Frank Iero Must Die {Frerard}

38

Lyn-Z's Canadian contact did not seem particularly responsible.

We didn't exactly have any other options, but seeing a van come to a screeching, drifting halt in front of the motel was not confidence inspiring.

The driver's door swung open, and out hopped a tall lanky woman with brown skin and purple hair. She slammed the door behind her, leaving her van despite the fact it was parked across three separate parking spots. She had a certain confidence in her walk, and a little smirk on her face.

"Hey bitch!" She flicked her cigarette butt onto the road and embraced Lyn-Z warmly.

They pulled apart from the hug, and Lyn-Z swept an arm to exhibit the half-dozen odd assassins (and associates) who were looking out of their motel room doors. "These are the folks." She said cheerily. "Folks, this is Laella."

As we all gradually left our rooms, I walked up to Laella and shook her hand, "I'm Gerard."

"I call them Gay." Lyn-Z informed her shooting me a half-smile. I remembered when it had bothered me that she called me that. Since then, I had come to realize that she was using it as a term of endearment.

"Nice to meet you, Gay." Laella said with a grin, "I'm Lesbian."

That startled a laugh out of me. She may have been reckless, but Laella seemed fun. It helped that she was LGBT+ too. It meant that there was no judgement from her about our little ragtag group of gay murderers.

It was strange, the bond the group had formed. We had all banded together despite, or perhaps because of, the constant threat of death. Amusingly, it had all started because I slept with Frank. We had just gradually pulled in person by person who wanted out of the murder scene, and in doing so we had actually built our own community. I had no regrets in that regard. Things were starting to work out, and this group was functioning together more than I'd ever imagined it could.

One by one, everyone greeted Laella. Frank was even able to walk out and meet her, though he was leaning heavily on my arm. He smiled up at me reassuringly, and I kissed the top of his head.

"I love you." He told me, which brought a smile to my face immediately.

"I love you too.

"So," Lyn-Z declared, once everyone had been introduced, "Can you get us to the island?"

Laella beamed at her, "Of course I can! Who here knows how to drive a go-fast boat?"

There was a moment of silence, then Jimmy raised his hand. He was quiet, which was out of character. "I've done some smuggling in my time." He said simply, "With Brendon."

There was a moment of silence. Brendon was something of a sore spot for the lot of us. His betrayal had stung, though I was sure it had hurt Jimmy more than anyone. He was hurting, that much was clear. I was only hoping that his sadness wouldn't last for long. He deserved a good life, and I hoped that he would be able to have it despite the memory of Brendon.

"Seems like a deeper issue, so I'm gonna breeze past that one." Laella's cheerful attitude was unbreakable, apparently, though I appreciated the change in topic. "I got two go-fast boats. Don't ask, long story. With two drivers we can make it to the island in one trip. You guys know there's no settlements there, right? It's a tiny abandoned island with maybe two buildings, and the government is invested in pretending it doesn't exist."

"That's exactly why we want to go there." I replied, "We're gonna set up a little gay commune."

"I'll definitely be visiting." Laella told me. "We'll need to go after it gets dark, unless you want the boat pigs to come down on us."

"You mean the coastguard?" Patrick asked.

"No white girl, I meant boat pigs."

Patrick blushed, "Sorry." She murmured.

Laella gave her a quick hug, "I didn't mean that personally, just that I don't trust cops."

"Me neither." Patrick replied, "Trans and person of colour solidarity."

Laella nodded gravely, an approving smile on her face, and it seemed that the matter was resolved.

"You all look tired." Laella said, in her blunt way of stating things. "Lemme guess, people are trying to kill you and there's been drama about who's fucking who."

Pete blushed bright red, as Patrick and Mikey both burst into laughter. Mikey helped Patrick to stand up after she had finished doubling over to laugh. I was glad to see them getting along, and that they weren't letting Pete's indecision divide them. They both more than deserved happiness, with or without Pete.

"You've got weapons?" Laella asked, to which I nodded. "Good, the only dock we can leave from without boat pigs spotting us is...well, it's mafia controlled."

"There's a Canadian mafia?" That question came from Ray, and earned a little laugh from Laella. Ray didn't seem to take the laugh personally; he just grinned back. I was suddenly thankful for his easy-going attitude. There were too many hot tempers in the group, including my own.

"We're just the United States with more snow, honey. Don't let our good PR fool you."

"So we're trading in agency assassins for mafia killers?" Pete sounded skeptical.

Laella shrugged, "I dunno what to tell you, it's that or the cops."

Pete, Jimmy, Ray, and Laella shuddered in unison. "No cops." Ray declared.

"What time should we be ready?" I asked Laella, stroking Frank's hair absentmindedly as he rested his head on my shoulder.

"Y'all are cute." Laella told us, "I'll come get you at midnight. Dark clothes, no dresses or skirts. The wind'll make you regret it if you wear 'em. And he-" She pointed at Frank, "Should take whatever pain meds he's on before we leave. We may have to do some running, if we're spotted."

I nodded. It seemed that despite her laissez-faire attitude, Laella was smart and reliable. I also saw the way Lyn-Z looked at her, and I would not call it heterosexual.

"How 'bout we order some pizza and chill in our room?" I suggested, "Finalize our plans and stuff." That meant that Laella could stay, and spend some time with Lyn-Z.

"Sure!" Laella seemed happy with the prospect, "I'll go ask the manager to use their phone. What room is it?"

I gave her the room number and she bounded off. As we trailed back to my room, Lyn-Z pulled me aside.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" She asked, folding her arms. "Asked her to stay, I mean."

I fixed an expression of innocence on my face, "I have no idea what you mean."

"Uh huh. Thank you, Gay. Honestly."

It was nice to just eat pizza with the group. Mikey and Patrick seemed to be getting along well, which was a weight off of my shoulders. Laella was definitely flirting with Lyn-Z, Frank was sitting up and chatting, not seeming to be in too much pain. Ray was talking to Pete and Jimmy, who's mood seemed to be better than earlier.

For the moment, everything seemed right with the world. I could only hope that the night's plan would go well.

~

it's not gonna go well

I mean, they never really do

whoops

but also for real, I like writing stories where the ending warms your heart, so don't get too worried

Laella is my OC (original character) that I created especially for this story. fun fact: laella is actually my grandmother's name

I wanted my OC to be a person of colour, because I feel like there isn't a whole lot of representation for us in this genre

which is why I gave ray, pete, jimmy, and laella that moment of solidarity about cops because uhhh ACAB

practice solidarity, and remember to create and destroy as you see fit

-Samira