Disclaimer: Don't own, no infringement, this never happened. This is the final chapter. It's been a fucking good run, and I hope you've enjoyed reading.
Gregory leaned down to CJ, who still had duct tape on her mouth and had stopped crying, and stopped responding to his touch, his assaults. She was beyond exhausted, she hurt in so many places that it all converged into a dull ache that throbbed with her pulse. For some reason, though, her face had been spared his punishment. He pulled on a ski mask, and spoke to her. �Show time, baby.� He lifted her chin but she wouldn�t look at him. �Aww, you�re gonna do well for persuasion. No one wants to lose anything this cute.�
He heard the door swing open and turned to see Paul at the hands of his similarly disguised assistant Franklin about 20 feet away, on a platform above the storage area. A railing separated the two parties. He let Paul�s arm go and he rotated his shoulder, attempting to shake the pain out of the joint, but Franklin made sure to keep himself positioned to keep Paul trapped up on the platform.
�Mr. Thomas. Glad you could join us.� Gregory put his hands on his hips and looked down at CJ, then up at Paul. �Your friend here has a lot of love for you.� She lifted her head and looked at Paul, a distant, weary stare that ended when she dropped her head, seemingly too tired to hold it up anymore. Even with the constant, firm restraint that Franklin provided, Paul�s first reaction when he saw her was to attempt to jump the railing and put himself between that guy and CJ. �I�ve gotten pretty fond of her. Not too willing to give her up.�
�What�s the deal, dude?� Paul asked. �I- I�m willing to pay you if I can walk out of here with her. I�ll pay you to just let her walk.� Cuz I can fuck you up, Paul wanted to add.
�It�s not about her,� Gregory said, looking back at Paul. �You were on the street last night, and I think you saw something you weren�t supposed to.�
�I didn�t see anything. I told you that,� Paul responded calmly, hoping that his composure would keep the situation from becoming volatile.
Gregory hummed his understanding of that statement and took a few steps towards him. �Just so we�re clear, anytime you give me a wrong answer, your partner here�s gonna get a little punishment.� Gregory gripped the railing and leaned close to Paul, speaking in a low, calculatedly calm voice. �And I fucking know you�re lying.�
�But I�m not, I swear to God-�
Gregory shook his head as he strode back to CJ and smacked her hard across the face, her glasses skittering on the smooth concrete, sliding to a stop a few feet away. CJ didn�t respond at all to the blow, hardly even flinching, which was a disheartening response to Paul. He searched for something to say, his eyes wide, his mouth open as he labored for words. �That bought you another chance to tell me what you saw.�
Paul�s eyes darted up to Franklin�s face as he looked down and away from the scene, then he looked down at his hands as he gripped the metal railing so tightly that he had lost feeling in his fingers. �I- I don�t know� I didn�t-� Gregory undid his belt and pulled it out of the loops. �What�re you doing?� Paul asked. He faced Paul as he precisely wrapped the belt around his fist. Gregory paused and stared at Paul directly, awaiting the response he wanted, but all Paul could do was shake his head and lift his hands in an acquiescent fashion. Gregory shrugged and turned on his heel. �Wait!� Paul lunged towards Gregory, but was held back, and had a fist full of Franklin�s shirt when he saw him pull back and give CJ a knock across the left side of the face. Paul froze, horrified. He heard the metal of the cuffs catch the slats of the chair, and the skin on CJ�s left cheekbone split open where the edge of the belt cut into her flesh, blood instantly welling up to ooze down her cheek. The chair wobbled with the blow, but Gregory steadied her before she tipped over, ripping the tape off of her face, hoping to pull a grunt of discontent from her, but getting nothing.
�Tell me what I want to hear,� he said, not sure if he was saying it to her or to Paul as he clasped the sides of her face, feeling the warm blood between her face and his palm and kissed her mouth, tugging on the bottom ball of her lip ring until he felt her response, as she was unwilling to voice it. A tiny rivulet of blood was making its way down her chin when he pulled away, marking his next spot. He turned around again, accidentally swiping a swatch of crimson from her cheek across his forehead.
�I think I�m gonna puke,� Paul murmured, letting go of the railing and turning away from the warehouse to face the open door to the darkened work area. He felt like he could hear her bleeding there in the middle of the floor.
�She�s not looking good, kid,� Gregory told Paul. �Want to expound on �I didn�t see anything�?�
Paul swallowed the bile that threatened to jump out of his throat. �Look, dude. I�ll tell you every goddamn detail, all right?� He turned around again, not focusing on anything particular, but not looking at his friend. �I, uh, I was out on the street just minding my goddamn business when somebody shot these two guys we had just been in a fight with. I- I kinda saw where the shots came from, but I couldn�t get up there, so I didn�t see anybody, I didn�t see anything, I swear to God.�
Gregory nodded, looking at him skeptically, rubbing his fingers together as they had become sticky with CJ�s blood. �You tell the police where the shots came from?� Gregory asked.
�I did, yeah�� Gregory�s fists clenched, black eyes locked on Paul�s. �But they didn�t believe me,� he added quickly. �They didn�t hardly listen to me at all.�
�Franklin, we clean up that scene?�
The large man leaned over the railing and responded. �They went this morning. Didn�t have time before cuz this kid started comin� around.� He pointed at Paul.
Gregory�s eyes shifted back to Paul. �It look messed with?�
Franklin shook his head. �There was nothing there. It was completely clean.�
�Not even any shells?� Franklin shook his head yes. Gregory cocked his head to the side, eyes boring into Paul�s flesh. �That�s queer.� He started to walk in a slow circle around CJ�s chair as she moved of her own accord for the first time since Paul arrived, her tongue creeping out over her lip ring to assess the damage. The skin on the left side of her face was swelling all ready.
Paul didn�t know what the hell had happened to the police scene, but there was no way that he could prove that to Gregory, and he began talking quickly, tossing out proclamations of innocence, and pleas for peace, speaking desperately as Gregory watched the blood roll serenely down her chin. �Look, dude. Seriously, I never went up to see what�s up. We hadda go play a show, we hadda leave.�
Gregory rocked on his heels a moment, obviously not believing that answer, or just refusing to accept it. �This is gonna hurt,� Gregory whispered, adjusting the belt on his fist. Paul looked at CJ, her face expressionless, eyes downcast, defeated.
�If you�d just wait a minute-� Paul started.
�Your minute�s up,� Gregory said and took a step back to widen his stance as CJ squeezed her eyes shut and tucked her chin down in a protective effort. Gregory�s hook made contact with CJ�s mouth, the edge of the belt catching under the bottom ball of her lip ring, ripping it clean out of her mouth in an initial explosion of crimson, the force knocking her over to fall hard on her side, her head bouncing once against the floor.
Paul�s eyes were drawn to the lip ring as it traveled in an arc through the air to ping on the ground and lay glinting in the early morning sun. He couldn�t tear his eyes away from it. He couldn�t really bear to look anywhere else.
CJ didn�t know when she�d lost consciousness, when he�d hit her, or when her head hit the ground, but it seemed far too sudden for her to be lying in the substantial pool of blood that had spread out around her head. She lifted her head up a moment to try to focus on the blurry shape that was Paul as he turned his eyes to her, then let it fall again as her vision swam out and her head felt like it was expanding to twice its size, only to collapse again suddenly. It was becoming too hard to keep her eyes open. She saw Gregory crouch in front of her, talking at her, but she couldn�t hear him.
Franklin vaulted the railing and pulled Gregory up by his arm. �I think that�s enough, Gregory,� he said.
Gregory�s countenance took on an almost appalled look at Franklin�s audacity, then anger shrouded his features as he pulled his arm away and knocked the bigger man back a couple steps. �Don�t fuckin� tell me how to do my job.�
Franklin�s eyes dropped to the floor and he seemed to shrink a little under Gregory�s glare. �It�s just�if he�d seen anything he woulda told us by now, don�t you think?� He looked back behind him to see Paul backing slowly through the door, away from the sight of his battered, bloodied friend, into the work room maze of machinery on the other side.
�Franklin, go get him and stop thinking. You�re not paid to think, goddammit.� Gregory reached down and pulled CJ up by the shoulders, tipping the chair upright, then he reached down and picked CJ�s glasses up from the mess, lifting her chin up and setting them on her nose. He marveled at the crimson that still gushed from her mouth, coating her teeth in a pink film. �I want you to see this,� Gregory said to her, pushing the glasses back up on her nose as they slipped. �Where�s your Paul gone, hunh? Where are your friends? I don�t hear any choppers overhead.� He let her chin go and went over to collect his things. �You know, he really left me with little choice.� CJ turned her head slightly, looking over at Gregory as he placed a clip in his gun and walked back towards her. At this point, she wished that he would just shoot her and end her misery as she was tired of fighting what seemed inevitable. �I guess I wish we�d met under different circumstances.� CJ noticed Paul peeking in from the next room.
She shook her head, spitting out the mouthful of blood that had collected, finding the strength to speak. �You think we�d have a nice honeymoon? Smack me around in Cancun?� She was trying to keep his attention locked.
He looked surprised to hear her voice, but pleased. He pulled out a handkerchief and cleaned up her face a little bit, then braced himself on the seat of the chair, his hands close to her thighs and leaned down to her face level. �Baby girl, we would have a ball.� She could see Paul out of the corner of her eye, walking softly, his Etnies concealing his movements behind Gregory. He wielded a heavy bar of steel that looked like it had been broken off of some piece of machinery. She had never seen so forceful a gleam in his eyes before, be it from anger or fear, and she could see that his knuckles were white from how tightly he was gripping his weapon. Paul sprinted up the last few steps, his sneakers squeaking, drawing Gregory�s attention at the last moment before Paul knocked him the fuck out. They both watched him drop like dead wood, crumpling like a rag doll. Paul quickly knelt in front of CJ and searched through Gregory�s pockets, trying to find the keys to the cuffs. He found no use in asking her if she was all right, he found no use in words at all, just wanting to get her free. Goddammit, where the fuck were those keys? At last he found them and moved behind CJ to unlock the cuffs. When he pulled them away from her wrists, he noticed that she had struggled against them enough to cut angry red gashes to the bone, and he touched them gently, as though his touch would provide some therapeutic value. He moved back around in front of her and reached to pull her arms from between the metal slats, and he got up the nerve to look her in the eyes for the first time. Her expression was blank, her eyes as flat and far away as her visage. She leaned forward and put her head down on his shoulder, her forehead in the crook of his neck, as he pulled her arms forward and laid them gently behind his neck as well and stood up, pulling her to her feet.
�Can you walk?� He asked, still supporting her. He realized she probably hadn�t stood for the last several hours, and he was willing to carry her if she asked him to. CJ tested her legs out, finding that the left one pained terribly with any pressure.
�I�ll try,� she mumbled.
�Good, cuz I dunno how long those two�ll stay out.� He wrapped an arm around her waist, having to bend down to get to her height, supporting her as they fled. He lead her back through the gauntlet of the assembly line, towards the door he came in through. He tried the door, but found it unopenable, no handle on the inside, the door only opening in. He looked left, to the spot where he�d gotten Franklin, but he was gone. �Oh, shit, dude. We gotta find a way outta here.�
�Uh,� CJ said. �We got trouble.� Gregory was coming to; they glimpsed him through the open door as he pushed up on all fours, woozily attempting to stand up. CJ pointed to an observation station above the work floor. It looked barely big enough for two people but it had a door, and they needed a place to hide for a minute, just to give them a moment to figure their way out of this. Paul helped her over to the stairs then let her go.
He looked over his shoulder, anxious to discern where their enemies were, thinking of maybe getting on the offensive before they could. �Get up there; I�ll be right behind you.�
He felt her hand grip his. �Don�t leave me� alone.�
Paul looked at her, barely able to support her own weight, face pale from loss of blood, loosing more by the second as she sucked on the gaping wound that was her bottom lip. He looked back behind him but could see nothing in the darkened room around him. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and said, �Okay, I won�t.� She nodded, then turned and started climbing, using a lot of arm strength to pull herself up the stairs and alleviate pressure on her leg. Paul backed up behind her, watching.
All at once, Gregory lurched out of the darkness with an animal growl. Paul kicked him in the face as he lunged, only hard enough to fend him off and make him not attempt it again while he was at the disadvantage of being on the lower end of the stairs. When they made it up to the high scaffolding, Gregory made his move again, the whole apparatus shaking as he bounded up the steps and came after them. CJ made it to the observation station, Paul sliding in quickly behind her and shutting the door before Gregory could get a hand on him. He used the metal bar to jam the door shut and he turned to his friend. �We�ll figure something out,� he said quickly. �You and me, we�re a smart-ass team.� The room had only a desk and clipboard on which to scribble the progress of the hour, and a clock that had frozen at ten after two.
�I don�t feel smart,� she said slowly. �I feel� tired.� She closed her eyes and leaned against the desk, letting out a wet sigh. A violent bout of chills ran through her, setting her teeth chattering. Paul stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, putting her wounded cheek against his chest, feeling the blood soak through his shirt as well as feeling her shaking against him. He looked around himself, looking at the sound-proof paneling on the ceiling, the kind that always makes up high-school ceilings, hoping the sections were moveable. Gregory had left momentarily, presumably to get something to pry the door open with, and the two of them were grateful for the reprieve. Paul stepped up on top of the desk and pushed up on the paneling, finding it easy to move. The station had been constructed in haste, apparently, because the roof was only this paneling and flimsy plastic supports to hold it up. Just above the structure was one of the high windows that provided the paltry light to the work area.
�Come on, CJ. This is our only way out.� She looked up at him, not showing enthusiasm for the climb and probably not for the drop that she knew was going to be on the other side. Gregory called in to them as he walked on the scaffolding, shaking the room and shaking CJ out of her ennui. Paul put out his hand to her and helped her up onto the desk, then helped boost her up onto the sturdy steel beams around the edges of the room and making sure to steer clear of the plastic supports. �Okay, now push that window open.� CJ pushed on the window and it resisted, creaked, then jerked open from the bottom. She looked out, spitting a mouthful of blood into the sunshine, then looked down at Paul in the dim observation room.
�Long way down.�
Gregory grunted and the steel bar bent at the force.
�We�ll have to take it,� Paul said hurriedly. CJ nodded and pulled herself out of the warehouse, her hands remaining visible as they held onto the window frame a moment, then disappearing when she let go. Paul scrambled out of the window after her, tipping the desk as he climbed, dropping onto the gravel below after making sure he was clear of CJ. She was sitting with her eyes closed, taking deep, deliberate breaths, her hands locked over her left shin. �You okay?� Paul asked.
�Yes,� she said, trying to convince herself as much as she was convincing Paul. �Yeah, I am.�
�I�ll be right back.� He sprinted around the side of the building, and picked up his cell phone from where he had stashed it. She pulled her hands away to stand and noticed the blood on her palms. It seemed that a small part of the broken bone had begun jutting through the skin. When she saw Paul coming back she covered it up again. �We need to move,� he said as he looked up at the open window above them. Gregory could come busting through that window anytime.
She attempted to summon the strength to stand, but only found herself drained and immobile. �I can�t anymore.� She shook her head. She wanted to say more, but Paul didn�t wait for her to say the words. He scooped her up and carried her into a small clump of bushes within sight of the open window. He set her down and spoke into his cell, using the quick com feature.
�I got her,� he said.
�Where you at?� Billy intercommed back.
�Out of that alley I got dropped in, follow the footpath to the warehouse, I�m on the-� he looked up at the sun. �East side.�
�I�m coming to you.�
�Careful,� Paul added.
Joel �commed in next. �Benji�s got Steve on the line, and he�s got the Cleveland police.�
�Not till we�re clear, okay?� Paul said.
�Let us know,� Joel replied.
Billy appeared and Paul lifted CJ again, meeting him along the shadow of the building. �Oh my God,� Billy said when he saw her.
�It�s not so bad,� CJ said slowly, resting her head against Paul�s chest.
�Let�s go,� Paul said impatiently. Billy motioned him to follow, taking him back down the alley the taxi had been parked in. �You guys didn�t leave?�
�Well,� Billy said. �The taxi guy was on their side.� At the end of the alley, the taxi driver lay unconscious on the blacktop, the car remained parked where it had been when Paul walked away.
The sound of Gregory�s voice echoed all around them and they froze. Billy turned to see him standing at the entrance of the alley. �He can�t shoot us all,� Billy whispered. �Get behind that dumpster.�
�What about you?� CJ asked, tugging his t-shirt.
�I got it,� he replied. Paul made for the dumpster, bullets following him until they clanked twice on the steel waste receptacle. Billy had taken cover behind the car and returned fire, steadying his arm on the edge of the front bumper. He caught Gregory in the chest or shoulder, bucking him backwards and giving Paul a chance to sprint to the car and get in the back as Billy slid into the front seat. He looked back at Paul and CJ, a mischievous, almost amused look on his face and cranked up the car, throwing it into reverse. �Hold on.� He stepped on the gas and watched his progress through the rear view mirror. Gregory became a speed bump before they backed out into the street and laid tracks on their way out of the warehouse district.
�We�re out,� Paul �commed back to Joel.
�Police are on their way, then.� He threw the phone over on the seat, next to CJ�s feet. She fit across the seats this way, with her upper body on Paul�s lap. With the luxury of safety, he touched her battered face and spoke softly to her as she attempted to stay awake, but the last few hours had taken their toll.
�Please stay awake, CJ,� he whispered. �We�re going to the hospital, right?� He asked Billy.
�Yeah.� He glanced back at her. �She�s all right, isn�t she?�
Paul wiped some of the gore away from her face. �Lost a lot of blood.�
�Just, like, ten minutes,� Billy said, flooring the gas pedal and speeding through the deserted early-morning streets towards the Cleveland Clinic emergency room.
CJ rested comfortably in a hospital room far removed from most of the other patients, per Steve�s request. Joel, Benji and Paul were in the room with her now that the doctors would let them near her. She�d had a blood transfusion along with too many stitches to count. She actually managed to receive a sort of glue-job on her lip and cheek in stead of stitches, just for aesthetics sake. Her leg was in a substantial cast beneath the covers and she was just now coming out from under the pain-killers she had been given. �I feel so wasted,� she said.
Paul touched her face above the eyebrow and smiled. �You look good.�
She wrinkled her nose. �Yeah, I bet.� She shifted, seemingly uncomfortable. �This cast thing sucks ass. Where�s Billy?�
�He�s outside getting some stitches finally,� Benji said.
�What happened to him?� Joel asked.
�Fucked up his knuckles. Whatever,� Benji responded. �I, uh, I don�t think he wants to come in, though.� CJ nodded, understanding. Billy was a pretty sensitive kid, afterall, even if they didn�t get to talk as much as CJ would like. He was quiet around her sometimes, like he didn�t know what to say, and she never pushed him.
�Could you just tell him I wanna talk to him? Whenever.� She scooted down the bed and put her cast up on the footboard, trying to get a bit of relief from her discomfort. Joel disappeared for a moment, to give Billy the message. �Did the police find those guys?�
The three of them looked at one another, Paul grasping her hand, careful to avoid the IV tube inserted there, the needle causing a small spot of bruising on the brown skin. �The police didn�t find anything,� he said apologetically, looking at her hand and running his index finger over the clear tape that held the IV needle in place. �The place was deserted when they got there,� he told her.
�But they dug the slug out of Ian,� Benji offered.
�God rest his soul,� Joel added as he returned to the conversation.
�Right,� Benji confirmed. �But they might be able to get some prints or something there, match them to some they get off of those no-necks down the hall.�
CJ raised her eyebrows. �You mean from the fight? They�re here?�
�Yep,� Paul said excitedly.
She saw Billy hanging just outside the door of her hospital room, looking out the window, patiently waiting to come in and talk to her. �You�ve been here waiting for me to wake up this whole time, haven�t you?� She asked them. They all nodded. �I know you�re dying to see those guys,� she said, more to Paul than to the twins. She knew he had wanted to come here to see them from the beginning, and she didn�t want to take the opportunity away from him. �So get the fuck outta here,� she finished. Paul�s face lit up and he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.
�You�re the best, Ceej,� he said and jumped up, following the twins out of the room after they echoed his sentiment. When they moved on down the hallway Billy slowly walked to the threshold of the room, wavering there until she bade him in. He obeyed, keeping his eyes downcast, trying to avoid looking her in the face.
CJ smiled slightly at his sheepishness. �I, uh, I heard that you had a big role in getting me home safe.� Billy�s long, slender fingers played with the edge of her bedsheets. �I don�t really remember too much of it�� She lifted a hand to the puckered wound on her cheek. �I figure that�s a good thing.�
�They said you might not remember,� Billy said softly, finally venturing a quick look into her eyes. �That�s normal.� He let the sheet fall from his hand and he sat down on the edge of the bed and she took his hand. �I�m just glad you�re okay, dude.�
She smiled too wide and felt the tug on the split in her lip. It really pissed her off that she lost her lip ring, that shit was cool. �You know me, too much spunk to punk out.�
�I couldn�t imagine tour without you,� he said slowly, after bit of deliberation, knowing that that was a real possibility now that she was incapacitated. He knew she was thinking the same thing when he looked over at her and she was staring out the window, her fingers touched lightly to her lips the way she did when she was troubled or stressed. When she encountered the wound again, she pulled away.
�Neither can I,� she responded, truly at odds with what she knew was the inevitability of having to choose a replacement for herself, and sitting on the sidelines while the guys finished out the tour. It wasn�t like the music itself was going to change, all the guys would still be there, so not many of the fans would be too bent out of shape about the whole thing. Afterall, she was just the drummer. �Goddammit, I fucking hate Cleveland.�
So� that was interesting. I feel better now. Finished some finals, broke some stuff. Good deal.