The Wicked End

Angel leant back in the chair and watched amused as Frank entered the room and calmly took a seat in front of a mass of photographers and pressmen. There was no sign of Mikey but she knew he was somewhere close, she could feel the rage that seemed to heat the room from within. The brother was recognisable and very pretty, she had never met him back in the day but had soon figured the connection once he had started to appear in public with Frank and she made note to try to meet him before this was over.
Frank hadn’t changed, the decade had barely seemed to touch his features although he carried himself with even more arrogance and self assurance than before. He still looked good and it annoyed her much more than she had thought it would. He had done well, far better than she would have ever given him credit for and it burned that for a second time she had underestimated him. Angel knew now that she held a card over him that gave her an edge but was under no illusion that he would kill her properly if this all went wrong.
For now though, it was more than going right. News of the press conference had been relayed by the mole with plenty of time for them to be ready and she had been unable to resist the urge to attend despite the obvious risks. Matt and Brian had been completely against it and at least one of them was lurking nearby but Angel had no fear of being recognised. This was a test to see if they remembered, if the messages were getting through.
There was a hush falling as the police and FBI settled in too before a press officer carefully approached the mike at the centre of the stage. All the men looked uncomfortable, this case was so high profile and none of them wanted to make a mistake. A close friend of the President could easily end a career on a whim and now that his wife was missing and assumed kidnapped by the same person that had killed so many people, it was not something any of them wanted to think about.
“Mr Iero will make a short statement and then answer some questions. Please leave any questions until the end. Thank you.”
The man nodded to Frank who briefly glanced at Gerard before standing up. He scanned the room and thought of all the times he had made speeches and rallied a room for men to his side to fight and die for him. Nothing had been more important than this and yet he felt no fear over it. His Claire was strong, she would find a way to hold out until he reached her and then all the rules would mean nothing. He would slaughter all of those responsible and leave Angel till last. This time he would have the pleasure of killing her slowly and with his own bare hands.
“I’d like to thank you all for coming today. I’m sure you can understand this is a very difficult time for me, I lost someone I and my family considered a brother and some very dedicated and much loved staff. I again extend my condolences to their families and would like to ask that if anyone has any information on who might be responsible to contact the FBI as soon as possible.”
Frank took a breath and straightened his tie before continuing.
“I have enemies. As a man in my line of work and close to the government it’s to be expected and I have lost people before but this has gone beyond what I have experienced before. My wife is innocent, she had nothing to do with my business or my past. Claire is the best woman I have ever or will ever know and I will do anything to get her home in one piece. There are many things I have left buried that now seem to have come back to haunt me and this may be one of them.”
Angel smiled, the shadow that had passed over his face at that moment told her all she needed to know. He hadn’t forgotten then, the message and finding the boy’s body had been enough to remind him of his sins and the retribution he had called down on his own head. The sense of satisfaction was bordering on sexual.
“I am now speaking to whoever it is that is holding my wife. The bible says an eye for an eye but I don’t work that way. Contact me or the FBI and we can negotiate. If you want money or a meeting with me I will listen.”
There was a gasp behind him and Frank was well aware that he was deviating from the agreed arrangement with the feds but he had not come this far to play games. This was out of their league, Angel would see police involvement from a mile away and never come close. The only way to deal with this was head on and on his own. Gerard smiled quietly and hoped that his brother was taking this as calmly as he had everything else since the sedation wore off. It bothered him and Mikey was prone to violent explosions at all the worst times.
“All I want is Claire returned to me unharmed. We can discuss terms and details when you call.”
Angel tapped the phone in her pocket and considered options. She had his number and Gerard’s, Mikey’s could be obtained. It would be fun to taunt them but she didn’t want to give away the fact that she had been here or that she had a plant in the heart of his organisation. It would be more sensible to wait, to let him stew a little longer. Maybe even give the woman to the boys to play with and then send him some pictures.
Frank sat down again as the camera flashes continued to go off. He hoped that the message would get through and that the clues had been obvious enough. The details of the writings at all the murders had been withheld from the press, it had been hinted that there was a connection but even the feds didn’t want all the details getting out. They were under increasing pressure for not having a single arrest in the case and a kidnapping was just adding to the pressure.
“Mr Iero will take questions now. Yes ?”
Angel kept her head down a little more as the press officer picked journalists from the crowd to ask more and more questions of Frank. She found being in his company was more difficult than expected and it bothered her more as the minutes ticked by. It had been the thought of his destruction that had pushed her to recover, to plan and execute the escape both from the hospital and her own crippled body. That man had taken everything from her and a sick rage made her even more determined that his precious wife would be delivered back to him in pieces.
“I have some idea who it might be yes.”
The reporter looked expectantly at Frank to elaborate and was greeted with a wry smile. None of them had expected him to even show his face. Iero did his deals and took out his enemies in private, the man was smart that way and still a murderer no matter what veneer of respectability he put on it. The last time his wife had been taken from him the whole city had burned for two weeks and they were all holding their breath.
“We cannot comment at this time.”
The FBI press officer was pissed at the charade of a press conference and of having to deal with the suited prick beside him and all his crooked friends. Three of his men were nursing broken bones after the younger Way brother had gone psycho when refused access to his lovers body. The director wouldn’t allow any of them to be touched and the fact that the President was in the pocket of this bastard was unacceptable. Quite frankly he didn’t care if whoever was going after Frank Iero managed to get to him.
“Are there likely to be more murders ?”
“Again, no comment.”
There were more hands raised as Frank rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried to ignore the glare of the man beside him. Dealing with the feds was always such a pain in the ass, they hated him as much as he hated them and he was as well aware as Gerard that Mikey was a powderkeg just waiting to go off in someone’s face. It was down to Frank to aim that in the direction of whoever had helped Angel pull this off.
“No more questions now. Thank you for your time.”
There was a grumbling as Frank and Gerard stood up, shaking hands with the press officer and the FBI man. The journo’s started to move too, a chatter breaking out as they all began calling editors and the news cameras reverted back to their various studio commentators. Gerard rubbed a finger down the back of Frank’s neck and leant close to his ear.
“Think we did enough ?”
“Yeah, she will get it. Not sure if she will call but there will be something now we’ve put it out there. Call Ray and I’ll go check on Mikes.”
Frank scanned the crowd again and hoped to god that he had indeed done enough to make the bitch break cover. There was nothing he could do in Cali until his sources had done their digging on the whereabouts of the doctor who had helped Angel and it would take time. He was about to turn away when something caught his eye at the back of the room. A woman near the door was looking at him and before he could register it she slipped out and into the corridor.
He froze and stared before a growl of pure rage broke from his lips and the newsmen shrieked and dived for cover as he launched himself into the crowd and toward the door. Gerard was close behind, not knowing what the hell just happened but recognising that Frank had just completely lost it. A single word roared from his lips.
“ANGEL !”

Notes