Kiss The Ring

Hell can be defined in many ways. For some people it’s a thought, a place to be feared and avoided. Some think their lives are that bad that hell would be a pleasant alternative. Religious people see it as literal and for the most unlucky of people it can become literal.
Then we come to the other sort of people, three of which were standing in a warehouse covered in other people’s blood and sharing a smoke. There was a lot of blood and it had taken several hours to get to that point. The first rays of sunlight were just starting to show on the horizon as Frank, Mikey and James stood over three battered bloody lumps of flesh that had once been human beings, a little more humanity stripped away from them as well. The three men had definitely paid a price for what they had done but somehow it still didn’t seem enough.
“So now we know. No.2 of the feds is corrupt, creaming the arms contracts and has figured out just why I want Gerard in office.”
Mikey folded his arms and looked at Frank.
“So he takes you out but why go for Gee ?”
Frank turned his phone back on.
“Probably got his own boy in the race. We’ll have to look into that.”
James nudged one of the corpses with his foot, no trace of emotion on his face.
“What do we do with this lot ?”
Frank smiled, noting that Ray had sent him a text with the latest death toll, property damage assessment figures and police casualty list. Apparently the army would be called in if a second night of trouble broke out. Not that Frank cared if it did. He looked back up at the two men.
“It won’t be long before this Mr.Alexander figures out what happened. So why wait ?”
They grinned, wondering just what Frank had in mind and then followed him to the back entrance of the warehouse. Outside was a beaten up transit van, the back door already open. James and Mikey already had an idea what Frank wanted.
“Where to ?”
“Steps of the nearest government building you can find. Then dump the van and call me, I’ll get you picked up.”
The three men parted ways, Mikey and James to do their final errand and get picked up, Frank to go home and start planning for the next stage of the fight. The dawn had broken onto a pretty good approximation of an urban battlefield and Frank had enjoyed being Commander-In-Chief. The next move on the board would need to be a little more subtle.
Frank found a pleasant surprise waiting in his office. Gerard was recovering well, remarkably well in fact given what had happened. There seemed to be very little brain damage, a little slurring of the speech maybe and slight signs of temper that were not like him but all things considered he was really doing ok.
Gerard grinned at the delight on Frank’s face, waving from his wheelchair.
“Hi sugar, where you been ?”
Frank lent down to kiss him, the craving to take things further rising in him but knowing that those kind of games would have to wait a while.
“Business to attend to with your brother. How do you feel ?”
Gerard considered. He didn’t know, physically still not good but not in pain. Mentally was different, mentally he was angry. Very angry but given what Frank had been going through the last thing Gerard wanted to do was make it worse.
“Ok, the nurses say I can try walking around a bit soon.”
“That’s good.”
“What kind of business with my brother ?”
Frank slumped on the sofa, noting the unusually hard look on Gerard’s face. He decided truth was probably the best option.
“We took out the people who shot you, killed Linda and helped to set it up. Now we know what we’re up against.”
“And ?”
“It ain’t good.”
Gerard clenched his fists, pleased to know someone had paid. He wondered if his brother had enjoyed it, he and Mikey had always been different characters but for the first time he could understand what drove the sweet little boy he had known into acts of unspeakable violence.
Both were silent for a while, it was unusual for the phone not to ring but as Frank was officially out of the country, business was quiet.
Frank continued to think things through. The opposition had resources beyond what even Frank could conjure up and had the balls to use them. Frank had weapons, a complete lack of conscience and the full force of illegality behind him. There was a knock at the door and both Gerard and Frank looked up.
Ray came in, a little harassed.
“What did you tell those two crazy fuckers to do ?”
Frank smiled as Ray turned on the television.
The news channel was full of action. The riots, politicians baying for heads to roll and now the news that staff at Town Hall had turned up to work to find several corpses nailed to the front door. Frank couldn’t help but smile at the boys using their calling card to ram the point home. Question was how the other guy would respond.
“Not my idea but effective. Are they on the way back ?”
Ray nodded, absently handing Frank a pile of paperwork while patting Gerard on the shoulder. He liked Gerard, sometimes thought he was the only other sane one in the place.
“Be back shortly. We’re digging up some interesting information, looks like you two share some business contacts.”
Frank frowned, the damn Russians, it was always gonna be them. Never trust a fucking Russian, especially not the crooked ones.
“I feel another job for the boys coming on.”
“Frank.”
The soft voice pulled Frank’s attention back to Gerard.
“Yeah ?”
“I want to go with them.”
Frank stared in amazement. Gerard avoided violence to the point of going pale if it was even mentioned and now this.
“Not a good idea. You need to heal, rest up and keep well away from this.”
A scowl crossed the other mans’ face.
“I want in. They shot me, I want to see them die.”
There was a pause. Frank rubbed the back of his neck and considered things. It was more than likely that even five minutes in Mikey and James’ company would be enough to put Gerard off for life.
“Ok, go watch but I don’t think you’re gonna like it.”
Frank turned back to the paperwork, completely missing the smile that crossed Gerard’s face. He wouldn’t have liked it, in fact it may have even scared him because for that one moment Gerard looked just like his brother.

Notes