Dani could feel Oliver staring at her from behind as they walked down the aisle. The kid in front of her took methodical steps with pleading looks to people on both sides of the aisle. Every one of them turned away.
“Now,” Harley said, “you will be happy to know that not all of us are going to die here today. I’m not dying. I can guarantee you that. I am the father of this motherfucking revolution. I can’t die.
“Most of you, well, I ain’t gonna lie, most of you will die. Can’t be helped.” He laughed. “This rebellion has its sponsors, and sponsors want ratings. Ratings in hostage situations have everything to do with body count. In a way, y’all are funding this fucking thing.”
He held up his gun. “This here is a AK-OS 555 assault rifle. It’s important that everyone here remember that. The AK-OS 555 assault rifle!”
Frightened stares looked back at him as Dani and the kid were pushed to the front of the room by Oliver.
“Repeat what I just said, people!”
Everyone looked around the room, waiting for someone to be the first to speak.
Harley fired into the ceiling. “Repeat what I said! Now!”
A quiet smattering of voices complied.
“Together! Louder!”
After a few more failed attempts, the room erupted. “AK-OS 555 assault rifle!”
Harley smiled. “Very good! Very nice! Street name is the Chaos Triple Five. You don’t have to repeat that, but if you wanna look cool if and when you get outta here, that’s what you should call it. These fuckers are going to fly off the shelves when this thing’s over. And you people will have been on the fucking ground floor. You will have been smack-dab in the fucking middle of the birth of Chaos!”
Oliver was staring at the gun sticking out of the back of Dani’s pants. The training he had endured to be part of this moment flooded every synapse in his memory banks. Dani’s gun threatened to make the hell he’d gone through completely meaningless. He turned his focus to Harley, the person he feared most on this planet. The temptation to win favor with him moved him to clear his throat. He was going to tell Harley about the gun. He was going get the approval that he craved from his tormentor.
“Payne!” Harley barked. “What is your malfunction?”
Oliver swallowed the dryness in his mouth and said, “Sir?”
“You’re fucking staring at me with that ugly ape face of yours! You’re making me look bad!”
“There’s…She’s…”
Dani dropped her chin. He was about to give her up. The element of surprise was about to be blown.
“She’s what, dumbass? Jesus Christ, you’re a fucking waste of…” Harley snapped his fingers. “Wait, are you trying to tell me you wanna break off a piece of that before we shred her? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Sir? No…”
“You are a fucking pervert, Payne. There’s a time and a place…” Harley threw up his hands in a big show of disgust. “Calm down. Just calm the fuck down. Ima let you at it! Ima let you tear that shit up! Ima do it!” He addressed the crowd. “We’ve just added a little romantic interlude to the show, folks! You are in for a treat!”
Oliver looked to the people sitting to his right. “I’m not a pervert…I don’t want…”
“Goddamn it, Oliver! Get to it! We gotta get this show on the road! Don’t pussy out like you did with my old lady!”
The other Gray Rise members laughed.
Oliver gritted his teeth. With each passing second, he realized he didn’t fear Harley. He feared how much he hated the man. He raised his weapon and pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of Dani’s head before leaning in and whispering, “Get ready to pull your piece.”