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A deal with the devil is a deal with me/That deal is forever; as long as you breathe - Hollywood Undead- 'Glory'
"Unbelievable Private, my grandmother drives faster than you! We could have been home an hour ago if I had let Kowalski drive, we would have been home 3 hours ago if Rico had been driving and we would have been passing people not have people pass us!" Private flinched at Skipper's words, trying to keep a hold on his emotions. He wasn't even sure why Skipper had been so upset, all he had done was drive home like Skipper had ordered.
"I'm sorry Skippa; I guess I'm just too much of a nice guy." As well as a follow the rules guy, but that went unspoken. Laws were made for a reason, he wasn't just going to speed home because he wants to get home, he did want to get home alive after all.
"You know what they say about nice guys don't you Private?"
"They finish last?"
"No, they end up dead! Is that what you want? To end up dead? Sometimes we just don't have a choice and we have to do things that we'll regret the rest of our lives. But when it's either kill or be killed, regret is a small price to pay." Even Kowalski and Rico seemed to be in shock at their leader's outburst, but remained quiet not wanting Skipper's wrath turned around on them. It was like Skipper's temper was on a hair-trigger today.
"I don't see how any of this relates to my driving, but if you're quite done, do I at least have permission to retire to my room for the night?" He didn't give the older man a chance to answer before darting up the stairs, eyes burning from unshed tears. Upon reaching his room, he made sure to slam the door shut as hard as he possibly could. It wasn't fair! Skipper didn't know one thing about him! He wasn't always a nice guy, that's why he transferred from England and didn't join MI6. He could never be like his Uncle Nigel, who was a cold calculating man. Nothing like what he remembered his parents to be like.
The tears were starting to fall freely as he sat on the floor of his room, back against the cold door, and knees tight against his chest. His parents had been nice, too nice according to Uncle Nigel and that's why they were killed. They thought their targets deserved a second chance, that everyone was a good person deep down. He still remembered the night when Uncle Nigel came to the door, he was only 9 years old and being told that his parents would never be coming home. At the time he had told that, it had been a car accident, but as he got older around his 13th birthday or so, he learned the truth or at least as much of the truth, MI6 was willing to give up.
Once his sobs stopped, he was able to hear the others talking down stairs and it made him feel like a child.
"Skipper I must say that was little harsh, so what if Private's not an aggressive driver, there was no need to say any of that to him. Besides would you really want another Rico?" There was a gruff reply to Kowalski's question that could have only been Rico taking offense.
"It wasn't just the driving Kowalski, that boy, is just that, a boy. He has no idea what it takes to survive in the real world. I've been hoping since he arrived that he would lose the whole naïve act, but anymore I don't think it's possible. In fact I would love to have another Rico on the team, if it meant that there wouldn't be any more namby-pamby attitude on this team." This time it was Rico who spoke, but Private couldn't catch any of it. Although it sounded like he was pretty angry, especially when he heard Kowalski and Skipper both start to shout followed by heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.
A heavy silence hung in the air for the rest of the night only being broken by the sounds of Kowalski getting ready for bed. He never heard Skipper come up.
Then next morning Private was woken up by Skipper's overly loud voice.
"I told you there is no Mr. Tux here; now leave before I take Rico off his leash." Fear grabbed a hold of him and he nearly fell off his bed. It had been years since he had heard that name, there was only one person who would still have unfinished business with Mr. Tux.
"You can do this Private." He whispered to himself as he descended the stairs to find the rest of his team in the foyer with the one person he could have gone the rest of his life without seeing. "I thought you gave up trying to find me years ago Kid."
"Well, hello there Mr. Tux, it's been a long while, longer than a yellow snake in a bowl of red bean chili! Now I reckon we have some unfinished business."
"What on Earth is he talking about Private? You don't have unfinished business." Skipper looked at him, not even bothering to hide the surprise and suspicion on his face.
"That not true Skippa, the Amarillo Kid and I have been on a collision course for a long, long time. Although I've already told you Kid, I'm a different person now. I quit playing your game a long time ago and vowed to never play ever again." Private snapped, his voice sharp, out of the corner of his eye he watched Rico and Kowalski flinch.
"Never say never." a smirk filled the Kid's features and Private felt his annoyance blossom in to full anger. Which was promptly used to slam the door shut in the Amarillo Kid's face, it was oddly satisfying, at least until he realized that all of the attention was on him.
"Well, Private this brings a whole new dimension to your character and let me tell you, I don't like it." Skipper's sapphire glare had him pinned and he couldn't think of anything to say.
"Why don't we all have a seat first, it's certainly been an eventful two days. And I know I'm going to need more coffee to process all of this." Thankfully, Kowalski cut in, acting as peacekeeper and giving him a few more minutes to figure out what he could say.
"Well what do you have to say for yourself Private?" Three sets of eyes stared at him and after a moment of silence, Private began to speak.
"As you know before I transferred to CENTRAAL, I was MI6, of course the records of my service during that time are classified and for a good reason. I had a very specific skill set and top marksmanship; you can see where I'm going with this." It was like a completely different person sitting with them, Private's warm nature replaced with a cold and bitter disposition. Rico shifted closer to Kowalski recognizing the tone in the younger man's voice. He had heard a tone many times before in not just his own voice, but in the voices of men who were about to confess their deepest sins.
"You weren't just any MI6; you were part of Group 13." Kowalski had chosen the words carefully an untested theory as he tried to connect the dots. While the corners of Private's mouth twitched upwards in to a small knowing file. Group 13 didn't exist according to records, but records were nothing more than paper or strings of codes that could easily be destroyed and altered.
"I was young and bitter, just learning the truth of my parents' death and my Uncle Nigel saw it as a perfect opportunity to put my rage to good use. I created a new identity, Mr. Tux who left nothing but a trail of broken hearts and bodies. And that's just the tip of the iceberg on all the things I've done under that God-forsaken name." The laugh was harsh, escaping Private's lips, for a moment it seemed like he was about to go in to hysterics.
Skipper watched doubtful even if Kowalski and Rico seemed to be hanging on to every word and taking it as nothing but the truth, "Assuming this is all true and not just some wild tale, how does the Amarillo Kid fit in?" It was hard for him to see his men as anything more than what was made on their first impression.
"It became a game to me, a game that I was good at, too good. I started to catch the attention of miscellaneous hired guns. One of which was the Amarillo Kid, so we decided to play a game of our own. It was just little things at first, trick shots, and potted plants maybe a bird or two. Friendly target practice you could say.
Until he started coming after my targets and then it became a game of who could get the first shot. I was ahead for the longest time and then he started to close in, leaving us at a tie. We decided that the next target would declare the winner. When that day came, I was stuck at an impossible angle, my target blocked and no time to find a better one, while Amarillo was seconds away from a clear shot and I was afraid I was going to lose. So I did the worst thing imaginable, I took the shot first, regardless of who was blocking my target."
"One bullet and two bodies, the impossible shot." The math was clear to everyone, even before Kowalski spoke. How could this be their Private? An elite sniper who thought of killing his targets as a game just didn't fit the young kid they knew.
"I didn't stick around long enough to see if I had actually made the shot, I got out of there the second after I pulled the trigger. The Kid caught me in an alley and told me, he actually congratulated me. Said that I could do the one thing he couldn't and I vowed then and there that I would never play the game again. The minute I returned to MI6 I requested a transfer, but I guess the Kid followed me anyway." Tears were falling silently down Private's cheeks and seeing him like this was heartbreaking for all of them, except Skipper who seemed to be almost gleeful.
"This is fantastic!"
"What?" Kowalski nearly choked, spraying not only the table with lukewarm coffee, but Rico as well. Who only cast an irritated look at his partner, more caught up in Skipper standing proudly and making his way over to Private.
"Don't you see Private this is exactly what we need! No more namby-pamby attitude just cut throat tactics."
"We're you even listening me? I can't let myself become that monster again! People used to say that to make a deal with Mr. Tux was to make a deal with the devil himself! That's not who I am."
"But it is part of you and it's the part we need, especially since Rico's been getting soft over the years."
"What?" It was Rico's turn to be surprised, what exactly had Skipper meant by that. Even Kowalski and Private seemed to be taken back by Skipper's statement.
"Come on Rico, you and Marlene are always going to art shows, and I can't remember the last time you tried to blow up the block. Now Private, is a time bomb that just waiting to go off." Sapphire eyes locked on the man in question causing him to flinch. "Next time Kid comes around, you take him out."
"I can't, I won't, and you can't make me." Private snapped slamming his hand on the table as he stood. "You might be able to live with being a cold heartless bastard, but I can't."
"What did you just say to me?"
"You heard me, Skippa. I came here so that I wouldn't have to put up with hot-headed commanders who cared more about the mission than their own men."
"You don't think I care about my men? What would-"
"Enough!" Silence fell over the group, everyone looking at Kowalski in shock, except for Rico who looked like he was on the edge of killing someone. "Skipper, with all respect, you are clearly not fit to handle the team at his time. I'm taking over as commander and my first act is to grant Private a temporary leave from duty."
"You can't do this Kowalski!"
"I can and I will, HQ will have a full report by tomorrow morning and the odds of them overriding my decision are slim."
"I can't believe it, never thought I would see the day where you grew a pair Kowalski. Fine, I'll step down, but this is far from over." Skipper held his hands up in surrender and make is way to the stairs leaving the rest of the team alone.
"Thanks, K'walski." Private folded in on himself, returning to his chair and making himself as small as possible. He felt so raw and broken, a hand quickly squeezed his shoulder and then he was alone at the table.
Kowalski and Rico took one look at each other and decided that something had to be done. The team couldn't function like this, in fact, like this there wasn't even a team.
"I'll take Skipper and you can handle Private." Rico nodded and made his way over to where Private had curled in on himself.
"Hey." Private jumped , it wasn't often Rico interacted with him, of course that could just be due to the fact that he avoided the older man as much as he could. It wasn't that he didn't like Rico, he just didn't trust him, and he was a bit afraid. On a mission that had been compromised, he had learned that Rico would kill without hesitation and didn't mind getting his hands dirty if he had to.
"I don't feel like talking."
"Not talking, going out." A whine escaped Private, but maybe it was for the best if he went out for a bit.
After changing out of uniform and into more casual clothes, the two made their way down to The Groove, which wasn't even open yet. However when he questioned Rico, the man simply replied that Julien owed him and wouldn't go into any more detail.
"Ah, I heard that you've been feeling down, but don't worry I have asked the Sky Spirits to smile upon you." Julien grinned the minute they stepped inside the nightclub; it was a very different scene during the day.
"I figured some spirits on the house would help too." Maurice had emerged from behind the bar with a few beers; he seemed tired, more tired than usual when dealing with Juilen. Private took the cold beer Maurice offered and downed half of it in one go earning surprised looks from the other three. "Slow down there, kid. Now last I knew you Penguins were a tightknit group, what happened?"
"I came here so that I could have a better life and forget all of the horrible things that I've done, as cliché as that sounds. For the longest time I was happy, I knew exactly who I was but now Skipper wants me to be someone I'm not." Private felt horrible unloading all of this on to Maurice and maybe that was all the beer's fault.
"Ah, I know how you feel, back in Madagascar my, let us say, lifestyle choices weren't exactly accepted. So, I decided to leave, why stay in a place where I am not happy and have to pretend to be something I am not. However, I am not always accepted here either, but I can always find someone who accepts me for who I am. " Juilen explained and while Private did understand what he was saying, it didn't exactly fit his situation. "Speaking of which, you and I have debts to discuss." The prince turned to Rico, who rolled his eyes but let Julien drag him up the stairs.
A long-suffering sigh escaped Maurice, "I hate to say it but Juilen does have a bit of a point, although maybe I can twist it to match your situation. Now I know you don't want to hear this, but whoever you were in the past is still a part of you. They will always be a part of you; now you said that you did horrible things, well, good people can do horrible things, but that doesn't make them any less good."
"That's a little hard to believe."
"It is sometimes hard to believe in the things you don't see, but that's not the problem. You're letting someone tell you who to be, when you know exactly who you are and that is the problem."
"Then how do I fix it?"
"To be honest I don't know I've never been in a situation like the one you're describing. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself. Now I need to go do inventory for tonight, since the Sky Spirits know that Juilen won't do it, but feel free to stay as long as you want." A laugh escaped Private at that; everyone knew who really was behind The Groove's success.
"Let me give you a hand at least, I mean you did give me a beer on the house." Maurice shook his head and grinned.
"It won't take long; I was half way through when Julien got the text from Rico. Besides you could use some time to yourself, outside of your habitat." Private nodded and settled in, wondering how Kowalski was doing with Skipper. He wondered what the team would be like if Skipper was a bit more sensitive and why the Amarillo Kid had come looking for him after all these years.
"Because nothing can ever be easy," He muttered to himself and made his way across the dance floor to one of the small lounge areas.
"Feeling better?" Rico's rough voice caused him to jump; he turned in the plush purple chair to see Rico standing behind him with two beers.
"A bit, I was just thinking how upset Skippa would be if he knew you took me out to drink in the middle of the day."
"Forget him." Private was surprised at the older man who had opened one of the beers for himself. "Doesn't understand what it's like."
"Oh." Was all he could say once it sunk in that Skipper had accused Rico of going soft, of not behaving like a mindless psychopath, as he should be.
"I was a killer cause I had to be. Hated it, hated myself." His stomach twisted as Rico spoke his voice was quiet. "Only a killer when I have to be." A long silence followed and the words finally began to sink in, he understood what Rico was trying to say or at least he thought he did it could just be the alcohol in his system. Of course, when he thought about what Maurice had said everything began to make perfect sense.
"I think I'm ready to head back, after another beer though." Private couldn't help but grin reaching for the second bottle and hearing Rico laugh. It was one of the first times that he wasn't afraid of the older man and realized that they had more in common than he had originally thought.
It was an hour before they had their way back to the apartment and once at the front steps Private froze suddenly nervous, but he never got the chance to recover as Rico flung the door open and shoved him inside.
He stumbled, barely managing to catch his balance, "What the bloody hell?" The frantic sound of footsteps coming down the stairs meant that Kowalski and Skipper had heard their entrance.
"Shit, Rico you're bleeding!" Private turned his head as Kowalski practically flew to the door where Rico was leaning, a hand pressed tightly against his shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers and staining the green hoodie he wore.
"M'fine." he grunted glancing over at Private while Kowalski went into full Mother Hen mode, not even a second passed and Private's phone rang, he hesitated answering it, not sure if to take it privately or put it on speaker; he chose the speaker.
Did you like my surprise Mr. Tux? I had intended it to be for you, but that guard dog of yours was faster than I thought. Now I'm done playing games, if that team meaning anything to you I suggest you meet me in Central Park tomorrow before noon. Better bring your game face, boy.
As the call ended Skipper looked ready to implode, "This is on your head Private, you didn't want to take out Kid when I told you too and now you've put this whole team in danger. If we get through this I'm sending your ass back to MI6, I thought you had what it took, I-"
"You thought nothing!" Private's own shout startled him, but he kept going. "You want to send me back to MI6, fine. You can do if after I deal with Kid."
"What makes you think that you're going to deal with Kid?"
"You wanted Mr. Tux, you got Mr. Tux. I'm going to end this, but I'm going to end it my way." This time Skipper had no reply, he locked his jaw and Private swore there was a flash of pride in his eyes, but he had to have imagined that.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Private looked over and saw that Kowalski had Rico over at the table and was carefully cleaning where the bullet had grazed him, the blood stained hoodie draped over the back of the chair Kowalski was sitting in and hoped that he knew what he was doing too.
Private swallowed thickly as they reached Central Park, he had called Kid back last night and told him that he would be by the theatre. The others would be watching from a distance, prepared for anything that could go wrong.
"Well, well, well, Mr. Tux, I will admit that I was surprised by your call last night. I didn't think you'd actually show up." The Kid taunted from his spot underneath an oak tree, he tipped his hat up revealing a smirk that was 10 miles wide and stood pulling the bag that had been next to him onto his shoulders.
"You certainly got my attention yesterday, now what do you want?" Private kept his tone even, trying to pull at what had made him Mr. Tux.
"I'd like to make deal."
A laugh escaped Private, actually, it wasn't a laugh, instead it was a dark chuckle and it made his skin crawl, but at the same time, it felt natural to him. "You know what they say about making a deal with me Kid."
"I reckon I don't, but I've heard the stories. You would kill a man for looking at you the wrong way and never think twice on it, but after what I saw, I don't believe it. You're nothing more than a yellow-bellied city-slicker, ain't that right Daisy Daydreamer?"
"The more you talk the less you say, now what kind of deal are we talking?" He replied coldly, enjoying the Kid's look of surprise before it melted back in to his usual cocky appearance.
"When I win you have to turn yourself in and give me the access codes to CENTRAAL's database so I can disappear." Now that was surprising to hear, it meant that Kid had burned a bridge too many and that no one willing protect him.
"This isn't about a tie anymore is it?"
"I've been on the run for a few years now, all because of your screw-up, I figure it's the least you can do."
"What if I don't want to take the deal?"
"Then next time your friend won't see me coming and that goes for the other two as well." This was it, everything was going to be put on the line, but he could tell Kid was nervous. If he really had been on the run, then he had no back up, while Private was safe, he knew he was safe.
"You misunderstood my question; you see I'm willing to not take the deal for your sake."
"I'm shaking in my boots." The sarcasm is strong with this one, Private thought and somehow managed to not break character, because that's all that Mr. Tux was.
"You should be, because what you don't understand is that to make a deal with Mr. Tux is to make a deal with the Devil."
"You're going to have to try harder than that to scare me away." Private glanced downhill to where a handful of actors were running rehearsal before looking at the Amarillo Kid and reaching into his jacket to pull out a gun. He never broke eye contract, even as he raised his arm and pulled the trigger, one of the actors fell, a burst of crimson splattering the stage. The Amarillo Kid swallowed eyes wide with fear as Private turned the gun of him, light blue eyes colder than ice.
"Are you sure you still want to make that deal?" Without another word the Kid ran, nearly falling over himself in an effort to get away. Private laughed once he lost sight of the Kid and made his to the stage, ignoring the shouts from his teammates.
"Private, I'm sorry, I'll take namby-pamby any day, just drop the weapon." Skipper was the first to reach him on stage voice filled with worry, Kowalski and Rico were only a step behind and looked as concerned as Skipper had sounded.
"Relax Skippa, its fake." He offered a hand to the actor he had shot earlier, the man was perfectly fine despite what had been seen by everyone else. "Thanks for setting this up Tony."
Tony stood brushing himself off and making a face at the mess around them, "It was my pleasure; we never get to use squibs, mostly because they make it look too real. One would think it's because of the mess."
"Uh, Private maybe you could explain what happened here before one of us loses it?"
"Right, I realized that Mr. Tux would always be a part of me, but I didn't have to become a cold-blooded killer. I just had to be cunning, so last night I called Tony and asked him about using squibs; with his help we rigged a prop gun to be a wireless trigger for the squib, which Tony agreed to wear and as director he called the crew and cast to make it look like a rehearsal."
"And you knew that you could scare the Amarillo Kid off, rather than have to play his sick games; that's absolutely fascinating." Kowalski murmured more focused on the technical aspect of Private's plan.
"I'm proud of you Private; I owe you more than just an apology for how I've treated you. Today is your day."
"Does that mean we can get snow cones and go home to watch a movie?" Skipper rolled his eyes but agreed, as Rico had to physically drag Kowalski away from the stage where he was bombarding Tony with questions. Which only made Private laugh, he finally felt at peace with himself since the whole ordeal had started. He'd have to stop by The Groove and thank Maurice for the advice and he still had yet to thank Rico for getting him out of the apartment.
As they settled in for a movie, Rico was coming in from the kitchen with popcorn, Skipper on the opposite end of the couch while Kowalski set everything up, his phone chimed, catching everyone's attention.
That was a dirty trick, but I got the message loud and clear. However, you can tell Skipper that Frankie will be seeing him soon. – AK
"Skippa, who's Frankie?"