The Wicked End

The world still turned but had fundamentally changed.
Angel watched with an interested and somewhat surprised focus as the fallout from the events in the White House settled over an unsuspecting nation. The official cause was an unidentified and unspecified illness which was largely accepted with great sadness both at home and abroad. This mystified the person responsible, she had expected open warfare on Frank and wasn’t seeing a sign of that although the FBI released a statement saying that his companies had been shut down pending an investigation into “fraud”. Angel wasn’t about to let on but this was a miscalculation and she knew that if he was walking free, Frank would be finding the means to get to her. It presented an interesting dilemma. To do the sensible thing, get rid of the hostage and run so as to live or make a stand, take the chance and end it.
She mulled it over, sipping a beer and enjoying the relative peace now that Zacky had taken Claire up to the prospectors outpost in the gulch. It was a good position, well hidden and only accessible by one road. If a last stand was needed it would be the ideal place. Gates had taken his money and disappeared, leaving the country for a while after this would be the best option even if it was ruled as a suicide or an “illness”. He was an interesting man and very good between the sheets but Angel didn’t trust him an inch.
All that was left here was Matt and their boys, pending the return of Johnny who had been located just after Frank had vanished. He was banged up and not much use but it testified to the speed at which the other gang had been forced to relocate. Angel had also had the place searched for money, Ray had made sure to provide a couple of insiders for her who had been able to sweep through while supposedly looking for the former owners. Certainly the jewellery would top up the funds she was missing since paying the assassin.
Being so low in number had advantages and perils of its own. It was easier to move around, to disappear and resurface where the enemy least expected It but it was also less cannon fodder to put in front of a very angry Mikey Way when he was after your blood. Again the sensible thing to do would be to lie low and let law enforcement do its job but Angel trusted the law less than she trusted anyone. If you want something done, do it yourself and do it right. There would be no botched jobs on her watch.
So what to do…..
The television was still bleating, angles and reaction from all over the world as the Vice President was sworn in and pundits raved about how great a man Ray Toro had been and what a tragedy to lose him in his prime. Angel half agreed with it, he had been a good man in many ways and so not suited to the path life had given him. She had regretted his death but never forgotten that he had been part of what happened to her in the first place, his guilt never wiped out by saving her afterwards. She had enjoyed his body, used his devotion and paid back his betrayal. If only the voting public knew what he had really been.
“What the fuck ?”
Angel winced at being pulled backwards from the chair by her hair and virtually flung into the wall. She was dazed, staring up at Matt for a moment before wisely scooting out of range. He was angrier then she had ever seen him, wild eyed and almost hysterical.
“They went after the families Angel, they’re killing our families off one by one. You said he’d be ruined, not free to hunt us !!”
She paled a little and stepped back, this wasn’t unexpected from her point of view really. In fact it was exactly what she would have done and it meant that Frank had information on them now. Just not what she needed for these men to hear.
“Calm down. Who have they hit so far ?”
“There have been phone calls all over, houses are burning, shootings. The men are leaving and I’m not going to stop them.”
Angel nodded, careful to look concerned as she walked over to him and carefully looked him in the eye. The method of flight was fast being removed from the spectrum. She was faced with being backed into a corner that would need careful manoeuvring to get out of.
“Your family ? Zacky’s ? Johnny’s ?”
“Not so far.”
“Then it could just be Frank’s men are lashing out at random targets. No need to panic yet.”
Matt stared and for a moment considered strangling her with his bare hands. This seemed increasingly like she was willing to sacrifice them all to continue this feud and he wondered now whether the promised money and power would ever materialise.
“This was not what I signed up for.”
“What did you expect Matt ? Really ?”
Angel couldn’t help the sneer that materialised on her face.
“We took his wife. We killed Mikey’s lover in cold blood. We killed Ray and took everything away from him. Frank is bound to be just slightly pissed off.”
“You said he’d be in no state to do anything about it.”
Angel shrugged and went back to pacing as Matt ran a hand through his hair and tried to rationally think of what they could do next. He could see no option but to run and if that meant getting rid of the hostage then so be it.
“We will be calm and make sure that everyone who we have left is looking for any sign of Frank and his men. He will call soon to make a deal.”
Matt shook his head at the certainty in her voice.
“What deal can we make now that will see us live ? He has no money to pay us off and no way is he going to meet us now.”
“Frank has money, there is no way he hasn’t got millions stashed away.”
There was a silence, broken only by the arrival of two men and a battered Johnny. Matt hurried away to see what he could do and how bad the damage actually was. It was a relief both to see his friend alive and to be away from Angel and her increasingly insane ideas. He felt an odd yearning to be back practising medicine full time and could only hope that Angel was right about the money and that there was still a way out of this whole mess.
After finally giving Johnny a sedative, Matt headed back down toward the living room where Angel sat, still brooding and watching the television. His men were down to a bare five or six, nowhere near enough to put up a fight against a large force of men. He was about to try to reason with her again when his phone started to ring. He didn’t recognise the number and virtually shouted down the line.
“Yeah ?”
“Matt Sanders ?”
“Who the fuck is this ?”
There was a scream in the background and the blood in his veins started to ice over and run cold. Angel hadn’t looked up but the strangled gasp caused her to turn sharply around.
“Mom ?”
“Your mom says hi but she’s a little tied down right now and I have in no way finished with my fun. Now put the bitch on like a good boy.”
Matt stood gaping like a fish until Angel removed the phone from his hand, a horrible wave of fear passing through her that actually was a surprise.
“Frank ?”
“No. I should have been allowed to finish the job all those years ago.”
Angel shut her eyes and made a run toward the window to look out and down the drive. If Frank and Mikey had the home addresses of those closest to her then she could only guess that Ray had betrayed her yet again. Sneaky but she had to admit, a good move.
“Mikey, this is between us. I told Frank that I would kill his bitch and I mean it.”
“I don’t give a fuck, you killed my boy and I’m going to kill you for that but you harm one hair on her head and its going to be a repeat of everything that happened before.”
She looked across at Matt, a plan slowly forming in her mind.
“Fine. You want her and I want the means to disappear. You bring ten million here and I give her back. We go our own separate ways and never see each other again. Your alternative is that I kill her and you never see me again.”
Both knew that the other was lying but there needed to be an end and if it meant believing a lie to get them within striking distance then so be it. There was a pause and then a loud sigh that told her that he was willing to play the game.
“Don’t bother moving, we have your address. This settles nothing between us personally Angel, I will find you.”
“Get me the money and you’re welcome to try Michael.”
The line went dead and she tossed the phone aside, causing Matt to stare at her in utter disbelief.
“That’s my mother !?!”
Angel shrugged again and had pulled the pistol before he even had chance to utter another word. The gunshot echoed around the room as the corpse slumped heavily on the carpet. It was a shame but he was never going to understand just what this was about. She stepped over the corpse and used her fingers to gather the still warm blood. It took less than two minutes to write the address of the gulch cabin on the wall and a single sentence underneath.

INTO THINE HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT, REDEEM ME

Notes

Computer fixed and three chapters left.....