She opened the mailbox door and dropped the envelope in with a wish and a prayer. She turned to see her little sister standing there looking at her more frightened than she did last night. "Don't worry, Emily. Henry said that when his dad needs someone taken care of, this is what he does and that person goes away. I'm going to take care of us."
Her sister looked around and whispered. "Are you sure we can trust Henry? I think he just tells you all of these stories because he likes you."
Hannah smiled at her sister and started to lead her out of the dark alleyway. "Yeah he does but I know his dad is one of THOSE guys in the nice suits and shiny cars but no real job. I think he knows what he's talking about." She never told her little sister that she had told her friend Henry about everything that was going on. Henry wanted to tell his dad about it but Hannah made him swear not to. She even gave him a kiss and started to wear his ring to prove to him that she truly needed him to keep this secret for her. He had given her the special coin to put in with the payment to tell the fixer that she was really needing his help. She smiled at her sister to calm her nerves. "Ok, we have a little time before we need to be home. Why don't we use this extra money Henry gave me for some ice cream?" She saw a shimmer of childhood come back to her sister's eyes at the suggestion of a carefree afternoon of ice cream and sister talk.
The light flashed in John's garage to alert him that he had a request. He wiped off his greasy hands as he walked into the house. He smiled as he saw Helen cooking her 'famous' kale goulash. He had the ring in his pocket but he was not going to ask her over that mess. "Let me go check the box and call them to tell them I'm out." He knew she would not say YES to him if he said YES to the request. He kissed her on the cheek as he turned to walk out. "It smells delicious, Babe."
She shook her head and kept stirring the pot. "I can feel your eyes rolling, John. You can't lie to me."
He walked to the front door to change into his running shoes. It was a great way to cover going out without taking one of his cars. The five mile round trip run used to let him start planning a job but now it just let him clear his mind of the hate in the world and concentrate on the rest of his life. As he ran he thought of where he could ask her...Paris in front of the Eiffel Tower, when he brought her breakfast in bed on Sunday, or just after she got out of the shower and he thought she was most beautiful. He smiled as he let his feet hit the ground, creating a rhythm that formed a mantra in his head. He swore that he could hear a melody in the cool breeze blowing along his route. He became more attentive of his surroundings once he got close to the alleyway but right now he could just run.
The alleyway was dark, musty, and hidden from the law abiding citizens of the City. If you didn't need to be in that alleyway, you avoided it. He paused to stretch and fake tying his shoe and got his key to building out of the side of his shoe. Just past the mail slot was a door that was almost hidden by the graffiti and mildew on the walls surrounding it. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure the only things watching him were the rats scurrying around the dumpsters looking for a way in. Opening the door just enough to let himself slide in, he flipped on the lamp before shutting the door and disappearing from reality. Inside the condemned looking building was a state of the art, fully reinforced bunker where he kept some of his arsenal. He saw the small envelope in the basket and wondered if someone accidently dropped their mail into the room. When he lifted it, he heard change rattle around. Flipping the envelope over in his hand, he saw that on the outside was two words… Please Help… written in a penmanship that he didn't recognize as any of regular customers. While he did feel change in the envelope, he also felt what he thought might be a Continental Coin. He opened the envelope to find a handwritten note on lined notebook paper with just "Please meet me at the library at 4 pm tomorrow" written on it, no name or number included. He found $23.52 and the Continental Coin with the note. He flipped over the gold coin to see the serpent crest on the back of it and he knew it was supposed to belong to but it was definitely not who sent it to him. He picked up the disposable cell that he kept in the bunker and called the man who should be the owner of the coin. "John, why are you calling me?"
"Is this a bad time, William?" John smirked as he knew what he was probably disturbing. "I mean I was just calling to find out why I just got one of your coins in my request basket but if you are too busy to find out who in your crew is…"
"Get out of here, bitch! I have a rat problem." John heard some commotion and a door slam. "Now you found WHAT in your basket?"
"Do you want to meet so I can show you what ELSE was with the coin?"
He knew that William was a militant leader but he also had a heart for all of his boys. Once you were part of his crew, you were family so John knew this kind of theft hurt William deep. "Meet me at the Continental in an hour. Bring everything you have."
They cut the call without another word. John tucked what he had found into his hoodie pocket and left the alleyway. The run back to the house had his brain filled with so much more than showers and Paris.
John was sitting at the bar, not drinking the whiskey he had sitting in front of him. "Is it poisoned?" He looked over to see William sliding onto the stool next to him. "I mean you know the rules of this place. We're supposed to be safe here." William motioned for the bartender to get him his usual. "So how are you…" Before William could finish the question, John flipped the coin out onto the bartop. "That DAMN boy! I knew one was missing. I was hoping that he just took it to impress some skirt but I guess not."
"Henry? He's only like…" John tried to think back to when he had met Henry.
"He just turned 15. I know who she is. He's only been chasing this girl since they were in diapers." He turned to look at John. "Hannah, our ex-housekeeper's oldest daughter. She would bring her to work and let her and Henry play. He fell in love instantly." William took a drink and shook his head. "I fired her last year when I found out that her newest boyfriend stolel some of Diane's jewelry. The dumbass then tried to hock it to one of my guys who drug him back to my house for a little warning." He shook his head. "I got the diamonds back. He got a broken arm and she got fired. I guess we need to ask him WHY one of my coins is now in your possession when I didn't give the word."
John pushed his glass away. "So where are we going?"
William picked up his phone. "Go get Henry out of school and bring him to my room at the hotel, NOW." He hung up before the person on the other end could say anything in response. "Let's go up stairs. He'll be here in a few minutes."
"Let go of my collar! I can walk myself to the door! You don't need to …" The door to the room flung open and Henry was being drug by one of William's goons by the collar.
"Where do you want him, boss?"
"Drop him right there." William pointed to the chair sitting in the middle of the room. William waited for Julio to walk out of the room before turning his attention to his son. He pulled the coin out of his pocket and twirled it. Henry's eyes grew as the rest of his body started to trimble. "Do you want to tell me HOW Baba Yaga came in possession of this coin or do I just assume you let that little floozy in to steal it from me?"
"She's not some fucking floozy!" It was out of Henry's mouth before he could stop himself. He felt the back of his father's hand as it came in contact with his cheek. He was so mad that he just looked back up at him, the anger burning behind his blue eyes. "She's not like the women you bring into the house, right under Mom's nose all day long. Hannah is…" He looked over to stop the tears he could feel building. "She and her little sister are in danger and she made me promise not to tell you. So I told her about The Boogeyman. I knew he could fix the issue and no one would link it back to her and Emily."
William flopped down in the chair across from his son. Henry tried not looking at his father. William signaled for John to come out of the shadows. "Well, Henry, Baba Yaga would like to know why he should go meet this girl. Is the job real or just a petty issue?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you."
"I don't give a damn what you promised her. You got me involved as soon as you gave her one of my coins. Now talk!"
Henry looked down, trying to get his words together. "That bastard raped her." He looked up to see his dad's face change from being irritated to being all business. "He had been raping Emily for about a month before Em told Hannah. Hannah made her start sleeping in her room to keep her safe and then last week, he got drunk while Mary was out. He went looking for Em but couldn't find her. Hannah said he kicked open her door and she shoved Emily in the closet thinking that she might just get beaten but," he stopped talking as John handed him a handkerchief to wipe away the tears that were flowing down his face. "She couldn't even tell me exactly what happened, Dad. She just curled up in my arms and cried from what felt like forever. I wanted to tell you...Hell, I wanted to go over there myself and rip his throat out but she was so ashamed that she made me promise not to tell you. That is when I told her about the coins and Baba Yaga. I told her that when you have a person that you needed to have taken care of but not tracked back to you that you give a coin to the Boogeyman and that person goes away. They need him to go away."
John looked at William. "He's going away, Will. I will even give the coin back if you want."
"No, John. I'm giving you my blessing." William stood up and brushed himself off. "Matter of fact, I want to go with you. This bastard touched little girls, made them fear him, took their safety away in their own home. No, he's not a man...he's a monster and he needs to be put down." Henry started to sit up but William shook his head. "No, before you even ask NO! You are going to make sure the girls have an alibi." John smiled as he nodded towards Henry. "The cover story is that you will 'steal' my car for the night. You take them for dinner and the double feature at the drive in movie. Make sure to use my 'stolen' credit card at each place to leave a paper trail. Be photographed with the girls by every camera you see. When the cops come to question the girls, because they will, there will be video evidence of where they were and who they were with all night long. Understand?"
"Can I buy them both something nice?" Henry winked at his dad who just started laughing.
"You believe this kid?"
"Yeah, he's just like you." John said as all three of them started towards the door.
John stood hidden in the alleyway next to the rundown apartment building where Mary and the girls lived. This jackass had moved in with them and just turned their whole world upside down. He was going to fix it. Before he made it look like an accident, he wanted to make him suffer. Henry had already picked up the girls an hour ago. Now he was just waiting on William who had been dropped off at a bar three blocks down. He saw some movement out of the corner of his eye before he heard the whistle. "William?"
"John." He looked over to see the usually well dressed man in all black warm ups and tennis shoes. "It can all be burned as soon as this is over."
"Well done. Now, we go by the plan or this will not work." He waited for William to nod in agreement. "This building has no security and no one on this street is going to see anything. I can promise you that." He started walking further into the alleyway.
"Are we going to make this quick?" William looked at John hoping the answer was NO.
He saw John smirk evilly. "Oh no but you'll need to watch me on how to hurt him. No marks, no bruises, no links back to us. Also," John pulled a small bottle out of his pocket. "We're doing things a little differently than I'm used to...drug overdose. Suicide for the scum of the Earth."
William nodded his head. "Excellent! Let's do this."
"Also, you're not to call Henry until you are back at the bar and have made damn sure the bartender has seen you finish two drinks." William nodded understanding that everything John did was for a purpose. He watched as John put his back on what he thought was just a poster covered wall but passed into the building like a shadow. He followed John into the rundown building. He could still see some of the beauty of the architecture hidden under the filth and cobwebs. John made his way through the hallways in a way that amazed William who had never seen the Baba Yaga in action. When they got to the door, John knelt down to look at the lock and smiled. He nodded which told William that Hannah had left the door unlocked like Henry had asked her to do. They both moved into the apartment silently as possible. They could hear the TV on in the living room. John motioned for William to stop as he glanced into the room to make sure this monster was alone. William watched as John ran in and had this guy up by his neck before he could take a breath. John looked him in the eyes as he tried to fight his way out of his grip. John just pinched a place in his neck and William watched as the grown man crumbled in front of his eyes. John leaned down and turned his head to look at him as he smiled at him. "So you like little girls?" William watched the man's eyes grow as John let out the evilest laugh he had ever heard. "Well, now you get to play with us and just so you know, we're really experienced." John picked him up and flipped him back onto the stained sofa where he had been sitting watching porn. John tossed William a velvet bag identical to the one he started hitting the incapacitated man with. He started to make a noise and John just looked at him putting his finger to his mouth as he turned up the porn still playing on the TV. William felt like they beat on him forever before John stepped back and pulled out the vial out of his pocket and picked up an old needle off the coffee table. "Hold him." William jumped and held him down as John made quick work of giving him the hotshot. They stood over him as the drug flowed through his blood stream. John turned around and started to set up the rest of the room to make the drug overdose believable. William saw his eyes roll back in his head as it flopped over to the side lifelessly. John motioned that it was time to leave. As they made it back to the alleyway, William searched his mind to see if he was upset or distraught about what just happened but he wasn't. Justice was served so he felt it was justified. Once in the alleyway, John unzipped the front of his jumper and flipped it inside out to show a totally different outfit. "This is where we part ways. Don't call me. Don't follow me and whatever you do, don't talk about this to anyone." Before William could answer him, John pulled a hidden motorcycle out from behind the dumpster and sped off. William walked to the back to the rear door of the bar where he had been dropped off. He stepped into and moved right into the restroom where he has stashed his change of clothes. Once changed, he slipped the bag down the garage shoot and listened for the incinerator to engage. Confident that it was done, he walked to the bar and motioned for the bartender.
"You need another whiskey?"
William smiled and nodded. "But make it a double." He sat and watched the world pass outside the window as he took a sip from his glass. He let the events of the night roll around in his head one more time before he just let it go.
John pulled up into his garage and stripped off his coveralls, tossing them into the incinerator before walking into the house. He listened for Helen but he heard nothing. He hoped that when he had called to tell her that he had to work tonight, she hadn't left. He knew she didn't want him to continue his work but he explained that this was a personal favor he needed to do tonight. He continued to walk towards his bedroom when he heard the shower running. A smile crept across his face as he crossed the threshold into the room. He could hear her singing an old Connie Francis song she told him her mother always sang to her as a lullaby as he walked towards the dresser. Once in the bathroom, he said, "Honey, I'm home."
"Oh John! I've missed you. Just give me a minute." He could make out her form through the steamed glass as she hurried to get out.
When he heard her turn off the water, he got down on one knee in front of the shower door. She gasped as she opened it to see him there holding an open ring box. "Helen, my world is only brighter with you in it. Please would you bring sunshine to the rest of my days and be my wife?"
She stood there with tears rolling down her face as she nodded crazily. "Yes, you crazy man! Yes, always YES!" He smiled as he slipped the ring on her finger. She leaned down to kiss him gently on his lips. Grabbing his hand, she started to lead him out into the bedroom. "Come on, Mr. Wick. Let's go to bed so I can ..." She smirked at him as she batted her eyes at him. "Well, you know."