Dick stood on the opposite side of Patricia Deleon’s desk, staring her down and wondering if he could jump it and grab her by the throat before any of her fellow officers could stop him. “Give me the file, Patricia. Hand it over and I walk out of here and we never saw each other.”

”No.” Patricia stated defiantly but refusing to lift her head and look him in the eyes.

He could feel the frustration rising within himself. This should have been relatively easy, walk in, grab the folder, walk out. Simple as pie. Patricia was making it difficult now though. Dick spoke in hushed terms but the venom was still there in each and every word, “Am I not paying you enough? Is that the fucking problem here? You hand over the file, I go on my merry way and no one is any the wiser. Why complicated this now?”

”No.” she stated again, this time a little more bite in her word. “This one cant be done.”

Dick couldn’t help but scoff. She had been on his pay roll for long enough that he wasn’t expecting an outburst like this. She had never done it before, why start now? 

“What is it, Pat?” He lowered his voice, letting the calmness work back into his speech, “What has you so rattled? We’ve been at this a long time now. This is the first time you’ve said no. Why is that? What is it about this one?”

”No, I-I just can’t, alright?!” She was raising her voice now. He had slipped into the department unnoticed but she could change that with the next words she said and rightfully so, he would have been screwed if that was the case. 

He rubbed at his eyes tiredly, pushing the seat out slightly on the other side of the desk so that he could plop down. “Come on, Patricia, you knew my parents, knew me since I was a kid. What the hell is going on now?”

She seemed to hang her head even lower, although Dick didn’t think that was possible. “It’s-its not safe.”

”It never is,” Dick gave her a half hearted chuckle, “but since when did that ever stop us?”

”This one is different. Too many body guards. You’ll never get close enough. He doesn’t take the risks that others have.”

Dick leaned back in the chair, trying to seem as relaxed as possible. “Did you happen to hear about that little incident at the River Walk in Detroit? I was a mile away before they even heard the shot.”

”Dont tell me these things, Dick.” There was genuine fear in her voice. 

Dick couldn’t hide his frustration anymore, “Look, I need that folder. And you need to pay those hospital bills. Let-“

She cut him off with poisoned tipped words, “Dont you dare talk about her!”

He felt the skin on the back of his neck grow hot, her latest outburst drawing a few wandering eyes that seemed to be staring daggers through his back. He closed his eyes for a moment, drawing a slow breath as he did, “Patricia, you know that I didn’t mean anything by that. I’ve always taken care of your little sister, without you having to ask mind you.” He leaned closer to her desk, “You’ve read the file. You know what has been done. You guys don’t have the resources here for what this needs. You’re all tied up with the law. I don’t have that problem.”

He watched as her shoulders slumped in defeat. Dick wasn’t going to stop and she knew it. If she was going to try and help him, it needed to be all the way. He was going to go with or without the file and if she sent him off without all the information, she might as well put her service pistol to the back of his head and pulled the trigger now.

Holding the folder in front of her, she squeezed it tightly until her knuckles turned white, “Please, Dick, don’t take this one.” She finally relented, letting the papers go with a defeated sigh.

Dick didn’t bother saying anything as he tucked the folder into his jacket. He wasn’t in the mood to keep arguing with Patricia and he was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable being surrounded by so many officers that weren’t on his payroll. He kept his head down as he moved out of the department, trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible. The last thing he needed now was anyone getting curious.

He felt a sense of relief as he stepped into the windy streets of Chicago. The cold didn’t seem to bother him, not at the moment at least. His mind was in other places anyways, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed if he was cold. Double checking the file just to make sure she wasn’t screwing with him, he got an unsettled feeling as he looked at the first mugshot on the page. Of course, it was one of many but, they never seemed to stick. The cops would hold him for a day or two before any witnesses either recanted their stories or simply disappeared altogether. He was good at what he did. Unfortunately, what the man was known for was pure terror. 

It was hard to tell from the sight of him, he was a tiny little thing, just barely standing over five foot five with deep, wire rimmed glasses. He looked more like an accountant than a savage but he was always good about keeping up appearances. That was what made him so dangerous. Well, that and the hushed notes of fear whenever any one brought up his name. 

Dick had been searching for this for some time now. Longer than he could remember actually. He remembered that face; those glasses burned into his memories. The man was there that night. The night that Dick’s parents fell. That smirk still haunting Dick’s nightmares.

He pulled his jacket tight to himself, tucking his hand into his pocket so that he could constantly feel the edges of the folder. He was close now, closer than he ever was before. He’d be damned if he was going to miss this chance just because he dropped a few papers on a windy Chicago street.

There wasn’t much else to do at the moment and all he really wanted to do was find some place to sit and go through the file. Read it from front to back and then over and over again until it was committed completely to memory.

Pausing for the briefest of moments, Dick had to decide where would be safest. There was a solid chance that the man had eyes and ears nearly everywhere. With the money he had, it wouldn’t have been all that hard to pull off something like that. It certainly would explain how he was always able to slip away so easily. 

Dick decided on the boarding house. He had built all the safety measures and failsafes for just such an occasion. If they were going to come after him, and there was no guarantee that they would, he at least wanted it to be on his terms.

He thought about hailing a cab but, that would only leave a witness. And witnesses could be broken. Whatever cabbie pulled up wouldn’t owe him anything and wouldn’t have any problem selling him up the river to save their own ass. It wasn’t that cold anyways, Dick reasoned with himself, as he made the long walk back to his home.

Dick pressed the key into the lock cautiously. He was half expecting for the door to blow off the hinges as he did. When that didn’t happen, he let out a little sigh of relief as he pressed inside.

He couldn’t exactly pinpoint why he was so nervous. Maybe it was the way Patricia had been acting. He had known her for nearly all of his adult life and had never seen anything like that from her. Even when she had been truly terrified, she always put on the stoic face. That didn’t happen this time around. 

Moving towards the refrigerator, he dropped the file onto the counter as he pulled the door open, grabbing a bottle and popping the top off with his bottle opener. He took a long, slow pull on his beer, trying to rack his brain as best he could. She wasn’t wrong, this wasn’t going to be easy and he hadn’t ever had to deal with anything quite like this before. There was a way though, there always was, he just needed to find it. 

He sat down at the kitchen table, his eyes scanning over the first page a couple of times. The man’s rap sheet was impressive. Extortion, kidnapping, racketeering and of course, the big one, murder. Fourteen counts on that charge alone but nothing was ever able to stick. The man was untouchable. Or maybe no one had tried like Dick would. 

Dick felt the fear rise up in him a little bit. His heart beating a few beats faster than normal. It was a different feeling for him, one he wasn’t used to. Sure, he had felt fear before but, nothing like this. Nothing like this primal rage that had been building for however long it had been. The fire had been stoked, he certainly wasn’t going to throw a wet blanket over that now.

The man may have had all the guns in the world but he wasn’t going to out think Dick. There was a way around all of this. A perfect time and place, Dick just had to figure out what it was. If he did this right, it should all be child’s play after that. 

He sipped at his drink once more, studying the file the entire time. He knew the answer would be in here somewhere, he just needed to spend the time finding it.

By the time Dick actually looked up from the paper work, the sun had set at some point. The moon shone brightly through the window, giving him just enough light to see in the dark. There were four empty beer bottles beside him that he didn’t actually remember drinking. He was far too wrapped up in what he was doing.

None of it made any sense to him. Everything was here in the folder. Know associates, names of his body guards and where they lived, there was even a section detailing Anthony “Tony” Zucco’s day by day activities down to the second. This should have been enough for someone to at least take a shot, even if they missed. Zucco had turned into more myth than man by now. The details were always scare but it was never good and always ended with at least one dead body.

Dick rubbed at his eyes, they were growing dry with all of the reading. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was the fear that he caused that kept him safe even though it didn’t seem like Zucco had been doing much to hide his activities. A chill ran up Dick’s spine. There was no way that anyone could keep doing what Tony had been if there weren’t powerful backers behind him. Even that animal needed help somewhere. The file folder was just proof of that really. Maybe that was why Patricia didn’t want to give it up. Anyone who had it should have been asking questions, why wasn’t she?

Dick checked his watch again. It was late but it wasn’t too late, if he hurried back to the station now he might be able to catch her getting off of her shift before she left for the night. 

Pushing the folder away from himself he moved over to the far side of the kitchen, opening the drawer next to the stovetop and pulling out the colt 911 followed by the clip. With the speed and skill of someone who had done it far to many times, he loaded the weapon before pressing it into the shoulder holster concealed under the jacket that he was wearing at the time.

He really didn’t want to be doing this, not this way anyways. Not with her but she didn’t exactly leave him any options right now.

Dick gripped the steering wheel tighter than he normally would have, his knuckles turning to a hot white as he did. He kept running through it in his mind the entire way over here and ended up at the same conclusion every time. He wished he was wrong. He had known Patricia for so long at this point that he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, even if every single cell in his body was creaming at him not too.

He may have been too close to this one, let his connections cloud his judgment. It could have been nothing at all. Maybe she didn’t want to give up the file to protect him. Zucco wasn’t someone to be trifled with and that was exactly what Dick was planning on. 

Part of him didn’t want this to go easily. He wanted to drag it out. Make Tony suffer the same way he did every time he closed his eyes for the last fifteen years. It had changed his make up, redefined himself. Now it felt like it was within his grasp for the first time ever. 

Dick pulled into the closest spot to the entrance, making sure he had a clear line of sight with the double doors at the front of the building. He shifted the car into park and very passive aggressively checked his pistol once more. He flashed to memories of Patricia helping him out when he was younger and began to pray that he wouldn’t have to use this. That wasn’t the way things were supposed to go. She was a good person, she always had been. But this was something different entirely. This was the nightmare.

Patricia stride out of the building none the wiser, not noticing the car that Dick had bought recently. She took a left, heading towards the staff parking lot after giving a slight wave to a couple of her coworkers who were headed in the other direction.

Now or never, he thought to himself as he slipped out of the car, making sure to not slam the car door as he exited. He fell in step a few paces behind her, holding to the shadows as best he could. It didn’t matter much, if she turned around he had no where to hide but, it eased his heart beat a bit to be in the dark. 

The clanging of her keys reached him first as she shook them out of her pocket and began to push them into the door. Dick quickly stepped up behind her, grabbing the back of her hand at the door with his right hand while using his left to press the steel of his colt against the base of her skull. In that moment, Dick hated himself more than he thought he could but, it also made him hate Tony Zucco a little more for forcing his hand.

”Is it you?” Dick‘s voice came out gravely, lower than normal.

”Di-Dick? Is that you?” Patricia’s own voice seemed to raise an octave or two as the fear wrapped around both of them like a blanket.

”I. I need to know if you had anything to do with this.” Dick tossed the folder at her feet after letting go of her hand, the papers scattering a bit as he did.

”Dick. Please don’t-“

”Did. You. Have. Anything. To. Do. With. This.” He put emphasis on every word he spoke as he pressed the weapon harder against her skin.

”I-I-I,” the disgraced cop managed to stutter out, “I didn’t know. I didn’t know what would happen.”

”You.” Try as he might, Dick couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice, finally piecing the final bit of the puzzle together, “You were there that night, weren’t you?”

”Dick, I-“

”Answer me, goddamn it!” Dick was screaming at this point. It didn’t matter if half the department heard him and came outside. There was enough rage building inside of him that he would take a shot at all of them at the moment.

Patricia let the keys dangle in the door as she very slowly turned around with her arms outstretched to her sides. By now Dick has firmly grabbed his gun with both hands and took up a shooters stance even though he was only a foot or two away from her face. The soft light of the street lamps illuminated the tears the were rolling down her cheeks steadily. She took a moment to compose herself before trying to explain, “I-I had no idea Dick. You’ve got to believe me. They handed me an envelope and told me to look the other way. By-by the time I realized what was happening it was already too late. I was under their thumb.”

”For fifteen fucking years?!” Dick screamed in her face now, dropping the colt to his side.

”I wanted to tell you, I swear! They said that they would kill us both if I opened my mouth. I did this to prot-“

”No! No! You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to take the righteous high road for my sake. Nope, fuck that! This wasn’t to protect me. This was to protect yourself. Plain and simple. You may have felt guilty for me but this was all you. You’ve known this whole fucking time?!”

”Dick, I-“

”Just shut it!” He swung his arm up, bringing the weapon along with it and pressing the metal into her forehead hard. “What’s stopping me, huh? You’re just as bad as them. Tell me why I shouldn’t pull this trigger now.”

All the life seemed to escape her words. “For yourself, that’s why. If you do this now, they will never stop hunting you. They will find you. One way or another they will and you know it. They will never stop.”

Dick took a step back but kept the weapon trained on her, his arms trembling slightly from anger and weariness, “I am ending this tonight. Stay the fuck out of my way.” 

He stared her down for a long, tense moment before holstering his weapon once more. He couldn’t kill her, even if every bone in his body told him too. She was operating from a place of fear, apparently she had been the entire time he had known her. He couldn’t blame her for that, not fully anyways. Truth be told, she was probably the closest thing he had to a mother above ground. 

”I’m never going to see you again.” Dick nearly spat his words out, causing him just as much pain as her. He took a few more steps backwards before tucking his hands in his pockets and turning to leave. The soft sound of her sobs clinging to him like a wet cloak.

Dick slammed his fists into the steering wheel again and again as he sped away. He was rattled now in a way that he had never been before. He spent his entire life not trusting anyone but, the one person that he did, cut him the deepest by far.

How could she?

He kept repeating it over and over in his head although it wasn’t going to do him any good finding that answer right now. Somehow, he needed to refocus. If he tried anything as fired up as he was, he would only end up in the ground. That just wouldn’t do. He needed to be level headed for this. He had to run through all of the scenarios. He wouldn’t be able to do that if all he could see was red.

Dick kept on the road. He let himself breath as he didn’t worry about any turns that he took. He just drove, put everything on autopilot. There was never a destination in mind, it was more so he could calm his racing heart and fried nerves. It took a while but he finally pushed Patricia out of his mind. 

He found himself staring out over Lake Michigan down by the Gold Coast. He didn’t have any memory of getting there but, at this time of night, it probably only took him an hour at most. Putting the car into park, he sat in the drivers seat for an extra moment after pushing the door open.

He never could have expected things to go this wrong, this quickly. The plan hadn’t even begun to form and it was already tossed off of the rails. Dick couldn’t allow that to happen. It had been fifteen years. Fifteen years since he heard those gasps and screams. Fifteen years since the echoing silence of nothing. Fifteen years that he trained and honed himself for this exact moment. Now, fifteen years later wasn’t the time to let it go slipping through his fingers.

Moving along to the front of his ride, he zipped his jacket up and pulled his hood on as he leaned back on the car, letting his eyes fall to the black ice that covered the lake in front of him. He let his eyes wander to and fro for a bit, scanning up and down the coast line of large, extravagant homes. 

His mind began to race. There was an address within the files, no name but it was only a mile or two from where he was now. It could be nothing, he thought to himself with a slight yawn, or it could be a trap. There was only one way of truly knowing though. He let out a sigh, already deciding before he even asked himself the question.

Dick slowly moved to the back of the car, using the keys to unlock the trunk as he did. Pulling it up, he moved a large blanket aside, revealing his mini arsenal that was at the ready when ever he may need it. 

He had left the folder back with Patricia but it was all in his head by now anyways. He started up the engine once more as he shifted into gear, the address playing over and over in his head like a broken record. 

It only took Dick a few minutes of snaking around Lake Michigan to find his destination. The sprawling estate of another one of Chicago’s wealthy elite spread out before him. He killed the head lights at the end of the long driveway before pulling off into the underbrush about halfway down and shutting off the engine.

He took a minute to compose himself and figure out his next move. He wasn’t even sure what he may find here. Whatever it was, there was a solid chance that Zucco paid handsomely to keep it out of the file. That had to have meant that whatever was here was at least somewhat important. He didn’t see any security although, he was still far enough away from that house that they might have been lurking closer. 

Opening the trunk once more, Dick slipped the Tommy gun out of the back, putting the strap around his shoulder and tucking it into his jacket. He grabbed a matching colt and tucked this one into the waist of his pants, pulling his belt a snug tighter as he did. He decided to be smart about this one and pulled a pair of sharp looking knives out of the trunk next, slipping them inside of his jacket as well. He had no idea what was waiting for him but it certainly wasn’t going to hurt to have a few weapons that he could use silently if he had too.

His heart beat was calmer than it rightfully should have been. There was a nagging noise at the back of his mind but that wasn’t too hard to push away at all. For a moment, he feared that he was rushing this but, he soon reasoned with himself that this was a simple reconnaissance mission and that there was no need to engage with anyone. The Tommy gun at his side said other wise but, it was always better to have it and not need it as opposed to the other way around.

Dick hugged the tree line alone the driveway as he moved closer to the house. Most of the lights were off, save for one downstairs and a single one on upstairs. There weren’t any security that he could see, in fact, if it wasn’t for the couple of lights that were on, he would have thought no one was here at all.

He stayed to the perimeter until the tree line gave way to a large front yard that border the lake. A few toys were strewn about here and there that he could see in the moonlight but, that was about it. Oh great, kids, he thought. For a moment, Dick wondered who they might be. The file never said anything about Tony’s family. Dick didn’t even think that the man was married although that didn’t necessarily mean anything these days.

Crossing the rest of the way across the lawn, Dick stepped cautiously up the steps to the back deck. Stopping at the back door, he drew in a slow shallow breath before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his lock picking kit. It only took a few minutes but soon enough, the tumbler lock gave way and Dick was able to push into the fancy home.

Dick quickly stuffed the lock pick into his back pocket before drawing out one of the sharp blades. He wasn’t sure who was here and it wouldn’t do any good drawing the attention of the entire neighborhood with something like gun shots. He did his best to move from shadow to shadow. He made it through the mud room to see that the downstairs light was on in the kitchen. There was a single chair pulled out that a long, raven haired woman sat in with her back to him. 

He stepped carefully as he inched closer to the kitchen, letting his eyes dart to the corners of the room as he did. It seemed that she was alone at the moment, at least down here anyways. When he was within arm’s reach, he lunged forward, wrapping an arm across her forehead and pressing the blade to her throat with the other. 

Her voice came out more sultry than it rightfully should have for someone having a blade pressed against their voice box, “Oh, kitten, you’ve no idea what you’ve just done.”

”Where is Zucco? Wh-“ was all he managed to get out before the heavy something slammed into the middle of his back, sending him crashing to the floor, his knife skittering away from his reach as he tumbled. The force of the blow was enough to knock the wind out of his lungs, as he scrambled to his feet, gasping for air a bit. He tried to speak but nothing came out. 

Dick took a fighters stance across from the large man with the pool cue in his hands. Dick guessed the man could have taken his head off with one swing but, he seemed more interested in toying with his food right now. That was going to work in Dick’s advantage as long as he let it. 

Taking a half step forward before retreating, Dick was testing the man. Seeing if he could draw him into a fight. Dick didn’t have home field advantage on this one. If this was going to work out at all, he would have to capitalize on each and every mistake that his opponent made. 

Dick could clearly see the man growing frustrated with the inactivity as he circled slowly until he was in between the intruder and the woman still seated in the chair. She hadn’t moved an inch, even when Dick held the blade to her. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that she was the one he needed to watch out for. 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any time for that as the man rushed him, catching him a bit off guard and wrapping him around the waist before lifting him up and slamming him down on his left side. The way that his arm was pinned, Dick couldn’t break his fall, instead taking the full brunt of the blow on his shoulder with a slightly sickening crunch. Dick scurried away with his back to the pantry now, just barely ducking another axe swing of the cue. 

The attacker had two or three inches on Dick and about seventy five pounds. If Dick wasn’t smart about this, he was never going to get that shot at Zucco. Putting the large kitchen island in between them, he shot a glance at the woman before turning his attention back to the current threat. As the man lunged over at him, Dick found the hilt of the steak knife resting on the counter next to the sink. In one fluid motion, Dick caught the man’s wrist with his left hand, pulling down hard as he brought the blade down from over his head. The sinewy sound of cutting flesh filled the room followed by the wail and blood splatter that accompanied it.

Dick had the feeling that this wasn’t going to stop anything so he pressed forward, pulling the blade out before jumping behind it and plunging it deep into the man’s chest, the wail turning into a startled groan. Dick applied a little more pressure until the man stopped moving before standing up, covered in blood.

”So, Ma’am, as you were saying, where is Zucco?”

She didn’t move an inch as Dick killed a man directly in front of her. That chilled Dick all the way to the bone. Either she had seen plenty of this before and was a seasoned veteran or, she was just one of those types that could control her emotions better than most. She didn’t even bat an eye as Dick grabbed the once white dish towel and wiped off the steak knife before tossing it into the sink with a clang. 

Dick kept his distance as he pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the island, resting the colt from his shoulder holster on the wood in front of her, the barrel turned towards her chest. Even that didn’t make her flinch. That was when he truly realized that he wasn’t dealing with a normal person here. 

”Tell me where he is.” Dick demanded as he pulled the hammer back on his pistol with his thumb, “Let’s just do this the easy way.”

”Even if I knew, there is zero chance I’d ever tell you. You just murdered Thomas in cold blood. Right in front of me no less.”

”Well, I wouldn’t exactly say in cold blood.” Dick reasoned with her, “He did attack me first after all.”

She smirked at him and it made him uncomfortable in a way he had never known before, “Yes, he did. After you broke into the house that he had been tasked with protecting.”

She had a good point there. He was the one trespassing after all. Really, it was partly due to surprise that he was able to survive that one at all as well. He wasn’t sure what was left in the tank after being tossed about like a rag doll. ”Are you going to tell me or do I have to force this out of you?” He tried to keep his voice stoic but even he could keep the small nuggets of fear from mixing into his words. 

”No, I am not. And I’ll do you one better. I’ll even tell you how this is going to go. You’re going to get up and leave this place and in a couple of days my men will come knocking for you. There just isn’t any way around it. You are obviously skilled enough to fell good ole Thomas here and because of that, I will give you an extra day or two to say goodbye to your loved ones.”

Dick couldn’t let this go on any longer, she was starting to get under his skin, “Good thing there aren’t any loved ones left. Here’s my counter offer, you tell me where he is and I don’t pull this trigger right now.”

”You wo-“

Dick squeezed the trigger lightly, sending a round into the cabinets behind her. She didn’t even budge. This may be harder than he thought at first. He was going to have to change his tactics somehow.

As he thought about what to do next, they heard the scurrying of tiny feet upstairs. Dick watched her intently and for the first time since he broken in, he saw her falter. She tried her best to hide it but that was of no use now. Whomever was upstairs was incredibly important to her. Now was the time for him to press forward. 

”Please just tell me where he is. Don’t make me go upstairs.”

”You-you wouldn’t!” She nearly screeched at him, gripping the island tight in her fingertips.

Dick fired another round into the wall behind her, “Please. Don’t test me. I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”

The wash of defeat cascaded down her face as she carefully reached for the pen beside her. She quickly scribbled something down before sliding the piece of paper towards him, “You have what you came for. Leave now.”

Grabbing the piece of paper, Dick nearly ran out the back door, he didn’t want to be there any longer than he had too.

Dick didn’t hear any sirens as he made his way back to the car, seemingly fighting the cold now with every step. The wind was more vicious out here, tearing across the Great Lake seemingly with a vengeance. Dick was more worried than anything. If it hadn’t been for those little feet running upstairs he wasn’t sure where he would be right now. Probably locked into some Mexican stand off with someone who didn’t seem to lose many of those. The worst of it all was that he feared he made an enemy for life tonight. He didn’t know who she was but, he got the feeling that if she wanted to, she could track him down rather easily. 

He fumbled with the keys to the trunk, cursing himself as he dropped them before finally pulling the trunk up and tossing his weapons inside. His heart thumped wildly in his chest. It wasn’t the murder that got to him at all, it was her cold calculated stare from across the kitchen that rattled his bones the most.

As he turned the key in the ignition, he tried his best to force those thoughts away. If he focused too much on that now he would miss another chance. He wasn’t willing to let that slip through his fingers again. He had already done too much in the name of “good”.

He kept flipping the paper over and over between his fingers, more of a nervous tick than anything else. He was sure his body would be sore soon enough, especially with the way he had landed hard but, at the moment, the adrenaline rush was enough to mask whatever was going to pop up in an hour or two. 

Dick drove slowly, making sure to obey all of the traffic laws and not pull any unwanted eyes in his direction. He really, really didn’t need anyone on his tail right now. 

It took him about twenty minutes to make it back into the heart of the city, checking the address again out of nervousness. He wasn’t planning to go running in through the front door, if he didn’t formulate some plan he was screwed before he even stepped out of the car. This was going to take far more finesse than that. He needed to scope the place out, see what was outside and in if he could. 

He pulled down the street of the address, driving a bit slower than he normally would. He watched the sidewalk as he slowly rolled by. There wasn’t anyone who jumped out at his as out of the ordinary but, Dick had been at this long enough to know that wasn’t the case. Zucco never went anywhere alone. He certainly wouldn’t be with out at least a few body guards on a somewhat busy street as this. By his count, Dick noticed three and that was just in the front of the building. He could expect the same around back and at least double that inside.

Dick pulled to the right as he rounded the building, finding an empty parking spot and shutting the engine off. He took a few deep breaths as he kept looking in the rear view mirror, trying to see if anyone noticed him.

Dick flipped the collar of his leather jacket up before exiting his vehicle. There were far to many people out on the street for him to pull anything out of the trunk. The colt that he had tucked away and the blade strapped to his ankle were going to have to be enough.

He fished for a cigarette in his pocket before pulling one out and lighting it, taking a long slow drag as he did. His nerves were still rattled, even the long ride back into town hadn’t been able to settle them. The smoke certainly wasn’t going to help that but it did mask his trembling hand a bit.

Dick let his mind go blank for a moment. He had spent years trying to figure out this puzzle and now that he had all of the pieces, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to press on. What happened if he finished this tonight? He spent fifteen years figuring this out, what would he do with the next fifteen afterwards?

Those thoughts only lasted a brief moment before they were pushed away by the final images of his parents falling from their perch. The terror that warped their faces would always be at the back of his mind. There was no way to get away from that. Even if he confronted Zucco tonight and put an end to his terror, that wouldn’t change the past and it certainly wouldn’t make the nightmares stop.

That was the thing that Dick kept falling back to. No one else had stepped up to stop Tony, who knows how many lives and families he had destroyed just like Dick’s. Someone had to do something. Often times, the hard thing to do was the right thing to do.

He kept the plan running in his mind as he moved closer to the brightly lit sign that read Haley’s Cafe. There was no mention of the place in the file folder but Gold Coast Lady was more than confident that he would be here. Dick probably shouldn’t have been surprised, the same people that Zucco was paying to keep him out of the electric chair, were most likely the ones doctoring the files. 

Dick kept his head bowed as he moved down the sidewalk, slowly puffing on his cigarette. With one last exhale near the front door, he caught a brief moment when no one was staring at him and dropped the lit smoke into the trash can. At this point, he was just hoping it would catch. If it didn’t, there wasn’t a plan B.

He kept traveling to the far end of the sidewalk, making his way past at least two of the body guards that he had noticed before. As he got to the corner of the building, he heard the yells of fire coming from behind him. He didn’t bother looking back as he spun himself around the side of the building, breaking into a sprint to reach the backside of the building before Tony Zucco could slip out that way.

Dick reached the end of the alleyway just as the car screeched to a halt by the back door, the engine idling loudly. The driver seemed panicked, as if he had never done anything like this before. That could work to his advantage, Dick thought to himself, or it could screw the whole thing up.

Pressing his body against the wall as he moved, he kept himself stashed away in the shadows. His dark hooded sweatshirt and leather jacket helped him to blend into the building as if he wasn’t even there. He skipped by the last dumpster and took up a position where the door would swing open, concealing him even more. 

It was only a second or two more but it felt like an eternity before that door actually did open. Dick held his breath as he could hear the yells and screams coming from inside. Two of Zucco’s guards stepped out first, guns drawn and pointed outwards, scanning down each side of the alley. The air left Dick’s lungs as the whole reason for this stepped into view. He was just as tiny as the file folder had said but there was something different about the man. Even as he moved now, with his back to Dick, he could tell that there were no wasted movements. The target moved exactly how he wanted to, exactly when he wanted to.

Now was the chance. No one had tried to hit him here before, Dick could tell that by the alarm the small fire he set caused. Maybe that was how all of this could have been avoided, if someone just had the balls to step onto his court to play.

Gunfire would only bring more eyes, mostly likely more eyes with guns and Dick wasn’t equipped at the moment to get himself into a fire fight. He was going to have to think on his feet for this one. He quietly slipped the small blade from around his ankle, taking half a step out of the darkness before grabbing at the first man’s wrist, pulling towards himself hard as his foot shot forward, connecting into the side of the second man’s knee with a sick, twisted crunch and a yelp of pain. 

The attack caught all of them off guard, including Zucco. A man who clearly wasn’t used to things like this happening. Dick wasn’t sure but he thought he saw a hint of fear splash across the short little Italian’s face. Dick didn’t give them a chance to react, he raked the blade across the first body guard’s thrust, sending him to the ground with a gurgle. He moved in one swift motion, swinging the blade in an upward arch burying it under the other guard’s chin, sending his eyes wide in shock and knowing. 

Without thinking, Dick grabbed Zucco by the collar of his shirt, dragging him towards the back seat of his waiting car. The driver was too busy looking around, not really knowing what to do, to notice anything of what happened. He must have been new here.

As Dick ripped the door open and tossed Tony inside, he pulled the gun from his holster. Slamming the butt of the weapon into the wired rimmed glasses in front of him, he pushed the man aside as he sat down, the blood pouring out of his nose. 

”Drive the fucking car.” Dick pressed the barrel of his colt into the base of the driver’s skull, landing a punch before grabbing Zucco’s collar and pulling him to the floor.

“Whe-where do I go?” The youth in the driver’s voice came out in full force. He was way over his head and he absolutely knew it. 

”Head towards the Gold Coast. I’ll tell you when to stop.” Dick eased his hold on the pistol, pulling it back from the man’s head before slamming it into Zucco’s nose once more. Drawing another yelp of pain. Dick couldn’t help but smile at the pain he caused. He didn’t exactly like it but, If there was anyone who needed a broken nose, it was Tony Zucco. 

Dick let the ride go in silence. Every so often when Zucco would try to speak, Dick would slam him in another part of the skull with the butt of the gun, causing even more cuts and bruises. Dick didn’t want to admit it to himself but, he was enjoying this more than he thought he would, more than he was comfortable with really. 

It turned a bit sad as Zucco began to understand what was actually happening to him. He never had to worry about something like this before and now was going to be the last time and he knew it. He began begging and pleading for his life but Dick only ignored it. Zucco might as well been talking to a brick wall at this point. 

Dick looked out the window over Tony’s shoulder, occasionally letting his eyes move to the driver before moving back again. As the coastline came into view through the dark, the nearly full moon lighting the waters.

Dick took a few shallow breaths. His heart pounding wildly in his chest. The last few years were all culminating tonight, somewhere along the Gold Coast. 

”Pull over here, guy.” Dick order the driver who immediately listened. Dick could swear he heard his teeth chattering as he did. “Get out and walk away. I don’t care where you go but, I really, really don’t want to have to kill you too.”

The kid nearly kicked the door trying to get out, breaking out into a run as soon as he was free from the driver’s side door. Dick couldn’t help but smile, the kid may not have been the best body guard around but, at least he had that self preservation instinct.

Dick slid out of the back seat, turning back to his target cowering in the back seat, “Come on out, Tony. We’ve got some things to chat about.”

“I’ll give you anything!” Zucco pleaded like a scared animal, seemingly trying to slide underneath the front passenger seat. There wasn’t anywhere for him to go and both he and Dick knew it. 

”Tony, Tony, Tony.” Dick began, “I would have thought you had more spine then this.”

”Whatever I have is yours! Just leave me be!”

”Well,” Dick hauled him out of the back seat, “there isn’t any chance of that happening now. So it might be best if you just accept this.”

Zucco’s fear turned to anger with the snap of a finger, he began screaming into the night as much as he was screaming at Dick, “Do you have any idea who I am?! You’re a dead man! Fucking dead!”

Right about then, Dick was growing tired of this bravado bullshit. He grabbed Tony by the shirt once again, pulling him up to his feet only to slam a weighted fist into the man’s midsection, causing him to crash back to the cold ground once more. “Are you calm enough yet, Tony? All the money, all the body guards in the world aren’t going to save you now. I hope you know that. I mean, I hope you truly understand how righteously fucked you are right now.”

It looked like the mob boss was trying to speak but, Dick’s last blow pushed whatever air was in his lungs out. It was probably for the best, Dick thought to himself, anything he said to him now was going to be met with another blow anyways. 

”Do you remember me?” Dick knelt down beside the man who was trying anything not to look his attacker in the eye, “Come on now, Tony. We’ve known each other a long time. You telling me you’ve destroyed enough lives that you can’t remember one face?”

”N-n-no! I don’t know who the fuck you are!”

Dick punched him in the face again, this time drawing a deep gash below the man’s left eye. “That is too bad Zucco, because I certainly remember you. I remember that smirk from fifteen years ago. I remember the arrogance that surrounded you then and has only gotten worse now. I remember that like it was yesterday.”

”Listen, man, I don’t know who the fuck your are or what the fuck you think you’re do-“

Dick cut him off with another strike to the ribcage, sending the man sprawling to the asphalt now. Dick was really going tired of this dance now. Even if the man did know who he was, Dick had pissed him off enough that he would never show it even if he did. Unfortunately for Zucco, that only left one other option.

Pulling the hammer back on his colt, Dick fired the first round into the shin bone just below Tony’s left knee. The wailing was nearly intolerable. “Just so we are on the same page here, that was from John Grayson.”

The color ran from Zucco’s face as he immediately recognized the name. Even if he didn’t know who he was now, he remembered who he was then. 

Dick pulled the trigger again, this time sending a round into the man’s other leg. The screams were becoming unbearable now. It was a good thing that they were the only two out here at this time of night. 

”And that was from Mary Grayson.”

The thought occurred to Dick to walk away now. Let the man bleed out on the side of the road like some animal that was hit by a car. That was leaving to many things to chance though. With how cold it was right now, the blood flow would be slow and it was close enough to sunrise that eventually someone would be by. No, that just wouldn’t do. This needed to end sooner rather than later.

Dick knelt down beside the man one last time, pressing the pistol into the man’s midsection before pulling the trigger three times in quick succession. It wouldn’t be fast but he would suffer, that much was for sure. 

Thats what all of this had been about. Making Anthony Zucco suffer as much or more than he had made Dick suffer. This wasn’t petty revenge, this was the culmination of years and years of anger and rage. Dick wasn’t proud of himself but he wasn’t mad at himself either. He was removing a vicious pawn from the board. It just helped a little that he was the man who killed his parents as well.

Zucco tried to plead for his life some more but, Dick was done with all of this now. It was time to let it all go. Once it was over with, that was it, there wasn’t anything left to drag it back into the light. 

Dick drew in a long breath before training the gun downward once more and emptying the clip in Anthony “Tony” Zucco’s face. He was going to make damn sure that this bastard didn’t get an open casket funeral. He stood there for a bit after it was done, breathing heavily as he stared down at the motionless body. 

He turned his gaze upwards as he finally moved away from the scene, “It took fifteen years, Mom and Dad but...it’s done now.”

Dick slid into the driver’s seat, slowly starting the engine before driving off. He left Tony Zucco on the side of the road like the animal he was.