Marys POV:

"They're still down there!," Brian stammers. His head swings back to the hectic shouting happening down the hillside.

"He's got them at gun point," My voice is but a whisper as I keep watch for some sign of the police car. We can hear the sirens in the distance.

"He's what?!," Cherie tries to fight against the paramedic treating her wounds. The ambulance has crashed into the road divide as it tried to swerve out of the way from hitting Cherie at the last moment. "Let me go— that's my husband!,"

"Ma'am, we're going to need you to stay put-," the paramedic grabs her arms, holding her back from falling as her legs give out. She's half blinded by the blackened bruises making her eyes puff. The hollows of her cheeks are decorated just the same.

"Like hell— if you all are not going to help-," I say as I planned to go down there and intervene.

"We're trained to deal with this. I'm going to calm them down," The second EMT cuts me off as she starts walking away.

I leave Cherie with the paramedics, Deacy and Brian by her side the entire time. Deacy's consoling her, but she doesn't even know what's happening. She's cracked her egg and with good reason.

"Brian!," I hiss at him to stop fidgeting and pay attention. He's a nervous wreck! "The children are in my car down the road— that way," I point out and he nods his head, though he seems to still not be connecting what I'm saying.

"Brian, snap out of it! Go on and get the children,"

"Yes— yes of course. The children....," Still far away, he nods his head in agreement as he pries his eyes away from the scene down the hill. The shouting is terrifying.

Sneakily creeping along behind the paramedic, she stops in her tracks when she hears the crunch of snow beneath my feet. Lifting her finger to her lips to signal her quiet approach, I nod my head understanding.

For a split second, my eyes meet Rogers piercing blue glance. Luckily he doesn't stare, maybe he understands that it'll just tip Jimmy off.

"Stop. Who's that?," The EMT puts her hand up for me to halt on the spot as finally Jim emerges from the tour bus. He's bleeding purfusely from a deep gash on his forehead, limping a trail a blood as he nears Freddie, Jimmy and Roger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hutton:

"You think I'll just allow you to go on being happy with her while I get the shitty end of the deal?!,"

With their hands level with their heads, Roger and Freddie try to deescalate the situation. They have every right to tell this fucker off, but with a gun holding them to the spot, there's no way out and I'm not even sure how to intervene.

I stay hidden near the tour bus, just close enough to hear but out of Jimmys view with his back turned to me. If Roger and Freddie can see me, I just need them to play along for a little while longer.

"How much money do you want?!," Freddie yells, his face is contorted so viciously it seems painful. The veins of his neck look about ready to burst as his chest heaves up and down rapidly.

It's heartbreaking to watch him grapple this way at the feet of this monster. "I'll give you whatever the fuck you want," he spits through gritted teeth. "Give me my children—," he pauses, clenching his jaw but lowering his tone at the same time. "...you can kill me afterwards— I don't give a shit!," Freddie hocks a wad of spit at Jimmys feet into the pile of snow their sunken into.

Freddie's hands have dropped down to his side as he stands nonchalant now with his wrist folded to his hip. Rogers alarmed expression switches back and forth from Jimmys enraged face to Freddie's passive stance.

"He doesn't mean that— Freddie, you don't mean that!," Roger speaks up, looking to the side to his best friend as if it's the last time he'll ever see him.

"Fuck the money— that's over! Ha-haaaAa!," Jimmy steps closer to his two hostages, toying with his gun, spinning it around in his palm with each step he takes. "It's all over and you know it, too!,"

Jimmys lips are so close to Freddie's ear as he speaks down to him from behind his back, outlining the pulsing veins on Freddie's temple with the tip of the gun. I pray to God that Freddie can remain calm for a bit longer.

"Or has she kept that from you, too..."

————————————————

:

This motherfucker has completely gained the upper hand here and I've no idea what to do next!

I don't know where my wife is!

I don't know where my children are!

What the fuck happened in this twisted one spell night!? This is all his doing and I'm sick of it!

We've suffered enough. There's no time for any more of this shit.

"What do you want to do then, Jimmy...," I keep my tone unbothered, sounding annoyed actually.

"Ya still mad that my wife never wanted you?," As condescending as possible, I speak to him as if he's shit. Which, he is. "Did little Jimmy get his feelings hurt by Paul? Ouch. I bet that really hurt coming from a fagget. Oh, but wait-"

I can see the mans got no serious urgency here. He's messing about. There's a lot of space between his ears. He's unsure of himself. If he wanted me dead, he'd have killed me a long time ago. With every word I speak, his expression becomes more menacing. He glares at me down the barrel of his gun.

A threat I don't really care for anymore.

"Freddie! Would you, please!!," Roger whispers hurriedly, cutting me off, trying to make me shut my mouth. He's still got his hands up in surrender.

Fuck that shit!

"Paul's dead! He died because of you! Don't you fucking bring his name up-," Jimmy tries to frighten me with the shaking gun pointed to my head.

"Yes. Yes, dear, of course. It's all my fault," I scoff sarcastically, waving him off, rolling my eyes.

If this is my final hour, I'd at least like a drag of smoke, I think to myself as I involuntarily pat my pockets. All the fucks I've had to give blowing in the wind.

"It is your fault!!," Jimmy retorts. It looks like he's breaking down. A psychotic, hysterical man with a gun waving around in the air is never a good thing, I tell ya...

I roll my eyes again, crossing my arms as I jut out my hip, listening to him continue. His voice drones on and on...

"If it weren't for the fucking bastards he went after, the ones that had to look exactly like you—,"

"Come off it, darling. Nobodies ever going to look as good as this," showcasing myself with a flamboyant wave of my hand. I can't help but chuckle at Roger, who's jaw is practically shoveling snow from falling open so hard.

"It's all you! He never could be with only me because he wanted to be with you! And now the only thing he's left me, I've been kind enough to share with Cherie and, by chance, probably yo—,"

"PISS OFF!!,"

Now he's really hit a nerve. Now I finally get to get my hands on the son of a bitch! It's been years in the making. Nows my chance and nobodies going to stop me.

As Jimmy opens his mouth to speak, the side of my stiff, frozen hand cuts off his air supply as I chop it against his throat. My hands work quickly into a double upper cut toward his chin, and a third quick jab to his nose and mouth, causing him to fall backwards into the snow, spraying the white with red from his leaking nose.

As he automatically grabs ahold of his surely aching face, he seems to forget about the gun that's been flung in the space between us.

I don't need that. I'll kill him with my bare hands!

I kick it to the side and it slides away on a slick of ice.

"GET THE FUCK UP!!," I yell, wearily aware that we're close to the slippery slope that could end the both of us. "GET UP AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN! FOR ONCE!,"

His manic laughter gets under my skin when he lifts his head, sizing me up. Slowly getting to his feet, he spits the blood seeping from his busted lips. "Oooooh, how wrong can you be, Bucky?,"

I begin to lunge towards him when Rogers hand catches my shoulder. Looking a-ways behind Jimmy, I see two figures, maybe women watching at a stand still up ahead.

Maybe Cherie and Brian. But I can't be sure. I quickly turn my attention back to the cackling fool in front of me.

"You couldn't lose," He wags his finger towards me as he approaches. "You couldn't fail," he scoffs. "But look at you now— you're no better than me!"

Feeling Rogers grip slip up, I take the opportunity to leap towards Jimmy once again, but this time he's not caught off guard.

I fight to bring him down to size. I fight to defend not only myself, my friends, my family, but our future, too. One solid crack to the side of his head. Take this. Another dig to each side of his ribs. Take that.

He swings off of me good, landing his fist to my ear, unbalancing my equilibrium in a second. He takes advantage of my damaged spine, I feel the twist of pain shoot through every nerve ending as he tackles me down to the icy ground, both of our fists flying.

"I'll dislocate you're spine," he threatens, and I feel it all to be true as my back burns with searing pressure.

Roger finally takes action, he's pulling Jimmy off of me, but the bastard has his slimy hands around my neck as he tries to render me unconscious, pounding my skull into the ice. "Let me squeeze you til you've dried!," His clutch tightens and I feel the urge to give up, but I haven't to keep on fighting til the end.

Rogers steady punches to the back of Jimmys head makes his death grip loosen and I use my thumbs to dig into his eyes, "I'll have you seeing double, or maybe you'd prefer to be blind!!," pressing them into his sockets, while Roger grabs him by his hair and shoulder tugging him backwards and throwing him off of me.

We all struggle to our feet, breathless and tired and freezing. All the feeling in my limbs has gone; no feeling, like I'm paralyzed. The cold frostbite has turned my fists pink, and at this point I'm unable to open my hands— they're frozen stiff in fighting position.

I'm aware of our close proximity to death. Here we stand or here we fall.

The three of us up against the fatal edge of the cliff, not daring to take another step as it's Roger and I with our back nearest to disadvantage. Jimmy, who's managed to get ahold of the gun again, points it at us and again we're in the same fucking helpless position as before.

How the fuck didn't we see him going towards it!?

"It ain't much I'm askin!," I heard him say, as my eyes stay put on the pulled back trigger. With the pain I feel and anger inside of me, I still can't find a way out.

"I want it all!," He yells toward the sky. "I want Cherie. I want Paul— I want the money, the fame, EVERYTHING!," At this point he doesn't even seem to be in touch with our reality; the man is pleading with a God who has surely abandoned him long ago— and for good reason!

"You don't make any bloody sense! I told you I'd give you the money," I yell back at him through the whistling whirls of snowy wind. It's hard to see straight between all the fuzzy white blocking clear vision.

I gulp at the thought of losing my footing. I keep side-eyeing Roger, who's not nearly as close as I am to the cliff, but his foot slips on a block of ice, momentarily my heart drops, but he stands steady again, safe. My ears perk to the sound of the broken pieces of ice crackling down into the death trap below us.

"Why?!," Jimmys got the gun to his own head as he seems to be close to tears. "Why do you deserve it all!? You're nothing! It should be me! It should have always been ME!!,"

"You took me for everything that I had! Aren't you happy now?! Aren't ya satisfied!?," I feel as though I've lost my mind; gone mad with excruciating heartbreak and agony, I blow smoke up his ass, hurrying the process. If I've got nothing left, when I'm dead— WHO CARES!? I don't!

He turns the gun on me, cocked back, trembling hand on the trigger.

"IM READY!," lifting my hands to my sides I stand ready for my crucifixion— it's now or never.

I stare straight into his watering eyes, purse my lips & mockingly blow 'em a kiss.

My eyes shut tightly, ready for impact. I've been shot before, right? I can take it again.

I'm strong.

I'm healthy.

I'll survive.

I always d—

The gun shot sound shatters my eardrums, whirling me back in time for a moment I think that it's painless. I can't see it so I can't feel it, right?!

But in a flash my eyes pop wide open to the ogreous roar heroically proving his love for me in the ultimate act of courage. "Noooooo! Freddie!"

"Jim!?"

Out of nowhere it seems, a savior has been sent to me.

The cry of fire burning through him like the wrath of beelzebub in hell, in screaming pain, he absorbs the bullet for me. Flinging his body as a human protective shield, "JIM!!!! NoOoOOoo!!!,"

Tumbling down right before my eyes, two men of the same name, one's heart more pure.

"NO!! Noooo! NOOOOO!!!,"

With Roger at my side consoling me, I curse the assumption he bestowed on me earlier. "Noooo! No. Nooo. You were wrong! He still loves me! Jiiiiiim! Jiiiiiiiim!," I whine and cry in a tantrum, crumbling to the ground. Shouting my true thoughts loud and clear, hoping he'd hear my voice before it all goes blank.

"I still love you!," I fall to my knees, clinging onto the frozen earth to watch them both fall down... down...down... to watch.

🙃

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