Twenty Three 

Getting punched in the stomach makes you feel like someone knocked the air right back out of you, so for a moment all you can focus on is trying to suck in a breath of air. Unfortunately for me as soon as I'd sucked in that breath, I was forced to look into Ian's eyes and realise that I'd take that punch a hundred times over if it meant I could get away from him. 

"What's going on?" I almost didn't want to ask. 

"I could ask you the same" he took a step closer, and I noticed that his other thug, Rob, was standing to his left. Bert was sat in the corner, not meeting my gaze. 

"Bert?" he looked up when I said his name, an apologetic look in his eye. 

"Sorry kid" he mumbled "they just turned up, and as much as I like ya, I also like being alive." Although I wanted to be angry with him for allowing me to be lured to his apartment, I knew there wasn't much he could've done about it if he didn't know they were coming. 

"Good point Bert" Ian turned to me "makes me wonder why Frank doesn't value his life as much as you do." 

"Ian I don't know what you're talking about -" 

"Liar!" He was suddenly right in my face, dragging me to my feet. Even stood up he still towered over me, all but spitting in my face "all these weeks since Dewees went missing, did you not think I had people looking for him too?"

Shit. He knew. How much he knew I wasn't sure, but he knew enough. 

"Yes-"

"Well I did. I figured if he had help he'd probably run to rehab. That's what most of them do. So I checked a few people in of my own, and sure enough I eventually got a guy into the same clinic as him" double shit, I'd never thought about the other people in there, and now it was too late. "As soon as he was sure he had the right guy he checked himself out, but not before he got a look at the guest list. And do you know who was on there?" 

"I'm not on any visitor lists anywhere" I tried to interject, but he grabbed me roughly by the front of my t-shirt and slammed me against the wall behind me. Sharp pain shot up my back as he held me there, eyes cold. 

"I know, but some other kid was, so I had my guys ask around your college, and guess who we found out lives with him? None other than Frank fucking Iero himself" he finally let me go, but it was only so he could swing back his fist and punch me in the jaw. I cried out, unable to help myself, pain exploding across my face. "So tell me, how did it come to be that your housemate is on Dewees rehab visitor list without you fucking knowing about it?" he laughed with sickening sarcasm "because either that, or you've bene stringing me along all this time." 

"Ian" I tried to talk, my jaw already going slightly numb from shock. "I'm sorry I-"

"Save it" he snapped "the only reason I got you to come to me here was so nobody would interrupt us, otherwise I would've marched into that fancy mansion you've shacked up in straight away."

"Are you going to kill me?" I gulped, trying to hide my sheer terror. I didn't want him to know just how much I was shaking with fear. 

"Not yet" he mused.

"we're not?" Kyle frowned "what are we doing here then?" 

"Well-" Ian abruptly cut off, staring past me. Before I could turn my head to see what he was looking at, he'd made some sort of signal to Kyle and Rob that sent them both running to the door. 

It was when they both barrelled outside and I heard a scream that I realised what was going on. 

Lynz. How long had I been in here? Probably long enough for her to get impatient and come try and peer in the window to see what was happening as opposed to leaving like we'd discussed. 

Sure enough, she was thrown roughly into the room by Kyle as Rob shut the door. She landed hard, throwing her hands out to protect her face. When she did look up, she took one look at me and let out a gasp, eyes going from me, to Ian, to Bert. 

"What the fuck?" she glared over at Bert, who met her gaze with a defeated expression. 

"Not you too" he groaned. 

"Who the fuck are you?" Ian loosened his grip on me. 

"She's my girlfriend" Bert sounded desperate "please Ian, don't hurt her too. She doesn't know shit-"

"We'll find you another girlfriend" Rob sneered "one that isn't friends with this fucker" he jabbed his thumb at me. 

"she's not my-" I started to say, but Lynz cut me off and threw herself under the bus. 

"Please dont hurt Frank" she begged Ian, not seeming to care that in doing so she had admitted far more than she should've. As she did Rob pulled her ID out of her jacket pocket and read it aloud. 

"Lynz Ballato." 

"Well Lynz, I don't care if you're his friend or his girlfriend, but I do care that you've interrupted me right in the middle of something here" he turned to Kyle "make sure she stays put. We'll deal with her later. And as for you" he turned back to me "no I'm not killing you right now or I would've done so already. You're bait you see." 

"Bait?" 

"You see, I know Dewees is in that rehab, but the security is too good there - I could never get in there and kill him without being caught. Only way to get him is to lure him here, and what better way to do it than to tell him if he doesn't give himself up, you'll be the one paying the price? All we have to do is sit back and wait for him to come to us." 

"And I'm supposed to believe you'll just let me go afterwards?" 

"Maybe" he mused "depends on if I think you've learned your lesson. And if you'll keep quiet about the dead druggie on our hands." He pulled his phone out and started to scroll through it. 

"How are you going to blackmail him if he's in rehab?" 

"Once my man on the inside checked out to come tell me the good news, he checked himself back in again, and because he hadn't been using they let him back in. Only this time he has a phone on him, which means that I can send him a video that I know he'll be able to show Dewees. Up for a little home movie, Iero?" 

Before I could reply Rob was there, shoving me roughly to the ground as Ian began to record. 

"Here's the deal Dewees" he sneered as Rob landed his first kick to my stomach, quickly followed by a second "your friend Frank here is always putting himself on the line for you, so here's an opportunity to return the favour" another kick to the stomach had me yelling out in pain, vision going a but fuzzy found the edges "you can come to Bert's right now and save him" I was vaguely aware of Lynz screaming in the background, Kyle holding her back from running to me "or I'm going to kill him" he turned the camera onto Lynz "and hey! Maybe her too if I fancy it. See you soon." 

 He stopped filming, but Rob still delivered one last blow that I'm sure broke a rib. By this point I was a heap on the floor, lip bleeding from Ian's earlier punch, every breath hurting to draw, and the whole room seemed to be spinning. 

I guess Kyle must have let Lynz go, because I felt her press a hand to my forehead and heard a few sobs escaping from her as she leant protectively over me. The sound of footsteps told me Ian and Rob had retreated to the kitchen, leaving Kyle guarding the door at the other end of the room. I wasn't really sure where Bert was, but I assumed he hadn't moved from his original spot. 

"You're an idiot" I groaned at her "told you - not to - to go..."

"I couldn't leave" she sighed "I had this gut feeling that something wasn't right" she ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to comfort me "shit Frank, you need to go to hospital." 

"Don't think they're willing to call me an ambulance" I tried to make a lighthearted chuckle, but just ended up wheezing. 

"You" Lynz looked up, presumably at Bert "how can you just sit there and do nothing?" 

"What can I do?" Bert hissed back "If I try anything I'll end up like Frank here. And don't go thinking that they wont do the same to you, because they will!" 

"It's your apartment - can't you think of something?" Kyle was out of earshot, and probably not interested in our conversation anyway. 

"Lynz-" 

"No Bert - you got me into this mess, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, now I need you to help me save Frank. So I don't care what you do but you need to do something and you need to do it now, because otherwise either Dewees or Frank are going to die today, potentially both of them." I realised that Bert was scared. He'd seen what this gang was capable of, and now he wasn't just scared for himself, he was worried for her life too. 

"Okay" he hissed "I'll try."

My vision was getting a little clearer now, and I managed to sit up a bit so that I could see Bert. He was walking towards the kitchen doorway, where he stopped and interrupted Ian and Rob's conversation. 

"Er, Ian" he stuttered "about the whole my-flat-is-about-to-become-a-murder-scene situation-" 

"Shut up McCracken" Rob bluntly replied. 

"All I mean is would it be possible for me to, you know, live somewhere else in exchange for my silence? Doesn't have to be anywhere fancy, you know I love living in squalor, just don't particularly want to live here because I totally believe in ghosts and well -" he'd stepped into the room now and their voices were becoming a bit muffled, but I could hear Ian making some sort of compromise. 

"He better have a plan" Lynz whispered to me. 

"If he doesn't" I mumbled "you need to get yourself out." 

"I'm not leaving without you" she glared down at me. 

"I've definitely got broken ribs. I can't run. I'm done for" I wheezed "you have a chance still." 

"Not going to happen Frank, so shut up and save your breath." 

Bert re-emerged then, and as he walked past us I saw something drop from his hand into Lynz's. I looked over to the door, where Kyle was staring out the window before checking the lock on the door. He hadn't seen. I looked at Lynz, who was sat side on to me so that I could see the mobile phone she was holding behind her back. She slipped it into the lining of her jeans, belt holding it in place, and coughed to get Kyle's attention. 

"I need to go the bathroom" she called over to him. 

"Can't it fucking wait?" 

"No" she stammered "please, I don't want to piss on the floor but I'm gunna if I don't go now." 

"Fine" he snapped "Rob, come keep an eye on Iero for me."

Rob and Ian re-appeared as Kyle lead Lynz to the bathroom. Luckily it didn't have a window, so he allowed Lynz to shut the door behind her. I'd recognised the mobile she had as being her own, so I guess Bert had managed to steal it back whilst he'd been complaining to Ian in there. 

"Dewees got the message" Ian laughed down at me "apparently he went white as a ghost when he saw it. So I guess we can be expecting him soon enough. My guy will drive him straight here once he agrees, and the brilliant thing about it is that he's checking himself out of rehab - basically admitting he'd about to go on a drug fuelled bender. Nobody will be surprised when he disappears completely."

"Ian you don't have to kill him. He'll repay you somehow, you know he will. He just needed to get clean first." 

"Shut up before I punch you so hard I knock you unconscious" he spat down at me "you don't get to tell me what to do. You just get to lie there and beg for your life, got it?" I gave a weak nod, too exhausted to try anything. He turned back to Kyle "what the fuck is taking her so long in there anyway?" 

Kyle hammered hard on the door. "You've got 5 seconds before I open this!" 

Lynz opened the door tentatively, glancing from Kyle to Ian to me. Kyle grabbed her by the arm and shoved her in my direction, causing her to stumble a little as she walked across the room and sat down beside me on the floor. 

"What should we do with them now boss?" Rob glanced wearily at the two of us. 

"Tie their hands together, I don't want them trying anything."

Rob pulled my wrists together whilst Kyle wrapped some tape around them before doing the same to Lynz. I don't know why they bothered really - I was no position to go anywhere in a hurry. 

"As for you" Ian turned to Bert "show us where the beers are in this dump." 

Bert glanced briefly at us before leading him and the other two into the kitchen, leaving me and Lynz alone in the room.

"Did you use the phone?" I whispered only when I was sure they were out of earshot. 

"I text Ray" she bit her lip "I didn't have time to type much, and he seemed like the best person in a crisis." 

"What did you say?' 

"Me and Frank are being held hostage by Ian at Bert's, he knows about Dewees and using us as bait. Get help quick." As much as I didn't want to get Ray involved, I had to agree that he was probably the best person in Lynz's phone book to text. Even if she had his number, Gerard would have come running straight here without thinking of backup, and Kellin was pretty notorious for not checking his phone enough. 

"Ray's sensible" I nodded "he'll call the police." I didn't care anymore about getting caught, now my life was on the line I knew anything was better than a dead body. 

"I just hope he reads it in time." She voiced the fears I had bubbling in my stomach. 

"He will." 

"How far away is Dewees rehab?" 

"Well, it took Gerard half an hour to drive there, but im not sure Ian's thugs will exactly stick to the speed limit. I reckon we have about twenty minutes till he gets here and we're done for."

"That's more than enough time for the police" she nodded "as long as Ray calls them within the next ten minutes, we should be okay." 

"Lynz, if we're not, and Ian kills Dewees, you need to save yourself. I can try and talk myself out of it, beg him and stall him till the police come, I don't care, but you're better off running." 

"Frank, it won't come to that. Listen, we have an advantage here - they don't know that anyone else knows we're here." 

I wanted to reply, but at that point Ian walked back into the room, beer in hand like this was a normal day to day occurrence. Perhaps it was. 

"Don't try anything" he narrowed his eyes at Lynz "you're both on thin enough ice as it is." 

"You know, it wouldn't make sense to kill us" she swallowed her nerves. 

"Oh really?" he raised an eyebrow "and why's that?" 

"Because you said yourself that nobody would notice if Dewees went missing, but people would notice if me and Frank both disappeared. Friends, family, college..." 

"And the alternative is what exactly? Let you go and have you tell everyone what happened here?" 

"Ian if you let her go I promise she won't cause you any trouble" I spoke up. 

"Like you've promised so much before? When you promised me you didn't know where Dewees was? Tell you what Iero, you break one more promise to me and i'll take your tongue, how's that for a promise?" 

"So don't kill him" Lynz persisted "killing Dewees will be messy and hard to cover up, you've already got one more witness than you wanted, and then there's Bert, it would be so much easier to just make Dewees work for you again until he can pay you back." 

"I don't do second chances round here. Frank already knows that - maybe it's about time you learned it too."

He swung his fist back to punch her, but before his fist could reach her my reflexes kicked in, and without thinking I used what little energy I had to bring up my foot and kick him square in the crotch. 

He yelled out and stumbled from the pain, giving me a moment to realise that even if he hadn't been planning on killing me before, he definitely was now. 

"You" he spat, regaining his balance enough to grab me by the front of my t-shirt "are so much more trouble than you're worth Iero. And you just don't fucking learn, do you?" He didn't wait for a reply before delivering the punch to my face, which at least meant he'd forgotten about Lynz, but also meant that white hot pain was searing through the left side of my face. I undoubtedly had a black eye, and before I could fully recover from that he threw me back towards the ground, creating even more damage to my ribs. 

"Stop!" I could hear Lynz cry out, and the sound of footsteps as Ian's thugs no doubt came to check out what was going on. 

However, before I could turn my head to take a look at them there was a large bang, and the sound of the front door flying open. 

Someone had just kicked the door down.