Chapter Thirty – Will

I lurch for Landon, I can’t stop myself anymore. I might have allowed him to talk me around, Landon had me so shocked that I was just about to be killed without even putting up a fight, but Cici being here has changed me. I thought that she was with Michelle and Jordan, I assumed that they were all okay, but now I need to act.

My fists fly, my legs kick out, I’m attacking Landon like a wild animal. I can feel my teeth baring, ready to bite down on the first bit of flesh that I come across. This isn’t a normal fight, this is a battle for survival, this is an attack on the man that I trusted forever, that I believed was my friend. I can’t believe after all this time that it’s him. I’m a fucking idiot. Maybe the signs were always there. There’s a chance that he’s right, I might well lose my job over this, in which case I don’t know who I’ll be anymore. I need to make this right.

“You fucking… asshole!” I burst out like a firework being set off. “You prick.”

“Just calm down…” Unfortunately for me, Landon is giving as good as he gets. I can feel him connecting with me everywhere, hot spikes of pain everywhere but nothing enough to actually derail me. “Stop this.”

I can hear Cici screaming, and that sound is the only thing keeping me going. The fact that she’s here and she’s in danger brings out an intense need inside of me. I’m an alpha male who needs to protect the woman under my command. A primal urge makes me stronger, more desperate, and much more powerful.

“You stop this,” I pant back as a trickle of something… either blood or sweat, pours down my face. “You’re the one who’s doing all of this, you can just stop this now. It doesn’t need to be like this.”

We break apart, almost automatically and stare at one another intensely. Inside of Landon I can see the man who I’ve always been friends with, the person who I stood at the end of the aisle with to send him into married life, the person who I’ve had endless nights out with, laughed with, cried with, talked to, shared my personal issues with, listened to him… but he’s also a stranger. He’s Kingpin, the guy in charge of the most major drugs operation ever. He’s Charles Manz,, the guy who’s been destroying me from this inside out. This version of him is willing to do anything to stay on top. Even kidnap my son, kill me. I just can’t believe it.

“Landon, we can talk about this.” I don’t mean to plead with him, but I can’t quite separate the two versions of him just yet. My friend is still in there, even if I really don’t want him to be. “Let’s just talk this through.”

“You don’t understand, do you?” Landon shakes his head as if he’s amused by me. “You don’t get it. I’m a killer, that’s a big part of what I do. Do you even bother to keep tabs on the junkies you let go after they’ve been questioned? Probably not, I mean, they’re just scum of the earth, aren’t they? Not worth your time. Well, if you take a look into it, you might realize that not many of them still exist in this realm. I’ll do anything to keep my empire the amazing thing that it is. I might like you, but I’ve liked them too. I liked them and now they’re gone.”

All of a sudden, we’re distracted by the sound of sirens. Police sirens, which means back up is coming. Maybe Jones ordered it, maybe someone else did. Michelle’s got away, it could’ve been her, either way Landon’s about to panic now. He’s going to want to get out of here one way or another. I can see it in his eyes.

Landon lifts his gun again and he points it at me. “I have men everywhere, guys who are ready to take the shot. The fact that you’ve got back up coming really pisses me off. I didn’t want it to be like this. And if you even think about dragging your sorry gun out of your pocket, there’s going to be a lot of trouble.”

I pause, for a second, I wonder if I should just run. Maybe Landon will let me go. But then I think better of it. If he has men everywhere, I might not survive this, but I need to let Landon know that I won’t back down. I grab my gun and I slowly lift it. I fix my eyes on Landon and I determinedly pull it out slowly.

Landon looks shook, he shivers in disbelief. He lifts up one hand and then he shoots it down rapidly. After that, a loud shot rings out which makes me hit the deck in an instant. But somehow, the bullet doesn’t come past me. I expect it to whiz through the air somewhere near my body but it doesn’t.

“Do you see now?” Landon glowers at me. “She’s gone. Do you get how serious I am?”

No, no, no. I dart my eyes backwards, suddenly recalling that Cici is here. I twist my neck nervously around and instantly it hits me that she’s no longer standing. She’s lying on the ground as blood pools around her. My brain spins, my heart thumps violently, I try inside my mind to whiz backwards over the last few moments to prevent that from happening. I should have just said yes, I’ll walk away, I should’ve backed down once I realize that she was here, I shouldn’t be here now, living, while Cici is potentially dead.

No, she can’t be dead, she can’t be. She has to be fine, I won’t accept it. I can’t take that in.

A yell bursts free from my throat and a strong power rises me up from the ground. My head might be everywhere, my thoughts might be darting everywhere, but the red mist has descended and there’s only one thing in mind. I need to get revenge, I need to put an end to this now. Landon is dead to me. Now, he needs to be dead.

“Fuck you!” I scream as I yank the gun from my holster. “Fuck you!”

Then I do it. I aim the barrel at my friend’s head and I pull the trigger. I watch as almost in slow motion, the bullet flies from the end and it blasts into his body. It might seem slow, but I’ve acted so fast that Landon didn’t know it was coming. I can see the shock in his eyes as it tears through him. Blood splatters from him, it flies everywhere. I thought the moment I finally took out Landon would be a good one, I was sure that I’d feel an intense sense of satisfaction. I had this feeling it would be a wonderful day… but instead I feel lost. I’m numb and empty inside. I’ve killed someone who was supposed to be in my life forever. The cat and mouse game is over. I’ve won, the cat is dead and the mouse is still standing, but I don’t feel good about it.

As Landon’s knees give way and he falls to the ground, hot tears fill my eyes. I should’ve worked this out, it never should have become this. I hate the entire fucking world for making this be what it is. How does a man who has a successful company and who seems to have it all turn to crime? Greed, I suppose. I guess some people will do anything for money. And maybe his company isn’t as successful as I thought it was. It was always this.

I fall forwards to my own knees, half because I’m gutted and half because like Landon promised, shots are flying. I don’t think they’re all one sided though, because the cop cars have screeched up behind me, and they’re fighting on my behalf. It’s a good verses evil battle, and I really hope the good side is winning.

I watch Landon for a while, seeing his lifeless body. This is an image which will be stuck in my brain forever more. I know I won’t ever be able to forget it. My best friend, his head exploded, the whiteness of him…

Eventually, I manage to turn my head away. I don’t want to drag my eyes away, I want to drink this in forever so I know how much I have to blame myself for, but there’s another issue which is much more pressing. Through all the bullets flying everywhere, Cici is on the ground, the blood is pooling around her. I don’t want to know, this is a body that I never want to see, but I need to know. I have to see it for myself.

I crawl along the ground, my heart sinking the closer I get to her. She’s still, she isn’t moving despite the chaos around her, which isn’t a great sign. Anyone with any sense in their head would be in a state of panic with the gun fire, especially for someone who hasn’t been in the middle of it beforehand.

“Cici,” I mutter as my aching body slides along the ground. “Cici, no, please be okay.”

I think about Jordan, I don’t know what he’ll do without his mother. He needs her. Any boy needs his mother, and he’s no different. She’s the good parent, I’m the one who hasn’t been around much. I don’t like to accept it, but when she yelled those nasty words at me she was right. She’s basically done everything all for him. Where will I begin? How will I be able to do anything for him? He doesn’t deserve me. He deserves his mom. I should be the one who’s dead not her. This is so fucking wrong, it makes my insides twist painfully.

“Cici…” Drips fall from me, sweat, tears, and blood, all combining together on the ground. “Cici.”

“Will! Oh my God, Will! Are you okay?” I hear Jones calling out to me, but it’s like background noise. “Will looks hurt. Someone get an ambulance. When are they getting here?” That’s good news, it sounds like some medical professionals are on the way which is a good thing. But will it be enough? I still don’t know and the crawl over to Cici’s body feels like it’s taking forever. “Someone grab Will, we need to keep him safe.”

I get just close enough to Cici to reach out and touch her. My fingers brush against her still warm skin just as a strong set of arms scoop underneath me and lift me flying into the air. A scream bursts free from my chest as I grapple, trying to grip onto her again. I don’t have any answers, only more questions. Is she okay? Has the worst thing in the world happened to her? Has she died because of my work? I didn’t get long enough with her, I wasn’t given the chance to touch her properly. I need to feel her, to see her, to love her. Why can’t everyone else see that? What are they doing to me? Trying to fucking kill me?

“Will, we’re here,” Jones gasps at me. “Sorry we didn’t get here sooner but this will all be over soon.”

Maybe too over for me, maybe my whole life is about to disintegrate. Sleep is coming for me, I can feel my body shutting down as it tries to shield me away from the obvious truth. I battle it, I struggle my hardest to keep my eyes open, but the blackness is determined to claim me. I’ve fought enough today, I can’t keep battling. This adversary is too powerful for me. I don’t stand a God damn chance…