don’t let him finish his sentence. I swipe my Bowie across his face with my left hand. Before the other could pull his gun out, I had mine in my hand. Putting a bullet between his eye, I then turned and shot the first man in the forehead, silencing his moans.

I step over their bodies and push through the church doors.

“He’s in,” Zel says through the earpiece. I’ll pick off anyone that comes out or tries to enter.”

“On our way,” Beast announces.

I walk into the small foyer of the church. Stopping, I take a deep breath. From here on out, I need a clear head.

“You got this, brother,” Lucien says in my head.

“This is not a got damn after-school special. Will you shut the fuck up?”

Lucien’s sigh echoes in my head before I feel him slip away.

I walk into the sanctuary, quickly scanning the scene in front of me. Standing right at the door as I walk in is one man. He eyes me skeptically but doesn’t move. The priest is in front of the altar talking to one of Adam’s men. There is one guy sitting in the pews on the third row back on the left. Another guy is in the right pews at the very front. I look over my shoulder to see the guy up on the balcony, his arms crossed over his chest. One more guy is near a narrow door in the back, near the altar. I’m sure that door leads down to the basement where I will find Adam.

The priest looks up at me and smiles as I walk toward him.

“How can I help you, young man…”

I pull my gun out and shoot him in the leg and immediately take out the guy next to him with a shot to the head. The guy in the front pew stands, but my Bowie tossed into his chest sends him back to his seat.

Dealing with the guys outside, I realize that these men are slow to draw. Their guns are at their backs, which takes them longer to pull them out. I spent six months of training before becoming a deacon on working how to quickly draw a weapon.

“ The time it takes you to pull your shit out can mean life or death. The fastest draw always wins, ” Priest’s voice says in my head.

I shake off that feeling I get whenever I think about him.

The guy in the right pew runs toward me. I fire a round into his head before diving behind the pews. I moved just in time because a hailstorm of bullets whizzed into the wood over my head. The fucking guy on the balcony is a problem.

“Shit,” I grumble.

“We have a problem up here,” I hear one of the men talking loudly in what I think is a radio or earpiece.

“Talk to me, Twin? What do you need?” Zel says in my ear.

I peek around the pew and nearly get my head blown off by the guy on the balcony. Lying flat, I roll under the empty bench style seats.

“Do you have a clear shot into the balcony?” I ask Zel.

“No. The stained glass makes it hard to see.”

The room goes silent, but I can hear the sound of heavy breathing, moaning, and footsteps. Peeking under the row of pews I’m under, I spot a pair of black boots. Aiming my gun, I shoot at the guy’s ankles. A scream and then a thud proceeds the man falling to the ground. He turns his head just in time to spot me under the pew. I put a bullet in his right eye.

Bullets once again land into the wood over my head. I tuck and roll back in the opposite direction.

“I’m stuck until you get the guy in the balcony,” I tell Zel.

“Let’s Hawk it,” Zel says.

I smile before lifting my head slightly to get a clear view of the balcony guy. I grasp his location before ducking back behind the pew.

“30-degree angle, from center, your right,” I say to Zel.

“Got it.”

A loud cracking sound, like when a rock hits your car window, proceeds groaning and then a loud thump. Lifting from my hidden spot, I see a small hole in the stain glass window. Looking down beneath the balcony stand is the body of the gunman.

“That was a damn near perfect headshot.”

“Hawk, you would be proud,” Zel laughs.

“I am,” Hawk says through the earpiece.

I spin just in time to see the guy I hit with my knife standing behind me with his gun aimed at me. Shutting my eyes, I know it’s too late. I think of Malia and my kids.

“Never lose count of your bodies,” Priest words play back in my head.

The silent purr of a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun goes off and I wait for the pain. Yet, nothing happens.

I open my eyes to find the gunman lying on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding his head. I turn to find Many, Maksim, and Beast at the door. Beast lowers his gun and walks over to me.

“You good?” he asks.

“What the fuck took you so long? Did you take the scenic route?”

Many chuckles. “New brother, Maksim, misjudged the distance we were parked,” he says in his deep voice.

Beast walks over to the guy he shot and yanks my knife out of his chest. He wipes the blood off on the dead man’s suit before walking over to me. He eyes me up and down. At first, I thought he was checking for injuries, but the way he stares at me, I feel like he’s looking for something else.

“Are you good?” He asks again.

Once again, I open my mouth to tell him yes, but I stop to think. He isn’t asking if I’m physically hurt, he’s asking if I’m mentally good. Staring down the barrel of a gun isn’t new. I’ve had many close calls in this line of work. However, this time felt different. It felt closer. Before losing Priest, dying felt unreal. Even though we’ve been close to it many times, it almost felt as if we were superhuman. But after losing Priest, I’ve realized that we aren’t immortal. For the first time, some of the things I’ve done, the decisions I made while doing this, seemed too risky. Staring down the barrel of that gun made me realize what my brother had been wanting for so long—to be done.

Finally, I answer Beast with the correct response. “No,” I say looking into his green eyes. “But let’s finish this.”

He nods his head in understanding and holds out my Bowie for me. I take the knife and place it at my back inside the holster there.

“How many do we have left?” Maksim asks, making his way over to the moaning Priest.

“Eight, plus Adam,” I say as Beast and I join him in front of the priest.

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” the priest snarls. “You will never again live in peace. He will…”

Beast puts a bullet in the priest’s head.

“We don’t have time for final words,” he says, turning toward the door at the back of the altar. The one I believed led down to the basement.

He’s right. I turn to follow him.

Just as we go to take the first step, the door we were heading to opens and two men step out, their guns aimed.

Beast fires the first shot, taking out the first guy. Simultaneously, I fire the second. The other guy drops to the ground, and we run toward the door.

“Is there another exit from that basement?” I ask Zel.

“Yeah, back of the building,” he replies.

I turn to Maksim and Many. Before I could say anything, Maksim speaks. “We’ve got it covered.” He taps Many on the chest and they head in the opposite direction of us.

I lead the way, stepping over the fallen bodies. Beast and I make our way down narrow stairs. We check before turning corners, our guns aimed in front of us. The closer we get to the lower level, the more voices we hear.

“I don’t give a fuck,” the voice I know to be Adam’s shouts. “I want you to go check and make sure the job is done.”

I look over my shoulder at Beast. Without saying a word, I ask him if he’s ready. He gives a subtle nod. Reaching at my back, I pull out my Bowie. Let’s get it done.

I walk around the corner and quickly scan the room. Behind a gated fence are three women sitting behind a desk. There are stacks of money on the table and in counting machines. On the floor in the same back room are the other duffle bags filled with money. Also, in the back of the room are two of Adam’s men.

Standing in front of the gate is Adam and a taller man. I’m assuming that was who he was talking to. There are three other guys in the room. It took only seconds to scan the area.

Before I could fire the first shot, the man standing with Adam steps in front of him, blocking my view. I chose to shoot the guy closest to me. Taking him out quickly. Beast fires a shot into the gated room taking out the guy with the biggest gun.

One of the other guys in the room runs up to me. I toss my knife in his thigh, causing him to bend slightly. I quickly put a bullet in his head. A quick glance to my left and there is another body on the ground. I’m assuming Beast took him out. A shot whizzes past my head as I move through the room. The gunman is the second guy in the gated room. He’s hiding behind one of the women, taking shots at me.

Does he think I won’t shoot that chick? I laugh in my head.

I shoot the woman in the shoulder. She cries out before dropping to the ground. I then put a bullet in his chest.

While we were shooting, Beast and I were moving further into the room. At some point, Beast and the guy protecting Adam were in a hand-to-hand fight. The guy punched Beast in the face, but I wasn’t worried about my brother. He’d be fine. I was more concerned about Adam. I knew he hadn’t run out the door to the outside because it still had the padlock on it. Which meant he went back up the stairs.

I grabbed my knife off the guy I stabbed. “Going after Adam.” I yell to Beast before rushing up the stairs.

I can hear Adam's heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs. Turning the corner, I spot him just as he got to the door leading back out to the sanctuary. I toss my Bowie through the air, and it lands right in the back of his thigh. He howls in pain but doesn’t stop.

Adam shoves through the door. As soon as I rush out, I duck back in, narrowly missing the bullet he shot. I push the door back open to find Adam limply running down the aisle. I rush after him. He turns to shoot at me again, but I tackle him to the ground. We roll across the floor until my back hits one of the pew ends.

Adam kicks out his foot, connecting with my stomach before jumping to his feet. I grab his leg, sending him crashing back to the floor.

“Get the fuck off me.” He kicks at me.

My grip loosens, allowing him once again to get to his feet. I jump up too, facing off with him.

At some point, I lost my gun in the scuffle and the knife at the back of his thigh is gone as well. Thankfully, he’s without his weapon too.

Adam sneers. “You muthafuckers are like roaches. You just won’t fucking die.” He says as we circle each other.

A slow smile spreads across his face. “Well, except for your daddy. How was his funeral?”

The red haze slipped over me so quickly, my body heated up. However, before I could act, another lesson from Priest popped in my head.

I was fighting one of the other deacon trainees. The kid had been taunting me for months. The priest and the kid’s handler finally decided to let us fight it out. I was a better fighter than the kid, but that day, he was kicking my ass. Priest pulled me to the side and thumped me in the head. I remember charging at him, but stopped short when he pulled his gun out and pressed it to my head.

“The quickest way to lose in any fight is when you fight blindly with anger. Fighting requires you to use your head. Had you been thinking straight and not pissed, you would have known my gun was in my hand when I thumped you.”

I remember looking down at the weapon and realizing I missed a vital detail.

“Reign that fucking anger in, Twin. Then go out there and beat that kid’s ass.” I will never forget the smirk on his face after he said that.

Coming back to the present, I reign in the haze. Twisting my neck from side to side. With a smile, I look at Adam.

“At least I was able to see my daddy’s funeral. You’ll be on your route through a worm’s digestive track by the time we put Corbyn’s body in an early grave.”

The smile on Adam’s face falls. He charges at me while yelling. I shake my head as I take the beretta out of my second gun holster and put a bullet in his neck. He drops down right at my feet.

“Who the hell brings one gun to a shootout?” I ask no one in particular.

I swing around with my gun aimed as Beast walks into the sanctuary. He looks me over, then nods his head.

“We got a bloody scene in here. Zel, let the cleanup crew know to get it contained to the basement. We got nineteen bodies, one injured female and two other uninjured females,” Beast says.

Unlike the other times we hit the kids, we needed Corbyn to find this scene. However, we needed it to look like a simple hit.

“Roger that. Cleaning crew is on their way.”

Beast taps my chest. “Let’s go collect the money.”

We both head back down the stairs to gather the black duffle bags of money. Another one of Corbyn’s cum stains down. Five more to go.