Family Reunion
“The pizza should be here soon.” Ariana said as she opened a can of coke and held it to AJ’s mouth.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Once you smell it and see me eating, you will be.”
“I doubt that.”
“I like you AJ. It’s been really hard for me today, trying to decide what I wanted to do with you.”
“Well thanks, I’m flattered.” He couldn’t believe how sarcastic he was being, but he also knew that if given the chance he’d take her down.
“No I’m being serious. If you only knew how many times you have almost died today. There’s still a chance I’ll change my mind so don’t make me mad.”
She was actually smiling as she was saying this, as if she was being funny and cute. “Then I thought about maybe pinning everything on you, but that wouldn’t have really gone with my plan either. It would have made no sense.”
“Where is Nick? You said he was on his way.”
“Oh he’s coming after my boyfriend does away with his two companions.”
“What?”
“More loose ends AJ. We can’t have any of those hindering our plans.”
“Are you going to kill Howie too, Is that it?” He found himself breaking up, halfway between a cry and a yell.
“No, I would never kill Howie, I love him. He’s just going to be finding himself in a whole lot of trouble.”
“What kind?”
“Well for one hiring someone to kill Anita Nicosia and her daughter. And of course there was that poor girl who he and your brother arrested. Howie is quite the psychopath. I mean he has left quite a trail of bodies.”
“No one will believe that.”
“Honey, I’m not an amateur, they’ll believe it.” She walked close to him once more. Her sweet scent still lingering on as she whispered, “Imagine how hard it’s going to be when Kevin finds all of this evidence.”
“He won’t believe it, see, he already knows something is going on with you. He has been checking up on you. It’s only a matter of time.”
Ariana smiled once more, ignoring what AJ just told her. “Another terrible thing my husband did was plant a bomb in the Nicosia house. Now it’s sad to know that in the process of that bomb going off, not only will all the Nicosia’s be dead but also your poor baby brother as well, what a tragedy huh?”
“You said he wasn’t going to be hurt.” AJ tensed up and tried to break free of his cuffs which caused Ariana to throw her head back into a maniacal laugh.
“He’s not going to be in there silly, just some of his stuff. Enough for everyone to think he is dead. Your brother is probably on the way over there to get him though which could be a problem. Wouldn’t it be a shame if he was involved in the blast?” She took a small gadget out of her pocket, “This is a remote receiver. All I have to do is push this button and the house will go kaboom!”
She placed her finger on the button, “So what do you say? Should I push it or should you?”
AJ eyed the button and felt his throat instantly dry up, “You’re a real psycho you know that?”
She moved away from him, “For Kevin’s sake you better hope you’re wrong about that.” Fondling the button with her ring finger she laughed once more.
“Kev, I really don’t think they’re here.” Brian said looking around the ground floor of the house, “I have a feeling they left a while ago. Maybe they did just go somewhere and he shut his phone off.”
Always the skeptic, Kevin was leery to agree with his brother. There was just something in Nick’s tone of voice that made the agent realize that the kid was in some serious trouble. “I don’t know Brian, let’s check out the basement.”
“I hate basements.” The younger brother mumbled to himself as they opened the door to the cellar and turned on the light.
“Me too.” Kevin had a brief flashback of the time when all of this started. Going down to the basement with Howie and finding the little girl’s body seemed like ages ago. Yet, here they were once again, at the home of the man who started it all. Why was it that trouble always managed to find his family and why was it always linked to the Nicosia’s?
They were light footed on the steps as they moved, just in case someone was waiting for them at the bottom. Once safely down, they both surveyed the small, unfinished basement. “I don’t know what to do next.” Kevin admitted, rubbing at his temples. “Where could he be?”
“It’s not like he could have driven somewhere. I mean he would have had to walk or take the bus.” Brian answered.
“Maybe we should head to the nearest bus stop then.” Kevin replied as they both headed back up the steps.
“HELP!!!!” Nick was screaming at the top of his lungs as Jack flung him into the backseat of the car.
“Shut the hell up kid!” He said as he closed the door, taking one more look at the bodies of the two teenagers. This was a sloppy job. He should take them out further into the woods, this way the chances of them being found were slim to none. Leaving them there just at the edge was a risk. He almost turned to head back but the blonde screaming made him change his mind.
“HELP!!! HE KILLED THEM!!!! HE KILLED THEM!!!”
Jack was quick to get himself into the car, “I said shut up kid! I’m not going to tell you again!”
“HELP!!!” Nick was beyond the point of listening. He snapped when he saw Patty gunned down as she just stood there innocently. It was his fault. If he had managed to fight off Jack she wouldn’t have stayed around to try to help. She wouldn’t be dead and neither would Charlie. Because he was weak, two people were dead. “PLEASE!!!” He cried out, “SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!!!”
Jack tried to remain cool. He had been through a lot worse. He wasn’t going to let this kid get to him and as much as he wanted to just shove him out of the car and blow his brains out, he knew he couldn’t do that. He also couldn’t take the chance that the kid’s cries could be heard either.
“If you don’t shut up right now, I’m going to have to gag you and throw you in the trunk, is that what you want?” He asked, turning around to face Nick, like a father before he utters the words ‘don’t make me pull this car over.’
“You killed my friends!” He said finally in a hushed tone, “Why would you do that? What kind of a sick monster are you?”
“Kid, you have no idea.”
Nick looked out the window just as Jack started the car, both kids lay unmoving just at the edge of the tree line. How could this have happened? How could he let this happen? That last thought made him grab for the door handle and roll out of the car just as Jack pulled away. The blonde landed in a heap on the ground, hitting his head and grimacing from the pain. He didn’t have time to worry about that though as Jack came to an abrupt stop. Nick stood up and started running towards his friends. There was no way he was going to get back into the car with a man who had already killed two people in cold blood. He was not going to be the third victim. He had to make it out of this alive for Patty and Charlie, so he ran as fast as he could, trying to ignore the sound of Jack’s door opening and his quick footsteps following him.
“I’ll shoot kid, I swear to God! If you don’t freeze right now I’m going to blow your fucking brains out!”
Nick thought about that for a second, would it be so bad? Let the guy shoot him. He has lost so much already, first his mother, now Patty. Maybe the world would be a better place without him in it. How was he going to live through this anyway? Would there be a night when he would wake up and not picture his two friends dying right in front of him? Before he had a chance to really act on things one way or another he felt a huge body land on top of him, tackling him to the ground. “NO!!!!” He screamed, trying to turn himself around but failing.
“You are a real pain in my ass kid!” Jack said as he managed to yank Nick up to his feet and pull him back towards the car.
“No!!” Nick tried one last time to break free by kicking at Jack as hard as he could.
“Fuck!” The man said as he temporarily lost his grip on the teenager.
Nick fell to the ground but it was no use, Jack was too quick and once more grabbed the boy into his arms. “NO!!” He shouted as his assailant opened the back door once more.
“That’s it!” Loosing any cool he had, Jack took the gun and whapped Nick in the head with is, making the boy fall limply into the car. “I told you to shut up!” He said quietly as he shut the door on the unconscious child before getting in and speeding away.
When she heard the car leave, Patty allowed herself to move, as best as she could. She knew she was hurt very badly but she also knew that if she allowed herself to close her eyes she would never open them again, so she pushed through the pain and tried to crawl over to her boyfriend as he lay motionless a few feet away from her. She stopped however when she heard the ringing. It was Nick’s phone, she was certain of it. Turning towards the sound, she did her best to try to locate it, but before she could it stopped.
“Call back,” She said in a very soft voice. It was hard to get the words out which scared the teenager as she lay down once again, “Please call back.”
Howie was half watching the television and half watching the door. When he woke up no one was around and he found himself bored beyond belief. He hated the fact that there were no clocks in his room, not even on the TV. It’s like they removed any sense of time to force patients to just relax. He was anything but relaxed though. He tried calling Ariana about five times since he woke up and not once did she answer the phone. He was fine with that, figuring she was just busy but when he tried work and she wasn’t there he started to worry.
Luckily a visitor showed up at his door, taking his mind off of things, “Hey Mr. Richardson.” The hurt agent said, putting his arm up in a gesture that made Kevin senior feel welcome.
“How are you feeling Howie?” Kevin’s dad asked sitting down in the chair closest to his bed.
“I’m feeling great. I just want to go home, I’m getting restless.”
“I bet, where is your wife?”
“That’s the million dollar question. I hope she didn’t choose now to run off with Kevin. I always thought those two had a thing going.” When he didn’t even see Kevin senior crack a smile he added, “I’m just kidding.”
“I can’t seem to find my children either.” He looked troubled. “Do you have any idea where Kevin and Brian might be? I thought they were here with you.”
“Brian was here but I fell asleep so he left. I’m guessing he’s at the office.”
“Nope and now my youngest isn’t answering his phone either.”
“Maybe they are all together, including my wife, having a big party.”
Finally Kevin laughed, “Probably. It would make sense that I wasn’t invited then, since they all enjoy being around me so much.”
Howie felt awkward when the older man said that. He never quite knew how to converse with his best friend’s father. When they were at work it was different, but the causal conversation always felt uncomfortable. “Well, I guess they don’t like me much either then,” he said with a wink.
Kevin stood up, “I should be going. I just wanted to check up on you, make sure you were doing okay.”
“Thanks for that.” Howie smiled, grateful that the weirdness was now going to end so he could go back to being bored. Maybe he would try his wife once more.
Ariana was having too much fun taunting her little brother with the bomb’s remote. She pretended to hit it a few times, ‘accidentally’ dropping it once or twice to which he let out anguished sighs. “Relax AJ…goodness you are so tense. I always thought you were the laid back one of the bunch.”
He refused to speak to her anymore. His main concentration lied on how he was going to get himself and his brother out of this situation before she had a chance to hit that button and possibly blow Kevin up. She was humming to herself as she continued to play with AJ’s emotions but when she heard the front door followed by Jack calling to her she finally stopped. “Looks like Nicky is here!” She said smiling.
That smile quickly faded though when she saw Jack carrying an unconscious Nick up the stairs. His arms were dangling down lifeless along with his head, which was covered in blood and bobbing with the footfalls of the man carrying him. “What the hell did you do?” She asked angrily eyeing the teenager.
“I had to, he wouldn’t shut up and he tried to get away!”
Jack barreled past Ariana and went into the room. AJ panicked when he saw his baby brother being carried like a dead child into his line of vision. “NICK!” He screamed, furiously trying to get himself free of his chains.
“Lay him down gently right there,” Ariana said pointing to a spot not too far from where AJ was sitting.
“Nick! What did you do? I am going to fucking kill you!” AJ was wrestling against his binds with so much vigor his wrists began to bleed. “Oh my God…Nicky…Jesus!”
“I told you not to hurt him!” Ariana sounded almost as angry as AJ when she spoke.
“He asked for it, I tried not to do it but he kept trying to get away.”
“So you tie him up, you don’t do this!”
“Well he’s lucky I didn’t kill him!”
“Please uncuff me so I can go to him!” AJ said calmly this time. His eyes were on Nick and only Nick as he said it. “Please, I know first aid. I have to make sure he’s okay.”
“No way.” Jack said but was quickly brushed off by Ariana.
“Do you promise not to try to escape?” She asked, knowing he’d be too preoccupied to worry about himself.
“I promise, please…I have to make sure he’s okay.” He said as tears began to stream down his face.
“Don’t do it!” Jack urged his girlfriend, but it was too late. She was already over there unlatching the bolts.
The second AJ was free he scurried over to Nick, gently taking the boy’s head and resting it in his lap. “Nicky, can you hear me?” He asked softly, looking over the wound. “He’s going to need some ice and a few towels and also a blanket. We need to keep him warm just in case he goes into shock.” He barked orders at his captors as if they worked for him. “Also some gauze, the cut looks deep.” When he said the last part he glared over at Jack and just for a second, Ariana thought he might lunge.
“You heard him, go get what he just asked for.” She said angrily to her boyfriend who stood in silent shock that he was being yelled at like some child.
“Fine…whatever.” He said as he walked out the door.
Ariana walked closer to AJ, getting down on the ground on the other side of Nick. “You get the hell away from us!” The fireman said viciously as he continued to cradle his brother in his arms.
“I told him not too…”
“I don’t care, get away!”
She walked out the door and locked it just as Jack was coming back with the supplies. “I don’t know what you’re thinking letting him loose like that.” He said throwing her the blanket and towels.
“He’s not going to try anything because he’s too worried about his little brother.” Her voice was filled with jealousy which caused Jack to laugh.
“You are something else, you know that? Why don’t you just go in there and tell him you’re his long lost sister and maybe he’ll show you some of that love.”
“Shut up!” She held the towel and blanket close to her, wanting to wrap herself in them and disappear.
“I just hope this little fantasy land you have created doesn’t come back to bite us both on the ass!”
“I said shut up!” She walked over and smacked him across the face.
He was stunned and so was she. Tears coming down her face as she quickly wiped them away. “I told you not to hurt him. He’s just a child.”
“They were all just children. You didn’t seem to have a problem with me hurting them. You’re lucky I didn’t kill the little fucker like I wanted to. He’s going to cause us nothing but problems; you do realize this, right? I mean he’s not going to willingly come along with us and say okie dokie sister Riri, let me just leave everything I know and love to come with you.”
“I need to bring these inside.” She said, “And you have a job to finish at that house.” She walked over to the bag she took from Nick’s room earlier, “Make sure you scatter these along the inside. We need everyone to think he was there when it happens.”
“And what do I do if your other brother is there when I get there?”
She turned away from him at that point, “Kill him.” She opened the door and walked back inside the room to help AJ and Nick.
Patty knew she had to find the strength to keep moving. She barely made it about two feet before having to rest. The pain in her side was nothing compared to the one in her head. The bleeding wasn’t that bad, at least that was a plus. She wasn’t sure exactly what had happened to her. One second she saw the gun pointed at her, then the next she was waking up to the sound of Nick screaming. She wasn’t even sure if she was shot or not, but placing her hand down by her side, she was able to confirm that yes she was hit. Even in the state she was in, she knew to play dead as long as she heard Jack out there. It killed her to hear Nick in such distress but she knew that the instant she let them know she was alive, her mother’s boyfriend would alleviate that situation.
“Charlie, can you hear me?” She asked in a little stronger voice this time. She was almost close enough to touch him. “Charlie…please…” She had to rest again, laying down and closing her eyes. All she wanted was her mother. The last thing she wanted was to die here on some remote road all alone. What about her mother? The thought made her open her eyes again. What if Jack was going to go kill her as well?
She glanced off in the distance, trying to squint from the glare of the sun. Something very shiny caught her eye. “Please God, let that be the phone.” There it was, her salvation, as long as she could get over to it. He must have just tossed it out of the car without thinking.
Patty took another look over at Charlie. She wasn’t sure if he was alive or dead and honestly wasn’t ready to find out. “I’m going to go see if I can get to the phone and get us some help.” She whispered to her boyfriend trying not to cry as he lay there unmoving. She knew what she had to do, so as much as she knew it was going to hurt, she slowly made her way to her feet, crying out in pain as she did so. She got about three steps towards her destination before falling unconscious on the ground.
Ariana paused before stepping into the room. She hated these moments when her conscience woke up and let her know what a bad seed she truly was. She heard AJ consoling his brother as he gently rocked him back and forth but when he saw her standing there he stopped, “Do you have what I need?”
She nodded and walked over with the supplies, “Has he woken up yet?”
He shook his head, “Your boyfriend did a good job on him. Nick is lucky his neck wasn’t broken.” AJ took the towel and gently wiped the blood off of his brother’s face. She watched as he gently took the gauze and placed it on the wound, “You’re going to be okay buddy.” When he finished dressing the wound he pulled his brother into a hug and kissed the top of his head, “I’m so sorry this is happening to you and that I wasn’t able to stop it.”
The love she saw in her brother’s eyes made her envious and sad. Maybe Jack was right, maybe this was just a fantasy. No matter what she did, Nick would never love her like that, nobody would.
“I don’t get why you are doing this to us.” AJ whispered once he had his brother covered with a blanket, head on his chest as he listened to him lightly snore.
She wanted to tell him right then and there. Just explain everything to him, how she was his sister, how their father abandoned her and moved on with his life with his real family. How hard her life was because of this. She wanted him to open his arms and invite her to lie on his other side. Her head against his chest as he told her everything would be okay. But she didn’t, instead she did what she felt was the next best thing, “I was only kidding before. That remote wasn’t attached to any explosives yet. I was just playing games with you.”
AJ looked over at her and nodded, “And what about us? Is this all some big joke too? After your done yucking it up, are you going to let us go?”
“I’m sorry AJ but I can’t do that.”
“And why not?”
“Because…I just can’t, someday you’ll understand.”
“Does that mean we’re going to live through this?”
“I hope so.”
He looked over at her and nodded, there wasn’t much else he could do really. He then turned his attention back to his baby brother who lay quiet and still next to him. “I don’t want that guy anywhere near Nick again, do you understand me?” AJ said, hate shining from his eyes, “I don’t even want him looking at Nick.”
Ariana tried to ignore his emotion as best as she could, “Best try to get some sleep, we are leaving first thing in the morning.” She said as she looked at her brothers once more before closing the door.
