Page 28 of Rough Trip

“Are you sure you can bring them in?” Mia asked.

“Definitely. I’ve seen them around recently. They must be extremely confident that they won’t be caught,” he replied.

“Perfect. I need you and however many men you need to go out there and bring them to the bar. We need to deal with this immediately so we can find Sage. Who knows what they’ve already done to him.” She choked up at the end of her sentence, almost allowing herself to think of the horrible things the Omens were capable of doing.

She had been involved with them and had once been a victim herself. She knew they would kill Sage, especially once she had learned about the incident on the night he had been taken. He should’ve known better, she thought, he should’ve known they wouldn’t have let him get away with what he had done. She knew that from experience and so did he. Why had he been so stupid, she had asked herself.

“Yes, of course,” Adam said. “I’ll call the men I need and go now,” he said as he got up to leave.

“Thank you, Adam. I would appreciate it if you could bring them in after working hours, of course. I don’t want to cause a scene, but if anything were to happen to our guests while we have them, I would hate for there to be any witnesses,” she said. Adam nodded, getting her extremely obvious hint. Mia was still waiting for Grier who hadn't arrived yet, and she knew that she would control this mission on her own if she had to. Nothing could stop her from finding Sage as soon as possible even if that meant disobeying orders from her boss.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Mia got a call from Adam.

“Adam,” she answered, “please tell me that you have good news.”

“Definitely. They were extremely easy to find. Like I said, they were too confident,” Adam replied with a smirk in his voice. Mia agreed. Clearly, they thought that being part of the Omens meant they would be untouchable, but they were going to find out just how wrong they were. She had been at the house, patiently waiting, not only for Adam's call but still for Grier. She thought of the moment she could confront the men who had taken Sage. She wanted to look them in the eyes as she caused them pain. The anger inside her had constantly been growing since Adam had left and she was just about ready to kill someone. Karma’s a bitch, she thought.

Although she had been mad at Sage just a few days before, her body had become consumed with hate toward the Omens. She could hardly remember what she was mad about when it came to Sage. Well, she could, but it all seemed pretty pointless now. His life hung in the balance, and Mia had to forget all her hurt for now and just focus on finding him. That was her main thought - she needed to find Sage before it was too late.

It’s showtime, she thought to herself as she placed her switchblade in her back pocket. She had started to carry it around with her after she had been attacked. She had no idea if she’d use it but if anything happened, she knew she could.

She left the house, locking up behind her. It was only a few days ago that she thought Sage had run off with another woman. She thought that he had left her more alone than ever. It was crazy how things changed. She never thought she could be a killer, but now that thought didn’t seem so stupid after all.

She made sure she called for a taxi while she was inside, just in case someone was waiting to attack her, so when she saw the taxi pull up outside of her house, she decided to run and get in as quickly as possible.

She arrived at the bar not long after the call from Adam. She wanted to get answers, and she wanted them as soon as possible. She hesitated just outside the closed bar doors. She noticed that almost all the lights had been switched off. It was clear that everyone knew that what was about to happen had to stay between those involved so no attention could be brought to the bar that was out of character.

She appreciated the effort from her men, knowing she had the right group of guys to rely on in her moment of need. She knew they weren't doing it just for her though. They wanted Sage back just as much as she did. They had all grown to love him and his character. He would always greet them and ask them about their personal life. He wanted to build a bond with them that was stronger than business, and he had definitely succeeded. No one else within the Screaming Demons had made the effort he had, and they looked up to him for it.

She proceeded to knock on the closed doors. She had never been given a key as she had never had to be there after hours.

“We’re closed!” someone yelled from inside. They knew to expect her, but clearly, they had to keep everything under control and keep everything looking normal.

“It’s Mia,” she said, and within seconds the doors were unlocked, and she could see for herself what was going on.

She walked into the bar and stopped just near the entrance as the doors were closed and locked behind her. She counted twelve of her men spread out in front of her. They had placed themselves in a semi-circle, there being a space left open as she entered so she could see directly into the middle of the room. The two men had been tied up and placed on two chairs in the center of the room. As she walked closer to them, she could tell that the men were probably around her age. She couldn’t help but pity them for they had probably continued down a path that she was fortunate enough to get away from.

She couldn’t help but go back to the memory of her attack in the alley. Staring at the men before her, she wanted to not only get revenge for Sage but for herself. She had never been the same after her attack, and she had the Omens to thank for that. They looked at her, completely helpless, placed before her like a prize, a sacrifice. She could lick her lips like a hunter would just before they dug their teeth into their prey. Both men looked twice her size so she wasn’t surprised that both of them together could’ve taken Sage down with weapons, but she knew that in one-on-one hand combat they wouldn’t have stood a chance. She could tell that they had been beaten up a bit. One had a cut and bruised lip while the other had a black eye slowly starting to form. She couldn’t help but smirk in their direction. Soon those would not be the only injuries they had, she thought.

“Hello, boys,” she said to her men. They all looked at her waiting for a command. They were ready to attack. She couldn’t be sure if they had respect for her the way they respected Sage, but today she would gain it because she was definitely a force no one would want to mess with.

“Looks like we have a problem to solve,” she said as she stared down at the two men placed before her.

They smirked at her without saying a word. She wanted to smack the smirks off of their faces.

She started to walk closer to them, wanting to place herself right in front of them. She knew she was a small woman, and to them, she probably didn’t look very aggressive. Little did they know the amount of rage pulsating throughout her small, tiny body. She was just about ready to pounce on anything that just breathed the wrong way.

“Where is Sage?” she demanded after a few seconds had passed. She decided she would take it slow and then when they least expected it, go batshit crazy on their asses. She knew it was bound to happen. They weren’t going to give in to her that easily.

The men continue to stare at her.

“Sage? Who’s Sage?” one asked as the other roared into laughter. Soon they were both laughing in her face.

Some of her men had also started edging forward. It was clear that Mia wasn’t the only one desperate for the location of Sage, and she knew she had the right people on her side.

“Easy guys,” she said as she turned to her men. “We need answers first before we do anything to our guests.” She turned back to the two men who hadn’t taken their eyes off of her but had stopped laughing. She continued to move closer to them, and just as she was a few feet away from them, they both spat at her.