This is kind of quick and easy. :) It's not really a filler, but if it seems rushed or quick or choppy, that's my own fault. I was really excited to write this chapter and wanted to get to the more important side of things. I hate dragging things out and I didn't want to do that with this chapter. There are only 2 chapters left! Maybe 3, but I'm not sure how I am going to divide them up yet. :) Enjoy and thanks for the support as always!
Weeks dragged by. Every week was the same, Kate would swing by Jem's apartment after an event and stay overnight, completely undetected by Liam. Doug had his suspicions, but he figured he was reading too much into it.
The three of them slide over a large sheet of ice leading to City Hall. There had been a major protest of a new school system that Kate had presented and was working on getting approved. She wanted to tear apart Charlestown's school system and integrate the kids into the more educated schools nearby. Parents from the better areas were concerned about corruption, parents from Charlestown didn't want their children in "toonie" schools.
"Ya ready?" Jem asked, giving her a light squeeze on the arm. Her eyes peered up at him. His eyes were scrunched up from the chill of the wind, his nose and cheeks bright red. She gave him a slight nod and followed closely behind him as he wretched the door open against the wind. A swirling of voices and hot air rolled over them like a wave. The voices sounded like snarls. Bodies occupied each viable space in the hallway. Some were holding posters, pictures, and signs. Some were just yelling to be heard. When eyes found Kate each body seemed to turn towards her. She brought her hands to Jem's coat and gripped it tightly, her eyes staring at the ground. Police guarded the front of the hall, keeping the podium and stage area clear for the Mayor, Governor, and a few other representatives. Kate's proposition had caused a stir for everyone. Jem's shoulders rammed into a few bold enough to challenge him as he walked her to the stage. His face and jaw were set, his arms ready to swing at anything.
"They really need to get a bettah set up for this," Doug yelled a few inches away from the back of Kate's head.
"You're a bitch!" yelled out a woman. Kate flinched into Jem's back, holding him even tighter. He met the line of policemen who made a small gap for them to walk through. Jem helped guide her up the steps and sat her down in a padded folding chair. The two of them took their places behind Kate, arms folding across their chests, eyes on the crowd. Kate's eyes swooped over the arguing protestors before locking onto the face of the representative next to her. He gave her a small smile and patted her knee. She forced herself to give a smile back and swallowed hard. Wielding every ounce of courage she tried to maintain it.
"This shit is crazy," Jem muttered from the side of his mouth, keeping his eyes on a few rowdy men in the front.
"You're not fuckin' kiddin'," Doug muttered back, watching as the door opened again. Jem's eyes snapped down to the front row to the right as someone yelled. A man pulled back and punched a cop square in the face, causing the hype of the crowd to be sent into overdrive. There was an abrupt shuffling of policemen causing the crowd to break out into one large fight of their own. Kate jumped to her feet out of fear as some protestors began fighting on the stage.
"Jem," Kate breathed, working her way around the chair to him. He held out his arm to grab her, stepping towards her. Doug stepped in front of the chair ready to tackle anyone heading his way. She was almost in Jem's arms when a large body tackled hers, knocking her to the ground. With a throat ripping scream she held her arms up in front of her face to prevent more damage. She could feel the pain in her leg throb. Jem yelled out in a grunt and wrapped his hands up in the man's shirt. Doug turned and attended to Kate as Jem shoved the man.
"Tha fuck are you doin'?" Jem barked, pointing at the portly man that easily stood a few inches taller than him. "Ya fuckin' retarded?" The man smirked and shook his head. With a snarl of anger he connected his fist to the man's face and wrapped his hands around the man's neck. He fought wickedly against Jem, trying to push and break his grip. Jem's knees pounded into his groin, dropping him to his knees with ease. Doug held Kate's hand tightly as she cried.
"Where does it hurt?" Doug asked, looking down her body.
"My fuckin' leg," she grunted, gripping his hand a little tighter. He scratched his head with his free hand as he looked over her legs and saw her left foot turned at a 90 degree angle. With a queasy stomach he looked into her eyes.
"It's-ah-yeah-we're gonna need a doctor," he explained nervously, looking into the crowd to see if he could spot anyone in a uniform. He found Jem dropping the man who tackled Kate. He was wailing on him with kicks to the side when Doug yelled out to him. "Jem!" Doug harshly, trying to break Jem out of his current fixation. Jem ignored him and continued punching the man. "Jem!" he barked even louder. "Cut your shit out, I need you over here! He's clearly fuckin' down!" With a great effort Jem stopped and pulled the man's wallet out of his pocket.
"Here," Jem quipped, tossing the wallet to Doug as he crouched down beside Kate. Tears were wielding her eyes as she grunted through the pain. "We're gonna get you help," he whispered, running his hand through her hair.
"Did you drop that fucking asshole?" she asked.
"Bet your ass I did," he answered with a wide smile.
"Good," she breathed.
The hospital was absolute chaos. Kate was rushed out for an x-ray while Doug and Jem were shuffled to a very full waiting room. The ice had caused a lot of accidents and the injured from City Hall were pouring in. Jem sat briefly in one open chair, but never one to have an idle mind, he rose to his feet and began pacing. His hands rested on the back of his head as Doug thumbed through the wallet they had picked from the tackler. "You're not gonna like this," Doug stated, holding the wallet out to Jem as he sat in the vacant chair. He cursed as his eyes read over the name on the ID. Marcus Colm.
"Fergie's grandson?" Jem asked, slamming the wallet shut. Doug nodded and shook out his coat.
"Whaddya think this means, Jem?" Jem clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times, looking around the room with his hands on his hips before looking at Doug. Without a word he turned to walk out. "Where tha fuck are you goin'?" Doug yelled as Jem walked towards the door. Jem ignored him and continued walking.
Jem's eyes looked over the flower shop from a block away. The lights were all on and Fergie was shuffling behind the counter, playing with a few arrangements in the refrigerators. Jem took his lit cigarette and buried it into the brick of the building he was leaning against. He exhaled and scanned over the sidewalks one more time before heading to the store. Without another thought, he pulled the door open and retrieved the gun from his side holster. The bell chimed causing Fergie to turn and face Jem and the barrel of his gun. A smirk played on his face as he rose his hands up. "I see ya got my message," he purred.
"Shut tha fuck up," Jem spat. Fergie sighed, smiled, and shook his head. "I'm here ta tell ya that you're gonna leave her tha fuck alone. His small blue eyes rolled before refocusing on Jem.
"Ah, but she's a problem for me, son. An' ya know what I do with problems." Jem stared into his eyes and gripped his gun tighter, his knuckles white. "If she woulda jus' stayed in wherever-tha-fuck-she-was we would still be at tha same ol' game."
"Maybe," he countered.
"Maybe?" Fergie's eyebrow rose.
"Yeah, fuckin' maybe. There's other shit that's more important."
"Oh, like what?"
"Like family an' shit. An' not havin' ta watch your ass all tha time." Fergie laughed and shut his eyes.
"Jem Coughlin, a family man?" He snorted and pointed a finger at him. "You an' I both know you're not cut out for that." Jem felt anger and guilt climb and chew its way into his throat. It made it that much harder to breathe. He felt like he was suffocating. "If that was tha case ya would 'ave popped out a ton of little shits, terrorizin' this town jus' like you." He swallowed and briefly tried to recall his daydreams of his own children running around in the park, Kate chasing after them as they played cops and robbers. Fergie's chuckling chased the thoughts away. "You're a no good piece of shit thief, Jem. An' that's it. You're a cold blooded killer. Killers don't get married, have babies an' live 'happily ever after'. You live in a goddamn dream world if you think that's ever gonna happen."
"I thought I told you ta shut tha fuck up," Jem growled, shaking the gun. Fergie's manipulation was effective. It drove Jem insane with rage. "I'll put a fuckin' bullet right in that fuckin' face of yours."
"Strikin' a nerve, am I?" He smiled and watched the redness creep over Jem. "Life don't work tha way ya want it to. You don't get happiness an' love in life. You're always competin' with 'em. " Jem's feet pounded the ground as he closed the distance between them and shoved the gun into Fergie's chest.
"I've had enough of your mind game bullshit," he spat, pushing his nose against Fergie's. Fergie's eyes doubled in size. "What is it gonna take for you ta leave her alone? Do whatever tha fuck ya want to me. It's me ya fuckin' want anyway." A spark ignited in his brain as Jem spoke, it showed in his eyes. Jem's gut felt heavy as he watched his eyes turn at the thought. He backed away from Fergie and took a deep breath.
"Work with some of tha guys this Friday in a big bust for me." He felt a pain grow in his stomach. "But, I don't want just you. I want Dougie, too. You two can take on anything together an' to pull this off, I need ya both."
"What's tha fuckin' catch?" Jem grunted, knowing that there was going to be something more to it for Fergie to be so willing to let him go.
"We're takin' on Fenway Park." Jem laughed as he put his gun in his holster. "There's millions in that fuckin' place. We got all tha shit, we jus' need tha men."
"An' I do this an' you're gonna leave us all alone?" he asked Fergie.
"You're damn right."
"An' what if ya fuckin' don't, Fergie?"
"Put a bullet in my brain." His eyes looked around at the flowers around the shop, he was trying to believe what he was hearing. "Do we have a fuckin' deal?" He thought about Kate as he looked at the daisies on the counter. They were her favorite. Thinking of Kate and the current situation he was in, he knew she was going to be mad. He knew she would rather have two broken legs rather than see him stealing again. Jem couldn't risk her getting hurt again.
"Deal," Jem mumbled, holding out his hand.
"Meet me with Dougie tomorrow at the old rink," he stated, shaking Jem's hand with a devious smile on his face.
Back at the hospital, Kate was asleep when he made it into her room. Doug was perched on the edge of her bed, his chin in his hands. "Why'd they keep her over night for?" Jem asked, shutting the door behind him.
"She was really fuckin' shook up. Which ya would 'ave known had ya fuckin' stayed here," Doug barked as Jem walked towards the couch.
"Don't start with me, Dougie. Jus' fuckin' don't," Jem sighed, sitting on the couch, holding his hands up. Doug nodded and walked over to the couch to sit next to Jem.
"Where in tha fuck have you been?"
"I went ta see Fergie," he answered blankly, staring at Kate's purple cast poking out of the thin white sheet over her. In that moment he felt like an asshole as he tried to imagine how they were going to have sex now that she had a cast on.
"Ya did what?" Doug chirped in a loud whisper. He scooted to the edge of the couch cushion to look at Jem. "Why tha fuck did ya do that for?" Jem shrugged. "Are ya fuckin' retarded? How tha fuck are ya still alive?" Doug grabbed Jem's forearm and pushed his sleeve up to look in the crook of his elbow. "Are ya on that shit again? So fuckin' help me, Jem, if you're on drugs again…" Jem turned towards Doug and ripped his arm out of his grip.
"Would ya calm tha fuck down?" he barked, hitting Doug's leg. "You're gonna wake her up." They both looked at Kate then back at each other. "We need ta talk about this situation." Doug nodded at each word he spoke. "An' you're not gonna like it." Doug frowned as he heard Jem's words.