The Wicked End

The hours seemed to pass slower than usual.
Neither side seemed to want to go for an all out assault, neither had enough men for it but the agony of respective waiting was almost worse. Angel sat brooding in the cabin, not having a hostage now was making the urge to cut her losses and run seem like a very good option but there was still the chance of pulling off the coup. Zacky was determined to see it through, still reckoning that their odds were better than even. Johnny wasn’t awake enough to care either way. He wasn’t likely to see the action whichever outcome was decided.
Frank was using the time to make sure that Claire had survived in one piece while Mikey and Gerard scouted the road ahead and tried to find an opening that would still give them the element of surprise. Claire had decided not to tell Frank about the rape, she need him to have a clear head and to stay alive. Once the threat was over, then she could confess to him what had happened and come to terms with it. He hadn’t exactly been happy about her staying with them, Frank would much rather that she had stayed in the car or taken herself back down to civilisation altogether. Claire was having none of it and Mikey had agreed, more so after hearing how she had taken down the man at the gate to escape and procure a weapon.
“We will see this through together. This family has lost enough and I won’t leave any of you up here without helping.”
Frank had pouted, about to argue before the younger Way had interjected.
“We taught her to shoot years ago. She took down that man without alerting anyone around her. We need Claire with us.”
“No. You’ve been through enough.”
Claire stared at him, noticing how Gerard was finding the confrontation almost amusing.
“Not arguing about this Frankie.”
“Fine but be fucking careful and stay near me.”
They had both noticed how the brothers had decided to go for another patrol, knowing that husband and wife needed time alone. He had been forced to break it to Claire that Ray was dead, probably by Angel’s hand. If not directly by proxy at least and that all of them were now on the run. She hadn’t been bothered by that part, pointing out that the new President was equally one of their men and would make the charges go away. Claire was just devastated that Sharon would have to face burying her husband alone.
“I could be burying you, please be careful with this.”
Frank kissed the top of her head, watching the sun start to dip as he tried to get comfortable against the tree trunk. He would never tell her how a similar thought had gone through his head along with the thought that if that happened he would follow Ray’s example.
“I’m always careful and so are the boys. All we need to do is get close enough to take a shot, Mikey won’t miss.”
“Neither will she.”
They sat in companionable silence until Mikey and Gerard returned and the sun disappeared. They had found a route through the trees that would take them around the chainlink gate to a small weakpoint in the wire. Mikey had wirecutters and had made a tight fitting hole that would bypass the need to use the gate. It was still a long and risky path up to the cabin but it wasn’t now impossible.
Claire had expected to feel nerves but there was an adrenalin surge in crawling through the wire and being able to see the bulky silhouette of the cabin in the distance. She stuck tightly to the rocky edge of the canyon and followed behind Gerard, Mikey in front and Frank behind her. Her eyes still adjusted to the light and she felt the breath seize in her lungs at the realisation that a man with a gun stood only a few feet in front of them. Claire saw Mikey’s teeth flash as he smiled and signalled them to stay put.
Gerard also smiled, he loved watching his brother hunt and could hear nothing as Mikey crept forward despite the undergrowth and the pounding heat in his head. The other man never stood a chance and had no chance to scream as the taller man pulled his head back and viciously jammed the knife in his throat at an angle. There was still no sound as blood misted into the night air and Mikey laid the twitching body on the ground. Ammunition and weapon was stripped from the corpse and they continued forward.
Frank could see the place clearer now and motioned to Gee to take up position behind the two parked cars that were at the bottom of the more gravelled drive, there was still little light and the cabin itself was in darkness. This bothered him, so far it had been reasonably easy and he had no doubt that if Angel could lure him into an ambush she would. Gee grabbed Claire by the hand and scrambled across the few hundred yards of scrubbed dirt to the vehicles.
They were halfway across when a floodlight opened up the brightest beam of light, bullets chasing it down. Gerard threw Claire towards the metal, a cry drawn from his lips as a two bullets hit him in the hip and lower stomach. Mikey roared, opening up toward the mini sun as Frank registered that Claire was dragging Gee free of the line of fire, giving him a chance to join Mikey in returning the fire.
“Aim for the light!”
Mikey crossed his aim and took satisfaction in the shadow of a man falling to his firepower before the light blinked out and glass shattered. Things were even again, Frank whispering to Claire to stay with Gerard as he followed Mikey onwards. There was no stopping the tall man once the rage had been ignited and Frank knew that all the pain and rage of James’ death was now flowing out and it was better just to stay behind it. Another shadow fell and Frank could see the cabin clearer. Both men pressed onward, reaching the steps before pausing.
There was no more sound, the night air seemingly swallowing the sounds of violence into a vacuum. The risk in entering was high but it was clear that there was no way to pull Angel out into the open without a prolonged fight that neither man had the ammunition for. Instead they would have to go in and hope that the odds had been evened enough.
Mikey led Frank around the back of the house, not trusting the front entrance but not seeing an alternative until a low window half way down caused him to pause. No sound seemed to emanate from the room and when he risked a glance all he could see was a prone figure on the bed. By height and bandages, Mikey recognised Johnny and decided this was the best option. He was in and by the bed before Johnny even stirred. Frank didn’t blink, holding a pillow over the small man’s face until the struggles ceased and Mikey silently made his way to the door.
Zacky had picked his moment well, erupting from the wardrobe and landing on Mikey hard, Frank couldn’t fire for fear of hitting his friend and caught his breath at the blade that was now pressed against Mikey’s throat.
“Out. Into the main room or I swear to fucking god I will cut his throat.”
Frank put up his hands, allowing the automatic rifle around his neck to dangle clear. He followed as Mikey was dragged back into the main room and a sardonic smile lit up his face at the way Angel was disinterestedly sitting in one of the chairs by the fire. She returned the smile, noting how good he looked close up and loving the rage in Mikey’s eyes.
“About time you got here.”
“Cut the crap. Claire is safe so you have nothing to bargain with.”
Angel delighted in his rage, her hand resting easily on the pistol in her lap.
“On the contrary. I have the evidence here to clear you of all the numerous charges that the federal government are laying at your door and to point to poor old Ray’s clear insanity. All I want is money. Which considering the debt you owe me is very little.”
Frank allowed himself to appreciate the woman in front of her and match this to the one he had known. Without the blond or red wig she looked more like the younger version, short dark hair, swept forward and always dressed in the obligatory black.
“The new president is a friend and I am broke.”
“Bullshit and who cares if the press get wind of the full extent of the corruption then you’re dead already. Besides, I want Michael here dead. Like his boy.”
“FUCKING BITCH !!”
Mikey roared and hardly noticed the blade threatening to nick his jugular. Zacky strained to keep hold and for a split second all of the attention in the room was focussed on the two struggling men. When it came the gunshot was a complete surprise. For a moment all froze, Zacky teetering back as Mikey fell to the floor. The clean hole in his forehead and Claire’s triumphant smile from across the room as she turned the gun toward Angel. The target was spoiled by Frank and Mikey falling over themselves to get at the woman, Mikey’s hand grazing her shirt before she managed to duck under both men and put a clean shot through his knee.
Frank jumped his friend, barely seconds behind her as he tried to negotiate the passage that lead off to two further rooms. He had lost sight of her which was now dangerous and slowed a little as he entered what appeared to be the kitchen. The door was open and he was about to follow outside when he noticed something stuck against the gas boiler above the sink. His eyes widened at the countdown and he threw himself back down the passage.
“Get the fuck out, the place is wired to blow.”
Claire looked up from wrapping the remains of her torn jacket around Mikey’s knee and paled even further, helping Frank to pull the injured man to his feet. They dragged him outside into the night air, painfully slow progress across the yard to where Gee still lay propped up against the car was halted as the night exploded into fire and sound. Frank threw both Claire and Mikey behind the object, waiting only for the initial blast of superheated air to fall back before getting a shoulder under Gee and dragging him further back to the bushes near the path to safety. With Claire’s help Mikey wasn’t far behind and they collapsed, watching the conflagration consume the house and everything around it.
“Was she still in there ?”
“I don’t know. The back door was open but there was no way around to the front from there or we would have seen her.”
Mikey shook his head, grimacing in pain and frustration.
“I don’t buy it. She had an escape plan if this went wrong, that bomb proved it.”
Frank got up, wanting to find Angel and make sure she could never hurt them again before Gerard weakly grabbed his thigh and pulled.
“There’s only one way down right ? To get past us, she’s got to come this way.”
They waited for an hour, exhausted and nearly deaf from the explosions that continued to rock the clearing before Claire insisted they leave. Blood loss was a serious risk for the injured men and even Mikey had to accept that Angel was either dead or intent on vanishing. Frank agreed to bring men out there once the dust settled to determine it either way and they left the place to burn, content to have simply survived.
Wearily, all of them headed down the hill and out into the sane and unsuspecting world.

***************************************************

Frank was right.
All charges against him were dropped at the insistence of the new President and the federal government was even coerced into paying damages which amused Gerard greatly. The family stepped back from politics and returned to running its empire with some subtle changes. The way brothers recovered, Claire became more prominent in the family and they gracefully buried their dead.
It was three months before Claire admitted to Frank the full extent of what had happened. They both cried, both screamed and even yelled at each other before appreciating the unbreakable bond that had formed now that husband and wife worked together as equals. He had left the hunt for Angel to Gerard and Mikey, the former convinced she was dead, the latter not happy about it but grudgingly accepting that even the best killers could get caught by surprise. His own near death had taught him that.
“I’m going to the pool to tell Frank that last one was a dead end.”
Mikey almost snarled the words at his brother who smiled and kissed his cheek. There was little he could say that would appease the situation but he kept trying. Gerard was just glad that all of them were still alive.
“We will find her if she is alive but if not then you need to accept it.”
Mikey pouted, unable to resist the demure drop of Gerard’s eyes and then stalked out into the fresh air, closing the door behind him and limping down towards where Gerard could see Frank and Claire by the pool. He watched and then pulled a phone from his pocket and speed dialled a number, it was picked up on the third ring.
“Is it done ?”
“Yes. The second ten million is in your account. Nice doing business with you.”
“Likewise. You won’t hear from me again as we agreed. Have a nice life Gee.”
“You too Angel. Say hi to Gates for me.”
There was a chuckle and then the connection was broken. Snooping and bugging the former leader of the free world had paid off for Gerard Way. He had removed the only serious rival for the leadership of the family once Frank retired which also freed his brother to love him and him alone. He had also removed a backstabbing liar who had masqueraded as a best friend and who had been amply rewarded for giving Gerard the means to kill him. Finding Angel and persuading her to play Ray for a song in exchange for twenty million and a free pass abroad after that had been easy.
Gerard stood up, taking the sim card from the phone and throwing it into the fire before heading down to the beach to be with his family. Once again, the Iero family stood tall and untouched in the land of free enterprise and opportunity.

Notes

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