If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge? - William Shakespeare
Tommy and Brendan keep a safe distance behind Jeff as he walks out of the main entrance of the hospital and towards the four level parking garage.
"I'll follow him to his car, you wait outside the main entrance of the parking garage, that's where I'll suggest he exits," Tommy growls as he feels the familiar grip of icy control that always comes before a fight. It's how he's won time after time; he fights on strictly autopilot and it's only ever failed him once. Now the opponent who felled him is his ally and together their about to massacre a baby raping bastard.
"Be safe," is all Brendan says as he takes off running in the direction of his minivan. Tommy pulls the box cutter knife that he always carries out of his pocket and relishes the cold metal against his palm. He has no plans to kill this asshole but he does intend to make sure that the fucker never darkens any corner of Penny's life again. As he sees Jeff slowing down at the rear of a pretty nice Toyota 4Runner he calls out to him.
"Yo Jeff? Jeff Clarke, is that you bro?" He has to swallow bile as he makes the words as friendly sounding as possible.
Jeff spins around, his face confused and a little frightened. "Yeah? Who's there?" The taller, skinnier man squints as he tries to recognize the face speaking to him.
"Tommy Conlon? For fucks sake boy! How the hell are ya?" They slap hands as Tommy nears, the act making Tommy feel like he needs a hot shower with some bleach and a Brillo pad to clean the scumbag off of him.
"Eh, same old same old. Just come from the ER to get my shoulder checked out. Took a hard body slam at the gym tonight and it didn't feel right afterwards." Tommy smiles and he can feel anger bubbling up. He tamps it back down; this isn't the place to reap his pound of flesh from Jeff. Too public; they would more than likely be interrupted. Tommy wants to be thorough. He knows he needs to gain Jeff's trust and get him away from here to some place more secluded.
"Man, I saw the whole Sparta thing unfold with the rest of the free fucking world man. What a heart breaker. And to lose to Brendan of all people, who'da thunk it, right?"
"True, brother. Say, I don't live far from here, would you mind giving me a lift home? I really don't feel like waiting for the bus; the ER nurse gave me some pain meds and I feel like I might fall over any minute."
Jeff looks leery, of course this mother fucker wouldn't trust anyone. Ma had always insisted that people who don't trust without a reason can't be trusted.
"I hate to ask… say, I can pay you man." Tommy feigns pain, grabbing for his wallet and trying not to oversell it.
Jeff must realize that he looks like a total douchebag (which he is) and smiles crookedly at Tommy. "Man, don't even think about it, 'course I'll give you a lift."
Jeff pushes a button on his key chain and Tommy hears the locks open on all the doors. He hops in at the same time as Jeff.
"Just do me a favor and buckle up, safety first."
"Nah, asshole. Safety woulda been you never letting me in your car. Now drive mother fucker," Tommy pushes the point of the razor blade into Jeff's side hard enough to draw a yelp from him. He knows he's punctured flesh and he smiles. "You head out the main entrance of this garage and make a left. You try to alert anyone or make any rash decisions and I promise you that things are going to go a lot worse than what I have planned. You do what I say and you're gonna live; you may not want to, but you will."
"What the fuck is this all about, Tommy?" Jeff's voice is nearing dog whistle in its range, his eyes show white all around the iris and he's actually slobbering.
"It's about a little story about where this nasty baby raper took advantage of his own niece and ruined her life. It's about how he also loaned her out to two of his friends one night and got caught but nothing was ever done about it. Well Jeffie, you sick fuck, sometimes justice just takes a little while to catch up, yeah?" Tommy takes his eyes off of Jeff only to make sure he takes the left turn as instructed and to glance in the side view mirror; he sees Brendan pull in behind them and follow closely.
"I don't know what Penny told you but…"
"Ahhh, Penny ain't said shit about it; she's too busy self-medicating with heroin because of what you did to her. My Pops told me all about it, then he showed me the signed document where Stan Denton swore it all out. I got it in writing, Jeff." Tommy's bluffing but he need's Jeff to think that he has more than just his Pops story about how it happened and the scope of Jeff's guilt.
"It was a long time ago man! I paid for what I did, I got sent the fuck far away from everyone I knew. And she was asking for it!"
Tommy reaches across the seat with his free hand and backhands Jeff hard enough to send his head smacking into the driver's side window.
"Let's get one thing straight you sonofabitch, Penny didn't ask for any of it. A ten year old wouldn't know what to ask for. You spout some more shit like that to me and I swear ta Jesus that they'll pull you out of the Allegheny in chunks. Turn right here." Tommy's voice never rises above a low, threatening, simmer as he directs Jeff to an old abandoned industrial complex. He motions for him to pull over in an overgrown parking lot and tells him to turn off the Toyota's engine.
"Gimme the fuckin' keys and get out," Tommy growls and jabs the blade into Jeff's side again for emphasis. Jeff starts to whimper like a baby and Tommy see's red at the simple fools cowardice.
"Oh now you wanna cry? You think that yellow shit's gonna save you from the beatin' I'm about to put on you?"
'P…p…please don't kill me!" Jeff is wailing as he spits and blubbers all over the steering wheel, his fingers clasping it so tightly that his knuckles turn ghostly white.
"I done told your dumb ass that I ain't gonna kill you, but I am gonna send you a message and you better take heed. Now get tha fuck outta the car!" Tommy leans in and screams his warning into Jeff's ear, "And quit that fuckin' crying!"
Brendan yanks open the driver's door, causing Jeff to shriek even louder.
"Surprise, mother fucker! Remember me?" He laughs and the sound echoes across the empty lot. "Scream all you want, I'm pretty sure ain't no one here but us three."
Jeff makes a feeble attempt to run but Brendan grabs him by the shoulder and tosses him effortlessly to the ground. Jeff cries escalate in volume as he rises up to his knees. Brendan reaches into Jeff's back pocket and pulls out his wallet. He takes the driver's license out and tosses it to Tommy who looks at the address then slips it into his back pocket.
Tommy removes his jacket and shirt, then starts walking circles around Jeff, cracking his knuckles and staring him down.
"Seems like you're doing well for yourself there Jeff. If I'm not mistaken that address is in a pretty nice neighborhood, yeah? You got a lot to lose, dontcha?" Jeff whimpers pitifully and pulls his hands up in front of himself, as if to beg Tommy. The sight infuriates him and he pounds his right hand into his own thigh to keep it in check. "Did Penny cry like this? You know, back when she was just a little girl and you took what wasn't yours to take? Did she beg for mercy or did she just cry? ANSWER ME MOTHER FUCKER!"
"She begged me not to then she cried when I did!" Jeff screams and holds his hands over his ears as if blocking out the sound of Tommy's voice will make what's coming less real.
"But you didn't have any mercy did you? DID YOU?" Jeff shakes his head rapidly from side to side. A smell hits Tommy and Brendan at the same time and they look at each other.
"Did this mother fucker just piss his pants?" Brendan asks as Tommy closes in. Grabbing Jeff by his ears he drags him to his feet, glancing down at the growing puddle at his feet.
"Looks like it, Bro. What should we do with this mother fucker? See I was thinking that we oughtta take one of those wooden sticks over there and shove it in his ass repeatedly, break it off in there and beat him with what's left of it," Tommy slaps Jeff's face again and forces the man to look him in the eye, "But these baby rapers, they're kinky mother fuckers and he might like that shit. Whatchu thinkin' Bren?"
"Oh I was thinkin' we should break his arms and legs and then make him swallow his car keys one by one. I doubt he's kinky enough to like the way those would feel coming out the other end. We could leave him out here naked, tied to the fence over there. Someone might find him in time, might not too."
"That sounds like a fine plan, even better than mine I do believe. But you know what I think?" Jeff starts screaming at the top of his lungs at what he surely thinks is going to be an even worse idea than the two before. Tommy pulls his head back by his hair and slaps him across the cheek to shut him up.
"Listen up you bastard, I think I'll just leave you here with this warning because there's been enough violence already. I don't know for sure why you did what you did to Penny. Maybe you're just a sick fucker but I have this feeling that what you did to her was done to you before that. So here's what's going to happen. You're gonna stay the fuck away from Penny. As a matter of fact, if I were you I would relocate the fuck out of the 'burgh so you don't even just happen to run into her one day."
"You're fucking with me, I know you guys are gonna kill me," Jeff whimpers, bringing his hands up to his eyes.
"Believe me, every part of me wants to fucking end you. How can I be sure that you ain't doing the same thing to your little girl. Yeah I know you got one, I know a lot of things about you, including where you live.
"I… would never touch Makayla like that… she's my daughter for god's sake, she's just a baby!" Jeff protests like he means it but Tommy isn't moved.
"Yeah? Penny was a baby, she was Stan and your sister Amanda's daughter, she's your niece and you raped her! I would like nothing better than to rid the world of a scumbag like you but you know what? You ain't worth the water it would take to wash your blood offa my hands. So you get mercy Jeff, you get mercy even though you gave none to Penny. You get my mercy even though you went to her hospital room tonight and tortured her again. Get the fuck out of Pittsburgh and if I ever hear tale that you come near Penny again that document I have will make its way to every person you know. I bet your sweet little wife don't know a thing about what you did to your own flesh and blood does she?"
Jeff shakes his head and drops to his knees again as Tommy releases his hold on him.
"I don't think Mrs. Clarke would want to raise a daughter with a known pedophile." Tommy reaches down one last time and grabs Jeff's hair, pulling his head back and forcing him to meet his stare. "Believe me when I tell you this Jeff. If I have to come after you again, you won't walk away from it. You got your warning, your only warning tonight. Don't fuck with me if you want to live."
Tommy turns and walks away, heading towards Brendan's minivan. Stopping, he takes Jeff's keys out of his pocket and pushes the button on the fob that opens the hatchback. Taking the tire iron out he proceeds to bust out each window, headlight and tail light. He uses the sharper end to puncture every tire, smiling with delight the whole time. But it's a cold smile, a scary rictus grin on what might as well have been the Grim Reapers face. With every swing of the tire iron Tommy is getting angrier and it's getting harder to swallow the idea of just leaving the bastard with a warning.
"You're driving around in a brand new car while Penny's blowing random strangers for smack." *SMASH*
You're married with kids and Penny's laid up in a hospital because she almost died from a drug overdose." *SLAM*
"You ruined her fucking life and you go on like nothing ever happened while Penny's dead on the inside!" *CRUNCH"
Tommy takes Jeff's keys and throws them into the high grass and brush. He drops the tire iron on the pavement then turns and rushes towards the man. Swinging his foot back as he gets within range of him he kicks Jeff in the balls as hard as he can. The man goes down like a bag of rocks onto his side, retching and gagging, in too much pain to breathe let alone scream.
"That's for Penny, mother fucker!"
Brendan grabs Tommy around the waist and pushes him towards the minivan.
"Time to go Tommy. It's time to go..."
"Bren just saved your life mother fucker! I mean it, you say one word about this shit and you're fucking done! I know where you live! Stay the hell away from Penny!"
As they reach the minivan, Tommy looks back and see's Jeff still on his side, his head resting in a pool of his own vomit. He feels just a small amount of justice for Penny seeing her rapist in the same shape he found her in. Climbing into the passenger's seat he looks over at Brendan. His brother is looking at him with pure awe on his face.
"What?" Tommy yells, swiping at the sweat on his face with his t-shirt that Brendan recovered from the ground outside. Adrenaline has him shaking inside and out, he can feel his pulse in his teeth and fingernails. His breath comes in gasps like he's gone twelve rounds already.
"I've never been more fucking proud than now to be your brother."
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They ride in silence back towards Tommy's apartment. They both need a shower and some time to calm down before they have to meet Heather at ten. Brendan's phone rings; it's Tess, wondering when he's heading home and if Tommy is okay. Tommy's surprised to hear the concern in his sister in laws voice; he's always just assumed that she had a strong distaste for him.
Tommy's impressed with how Brendan talks so calmly with his wife after everything that just transpired. He tells her that everything is okay and says that if she doesn't care he might need to stay another day or two to take care of some things. Apparently the two of them had already discussed the matter of money because Brendan tells her that he offered it. To her credit Tess doesn't ask for details, she merely tells Brendan to take care of what he needs to, to be safe, to hug Tommy for her and ends by telling Brendan that she loves him. He says the same in return and hangs up.
"I would've killed him if you hadn't been there. So thank you Bren."
"I really don't think you would have, Tommy. I saw something in you tonight that I never thought I would. You controlled your anger instead of letting it control you. You would have been in the right to beat the hell out of that bastard but you didn't. I will say that I think you did him one worse. He'll be looking over his shoulder, watching for you every minute until he gets the fuck outta Dodge."
A few more minutes and a couple more miles pass without words. Then Tommy's voice breaks the silence, it's so low and quiet that Brendan can barely hear it.
"There is so much I regret, Bren. I, I shoulda called you when Ma got sick. It was wrong of me to hate you so much for staying behind." Tommy looks over at his brother and see's Brendan's eyes tearing up.
"It's all in the past Tommy," Brendan says, his voice choking up with the words. "There's no need to ever think about it again. Ma's gone and ain't nothing going to change that, but you and me, we're still here and we still have time. I need you in my life Tommy. My babies need their uncle… I need my brother back."
Tommy chews his bottom lip as he takes in what Brendan is telling him. An unfamiliar emotion crawls slowly towards the surface of the wall around his heart; it starts beating too fast and suddenly Tommy's sweating bullets.
"Pull over Bren," he mutters, his chest feels tight, too tight.
"What's wrong?" Brendan asks, his voice frantic as he pulls over to the curb. Tommy throws open the door and staggers onto the road clutching his pecs.
"Tommy!" he hears his brother call from behind him and then Brendan is out of the car and beside him almost before the van is completely stopped.
Panic, guilt, fear, shame, sadness… all the things that Tommy has kept locked up tight choose to take this moment to make their stand. Tommy looks at his big brother and the tears come. His body is wracked with silent but bone shattering sobs as he grabs on to Brendan's shoulders and holds on for dear life.
"Tommy, please! Tell me what to do." Brendan is looking at Tommy's face, worry and tears clouding his eyes. It's more than Tommy can bear, he can't be responsible for any more hurt in this lifetime and he knows it, feels it in his bones. Tonight he has to let go of the rage or it will consume him. If he doesn't shut it down he'll end up as empty and dead inside as Penny; anger has been his drug, he's used it to dull the pain the same way Penny uses her heroin.
"Just say you forgive me Bren," is all he manages to choke out.
Brendan clasps his hand behind Tommy's head and pulls it to his chest. "I forgive you bro," he sobs into the top of Tommy's head, " I hope that you forgive me too."