"You called the cops?" Axel felt his eyes widen. "Goddammit, Thompson..."
The man's mouth opened, closed. Then his expression hardened and he scowled at Axel. "What the fuck are you doing? You had it good here. At least you could feel useful, you little fucking asshole."
Axel turned to Marcus and Aaron. "Grab him. We need to do this quickly." With the illegal augment business raking in a decent amount of money, Thompson had known it would only be a matter of time before the cops caught wind of it and paid a visit. Luckily for him, the police department in this sector was as corrupt as it was brutal and it had been easy for him to establish a deal - in exchange for a cut of the income, they'd ignore what went on, and would deal with any potential problems. Axel knew they didn't take prisoners.
"Piss off," Thompson sneered. "You'd all better leave before-"
Marcus darted forward, reaching over the counter and seizing him by the neck of his shirt. Thompson's foot knocked into a metal display shelf, sending it clattering to the floor as Marcus dragged him over the counter. The doberman held the human upright, towering over him. "Been selling the bulk of your... product to someone. Who?"
"Your mother, you fucking-"
Marcus' fist shot forwards, slamming into Thompson's face like a brick. Axel heard the wet crunch of tearing cartilage as the man's nose broke. Thompson's legs folded and he would have fallen if Marcus hadn't been holding him upright. "Who?"
Thompson gasped, one hand clutching his face. Tears shimmered in his eyes. "Fuck you."
Axel swore under his breath, aware of time running out. "He's got an office in back. Help me look through it, maybe we'll find something," he said, glancing at Aaron.
From a corridor leading off in the back, a toilet flushed. Axel paused mid-step, his damaged ear twitching. For a moment, the only sounds were Thompson's pained gasps. Then the click of a door unlocking, heavy footsteps approaching. Axel looked at the others, but before anyone could do anything a tall, beefy man emerged from the gloom of the corridor, looking at the floor as he dried the back of his hands on his jeans.
"Thanks for that, Ray. Been dying to use the crapper since..." The beefy man looked up, and froze, confusion plastered on his face as he took in the situation facing Thompson. "What the..."
Axel took a step back.
The man's arm flashed back and pulled a revolver from behind him. He snapped it up, trying to cover everyone in the room. "What the hell's going on?! Let go of him!"