Write Your Own Song

Chapter 33

Green was calmer than calm, but he'd already lost his brother. This was revenge for him. For the Mercers, it was survival.

XxXxXxXxXx

"Jeremiah Mercer," Roy Sweet said slowly with a nod of his head. He sounded so much like Victor that Jerry's step faltered for a second. He hiked the bag he was carrying higher on his shoulder, hoping his hesitation didn't look like weakness.

The bag was full of stacks of cut up newspapers, made to resemble bundles of bills. Why they bothered with the deception, Jerry didn't know. It wasn't like anyone was going to be fooled by it once the bag was open. He figured it was just a task Green assigned to make it feel like they were actually doing something to prepare for the "Operation" as the FBI agent had taken to calling it.

"I'm impressed that you showed up," Sweet added. He was older than Jerry had pictured and far heavier, his voice booming from his large chest.

"I keep my word," Jerry said, trying to keep his voice steady. He glanced around the restaurant. It was one he'd never been in but he remembered the reputation it had when it was open. Flashy and expensive, the place all the local gangsters liked to hang out in to feel rich and classy. It was tacky as hell – just like Victor. No matter how much gold you painted over it, a thug was still a thug and a shithole was still a shithole.

Roy Sweet made a motion, a heavy gold pinky ring flashing in the light, and four large men in dark suits stepped out of the shadows. Jerry wasn't surprised to see them. He stood his ground, trying not to let on that they rattled him. These guys were professionals, not the ex-union guys that Victor employed, trading in their need for money and steady work for loyalty and protection. There were no deals he and his brothers could ever make with these guys to get out of that restaurant unscathed.

"And I keep mine," Sweet said. "I told your brother that I would take from him what he took from me."

"And you did that. It's over," Jerry said, his chest aching even though it was a lie. Jack and Bobby were alive and well; but as far as this bastard knew, they were dead, killed in California by his hired guns. For once, Bobby's quick thinking seemed to have worked.

"Shot down on the street like the dogs they were." Sweet twisted his pinky ring on his finger and sighed. "Doesn't fill me with the satisfaction I was hoping for, though, and I can't figure out why."

"Revenge never solves things the way you hoped it would," Jerry answered.

Roy's eyes grew cold and Jerry realized he'd said the wrong thing. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you killed my son."

XxXxXxXxXx

"Shit," Angel whispered, dropping the headphones and reaching for the door.

Green put a hand on his arm and stopped him, silencing him with a finger to his lips. "Not yet," he whispered.

"Fuck that shit, that's my brother in there," Angel answered, reading to spring out of the coat room, firing at anything that moved.

"We're close."

"You ain't any closer than before Jerry walked in there."

Green held up his hands. "Five more minutes, tops. Bobby needs time."

XxXxXxXxXx

"He killed my mother," Jerry said steadily.

Sweet started to pace. "Ah yes, the saintly Evelyn Mercer. He told me about her, how she was causing so much trouble. He was too soft, just wanted to scare her. I told him he couldn't let some old lady make him look stupid and weak."

"You told him to kill her?"

"Suggested is more like it. I like to offer advice when it's needed." He stopped pacing and looked right at Jerry. "For example, I would have told you that coming in here alone was a stupid idea, even if your brother is hiding somewhere in the restaurant, waiting to ambush me."

Jerry opened his mouth to protest, but Roy cut him off with a sweep of his hand. "Let's not embarrass ourselves with another lie." Roy gave him an almost sympathetic look. "And I know you have no money to bargain with."

"You're just full of knowledge, aren't you?" Jerry didn't like where this was going and was wondering just what was taking his backup so long to make themselves known.

"You're thinking the only way your wife and daughters stay safe is for me to die in this club tonight."

"You already killed two of my brothers. What more do you want?"

Sweet started to laugh and Jerry's blood ran cold. "I want you to welcome our guests, Mr. Mercer."

XxXxXxXxXx

"What the fuck?" Angel said as he glanced at Green, who had his gun out and his hand on the door.

Green opened it a fraction of an inch and peeked through. "Shit," he said, watching as two more men entered the restaurant, dragging Jack and Sofi with them. "Things just got more complicated."

XxXxXxXxXx

Bobby watched helplessly from outside the building as his brother and Sofi were pushed onto the floor.

He grabbed the gas can at his feet, having already emptied one around the perimeter of the restaurant and more than ready to empty a second one over the heads of the assholes inside. Gun in hand, he pushed open the door.

"Wouldn't start a party without me, would you?" he announced. Wasn't exactly the plan he'd discussed with his brothers and Green, but when the fuck did his plans ever work out anyway?

He poured out a trail of gasoline as he walked toward the gathering in the center of the room. He dropped the can when he was done and fished a lighter out of his pocket – Jack's lighter that he'd stolen from his coat when he wasn't looking.

"Bobby Mercer. You're looking surprisingly healthy for a dead man," Sweet said, not the least bit surprised to see the oldest Mercer standing in front of him.

"If you stay away from fatty foods and carbs, you live longer. May want to look into it. A jog around a track once in a while couldn't hurt either."

Sweet ignored the insults. "I'm surprised you let the situation get out of hand as far as it has, Mr. Mercer. You handed me your whole family on a silver platter. Massacres can be messy, but I am looking forward to this one."

"Not as much as I am," Bobby said with a nod and Angel and Green stormed through the door of the room they'd been hiding in.

Angel had killed two guys before anyone even noticed they were in the room. Green followed close behind, but the gunfire grew more intense and he managed to wound one guy before having to take cover behind the bar.

Jerry dropped his bag and pulled out his gun, diving toward Jack and Sofi, hoping to help them before they got caught in the crossfire. Jack winced as Jerry pulled the tape off his mouth.

"You okay, kiddo?" Jerry asked and Jack nodded, rubbing the circulation back into his hands as Jerry got to work on cutting Sofi free.

"Get them the fuck out of here," Bobby yelled above the gunfire.

"But -" Jack started to protest, but Jerry pushed him toward the door.

"You heard him, get the hell out of here," Jerry shouted. "Keep Sofi safe."

Jack ducked and ran, pulling Sofi behind him, wishing the door was closer than it was.

They were two steps out the door when the place suddenly burst out in flames, tossing them painfully to the ground.

"Angel!" Sofi yelled, and Jack caught her around the waist to keep her from running back inside. "No!" she cried and he watched helplessly as the flames filled the doorway and shattered the windows.

Guns were still going off and Jack took small comfort in the fact that someone still had to be alive inside.

It was when the gunfire stopped that he felt like falling to his knees and giving up.