The Formidable

62

It was a ten-minute walk from the bus stop to the garage. Madison pulled her leather jacket tighter, tucking her chin in and breathing into the material to warm her lower face. She walked briskly, the garage already insight. Bright white lights illuminated the workshop, two mechanics were inside, pottering around to kill time.

As she was about to cross the street, a car came screeching down the road beside her. She brushed her hand over the switchblade up her sleeve as her pulse quickened. The car skid to a halt, half on the pavement in front of her. Two men jumped out in ski masks, guns raised.

"Get in the car!" One of them screamed, a voice she recognised as Tommy's. Madison held her hands up, her panicked eyes flickering from Tommy to the other masked man. "Now!" Tommy demanded. She pressed her lips together, walking towards them and climbing in the door he had open for her. The other guy got in after. Tommy slammed the door shut as he looked around before running to the driver's side, ripping his mask off as he drove away. The guy next to her took his off, too, and Madison glared at Kieran.

"Jase will fucking kill you for this," she said calmly. Kieran shrugged.

"Not if we kill him first." The wheels span on the road as Tommy sped away, laughing as he looked at them in his rear-view mirror, adding,

"And we will kill him, I promise you that much. We haven't decided if we're going to make him watch us kill you, or we're going to make you watch us kill him, but I'm sure Benny will decide when we get to our destination." Madison narrowed her eyes, clenching her jaw to refrain from spouting all the nasty things she thought of doing to him in order to avoid enduring more shit than was necessary.

Instead of biting at Tommy and his tormenting, she looked Kieran up and down.

"Since when did you grow a set of balls and start standing on your own two feet?" she questioned. He rolled his eyes.

"It's yours and Jase's egos that get you into so much trouble, you know that? You both expect everyone to be loyal to you, just because he's killed a couple of people and because of who your dad is-"

"Was, you mean," Tommy cut in. Madison's demeanour faltered for a moment, remembering that she was in the car with someone that had undoubtedly inhumanely disposed of her dad. Her dad that, for all his faults, had gone lengths to protect her from the evils in the world and readied her for almost any situation she could possibly face. The same man that had carried her on his shoulders when she was a child and tended to every grazed knee with a plaster and kiss. Tommy's comment really hit home. And it fucking hurt. She rapidly composed herself.

"Fuck both of you."

"I wasn't going to sit in Jase's pocket my whole life, Mads," Kieran mocked, "they think I'm useless and weak but I was biding my time. A bit like you did in the house, playing the role and that." Madison shook her head, looking at the floor of the car.

"Jesus you're both such fucking idiots." No one said anything for the rest of the journey. Madison's mind rested on Mia. Her first day at nursery. Teaching her how to ride a bike. Birthday parties. School plays. Driving lessons. Boyfriends. Her prom. Her wedding. She needed to be there for all of it, every day for the rest of her life. Madison didn't intend on spending the rest of her life in the hands of Benny. She wouldn't allow it. She clung onto this last trickle of determination as if her life depended on it, because it did.

But she'd come out on top, of that she was sure. It's what she was built to do. Like a trained soldier heading to war, ready to fight for the greater good, if Madison was on her way into the ground she wasn't about to go quietly.

They came to a stop in a gravel car park behind a large warehouse. Unbeknownst to Madison, it was the same warehouse Peter had been killed in.

"Get out," Tommy ordered, opening the door and pointing his gun at Madison.

"I hope that doesn't jam when you need it," she said, putting on a brave face and sliding out of the car.

"Shut up," Kieran told her, pushing his gun into her lower back, forcing her to walk towards the warehouse. A white light hung from the ceiling of a large room. It took up half the space of the warehouse itself, stretching from one end to the other. Benny was sat on a chair in the middle, grinning that familiar menacing grin. Madison's stomach churned at the sight of him. He hadn't aged well. His dark hair was receding and had thinned exponentially. She was unsure if that was due to the cocaine habit or bad genes. He'd also lost weight, which she did chalk up to his high drug use. His cheeks were sunken in and his wild eyes were set back into their sockets, bloodshot and black bagged.

"Hello stranger, I was just warming your throne up for you," he said, getting to his feet. He strolled over, squeezing Madison's cheeks together and forcing her to look at him. "Motherhood has been good to you, you're glowing. I can see why Jase was dumb enough to stick his dick in. Shame your precious Mia will grow up to be an orphan." She spat at him and took the backhand to her left cheek. "Behave yourself Madison," Benny seethed, "you're hardly in the position to be taking liberties." She glowered at him, burning holes into the souls of his ancestors. Benny's grin widened. "Kieran, take her over there. Pat her down and tie her up. I don't want to be tempted to start the show without our most important member of the audience being present."

*

"Alright, cheers Callum." Jase got off the phone to one of the mechanics in the garage, watching from across the road as Madison was forced into the car. "Benny's got her." The three of them were sat in the kitchen with Karl, who had come over to offer his support. Janine chewed her lip uncomfortably.

"He's going to hurt her," she said. Jase took the magazine out of his gun, emptying the bullets into his hand as he spoke. He was focussed, all the noise in his head silenced.

"Madison can take a couple of slaps, she'll be fine," he replied, slotting the magazine back into the gun before standing up and tucking it in his waistband. "She's just got to make sure she doesn't antagonise him enough for him to kill her before I get there."

"Why are you unloading your gun?" Sam asked.

"Because Benny will make sure I've been patted down, they'll take this one, but I don't want to give them more ammo."

"Smart lad, Mickey was right about you," Karl said. Jase looked at him, nodding slowly, he didn't have it in him to appreciate the compliment at this moment in time. He had his game face on but inside there was a heavy knot in his stomach.

"What did you want me to do?" Sam asked Jase. Jase poked his tongue in his cheek then shook his head.

"You stay here-"

"What?"

"Stay here. Stay with Janine and Mia. I don't know if Tommy's the only one working for him and I'm not having them left on their own, not after what happened with Lily." Sam begrudged being out of the action because he'd always been Jase's right-hand man. He quickly wound his neck in, mind. Jase could handle himself, as could Madison. Janine, not so much. She was smart but she was more likely to freeze up if threatened rather than take action. She needed him more than Jase did. "In fact, Karl, I want you to stay here as well." Karl nodded, used to taking orders from Mickey, who had Jase's personality back in the day. It was like reliving his younger years.

"Fine by me-" the phone Benny had contacted them on before rang. Everyone sat still, their hearts simultaneously stopping.