Going Down
"Hey, where are you going?" AJ asked, watching as Punk walked out of the bathroom in their bedroom, having just showered, getting a change of clothes as she got out of bed. She'd barely slept last night, and she knew Punk hadn't slept much either.
"Where do you think?" Punk asked her, slipping into his jeans and t-shirt, "I'm not pushing this aside, April. It has to be dealt with. Right now." Punk said.
"What are you going to say to him? Are you just going to ask him to leave and expect him to get up right away and pack his bags."
"Yeah, and if he can't do that, he's going to prison." Punk said, "There's no negotiating about it. If he's smart he'll leave." Punk said, "I don't want you to worry, ok?" He looked across at her.
"I don't want anyone seeing those pictures or knowing what he done."
"I'm not going out to shout it from the rooftops." Punk said, "Please, don't worry. Stress and worrying isn't going to be good for the baby. You should be getting plenty of sleep, making sure you feel healthy."
"Well that's hard right now given what's going on." AJ said, "I'm still terrified." She said, "You'll need to let your parents know."
"Depends on if I can get him to leave. If I can get Aaron to leave then we don't have to tell them. If not, then that's another story." Punk admitted, "Regardless, I don't want you to worry. I'll handle it."
"It's not even your case to handle." AJ shook her head, "This is all to do with me." She said.
"Which gives me all the more reason to get involved." Punk said, "It's my money he's after. My families business." He said, "I'm not going to stand back and do nothing, especially not after he killed your god damn father and done… what he done to you." He said, "The man deserves to choke to death on his own blood." Punk spat, "I won't be out all day." He walked over to her, "Try not worry." He tilted her chin up to look at him, "It's gonna be ok." He said as she just nodded with him. She felt protected every day by him, but that didn't mean she still couldn't feel scared.
"Mr Brooks? Mr Brooks?" Packston, the headquarters office receptionist at the front desk shouted on Punk's father who was heading in to headquarters.
"What is it, Packston?" Jim asked, walking over to the front desk, "Whoever it is that wants a meeting, tell them it will have to wait." He said.
"No one, sir. I'd just like to ask you if you knew how much your son had withdrawn from his accounts last night?" Packston asked, who was always in charge of looking on at the companies accounts and statistics, to make sure nothing suspicious was going on.
"How much?" Jim asked curiously, watching as Packston tilted the computer screen round, pointing to the large number as he almost collapsed with another heart attack, "By God-"
"I know it isn't like young Phil to take any money out of his account, never mind all of that." Packston said, "Would you like me to call him and have him see you?" Packston asked.
"Call him right now." Jim nodded just as Lorna walked through the door.
"What's going on?" She asked as she joined her husband over at the desk.
"And while you're at it close all our accounts. Every single account that has money, interest, loans, everything, deny access to anyone who is trying to get in." Jim ordered.
"Yes, sir." Packston nodded as Jim marched off with Lorna following.
"What is going on, Jim?" Lorna asked as Jim had a million thoughts going through his head, "James!" Lorna said as Jim paused in his tracks and turned around to her, "What's the matter?"
"It's this new club." Jim said, "They trashed Exodus last night, stole Phil's hard drive from his computer. He reckoned last night that this Aaron boy never got to see what was on it, but… apparently he has. Five hundred thousand dollars has been withdrawn from Phil's shares. You know our son barely even lifts twenty bucks to buy himself a new pair of jeans every month." Jim said, "Packston has put the company on lockdown for the time being until it's sorted. I want Phil here, I want the girls here, get April if you have to aswell." Jim said frantically, "This could start getting ugly." He said, walking off down the corridor towards the elevator.
Meanwhile, Punk was doing what he done best, taking matters into his owns hands. His phone had been ringing constantly since he left his apartment, but he was ignoring it. He was focused, driven and oh so angry. After sleeping on everything, he woke up even more pissed off. Remembering those pictures of his girlfriend, thinking of what this horrible man had put her through these past few years. He had never been more angry.
He walked into Asylum, walking through the empty club as it was bright and early in the morning, and walking straight through to the office he was in last night, finding the walking piece of shit sitting on his chair behind his desk like butter wouldn't melt.
"You're back? Miss me?" Aaron chuckled.
"You're fucking disgusting. How can you even sit there… with a straight face, after everything you've done."
"So you liked the pictures?" Aaron smiled, "I personally think I could have gotten better ones but… they'll do for now, maybe I'll take some soon, I'll wait for the baby to be born first of course, wouldn't want to harm an innocent baby."
"AJ is innocent." Punk spat, "She done nothing to deserve what you've done to her. You killed her father. Don't think that she didn't tell me, because she did, she told me everything." Punk said, "I know you blackmailed her with those pictures. I know you killed her father." Punk said as he noticed Aaron suddenly get a glint of fear in his eyes.
"Well she's a stupid bitch for telling you, because she knew what the consequences would be." He laughed.
"No consequences. You won't ever get to lay a finger on her again. Not while I'm still walking around, breathing." Punk said, "Now, here's what is going to happen. If you want to continue living in your tragic life, then you pack your bags, you leave Chicago, you leave far away from here and you never come back." Punk spat, "If you don't… your ass is going straight to jail for murder, blackmail, breaking into my club, battery and assault of a defenceless woman-"
"You forgot theft." Aaron smirked, "Checked your shares this morning, have you?" Aaron laughed, pretending that Punk's threats had just went in one ear and out the other.
"What are you talking about?" Punk shook his head.
"Well I didn't just take your hard drive to put those pictures on them." Aaron sniggered to himself, "If you wouldn't voluntarily give me money, then I had no choice but to just take it." He said as Punk grew angrier and angrier by the minute, until he had no choice but to launch himself to get his hands on Aaron. Everything had just built up, his hatred for this vile, monstrous man had reached a new high that he never thought he could. He'd never been this angry before, and was terrified of what he might have ended up doing, but at this point in time he didn't care.
Jim had successfully rounded his family at headquarters, apart from Punk of course, and AJ was on her way after Lorna messaged her.
"What are we even doing sitting here?" Monica asked, sitting in a boardroom, "We should be out getting this guy imprisoned." She spat.
"Just sit tight." Jim said, "We don't wanna do anything stupid. We don't know where Phil is yet, until we find out that it was Aaron who definitely took the money then we don't take action." Jim said.
"He should be jailed for taking Punk's hard drive and smashing up Exodus alone." Melissa added.
"Exactly." Monica nodded, "How do we know he isn't hacking into the full company right now? If he can get into Phil's shares then whose to say he can't get into the rest of ours?" Monica asked.
"I got Packston to put a lockdown on the company for the day. He won't be able to access anything else. We're safe." Jim said, "This is one guy, trying to take on an entire company. Think about that." He said, "Have you tried Phil yet?" Jim turned to Lorna.
"Keeps going to voicemail." Lorna shrugged just as AJ walked through the doors tiredly, "April, are you ok?" She asked, not being able to help notice how tired and pale AJ looked.
"Phil is at Asylum. I've tried calling, texting… he won't pick up. I'm beginning to get really worried." She admitted to them, "Aaron is dangerous. Phil thinks he can handle this all on his own and I'm terrified." She admitted as Lorna frowned.
"Jim, you have to go." Lorna pleaded with her husband who was already putting on his coat.
"Girls, come with me." Jim said, "You two stay here." He said to AJ and Lorna, "Stay close to a phone." He said, leaving the room with Melissa and Monica.
"Come here, sweetie. Are you ok?" Lorna sighed, wrapping her arms around AJ who hugged back. She knew Punk should never gone himself to see Aaron. She was worried sick out of her mind.
"I hope he's ok." AJ sighed.
"He'll be fine." Lorna nodded.
Jim, Monica and Melissa arrived at Asylum, having called the cops on their way, not being able to risk anything, heading on into the club where they were met by Punk stumbling out of the doors and into the bar area, bloodied nose, scuffed knuckles, a little all over the place.
"What the hell is going on?!" Jim shrieked, "What happened? Phil, don't tell me you-"
"Don't worry, he's breathing, unfortunately." Punk spat, wiping his nose up his arm as the girls cringed, "Cunt deserved it, after everything he's done."
"It's money, Phil. You thought he'd really get away with it?" Jim asked.
"It's not just money." Punk said, "He killed April's father, and beat her up so she wouldn't say anything." Punk said.
"What?" Monica shook her head, "Are you serious?"
"Deadly." Punk said, beginning to hear sirens approach by, "You called the cops?"
"Yes, because you can't deal with this sort of stuff by yourself, especially when this man is a murderer. What were you thinking, Phil?" Jim shook his head.
"I was thinking the guy deserves his teeth knocked down his throat for everything he's done, and more." Punk spat as the cops burst through the door.
Punk knew he would end up getting cuffed to as he had just violently bet a man up in his office and left him there. The cops had yet to know what was going on, so would surely find out later that night.
Jim promised he'd get Punk out on bail later on and not to worry, and he wasn't worrying. He felt satisfied. He was still angry but punching that scum repeatedly on the face was the most joyful thing in the world to him.
Later on that night, Punk got out on bail and wasn't worried about the consequences he would face for beating up Aaron. As far as he was concerned, the cops had a lot more to punish Aaron on than him. He was confident he'd be let off the hook, especially when his name was Brooks also. He was promised that whatever money Aaron had stolen would be put back into his account, but that he might need to go back for further statements, along with AJ.
Right now however, he was taking a cop to Exodus to show him the pictures for evidence that he had against Aaron. The man was going well and truly down.
"In here." Punk guided the cop into his office, walking over to his desk and opening up the laptop.
"And you say this is your girlfriend?" The cop asked.
"Yeah." Punk nodded.
"We'll definitely have to speak with her, to get her side of the story, and if she has any evidence that this man is a murder like you say he is." The cop said.
"Her words should be enough evidence. These God damn pictures should be enough." Punk shook his head, clicking into his user and finding the pictures for the police officer, only to find them disappeared off his computer, "What the-"
"Problem?" The cop asked.
"They were here just last night." Punk said, "I swear, they were right beside these spreadsheets." Punk looked closely at the computer screen, "Where the fuck have they gone." He spat angrily as the cop just folded his arms with a raised brow.
All the while, Nick was slipping out the back door of the club and leaving through the back alley with his hood up.
A/N: This won't be the end for Aaron, let me tell you that! REVIEW and let me know what you think.
