This is a long one...I didn't realize it until I finished...it sure didn't seem that long. The language is a bit stronger in this one, so I'm sorry if I offend anyone.


Patrick recognized Thomas Krieger as soon as he saw him sitting at the bar. He walked right up to him.

"Krieger, I'm here and I'm alone."

Thomas Krieger turned from his drink and looked at Patrick. "Patrick O'Doyle." He scanned the bar behind him looking for cops. "You follow directions well. How do you know my name?"

"You screwed up when you murdered my friend. They identified all three of you, so even when you kill me, it won't be long before they catch up with you. All those people you murdered...you'll never be able to stop in one place again."

Krieger flinched, but just for a second. "Well, I've never been one to settle down." He thought for a moment. "It was the bank across the street right? We missed one of the security cameras."

Patrick nodded. "It was just a matter of time before you screwed up. Especially with Lewis working with you."

Krieger laughed. Patrick was right because it was Lewis' job to take out the cameras. "You really pissed off Langston, huh?"

"Did he hurt them?"

"Not really...not yet, but he will. Langston, I'm afraid is a bit crazy and obsessive. He's determined to punish you."

"Take me to my children now."

"What, no last drink? No last meal?" He shrugged when Patrick shook his head. "Okay, your loss. Let's go."

They pulled around back of a warehouse Patrick knew very well. It was one of his Father's old shipping places. There was a small bunker built underneath the office floor where Shawn O'Doyle hid drugs and other contraband. 'This is it.' Patrick said to himself. 'They could throw our bodies in that bunker and no one would ever know to look there.' He followed Krieger inside where Langston and Lewis were waiting for them.

"The man of the hour," Langston said as Patrick and Krieger walked towards him. "Glad you decided to join us."

"Like I had a choice."

"I bet you're surprised to see me...alive and well."

"I didn't know you were supposed to be dead. What the hell is going on?"

"Your buddy Sal, although he did manage quite a lot of damage, did not finish the job...so here I am. Though I probably wouldn't be if a man who lost his dog hadn't stumbled upon me." He circled Patrick slowly. "Nine years...it took me nine long years to get back here. I had to re-learn everything...walking...talking...hell, I had to learn how to hold a fork to God damn eat...and the pain of all of it..." He stopped, standing nose to nose with Patrick. "But you know what the worst part is? The worst part..." He grabbed Patrick's hand and pulled it to the crotch of his pants. "There's nothing there! I have to take a piss like a damn woman! Six times...that bastard shot me six times...I look like a fucking Ken doll, you son-of-a-bitch!"

Patrick pulled his hand away from Langston. "You're crazy. I never put a hit out on you. I don't know where you got your information, but I had nothing to do with it."

"Denial, huh? Can't face up to the truth? Well, I'm gonna help you." He looked over at Krieger and Lewis grinning. "Let's take him to his offspring."

Krieger pushed Patrick forward urging him to follow Langston to the door ahead of them. Lewis walked to the left of him holding his gun loosely at his side.

Patrick gasped when he saw John cut and bleeding. Krieger and Lewis each grabbed one of his arms when he tried to go to him. John was conscious and was surprised to see Patrick there.

"I'm okay," John told him. "You shouldn't have come, Dad."

Langston walked over to John. "Enough." He punched him in his already wounded side.

John cried out and Patrick struggled to break free of Krieger and Lewis.

Langston turned and punched Patrick in the stomach causing him to double over. Grabbing Patrick by the hair he forced him to look up. "Anything coming back to you yet?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Patrick said, still trying to catch his breath.

"We'll see..." Langston went to the corner of the room and brought over a black duffle bag. "My goody bag." He told Patrick, his all teeth grin in full force. He pulled out a piece of razor wire that had a small wooden handle on one end and a loop at the other. He went to John and wrapped it around his thigh. He put the wooden handle through the loop and pulled the razor wire close around John's thigh.

John was watching Langston nervously. He could just feel the points of the razor poking through his jeans.

"Anything you want to say?" Langston asked Patrick.

"I don't-"

"Not good." He pulled hard on the handle pushing the razor points deeper into John's thigh, then he started twisting.

John held out as long as he could but it was no use. He couldn't help but yell out each time Langston pulled and twisted the razor wire deeper into his thigh.

"Stop!" Patrick shouted. "Stop, please! I'll say anything! Tell me what you want me to say!"

By the time Langston stopped the razor wire was so deep into his leg it almost wasn't visible. John fought to stay conscious. He tried not to move because it seemed even the slightest movement caused the razors to cut deeper.

"Don't Dad." He said weakly. "Don't tell him anything."

"Your boy's hard-headed Patrick. He hasn't learned a damn thing since we met." Langston slid the handle out of the loop and yanked the razor wire from John's thigh.

John screamed. He thought for sure his leg was going to come off at the thigh. The pain was incredible and he couldn't help but let the tears, he had been holding back, fall in streams down his cheeks. He felt the shadow of unconsciousness falling over him again when he heard his name followed by a muffled groan. 'God, no.' He thought. 'Jessie.'

Humming. That's what stirred her. Humming in different tones and pitches. Her head felt like it was packed with mud and even the simple act of opening her eyes hurt, so she kept them closed. She put her hand to where her head seemed to hurt the most. She felt a huge bump through a clump of matted hair still wet and sticky from drying blood. She groaned and called John's name.

Langston nodded to Krieger and he let go of Patrick's arm and headed towards Jessie.

"No, don't," John begged as he walked past him. "Leave her alone."

Lewis put his gun in Patrick's back and pushed him forward so they were on the other side of John and in front of Jessie. Langston grabbed John's arm and spun him around as he walked around him. Now they were all facing Jessie.

Jessie felt someone standing over her. "John?" She opened her eyes and tried to focus. Krieger crouched down in front of her and she saw it wasn't John, but the police officer that waited for her while she went through her movies. "What happened?"

"Sorry sweetheart, guess I got a bit carried away." He pulled her up and held her loosely against the wall as she tried to keep her balance.

"Thirsty." She said, not yet getting where she was and what was happening.

Krieger pulled a bottle of water from his jacket pocket and took the lid off. "Here ya go, kid."

Jessie went to reach for it but her arm wouldn't go any farther than waist high. Confused, she looked down and saw she was handcuffed to the wall. "What..." She looked past him and saw Patrick standing a few feet away, a gun pointed to his head to keep him quiet. Then, she saw John. He was covered in blood. A wave of nausea hit her and she started to slide down the wall.

Krieger pulled her back up again "Whoa, whoa...no fainting now" He put the bottle of water in her left hand and brought it to her mouth. "Drink up." He poured the water into her mouth until it became too much and she started to cough it up. "Have enough?"

Jessie turned away from the bottle trying to stifle the coughs that were causing her head to throb.

Langston walked over to her and ran his hand down her cheek. "You were a cute kid...now look at you...all grown up." He ran his hand down her other cheek.

"Who are you?" Jessie asked backing away, but there was nothing behind her but the wall.

"You don't remember your Uncle Roy?...I'm hurt." He ran his fingers down her neck and he smiled when she tried to move away. He let his fingers wander lower.

Jessie closed her eyes and tried to go somewhere else, she felt Langston's hand move slowly down her neck and then down the center of her chest. He moved his hand to the left, cupping her breast and squeezing. Patrick ignored the gun at his head and charged Langston.

"I'll kill you!"

Krieger put his gun to Jessie's head stopping Patrick from going any further. "I'll kill her, you know I will."

"You keep your hands off her! I'll rip you apart before they could stop me!"

"Am I bringing back old memories, O'Doyle?"

"For God's sake, I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"You're a liar." Langston took his switch-blade from his pocket. Flipping it open he grabbed her left hand, turned it over and cut her wrist vertically.

Jessie screamed trying to pull her hand away but Langston held on tight. Despite his own wounds and pain, John struggled against his restraints. If only he could get his hands on Langston.

"What a big man...roughing up a girl handcuffed to a wall...you're a fucking coward!"

"I'll feed you your tongue for that, Johnny boy...but not until I'm finished with her." He turned to Patrick. "You sent Sal to kill me, admit it."

"Why? Why would I have you killed?"

Langston made another vertical cut. "Your Daddy really wants to see you bleed all over the place." He told her. He showed her the cut he made on her wrist. "Look at that...pretty gross, huh?"

"I'll do whatever it is you want me to do...please don't hurt her." Patrick pleaded.

"Who told you about me? Which one of Shawn's men told you they saw me with your precious, little girl?"

"What?! What are you talking about?"

"They came to you and told you what? I thought I was pretty careful, so how'd I screw up?" He thought for a moment. "It was the kiss, right? I didn't think that new guy saw much when he walked in on-"

Patrick shook with anger. "You did something to my daughter while she was staying with my Father!?"

Jessie's eyes widened with the realization of who was standing in front of her. Uncle Roy. When she had stayed with her Grandfather he had left her in Uncle Roy's charge all the time. He stayed with her when her Grandfather was out and took her places after school. She thought he was nice. After Shawn O'Doyle died she never saw him again.

"I thought...you said we were friends." Jessie managed weakly. She was dizzy and she wanted desperately to sit down.

"We were kid...and we coulda been more, but your Dad and Sal had to go and ruin everything." He turned to Patrick. The look of surprise and disgust on his face convinced him that Patrick was telling the truth and Langston couldn't help but grin.

"You really didn't know...huh, Sal must've wanted to spare you the knowledge and tried to take care of me himself...it's a good thing I took part in making him suffer before he died."

"You sick bastard, you killed those people...all those people for nothing!"

"Krieger, take him down." Langston ignored Patrick and waved his hand towards John.

Krieger went to a switch on the wall and lowered the hook that was suspending John. He lifted the handcuffs from the hook and John fell to the floor. Langston went to him and grabbed a handful of his hair. Pulling his head up he put the switch-blade to John's throat.

"Well, I'm not going to change my plans because of a small technicality. You will watch them die and then you'll beg to join them."

As Langston went to cut John's throat Patrick elbowed Lewis in the face, instantly breaking his nose. He ran at Langston, grabbing the arm that was at John's throat and shoving him backward. Krieger went to grab him but noticed Lewis aiming his weapon at Patrick, so he backed away. Langston noticed too.

"Lewis don't!" He yelled.

Lewis ignored him emptying his gun in Patrick's direction. John watched as Patrick's body jerked from the impact of the bullets that hit him. Patrick looked down at him and tried to talk, but nothing but gurgling noises and blood came out of his mouth.

"No!" Jessie screamed as she watched the blood spread out across Patrick's shirt. She yanked and pulled at the handcuffs that kept her from going to him. "No!" She screamed again as he fell to the floor.

John crawled over to him. He put his hands over one of the five bullet wounds that peppered his upper body. "Don't quit, you hear me?"


Tbc...