by Kara Hart
Luke dove for his gun and shot at Angelo. “I knew it!” he shouted. Angelo jumped up from behind the table and shot three more guards. There weren’t too many of them left now. I couldn’t believe Angelo’s willingness to give his life now, but I had a feeling he felt guilty about everything. This was his only chance at making amends.
Luke shot at Angelo and hit him in the arm. Angelo fell to the floor in pain. “FUCK!” he cried.
“Come out, you pussy!” Luke shouted. Angelo jumped up and fired, hitting Luke in the kneecap. Pieces of blood and bone sprayed across the room. Luke let go of his gun, completely unable to do anything at this point.
Bobby screamed, “I NEED BACKUP!”
Angelo came out hiding, holding a grenade in his hand. “Bobby, you son of a bitch. You ruined everything. You could have made a deal with Courage a long time ago. Instead, you got greedy!”
“I’ll show you greed.” Bobby whispered. And right at that moment a guard came out from behind the front, and stabbed him right in the back. Angelo fell and let go of the grenade.
Those three seconds seemed to last a millennia. Time slowed down in front of me. Bobby ran and grabbed me, ripping my chains out of the floorboards and diving into another room. Angelo’s eyes were wide with fear and bore the look of betrayal. And in a split second, all turned to ash.
35
Avery
In the distance was a large explosion. “Look!” Bruce called out to me. I slammed my foot onto the pedal and raced toward the fiery detonation.
“Hope!” I shouted out loud.
“Don’t worry just yet. It could be a distraction.” Bruce was saying to me. “You know how Bobby is. He could be up to somethin’ big.”
I wasn’t taking any chances. I needed to find out if Hope was okay. And if that meant riskin’ my damn life, I would do that for her well-being. “Bruce, I know you’re my boss and all, but right now I’m gonna need you to shut-up.” I said.
“Fair enough.” Bruce simply lit up another cigarette.
We parked a block away and left the truck in a full on sprint. “You all loaded up?” I asked him. I watched as Bruce checked out his guns and nodded.
“You?” he asked me.
“Yep. I’m ready to kill some bad guys!” I exclaimed.
“Me too. Hope is in there somewhere, I reckon. So let’s be careful. The house is probably heavily guarded. Watch your back.” He said.
I took a deep breath and felt the oxygen send a rush of euphoria into my brain. Was I ready to do this? It didn’t matter if I was ready or not. It was now or never. If I wanted Hope to come out of this alive, I had to tune my emotions out.
We stormed the house, rolling behind a boulder in front. The sound of men’s voices shouting could be heard from inside. “You see anyone?” I asked him. Bruce looked up from behind the rock and shook his head.
“Can’t see shit. It’s all just smoke and ash.” he coughed.
I took a look as well. From what I could see, there were bodies lining up the front of the building. “What the fuck?” I whispered.
“What is it?” Bruce called out.
“It’s a warzone in there, Bruce. Bodies are everywhere. They don’t look like Courage though. Can’t be too sure.”
“My God…” he muttered. “We can’t sit by. On the off chance it is our men, we need to be in there for them. We need to stand our ground. On my mark. Ready?” I nodded. “GO!”
We ran in separate directions. I took the front, while Bruce took the back. We had all pathways covered. I slammed into the front of the house, right next to the front door, and peeked my head inside. In the back corner was Bobby and he was holding … Hope! Luke was next to them and it looked like he was injured pretty bad. I couldn’t be too sure, however.
I couldn’t make out who the rest of the bodies were, but it was clear they weren’t from our camp. They must’ve been a part of the Darkhorse gang, but how did they get killed?
I took one more look before entering the building and saw something moving behind a table. Angelo? He peeked his head out and pointed at Bobby and Luke, indicating that they had weapons on them. I nodded, surprised by his support. Was he the one responsible for this mess?
I held my pistol close to my heart and for what might have been the first time in my life, I prayed to the Lord above to keep me and Hope safe. Dear Lord, I know I haven’t been on the right path for some time. But I promise, if you are gracious enough to spare me and Hope, I will do everything in my power to honor your presence and sacred love. Amen. I somersaulted my way through the front and found myself next to Angelo.
I jumped up and fired my pistol at the two men. One bullet made its way through Luke’s arm and I knew he wasn’t in good shape by the way he was howlin’. “AH!” he screamed. “Shit, take cover, Bobby!”
“Avery, is that you behind that table?” Bobby called out. He had taken cover, cowardly, behind Hope.
“Your god damn right!” I called out. I took a look at Angelo, who was lying next to me in a pool of his own blood, and realized we were in a whole lot of trouble.
“Ah, shit, Angelo.” I picked him up and leaned him against the back table. “What'd they do to you, brother.” I sighed as a single tear rolled down from my eyes.
He coughed out some blood. “I … I’m … sorry…” he managed to say after a few seconds.
“AVERY!” Bobby screamed. “Come out and face me!”
“It's okay, Angelo. I forgive you.” I said. I didn't know if I had it in me, but when I was face-to-face with him, I had to show him some mercy. These were the last moments of his life and I wasn't about to rob him of that. He simply lied there, staring straight at me. He had that look, the look they give you when they know their card’s been chosen.
I gave him my blade in solidarity. “Keep this close to your heart.” I said. “If Joseph welcomes you at those pearly gates, make sure he knows my name.” I said. I reloaded my gun and cocked it back. Angelo gave me one last smile before he closed his eyes. God help him. God help me.
I jumped up from behind the table and shot in Bobby’s direction. “There you are! What’ve you been doing back there? Making out? Get out here and be a man!” he yelled.
“You call fighting with a gun being a man? You call slashing my face open, while I'm without a weapon, being a man?” I called out. “Seems to me you've got a weird definition on what being a man is.”
“I'll throw my gun. You have my word.” he said, tossing his gun across the room. It slid next to my foot. I jumped up and shot next to Luke. He jumped, holding his injured body. Bruce finally popped his head out, aiming his gun at Luke. Of course, he couldn't resist. He took a shot, blowing his kneecap clear off. Now he had no legs to stand on.
“You too, you bastard! Throw us your gun, Luke!” I said. Luke threw his gun at me.
“Fuck you! My legs, oh God, my legs!!!” he screamed at me.
“Hope, lemme hear your voice, baby! I need to know you're alright.” I shouted.
“Avery!” she cried. “Get this asshole off of me!”
I came out from hiding, holding my hands in front of me. “You want to settle this like men, Bobby? Well let’s go.” I said. It wasn't some of my best decision making, but I didn't care anymore. I had almost lost everything—Hope -- and I was willing to give my life for her, if God wanted that from me.
Bruce shouted, “Avery, this ain't a good idea! Have some sense!”
I waved him off. “This is between me and Bobby.” I said. I met Bobby face to face in my old living room. All those horrible memories in one place. Here I was, back at it.
I swung my arm back and hit him clean in the jaw. When I looked up at him, I realized he didn't move an inch. Instead, he was laughing. “You got yourself a strong punch, Avery. My turn.” His smile turned into an angry grimace.
I braced for his blow. He hit me in my cheek, nearly ripping my scar apart. My body nearly flew across the room and I smashed into the dilapidated wall. Bruce came barreling
out of hiding to help me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Luke crawling away.
“I got Bobby, you get Hope to safety. And tie Luke up. He’s worth more to us alive than dead.” I hissed. Bruce nodded and ran toward Hope.
I picked myself up from the ground and went for Bobby’s legs. His weight and brawn was my biggest threat so I figured by going after the things that held him up, I could take him down for good. And sure enough, just as my shoulders hit his ankles, he buckled and fell forward.
I jumped on top of him like a maniac and started wailing away. “This is for touching my girl!” I punched him. “This is for Angelo!” I felt his nose crack beneath my fist. “And this is for my face, mother fucker!” His teeth came loose. At the end of my punches, he was covered in his own blood. And you know what he did? I couldn't believe it, but the bastard actually smiled at me!
He spoke after spitting out his teeth onto the wood floor, “You fool. You came all this way just to kill me and get your revenge? None of that will get your life back. All of Courage will soon fall before your very eyes. See, I took the worst thing I could have taken. Trust. And now you have nothing. Nothing!” his voice echoed throughout the house.
“I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!” I hit him one more time.
“Not … if I … kill you first…” He moaned. And then I felt it. A bullet hit my chest. I fell backward, as all turned to black.
36
Hope
“NO!!!” I screamed, falling to the floor. “Bruce! Do something!” I was spinning. I couldn’t breathe. I felt nauseous. Was Avery dead? If he wasn't, he had to be in critical condition. I scrambled toward him but Bobby just hit me away. As Luke was chained up and handcuffed, Bruce came running to the rescue.
“Try your best!” Bobby cried, grabbing an old piece of wood as a weapon. He swung and hit Bruce straight across the head. He instantly fell to the floor. Bobby turned in my direction and let out an eerie laugh. “You.” He said, slowly walking in my direction.
“No. Please. No more. Let me go!” I cried. He grabbed my hair and started dragging me. “Bruce, wake up! Oh, God…” It was all over. I couldn’t escape him now. My two allies in this world were now gone. There were no more chances for a girl like me.
And then a voice whispered, “Freeze, motherfucker.” Bobby turned around, ready to shoot whoever was there.
“Angelo?” I exclaimed. My eyes weren’t deceiving me. It was Angelo, alright! He was in bad shape, but as he was losing whatever life he had left inside, he was intent on bringing Bobby Farole with him.
“Drop your weapon.” He moaned, blood coming from his mouth. It wasn’t a pretty picture, but it gave me some hope that I might be able to live a life without being held prisoner by the Darkhorse gang.
Bobby acquiesced, sliding his only gun over to him. “FBI…” Angelo moaned. “You’re … under arrest.”
“What did you just say?” Bobby asked, fuming with rage.
“I said, I’m fuckin’ FBI. I’m a cop. And if I can’t bring you in, I’m gonna take you down.”
“You took an oath, partner.” Bobby carefully said. “Now put down your gun and accept what life has in store for you. We all gotta die sometime.”
“I accept death with open fuckin’ arms. I ain’t afraid to leave this wretched place. It’s you, I’m afraid, that needs … to make a choice. Decide. Are you a God-fearing man? Or are do you think you’ll do just fine on the other side?” Angelo could barely speak and he was losing a lot of blood. If he was going to make a decision, he better do it fast. I was counting on him.
“I ain’t afraid of your God or your bullets. No one can bring down Bobby Farole. I’m the king of this…” BANG! His words stopped short. Angelo held his gun, shaking, as smoke came from the barrel. His bullet had flown into the center of Bobby’s gut, causing him to fall to his knees with a look of shock across his face.
“How?” Bobby whispered, before passing out on the ground. The idea that someone could take him down never occurred to him. But tyrants always have an endnote and this was Bobby’s.
I ran to Avery and picked up his limp body. “Oh, Avery! What will I do without you?!” I cried.
I felt where the bullet had hit his chest, but noticed there was no blood. “What? How can that be?” I asked myself.
Avery suddenly opened his eyes and started coughing, holding his chest in pain. “AW, SHIT!” He yelled.
“AVERY?” I exclaimed, holding him in my arms. “You’re alive?!” This night was getting weirder and weirder by the second.
He gave me a weak smiled and ripped his shirt in half. “Bullet proof vest.” he muttered. I screamed with joy, kissing his face all over, while feeling his warm body.
“Settle down. I think my ribcage is broken!” He cried out in pain.
“Oh, Avery! I love you so much. I would die without you near me.”
“You know I love you too.” he hoarsely said. Then he turned his head and looked at Angelo. He simply nodded, as if to say, ‘Thanks.’
“Go.” Angelo whispered. “Get out of town. The feds are comin’. You’ve always been good to me. Now’s my time to return the favor…” The gun fell from his limp hand and he closed his eyes for the final time. He was gone.
“Rest in peace, dear friend.” Avery said. “Even if he was a fed, I’ll still miss the bastard.” Avery limped over to Bruce in an attempt to wake him from the blow to his head.
Bruce eventually lifted his head slowly, rubbing around where he was hit, and said, “What happened? Where am I? Adam, is that you?”
“Nah. It’s just me and Hope, you old bag.” he laughed.
“Did we get ‘em?” he asked me, looking around. Luke was chained up in the corner, with a piece of duct tape stuck to his mouth. Bobby’s lifeless body lay heavy and limp in a pool of his own blood.
“You got ‘em, boss.” I said, smiling. Avery helped him onto his feet.
“We gotta get out of here. I’ll explain everything later, but it’s not safe yet. We need to find a good safe house to lay low in for a while.” Avery warned him.
“Police?” he simply asked, shaking his head.
“Something like that.” Avery muttered.
“How could I be so blind? My whole crew was falling apart, right before my very eyes.”
I rubbed his shoulders, trying to console him. As ruthless and bad as he could get, Bruce did love his “family.” They were all he had. “It’s not your fault.” I said, reassuring him. “You couldn’t have known.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s a good thing. It’s time to start over. It’s time to make Courage powerful again.” he said.
“You’re damn right it is.” Avery said. “You’re god damn right. Now help me with Luke and Bobby. I have a feeling the boys are going to have a field day with these two.”
37
Avery
It was over. It was finally over. And it was time to rally the troops. When we got back to the strip club, there was an odd amount of restlessness with the crew. From the looks of things, they were organizing a rescue party to try and find us. But when they saw our bloody faces, there was a sudden round of applause. In our arms was Bobby’s lifeless body, while Luke was dragged in by some of the boys out front.
They roared when they saw Bobby. “We got ‘em!” Bruce shouted. Everyone in the room started screaming, “Toast! Toast! Toast!” They wanted to hear their boss give them the speech of a lifetime. I didn’t blame ‘em. I did too. It was a triumphant day.
“Alright, alright. Settle down. Look, uh … it’s been a tough fight. But we came out victorious. There were some inner struggles within Courage, but those of us who kept wishin’ for better things, stayed strong. Now, some may say that we can’t stay a tight knit crew for long. You know what I say to that? Go to hell!” Cheers erupted throughout the club. “Because anyone who says we won’t last, doesn’t know the Courage faction! They don’t know what we do to people who talk back to us. I present to you, Bobby Farole!”
We grabbed his huge body and lifted him up onto the stage.
“And this here’s our brother Luke!” I shouted. “Some of you may know, he sold us out. He was consumed with pride and jealousy. And he was swallowed up by it. Well, tonight he lost his kneecaps. And tomorrow? Well, I’m sure he’ll lose more than that. He’s all yours.” I laughed. “Drinks for everyone! They’re on me tonight!” Bruce slapped my back in solidarity, lifting his beer up high in the air. More cheers across the club.
The rest of the night was a celebration. Luke’s celebration. Only this time, it was for a different reason. Funny enough, I felt the same as I did before. Stuck. I could figure out why I couldn’t be happy when everyone else was.
“What’s wrong?” Hope asked me.
“I don’t know, darlin’. I just keep thinking how much I want you, I guess.” I muttered, taking in a big sip of whisky. I felt it hit the bottom of my stomach in a fast burn.
“But you have me, baby. You always will.” She told me, massaging my shoulders.
“You don’t hate me?” I asked.
“Hate you? Are you kidding me, Avery? You’re the love of my life! You saved me from Bobby. Twice now. How could I hate you for that?” She kissed my cheek and ran her tantalizing tongue across my ear.
“You wouldn’t have gotten into any of this mess if it wasn’t for me. And I never got your career back. Shit, I didn’t even get your house back. I’m a failure, Hope. A fuckin’ failure.” I shook my head and stared at the back corner of the room. The same people were singing the same songs, drinking the same drinks, while they sat next to the same people. What was all this for? Wasn’t there something more to all this? Maybe I was just overthinking things.
“Avery, you have to listen to me. You’re not a failure. You’re everything to me. Oh, God, you idiot! Don’t you see? I don’t need a career or my own place. I don’t need to focus on trivial things when I have you. You’re what I wanted. I think I’ve been searching for you all my life. I just got mixed up is all. I took a lot for granted. Never again.” She looked down at the ground, seemingly embarrassed by what she said.