The Wicked End

Claire shifted uncomfortably on the hard plastic chair and again tried to work a hand loose from the cable ties that bound her solidly to it. Time had passed, she must have been here for more than two or three hours and the pain was starting to become something that simple breathing would not help with. The scarf blindfolding her eyes was black, the material rough but at least there was no gag and she could breathe. The air was thick and stuffy, a hint of mustiness that made her wonder if it was a cellar. Somewhat impossible to tell.
The shivering had nothing to do with the temperature. It had all happened so fast and still seemed completely unreal. That she had been looking at that sad smile one minute and then….Claire tried to fight back the nausea and concentrate on picking anything up that would help her. If Frank and Mikey had got home and they still had people there it didn’t bear thinking about. There could be a gun battle raging or maybe they didn’t even know. She tried the ties again, a frustrated half scream breaking loose.
There was little point in screaming for real, these people were clearly not amateurs and she already knew that the woman that Frank had believed was dead was clearly really pissed at him and Mikey. Claire again wished that she had pressed him harder on the subject of what exactly had happened, all she knew was that it had been bad enough to provoke all this mess. She smiled to herself at the thought of the revenge Mikey would spread across the entire fucking country until he caught up with the woman that had killed James.
There were muffled sounds from upstairs and Claire thought she heard a door slam. The blindfold had gone on before they left the house. More silenced gun shots had reached her ears as strong hands dragged her out the house and into the trunk of a car. That had possibly been the most frightening part included with the knowledge that possibly everyone on the compound had died except herself. The urge to panic had been huge but if living within the mob had taught her one thing it was that a clear head was everything when the odds were not in your favour.
A door opened and she held her breath. The fear had returned as heavy footsteps deposited something metal on the floor in an opposite corner and then circled the chair where Claire sat. She held her breath and instinctively turned towards the sound but it didn’t stop until she became still again. There was a pause and Claire gritted her teeth, damned if she would show any weakness in front of these fucks.
“You’re prettier than I thought you’d be. Shame about your old man being such a murdering bastard y’know.”
The voice was deep and male, the faintly mocking tone obviously designed to rile her up. Claire wasn’t going to give in, she was no princess who would whine and beg for them. She had got used to violent men and had to admit that under different circumstances this would be faintly arousing.
“My husband will hunt you down and kill you.”
There was a giggle and Claire gasped as a hand fondled her breasts roughly. She bucked against the chair and earned more laughter before she heard the door open again. The hand disappeared and lighter footsteps came across the floor toward the chair.
“Hands off the meat Zacky, we want her in one piece now don’t we ?”
“Sure boss….for now.”
There was the sound of another chair being drawn up and then the blindfold was pulled away from her face. The light felt intense and Claire screwed her eyes tight shut for a few seconds before cautiously trying to pick out the room and the two people in front of her. A low hiss caught in her throat as she recognised Angel and guessed that the man behind her was Zacky. He was eyeing her with an annoying smirk and she found that he reminded her of Frank, more than a little disconcerting.
The room itself was indeed underground, no windows and only the light from one bulb to highlight the concrete floor and minimal furniture. There was a cot, loosely made up with pillows and blankets, a bucket and the two chairs. That was it, not even a door in sight, just a set of wooden steps leading up. One way in and one way out.
“So, here we are.”
Angel smiled, there was no doubt that Frank would be spitting fire by now and she would really have his attention. It had been a shame not to bring the boy along but he was far too resourceful and a danger if the evidence of his previous work was to be believed. Better to leave a good solid message that would make them a little more careful to avoid playing hard. She cared not if the woman in front of her died too, as long as she got what she wanted first.
“You’re already dead.”
Claire turned her face away, trying to avoid looking at either of them.
“Yeah, well Frank already tried that and fucked it up royally so don’t mind me if I don’t buy into your threats.”
“He’s convinced you’re dead.”
Angel leant forward, studying Claire. Frank had a type that was for sure but she wondered if this one knew how truly corrupt he was. It had taken a lot of work and effort to pull this off and even after ten years, rage still flowed through every cell in her body at what the little fucks had done to her. Frank and Mikey were going to be destroyed and know exactly who was doing it.
“He’s never been as smart as he likes to think he is. They were children back then, all piss and vinegar except for Ray. He was just easy to manipulate.”
Claire didn’t like looking at her kidnapper. There was nothing overtly threatening in the dark haired woman in front of her. Whatever Frank had done to try to take her out there were no scars visible. You could walk past her in the street and not know what she was capable of. Remembering Frank’s description of her, Claire stuck out her chin.
“You’re just a killer, then and now.”
“That I am, never claimed to be any different. What did he tell you ?”
Claire carefully laid out the bones of what Frank had told her, seeing the man look on in interest at what she said. His gaze was difficult to hold, the intricate tattoos up his arms and pierced lip was distracting, reminding her of Frank when he wasn’t in a suit and out behaving like a businessman, she looked away again.
“Bare bones of the story. I notice he left out the gory details.”
“Enough that I know why you did this. Why kill James ?”
Angel smirked, the anger in Claire’s voice was amusing given that she was tied to the chair.
“James would have caused trouble and I like fucking with Mikey Way. Now make yourself at home, hopefully your husband will do what I ask and we can soon end this.”
Angel smiled and got up, pushing the chair back against the wall. It was obvious to both women how it would probably end but why not give the lie that each would go back to their lives. She whispered into Zacky’s ear and disappeared up the stairs.
He said nothing to Claire, merely roughly cutting the cable ties loose and pointing towards the bed. “Not as luxurious as you’re used to but we’ll feed you at least.”
Claire refused to answer, rubbing her wrists and quickly scooting away from him across the room. Zacky found that more amusing than the previous conversation and was in front of her before Claire could get out of view again. He pulled her up by the hair, full lips pressed against hers for a few seconds before she landed roughly on the bed again.
“Settle in sweetheart and we’ll all play nice.”

Notes