Title: New York Stories
Chapter 38 – Last Man Standing
"Think Mac will be okay?" Lindsay asks Danny as they wait with Sid near the back entrance of their apartment complex. Sully outside covering the front.
"Flack will find him in time," Danny tries to assure Lindsay as he looks up at Sid with a deep frown.
"Yeah and Mac was a Marine," Sid pipes up. "He's tough. I'm sure he's kicking Frankie's ass right now."
"He's going to be fine," Danny tries again.
"Glad KaSaundra was able to stay with your parents and Lucy," Sid tells them.
"Well Jessica is with Stella and Flack is trying to call in a favor," Danny informs them. "But this loser Frankie could be anywhere."
"Goodness it's a good thing I don't tell Clint all this," Lindsay sighs as her hands rub her arms. "He'd order me back home."
"It's just a stroke of bad luck as of late," Sid tries to assure her. "Normally it's very peaceful around this neighborhood. Right Danny?"
"So when I moved in?" Lindsay frowns.
"No," Sid states in haste. "Just bad timing; this has nothing to do with you."
"Course not," Danny frowns as he wraps his arm around her shoulder and kisses her on the cheek.
"What if he hurts Stella?"
"Mac'll never let that happen," Danny says firmly, looking over at Sid who gives them a nod.
"So what's new?" Sid asks with a warm smile, mostly to break the tension.
"Lindsay got Lucy…us a kitten," Danny informs him.
"Male…female?"
"Female. They uh…well even after fixed they don't have the urge to mark their territory."
"Yeah it's a guy thing," Danny smirks.
Before anyone can offer another word all of them hear a noise and quickly turn, Danny with the gun given him from the apartment safe, Lindsay's phone ready to dial 911 and Sid with a baseball bat.
"Just me," Louie's voice is heard as he steps from the shadows toward the underground parking lot entrance.
"What are you doing here?" Danny asks in haste as he hurries toward his brother, fearing tension between him and Lindsay.
"Heard there was trouble and you know how much I love trouble."
Danny looks at Sid who merely shrugs.
"Hey I'm good but not that good," Sid offers in his defense.
"Reno was down at the station house when your friend Flack got the call. He overheard."
"Do you know anything Louie?"
"No sorry."
"Then uh…no offense but why are you here?"
"Cuz only I'm allowed to kick your ass," Louie smirks, prompting Danny to smirk also, Lindsay however still less than amused.
"What are you really doing here?" Lindsay finally pipes up.
"Thought I'd come and lend a hand. No offense pops," Louie looks at Sid.
"None taken," Sid shrugs. "I'd trust your right hook over mine any day."
"So what do we do now?" Louie wonders.
"Well if you are serious about stickin' around we just gotta wait here until Flack calls us with news either way," Danny tells his brother as he walks back to Lindsay's side.
"Well I got nothin' else better to do," Louie shrugs as he walks back to them as well. "Hey Lindsay," he greets her.
As much as her stomach was tight from nervous knots about Louie showing up, Danny had told her that his brother would come around and all would be okay once again. She had to show Danny, especially in front of his brother, that she trusted his word on his family.
"Hey Louie. Glad you could come to help," Lindsay answers with a slight edge of tension in her voice. But as soon as she feels Danny's reassuring squeeze around her shoulders she feels some of her nervous anxiety subside.
The four of them talk softly about Lucy and the kitten that Lindsay brought home a few hours ago; neutral conversation to help alleviate the tension that Louie's surprise visit created.
"Well I'm going to go and check on Alice and see how it's going," Sid mentions a bit later.
The three of them watch Sid leave before Lindsay pipes up.
"Can you at least call Flack for an update?" Lindsay softly suggests.
Danny looks at her and nods before he looks at Louie and then pulls his phone.
"Flack?"
"Hey Danny, anything?"
"No, you?"
"Still workin' on a few things. Sully's changed places with two other uniformed officers so Sheldon went back to be with your dad and KaSaundra and he's on his way back here. But we found…"
"You got a lead then?"
"Not sure yet. Just hang tight Danny boy I gotta run," Flack's tired voice comes over the phone.
"Right thanks."
"Well?" Lindsay asks in haste when Danny hangs up with Flack.
"Working on a few things but nothing yet. They have the surveillance from the parking lot of the base and are checking the van. There were of course no plates," Danny huffs. "So they are working on a few things…"
"Damn it, Mac could be dead by now!" Lindsay sighs as she looks at Danny in misery. "Should I try to call Stella?"
"Sure," Danny hands her his phone. "I'm sure she could use the support right now."
With this heart racing a mile a minute, Mac watches the figure hover in the entrance, his wrists pulling furiously as the rope continues to chaff his tender skin. The figure waits a few more seconds before a small flashlight is pulled and turned on.
Mac swallows hard as the figure runs toward him. He watches the figure approach and then breaths a mild sigh of relief when he sees who it is.
Reed!
He offers small muffled sounds as Reed hurries past to find the small knife that the two goons who were still outside had tossed into the darkness. Mac continues to try to loosen his wrists, wanting to give Reed whatever kind of chance he could.
"Hold on Mac," Reed whispers in a frantic voice as he continues to quickly survey the area before him with the small flashlight.
Mac hears noises and then looks back at Reed. He offers a muffled yell, prompting Reed to look up just as the voices near, flip off the small light, hold his breath and stand fixed in place; concealed by the darkness.
"Hey Marine!" One of the thugs mocks Mac's still figure. "Having fun yet?"
Mac offers another muffled curse as he watches them walk away and then is bathed in eerie silence once again. A few seconds later, however, Reed starts shuffling around again, looking for the small pocket knife.
"Got it!" Reed hisses as he hurries back to Mac. He gently peels the tape from his mouth and then goes for his feet. "Damn your head is bleeding," he frowns.
"Just get me free," Mac utters in an undertone, both of them keeping their voices down.
"Who are those creeps Mac?"
"Friends of Stella's ex and he means to hurt her. We have to get out of here," Mac pants as he feels his wrists starting to get free. Despite the fact that his head is pounding, ribs aching and heart racing with terrible misery at the thought that Stella was now in harms way, he takes a few deep breaths and tells himself he has to focus in order to make sure she's safe.
"Can he hurt her?"
"I can't take that chance," Mac gasps once more as he slowly pushes himself to his knees. But just as he does, the two thugs round the corner and hell breaks loose. "Reed, call 911!"
"Damn you!" They shout as they both lunge at Mac. However, seeing that Mac is already injured, Reed drops his elbow and then charges one of the guys. He knows he's not trained like Mac, but if he can at least keep one at bay long enough, then Mac can take one down and then the other.
Driven on by pure hatred and rage, Mac punches the first man in the face again, busting open his lip spraying both of them with blood.
However, the thug refuses to give up as well and this time it's Mac's turn to offer a gasp of pain when his tender ribs are struck once more.
He hears Reed offer a cry for help and knows that they won't win this fight without help. The thug wrestling with Reed finally gets the upper hand, wraps his arm around his neck and then fires off a shot into the air, forcing Mac and the thug he's fighting with to stop and pay rapt attention.
"Frankie said that if you gave us trouble, we could just kill you and be done with it. Two for one," he sneers as he pushes the gun into Reed's cheek.
"He is not involved in this. Let him go!" Mac demands angrily, only to have the thug grasping a handful of dark hair tug his neck painfully back. "This will be MURDER!" Mac yells.
"Yeah? And who is gonna tell on us?" The one holding Reed snides.
"We will," a voice behind them is heard, forcing all four of them to quickly turn to see who has now invaded their privacy.
"This don't concern you Guido," the thug holding Mac snarls at the two dark figures in the entranceway. "Beat it!"
"This here is our pier Guido," the angry voice barks in return. The four of them watch the two shadowy figures before them start to multiply until four men are now standing before them.
"This is our business, you got me?"
"Now listen to me, if you have a legitimate beef I can get behind that. However, when I hear the word murder I get antsy. You see I don't want no cops down on my pier without the proper invitation. You got me?"
"Look…" the one holding Mac pipes up.
"You two chumps are starting to piss us off. You have to the count of…" the leader of the pack starts only to have the thug holding Reed cock his gun, the sound of the trigger being activated forcing a hush to fall over the crowd.
"Big mistake…BOYS!"
Mac yanks his head free, pulling Reed aside just as the mob rushes the two thugs and a melee of punches ensues.
"Are we safe yet?"
"Depends on who you are kid?" The pier leader asks as he breaks away from the group.
"Re-Reed Garrett," he stammers and the nods to Mac. "Mac Taylor."
"Frankie Mala kidnapped me and plans to hurt my girlfriend or worse," Mac huffs as he wipes some blood from his mouth. "I am grateful but right now I need a favour. Whatever I can…"
Another man comes and stands beside them, one of the thugs already down, the last two men finishing up with the other.
"Boy Messer is gonna be pissed over this."
"Messer? Danny Messer?" Mac asks in haste.
"His brother Louie…he kinda has some business with us. You know Danny?"
"He's a friend. Please if you know him then please help us."
"He's a friend of Messer junior," the pier leader nods to his buddy and then looks at Mac. "Then you're our friend. What do you need?"
"Something fast to get me downtown without raising any kind of suspicion," Mac answers in haste.
"You two, keep them on ice until I call you. Understood?"
"Yes boss."
"Tanglewood, gotta love em'," the pier leader smirks as he looks back to Mac. "Just don't bleed in the truck."
"Thanks," Mac nods to Reed as both of them hurry after the Tanglewood leader. Not realizing they were dealing with a local street gang, Mac and Reed follow after the two strangers toward a waiting pick-up truck. But at this point, Mac doesn't care who is helping him, his only thought is to get to Stella before Frankie does.
"We'll make it Mac," Reed tries to reassure him.
"And when we do, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands."
XXXXXXXX
"Well Sully is now on his way here," Jessica tells Stella as she hangs up. "So that'll give us a little more police muscle."
"Not Don?"
"He's following a lead."
"What else did he say?" Stella asks Jessica.
"Just that they might have a lead on the van that might have been used to kidnap Mac but…"
"Might?" Stella frets with a deep frown. "I can't believe this. Only this morning we…" her voice trails off as she looks at Jessica with a fear-filled expression.
"Mac is going to be okay."
"What if he's not? Frankie is not a man…" she stops short just as the phone rings. She answers is in haste. "Mac?"
"No sorry, it's me Rick," the voice of Brigham Sinclair comes to life.
"Hey Rick," Stella resigns with a morose tone. "Find anything?"
"I just need the number of that Detective Flack. I was able to triangulate the area of the call. Could at least give them a direction to start with right?"
"Is it um…far from here?"
"Could be heading toward the docs," Sinclair offers. "But I don't know for sure. Sorry."
"Its okay, it's better than nothing."
"Mac is one strong guy, he'll be okay."
"Thanks for your kind words. Okay here is Flack's number."
Stella hangs up and then looks at Jessica, Pauline and Vince who all stare back at her with expectant faces.
"Was Rick, Mac's friend at the base. He works for the NSA, an Intel instructor and was able to get a location on Mac's cell, but um…not an exact location," she sighs.
"He won't just kill Mac," Pauline tries to reason.
"He wants to brag to him about…I don't know," Jessica ponders. "Stella, Mac will be fine."
"Am I the only one what remembers what Frankie is capable of? He's an angry bastard who is very capable of killing Mac if he hasn't already!" Stella growls in anger as she turns and heads toward the break room.
"She just needs to cool down," Pauline tells Jessica. "Give her a moment."
"Damn it," Stella curses as she stands in the room by herself, unaware of the set of eyes watching her every move intently; waiting to pounce.
"Where are you Mac?" She laments in a soft whisper.
Stella heads for the coffee pot near the back door, staring out the window and wondering were Frankie could be. However, when she turns, she lets out a small scream only to have Frankie raise his gun with one hand and hold his fingers to his lips with the other. Since they were out of the direct line of sight from the other room, Stella knew she'd have to take the chance or it would mean her life as well.
"JEs…"
But before she can react further, Frankie lunges at her, forcing her backward into the wall and causing a slight commotion. Frankie wastes no time in wrapping his arm around her neck and dragging her toward the back door, Stella's arms now trying to pry herself loose.
"JES!"
"Stella!" Jessica exclaims as she enters only to watch Stella's captive body being pulled out the backdoor in Frankie's grasp.
"Call Sully!" Pauline shouts as she runs toward the door. But Frankie fires off a few shots, forcing both women to offer a few screams and quickly duck for cover. But Jessica pulls out her phone, her body still wedged behind the counter in case she should sustain a bullet also. "Flack!" She shouts into the phone. "Frankie's here!"
"LET…GO!" Stella shouts as she continues to struggle in his grasp, her finger takings turns between trying to claw his face and keep his arm from choking her to death.
"Like when you struggle for me babe," Frankie taunts as he continues to drag her toward the waiting van. "You put up more of a fight than your loser boyfriend."
"Where is…Mac…" she gasps as she feels her chest now heaving for air, his arm still closing off air around her neck.
"He's…"
"Right here you bastard!" Mac shouts as he jumps out a Frankie, forcing both he and Stella, still in his grasp to slam into the back of the van.
"Mac…" Stella offers weakly as she tries to twist herself in Frankie's grasp. Finally able to get some leverage, she knees him in the groin.
"Bitch!" Frankie shouts as he tries to pull free from Mac's grasp and attack Stella further. That wasn't to be.
Mac punches Frankie hard in the face and then throws his full weight into his side, forcing Stella to finally spring free and stumble to the ground, gasping for air.
Happy that Stella is free and hoping she'll go for help, Mac's attention now turns to the man he is fighting. Frankie, however, hasn't sustained the same damage Mac has and so is able to land a few more hard blows to Mac's already straining ribs.
Mac's lips offer a grunt of pain as he tries to break free of Frankie's hold. He finally manages to do so but only succeeds in getting a few feet away before Frankie pounces once more.
"Be with you soon babe," Frankie taunts Stella as he hits Mac in his already throbbing head wound with the butt end of the gun.
"Mac!" Stella shouts as she looks around for something…anything to club Frankie with. When she doesn't see anything she just rushes for him, grabbing his hair and jerking his head back.
But Frankie shoots out his arms and forces her to once again stumble backward. Mac hears the cry from Stella's lips and feels a new surge of adrenaline starting to course through his weary veins.
"Try hitting something that hits!" Mac growls angrily as he punches Frankie square in the jaw just as Frankie turns back to him.
Driven on by pure hatred and rage, Mac lands another blow to his stomach and one to his jaw. However, Frankie too was not about to be bested by his mortal nemesis and hits Mac again in the head, another blow and Mac was now starting to get dazed.
Frankie manages to pull himself free from Mac's grasp and rolls a few feet away. He scrambles for his gun and gets it, aims and cocks it just as Mac pushes himself up and was about to pounce once more. The gun halts him in his tracks.
"Faster than a speeding bullet army boy?"
"It's…over," Mac breathes hard, still on his knees in the back alley.
"Stella, babe, I'll be with you soon," Frankie looks at her with an evil sneer. "But first I'm gonna kill Mac. Is that okay?"
And then time seemed to stand still.
Frankie raises his weapon to fire, his finger easing back on the trigger.
Mac looks at him with a determined glance, never backing down for one second.
Stella calls his name, shaking her head no and praying for an intervention.
Reed, Jessica and Pauline all watch in horror, unable to do anything but be captive spectators.
The two Tanglewood boys, however, see the lone dark figure rounding the corner at top speed, gun in hand, an expert shot ready to be fired and take their quiet leave, unfinished business back on their dock waiting to be taken care of.
"Time to die Taylor," Frankie growls.
"You first asshole," comes the low growl of officer John 'Sully' Sullivan, his bullet leaving the chamber faster than Frankie was able to make his next move. Two more bullets follow and the lifeless body of Frankie Mala finally comes to it's final resting place on the cold cement ground in the darkened alley.
"Mac!" Stella whispers as she rushes into his arms, buries her head in his shoulder and cries; Mac summoning his last ounce of strength to just hold her and never let go. "I love you."
"Stella, I love you too."
It was over.
Finally.
A/N: Okay so I know this chapter was heavy action but had to get Frankie out of the way and now with all baddies down, it's only healing and happy times ahead. Stay tuned for a bit more and thanks again!