“Beggars can’t be choosers, I’m afraid,” Brick shrugs, his expression calm as if he’s giving advice to an old friend. “You’re going to have to take your lumps. Blood in, blood out and all that. All the things you drummed into your men over the years. And what did you say it was? Just business?"
For the first time, I see true fear in Tane's eyes. I didn't know if he was capable, but it turns out that inside, he's just a man. A scared man with a nice suit. “Listen, you’ve proven your point," he whimpers. "You want in on running the island business? I’ll hand it over to you, no questions asked. I’ll move to the mainland, you’ll never hear from me again. I swear. Whatever you want… just not this.”
I smirk at his attempt to negotiate with us, to offer us an attractive slice of his business pie after resisting us, keeping us small, for so long. I shake my head. “We’re not idiots, Tane. Despite your more atrocious qualities, I’ll give it to you that you’re a shrewd businessman. Even if you did set up a satellite business on the mainland, these islands will forever be home to you."
"Right?" says Skyler, glaring at Tane. "You’ll find a way back, and it’ll be a constant game of wack-a-mole, finding out where you pop up next and having to smack you and your men down over and over again. It sounds exhausting, frankly, and while I’m confident we’ll always find a way to beat you, it’s going to drain our precious resources. We can’t have you as a distraction any more, Tane.”
"Yep, what did you call it?" Brick growls. "Just business? Collateral damage?" And with that, Brick puts a gun to Tane's head and pulls the trigger.
Tane's eyes go wide as the gun clicks and he braces for impact.
But nothing happens.
"Haha, just kidding," grins Brick. "Wanted to keep you guessing right until the end."
Relief is written all over Tane's face as he tries to catch his breath.
Without warning, Brick pulls another gun out of his waistband and shoots Tane right between the eyes.
Blood splatters on the opposite wall, along with pieces of Tane's skull and brain matter.
"That felt… anticlimactic?" Angel says. "He's really gone?" She walks over to make sure, as if him having his skull blown out at point-blank range left any room for error.
"He's had enough of a platform for far too long, and he just would have kept going on and on about how powerful he is, even when he's a husk of his former self. I was finding it depressing," Brick shrugs. "Him dead, that's all we needed. The show is yet to come. One that he, for once, doesn't get to enjoy. He'll be a posthumous star in the sky, just not the way he intended. Just you wait and see."
Chapter forty-nine
Later that day
"Well, it's time for the finale," says Brick. "We couldn't just, like… bury him or cremate him in a traditional way. He was a special man, and he deserves a fitting sendoff."
"What are you going to do? Throw him a parade?" Slade looks at Brick like he's gone mad… even madder than usual. "Dedicate a public holiday in his honor?"
Brick shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous. Just you wait for it. Look at the sky in about an hour."
"Okay…?" Slade replies, none the wiser, and he's not too happy about being kept in the dark.
"Trust…. trust and let go," says Brick, winking at Slade. "We're all on the same team, remember?"
"Oh okay, fine. I trust you, you psycho." Slade rolls his eyes, but I detect a smirk forming. He tries so hard to project a curmudgeonly persona, but we know that deep down Slade is as soft and fluffy as the delicious scones he bakes for us occasionally. Especially when it comes to Angel. "Wait, you were joking about the fireworks thing, I thought?"
Brick just laughs.
Exactly an hour later, we're standing outside and there's a huge bang and the sky suddenly lights up.
"Whatthe hell?" I frown. My first thought is it's a bomb or someone storming our location, and I duck for cover, but then there's another bang and I realize this must be the sendoff Brick mentioned.
The fireworks burst into the air, shattering into what looks like a million pieces. Red, white and blue—to symbolize freedom. The freedom that's now possible for the people of these islands.
It's poetic, somehow. Watching someone so evil turn into something so beautiful.
I gasp as the finale begins, the remnants of Tane exploding into millions of tiny balls of light.
"It's fitting, in some ways," I say. "He did leave an impression on these islands, bad as though it may have been. And people are going to remember these fireworks forever." A thought strikes me. "Maybe it'll even serve as a warning to others not to challenge our new place here. If we can do this to someone like Tane Brown, who instilled terror for so long, maybe others will be hesitant to try."
"Yeah," Rake snickers. "I feel bad for anyone who puts on a display for Fourth of July or New Years after this. The baseline expectations for fireworks displays has increased exponentially."
I smirk. "If that's the worst part of getting rid of Tane—increased fireworks expectations—I think we're okay."