Costa Crew 3: Make or Break

Chapter 23 - Their Last Stand

Charlotte, Hannah and Ted raised their hands. "That's better," Amelia said, smirking. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to poor little Matthew, now would we?"

She aimed her gun into Matthew's cell. "Don't you dare," Charlotte snarled. "Don't you even think about it."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "Did I say you could talk?" she asked.

Charlotte screamed as Amelia fired a shot, missing Matthew's head my millimetres. "Now unless you want the next one to go right through his tiny little kid brain, shut up and do exactly what I tell you."

Charlotte, Hannah and Ted were all silent. Amelia nodded to Anthony. "Go and check on Paul," she instructed. "If he's stopped bleeding then bring him through to the exercise yard."

She turned back to the rest of the Costa Crew. "Move it!" she snapped, gesturing towards the exercise yard.

Charlotte, Hannah and Ted reluctantly walked forward, shooting nervous glances backwards, until they reached the exercise yard, where Becky sat still cuffed to the chair and Paul was on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back, head bowed. "I think you know what to do," Amelia said softly.

Charlotte shook her head. "We're not kneeling for you."

"I'm sorry, was I not making myself clear?" asked Amelia, marching right up to Charlotte until they were face to face. "Get on your knees or I drag your kids through here and slowly kill them in front of you."

Charlotte gulped, then knelt down beside Paul, Hannah and Ted following suit. "That's better," said Amelia, approaching Becky. "Now your turn."

Amelia unlocked Becky's cuffs and shoved her off the chair, sprawling onto the ground. "Bitch," muttered Becky.

Amelia sighed as she stood over Becky. "Look at that, you're practically bowing to me. The whole Costa Crew bowing to me."

As Becky glared up at Amelia, Amelia bent down beside Becky. "I bet Curt would be so very proud of you right now," she whispered, sniggering slightly. "My little puppet bowing down to me. In her rightful place."

Becky's fist clenched. "I'm not your puppet," she muttered, trying to stand. "I'm nothing like you."

Amelia shoved Becky back to the ground before placing a foot on her back. "You're more like me than you think. I mean yes, you're pathetic, and yes, you're nothing compared to me, but it's the same things that drive us both. We both have that anger, that desire for revenge, and we're both desperate to be the best. The only difference between us is that you chose the path of a hero, while I chose the path of a villain. Like a fairytale. But it's all smoke and mirrors. You use MI5 to get what you want. I use my organisation to get what I want. But I'm willing to go further, more determined than you'll ever be. I don't bind myself by rules."

"You mean you don't have any sort of morals," Becky retorted. "And there's something else that drives me, something that you could never understand. I love these guys. There's nothing I won't do for them. They give me the strength to keep this fight going even when it seems like I've lost. And they give me the strength to take you down."

Amelia kicked Becky in the side. "You have lost," she spat. "And you're not taking me down."

Becky rolled over then with one swift movement, pulled herself to her feet. "I beg to differ," she said defiantly. "We're taking you down together. The Costa Crew. The way it always has been, the way it always will be."

Amelia sighed. "Let's even the odds, shall we?"

Anthony stood by Amelia's side, and as the Costa Crew stood, Connelly entered, closely followed by Bradshaw and Turnbull. "Five against five. Let's see what your precious little Costa Crew can do against us."

The Costa Crew all got to their feet and stood by Becky, Hannah unlocking Paul's handcuffs. As they stood facing Amelia's team, Becky realised that they had no chance. Charlotte was still shaken from her children being threatened. Ted still had to be careful in physical confrontation after the serious bullet wound he had suffered four years ago. Hannah had been kicked half to death, Paul had been shot, and Becky was utterly worn out after everything Amelia had put her through.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Anthony had been eagerly awaiting this day. Bradshaw and Turnbull were two heavily built prison guards. And Connelly, who could barely throw a punch, still had a gun on him, like everyone else standing beside Amelia.

"Anthony, Hannah's all yours. Ewan, you handle Paul. Tracy, you deal with Charlotte, Astrid deal with Ted. And you, Little Miss Bitch," Amelia said, narrowing her eyes at Becky. "you're all mine."

Becky braced herself as Amelia pulled out a gun and started firing shots at her. "Like Hannah said," she said through gritted teeth, dodging bullet after bullet. "I don't want to fight you. But I will. And you should have paid more attention after you killed Drake."

Becky reached into her pocket and pulled out a pistol.

***

"You have the rest of your life to talk, let me say my piece," Raymond Drake croaked. "For once, I have no regrets. I made this mess. I wasn't thorough in anything. If I'd been a better detective, I would have discovered the truth behind your brother's death. I would have found out about the DNA swap. And I would have discovered Anthony hiding in your apartment when I was supposed to be protecting you."

As Drake spoke, he slid his hand into his pocket, keeping a close eye on Amelia, and slid out his own gun. If he had only pulled that gun out earlier, he might still have a chance of surviving this mess. Now the least he could do was make sure that he didn't send Rebecca Hidgens to her death as well.

"You did your best," Becky said, tears streaming down her face. "That's all we can ever do. All we should ever do."

As Becky looked down at Drake, she spotted the gun in his hand and him indicating for her to take it. Saving him what little energy he had left, Becky took the gun from Drake and quickly slid it into her jacket pocket, praying that Amelia wouldn't notice. Praying that she would enjoy her victory too much to notice her downfall happening right in front of her.

"But for once, I can rest knowing that I did my duty," Drake continued. "Just make sure I get a fantastic memorial. With a speech about how fantastic I am. It had better happen, I'll be watching."

Becky smiled weakly. "I'll make sure of it."

Drake laughed. It hadn't been a perfect life. He hadn't had many friends, he'd found other people difficult to interact with, and it had taken him a long time to realise what it meant to be part of a team. But now, he was part of a team, fighting for what was right. And even though he was dying...he finally felt good about himself. In his last moments, he was the old Raymond Drake again. With that knowledge, he could close his eyes, still smiling.

***

"You have no idea how to use that," Amelia sneered, tossing her own gun aside and walking towards Becky. "You're not a real MI5 Agent. You work in Cyber Security. Well...worked in Cyber Security. Before you left MI5 for the police force. And of course you lost your job when you went to prison for murder."

Becky steeled herself, finger on the trigger. "You tried to kill me once," she replied, her voice shaking. "I wasn't going to leave myself defenceless."

"You don't have the guts," Amelia snarled. "None of you have the guts to actually fire that gun at me."

She grabbed the knife that she had placed to one side earlier. "I was going to leave you alive for the time being," she snapped. "But plans change. You've been a pain in the ass one too many times. So I think it's better for everyone if I finish you off right now. You and your pathetic little Costa Crew."

Becky's fist clenched, then she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.