Showdown

"I don't like this." AJ shook her head, driving to the junk yard with Vincent, Punk and Dean. Putting the plan in motion, "I am not cut out for this life anymore, ok? I am a grandmother." She said as Dean rolled his eyes.

"Just shut up." Dean scoffed.

"Hottest grandmother I've ever seen." Vincent chuckled.

"What was that?" Punk said as Vincent shook his head.

"Nothing." Vincent shook his head quickly as Punk rolled his eyes.

"You're gonna be fine." Punk nodded, "The cops are here. Marina's family are here."

"My guys are here." Vincent added, "Let's just go in here and end Rio, once and for all. If we take his business, he really has nothing left anymore, and he can't hurt anyone ever again."

"Yeah it all sounds very satisfying." AJ agreed, "I just don't want anyone to get hurt." She said, "I don't need anyone risking their lives for us."

"We're not." Vincent said, "We all want Rio finished just as much as you do." He said.

"Ok, I can see Karen." Punk noticed as they pulled up outside the junk yard, noticing a black van where Karen promised to be listening in from. Cops were surrounding the area, hidden behind the different mountains of junk, as well as Marina's family and some old guys from the past.

When Punk had spoken to Marina about the plan, he could see she was doubtful, but once going over it she was on board. If it meant finishing one of the city's most notorious drug gang leaders once and for all, and if it meant Jude getting some closure, she was agreeing to help.

"How many guys are you expecting?" Dean asked.

"Well Paolo said Rio only has about twelve working for him so… hopefully most of them show up. Most likely they're gonna be armed but… that's what the cops are here to take care of." Vincent said.

"I don't remember you being this wise back in the day." Punk realised.

"Shut up." Vincent said, parking the car at the side of the junk yard and getting out as Punk, Dean and AJ followed, "Ok, remember I'm just delivering you guys." He said as they nodded, walking into the junk yard as AJ took Punk's hand immediately.

"This is gonna be over tonight." Punk reminded her as she nodded.

"I just wish the bastard himself was here." Dean nodded, "Would be a lot more enjoyable to see him gunned down and handcuffed."

"His own punishment will come, believe me." Punk nodded calmly.

"Ok, this is them. This is them." Vincent whispered, nudging Punk who looked on, watching a dozen guys standing over by two vans in the centre of the yard.

"Vincent?" One of Rio's guys, his second hand man, Jace shouted over.

"That's me." Vincent nodded, "They're all yours." He backed up to the side out of the way as Punk, AJ and Dean stood by themselves.

"Which one of you is April?" The guy asked as Punk and Dean scoffed.

"Yeah, that would be me." AJ nodded, watching as he raised his gun up, directly in line with her as Punk pulled her behind him, allowing Marina's family and the rest of the guys to come out of hiding, with their own guns.

"Oh." Jace chuckled, "That's how we're playing, is it?" He chuckled, walking around to the back of one of the vans, opening it up, "Now I'm assuming…" He grabbed someone out of the van, "You'd like me to return her?" He questioned as Punk and AJ watched Cassie being pulled out of the van.

"No!" AJ began to move forward.

"Come any closer and she's dead." Jace pointed his gun at Cassie's head as Punk kept a hold of AJ to keep her back.

"Nobody move." Karen ordered from the van, "Don't make a move just yet." She said as she was listening in and watching what was going down from the undercover cop van.

"You let her go." Punk said. He knew he shouldn't have walked into this with a chip on his shoulder, but it was hard to think anything could go wrong with the allies they had formed and the preparation they'd made beforehand.

"No, I don't think so." Jace shook his head, holding Cassie around her jaw, "She's a tough little bitch, though. Headbutted the shit out of me earlier." He said.

"This was just us. You just wanted us!" Punk yelled, looking over at Cassie who was looking at him helplessly.

"How stupid do you think Rio is?" Jace chuckled, "Huh? What do you think he'd really buy this little peace offering?"

"This has nothing to do with them." Punk said, "It's us. It's all us. Kids don't need to be involved in this."

"Oh, really?" Jace asked, "Because Rio is down a son and you still have all three of your kids. He doesn't like that." He said, "What is it they say? Eye for an eye? Tooth for a tooth?" He smiled.

"Let her go!" Punk yelled, moving slightly closer as Jace pressed the gun on Cassie's temple, causing Punk to pause.

"You know it was hard to pick, but we narrowed it down to this one… Cassie, is it?" Jace questioned, "Because we figured, let's let the raped one live, so she can remember all of this for the rest of her life… let's let the crackhead live because… let's face it, everyone loves a crackhead." Jace nodded, "Which left us with little Cassie here."

"Please… I am begging you." Punk said, "Let her go."

"Not gonna happen. In fact, you can blow a kiss goodbye to little-"

Jace was cut off as a loud gun shot fired through the yard, blood splashing all over Cassie's face as she felt Jace let go of her, collapsing on the ground with a bullet in his head.

Punk turned around immediately, watching as Karen came out from behind one of the scrap piles with her gun, the rest of the police department emerging to take care of the rest of Rio's workers, the only people who could really do something legal and permanent about these cancers, the final clingons that belonged to Rio. The last bunch of his puppets he'd ever get his hands on

"Everybody stay back!" Karen ordered, but AJ and Punk had already made their way over to Cassie who was standing still, not moving with fright.

"Baby, you're ok." AJ caressed Cassie's cheeks, "You're ok." She said desperately wrapping her arms around her as Punk wrapped his arms around both of them, shielding them from the chaos going on around them, "We've got you." AJ whispered to Cassie who held onto her tightly.

"You're a very brave girl." Karen smiled, looking on at Cassie sitting at the back of an ambulance, getting a stitch in her forehead for a cut which she'd gotten from her kidnap.

"I think so too." AJ agreed, sitting beside Cassie, not wanting to leave her sight for a single second.

"You feeling ok?" Karen asked as Cassie nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Cassie said as Karen smiled and nodded.

"Just take it easy, stay sitting down for a little while, I'll go get you some water." Karen said as Cassie nodded, watching her walk away.

Karen headed over to one of the cop cars where Punk was standing, "Mister Brooks you have very brave daughters." Karen nodded as Punk sighed to himself and nodded. He knew that.

"Thank you." Punk nodded to her as she looked across at him, "Thank you for all of this. I… I should have known that nobody was safe and that… things weren't gonna go how we planned." He shook his head.

"Well that's just the evil of people like Rio. When he goes low, he goes really low." Karen nodded, "But… you're all safe and healthy and he is finished for good." Karen nodded.

They had successfully arrested and diminished the last of Rio's business and workers, with the help of trusting one another, something Rio could never quite grasp.

"What happens next?" Punk asked her.

"What happens next is you to get to go home and take care of your family. Take care of Jude." Karen emphasised as Punk nodded, "We'll handle the rest." She said, "Cassie said that she was taken out the trash at her aunt's house when she was grabbed into a van. We've checked in with the rest of your family, they're all…" Karen paused as she saw Thea and Jude arriving, getting out of a car, "They're all here." She smiled a little as Punk turned around, noticing the rest of his family had arrived.

"Are you ok?" Thea questioned, running over to Cassie and AJ who were sitting on the end of the ambulance, wrapping her arms around Cassie.

"I'm suffocating." Cassie said as Thea squeezed her even tighter as Cassie smiled.

"We're ok." AJ nodded, watching Jude appear, also wrapping her arms around Cassie, participating in a much needed three-way sister hug as AJ smiled.

"Are they all gone? Did it work?" Thea asked as AJ nodded.

"Yeah, they're all gone." AJ nodded as Thea hugged her mother tightly.

"Jude I hope this helps you with what you're going through." Cassie said as Jude looked down at her with a small smile.

"It does." Jude whispered, squeezing Cassie tightly, "I'm so glad you're ok." She took a deep breath.

After discovering Cassie had gone missing, they of course thought the worse, but being able to hug her and realise this thing was over. This part was over. It was such a relief.

Punk made his way back over to the ambulance, noticing Renee had arrived and was standing over with Dean and their kids.

"Hey." Thea noticed her dad, running over to him and hugging him tightly.

"Hey." Punk smiled, kissing her head and squeezing her, "Is everyone ok? Dominic and James?"

"They're fine." Thea nodded, "Sean too."

"Good." Punk nodded, watching as Jude came over with Cassie, both of them hugging into him as he wrapped his arms around all three of them tightly, the most important people in his life, his entire world.

AJ watched with a relieved smile as Punk swaddled up their daughters in an embrace. She could see the relief on his face, she felt it too. She welcomed the invitation of safety back into their lives again with open arms.

"You made the right call." Chris, Karen's partner nodded to her as she stood by her cop car.

The yard was swarming with cops as they took care of one of the biggest break-throughs in recent years.

"Yeah." Karen agreed, "I did." She nodded confidently, looking over at Punk hugging all three girls, "They're good people." She determined as Chris nodded.

"Yeah, I think so." Chris agreed, "What now?"

"Still got some loose ends to tie up with this." Karen said, "But I'll be going to court to request rules be in place for Rio at prison, including an extension on his sentence to make sure he never leaves that prison, not unless it's in a body bag." She said as Chris nodded.

"Yes, boss." Chris smiled, wandering away as Karen looked over at Punk's family in tight embrace. It was impossible not to smile.