Hangman: by Nick Venom (ebooks children's books free txt) 📕

“Close your mouth, Wales. Let’s focus on getting to safety before we get to anything concerning the government. We don’t have the energy to discuss anything.” Dennel said. Harrison and Brooks nodded in agreement, ending the conversation. Wales sat down, his voice drowned out by the others. 

They’re right, I shouldn’t have said anything. We… We already suffered so much in a matter of an hour. We lost half our unit to some freak using near-invisible nooses. Everybody here is on guard. Damn, I need to watch my mouth before I say something I regret. He thought to himself, reflecting on his crude remarks. He sat down on the van’s floor, staring at the wall in front of him. 

Meanwhile, Brooks served as Dennel’s GPS, telling her the directions to his buddy’s house. Dennel took in his directions without a shred of doubt and followed them effortlessly. Harrison, who stood near them, watched as they made their way to the so-called fortress Brooks brought up. 

With the direction now set, Hankins was allowed to sit down and reflect on the events that transpired. He lost his wife, unable to do anything for her. He was strung up, powerless, and without his dignity. The memories of her murder and everything surrounding it, which had been bottled up as they were still in a life-or-death situation, now exploded in full force. Several tens of tears streamed down his face, mostly unseen by the others as they were busy dealing with arriving at the safe haven.

Wales, however, noticed Hankins crying but didn’t say anything. He looked away from him and allowed Hankins to cry as much as he needed to. He didn’t step in his way, still reflecting on himself.

The trip wasn’t as light-hearted as anybody hoped. The kisses of death and laughs at life followed them, now joined by an ally. The stench of misery.

***

The van rolled to a stop in front of a desolate residential building. The building was made out of red bricks and had two stories, as Brooks told them. It had a large front yard, which was fenced in by a six-foot metal fence. The lawn was littered with “private property”, “keep off property”, and “no trespassing” signs.

Dennel, who jumped out of the van before the others, furrowed her brows as she stared at the signs. “A little… too much, isn’t it?” She thought out loud. 

“I agreed but it makes sense seeing what’s inside,” Brooks remarked as he stepped out of the van. “Let’s head in before we’re sighted.”

Dennel nodded. “Wales, discard of the van. Make sure we can’t be tracked.”

“A little too late, but… got it,” Wales said as he was upgraded from the back to the front. He slid into the front seat, after getting the keys, and left his teammates behind. He went to dispose of the van while the others trudged towards the house. 

Dennel led the charge with Brooks behind her. Harrison and Hankins followed behind them, both tightly grabbing at their weapons. The house was sort of desolate, but there were neighbors - though some distance away from them. 

“Moving forward, all eyes on the upstairs windows.” Dennel barked before trying the doorknob of the fence door. It was unlocked, giving them easy access to the property. 

Dennel moved into the property, followed behind by Brooks, Harrison, and Hankins. They moved slowly and tightly to shield Brooks from assassination attempts. They used this format until they reached the door. Brooks insisted on knocking on the door, being allowed to do so. He thanked them before walking up to the door and knocking on it five times. He took a step back and waited several seconds before he heard the sounds of locks opening. It took the person on the other side thirty seconds to unlock every obstruction placed on the door. When everything was unlocked, the door opened and revealed a middle-aged man dressed in a black tee-shirt, black pants, and black sneakers. The man’s bronze eyes glanced at Brooks for a few seconds before focusing his attention behind him at Brooks’ security detail. He ran his fingers through his carbon hair as he took in their sights. 

“Am I being arrested?” He asked, not looking at Brooks.

Brooks shook his head. “If you aren’t doing anything illegal, then you’re safe… for now.” He joked.

“Woah, the president is cracking a joke in front of his security? The world must be ending.”

“Might as well with Crude in control.”

The man furrowed his eyebrows and several wrinkles on his forehead appeared. “What do you mean?”

“Have you seen the news recently or looked outside?”

The man shook his head. “Nobody dares to take a step on my property and I don’t watch television. What’s going on… and why are you here?”

“I was… I was kidnapped by a supernatural killer. My vice president took over my title after I was captured. They freed me.” He motioned to Dennel and the others.

The man stared at him as if he had several heads on him. “Supernatural killer? Do you really expect me to believe that…? Well, I do, so come in. We got much to talk about.” He said, motioning for them to enter his house. Brooks took his offer immediately, then being followed by Dennel and the others. They stood in his living room, which was simple and clean. There were very few pieces of furniture and few interesting sights. It was a blank white room, resembling a padded mental asylum room.

They ventured farther, arriving in the dining room. The man motioned for them to sit down as he poured himself a glass of wine before offering them some. Dennel and the others refused, but Brooks took the offer. “It’s been a stressful day and I need a good drink.” He exclaimed, taking the glass cup from the man and sipping it down. “Thanks, Clyde.”

Clyde nodded, clinking cups with Brooks. “No worries, Alan. Drink as much as you like. I have crates of wine.”

“A legal amount?”

“As long as you don’t look in the attic,” Clyde half-joked. 

Brooks smiled before chugging down the wine. He asked for a refill, dumping it into his body. He then asked for another refill, continuing until he could no longer stand without help. He was shortly put to sleep with Dennel and Clyde’s assistance. 

With their VIP sleeping, Dennel began ordering everybody around to ensure Brooks’ safety. Dennel trusted Brooks’ words, but she wasn’t sold on the normal-looking house being a fortress until she saw undeniable evidence. 

She assigned Harrison to guard the only entrance to his room while Hankins was sent out to patrol the perimeter. She put herself to bounce from assisting Hankins to Harrison.

The assignments lasted until the night with Brooks waking up and resting in the living room. He sat on a recliner, his feet kicked up. He chatted with Clyde, reminiscing with him about their past.

Meanwhile, Dennel reassigned almost everybody else in case of assassins or spies. Hankins and Wales, who arrived hours after he left, were left in charge of patrolling the perimeter while Harrison was allowed to sleep. Dennel, unfortunately, wasn’t granted the same benefit. She positioned herself at Brooks’ side in case the assassins and spies made their way inside. She surveyed the surroundings, worried that Crude’s men would arrive at any minute. However, now being one in the morning, it was becoming less and less likely to occur that night. 

Brooks, who recognized this, asked Dennel to relax like them. However, she responded with, “I am your bodyguard and I intend to complete my task.” He relented after that, but he tried to involve her in the conversation.

“Where were you deployed before, miss?”

“London, sir. A very beautiful place, not so much during the war though.” She responded.

“Oh, well… it must’ve been difficult there. I couldn’t imagine it.”

Dennel nodded. “It was, sir. Many of my comrades died there, most of them in my face.”

Brooks nodded, looking away from her. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry that you lost more because of me.”

Dennel shook her head. “Thank you for your sympathy. My comrades, who I, unfortunately, wasn’t given enough time to meet with, fell at the hands of Hangman. However, we all knew what was going to happen once we decided to join Task Force 147.”

“T-Task Force 147? Please tell me you didn’t say that name.” He said, staring directly at her. Dennel nodded her head, confirming his worst thoughts. “Damn!” He shouted as he jumped off the recliner. “That monster truly went with the plan.”

“Sir?” Dennel asked, confused at his words.

Brooks glanced at her before looking away. He shook his head, biting his lip. “Sorry, miss. I didn’t mean… didn’t mean to react like that. It’s just… Crude has always had this plan to create a fake and real task force. One task force to complete missions as disposable pawns and the other being credited for their achievements. You are the first Task Force 147 you’ve heard of, right?” Dennel nodded her head. “Then, as I said at the warehouse, you’ve been sent here on a suicide mission. We’re all going to be disposed of by Crude’s men!” He exclaimed before rubbing his forehead with an open palm. “I’m sorry… miss?”

“Mary Dennel.” She said.

“I’m sorry, Mary. You and your comrades will be killed at Hangman or Crude’s hands. We have no future. Everything is over.”

Dennel stared at him, dumbfound. All she could respond was “why?”

***

“He wants us all dead just to get rid of you? We’re losing all of our lives?” Wales remarked, furrowing his eyebrows. “Why? What did we do to get on his hit list?”

“Nothing - that’s the problem. You were all… unfortunate.” Brooks responded. Wales smacked his lips and walked away. He needed to relax before he grew too angry to be calmed down. 

Harrison, who watched Wales walk away, turned to face Brooks. “What do we do then? We can’t take this lying down, right?”

Brooks nodded. “He intended on dealing with you all, but… if you expose yourself to the public, then there are complications in his plan. He wants to keep us out of the limelight to avoid public outcry and scrutiny. If we go live on any news station and reveal what we know then he faces potential impeachment. Even if he isn’t impeached, then I should be able to take over my title as he shouldn’t have been officially sworn in. He’s acting as president in name only.”

“And you’ll be able to kick him out of office? Get rid of him as your vice president? Maybe rack him on some counts of treason?” Hankins asked. 

Brooks nodded. “Only if we reveal ourselves. Otherwise, he wins by keeping us hidden.”

“Well… even if we do reveal ourselves, what stops him to kill us later down the line? He could fake our deaths as murders or suicides, couldn’t he.” Harrison chimed in.

“That’s probable, but… I will strip him of his power as soon as I can. He won’t be able to do much from a jail cell.” Brooks remarked.

“That’s if you survive. Considering it’s you, you have a seventy-five-twenty-five success rate.” Clyde added.

“Ha! I’ve been through worse situations than this.”

“Worse than death?”

“Yeah, it’s called politics. Death will be easier than dealing with stingy and corrupted politicians while trying to appease the public and avoid an uproar.” Brooks said with a chuckle. “Anyways, going back to what we were talking about, we need to reveal ourselves sooner than later. Crude will be suspicious when he finds out that you never returned to HQ. He’ll send men to track you and kill us all.”

“Then let’s go now,” Dennel suggested. “What news station would refuse the president? They would strike gold if they could be the first to report the good news.”

“It’s night, Mary,” Clyde said. “All the news stations are closed. We’re going to have to try again tomorrow morning.”

“What if they attack during the night?” Wales asked, some distance away from them. Hankins nodded his head in agreement. 

“Yeah, he’s right. We can’t scratch out that possibility. He must be tracking us right now.”