22:00. (3)

It didn't take long for Theo to regain consciousness. He was seated in a chair, and attempts at standing up soon revealed that he had been restrained. He slowly started looking around, trying to ascertain whether or not he was still in his house. He was, and was seated in his living room. Seated across from him were his wife Jess, twin daughters Zama and Thandi, and son, Ethan. They too were all restrained, but they were also gagged. Theo tried calling out to them, but found that he was also gagged. He thrashed around a bit as he tried to free himself, but it was to no avail as these weren't ordinary ropes, they seemed to be sentient – slithering and tightening with each attempt Theo made to escape. After giving up on breaking his bonds, Theo suddenly noticed that there was a strange red haze in the living room. Despite it being lit and everything being visible, it was unusually dark, and very hazy.

'This is very bad… think, Theo! Think of a way out of this! THINK!!!'

He looked over at his terrified family, and tried to reassure them with his eyes. He tried to project a sort of calm demeanor, and he held eye contact with them all individually for extended periods of time. His children were still young, with Ethan approaching kindergarten age, and the twins a year younger than him. The tears streaming down their cheeks broke his heart, and made him struggle to free himself once more, however much like the first time, Theo's attempts were futile. Jess on the other hand was looking very calm. It was as if she had resigned herself to whatever fate awaited her and her family, and sort of shrugged bitterly when Theo looked at her. After a few excruciating minutes of waiting, the entire group walked into the living room, previously unconscious goons included. Everybody except the leader was chewing and holding sandwiches in their hands.

'You've GOT to be kidding me! These bastards are eating my food as well!?' Theo thought to himself.

"Oh, you're awake." The leader said as he looked at Theo.

He looked around for a chair, and once he found one, he dragged it behind him as he walked and then set it down in front of Theo. He then sat down in the chair, and crossed one leg over the over before taking a deep breath and speaking.

"Theo Burrows, or should I say, Othello Barausse; illegitimate child of Frankie Barausse – head of the Barausse family, one of the biggest crime families on the East Coast." After saying all this, the leader leaned in closer and virtually whispered. "Do your wife and kids know about this? I mean technically, you aren't actually black, man. You're mixed."

Theo scowled intensely at this man, who was casually revealing secrets he had been keeping for a very long time.

"Anyway, I just wanted to have a bit of a chat before getting on with business. You see, I genuinely admire you, Othello. I know all about you, man. I know that your mother was a hooker, I know that you went to live with your father at a young age, but things didn't go so well – especially when you displayed levels of competence that were superior to the rest of the youngsters in your generation. You were smarter, stronger more charming and likable than the rest of them; even winning the affections of Tia – the princess of the Bolzano family. However, for some reason, whether the shade of your skin and texture of your hair, or maybe because of the fact that your mother was a prostitute, either way, you weren't very well liked or accepted, and when the murmurs of you being the heir to Moon Contract surfaced, well…"

"Uh, sorry Boss, but weren't you saying how you wanted to get this all over with before midnight? Going over this guy's long ass personal history won't make that a realistic objective."

The leader looked back at his muscular subordinate and chuckled somewhat heartily, before shaking his head and looking at Theo.

"Sorry about that, I just really like this guy." He then took another breath before addressing Theo once more. "Othello, I just want to let you know that none of what is about to happen is personal. I have been… employed to carry out a certain and extremely detailed task."

The man then stood up slowly and held his hand out. One of the low level henchmen hobbled into view with a large duffel bag in his hands. He gave to his boss, and walked off. The bag was then set on the recently vacated chair, slowly opened. Theo looked around the room, only to see the faces of virtually the entire group, all smiling sadistically at him. The sounds that came from within the bag as the boss rummaged through it were making Theo a worried man, and after a while, the boss stopped his search and looked up.

"Considering what is about to happen, I should at least tell you my name… in certain circles, I go by the Phantom."

Theo was barely even paying attention to what was being said at this point, because as the Phantom revealed who he was, he started pulling out all manner of tools that could be used as torture devices. As he laid them out neatly on the floor, he looked towards the woman in his crew.

"Widow, have you completed the sound-proofing?"

"Yes, Sir. We could have a convert in here, and nobody outside would hear a peep."

"Good…"

The Phantom then picked up a small blade, a pair of pliers and a hammer, and walked right up to Theo, who was mentally steeling himself for what he assumed, would be a long and painful night. He could see his kids shaking in terror and fresh tears making their way down their respective faces.

"So, here's the thing, Othello… you aren't my target. Well, you eventually are, but… everything that's in the duffel bag, as well as in my hands right now is to be used… on them."

The Phantom gestured with his head that the target was Theo's family.

'What? No! You son of a bitch! Don't you dare touch them! DON'T TOUCH THEM!! DON'T TOUCH THEM!!!'

Theo was going absolutely nuts, shaking violently as he tried to get loose. His eyes and face were filled with absolute desperation, and he was screaming. He was trying to talk, but due to the gag, all he could do was make noise. The Phantom turned around and made his way over to Jess and the children, who had started screaming once more.

"It's a shame this has to go down, but we've already been paid. Sorry about this."

Over the course of what felt like an eternity, Theo was forced to sit and watch atrocities that no living creature should be subjected to being carried out on his wife and children by the Phantom. The sound of their blood curdling screams rang in Theo's ears, and coupled with his own screams, filled the entire room, as did the heavy scent of blood. The amount of blood that was on the floor, as well as appendages after a while was the stuff of nightmares. Theo did not stop screaming or thrashing about the entire time. Watching this man commit such horrible acts on his family was only made worse by the fact that Phantom would stop in the middle of torturing one of Theo's loved ones and turn to look at him, offering compliments like "Wow, these girls are absolutely beautiful. They would have made gorgeous brides" or "Wow, Ethan looks just like you, Othello! You must have been so proud when he was born". During the early parts of the ordeal, before anything had been severed, removed or the like, Theo found himself making all kinds of mental demands.

'Hey! You Moon Clan fuckers, I know you can hear me! I need help! Help me!' He boomed with his mind.

"…"

'I need power! My family needs me! Give me power!'

"…"

'It's The – I mean, Othello Barausse! You have an alliance with my family! Send some demons to help! PLEASE!'

"…"

No matter how much Theo pleaded, all he received in response was rotten silence. He didn't stop however, and he continued demanding help. As time went on however, he found himself altering the demand from needing power to save his family, to needing the strength to put them out of their misery. The tone also changed, as he went from virtually ordering a Moon Clan demon to help, to begging. The silence he got in return was doing a number on him. His throat was hoarse from all the screaming, and fresh blood from said throat had stained the gag. His eyes were blood red, tears flowing from them. He aggravated and even exacerbated the injuries he received from the Phantom earlier in the night, and more than his physical state, watching and hearing his children crying and screaming his name, pleading with him to help, had come close to completely breaking him. Phantom had been going about his business without a shred of hesitation or remorse – something a few of his people failed to do. Some couldn't watch, while others who had been watching had vomited a few times; their stomachs unable to handle what they were witnessing. One by one, Theo watched his children succumb to their wounds, and each death would destroy a portion of his soul. Time dragged on slowly, and at around midnight, Theo, whose eyes had glazed over, watched as Phantom turned around and walked over to the duffel bag. What remained in the chairs behind him were bodies in such poor condition that they could no longer be referred to as corpses. Jess, who held out the longest, had finally joined her children in the afterlife. The man who called himself Phantom looked at Theo and shook his head slightly as he pulled a cloth out from the bag and began wiping all his instruments of torture clean.

"You know Othello; I genuinely did not enjoy doing any of that. But you know, a job is a job."