Ice cream factory

Zacky didn’t think he’d ever driven a car that ran as smoothly as the Bentley did. Matty had done wonders on it. The tires hummed on the bitumen as they shot down the highway and along the coast. The five of them were silent, lost in their own little worlds. The only sound was the scratching of Brian’s pen on paper and Johnny’s snoring. The kid was exhausted from all the excitement.

The mechanic glanced in the rear view mirror at the youngest of his friends and was reminded, jarringly, of the elder brother.

“Luke would’ve loved this,” Jimmy’s voice startled him a little and he looked at the tall male who was seated next to him, for once all parts of his body remaining inside the vehicle. He was unusually sombre and quiet and that could only mean that he was taking their escape very seriously.

Zacky grimaced. “Yeah. He’d be totally in this.” His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “In fact, it would’ve been his idea.”

Jimmy nodded, stroking his beard. “Exactly.” He gazed out at the passing scenery. “You know where we’re meeting Shads?”

Dan spoke up from the back. “There’s a run-down ice-cream factory twenty miles outta town. Kayla’s Creamery.”

Zacky flicked his eyes to the mirror to meet the soldier’s gaze. “He message you?”

“Yeah. It’s off the main highway.” Dan leaned over and held his phone out to Jimmy. “Check the route.”

Jimmy squinted at the screen then pointed out the window. “It’s the next left, V.”

Zacky gave a tight nod as he returned his focus on the road.

Brian commented, drily, “An ice cream factory, hey? Not much use for one out this far.”

Jimmy chuckled. Zacky just rolled his eyes and then silence settled once more between them. Johnny still snoring continuously.

* * * * *

Matthew leaned his head back against the corrugated iron and stared through his lashes at Matt Berry who was just staring back at him a world weary expression in his eyes.

“You know how we’re gonna explain this shit, Shads?”

“No.”

M Berry sighed and began to pace. Matthew tracked his movements without speaking, just waited whilst keeping an ear out for their friends’ arrival. The two men were holed up in the front office of the ice-cream factory. It had been abandoned for three years, bankrupt or something like that. Matt Berry had arrived at just about the same time as Matthew and they’d barricaded themselves in.

The younger male was on edge and other than the obvious, there was one other thing that neither of them had dare bring up. Even though over a month had passed, it was still raw. The staged execution…the very real mental fallout for both of them. It was tough. And then the fact that Jason had no clue that his brother was still very much alive. Matthew knew that had to be hard for the other twin.

“They’re going to be pissed,” Matt murmured.

“They’ll get over it.” Matthew looked away then frowned as his phone began to vibrate. He tugged it out of his pocket and his expression darkened. Matt looked over at him.

“What?”

“It’s your twin.” Matthew held the phone up to his ear. “What do you want?” The colour drained from his face a second later, causing Matt to start forward. Matthew held up his hand for him to wait.

“What the fuck, Jason? You. Let. Her. Go.” He spat the words, as it felt like an iron fist was squeezing his heart. He closed his eyes and exhaled in a rush. “Don’t. Don’t do this.” The fingers of his free hand curled around the butt of his gun. “I will hunt you down…” He swore angrily as Jason disconnected the call on the other end.

“Shads?” Matt’s voice cut into the red of his rage. He blinked, opening his eyes to meet the other male’s worried gaze.

“Berry…”

“Whatever it is, Shads, I’m on your side.”

“The Creed have my wife.” Matthew stated bleakly. “The Commander says she will be summarily shot if I don’t turn myself in.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s about right.”

Matt shook his head hard. “Why would Jason…we were all friends…”

“Your brother is no friend of mine.” Matthew’s tone was deliberately cold. But, Matt could detect the pain buried deep within. He didn’t protest his statement, though and just sighed again.

“This sucks.”

“Mhm.” Matthew glanced at his watch then tilted his head to listen again. The distant hum of tires on road reached his ears and he straightened, gripping his gun. “Someone’s coming up…”

Matt turned as he trailed his fingers over his own weapon and pressed his ear against the wall to check. “So, what’re you going to do about Val?”

Matthew clenched his jaw. “I’ll have to go back. I’m not leaving her in there.”

He shifted his body towards the door and lifted the muzzle of his gun. The sound of car doors opening then slamming and then several distinct pairs of feet traipsing across the ground set the hairs on edge at the back of his neck.

Matt nodded as he primed his own weapon, his breathing evening out as he focussed on the footsteps. “You gonna let the others know?”

Matthew slewed his eyes to the side in response as he held his Beretta steady. “They won’t like it…but I can’t.” He sealed his lips on the rest of his words as the footsteps approached. Matt shut up as well, pressed against the wall gun in hand, trembling slightly. He was as good a shot as anyone in The Creed, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little afraid. He hadn’t the stomach for the job, hence why he’d taken over at The Locker. But, he was, in fact, a better shot than his twin.

Matthew curled his finger on the trigger, breathing deeply as he listened hard. Matt shifted uneasily on his feet as the footsteps paused.

And then they both relaxed when they heard Jimmy’s distinctive tones echoing through the building.

“The Rev is in the house, yo!”

“Over here!” Matthew called out motioning to Matt to stay where he was as he ducked his head out the barricaded door. He saw Jimmy’s bearded features scanning the large open space of the factory and then those bright blue eyes zeroed in on him and the lanky male pounded the concrete toward him.

“Shads!”

Matthew laughed as he was embraced hard and smothered with kisses. “Fuckin’ Hell, Jimmy.”

Jimmy grinned broadly. “Those are for your wife.”

Matthew went white and pushed him away, roughly.

“What’d I say?” Jimmy blinked as Zacky, Johnny and Brian walked up to join them. Dan had remained in the car to keep watch.

The former T-One shook his head.

“I’ll tell you in a minute…we’ve got more pressing issues.” He looked back to the office where Matt had remained. Zacky lifted an eyebrow, Matthew smiled grimly. “Do me a favour, don’t get angry.” His friends looked askance at each other.

“What do you mean, ‘don’t get angry’?” Zacky asked, incredulity in his voice. Matthew just turned and waved them to the office.

They followed him in trepidation the five of them entering the office together. For a moment, they just stared and then their exclamations of shock filled the room.

“What the Hell?”

“The fuck?”

“You…what…you? M Berry?”

Matt Berry just blinked at them, smiling benignly. “Hi, guys.”

“No. No. No.” Zacky finally managed to get out a few words. He braced a hand against the doorframe. “You…The Creed had you…”

“Executed?” Matt’s lips twitched. “Staged.” He glanced across at Matthew who had seated himself on the floor again next to his bag. “Shads knows about that.”

They all turned as one to look expectantly at their friend. Matthew dragged his fingers through his hair and heaved a sigh.

“I did shoot you. That bullet…”

“Is still lodged in my head, yeah. I know.” Matt tugged at his long hair and scratched at a spot near the front. Jimmy leaned in and gasped.

“There’s a scar.”

“Wow, captain obvious,” Brian chuckled. Jimmy pouted then turned back as Zacky was still interrogating the two Matts.

“I don’t understand…”

“Matt has a certain skill set that we’re going to need,” Matthew was explaining, quietly as he double checked his gear.

“But, we all saw you after…you were a fucking wreck!” Zacky was exasperated. “How could you fake that?”

Matthew frowned and paused in his packing. “I didn’t.”

“You…didn’t?”

Matthew sighed. “Like I said. I still shot him. And considering the past…that kind of thing tends to set me off in a bad way.” He zipped up his bag and stood, slinging it over his shoulder. “It was touch and go, anyway. Matt still could’ve died.” Zacky grimaced, looking at the younger Berry twin.

“Is that right?”

Matt nodded as he strapped his gun into its holster. “The General had his own personal surgeon work on me.” He glanced at Matthew. “The execution was the real deal. As far as the law’s concerned I’m deceased and the paperwork is all filed to prove it.”

Zacky just looked at the two of them disbelief written all over his features. Matthew smirked faintly at him.

“None of that matters now. We still need to get further out of town.”

Matt chuckled. “And, that’s where I come in.” He dug into his own bag and pulled out what looked like a two-way radio. “I have contacts in the Orange County Underground that can get us a safe place to set up shop.” He patted Matthew on the shoulder. “Give me five minutes…”

He nodded and they watched as Matt walked out the door into the open space of the factory and started to pace while tuning his radio in.

Jimmy, who was already bored, turned his head to look at Matthew. “So, what was that all about before?”

Matthew glanced warily at the taller male. “What was what about?”

“When I mentioned Val?”

Matthew’s jaw tightened and he looked anywhere but at his friend. “I have to go back into town.”

“What?” Zacky snapped. “We just spent all that time getting out!”

“I know.” Matthew groaned, putting his head in his hands. “But, The Creed have Val…”

Dead silence. No one moved or said a word. They all just stared at him horror dawning slowly on their faces.

“No!” Zacky grabbed onto the doorframe, hard then winced, pulling his hand away to suck on his finger. “What exactly do they think they’re doing?”

Matthew pulled at his hair and looked up at them. The anger in his eyes was right there, ready to unleash God knew what on the world.

“They want me to turn myself in.” He gritted his teeth.

Brian asked in a whisper, “Or what?”

Matthew shook his head, unable to speak the words. He who was normally so tough and ready with an answer, was reduced to just pure emotion and he couldn’t trust his voice. Matt, who was in earshot, walked over to re-join them his radio still buzzing away in the background.

“They’ll kill Valary,” he said, harshly. “My brother made that clear. According to Shads.”

“Shit…” Zacky whistled low. Brian muttered something about needing to sit down. Johnny just stared at the big guy who looked unusually small and anxious. Jimmy frowned deeply.

“They can’t do that.”

Matthew shut his eyes. “As far as they’re concerned I’m a traitor now. Which means they’ll do anything to get their hands on me.”

“What I don’t get is why they’re not threatening our families,” Zacky muttered. “I mean, it’s not like Shads is doing this on his own. We’re in on this as well.”

“I know why,” Jimmy said. They turned to him. He looked back at them expression grave. “Matthew is a former officer of The Creed. They can’t have someone like him on the wrong side of the law because he’s dangerous. And this is all his idea.” He nodded to his friend. “They want to get Matthew back into town. Not to arrest him, but so they can kill him as well.”

“Right. So…they will probably end up killing Val anyway?”

“Right.”

“That’s sick…” Zacky grunted. “What’re we going to do?”

Matthew growled. “You are going with M Berry to wherever he finds a place. I’m going back to New Huntington. Alone.”

“No fucking way,” Zacky protested. “We’re not letting you go back there by yourself.”

“This isn’t your problem.”

“I don’t give a fuck!” Zacky got into Matthew’s face and stared him down which wasn’t easy considering the height difference. “Val’s my friend too!”

“You’d get yourself killed, Zachary.” Matthew’s tone was reasonable, but Zacky wasn’t having any of it.

“Fuck you, Shads. Either we come with you or you don’t go.” He put his foot down and glowered at the bigger male, a determined glint in his eyes.

Matthew groaned. “Dammit, Baker. I don’t want to lose any of you.” He looked away. “And Iknow what I’m doing.”

“Do you? Do you really?” Zacky leaned in tight, his breathing ragged. “You didn’t see this, Shads. You didn’t foresee them dragging Val into this.”

Matthew sank down on his haunches, rocking slightly. “I should never have told her anything…” Jimmy crouched down by his side and reached over to punch him lightly on the shoulder.

“Hey. Hey. Don’t blame yourself, Shads. V’s right. You couldn’t have known they’d do this.”

Matthew sighed, pinching at the bridge of his nose. He didn’t speak, though, taking the time to calm his nerves. The others moved to sit around the office and waited for him to make his decision.

Jimmy perched on an old desk, dust motes swirling as he settled on the surface. Brian leaned next to him pen between his teeth, sucking on the end of it, brow furrowed. Johnny sat on a broken swivel chair, swinging on it slowly as he watched the big guy. Matthew rubbed at his face as he zipped and unzipped his bag, thinking hard.

Matt Berry came back again a strained smile on his lips. “We’re good to go.”

Matthew zipped his bag shut again and climbed to his feet. “Where?”

“Long Beach.”

“Right.” Matthew glowered at Zacky who was about to speak. “Don’t V. I’m going back alone.”

Zacky grumbled mutinously. Jimmy cut in almost rudely, “Fuck that. One of us is going with you.”

Matthew blinked. “You volunteering, Jimmy?”

Jimmy didn’t hesitate, he nodded and said, emphatically, “Matter of fact, I am. I know a safe route back into town.”

“How…?” Zacky asked. His friend just gave a secretive smile then bounced on the balls of his feet. The mechanic ground out between his teeth, “I hate all this.”

Matthew turned to face him, looking him directly in the eye. “Then go home. You still have time. I won’t hold it against you.” Zacky backed off and shook his head. “No? You say you hate it.”

“No. I’m sticking this out.” The mechanic pulled at his piercings. “We’ve gone too far for me to do otherwise.” He looked pained as if he’d just made the most difficult decision in his life.

Matthew smiled sadly, squeezing his shoulder firmly. “Go with Berry. Jimmy and I will head back into town.”

“I don’t like this…”

Jimmy looked between them then murmured, “I’m good with a knife. I’m the knife master!” This last he said with a huge grin. Zacky flipped him off before turning to look at Matt Berry who was all ready to go.

“Leaving now?”

“We’re expected.”

Zacky nodded. “Okay. Let’s get Dan.” He folded his arms tight as he made for the door. He had to walk passed Matthew as he did and he paused when the bigger male gripped his arm. “Yeah?”

“I’ll join you guys as soon as I can.”

Zacky just nodded tightly before walking out saving a reserved smile for Jimmy who hovered at the door. “You. Be careful.”

Jimmy embraced his friend hard. “See you soon.” Zacky smiled again, sucking on his piercings as he walked back out of the building.

Brian walked passed and clapped a hand to Matthew’s shoulder and murmured, “I’ll get a message to my dad, let him know what’s doing.” Matthew nodded knowing that Brian Snr had to be wondering what was going on, unless Elijah had managed to fill him in.

Johnny was the last out. He paused and looked at Matthew, crease lines on his forehead. He looked older than his years, but then doing time would do that to you. That and grief. And worry.

“Johnny…it’s going to be okay,” Matthew said, softly, though he realised as he said the words that he was as much reassuring himself as he was the younger man. Johnny’s lips tightened and he tilted his head in acknowledgement.

“See you in Long Beach, Shadows.”

Matthew lifted a hand in farewell before grabbing his bag and turning to Jimmy. “Rev?”

The taller male was leaning out the window, looking over the factory floor. The glass had long since gone, shattered by vandals or the like. He pulled his head back in and jumped down on the floor.

“Okay. We’re going to go in via the Pacific Highway Bridge.”

Matthew blinked hard once. There were no actual bridges in New Huntington so he knew that his friend could only be referring to one thing. And one thing alone.

“How the fuck do you know about the Underground Pass?”

Jimmy just winked and walked out the door. Matthew sighed and followed him out.