The Ashbridge dock
People were working and going about their day routinely. The air blew, leaving a lingering taste of salt in one's mouth. During the day, the docks were witness to businessmen and workers doing their honest work to make a living.
But during the night, the docks laid witness to a different kind of crowd. Men doing whatever it took to survive in the dog-eat-dog world.
AS the night continued, two black SUVs entered the docking bay as they drove in a formation. The cars with their tinted glass pulled up in front of the many containers that were in the docks. A soon as the cars stopped, the doors opened, and men exited the cars. Anyone witnessing the scene would know to immediately turn the other way.
The men that got out of the cars were armed to their teeth, discouraging anyone not involved with them to even look at them.
At the back of the second SUV, La Garra exited wearing a pair of sunglasses and looked around.
The chubby man approached him as soon as he was out of the care.
"Diego, take me to see..." La Garra spoke to the chubby man approaching him without looking at the man even once. Hearing his boss speak, Diego nodded as a slight glint passed in his eye.
"Right this way Jefe," Diego spoke as he pointed at one of the containers that were further inside the docks. Approaching the yellow container in the middle of the other. Diego banged at the door in a specific pattern and waited for a minute before a sound came from inside the container.
Stepping back a bit as the doors opened, the man looked at Diego before nodding to him and moving to the side to let them in.
Stepping inside, what greeted them was nothing anyone who hasn't seen it would expect. A massive opening filled with tables and people counting stacks of money. The container connected to the other two containers on its side and making it look like they were just in a normal building a not a small container. (Shipping Containers)
Seeing their boss walk in, all the people inside stopped what they were doing and stood on their feet.
La Garra just ignored all these people as he walked towards a stack of money neatly pack on a pallet, waiting for whatever destination it will be sent to. Any normal person seeing this amount of money would be excited, because that's just human nature at its core.
But La Garra wasn't the least bit happy with what he was seeing. He turned to look at Diego as he spoke, his voice colder than normal.
"Is this all of it…?"
Diego shifted ever so slightly as he answered with hesitation in his voice, "Yes Jefe..."
"Why isn't there more...?" La Garra asked, his face becoming more unpleasant as he was growing angrier.
"Jefe, our business is struggling with the new product on the market and the new player." He responded his voice timid and low, scared of La Garra's reaction if he found his voice too high and unpleasant.
"Why the Fuck are they not dead then…and why the fuck haven't we gotten their supplier yet…. Huh??" La Garra responded his voice rising another octave and slowly making his way towards Diego
Stepping back bit by bit. Diego responded, "J-jefe. No one knows where they are getting their supply. Even their Lieutenants only know that their Boss is the one who gets it...But he's difficult to catch."
Stopping before Diego, he looked at him with a cold gaze that sent shivers into the poor chubby man's spine. La Garra then wrapped his arm around Diego's shoulder and spoke while leading him to a nearby table. "Diego, Diego, you know I don't like when my man doesn't get the job done...…." They stopped in front of the table that had some tools on it.
Seeing this, Diego had a bad premonition, and he started to shiver, "J-j-jefe I know, I know…I get the jobs done…."
"I know you will..." Diego hearing that he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, but his breath was caught in his throat by what was said next.
"But I think I need to motivate you." La Garra forcefully took Diego's hand and placed in on the table while he grabbed the hammer,
THUD
The sound of the hammer hitting Diego's hand rung out in the container, followed by a piercing scream from him
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG"
Tears filled his eyes as the pain was unbearable for the man. La Garra continued to hammer away at his hand as if he wanted to embed it to the table.
THUDTHUD
Once he was done, La Garra let go of his hand as he placed the hammer on the table again.
Looking at Diego who was still screaming on the floor, he spoke calmly, "Diego, Look at me."
Not hearing what his boss said, Diego continued to scream
"MÍRAME, CARAJO." {LOOK THE FUCK AT ME} screamed La Garra. Diego immediately snapped out of his screaming and looked at his boss with eyes full of tears and snort covering his face.
"Encuéntralos o la próxima vez serán tus pelotas." {Find them, or your Balls will be next.} instructed La Garra as he left the crying man on the floor.
---
Doug left the Silver Quill bar conflicted. What Alex said to him inside there kept ringing in his mind like a broken record. His question was something that kept bugging him.
'And what type of soldier do you think you are...?'
Leaving the building. He continued to cross the street and settled in his car seat, leaning back, deep in thought.
'For me to be the type of dog you want, my men were sacrificed.' He thought to himself as he was sitting there.
For Doug that thought didn't sit right with him, why does Alex get to choose who gets to die and who doesn't. Who is he to decide that his man where not worth the trouble of saving and were only useful as forging tools.
"Damn it..." he muttered as he placed his arm over his eyes covering them. Silence descended in the car but was immediately broken as Doug suddenly punched the steering wheel of his car and screamed,
"DAMN IT, DAMN IT, DAMN IT ALL" Doug broke down with tears after calming down, 'If only I was stronger, if only my men were stronger, this wouldn't have happened. Alex wouldn't see the need to forge us, there wouldn't be any need for them to die.'
As soon as that thought came to his head, it was stuck there, GET STRONGER.
Determination filled his eyes as he clenched his steering wheel. 'Yeah, I should get stronger and better so no one else would die.'
That day was the last time Old Doug roamed the world, but a new Doug 'Knox' Colson was born. The Leader of The Iron hound Gang.