Boondock Princess

“Hey asshole!” Isabella stormed towards the man that was staggering out the exit.
He took no notice of her and continued stumbling outside of the club and into the snow filled, downtown Boston street. Isabella caught up to him and spun him around, forcibly while trying to keep her anger at bay.
“You forget the rest of my tip?” she accused.
“C’mon bitch, you got plenty.” He managed to stammer, whisky on his breath and his Russian accent almost too strong for her to understand.
“I’ve been serving your disgusting ass for the last four hours, pay up.” Isabella refused to back down; she was sick and tired of the drunken perverts that she had to interact with every night.
“Bitch you better watch your mouth.” He drunkenly staggered towards her and grabbed her throat with one burly hand.
Isabella coughed as she felt her airway being constricted but didn’t allow the man to keep the upper hand. She used both her hands to grab his arm and retch it away from her before clocking him hard in the jaw and sending him to the ground, she gave him a few hard kicks in the ribs and another to his face. He spat out some blood and part of a tooth, Isabella could see him shaking with rage but he didn’t get up.
“Do you have any idea who I am?” he spoke with malice.
“Some dick who doesn’t know how to tip.” She replied sarcastically and turned to walk back into the dingy strip club.
“What the hell was that?” Isabella’s boss stood in the doorway, arms crossed and brow furrowed.
“Ricky, its fine. I handled him”
“Well you better turn your tight ass back around and suck his dick in an apology.” Ricky commanded
“Are you serious?”
“That’s one of Mikhailovs boys.”
Isabella turned back quickly to the drunken man struggling to get off the ground and holding his ribs, she knew she was in some serious trouble if she didn’t do something soon to rectify the situation but her pride was far too strong to allow her to do that.
“Hey slut, you better do something or you’ll put my club in jeopardy.” Ricky snarled, he had such a way with words.
“Fuck this, I’m outta here.” Isabella pushed past him and hurried through the club, making her way to the dressing room out back.
“Isy baby, you ok?” a tall blonde asked, her soft eyes on the panicked girl.
“I fucked up Kay, I gotta get outta here.” she squeaked, anxiety in her voice.
“Jesus, you beat someone else up cos they didn’t tip you?” Kay shook her head.
“Yeah, turns out he’s in the mob, he’s with the fucking Russians.”
“What the hell are you gonna do now?” Kay covered up her partially nude body with a gown and tried to console Isy as she packed her things into a bag.
“I don’t know, I don’t know.” Isy shook her head and collapsed on a chair.
“Calm down, you can stay at mine till he cools down.”
“Kay, they kill people for cutting them off in traffic. I’m fucked.”
“Just wait here, I’ll go talk to Ricky, we’ll sort something out.” Kay smiled sweetly, “it’ll be ok baby.”
Isabella nodded and remained in her seat while her friend went out to diffuse the position she had managed to get herself into. She palmed her forehead several times, scolding herself for her stupidity, of all people to pick a fight with, she picked someone who worked with the biggest group of thugs in Boston, since the Yakavetta family were taken out by the MacManus brothers last year. With them locked away in prison, the Russians had taken the opportunity to climb to the top of the underground scene and unmercifully so.
Two loud gun shots resonated throughout the club and Isy dived to the floor, shielding her head with her hands. Several women screamed and she heard people running in panic to exit the club, it sounded like chaos and Isy knew it was her fault.
She didn’t want to get up, she didn’t want to face the music, she was only twenty five and was damned if tonight was going to be her last. Isy exited the dressing room with her hands raised, Ricky stood close by with a gun to his forehead and the drunken Russian man was its owner. He smiled widely as Isy, showing his chipped tooth, his sinister expression made even more so by the bruising that had already formed on his face.
“See, told ya she was still here. Do what you want to her, just please leave my club alone. You already shot up my best girl, I’m gonna struggle to replace her enough as it is.” Ricky spoke, his weasel face twitching in fear.
“Then go” the Russian commanded, pushing him away and letting him run to his office.
He stepped forwards, closing the proximity between himself and the redhead but she didn’t move away, she was in shock from what Ricky had said. his ‘best girl’ was Kay, she was the one all the men requested and she didn’t mind getting kinky for a little extra cash, she may have been a big money maker for Ricky but she was Isy’s only friend, the only person she had left in the world that she cared for.
“Hey red, not so tough now.” The burly man snarled, licking his swollen lip and approaching closer with his gun drawn on her.
“Did you really kill her? Kay, the blonde?” Isabella was barely audible.
He chuckled and motioned to a body a few metres away, blood seeping out from underneath it and covering the small patch of floor. Isy collapsed at the sight, grief overpowering her and shutting down her defences.
“Bitch, you face me now.” He growled then gave her a hard hit to the face with his gun.
Something in Isabella snapped and she lunged forward at the man, sending him hurtling to the ground as she climbed on top of him.
“You filthy skank”
Isy reached up to the table beside them and grabbed a bottle of cheap champagne, then sent it down hard on the man’s head. In his confusion he dropped the gun which she quickly recovered and aimed it at his head with a smile on her face.
Ricky had emerged from the seclusion of his office just as Isy pulled the trigger and was showered in the man’s blood, he stood with his mouth agape, unable to make any intelligible sound. Isy stood from the body, dropped the gun and took off, she knew she couldn’t hang around much longer; the Russians always travelled in packs.
Her head was swimming with images, Kay’s lifeless body, the Russians startled eyes as she ended his life, the way the blood had spurted out of him and cascaded across her face. She was frightened that Mikhailovs boys would come after her, seek revenge for the death of their fellow thug. It alarmed her even more that she had not a single ounce of guilt for killing the man, she hadn’t even know his name and yet she was the one to end his life, it seemed so strange to her but not bad, it excited her. Isy shook her head and stopped running, she looked around the street to try and see where she was, it was an unfamiliar street but it was dark enough that she could hide in the shadows in case someone drove by.
“Gotta get somewhere safe” she breathed out, exhausted from running.
After wandering around for an hour, Isy finally found the familiar street that housed McGinty’s pub. She stumbled in the door and her eyes immediately met with Doc’s, the elderly man almost dropped the bottle he was pouring when he saw her.
“Je-je-Jesus fucking Christ girl” he stuttered.
“How about that free beer you promised me last time” she half smiled, already feeling better in his presence.
“Bella you h-h-h-hurt?”
“I’m fine doc, it’s not my blood.”
He looked at her questioningly and she sighed loudly before grabbing a stool at the bar and taking a seat.
“I killed a god damned Russian, one of Mikhailovs lackeys.”
Docs eyes widened in fear for the girl, the Russians were known for their ruthless behaviour and women and children were not exempt from that.
“Fuck Ass” he yelled, causing one of the drunks at the other end of the bar to raise his glass and cheer.
It had become a drinking game at McGinty’s that whenever Doc would have a bout of turrets, everyone would either take a shot or down their glass. Isy raised her glass to the man at the end of the bar and took a long drink.
“Alright you morons, m-m-m-make like a tree and fuck off.” Doc yelled to the few remaining patrons, they bid him drunken goodbyes and staggered out of the pub to leave Isabella and him alone.
“Yer in deep shit lass.” He spoke solemnly and directed her to follow him as he ascended the staircase behind the bar. “The boys hid out here last year, s-s-still got it how they l-l-left it.” He opened a door to a dusty room, lit by a single hanging light in the centre.
“It’s got a pool table, that’s cool.” She tried to make positive of her extremely dire situation. “Thanks doc.” Isy turned to hug the old man, burying her face to avoid him seeing the tears that had begun to fall.
“Always a place for you h-h-h-here Bella.” He soothed, “bring you some food.” He smiled and left her to retrieve some cans that he kept behind the bar.
“Right old shit storm I’ve put myself in.” she sighed and got comfortable on an old musty couch in the far end of the room.
Before long Isabella fell asleep, it was restless and not without constant stirring but eventually she made it to morning, only to be greeted with yelling downstairs.
She crept down the staircase, careful to keep herself hidden as she got a look at what was happening.
“She isn’t at her apartment or her dead hooker friends, this is the only other place the shitkicker told us she’d be.” The man roared at Doc in a thick Russian accent.
“j-j-j-just fuck off, she isn’t here.” he replied simply and Isy had to admit, he had big kahunas.
Only one other man seemed to be in the bar, he was taking guard on the entrance as the other man interrogated Doc.
She assessed the situation, thinking out her options and none ended well for her or Doc.
“You better get helpful old man. Vadim here likes to shoot out kneecaps” he chuckled darkly, pointing to his companion by the door.
Doc raised his arms in surrender and walked towards the bar
“What are you doing?” Vadim shouted from the doorway.
“sh-sh-she gave me the address to a place she visited out of t-t-town.” He sighed and began shuffling through paperwork by the till. Isy immediately caught onto the plan and readied herself for action.
Doc quickly pulled his shotgun from under the bar and fired a shot a Vadim’s chest, sending him falling through the door and onto the street while Isy charged forward and caught the other man by surprise, laying punch after punch into his face while Doc loaded the shotgun for its second intended victim.
“m-m-m-move” he bellowed to her and she obliged, jumping away just as the man was shot in the neck and head.
His body fell limp onto a table behind him and blood seeped out and onto the floor.
“Y-y-y-ya ok?” Doc called from the bar and Isabella nodded in reply.
With three bodies to account for that were all members of Mikhailovs crew, Isabella quickly realised that she was way over her head.
“We’re gonna need the boys.” The old man confirmed.
“Yeah, I was afraid of that.”