Thomas stepped outside the club through the back exit cell phone in one hand and a cigarette in the other. “Okay now I can hear, so you guys picked up a girl for tonight? Excellent. What she look like? Oh yeah perfect, just perfect. Take her to the place and have her ready I’ll be there shortly. Gonna grab some party favors on the way. Later.” He slaps the phone shut and takes a long drag and mummers to himself, “Guess it’s gonna be a good night.”

“Not fucking likely.”

Thomas turns suddenly jumping out of surprise to see the person leaning against the wall beside the exit door, “Shit! Frank what the hell are…” His nose breaking cuts short anything else he had to say.

“Okay asshole where are they taking her? Where is the new place?”

Holding his suddenly bleeding face Thomas looks up at him, “Who are you…”

Frank lands his boot squarely into the ribcage lifting Thomas up a foot off of the ground, the air leaves him and the body to make a drop on the concrete. “Now why you are trying to get your breath back you better start thinking about telling me what I want to know. The girl, the latino girl your friends just grabbed tonight, where are they taking her?”

Thomas’ arm flings outward at Franks leg, something shiny and metal in his hand. It cuts deep right above the top of the boot. “Answer that prick” comes out weak from the lack of air. A rising lower tackle takes him rest of the way to the pavement.

The two men struggle on the ground one trying to keep from being stabbed with a free hand and choking him with the other while receiving a few short blows to the ribs. They roll a couple of time exchanging short kicks, attempted headbutts and an occasional elbow. Finally in a flurry of small leg grapples they come apart each rising to up as quickly as possible.

“I’m gonna cut you wide boy, like I should have long ago.” His teeth are clenched and his entire lower face is painted with blood.

“Step on up and get some then asshole. I’m right here and we have nothing but time and opportunity between us.” His arms go limp at his sides letting the duster fall off into a pile. “Step up.”

A low lunge with the blade out forward accompanied with a low growl is the only reaction. An angry and sloppy reaction. One arms goes forward and grabs the knife hand and moves it off to the side, his other grabs the head by the hair and his body moves the momentum slightly into another direction. The dumpster makes a nice metal thump sound as it receives an impact to its side causing chunks of rust to rain to the ground. A clear sound of metal signals that the knife is no longer in the hand of its owner.

Several knees into the ribs later and Thomas once again is lying prone holding his abdomen and gasping for air. “Now I’m fully prepared to wear this pair of boots out on your sorry ass until you shit me some answers! So, once again, I’m asking you where are they taking her?”

“What do you care? Your just a god damned hypocrite y’know that? It wasn’t to long ago you were right there with us, plucking out the girls for the night festivities.” Another boot silences him for a moment and makes his a place above the eyes bleed.

“Answers!”

“Do you miss it? I mean, c’mon, at night when you lay there alone do you ever think about the old times? Holding the bitches down, tearing their innocence away while you stare into their eyes seeing all the pain in them. The pain that you are causing. That’s where we get our power, that’s where you used to get your power.” Hands grab around his collar and the back of his belt. With a grunt of exertion Frank picks up and tosses Thomas onto the windshield of a car, the glass shattering under his weight.

“I said answers now!”

“How the hell did you do that? Son of a bitch you aren’t that strong.” Thomas mumbled out in a disoriented voice, he was truly worried now.

“I told you I learned some new tricks now talk.”

“Sorry won’t get them from me. My lips are sealed.” He watched as Frank walked over and picked up his duster from the ground. “Besides you sure can’t be to offended by what we still do. Hell if I remember correctly you were pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing back in the day. You’re one of us and you know…”

The sight of the revolver coming out causes everything to go silent. It is black and metal to the eyes of any normal person. But any ritualist worth his salt could see the power on it, the lines etched with so much care along its frame. The faint glow of something that can offer a fate far worse than death.

“Address?”

“They’re taking her to the old shoe factory out on double H highway. You remember that one right?”

The revolver raises and levels off with the barrel staring straight down at his face. “Are you sure about that?”

“Honest man, that’s the fucking place now.”

“Remember what I said at the club the last time we met?”

“Not right at the moment man. What did you…”

“Right between the eyes.”

The gun shot sounded off through the alley and into the streets while the contents of a human head are blown through the shattered windshield and into the car. There is a faint stillness for a moment then a glow of red from the core of the body that rises up and then is pulled across the open air and into the firearm.

Frank flips open the cylinder and removes the spent round that is also covered in markings. He looks to see the glowing red ember that is trapped there, “You’re my bitch now Thomas.”

Within moments police sirens sound off. By the time anyone else got to the alley there was only one person left in it.