FicWad

Frank sat on the sofa leaning on his hand refusing to look up.
“Stop sulking, Frank!” Bob finally snapped.
“I’m not!” came the muffled reply as he talked through his hand.
“Yeah, Frank,” Ray corrected, “you are.”
Frank glanced up; his eyes dark and brooding.
“I’m not!” he snapped.
“Well, what are you then?” Ray’s voice turned uncharacteristically harsh.
“You tell me how you’d feel! One of my best friends is attacked because of something I’ve done! And I’m locked in here guarded by a ten foot giant outside and you two in here. You won’t even let me see how Gerard’s doing!”
“That’s because you’re a flight risk,” Ray explained.
“I’m not!” he snapped again. “I panicked, okay? Gerard got hurt because of me and I wanted to get away. I wanted to protect him, all of you, from whoever’s got it in for me by getting the hell away from you! Is that so hard to understand?”
“Not at all,” Ray shook his head.
“Then why…”
“But, the real turning point,” Bob interrupted, “will come when you realise that we’re trying to protect you.”
“But you’re all in danger now! He must have followed when we reported it. I knew going to the police was definitely not the smartest move.”
“You just don’t get it do you?” Ray yelled at him.
Ray never yelled; it was enough to shock Frank into really listening.
“What kind of people do you think we are if you think we’d just abandon you to this psycho?”
“Ray…” Frank was lost for words; he had not viewed it from their perspective. “I…” he shook his head. “I never meant it like that! I just don’t want you risking your lives.”
“We talked about it, Iero,” Bob teased. “Don’t get me wrong, it ended up on the toss of a coin. Heads we give you gift-wrapped to the psycho, tails, we keep you. Came up tails.”
Frank couldn’t help but smile as Bob continued.
“And I’ll tell you something else, I’m not running after you again, I’ve never felt like such a complete idiot in my life! Dragging you back kicking and squirming like a five year old. You will promise to stay put or so help me, I’m going back to my room, fetching a roll of duct tape from my drum bag and I’m taping you to that wall!”
“I think he means it,” Ray added with a bright smile.

The connecting door opened and Mikey popped his head round.
“He’s awake.”
All three got to their feet and headed to the door. As Ray reached it he turned to Frank and cast him a questioning look as he saw Frank’s pleading expression. Nodding towards the door, Frank followed, relieved to be trusted.
Entering the room in silence, Gerard greeted them surprisingly cheerfully.
“Hey guys,” he smiled but it was clear he was in pain.
“How do you feel?” asked Bob.
“Like toast.”
“What?”
“The guy…” Gerard began, “he electrocuted me. He had something in his hand.”
“How did it feel?” Frank asked.
Gerard frowned. “Like sticking your tongue on a fifty foot battery. I'm pretty sure I couldn’t scream, how did you find me so fast?”
“He used your phone to send me a message,” Frank explained, his words speeding up as each one nearly tripped over the last. “We knew you were in trouble and then they found you on the bathroom floor.”
Gerard smiled as Frank sighed at his choice of words.
“Frank!” Mikey groaned recognising the lyrics.
“But you did!” Frank shrugged.
“But I’m okay now,” Gerard confirmed, “sore as Hell but okay.”
“Did you see him?” Frank asked quietly.
“Briefly,” Gerard sighed deeply and nodded, “in the mirror.”
“Did you recognise him?”
Gerard looked down at his hands and frowned.
“Not really,” he replied cryptically as he looked up.
“What does that mean?” asked Mikey.
“It means that I got the feeling I should recognise him, but I didn’t. So, what now?” Gerard asked pointedly.
Each band member remained silent as they glanced at each other trying to guess one another’s thoughts.
“When Frank thought it was just him, he said he wanted to go ahead with the tour and we tried to get him to rethink,” Gerard summarised. “Now it looks like it’s open season on us and it’s not one person’s decision any more.”
“We can’t hide forever,” Bob commented.
“We could actually be safer in public,” Ray shrugged.
“You know what I think,” Mikey added.
“Frank?” Gerard asked.
Frank turned one corner of his mouth up; he wished he knew what Mikey had decided. He straightened up and his expression hardened.
“Us against the world, including the psychos.”
Gerard smiled again. “That settles it then, the tour goes ahead. Now will someone get me some Tylenol?” he added as he sagged slightly in the bed.

*

The whole of the next day was spent on preparation. Complete with protection, with the exception of Gerard, each band member was escorted home to collect what he needed for the tour. Gerard needed to remain in bed to recover from the attack but it was a simple enough matter for Mikey to collect his belongings. The day went surprisingly quickly and was filled with seemingly endless phone calls from Brian, sometimes asking if they were sure and at others trying to change their minds, but they were determined.
“Just send the damn bus, Brian!” Bob eventually answered a call.

*

Far across town, someone else was making his own plans for the tour. He knew it was going ahead and he knew about the additional security that had been procured for them. Of course he knew, having served as one of their guards on a previous tour, he was now one of the additional men drafted in to protect them. He chuckled to himself. How could they possibly know that their determination to continue, whilst admirable and brave, would lead them directly into his hands?