Junior didn’t miss a beat.“Pizza.”
I almost laughed.Almost.
The door swung open.
And Junior lunged like a damn missile.
He slammed the guy back inside in one violent, efficient motion, his forearm across the man’s chest and his other hand clamping over his mouth.
“Make a fucking noise,” Junior warned, voice low and lethal, “and you’re dead.”
Pipe slipped in immediately, Wrecker right behind him.
Cole and I followed, stepping over the threshold like we owned the room.
The smell hit me first.
Sweat.Cheap beer.Stale smoke.Old carpet that had absorbed every bad decision made on it for the last twenty years.
The room was lit by a single lamp on a wobbling end table.The TV blared in the corner, volume too loud.Two beds.A small, scratched dresser.A bathroom door cracked open.
One of the men was in the middle of standing, eyes wide, hands halfway raised like he didn’t know whether to fight or beg.
The other was closer to the second bed, already moving like he might go for something.
Pipe tackled him fast, driving him to the floor with a grunt, and pinned him before he could even make it three steps.
Wrecker grabbed the third and hauled him back by his shirt like a dog grabbing a rabbit.
The one Junior had shoved back struggled in Junior’s grip, but Junior didn’t budge.
“You wanna tell me why the old guys are doing everything?”Pipe grunted as he got his guy subdued with a knee in his back.
Cole and I shared a look.
“We didn’t know the plan,” Cole said dryly.
Wrecker chuckled, already reaching into his pocket.He pulled out zip ties, the black plastic loops catching the light.
He zip-tied his guy’s hands quickly, practiced, then tossed a handful to Junior and Pipe.“Zip ’em,” Wrecker said.
The guy tried to buck and twist, but Wrecker didn’t flinch.He just tightened the tie and shoved him toward the bed like he was nothing.
Pipe’s guy thrashed under him and tried to elbow him.Pipe leaned down close to his ear.“You keep moving like that, I’m gonna break something you’ll miss.”
The guy froze.
Junior’s guy tried to wrench away when Junior loosened his grip to tie him.
Cole stepped in like he’d been waiting for the excuse.He reared back and punched the man square in the face.
The sound cracked through the room.
The guy crumpled, his nose immediately bleeding, with his hands still trapped in the zip tie.
Cole straightened, rolling his shoulder like he’d just gotten out of bed.“How’s that for helping?”he asked Pipe.
Pipe nodded without looking up.“Helpful.”