The Wicked End

“Scandal in Washington tonight after Republican Senator Malcolm Dean was found dead in his home. Sources report a possible gangland killing although the police department will not comment on reports that a message was left in blood on the victims wall. There had been no previous death threats and law enforcement report….”
Frank pinched the bridge of his nose and dropped the sound of the television mounted on his office wall. It had been a tense hour since he had put the phone down from talking to Ray. This had become a whole new ball game and there had been no choice but to give Ray the heads up to trouble. Such things could not be discussed openly but they had come to an agreement on certain words that would denote a problem that Frank was busy taking care of. The murder of a politician that the family had previously assisted in all kinds of illegal ways was not what the President wanted to hear but as always he trusted his best friend to get things cleaned up.
“I think you need to level with us.”
James never raised his voice, didn’t need to whether he was talking to his partners or the enemy. There was just a simple certainty that he was now through being fucked with. Gerard nodded slowly, never taking his eyes from his brother who sat impassive in the corner. The video on his phone had been scrutinised by all of them but it was only Frank that had recognised the severed head and the identity of the man it had belonged to.
“FBI will be crawling all over this, we can’t stay in the shadows for long and lets face it this wasn’t like killing some fucking nobody in a hotel room. Whoever did this had balls and class.”
Frank smiled thinly.
“Or not if the message is to be believed and it’s the same woman.”
Claire looked at her husband, knowing that dark brooding look meant trouble for just about everyone in the room. She had insisted on being involved once Mikey and Gerard had managed to find Frank and her about to enjoy the pleasure of a shared shower. It had been unlike him but he had not refused and now she was pleased to be included in his confidence. Whatever had happened to involve killing a senator had to be serious.
“I would say there is little doubt. We need to act before this gets the feds breathing down our necks.”
Mikey glanced at Frank before answering his brother.
“Me and James will leave for Washington in the morning and sniff around.”
They all jumped as a fist slammed down on the table. James glared at his lover and made no attempt to hide the irritation in his voice.
“I’m going fucking nowhere with you until you level up and tell me who is coming after us. I don’t give a damn what you did back then but if they can hit a senator they can hit us.”
“Jesus, if it was relevant I’d fucking tell you.”
Claire scooted back as Mikey and James stood toe to toe, none of them had seen the two men fight before although the occasional drunken bar brawl had meant accidental punches in the past. Gerard hesitate and shot a pleading glance at Frank.
“SIT THE HELL DOWN, BOTH OF YOU.”
There was a tense moment before calm was resumed and Frank was able to look around the room without the urge to pull the gun from the drawer. He wasn’t as convinced as Mikey that this wasn’t connected back to something that had remained buried for too long than he cared to think about. If he was to protect his family and his wife, now he needed to be honest.
“You’re right, we do owe you an explanation whether it has anything to do with this or not. The point is that someone is resurrecting a ghost to come after Mikey and myself and it’s someone who knows a hell of a lot about our pasts.”
Mikey rolled his eyes and tried not to look at James. They had been fighting more and more over the recent days and it both annoyed and upset him. Mikey liked order and control, James was one of the only people who had the balls and the inclination to argue with him but they had always been able to see past it. Now it seemed an immovable object between them and he wanted it gone.
“So ?”
“When we first started running with the old Deforio gang we had to earn our dues. Just simple stuff to start cos we were young and dumb.”
Frank grinned, the memory of his younger self amused him with its stupidity.
“You both know Mikes and I did a stretch in juvie followed by that year in jail for running protection money. That kind of thing.”
“Ray wasn’t so dumb. He hooked up the old man with favours right from the start.”
Mikey leant back and couldn’t resist the smile that slowly crept over his features. It stopped at the irritated sigh from James.
“Yeah, great. We know this part but where does this shit come in.”
Frank could understand the boy’s tone but it had been in his psyche for so long to ignore the events that had led up to his taking control of the gang and the causes for it that it was hard to even bring the memories to the surface. With a sigh he unlocked the lowest of his desk drawers and pulled out a faded photograph. His fingers trembled slightly as he slid it across the desk and the others crowded in for a look.
Two figures were recognisable, a young Frank wore a broad grin and sported both piercings and multi coloured hair. The dark skinny jeans and band shirt were a reminder of the kid before the man took centre stage and Gerard thought back to teasing him and his little brother on long school holidays at their parents houses. How things had changed and he suddenly realised the amount of sheer decadence that had slid into those innocent kids to turn them into what they all now were.
Mikey looked even younger and hopelessly gawky. There was no hint in the nerdish glasses and lowered gaze that the younger Way was already well on his way to building the fearsome reputation that now proceeded him. Many a man had underestimated the volatile temper and skilled fingers that had soon learnt to wield bat and blade to devastating use. Once guns were involved all bets were off.
“So who is she ?”
Gerard pointed to the smiling dark haired woman between the two boys. She looked maybe two or three years older than them but still no more that early twenties. There was a studied sexuality to her that accounted for the smiles all around. The three of them looked comfortable and clearly close which puzzled Gerard. There was no one in his memory that fitted her face and even though he had been away, his brother had usually shared friends and lovers or at least introduced him. Frank tried not to look too closely.
“Her name was Angel. She was Deforio’s assassin and taught me and Mikey how to kill on a more professional level than just being street thugs. Not just that but how to work your way into a position of power without others noticing. That kind of thing is important if you don’t want to blunder into getting your head blown off.”
Claire looked closer, fascinated at the chance to see Frank as a young man. He had never been keen to talk about his childhood or show her pictures of himself back then. More so than Gerard she had realised that her husband was an enigma.
“She was fucking crazy but I never knew anyone better.”
Mikey risked an apologetic grin at James and was rewarded with a smirk.
“So what happened ?”
“We worked with her for nearly two years, snot nosed kids that took far too many risks but it helped us work our way up the tree in the family. And yes before you ask, we were both sleeping with her.”
Now Frank did chuckle at the unsurprised looks on his friends faces and the knowing smile on his wife’s.
“Ray was too. What happened shook him harder than anyone because he was in love with her. She knew it but we were never more than a fun distraction to her and she looked on us more as protégés than anything more.”
James glanced at the phone that was now insistently ringing on the desk. He didn’t make a move to answer it, the urge to find out exactly what was going on was too much but he recognised the number and knew it could possibly be more bad news.
“This woman is the one that’s now after us ? What’s the link here ?”
Mikey shook his head and pushed the photograph back towards Frank, surprised at the rush of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. The room swam a little as he sat down and James frowned.
“Angel’s calling card was a pun on biblical verses. Usually written on the wall in the blood of the victim that had died in some nasty way of the clients choosing but it can’t be her.”
“Why ?”
There was a pause as Frank dropped his head back against the chair and looked at the ceiling.
“Because the three of us raped, tortured and murdered her. She’s buried less than three miles from here.”

Notes