Holy water cannot help you now
Thousand armies couldn't keep me out
I don't want your money
I don't want your crown
See, I've come to burn your kingdom down
―Florence + The Machine, Seven Devils
Marceline and Bentley were in the frozen foods section, looking into the huge freezer doors. Bentley's been asking to help gather food since they walked into the market, so she wasn't surprised when he asked her if he could go fetch some things. She was encouraging him to, just to get a better understanding of the foods he liked to eat. He never protested against any meal she made him and he ate all his vegetables without a fuss, but Marci was still unsure of what his favorites were. She knew he loved strawberry milk, but as for dishes, she was in the dark.
"Mom, can I go get cereal?" He asked as she was searching for a bag of french fries.
"Yeah, go get two boxes. One with marshmallows and Apple Jacks." Bentley nodded and went one aisle over, picking out two boxes like Marceline told him to as she pulled a bag of crinkle-cut fries into the cart. "Did you find-"
As she turned around, she didn't find Bentley in the aisle at all.
Marceline asked the other shoppers if they saw the boy, but none of them claimed to have seen a kid wandering the aisles.
Meanwhile, Bentley was just two aisles away in the canned goods section. He had the two boxes of cereal Marceline told him to get, but wandered off to get a few cans of the ravioli he liked so much. He had a family-sized box of Apple Jacks tucked under one arm while his other hand was holding onto the pocket of a tall blond man as they searched the market for a certain ginger.
Kozik diligently scanned each aisle they passed to match the kid's description of his mother to a woman in the store. He was tipped off that Marceline was going shopping today and the information proved to be reliable because he spotted her pushing a cart around the market with the little boy at his side. He wondered who the kid was because he was certain Chibs didn't have any more children and the boy was too old for Marceline to have given birth to him.
After another few minutes of looking, Kozik finally found Marceline briskly walking to the front of the store, likely about to ask for a manager to make an announcement over the intercoms. Total relief washed over him seeing the girl in one piece with no new bruises or a cast to be seen. He kneeled down next to the boy and pointed to Marceline.
"That your Mom?" He asked and watched as the boy smiled, nodding.
"Thank you." Bentley smiled.
"Hey, I want you to have something." He told the kid as he pulled a disposable out of his kutte. "When you go home, give this to your Mom and tell her that she's coming home."
Bentley stared at the Burner being offered to him, then looked at Kozik with an eerily blank expression. "Are you a cop undercover?"
"I'm a friend of your Mom's."
"Prove it." The boy demanded.
"Her name is Marceline Caitríona Telford and she'll be turning twenty soon."
"What's her boyfriend's name?"
Kozik was about to blurt out Half-Sack's name, but there was no way the kid would know who that was. "Asher...or Gage. He's in a motorcycle club and wears a leather vest with patches on it. He and his friends call themselves Spartans."
Bentley stared at Kozik as if he were trying to judge the man's very soul. It seemed like all the trust he had towards the blond was gone because he didn't look like he had a crumb of faith in the Son. After another moment of staring, Bentley took the phone from Kozik's hand and shoved it in his pocket. He stacked the boxes of cereal on top of each other to act as a tray for the canned goods and carefully walked backwards, keeping his eyes on Kozik.
When they got home, Marceline was getting help from Asher and Scrap with the groceries, so Bentley went upstairs in search of his green monster foot slippers. When he sat down to take his sneakers off, he felt the Burner in his pocket and he pulled it out. He looked around the room and decided to put it under his pillow with his switchblade. He found his slippers and tugged them on before going back downstairs to help put the food away.
~.~.~.~.
"...line. Hey, get up."
With a groan, Marceline swatted the hand off her shoulder to make it stop shaking her. Whatever Gage wanted, he could do it without her because she wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, she was being disturbed yet again and an irritated growl came out as she sat up, glaring at the shadow next to her bed.
"What?" She hissed, highly irked.
"Get dressed, we gotta go."
"Max?" She sleepily questioned, but was already being pulled out of bed and onto her feet. She rubbed her eyes and clearly saw Madman Max with Bentley asleep on his arm, but Max's kutte was draped over his small back. He had Bentley's Captain America shield backpack hanging on his other arm and it was partially unzipped, letting her see the clothes stuffed inside. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Get dressed."
"What-"
"Now, Marceline. I'll explain everything later, but we need to leave. Pack some clothes, we gotta get on the road."
"I'm not doing anything until you tell me what the hell's going on." Stubborn, she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at the Spartan member. She was already ticked off that he had Bentley, but he woke her up in the middle of the night to act like a maniac. Max looked at the ginger in disbelief, then he groaned.
"I'm getting you outta here."
"And where are we off to, the magical land of Narnia?" She scoffed.
"Charming." He clarified and she instantly lost her sarcasm. "Can we go now?" He asked and tossed her one of her tote bags. She caught it, but didn't move. "You're not helping, Marci."
"Explain."
"Multitask." He countered and she rolled her eyes, but went to the dresser to start stuffing clothes into the bag he gave her. "Remember when Gage wanted me and Beast Boy to go to Stockton to check on the Sons?"
"I remember him wanting any man that had the Reaper inked on him to be shanked."
"Either way, word started to get around the prison and when I went to visit, I met one of the Sons. He had scars on his cheeks."
"That was my Dad." She realized. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing, geeze. I was supposed to sit down with our inside guy, but your Dad was waiting for me instead. He said he knew you were gone; all the Sons did. He told me that he knew we took you and that we've been trying to kill the Sons. He gave me a choice. When he and the other Sons got out, I'd bring you back to Charming or I'd get to meet the Tacoma Killer. There was no way in hell I was letting that happen. I've heard stories about that guy." He shuddered. "I took his offer and they took my brother as collateral."
"Beast Boy's been in Charming this whole time?" Marci questioned, zipping up her hoodie. For once, she actually slept in night pants and a tank top; she was pulling on a pair of sneakers now.
"Yeah, all that time."
Marci remembered how distraught Max was when nobody heard from or could find his brother about a month ago. After the second week, Gage declared that Beast Boy was as good as dead and that the Spartans weren't going to waste any more time looking for leads. Max almost lost his leather when he picked a fight, but after a trip to Stockton, it seemed as though he got over it. He didn't scowl at Gage anymore and he didn't go off to hassle anyone for information on where his kid brother could be. He talked to her Dad and figured out what happened. The Sons grabbed his brother and were using him as a bargaining chip or incentive. That means they got out of lockup early…they were back in Charming.
"The Sons are here and they're wreaking havoc." Max continued. "When you went shopping earlier, you saw one of them, right?"
"No."
It was Max's turn to look confused. "One of the Sons didn't give you a disposable?" She shook her head, but Max didn't understand how the Sons were able to get her location if they didn't track her by phone.
"Where are they, where's my Dad?"
"At the clubhouse. They're looking for Gage."
"They're gonna kill Gage." She clarified and her heart was as hard as stone. She didn't have an ounce of sympathy for the Spartan President. He should've known that the Sons were going to retaliate for what he did and it was a bitch move to abduct her when they were in lockup. "What's supposed to happen tonight?"
"I'm gonna take you to a meeting place and trade my brother for you, then we're skipping town."
Marci just finished filling up the bag Max gave her, but she almost wanted to drop it to get going. The Sons were here and they were hunting down Gage. Max said they were at the clubhouse right now and that's where the members were, save for Max. He's been helping the Sons for weeks now. He turned his back on his MC and if anyone found out about this, he'd be dead. She wondered if the Sons were really going to let him and his brother live.
She took Bentley out of Max's hold and they all quickly went downstairs, but Asher just stumbled in and shut the door behind him, leaning on the wooden entrance. His white shirt was bloody and so were his hands that were staining the door.
"They're dead." He said in a low tone. "Everyone's dead or dying. Scrap is dead, man. This is his blood all over me. My best friend died right next to me. He's sitting in my car dead." Without a care towards his stained hands, Asher ran his hands through his hair as he turned around and looked at Max with tear-filled eyes as Max tried hiding Marceline behind his frame. "Someone attacked the clubhouse with those road rat chinks from downtown. Dutch and Grimm, they'll probably last the longest. Shit, Grimm got shot at least three times and he was still going. Lucky…Jesus, they slit his goddamn throat. Dutch told me to get out and Scrap got shot when we were running. This felt like a goddamn ambush...like they knew…"
He thought for a moment, then his eyes darkened as he realized there was a rat amongst his crew. "Why are you here?" He growled.
"You know why I'm here."
"You fucking traitor. After everything we've done for you-"
"What has this club done for me, man? How many years of my life have I spent behind bars for this club? How many people have I hurt or killed because of this club? And for what? For you, my dysfunctional President?" Max spat, pointing a finger at Asher. "You're a horrible President, look at all the heat you've brought on us in your reign trying to grt rid of those Japanese racers. You didn't earn that patch, Asher, it was handed to you on a silver fucking platter."
"I thought we were boys, Maddox." Asher shook his head in utter disbelief, stunned by the actions of someone he once called a brother. "We went to school together, Scrap hooked you up with the girl you lost your virginity to, I saved your brother's ass when he was getting picked on, Lucky was the guy you bought your first pistol and fake ID from. I ran with you when the cops were on our asses, I was your cellmate in lockup. You were my Toad. And you're telling me that means nothing, that we aren't family?"
"Only family I have left is my brother."
"You've killed this club. All the blood that spilled, it's all on you. Scrap is dead because of you!"
"We're leaving." Max declared as he drew his pistol and that made Asher almost growl as they began circling to switch places in the living room. "I'm getting them out of here and you deserve whatever the Sons do to you. Run as fast as you can, if they don't find you first, the Tacoma Killer will."
"You're leaving me, Marci?" He asked as she passed him to the front door. "I need you, I love you...you're gonna leave me?"
"Don't answer him." Max advised.
"I've been taking care of you, haven't I?" He gently grabbed her by the arm, making her stop to look at him. "I've been trying to make you happy. I let you go see those old women down the street, I let you keep Bentley and you got him healthy like you said you would. This is our little family, Marci. Don't take that away from me...don't abandon me when I've got nothing left."
Marceline ignored his plea, but as soon as she stepped out of his hold, he pulled Bentley from her arms. "Asher!"
"What? You don't need him. He's not even your kid. He's rubbed off on me, so I think I'll keep him." Asher declared as he tried settling the child, but Bentley was tiredly squirming in his hold. "It's just gonna be you and me, Bentley. I think you're gonna be a great addition to the Spartan family. I can already picture that kutte on you. We're gonna ride up to Colorado and I'm gonna find you a new Mommy to love."
"Running off to Daddy, huh?" Max teased.
"Don't worry, Maddox, we'll come visit you real soon."
"Put me down." Bentley groaned, tiredly squirming in an attempt to get out of Asher's hold. He was probably clutching him too tightly.
"Give him to me." Marceline commanded, but Asher took a few steps backward first before he held the child out to her. She walked the space between them and took Bentley in her arms.
He rubbed one eye and used the other to look up at his mother. "I wanna go back to bed."
"I know, sweetheart. You can sleep in the car, okay?"
"Are we going to Color-ado?"
"No, baby. You're gonna go with Max. He's gonna take you to meet my Dad. That's your Grandpa."
"I have a Grandpa?"
"Yeah, and you've got a bunch of Uncles, some Aunties and cousins. You'll love them, I promise." She smiled as she kissed his head and handed him off to Max, pushing them to the front door. "Be a good boy for Max, listen to him until I get back, okay?"
"Okay."
"Marci…I can't, not without you." Max softly pleaded.
"I can't leave, not yet." She picked up Bentley's jean jacket from the floor- it must've fallen out of his bag at some point- and tucked it into her duffel, handing it out to stiff Max.
She looked him in the eyes and saw the fear held in them, likely thinking that the Sons were going to murder him for showing up without her. She had faith that they wouldn't because he was the last person to see her and he knew where Asher planned to take them. She was not going to run away with her tail between her legs again; she knew how that ended. If she wanted to get out of this situation, Asher could no longer be part of the equation or else, he'd go lick his wounds before attacking again. She had a son to think about now and she would not allow him to be hurt.
Without an alternative, Max reluctantly left Marceline with Asher and loaded Bentley into his car. It took him a minute to start driving because he had to think about what would happen if he showed up empty-handed. The Sons wouldn't know who the hell the kid was because Marci didn't have him before she was brought back to Scotts Valley.
Max had to take a second to breathe and clear his head. He was worried about his baby brother and himself. He didn't want to die and that's why he teamed up with the Sons...who knew where Marceline was. She said she never saw a Son and that nobody gave her a Burner, but if that's the truth, how the hell did they know where the clubhouse was; how did they get those Japanese bikers to help them?
Done with stalling the inevitable, Max kept his headlights off and began the drive to the location the Sons told him to meet, which wasn't too far from his clubhouse. He knew all the members were dead and that the Sons were likely posted nearby with those Japanese racers in case someone managed to slip away. When he pulled up, he saw a few of the Sons leaning on their bikes and staring the car down. He flashed his headlights three times, then took the keys out, rolled down the window and set them on the roof. Stepping out, he tried to keep his nerves from getting the best of him as the Sons prowled closer, basically surrounding the car. He knew Chibs' face, but the rest of the men were strangers to his eyes.
"Look who finally showed up." A Son with dark hair and turquoise eyes greeted one of the remaining Spartans. Max immediately noticed the splatter of blood on the man's cheek, how he seemed to wear the plasma with pride. "You look a little scared, kid. What crawled up your ass?"
"It's Marceline." Max managed to say without his voice cracking.
A blond stepped forward then, his baby blue eyes vicious. "Is she dead?"
"She's at the house with Gage." The blond sighed through his nose and Max saw the unimpressed expressions on the faces of the other Sons. He also noticed the President's patch stitched onto the blond's leather and he had to force himself not to start quivering now that he realized he was dealing with the man who was in charge of his life. "Listen, I know this isn't what we agreed on, but she told me she couldn't leave yet and I don't know what that means. She just wanted me to make sure was Bentley safe."
Tig looked at Jax and his President gave a subtle nod before turning his back to light a cigarette. Tig grabbed Max by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the driver's door. Inside, Bentley couldn't hear what was going on, but he could see Max being manhandled. He reached for his backpack and fished around for his switchblade. When Max woke him up, Bentley made sure to pack his knife and the cell phone he received because he thought they were important.
"We told you, very clearly, that we wanted you to bring us Marceline unharmed and in one piece." Tig hissed as Kozik was coming over to pry the dark-haired man off Max.
He warned Tig to back off for two seconds while he went to the passenger door and opened it, looking inside. He saw the same little boy that was riding in the cart with Marceline when they were in the market, but the kid had his back pressed against the other door and looked like he'd attack if someone came too close. Poor thing was probably scared half to death.
It took a moment for Bentley to recognize Kozik's face, but he recalled the blond from the market and eased up, sliding over to let Kozik take him out the car. "That's Bentley. Marceline adopted him." Max announced as Kozik was walking over to Chibs to let him see his first grandchild. The Scotsman was clearly surprised by the sight of the little one, which made Kozik smile, and he told Chibs that he gave Bentley the Burner to let them track Marceline.
"You're callin' the shots, Chibs." Jax reminded him, pulling Chibs out of his state of shock.
From the second they got wind of Marceline being abducted again, Jax handed over the reins to Chibs because it was his daughter and Marceline was family to them all. He knew Chibs wouldn't lose his head either. Had Jimmy'O been involved, Jax was afraid that he'd have to send the Scotsman upstate just to ensure they could get things done.
Chibs was silent, but he was digesting the information given to him. Asher managed to abandon ship like a rat, Marceline was still alive and Bentley was the newest addition to her life. Now, he was figuring out what had to happen now because they were burning moonlight and it seemed like his daughter was trying to take matters into her own hands with her abductor.
"Koz, take the wee one somewhere safe. Don't go home just yet." He instructed Kozik before pulling his Burner out and speed-dialing a number; it picked up after the first ring. "Hap, come 'round and drop off the package. The lad's done his part."
Seconds later, a black van was pulling up and Happy got out with Opie. Happy grabbed Max by the shoulder and led him to the back of the van, opening the doors. On the floor, Beast Boy was hogtied and on his side with a slab of duct tape over his mouth. Happy got in to cut the green-haired man free and Beast Boy jumped out to hug his brother while Kozik got inside with Bentley.
Happy was watching the brothers reunite and heard them quietly asking if the other was alright. Once they pulled apart and Max saw no bruises on his brother, they turned to the tanned man. It even took Happy by surprise when Chibs asked him not to murder the kid. He took slow, sulking steps toward the men and his black eyes were trained on Max, since he was the oldest.
"If I find out either of you are runnin' with Spartans again, I'm gonna make you watch me break every bone in your brother's body, then cut you like a piece of fucking meat." His threat was bone-chilling and he deviously smirked when he saw his former captive take a step back.
Beast Boy threw his hands up and confirmed, "We're ghosts, dude."
"You killed us back at the clubhouse." Max added, agreeing with his brother. They were done with being Spartans and wanted to get as far away from the lifestyle as they could. They'd probably still get into trouble, but they wouldn't dare get back on the Sons' radar.
Happy searched for Chibs' face and received a nod. He told the men to get lost and they quickly got into Max's car, driving off into the night. His and Opie's bikes were parked with the rest of their brothers, so Opie mounted his Harley and followed the brothers to make sure they wouldn't stir up any more trouble before sunrise.
"Tigger, Hap, stay with Jax." Chibs continued giving orders and received dutiful nods in response, Happy and Tig moving to flank their president. "Koz, you're backup for me and Half-Sack."
"Chibs-"
"We got this, Jackie Boy. Won't take longer than twenty minutes." Chibs smirked and sent an affectionate pat to Jax's cheek. "Try not to miss me so much, love."
"Easier said than done."
"Hey, hey." Tig butted-in, stepping between Chibs and Jax with a loving hand tenderly set on Chibs' chest that made the Scottish man smile. "I called dibs on this sly talkin' spud fucker long before you were born. Go find your own."
"Play nice now, boys." Chibs mused before walking backward to his bike with Half-Sack. "Twenty minutes, Jackie."
Chibs and Half-Sack made the short drive to Chibs' old home and they recognized Gage's car parked out front, one of the dead Spartans strapped in the passenger seat. Half-Sack jogged across the street and sneakily looked through the windows into the living room, spotting Marceline sitting in a chair. He went around to the back of the house and tried the backdoor, but it was locked. He made his way back to Chibs.
"Marceline's in the living room and Asher's in the kitchen, but the backdoor's locked." He reported.
"Let's go in front then."
Chibs tried to force himself not to reminisce as he walked across the street with Kip, but it was no use. As soon as his feet touched asphalt, he remembered everything from the day he found the house, to meeting Rosemary and her getting pregnant with their daughter. Rose faded into the background when Marci came along and she was the star of Chibs' life. He remembered walking up and down these very streets with her, going to and from school or her favorite park with the see-saw and spiraled slide.
Inside the house, Asher had just gathered whatever it was that he was running around the house to get and dropped his duffel next to the armchair Marceline was in. She gripped the sleeves of her hoodie a bit tighter, feeling the coolness of the chef's knife against her skin, as she watched Asher stare down at his bag. He looked frantic and he still had nervous jitters from seeing his best friend dead in his car, but he was thinking about everything that had to be done from the second they walked out of the door to when they touched down in Colorado. He didn't want Scrap to rot away in a ditch, but he had to take his car to get them out of California and after a thorough scrub down, he'd have to change the plates.
"We should...and then...gotta call Ax...my Dad...they gotta know." He muttered, partially thinking out loud and partially talking to Marceline, nodding afterwards.
"Asher Nathaniel Levy." Chibs said as they entered the house, catching both Gage and Marci's attention. "I've been waitin' to meet you."
"This isn't how I wanted to meet my father-in-law. I thought we'd all go out for dinner or you'd visit for the holidays. And you…" His eyes trailed over to Half-Sack and he sneered at the man. "Yeah, I know all about you. Little soldier boy swooped in and swept her off her feet. I wanted you gone first, wanted you tortured. I wanted someone to cut your face off and send me the skin. Thought my Drifter got you, sent me a nice picture, but that was just some worthless Toad."
Chibs ignored the deranged man and focused on his daughter. "Marceline, we're goin' home."
"She's not going anywhere."
"Dovey." Chibs said and that made Marci stand, but Asher grabbed her and pulled her to his chest in a tight hold.
"She's the thing we all want, huh? She's the reason we're all here tonight." Asher pulled his gun and put his head on Marceline's shoulder, the pistol pointed to the other side of her head, making her eyes go wide in horror. "Well, if I can't have her, nobody else can."
"Asher-" She tried, but he just gripped her tighter.
"Just relax, Marci. It'll be quick and painless. I'm gonna be right behind you."
"Let her go." Kip demanded.
"I really don't wanna hurt her, but I will. Let us walk out that door and nobody else has to get hurt. You've already slaughtered my club, don't make me add another body to the list."
Kip was calling Asher's bluff because he knew he wouldn't hurt Marceline, so he started towards them, but Asher aimed his pistol at him and took a shot, getting Kip in the shoulder. Marceline screamed as Kip was pushed back to lean on the wall and buried her head into Asher's chest while he had his gun aimed at Chibs, who was pointing his own gun at the Spartan President. Again, Asher told Chibs to let him and Marci walk out the door, but Chibs refused to move an inch from the spot he was in as he thought of a way to get Marceline out of danger without her getting hurt.
Marceline was holding onto Asher as she willed her heart and mind to stop racing. There was no way in hell she was going to live the rest of her life in fear of Asher and her Dad was right there trying to take her back home where she belonged. Tonight was the night she was going to regain control of her life and she had to walk out of this house alive because she had a little boy waiting on her.
Without another thought to deter her, Marci let the knife slip from her sleeve and shut her eyes and she speared it into Asher's stomach, her spine tingling at the surprised and hurt sound he made. Asher shoved her away and she fell to the floor as he looked down at the knife sticking out of his gut, more blood staining his shirt. He dropped his gun and was looking between Marci and the knife, trying to ask her why she'd do such a thing when he was her Superman, the one guy who gave her everything since they met.
Every time he exhaled, Asher felt like the knife was slicing at another section of his intestines, so he had to get the goddamn thing out. He kept his eyes locked on Marceline when he grabbed the knife and choked back screams of anguish as he pulled it from his body, a stream of blood- that felt ice cold to him- leaking from the exposed wound.
"Shouldn't have done that." Kip gravely teased and Asher's glossed eyes shifted to the blue-eyed man...or at least, one of them. His vision was starting to blur. "You had a chance to live and you fucked it up. Can't do anything right, can you?"
With his experience being in the military, Kip knew far too well which wounds were fatal and which ones could be tended to for a few moments until professional medical attention could be provided. Marci stabbed Asher in his abdomen, likely hitting a major organ from how much blood was being lost, but if the idiot had kept the knife where it was, he wouldn't be losing plasma twice as fast.
Asher had a weak snarl on his pale, sweating face as Kip pushed off the wall and walked over to the man. He helped Marceline up and made sure she was behind him as he got to Asher. In a final defiant act, the dark-haired man tried to menacingly hold the knife towards Kip's body, but his brain was on the verge of blacking out and his limbs were beyond confused.
Kip tried to rip the knife from Asher's hand, but Asher had the knife in a death grip and wouldn't let go when Kip pulled, so the blue-eyed biker made Asher stab himself in his left kidney, yanked the knife out, then plunged it into his right kidney.
Asher slumped against Kip, his face on the other man's shoulder as blood leaked from his mouth or any of the punctures on his abdomen. Whatever he was trying to say to Kip was unintelligible as he gurgled and choked on his own blood. Kip kept a tight grip on Asher, waiting to feel the moment when the stubborn biker would stop fighting and give in to the inevitable.
It took another few seconds, then Asher's legs gave out and Kip let his lifeless body fall to the ground. Replacing his hand on his shoulder wound, Kip used his foot to roll the dead man on his back. Asher's eyes were all but rolled to the back of his head. His wounds were still leaking blood, but the man was stiff as stone.
It was finally done.
Asher was dead and Marceline was free.