Scorpio's Eight

Chapter Twenty Nine

What its Like to Lose

Luke had been tasered by that brat Maxie Jones, and he could not believe she got the jump on him. It was one thing for Red to do it. She was a grown ass, fine ass, woman. A con. An explosives expert. Maxie was barely out of her baby shoes.

The paramedics had Luke and Jagger strapped onto gurneys, thinking they were having seizures, when Luke finally was able to speak again. "Hey, guys, I'm fine. Me and my buddy just drank some bad Jose Cuervo. That worm will get you every time."

"Sir, you need to be transported to the hospital."

"Nah, I'm cool. Save the medical mumbo jumbo for sick people. The only disease I got is trusting the wrong blondes. Got a cure for that?" Luke unstrapped himself and crawled out of the ambulance.

Jagger was hopping out of the one next to him, unsteady on his feet. "That little bitch," he hissed. "I always hook up with the crazy bitches."

They headed back inside, and locked the door. The place had about an inch of water on the floor.

Luke pointed at him. "No one finds out about this. Hear me? I will never hear the end of it. The painting was ruined when the sprinklers went off accidently. That's our story and we are sticking to it."

"I've never had a broad get the better of me. All my jobs and this...is a real first. Damn! Why do the nutty ones all fall for me?"

Luke sloshed through the water and went to fix himself a drink. "That broad didn't fall for you. She conned you. Take it like a man." He raised his glass, nodded it toward Jagger, and then downed it.

His cell rang. "Give me good news, man... Gianni? You handled it? Good. And the package is secure?...See you soon." Luke hung up. He smiled at Jagger. "Rack one more up for the bad guys."

XXXXXXXXX

Stone was planning to kill his brother or at least beat the shit out of him. Or yell at him. Yep, he had a few real choice words in mind.

Thanks to Jagger's refusal to head back home to Boston, where they belonged, Stone currently found himself handcuffed to a toilet. Dangling over his head, tied to a rope, was a baby alligator, that kept snapping at him. It wasn't quite close enough to bite him or quite big enough to draw much blood if it did. But the effect each time he heard it make a chomping sound was enough to send chills down his spine.

"Come on, man!" He called out to Mac, who sat in the other room, watching a football game. "This isn't funny anymore. Who has an alligator as a pet?"

It wasn't Mac's pet. It was on loan from a buddy of his who trafficked illegal exotic animals. He had called him up as soon as Anna left. Every time Stone complained, Mac smiled.

Mac called out. "His name is Cannibal. Say hello, Stone. He's real friendly."

Stone looked up, the baby alligator was withering all around. He was sure that it would slip lose of the rope at any minute and fall on him. "Bomber! Come on! Come on. Call this quits. I learned my lesson."

Mac walked to the bathroom door. He took a swig off the beer he was holding. "For taking my score? Maybe. For messing with my daughter? Not yet." He flipped off the light and closed the door.

Now Stone couldn't even see if the slimey little baby alligator was getting closer to him.

Jagger was gonna pay for this big time. They would be listening to Stone's choice of music in the Hummer for years to come.

XXXXXX

Jax was even drunker now then when he first stepped onto Ned's yatch earlier in the evening. Lois was pissed as hell at how things were going. While Jax was drinking like it was his last night on earth, Ned was pacing and shaking. His eyes darted all around, and he jumped every time the slightest gust of wind hit the boat.

And these two are my partners, she thought. Pathetic! I have worked too damn hard, put up with Sonny for too many months, pretended to love his cheating ass and want to bear his babies for too long to have this all fall about now. I am getting my money and my revenge.

She could still remember what it felt like when Sonny told her, twenty years before in Bensonhurst, that he planned to run away with Connie. Lois had slept with him the night before. No, they weren't a couple. But Connie was a good girl, she didn't spread her legs for the local boys. So Sonny shared his bed with his best girl friend Lois, and never noticed when she gave him her heart along with her body. The day he walked away from her for Connie changed Lois. A bitterness she could never quite shake entered her bones. Till this day she was angry, she felt betrayed. And now she would betray Sonny back.

"Sit down, Nedly!" Jax called out in an annoyed tone. "You are making me dizzy with all your pacing."

"Sure, its my pacing. Not your downing of that champagne. Celebrating a little early, don't you think, Jasper?"

"Its in the bag," Jax said with a sly smile.

These two better not mess up my plans, Lois thought.

Just then Faith came clicking down the stairs on her three inch red heels. The first thing they all noticed was she was not carrying a painting.

Ned felt his stomach turn over. Jax said they had to kill Faith tonight. It was the only way to get the 220 million for themselves. She was too deadly to let live. But Ned didn't think he could do it. Still breaking free of his grandfather's control sounded like Heaven...for that maybe he could risk damning his soul to Hell.

Jax said, "One life...for all that dough...it's a small price to pay and you know it. But if you want out...if you want to forever be under the thumb of your family...never have your own fortune to use as you see fit...you can get out now. I can do what needs to be done and gladly spend the whole 200 million on my own. If you want out...say so now, Nedly."

"I'm in."

(God forbid

you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes


'Cause then you really might know what it's like

to sing the blues

Then you really might know what it's like...) ( Everlast)

Ned opened his mouth to greet Faith, carefully as he did everything around this mad woman, but Lois spoke first. "This is a private party, sweetie. Ned can't service you tonight. Shoo, kay?"

Ned's head whipped around to stare at Lois. Had she flipped her ever loving lid? She might get her head shot off before they could even ask Faith if she received the painting from Anna.Ned wouldn't be surprised if Luke and Robert beat Anna to it. Thank God, they had hired every thief they could find in town. Nothing like being over prepared, the corporate world had taught him

Faith snapped at Lois. "That was one."

Lois rolled her eyes.

Faith added, "You get to three and you won't have eyes to roll at me anymore, sweetie."

Jax asked Faith "Are we good to go or not?"

Ned knew this was the code line that signaled he was supposed to get ready to pull out the gun Jax gave him, as soon as Faith said yes.

Meanwhile Lois couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. Back on the boat Jax told her that the fourth person in this partnership was his brother Jerry, a bumbling gigolo who was known to do just about anything to scheme his way into extra cash, except work a nine to five job that is. Jax told her to keep the fact that she knew the fourth person a secret from Ned, and that once Jerry came in with the painting they would copy down the numbers and then give Ned a fake set of account numbers. Jax and Lois would split whatever was in the accounts equally, which she figured had to be at least 50 million bucks, and Ned would be out of luck. A nice payback for cheating on her with Katherine Bell, a bonus in this whole plan, she figured.

But now it looked like Faith was somehow involved. Lois fumed because Jax had kept this fact from her. Another man who did her wrong. Would they ever learn not to mess with a bitch from Bensonhurst?

(They call her a killer,

and they call her a sinner
and they call her a whore.


God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like

to have to choose

Then you really might know what it's like)

Instead of saying yes to Jax's question Are we good to go or not? asked lazily with a slight slur and easy smile, Faith answered "Go."

With shaking hands Ned fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the small snub nosed .22, but by the time he did Faith had a gun pointing at his head and Jax had one on Lois.

"Wha...what's," stumbled Ned "going on here... Jax?"

Titling his head to the side, in a sinister tone, the Aussie answered "This is what you call a double cross."

(Then you really might know what it's like...
Then you really might know what it's like...

to have to lose)

Note- a baby alligator is approximately one foot long. It should probably never be hung by its tail from a rope over someone's head, in case of grave consequences for the animal and the person