2. Nitro

TWO

NITRO

Sitting at the dining table I'm eating my breakfast when I look over at Ares and Esha laughing as they come down the stairs. She came over early this morning, which, as you can imagine didn't give us much chance of sleeping when we came back.

I haven't stopped thinking about the girl all morning. I'm mad at myself for only getting part of the serial number. I keep looking at the piece of paper with the partial number on it. Nyx is on the computer, he's going to call Wesley. Tic is watching some show on the TV, and I'm watching Esha and Ares.

Esha walks into the kitchen, Ares joins us at the table. I look at his chest, which is bandaged up. Even though he has a girl, sometimes the demons make an appearance and the only way he can hurt them is by hurting himself. We are all the same. We all have our ways of dealing with the pain.

"You okay?" Ares asks, lighting up a joint as he sits down next to me, taking the small piece of paper from me. "You know this will give us a million different possibilities."

"I'm fine, and I know. We only need one." I take a drag from his joint which he handed me, before handing it back to him. "We're thinking of going for a ride tonight, you in?"

"Always," he replies, and I look over at Esha laughing with Tic, and smile. "Her and Jaya are going to some spa thing for two days," he answers my unasked question.

"What are you working on in the shop?" I ask and nod to Esha as she joins us at the table.

"Got a bike which needs a quick fix. Nyx said you have a big tattoo to design." Ares grabs his coffee mug, and I lean back in my chair.

"A whole back. They're coming in this morning to talk about the design." I glance over at the notebooks, then back to Ares who smiles as he leans in closer to me.

"I made you a promise my brother, and you know I always hold my promises. I will find your parents if it's the last thing I do." Ares leans back in his chair, he turns to Esha as he brings his arm around the back of her chair." One of the notebooks goes back almost sixty fucking years."

"What?" I snap my head to look at him. The pitch of my voice gets Nyx's attention too.

"Yeah, looks like it was the first one. I'm reading through that one today, at least they're in order now, so I might find something," Ares adds.

I still remember reading the first page on the first notepad. It was a fucking oath.

We four families take this oath to protect the Gatekeepers, and keep our identity secret from the world.

We provide a service which fulfils the needs of those who can't find it anywhere else.

This oath is binding. The penalty for leaving the four families is death for all concerned.

We four families take this oath that the gateway to heaven will always be there from generation to generation.

We are now founding members and the tattoo was the final step. Let the fun begin, and make some money from bringing the devil to play.

"Any names?" Nyx asks.

"Nope, all it has is family one, family two and so on and the fucked up names they call themselves. But I'm reading past the first page today. Tonight, I'll know more about what's in there." Ares leans into Esha and kisses her neck, and I take the paper back from Ares, before staring at the number once again.

"Did Wesley say anything?" I ask Nyx.

"No, he said it's the first time he's heard about a camera being within a contact lens. We're starting at ground zero, so-"

"Don't say it," I cut him off, and the table falls silent. The four of us look at each other.

"Say what?" Esha asks.

Ares' head falls back on his chair and he turns to Esha. "Until another child is dead and we hope they have something on them which can help us get a step closer to finding out who they are." The colour from Esha's face disappears, her eyes move between all of us, with no other words are spoken, she gets back to her breakfast.

What can you say to something like that?

Ares hands me his joint, and I take it off him as he eats his breakfast. I look over at the cartoon Tic is watching, hoping it will take my mind away from the girl from last night.

"Thought we could pay a visit to someone tonight," Nyx begins, and glances at Esha.

We know she's here now, and we don't need to talk in code. She knows the life we lead, she knows the things we do, so she has to listen to what we do.

"Wesley told me where the mum lives, she said she never reported anything. Someone is lying, it's time to find out who." Nyx finishes his coffee and stands up as he has a client coming in for a tattoo early this morning. "That girl is someone's daughter, and I want to know whose." He walks away, Tic following him, and I turn to Ares who is watching me.

I love my brothers, I would die for my brothers, but Ares is protective. He needs to know we're good, or if we need help. He can read us better than we can read each other. I'm more laid back. I look at what's happening around me, and take note of everything. I see the small details in things, because sometimes it's the small details that give us the answers we need.

"Hey, stop over thinking it. You do this every time we find a kid. We can't save them all, you can't blame yourself." Ares pats my leg; I give him a nod. "Nitro, that kid's death is not your fault, you have to turn the guilt you have into fucking rage. Then kill the ones who hurt her."

"I know. Maybe we need to kill someone, so I feel better about taking a prick out of the world." Ares starts laughing, and kisses Esha on the cheek, as he stands up.

"I'm sure I can find someone for us to hurt." He puts his dishes into the sin, and turns to Esha. "You coming into the shop?"

"Once I've finished." She smiles as Ares nods and walks out of the house to the shop.

"You've made him more relaxed." I stop when she shakes her head.

"I really don't think so."

"Trust me, he is. You're good for him, and I'm happy he found his girl, never thought it would happen for any of us." I stand up when she does, ready to get to work.

"Nitro, you'll find your girl too, she will come from nowhere, and you'll be happy too." She puts the plates into the dishwasher, then we both make our way out to the shops.

"I'm not so sure, but I thought the same about that heartless man-" I nod to Ares on the other side of the room. "-so anything can happen," I say with a chuckle, making her look over her shoulder at Ares, and laugh along with me.

"Even with everything that happens, you all have good hearts." She stops and looks over at Ares once again. "I fell in love with a man who has a heart, he's never said the words, but I know he loves me. And I know he loves the three of you. I've never seen a group of men who are prepared to die to protect their brothers, that isn't in the military. You're all good men, Nitro, and any woman would be lucky to have you." She leans in closer and gives me a kiss on the cheek, then walks into the workshop, and I watch as she hugs Ares.

I'm never going to say no to having a girl next to me. It's finding one who will still be with us once they know what we do. That's the hard part. I can get a girl tomorrow without even trying. It's finding one who I can trust, or who I want to trust that is the problem.

Maybe Ares is a lucky bastard and found the only woman out there who will still be here when they find out the truth. That's a shame. I'd like someone to look at me the way Esha looks at Ares.

The feeling of sitting on a bike never gets old. The feeling of riding free on the road is something I can't live without. The feeling of the wind on my face, smelling the air around me is a feeling that I live for.

We've come as the Ghosts. Our bikes make a lot of noise, my question to Nyx is how are we meant to enter and leave the house without getting seen on our bikes?

Nyx pulls into a fast food joint, and turns his bike off. I take my helmet off and stride over to Nyx, "how far?" If he's making us walk then I want to know everything I need to know.

"Fifteen minutes, but we're splitting up. Tic and Ares, you're together, Nitro, you're with me." Ares and Tic walk away before I have chance to say anything. Clearly, Ares already knew about this.

"Did you find out anything about the woman?" I feel like he's avoiding looking at me.

"You good?" Nyx turns around to look at me once we crossed the road. "You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders. We've all noticed it." I follow his lead, and choose not to answer him. "Nitro, if something is distracting you, you need to talk to me, because if you don't have a clear head, you're going to fuck up."

I let out a sigh, shaking my head because I know I'm being stupid, and impatient, but it's the only thing that I keep thinking about. I need closure.

Nyx stops walking and turns to face me. "Is this about your parents?"

"It's stupid I know. Ares has the answers about his parents, and he doesn't care. Wouldn't you want to know?" I ask him and regret the question the moment it leaves my mouth.

"You know mine is a different story. Ares has never thought about his parents, he has one family and that's all that matters to him. He might not want to know about his parents, but I promise you this, brother, he is doing everything he can to find your parents so that you can get the answers you want. It's not a one-day job, or even a month, but he is looking every free moment in his day. The other night he didn't sleep, didn't even go up to Esha because he was looking through the notebooks." Nyx stops when I look up at him, feeling like a dick now.

I didn't know he wasn't spending his nights with Esha. Fuck, that man would pick us three over anyone, and not think twice about it.

"I-"

"Give him time, he will find them even if it's the last thing that man does," Nyx says with humour in his voice. He pats my arm as he walks away.

I need to stop over thinking this, for all I know my parents sold me to the fucking devil, just to make some money.

Walking up the street I look around for Tic, and Ares, but only see Nyx putting his mask on quickly, before he turns to me, nodding his head in the direction of a house. We follow Nyx into the woman's house. The girl in the morgue has a family, a mother, and we want to know why she's not coming forward for her daughter.

My brothers are already there. Ares sits on the small wooden coffee table. Tic is looking out of the window. I join Ares, and stand beside him. The woman in front of me is shaking in fear, her eyes locked on the knife in Ares' hand, as Nyx holds a piece of paper for her to look at.

"Who is this?" The cracked computer voice makes her jump a little on the sofa. "I won't be asking again."

"I...I don't know." The words escape her shakily. She glances at the paper again and then back to the knife as Ares moves it between his fingers.

"Now that's a lie, isn't it? You reported her missing, so you must know who she is." I look up at Nyx, who hasn't taken his eyes off her.

I walk through the house to see if I can find anything. The first toom I walk into is her bedroom. Making my way towards her wardrobe, I feel around for any hidden boxes, or cabinets in the wall. Nothing. You'd be surprised how fucked up people hide their dirty little secrets. I had one man hide a safe in the bed, now fucking a woman on that would hurt if you ask me.

Moving to a set of drawers, I throw all the clothes on the floor, until it's totally empty. Nothing.

I take a step back from it and have a look around to see if anything feels or looks off. Grabbing the back of the drawer, I pull it forward, so it falls onto the floor. Kneeling, I tap the back of it a few times and can't help the smile spreading across my lips. Bingo. I begin to rip the soft card on the back and pull out the envelope which is hidden between the backing and the drawers. Pulling out the papers from the envelope, I take a quick look, but can't make head nor tail of it.

What the hell is it? I ask myself, quickly leaving the room. I go into the other bedrooms, stopping to check them all out. I stop in my tracks, slowly turning to face the picture on the wall which grabs my attention.

Snatching it off the wall, I go back down to the living room, where I see Ares sliding the tip of the knife up and down the woman's arm.

"Who is this? And what is this?" I throw the papers at her, whilst I hold the frame up.

"I...They...I can explain." Wiping the tears away from her cheeks she looks between the four of us.

Nyx takes the picture from me, then grabs the papers off the woman and I sit down next to Ares, waiting for her to tell me what the hell is happening.

"My sister had just died, and there was no one to take her daughter, so I did. She was my sister, of course I'd look after her child, I would hope for the same thing if it was the other way around-" She stops and takes in a deep breath, shaking her head whilst picking the skin on her hands. "We were at the park, and I couldn't see her anywhere. I called the police and the second I got off the phone, two men grabbed me and dragged me to the wooden tree area around the back. They had both my niece and my daughter." She stops, and we wait for her to finish her story, but she says nothing. It's like all her words have just gotten stuck in her throat, and she can't say anything. Her eyes are filling with water and she's starting to shake.

"Water," Tic waves a bottle in front of her, and she takes it from him, but she takes a second before drinking from it.

Nyx is still reading through the paperwork, I turn to Ares.

"Put the knife away," I tell him, and he snaps his head to face me. "She's not going to talk with you waving that in her face."

Ares shakes his head, and places the knife in his pocket.

"They gave me a choice. My daughter or my niece. They said that they would let one walk, give me money and I was never allowed to speak of this day again. I told them to fuck off, but all they did was laugh at me. Then they told me they would take both of them. I pleaded, and begged them to let them both go, but it didn't help. I tried everything. I fought them. I screamed at them, but nothing was working. I had to choose." She begins to cry even more, fighting to breathe as the tears stream down her face. "I had to pick between them, and I've never forgiven myself. Every day since, I've thought about ending my life, because the guilt killed me, but I still had one of them. I had to be strong for them both." She takes the picture from Nyx, and looks at the girl in a graduation gown, smiling like she's made her mum so proud. "This picture was taken two years ago, and I was so proud of her. She said it wasn't just for her, but for her sister, too." A small smile appears on her lips, but goes away just as fast, then looks up at me, with her dead eyes. "I let them take my daughter to protect my sister's." Shaking her head, remembering the choice she had to take. "I don't know what they did to her, but I can only imagine the horrible things they might have done to my daughter, I'm a horrible person." She puts the picture on the table, and bites on her bottom lip while she looks at anything but the four of us.

I have no idea what to say to her. This woman has been killing a part of her soul every day since they took her daughter. "Do you remember what the men looked like?" Nyx asks.

"They were men, they told me the boss would come talk to me, two days later a man came to my house, and dropped off the money to keep my mouth shut. He gave me those papers." She points to Nyx's hands.

"This is paperwork for a car deal. Why would they give you this? Why would you hide it?" he asks.

I wanted to ask the same question. Why hide car paperwork,it doesn't make sense. But something felt wrong about it.

"They gave it to me, and I didn't want to throw it away just in case they came back."

"The man who gave you the money, would you recognise him?" Ares asks, and she gives the smallest nod.

"I will never forget the man who raped me, and then threw money at me for selling my daughter to the monster." She drinks some water, actually, she finished it. "If he finds out-"

"No one will hurt you, I promise," I reassure her. There is no way I'd let anything happen to her after everything she's been through.

"He was some Asian man, he was tall, a few grey hairs at the time, he was married I remember his ring." She stops when Ares digs his phone from his hidden zip pocket in the hoody, we all have it, so we never drop anything.

"Is this him?" He looks through his pictures, then turns the phone to her.

"Yes." Her body begins to shake from seeing his face again. The word escapes in a tremble.

Ares turns the picture of Esha's dad to us, and shakes his head, before looking back at the Helen.

"This man will never hurt you agai-"

"How can you be sure? He said he would hurt me if I spoke a word to anyone."

"Because I killed him," Ares says shaking his head, and then walking out of the room into the kitchen.

"Did they give you anything else? Did anyone else come to see you?" I ask.

"No, I never saw anyone again." She wipes the tears away.

Nyx joins us at the table and leans forward. "I want you to call this officer, Tell him everything, and go see your daughter. He will be with you all the time, no one will come close to you." Nyx takes her hand and gives it a small pat, and she gives a small nod, and without another word the four of us leave the house, taking the masks off, and make our way back to the bikes.

"You telling Esha?" Nyx asks.

"No, there isn't a reason to tell her."

The cold tone in his voice lets us all know he doesn't want to talk about it, so we drop the subject.

"Now what?" I ask.

"Now we go for a ride, clear our heads, and figure out what the fuck do next." Nyx is the one to answer, and we all nod, as I think not one of us is thinking clearly at the moment, and it's just going to mess with our head more if we over think it.