Heroes of Falledge Book One: Black Hellebore by Nicole Zoltack Page B

Boy," he said. "Remember me?"
    Davey's face turned white. "N-no. Get out of here!"
    The chick screamed. "Get out!" She grabbed a sheet from the bed, covered her half-naked body, and slammed the bathroom door shut behind her.
    "I'm not going to take orders from anyone anymore. Do you understand?"
    Davey seemed to recover from some of his shock and dove toward his nightstand. The thug knocked it over. A fast-food bag and its contents spilled everywhere.
    He watched and waited, amused with how Davey chose to live out his last moments. He wasn't surprised when Davey managed to find the gun and pointed it at him, at his chest.
    "I told you to get out!"
    "No orders anymore, remember?"
    Davey fired off two shots. They ricocheted off his bones. One burrowed itself into the wall behind Davey, the other splintered the window. "Wearing a vest?" Davey asked, his eyes wide.
    He inhaled as if he still had a nose. He could almost smell Davey's fear and panic. It gave him a high.
    He lifted his hat so Davey could get a better look at his face. "I have a message for Big Don."
    "W-what is it?" Davey lowered his arms, still holding his gun in his hands, his feet still spread wide. His arm muscles twitched as if he was ready to pull up the gun and shoot again at any moment.
    He took a giant step to stand before Davey and slapped his head. There was a sickening crunch sound as the side of his face caved in. Davey dropped to the ground, blood gushing and forming a puddle beneath his immobile body.
    From the bathroom came crying and wailing. The chick was on the phone. Probably with the police.
    He ripped the door open and flung it aside. The girl shrieked and knelt beside the toilet. Mascara streaked down her face, the black mixing with her tears. "You stay away from-- Oh my God, you killed him!" She dropped her phone.
    He picked it up and closed his hand. The phone crumbled into several pieces.
    "Please, please, don't kill me, don't kill me." She sobbed so hard he found it difficult to discern what she said.
    "I do what I want."
    "Y-you-you said you had a message for B-Big Don. I-I-I can tell it to him. Please, let me tell him." A wet spot formed in the sheet as she pissed herself.
    Her scent of fear was tangier than Davey Boy's. His had been sweeter, almost decadent. Davey Boy had never given the old Lewis Lichman a chance -- thought him a weakling, unworthy. Well, he had showed the goon. Now he was reborn, and Davey lay dead.
    She was weeping again, her thin body wracked by sobs. The pathetic girl annoyed him.
    "Tell him his boys had better watch themselves. And so should he."
    Sirens sounded nearby, closer every second. He had to leave. Now.
    "W-watch themselves. Got it." Her face paled as the sirens grew even louder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called--"
    He thought about slapping her to shut up her rambling but knew he wouldn't be able to refrain from killing her with the blow.
    "You don't have a nose..." She clapped her hands over her mouth, and the sheet lowered slightly, but still covered most of her body.
    She obviously couldn't stop talking. Good, at least that ensured she would deliver his message. Even if she didn't for some reason, Davey Boy's bashed in skull was enough of a threat in and of itself.
    Leaving her alive, he returned to the bedroom, grabbed his hat, and punched the already spidered window. Glass fell in shards around him. He grabbed the outside wall and climbed the building. Strange, he didn't need hand or footholds, as if he had no center of gravity. With ease and great speed, he reached the roof in seconds. Below him, the police scurried inside the building, looking like mindless drones. Without focus, without discipline. The entire world lacked discipline. But he would change that. He would change everything.
    First Big Don and the mob. Then Falledge. Soon, the entire world would be his.

Chapter Twenty
    Bright and early, Nicholas arrived at the site of the laboratory. They planned to rebuild it in the exact location