Virtue to Vice

There were many things the men in the squad didn’t know about Cat. Like, that he was a good liar. No, Cat was an extraordinary liar. Good enough to fool a lie detector.

Cat looked out through the window for probably the twelfth time in less then an hour, his lips quirked up a little when he saw the four men from his squad stepping out from a white car.

Finally, he thought, tearing his eyes away to look over the two females ordered there to watch him.

“Are they here?” the blond of the two asked, straightening up slightly in her chair when she heard the sound of the front door getting opened and closed.

“Yes.” Cat sat down. “They’re here.”

The brown haired woman sitting next to the blond stood up, quickly exiting through the door without a word to either her company or Cat.

“Don’t worry.” The blond looked searching at Cat. “If your friends are as good to cooperate as you they have nothing to fear.”

“I know.” Cat crossed his legs, a small smirk noticeable over his sharp features. “They’re all as good as I am.”

He only hoped that it was true, he knew that Whiplasher and Nightmare were good to keep secret facts. He just didn’t knew if they were good enough to fool a lie detector. But, if the youngest in the squad could do it, why wouldn’t the two older, more routine, men succeed with it?

There was only one question. Would they blame him for the murder on Kacina? That’s what Cat had heard them say when talking about her, Kacina. He knew that Whiplasher wouldn’t do it, not after the lie he had told for Cat’s protection. What the others would say he had no clue about. Bone loathed him for joining them. In reality Bone loathed him for being such a big deal in the leader’s eyes, but that was something Cat didn’t need to know. Nightmare didn’t like the teenager, and he didn’t kept it a secret either, but would his devotion for the squad include giving out Cat?

The only one he was sure about that would not give him out, after Whiplasher, was Skinny. Skinny would do no such thing that could ruin the squad, his life. And giving out one of the members, that would be to hurt the trust among them. Besides, Skinny was the one who had killed Kacina.

Cat let his thoughts flood uncontrollable, he didn’t care to sort out the ones making since from the absurd ones since it didn’t do any different anyway. While looking out through the window again, he observed everything going on outside closely, the white car standing untouched three floors under him, the high tree’s rocking lightly from the rough briefs of wind, the many women being on guard around the mansion and the darkened sky that threw a threatening shadow over the place.

The darkness made Cat feel something close to worry, like something would go wrong. But he suppressed the feeling, at least during those three hours until the brown haired woman came back into the room with a satisfied smile.

“One of them spilled the truth.” Were the words coming from her that made Cat’s heart flip.

The blond lighted up. “Really?” She asked while standing up.

“Yes.” It looked like the brunette did her best not to laugh. “Madame wanted us all with her.”

“Of course, I...” the blonds eyes landed on Cat and she frowned. “What about him?”

“What can a boy do?” the brunette snorted. “Leave him, he is no harm now.”

“Yes, just a boy.” The blond didn’t see it necessary to point out that she was no more then two years older than ‘the boy’, and that she nonetheless had a mind to count on.

“Besides,” the woman continued as they went out. “He’ll never find them in this place.”

Cat gritted teethes as the door closed. Just a boy. What they hadn’t counted in was that this boy had been trained by one of the best. He had learned to observe every room, every hallway, closely and find small signs everywhere that could lead him to the right destination.

That was why Cat, only three minutes after the women were gone, left the room and found his way down to where he had noticed the place all the women met. He knew that he could have went directly up the stairs where he knew the four men with big possibility where, and make their escape quicker and easier.

But he still had his teenage curiosity, and he wanted to know who had ratted on who, who was the traitor among them.

“We got more information than we could have hoped on.”

Cat stopped when the female voice flooded out from a room with an open door.

“What’s the name of this man, Madame?”

Cat recognized this voice as one of the blondes, apparently, she had been ranked higher than he had thought.

“Ole.” Cat’s heart stopped beating. “Ole Öhman”

The resignation Cat felt made him unable to do anything else then smile a little, a sad smile that didn’t in any way show the rage and disappointment he felt.

He turned around on the spot, running up the many stairs he knew would take him to the right room.

When he heard the sound of male, arguing voices he carefully peeked his head inside, the talking slowed in case there would be a woman sent to guard the four men that were tied to the chairs they had been placed on.

“Eric!” Whiplasher looked surprised at the young boy.

It was the use of his real name that got him to understand that it was safe to go in.

“I know who told.” Cat gritted while quickly untying Skinny’s hands.

“Someone told?” Whiplasher asked while Cat moved over to his ropes instead.

“Yes. Bone.” Cat looked at Bone with killer eyes, Skinny had just been on his way to help the younger man lose, but stopped from Cat’s words. “Ole is the spiller.”

“I should have guessed.” Nightmare looked with glowing rage at Bone while Skinny freed him from his ropes instead. “I should have fucking known.”

“Fuck him.” Skinny muttered, already on his way out. “Let’s go.”

All the men nodded and three of them ran out, Bone and Cat were the only two left in the room. With all the hate he could posses to shine through his eyes he looked at Bone’s bended head, leaning forward and pointed at him.

“You’re out, Rat boy.”

“Eric, come on.” Whiplasher had showed up in the room again, gripping Cat around his wrist and forced the teenager with him. “Fucking unnecessary.”

“And exactly what you would do,” Nightmare looked back quickly as they ran down the stairs. “At his age.”

None of them bothered to replay as they ran down the last stair, fleeing to the car.

“Get in.” Whiplasher gritted to he himself went back and opened the trunk. “FUCK!”

Cat stopped in his motion to get into the car when his masters curse echoed around them.

“They took the money,” Whiplasher muttered irritated, slamming the trunk shut and pushed Cat inside the car, ignoring the boy’s confused face. “Get in.”

The second before Whiplasher’s door slammed shut Nightmare realized that, something wasn’t completely right.

“Something’s wrong.” He looked up at Skinny, who was sitting next to him staring in fear back at Nightmare. “Seriously wrong.”

“What?” Whiplasher roared, leaning forward while Cat looked out through the window, his face falling at the woman standing by the window on the third floor.

“Oh no.” Cat turned his head to his master. “They’re going to kill us!”

“You think?” Skinny snapped, using his slim body frame to try to get the door open. “Fuck! We’re stuck!”

“They’re going to kill us!” Cat felt getting closer to panic. “Andreas!”

“Shut up Eric!” Whiplasher laid his hand behind Cat’s head and forced their faces together, their lips crashing against each others in a rough kiss.

Quiet tears felled from Cat’s eyes in time when the rage in the kiss quickened up. He could feel how he got Whiplasher’s cheeks wet with his tears, but none of them mentioned it.

“I love you Andreas.” Cat whispered desperate against Whiplasher’s lips. The only answer he got was another hard kiss, only this one seemed desperate, from Whiplasher’s side, as the man pulled his teenage lover close to him.

The fire exploded and tore their flesh and skin apart before they could even hear the sound of it.