Draft version - Russian Roulette - Family secrets

Ch. 106: Is he?

They walked to a salon across from the hospital ward on the first floor, where the patient rooms were. They had not talked about it, they walked there on instinct knowing Phoenix did not need an audience. So they would not go downstairs.

Gareth poured the whiskey and they just sat there. Nobody was talking, it was not needed. They all felt the need to just be.

None of them had asked Phoenix why he had told Jace to let go. It was obvious that he had not given up by the way he kept wringing his hands and nervously looking at the door waiting for the bad news. Maybe he truly wanted what was best for Jace and his own misery did not matter.

"Gareth..." Phoenix broke the silence about a bottle and a half later. Cracker had made a supply run downstairs for more whiskey and vodka for Vasili.

"All of you," he sighed and looked at them with a lost expression. "Thank you for everything."
"Stop, Phoenix. You don't need to thank us." Gareth held up his hand in dismissal. The last thing any of them needed was for Phoenix to feel he needed to thank anybody. They were with him because they wanted to, not because they had to.

"Maybe not, then thank you from Jace. You gave us time to say goodbye. If you hadn't found him in that parking lot..."
"You're welcome, mate," Gareth smiled saving Phoenix from finishing the sentence.
"I'll stay and help, but when we've dealt with Grychenko I might need some time away."
"Bro, none of us expect you to do anything. We'll handle things." Cracker commented on behalf of them all.

"Oh, I know. But I want to. I owe it to Jace to get that bastard off the streets. I want him dead!"
"We'll get him together." Gareth lifted his glass to them. "Brothers."

"Brothers!" they replied in unison.

"Now that I've got you all here," Gareth had on his boss voice intentionally, he noticed how they all went into work mode expecting him to talk business. Even Phoenix was ready to talk shop.

It was what they had expected after Phoenix had opened the door to talk about getting Grychenko.

"Usually, I'd rip anybody who went behind my back apart, you all know that better than any. You've seen me do it," he said in a neutral tone.

Violence in the line of business was not really something that fazed any of them, they had seen Gareth lose his cool and go bat shit crazy on traitors. If people were in trouble and tried to handle it themselves instead of coming to him for help. Like if they needed money and stole from him, or if they had gotten caught or suspected by the police and not notified their team leader, or they had a drug problem and helped themselves from the stashes.

Gareth had no mercy.

He was a reasonable man, he would help all of his men if they came to him, he did not accept people going behind his back for whatever reason. They all knew that. Which was why it had been many years since anything like that had happened last.

"I had never thought my closest would do it."

Vasili tried to interject but Gareth silenced him with his hand in the air. He shut up immediately. Excuses never helped with Gareth.

"This is the one time and I mean it. The one time I'll forgive it." Gareth looked at them in turn. There was no question about him meaning what he said. "I know why you did it, so, from Mackenzie and my sanity, thank you."

Stunned they were not about to run for their lives the three of them sat there looking at Gareth like he had been taken over by aliens.

"You're welcome. So, you and her..." Phoenix asked with uncertainty. "You're ok? You've talked?"
"Yes, we've talked. I want that man caught and I want him to go through everything he's put Mackenzie through. If I have to keep him alive in a cell for months to torture him before I cut him into little pieces after he's begged me to kill him for weeks, I want him to suffer."