Three Cheers for Tyranny [part 3]
Three Cheers for Tyranny
[ index] - [ prologue] - [ part 1] - [ part 2] - [part 3] - [ part 4] - [ part 5a] - [ part 5b] - [ part 6]
[ art by laziilemon] - [ mix by quarterturn]
“We lost Mario,” Frank said to Gerard, sinking into his usual place on the sofa. Gerard’s head shot up and he stared at Frank with a shocked expression.
“You’re kidding me,” he said.
Frank shook his head. “I just got word from Tony. He was found washed up in the lake, three shots to the chest.”
“Oh, fuck,” Gerard groaned. He covered his face with his hands. “These bastards are getting bold.”
“They’re going to be after you directly, soon,” Frank said warningly. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “They’re just picking off all the guys they know are on your side.”
“We need to strengthen security,” Gerard murmured. “Everybody we have on our side, we need them protected. Who do we have-”
“John, Matthew, and Lorenzo are all strong behind you,” at least Frank hoped so, “and they all should have their own security. We can’t really spare anyone,” Frank said. “We basically have me, Mark, Johnny, Chris, and Worm here at home. Tony’s sticking close to Mikey, so he’s in and out. Pete’s not good enough with a gun to count, and neither is Danny.”
Gerard sighed. “Do you think that’s enough for the house?”
Frank shrugged. “Maybe. You should know I’m sticking to you like glue, though.”
“Thanks.” Gerard lowered his hands and gave Frank a small smile. “I’ll send word out to the guys you mentioned, tell them to keep an eye out.”
Frank nodded and leaned back again while Gerard was scribbling down notes. After a moment, he asked, “Do you have any idea who’s behind it, yet?”
“No,” Gerard answered without looking up. “I’ve got Alex and Tom trying to dig around, but so far they haven’t found anything. I’m a little worried about how deep they’re having to go…”
Frank stood up and went over to Gerard’s desk. He tilted his head to look at the notes, but he couldn’t read Gerard’s hasty scrawl. He put his hand on Gerard’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”
***
Frank was used to Gerard’s nighttime visits, and he waited up until Gerard either came into his room or he heard Gerard go to bed in the room next door. He could tell Gerard was doubting himself more and more, and their late-night chats were becoming more frequent. Frank studied the paintings on the walls and ceiling while he waited, glad that Gerard hadn’t painted over them when Frank moved into the room.
He heard people moving around out in the hall and listened carefully, but it was only Tony and Mark bickering as they headed for bed. Frank sighed. Gerard probably wouldn’t even think about going to bed for another hour. Frank should really wait up with him, down in his office.
He was actually halfway to the door, his mind made up to join Gerard and maybe bring him a midnight snack, when Gerard opened the door and looked in.
“Oh! Frank.”
“Hi,” Frank replied, his heart racing. He hadn’t heard Gerard in the hallway. “I was about to come down to your office.”
“Oh. I was on my way to bed… Just wanted to see if you were up.”
“I am.”
“I see that.”
Frank stepped closer to the door and pulled it open far enough for Gerard to slip inside. “Come in,” he said, nudging Gerard towards the bed.
“I need to send Mario’s mother flowers,” Gerard murmured.
Frank rubbed his back for a few seconds, then sat down beside him. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”
“I’ve talked to John and Matt recently, but Lorenzo-”
“Tony talked to one of his guys,” Frank interrupted. “Joey. He said that you have Lorenzo’s full support.”
“I should talk to him,” Gerard said. “It’s not that I don’t trust Tony, I mean, he’s family, but-”
“Yeah, I know.”
Gerard nodded and fell silent. Frank rubbed his back again, and he seemed to take comfort in it. “Are they really all I have on my side?” he asked finally, his voice low.
“You have Johnny and my dad,” Frank whispered, though he didn’t know for sure how much Gerard trusted his father. “And Bertini and that other guy, Tatollia.”
“I just wish I knew who was against me,” Gerard sighed. “It’s so much easier to fight when I can see who I’m fighting.”
That was something Frank fully agreed with. He leaned against Gerard. “We can talk to some people tomorrow, if you want. And you should call in Alex and Tom; find out how things are going. If they’re being really sneaky, then it might take a while, y’know?”
“Yeah,” Gerard agreed. “You’re right. I’ll see if they can come in. I need to go write that down.”
Frank put his arm around Gerard’s shoulders and squeezed gently. “Don’t forget to sleep, okay?”
Gerard smiled. He looked exhausted. “I’ll try not to.”
***
Tony and Mikey were gone by the time Frank woke up the next morning. Frank went downstairs and found Mark refilling the coffee pot. Gerard wasn’t awake yet. Frank sat down at the kitchen table and waited for coffee to appear in front of him, which it did after a few minutes.
“Thanks,” he murmured sleepily.
“I’m on my second cup already,” Mark replied, and sat down beside him. “Mikey got up at the ass-crack of dawn this morning, and Tony started bitching to him and they woke me up.”
Frank breathed in the steam from his mug and wondered if he could ingest caffeine that way. It wasn’t really helping to wake him up, though, so he doubted it. “Where did they go?” he asked.
“I think he went to see Alicia. Tony didn’t want him going out alone, so they fought about that for a while, and then Tony just went with him.”
“Did she take him back?”
Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he’s still trying to sweet-talk her.”
“He should stop being an asshole, if he wants her back.”
“I don’t think he actually fucked those girls, though…”
“That’s what I mean, though,” Frank said, putting his cup down. “He should just say that and… Ugh, I don’t know. Is that even what Alicia’s pissed about?”
Mark was shaking his head before Frank even finished the question. “I mean,” he began, “I’m sure she’s not happy about that, but Tony’s been telling me some of the stuff they talk about…”
Frank waited. “And?”
“It’s mostly Gerard, I think,” Mark finished quietly. “The Family, what we do, everything. She doesn’t like it and Mikey won’t give it up.”
Frank glanced towards the door to make sure they were alone. The house was silent; it was still early. “Mikey doesn’t even do anything for Gerard, though. And Gerard doesn’t want to force him.”
“I think… I think he wants out. Like, completely out. I think that’s what he keeps telling Alicia, but he’s not moving out of the house, he’s not swearing never to see his brother again, he’s not cutting himself off from the rest of us-”
“Is that what she wants him to do?” Frank asked incredulously. “Jesus Christ.”
Mark waved him off. “No, I’m sure it’s not that extreme. It’s just that she doesn’t trust him, I think, because he’s not… He can’t show her what we see-”
“That he’s not really a part of the Family.”
“She’s on the outside; she doesn’t know what we know.”
Frank sighed and sipped his coffee. “Yeah, that makes sense, I guess,” he said finally.
“Has Mikey talked to Gerard about her?”
Frank shook his head. “Not that I know of. Gerard’s a little preoccupied right now, if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Yeah, dude, what the hell is going on?” Mark asked, pushing his mug aside so he could lean on the table.
“People want him dead,” Frank answered simply. Mark scoffed but Frank ignored him. “He’s probably going to tell you and Tony about it later today.”
***
Frank didn’t actually get to see whether Gerard told the others about the situation, because Gerard gave him a list of names and addresses and murmured in his ear, “Send a message, Frankie.”
He looked at Gerard questioningly, and Gerard added, “Take Worm and Johnny with you, and be careful. I’m sure you’ll know what to say.”
That was all Frank needed to hear. Gerard wanted the people on this list gone.
Johnny drove. Frank rattled off the addresses from the passenger seat and stared at the names, trying to figure out if he recognized any of them. Only one sounded familiar, and it wasn’t anyone Frank knew personally. The list had eight names on it, total, and Frank knew instinctively that these eight weren’t the only ones that Gerard intended to deal with. He’d never ordered such a large-scale hit before, but the look Gerard had given him told Frank that this wasn’t even close to the end.
The three of them took the job in turns, but even so, by the fourth name on the list, Frank was exhausted and sore and bleeding in three places. On their way back home, Worm driving this time, Frank passed out in the back seat.
He woke up when Worm laid him down on the sofa in the lounge, and Mark was standing behind him with a washcloth to clean up their various injuries. Johnny was sporting bruised knuckles, but that was all. Worm was better off than Frank, at least, and only had a gash on his shoulder.
Frank’s hands were bloody, his chest and arms were mottled with bruises, and he had a cut on his thigh. His neck was also bleeding, and he wasn’t quite sure how that happened, but it wasn’t deep. He could just slap a band-aid on it and he’d be fine.
“Do you think we should call Bryar?” Mark asked Worm, bending over Frank to dab at the wound on his thigh. “This looks kind of deep…”
Worm looked over and poked Frank’s leg with his finger. “Frankie, how’s this feel?”
“Ow,” Frank replied bitterly. It didn’t hurt too badly.
“He’ll be fine. I don’t think it needs stitches.”
Mark nodded and retrieved a gauze pad from somewhere, and proceeded to clean and tape up Frank’s leg. “Did you do everything you needed to do?” he asked.
Frank nodded. “Tell Gerard?”
“I’ll go get him,” Johnny said from the doorway.
Frank closed his eyes and let Mark clean him up. When he opened them, Gerard was kneeling next to the couch, and Mark and Johnny were gone. Worm was sitting in one of the armchairs across the room.
“You alright?” Gerard asked softly.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” His arms ached and his leg was probably going to hurt for a while, and his stomach felt like it wouldn’t hold anything he dared to put in it, but it was nothing too serious. “They didn’t go without a fight.”
Gerard raised an eyebrow. “I can tell.”
“We got them all.”
“Johnny said.”
“Are there more?”
“Not for you,” Gerard answered, shaking his head. He smiled. “Don’t fuck yourself up too bad, okay? I’ll send some other guys out to fight the next round.”
“I can-”
“I want you here with me,” Gerard said firmly. Frank nodded and didn’t argue.
***
The next day, Frank was in forced recovery, lounging around in Gerard’s office with a bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water at his side. He really liked being in Gerard’s office and working with him, but he hated that it hurt to move. Gerard eventually pulled a chair up next to the couch and worked from there, using the end table as a makeshift desk.
“Assuming we need some outside people,” Gerard began, “who can we get that, one, knows about the business, two, will be willing to help us, and three, will actually be useful?”
“Off the top of my head?”
“I’ve already got Saporta and Stump.”
“Um…” Frank leaned up and took a drink, for once not spilling all over his chin. “Brian Schechter, do you remember him from high school? He’s friends with Gabe and Jepha, and I’m pretty sure he knows what’s what. Oh, and Cortez.”
“I remember Brian, but… Cortez?” Gerard asked, scribbling notes on a loose sheet of paper.
“Yeah, Matt Cortez, he was in my class, and I’ve seen him around the gym when Chris was taking me almost every day. He’s a good guy; he’d do whatever we asked.”
“Hmm, good.” Gerard tapped his pen against his lips, staring blankly at the wall over Frank’s shoulder. “Asher?”
“Vicky?” Frank asked. Gerard nodded and Frank shrugged. “She’s got a few friends, and she’s tight with Gabe, I think. We could ask.”
“Might as well,” Gerard said. “We need all the help we can get, and if these people don’t have any other affiliations, well.”
Frank nodded. Gerard’s enemies had pushed him to the point of begging his personal friends for help. Frank wanted to find this guy, whoever he was, and kill him with his bare hands for putting Gerard and the Family through this. “We might as well ask,” he agreed quietly.
***
“Frank, Gerard wants you in his office,” Tony said, poking his head into the kitchen. Frank brushed the crumbs off his hands.
“Did he say what for?” Frank asked. Tony shook his head. Deciding it would be best to go in prepared, Frank got out Gerard’s mug and filled it with steaming coffee. He topped off his own cup, then added cream and sugar to both. There was never a time when Gerard didn’t want coffee, but especially lately, when he barely got any sleep.
Gerard had his head in his hands when Frank slipped inside; there were files spread out messily over his desk, littered with scraps of paper and bright sticky notes. He glanced up and instantly brightened at the sight of fresh coffee.
“Tony said you needed me?” he prompted, handing Gerard his mug.
“He said I wanted you,” Gerard corrected, “but I think I do need you, actually.” Frank waited while Gerard sipped his coffee (winced because it was too hot, and then sighed at how good it was anyway) and started to relax. “We don’t have anybody in law enforcement,” he said finally.
“What? What do you mean?”
“The dirty cops, the ones working for the Family? All either dead or retired. Or caught. Or not willing to help me. My point is, we haven’t recruited anybody since Papa was building up the business.”
“What about all the kids, all our cousins?” Frank asked, confused. He had thought the Family was pretty expansive, what with all their blood relatives and business associates.
“Nobody legit,” Gerard said. “We only have people who’ve been picked up or are under suspicion. No cops on the payroll anymore, nobody in the justice system at all.”
“Which means no get-out-of-jail-free cards,” Frank finished as realization dawned. “You can’t just walk into the station and start recruiting cops, Gerard. They’re cracking down on shit like this. I don’t even know how far you could get with bribery, these days.”
“We’re in the shit for sure,” Gerard moaned. His dramatic flair never failed to make Frank smile, and Frank was glad to see Gerard not taking things so seriously for once. It had been too long since he laughed. “I’ve been staring at files all morning,” Gerard continued, resting his head down on his desk. “I can’t think. What can we do?”
Frank fell quiet, stalling by pulling out his pack of Marlboros and his lighter. As soon as Gerard heard the flick of the flame catching, he held out his hand; Frank gave him the cigarette and took out another for himself.
“Let’s put Mark on it,” he finally said. Gerard lifted his head.
“Mark has a gambling problem.”
It was true; Mark had been spending an obscene amount of time in various basements, playing cards with high-rollers. “So? And by the way, ninety-eight percent of the time, he wins. Anyway, he can charm the pants off anybody, that’s why he’s so good at poker. If anyone can turn legit cops, it’s him.”
“Hmm… I’ll consider it,” Gerard said slowly. Frank could understand why Gerard was hesitant to put his own blood relatives at such high risk. So far, he’d managed to keep his close family relatively safe.
“I’ll put some feelers out,” Frank continued, “see who I know. Oh, hey, y’know Gabe?”
“Gabe Saporta, yeah, sure. He owns a couple of clubs, right? Is he good with people?”
“He’s kind of a party animal,” Frank replied. He knew from experience: he was pretty sure he and Gabe had done body shots off each other at a club once. “But anyway, he’s pretty good friends with Bill Beckett, that state prosecutor guy.”
William Beckett had gotten some press a while back for being the youngest prosecutor the state had ever hired, and then, more recently, for going sort of wild at a strip joint. A strip joint Frank happened to know that Gabe owned and frequented.
Gerard’s eyes narrowed. “Does Beckett know about Gabe’s connections?”
“I think so,” Frank said, nodding. “He’s gotten Gabe off the hook before, so he may be our in. And he’s not even Italian, so maybe he could fly under the radar if anybody gets suspicious.”
Gerard nodded. He looked intrigued, which was a good sign. “There’s also….” He trailed off and scribbled down a note. Frank waited; Gerard would tell him if he had a plan, and it wasn’t a good idea to interrupt Gerard’s thought processes. Gerard stopped writing and looked back at Frank. “We’ve also got deals with at least two of the Five Families in New York…” Gerard finally said. “If we reopened negotiations with them, maybe we could pool our resources. I’ll see who I can talk to over there.”
“Careful, Gee,” Frank broke in gently. “Don’t let them know you’re not independent. If they see us as weakened, it might start something we really don’t want.”
“Asking for help starts a mob war,” Gerard said wryly. “Awesome.”
***
One week later, Frank and Gerard were sitting at the police station outside the DA’s office. Frank couldn’t help but be a little twitchy and on edge, surrounded by a bunch of cops and detectives who would like nothing more than to put them both behind bars, but Gerard seemed perfectly at ease.
“How do you know this chick, anyway?”
“We dated in college.”
“Is she likely to grant you a favor?” Frank asked pointedly.
“I didn’t dump her, if that’s what you’re asking. Jesus. We weren’t really... dating, per se-”
“Just fucking,” Frank cut in.
Gerard glared at him. “Shut up.”
“Gerard! This is a surprise.” They both stood up and turned to the sound of the woman’s voice. She was standing in the doorway with a thick manila file clutched to her chest, and she was gorgeous. Frank glanced at Gerard, but he was merely giving her a warm, friendly smile. Frank immediately thought of them in bed together and he blinked hard to erase the images from his mind.
“Lindsey, it’s good to see you.”
She came towards them and dropped the file on Gerard’s vacated seat. She was wearing a short skirt and knee-high boots, with a sexy, low-cut top, and Frank realized a second too late that he was staring at her breasts. He wrenched his eyes up to her face. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“This is my associate, Frank-”
“Iero, yeah, I know who he is,” Lindsey interrupted, smiling. “And I know what he does, and I know what you do, Gerard, so cut the crap, why are you here?”
Frank rolled his eyes. Gerard sighed and took a step closer to her. “Lyn, don’t be like that. Do I need an excuse to stop in and say hi?”
“After all these years? Yeah, you kind of do,” Lindsey replied, and she smiled again. “Why are you here, Gee? You can’t blackmail me and you can’t bribe-”
“No, no, stop, I’m not like that,” Gerard broke in quickly. He acted like he was offended, and maybe he was, that Lindsey would think of him that way, but Gerard really was like that. Sometimes.
“Hear what he has to say, Lindsey, please,” Frank said. He gave her his most innocent puppy-dog face and she caved instantly. Frank fought the urge to smirk.
“I just need to ask you a favor, just a little favor, please hear me out,” Gerard began. She was already shaking her head. “No, listen, I’m not asking as a business, just as a friend, please. I’m going through a lot of personal issues right now, and I need your help. Listen as a friend, please, that’s all I ask.”
Lindsey shifted her weight and tossed her thick, black ponytail over one shoulder. “I’m listening,” she said.
“Can we go into your office?” Gerard asked quietly. “I’d rather… not be overheard.”
Lindsey cast her gaze around the building; it wasn’t deserted by any means, but there wasn’t anyone near them. Still, she nodded and took Gerard’s hand. Frank hesitated, unsure if she meant for him to follow.
“Wait here,” Gerard murmured. Frank nodded and sat back down.
She left her file. He was sure she hadn’t meant to, but Frank wasn’t nice enough to leave it be. He picked it up and glanced at the first page. Gerard’s name was printed clearly at the top, and as Frank flicked through the next few pages, he found several photos of Gerard and himself, and a few of Gerard with other members of the Family. Frank’s pulse quickened.
The parts of the file that Frank skimmed through didn’t have anything too incriminating, he was relieved to note. It was mostly information that Gerard gave out freely, like the legitimate imports side of the business, and his own personal history, things like dropping out of college to take over when his grandfather died.
He didn’t manage to look very far before he heard voices and footsteps approaching, though. Frank slammed the file closed and put it back on the chair beside him, then crossed his legs and tried to look nonchalant. He stood up when Lindsey and Gerard appeared.
They were both smiling, and Gerard kissed Lindsey’s cheek as he said goodbye, so their meeting must have gone well. Frank waved cheerfully at her before turning to leave, and caught her answering wave. He grinned.
“How did it go?” he asked, once they were back in the car. Pete was driving, so Frank could devote his full attention to Gerard. “What did she say?”
“I told her some of what’s going on, and she agreed to look the other way while we take care of things,” Gerard answered easily.
Frank’s goggled at him. “What, just like that? Favor for a friend, or are you agreeing to sexual favors or what?”
“Frank! Shut the fuck up. She’s a nice woman and she listens to reason. And I promised her I wouldn’t go overboard.”
Frank laughed and nudged Gerard in the ribs. “You’re such a charmer, Gee.”
“She agreed practically right away, once we were alone in her office,” Gerard said. “It was a little weird, actually.”
“She was reading your file,” Frank replied.
Gerard stared at him. “Frank-”
“She left it on your chair,” Frank continued quickly. “From what I saw, it wasn’t anything too bad, though they obviously know something about what you do. No concrete evidence, though.”
“So why did she agree?” Gerard asked, looking confused. “If she was reading up on me, she should’ve gone running in the opposite direction.”
Frank shrugged. “Maybe she really does like you.”
Gerard leaned back in his seat and looked out the window. “Hm.”
***
“I saw Mark talking to that Asher girl and her friends,” Franco said without preamble. Frank rolled his eyes and nodded. It was no use denying it. “What is Gerard doing with these people?”
“Networking,” Frank replied. “He hasn’t seen them since high school, y’know? We’re just reconnecting with some old friends.” He hated that it was necessary, but Frank knew he couldn’t say much about Gerard’s plans.
“These people, these girls, don’t belong in this world,” Franco hissed. “This is our territory, Frankie, and he has no right bringing in people who don’t understand.”
Frank’s hand clenched tight around his phone. “That’s not-”
“I know exactly what he’s trying to pull, Frankie. If he wants to keep our trust, he should play by the rules. He should fucking know better. No outsiders, no girls. Gerard is alienating his own Family by going behind our backs-”
“Dad, shut up,” Frank spat. “Gerard can do whatever he wants, talk to whoever he wants, and it doesn’t necessarily involve the entire fucking Family, alright? Give him some fucking space. This job is taking over his life.”
“That’s how it should be. He was never ready for this position.”
Frank’s blood ran cold and he took a deep breath before answering. “Don’t ever let me hear you say that again,” he said stiffly, and hung up.
***
Frank expected Gerard to visit him that night, and Gerard didn’t disappoint. He snuck in around one in the morning, but Frank was already awake, waiting for him. The lights were off, and Gerard didn’t bother turning them on, he just joined Frank on the bed and stretched out beside him.
“Do you think it’s okay that I’m bringing in all these people who aren’t even connected to the Family?” he asked.
Frank nodded. “I think it’s the only thing we can do in this situation. I don’t think it’s a particularly good idea, but… at this point, who else can we turn to?”
“I feel weird about telling them, though. We knew these guys in high school, y’know? And now there’s all this shit going on, and they didn’t even know-”
“They don’t care,” Frank broke in. Matt Cortez certainly didn’t; he’d jumped right in when Frank had approached him earlier in the week. Schechter had been harder to persuade, but in the end, he agreed to do whatever he could to help Gerard, if not the Family. Vicky and Gabe both signed on immediately and without question; Gabe, because he already knew the Family business, and Victoria because she trusted Gabe’s judgment.
“I can’t trust them,” Gerard admitted quietly.
“You don’t have to trust them yet,” Frank said. “But they’re on our side.”
“I can’t trust anybody anymore,” Gerard said miserably. Frank reached out and touched his hand. “Not even people in the Family, people I was supposed to be able to call for help. Nothing’s going as I planned-”
“We’ll make a new plan,” Frank said, before Gerard got off track. “You trust me, don’t you?”
“Of course, Frankie, of course I do. You’re pretty much the only one I really do trust with my life.”
“Then we’ll figure it out together. I promise.”
Gerard sighed and shifted close enough to rest his head on Frank’s shoulder. “I just wish I knew who’s on my side.”
Frank didn’t mention the conversation he’d had with his father, even though he knew Gerard would want to know. Frank could hardly talk to his dad anymore without arguing, and it was usually over Gerard and his policies. It was on the tip of Frank’s tongue to tell Gerard everything, but Gerard patted his arm, whispered, “Thanks, Frankie,” and disappeared.
***
[ part 4]