Part 25 – Bleed Brother Bleed
Spike walked slowly down to the basement, raking his fair hair back from his face tiredly. He had shed his Loco uniform some time earlier as it had been covered in blood, and was now dressed in black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. When he arrived at the door to the basement, he found a few of his fellow Locos sitting around on crates with makeshift tables before them, playing cards, or eating supper.
Ebony and Bray were talking together in front of the basement door, which was bolted. They looked up on seeing Spike approach.
"You're out of uniform," Ebony pointed out, raising her eyebrows .
"I'm aware of that," Spike said wryly. "I want to go in."
"But Axl only just started his shift," Bray said to him.
"I know. I want to talk to Jax."
"You can't just go down there and have evening tea with the murderer of two women – that we know of – and the attempted murderer of another!" Ebony exclaimed.
"I'm going to talk to him whether you like it or not. In fact, I could care less if you liked it or not. So get out of my way," Spike said calmly.
"I think I agree with Ebony. Jax is dangerous— you saw him down in the parking lot!" Bray said.
Spike shook his head. "Why are you listening to her? She didn't give a damn about who the murderer was until it turned out it was one of her own!"
"Shut up Spike! You knew who it was and you didn't say a word!" Ebony spat. "You're just as guilty as Jax."
"Oh spare me," Spike said darkly.
He snatched the keys off of a hook on the wall and unlocked the door without another word. He pushed the heavy door open and walked in. Axl was sitting on a crate reading an old magazine. He looked up on seeing Spike.
"Axl." Spike nodded.
Axl nodded back at his lieutenant, but stood up when he saw that Spike was unlocking the door to Jax's cage. He grabbed Spike's shoulder.
"What are you doing?"
Spike shook off Axl's grasp and gestured to the door. "I'm going to talk to the prisoner."
"You can talk to him outside the cage Spike," Axl stated firmly.
"But I want to talk to him inside the cage Axl," Spike shot back.
"Don't be an idiot!"
"Look, just go outside and take a break. This'll only take a few minutes. The Asian girl's going to come along with some food for him soon. Let her come down."
Axl just shook his head at Spike and walked off. He pulled the door shut behind him with a bang. Spike unlocked the cage door and stepped inside. He relocked it behind him once he was in.
Jax was sitting on a makeshift bed, watching him. "You're brave. Getting into a cage with a known murderer," he remarked with a biting laugh.
Spike sat down on a crate opposite Jax's bed. "You're not a murderer to me. You're one of my men Jax," he said evenly.
Jax tilted his head, as if studying Spike. "Why are you here? Is it time for a lecture… or maybe a beating?"
Spike shook his head simply. "No lecture, no beating."
Jax held out his hands and shrugged. "Then what is it?"
"Can't we just talk?"
"I don't think so. There's not much to say. Ebony and the Mallrats are up there deciding whether I should live or die. I'm not in the mood to talk."
"It didn't have to be this way."
"No? What way could it have been Spike?"
"Jax I trusted you," Spike said softly. "I had your back when Ebony could have cared less. I knew it was one of my men. I made up some cock and bull story about the killer drowning so I could save one of my Locos from getting caught."
"So?"
"It was your chance to stop killing Jax! No one would ever have known it was you, no one. Why didn't you stop?" Spike asked sharply.
Jax just smiled indifferently. "Maybe I didn't want to. Maybe I didn't need your little favour Spike. Did you ever think of that?"
"I think you did need it Jax. You were just too stupid to accept it," Spike said bitingly.
Jax shot him a dark glare that Spike promptly ignored.
"Who were you before the Virus? What the hell made you decide to start randomly killing people?"
Jax sighed dramatically and spoke. "I was in a juvenile detention centre at fourteen for raping my sister's friend. Just before the Virus hit they were about to send me to a psychiatric institute. All because of that one girl who couldn't keep her mouth shut."
"Was she supposed to Jax?"
Jax just gave him that same sharp and dangerous glare, and continued talking. "I wasn't going to let that happen to me again Spike. This time none of them were going to talk. And anyway, what if they did? It's not like there's any law to come after me. But I decided to be careful anyway. In fact, the being careful part was the most fun. You know how handy I am with a knife."
"I was right. You really are a sociopath," Spike breathed.
"I really am."
Jax and Spike just stared at each other, their gazes unwavering.
"Did you think you wouldn't get caught? Especially when you came to Mallrat territory and decided to do a little damage to another girl?" Spike demanded.
"I didn't know they had cameras hooked up here, did I?" Jax said smoothly.
"You would have been found out Jax."
"Really? Were you going to find me out Spike? Was Bray? Or Ebony? None of you had a clue, so don't pretend you did," Jax hissed.
Spike shook his head, and stood up off the crate. "Fine Jax, have it your way. Danni's going to have stand trial— and after what you just said I really don't think I can testify on your behalf. I was going to… but now…"
Jax just gave him a blank-eyed stare, his mouth forming a sneer. Spike turned to leave the cage.
"I'm more a Loco than you'll ever be."
Spike turned around. "What did you say?"
Jax stood up. "You heard me! Zoot never would have sat here condemning me for killing a few worthless girls."
Spike looked at him acrimoniously. "Well it's a good thing Zoot's dead then, isn't it?" he spat with a vicious sneer of his lip.
"Maybe. At least now he can't see how pathetic his tribe's leaders are— a little girl with a huge ego, and a spineless moron with delusions of grandeur," Jax countered.
Spike laughed harshly. "You've got Ebony down to a tee all right, and maybe I do have delusions of grandeur… but don't put Zoot up on such a high pedestal either. He was the one who created the Locos, the one who brought us power and chaos, but he was half mad long before the last adult died. How long do you think he could've maintained control over the City for? He couldn't even control his own mind!"
"It was his madness that made the Locos so powerful. People were terrified of him because they had no idea what he would do next! You and Ebony, you're both completely unoriginal. You're not going to be able to harness the Loco's power for any longer than she could. What you're trying for is just a watered down version of Zoot's power and chaos. It's not the real thing. They'll never follow you."
Spike stepped up to him. "I beg to differ. They believe in what I have to say. They believe in the Locos. They'll follow me."
He smirked and turned away, pulling out the keys to the lock. Without warning Jax grabbed him and shoved him against the cage wall. He hit Spike full force in the face and Spike felt his lip split with the impact of the blow. He attempted to hit Jax back, but he'd already pinned him against the wire.
Spike quickly broke out of the hold though, and swung his right arm out to hit Jax in the face. Jax blocked him, but Spike's left hand shot out just as fast and he punched Jax in the head. Spike's blow had caused a huge gash in Jax's brow, but that didn't deter him. He went at Spike with more aggression than ever, once again throwing him against the wire of the cage, this time face first.
Spike immediately reacted and thrust his elbow backwards, into Jax's abdomen. Jax bent over, hissing in pain. Spike took the opportunity to punch him in the abdomen again and again, until he was doubled over, gasping for air. Then Spike kicked him in the shoulder, bringing the force of his foot down hard. Jax fell to his knees on the cold floor of the cage.
Spike grunted triumphantly, and spat blood from his mouth onto the floor.
He went to pick up the keys to the cage lock which he'd dropped when Jax first came at him. Spike stood up, keys in hand, just in time to see Jax pull a knife from the side of one of his army boots. He shot up smoothly from his kneeling position and came at Spike, the knife held out before him.
Spike backed up quickly against the wire and spun away just as Jax lunged at him with the knife. Jax tumbled into the flexible wire wall, but bounced away quickly. He lunged for Spike again, but this time, Spike was ready for him. His arm shot out to block the knife. It sliced deep into his wrist, and Jax grinned. Spike ignored the pain, and used the force of his arm to knock the knife out of Jax's hand.
It went clattering onto the floor, and Spike dove for it. Jax quickly kicked the weapon out of Spike's way though, and kneed Spike in the face. Spike hissed and went tumbling backwards onto Jax's makeshift bed.
For the second that Spike was down, Jax bent and scooped up both his knife and the keys that Spike had dropped again. Jax pushed the keys through the wire, and they landed on the floor outside the cage. He grinned jubilantly, and then went at Spike once again.
Spike rolled out of the way and onto the floor. Jax fell onto the bed, and Spike flipped up off the concrete and grabbed the other man by the collar. He yanked Jax up and threw him against the wire. Spike was feeling the burn of the cut in his arm, and of the many cuts and bruises on his face, but he stood before Jax steadily, ready for his next move.
Jax just stared at him, looking just as beaten and tired as Spike felt. It was during this one moment when the two of them were staring at one another that Spike let his guard down. He clutched his bleeding arm close to his chest, and drew in a painful breath.
Before he even realised what was happening, Jax ran at him, pinning him against the opposite side of the cage. Jax threw his arm back and then thrust it forward with all of his might, driving the knife deep between Spike's ribs. All air was expelled from Spike's lungs, and searing pain seeped from the wound throughout the rest of his body.
Jax, his eyes wild and frantic, dug the knife deeper, almost to the hilt. Spike's brain could barely comprehend the pain. Spurred on by his victory, Jax shoved the knife upwards, literally lifting Spike off the ground, and pinning him there against the cage wall with the power of his arm.
"They won't get a chance to follow you my friend. Not now," Jax hissed in his ear.
Spike merely gasped for breath, his fingers stretching and reaching out uselessly. He let out an excruciating cough, blood came up from the back of his throat and spilled out of his mouth. Only one thought was in Spike's mind, and it was that he was going to die.
At that moment, the heavy basement door opened and then shut. Tai-San walked down the steps with a tray of food for Jax. She stopped short when she saw the scene before her in the cage. After staring for a shocked split second, she dropped her tray, which fell to the ground with a clang, the glass and bowl shattering loudly. She rushed forward to the cage, shrieking at the top of her voice for help.
Spike's head lolled to the side and he looked at her, his eyes blank and blood spluttering from his mouth. Tai-San grasped the wire of the cage, screaming at Jax to stop. She accidentally kicked the keys and looked down on hearing them rattle. Immediately, she scooped them up and began to fiddle with them frantically, looking for the right one.
Jax chose to yank his knife out then, blood and gore dripping from it. Spike fell limply to the ground just as Tai-San unlocked the cage. Jax looked at her as she entered. He stepped toward her calmly and smiled, his knife held before him.
Coming soon in Part 26 – Ye Of Little Faith :
- Jax's reign of terror continues
- Spike's fate is revealed
- Ebony takes her anger out on someone
