Keeping Tom

A/N: I love reviews, even if it's constructive criticism, emphasis on constructive.
*****

Fredrico had followed the three men all the way to Australia. Before now he had kept his mind solely on the money he had burning a hole in his pocket. The money he had gotten from Frank who had just been put in prison for the rest of his life. He kept the story of the boys being liars firmly set in his mind. He did his job for a reason. He hated liars and everyone who looked for him to do a job knew it. He really hated liars who either got someone thrown in prison unjustly or who escaped justice themselves by lying.

He was trying to act normal as he ordered some coffee and a few pancakes. He watched the four men talk and his eyes bulged as the skinniest one pulled out his arms. He had been wondering why the young man wore long sleeves even though it was quite warm but now the reason was obvious. He had a scar on one of his arms similar to those but he used the fact that he came on a motorcycle as an excuse to wear his leather jacket. He had many scars from his line of work, but that one had been his first big scar and he had done it himself.

He tuned his hearing to try to hear their conversation. He had amazing hearing but most of the time he let it relax and take in everything around him so he could hear any possible threats to his safety but for the time he focused it on them. He heard them mumbling and one was stuttering as well. The words he caught made him second guess his mission. He heard the stuttering one talking about trying to kill himself and men who had forced themselves on him and one man who had cut his face.

Fredrico hadn’t let himself really look at the men before. Only one of the three he had been sent to take care of was unscarred. The other two had scars on their faces and one looked like his ear had almost been ripped off. He noticed that the fourth man was looking right back at him and he swallowed hard. Never before had he second guessed himself but the younger men sounded so sincere about what they were saying. Why would they pay for therapy themselves or let someone else pay for therapy if they didn’t need it?

He finished his coffee and then walked over to their table. The four men looked up at him and he said, “I overheard your conversation, all I want to know is, are you two telling the truth?”

Tom and Damien looked at each other uncertainly and then back at the strange man. “Y-yes we are. W-why would-d we lie ab-about things like that?”

Fredrico closed his eyes and sighed, “Consider it your lucky day that the hit man hired to get you was sexually abused as a child. I will go back and spread the word to the others in my field that you are not to be touched so consider yourselves safe. The others listen to me. If you want, I’ll just call a friend to get the word spreading back home and stay here to make sure no one else is following you.”

Damien and Tom started to shake as the reality of what the man had just said hit home. Andrew pulled them close and looked up at the man. He looked sincere but Andrew had to make sure. “How can we be sure you’re not lying?”

Fredrico took a deep breath and then took off his jacket revealing his scarred arm. “I did this when I was 10. My stepfather was a perverted bastard and my mom caught him at it and put the bastard in a coma. She ended up going to prison because the fucker’s friend covered for him and said my mom was psycho. I got into this line of work out of anger at the world thinking justice never got done but I can see now that justice can get done without it coming from a bullet I fired, at least some of the time. I can understand if you never want to see me again but I really think you should let me stick around. A lot of those men were powerful, rich and pissed off.”

Andrew and Stan exchanged looks as Tom and Damien buried their faces in Andrew’s shoulders and started shaking harder. Andrew got them to look at him and whispered, “What do you guys think?”

Tom found himself stuttering this time because of the fear he felt, “L-let him st-stay. P-please.”

Andrew nodded and looked up at the man with a stern look. “First off, what’s your name?”

“Fredrico Garcia.” Fredrico looked at the big man and knew he was a man to be respected and answered in a respectful tone. He could tell the man was just looking out for those he cared about and that’s why he sounded so defensive and angry. He couldn’t blame the man for that, he had just admitted to being paid to kill him and the two young men who were now crying into his shoulders.

“I want it made clear to you. If any harm comes to these two, you will pay for it. I am very protective of those I love and I won’t stop until anyone who harms them pays for it dearly. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do. I will call my friend and get the message spreading as soon as I’m done talking with you. I know all the hitmen in New York in the game right now so I’ll know if one of them is following you. I haven’t seen any others so far but they might still be out there. Just… well avoid places like this unless I’m around alright?”

Andrew nodded and said, “Go call your friend and then follow us back to Stan’s place. You said they all listen to you right?” He got a nod in response and said, “Then do you think it would help to let them know you’re protecting these two?”

“It definitely would. I will spread the word, trust me. I already know how to get to his house so I can just meet you back there and I’ll pay for your meal and bring all the leftovers if you want.”

Andrew eyed the man and saw sincerity in his eyes and nodded, “Thank you for that. I think these two have lost their appetites but I’m sure they’ll be hungry again later so please do that.” The man nodded and then went to talk to the waiter as the other four left to get into Stan’s car. Stan took the complicated, long way back to his house. It was a way that went through a lot of crowded traffic areas where he hoped to lose anyone who may be following them. Because he took the long way home, they got there at the same time as Fredrico.

Fredrico smiled slightly at them and said, “My friend has the word spreading as we speak. He’s a good friend of mine and he’ll make sure the point is clear. Last he heard no one else in that crowd had come over here yet so hopefully the word will spread before any of them think about coming over here.”

Tom had calmed down enough to speak, “Thank you for doing this. I… I don’t really know what to say to a man I know was sent to kill me but… thanks I guess.”

Fredrico nodded, “I understand. Hopefully I can prove to you that I’m trustworthy. I am not a good man, and I will make no claims to be so, just look at my profession but I am an honest, loyal man.”

Damien stepped forward and asked, “W-won’t you r-risk their wr-wrath d-doing this?”

“Yeah, but like I said, the others don’t mess with me. Once again, I’m not a good man. Those men can do nothing but hire hit men and the other hit men won’t mess with me. Frank’ll be mad I got his money without completing the job but that’s that bastard’s problem now isn’t it?”

Tom couldn’t help laughing, “You got his money out of his hands before you did the job? How’d you manage that?”

“Well, it’s easy when you’re feared even amongst those in your profession and you point out to him that the big inmate behind him seems to like the look of him and that it can’t be guaranteed he’ll live to pay me off afterwards.”

Damien laughed now too, “Yeah, th-that w-would do it-t.”

Andrew eyed Fredrico warily but saw the malicious glint in his eye when he talked about Frank and started to trust him a bit more. One didn’t get that look in their eye unless they really detested that person. They all went inside and Tank came running in. He too eyed Fredrico warily and slowly approached him. He sniffed at the man who lowered his hand for the dog to sniff. Tank sniffed it and then looked up at the man. After a few moments Tank licked his hand and everyone smiled.

Stan had to admit Tank’s approval meant a lot when it came to the man. Tank was a good judge of character. He had started barking instantly when one of Julie’s ex-patients entered the yard a few years ago and had never trusted the gardener who had ended up trying to rob them. He had also never been wrong about the people he trusted and liked.

***

Fredrico settled in out in the guest house and kept a close watch on the cars that drove past. He was quickly accepted into the group and fed great food that they prepared. One night Tom made him the best burrito he could from the ingredients available. He was having a crisis of conscience as he thought back about all the people he had killed, wondering if any of them had been unjust kills. He was contemplating that as a black car drove past for the third time.

He snuck into the house through a crawl passage Stan had shown him. He popped out in the hallway near the sitting room and went into the room where the five people were sitting and watching a rugby game. They all looked up at him and he said, “I think there might be someone coming. I’ve seen the same black car drive by three times already.”

Just as he finished speaking the door was broken down and a big guy he didn’t recognize came in carrying a gun. “Run! All of you, just run!”

The other five didn’t need to be told twice and they took off running. They crawled through the crawl-space out to the guesthouse while Fredrico did something to distract the man. They heard gunshots but didn’t know what was going on. Stan dialed up the police hoping they would get there before anything happened to Fredrico.

Back in the sitting room Fredrico had managed to disarm the man after a few of shots went into the walls. He was best without weapons in his hands it was how he had been raised to be. He quickly got the bigger man down on the ground with his arm at an angle that if he moved too much it would break easily. “Who sent you?”

“Frank’s man.”

“Is this your first?”

“Yeah.”

“Well make it your last man. You really don’t want this life, trust me, I know. Take your money from this one and go, but before you do tell Frank that he will keep getting hit men crawling back to him injured if he keeps trying. These men will not be killed because they are good men who told the truth about that bastard. Make that known as best you can, Frank is the bastard he was made out to be. Understand?”

The man nodded and looked up at him for the first time. “Oh shit, you’re Fredrico aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am but I’m out of the hit man business now and working as a personal body guard type and these men are the ones I’m guarding. Make that known alright?” He heard the cops approaching and said, “Now run and get back to America as fast as you can!”

The man nodded and was let up by Fredrico. He grabbed his gun and then got an evil glint in his eye. If he killed Fredrico, he’d be set as a hit man. He ran and shot back at the man hoping it had been fatal and took off in his car. Luckily the police saw him and a few took off after him. When the cops showed up the five who had been in the guest house came out. When they saw a cop run back out of the house and radio for an ambulance they panicked and ran towards the house.

Tom and Damien gasped when they saw Fredrico on the ground bleeding. They ran over to him and Tom said, “Fredrico?”

Fredrico looked up at them and smiled slightly, “Looks like karma really does come… get you. I’ll be alright… he just got… my shoulder.”

Damien looked up as the ambulance arrived and the paramedics came in. They stepped back and let the men do their job. Andrew walked up behind them and pulled them close. That could have been one of them. They looked up when what looked like the head cop came in. “We caught the guy. He tried to dump his gun but we got that too. He swears this guy is a hit man too.”

Fredrico was about to talk but Stan held up his hand. “He was but well… I guess he saw that the people he was sent to kill were good people and the one who hired him was a bastard. He’s been protecting us and that’s why he ended up shot. Please don’t arrest him.”

The cop looked over at the bleeding man and then sighed, “Alright, but one question mate, are you going to go back to that job?”

Fredrico shook his head, “Nope. These people opened my eyes, I swear.”

The cop nodded and looked around at the other cops. “We all forgot that right?” He got nods in response as Fredrico was hauled out to the ambulance. The five other people followed the ambulance to the hospital.

The man who had been arrested’s cell phone rang while the cops were talking to Fredrico. He looked at it and said, “Is that his?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me answer it.” The cop hesitated and then handed him the phone. He picked it up and the cops could hear his side of the conversation. “Hello Frank....No, they’re still alive and your little buddy is in jail and I’m in the hospital....You’re damn right I fucked up your plan....Oh don’t start that with me ya bastard. You leave these men alone got that?...What will I do? You seem to forget some of my friends are in that same prison you are....Oh I wouldn’t? You sound so sure. I doubt anyone would give a shit if you wound up dead....Trust me, my buddy Jack would delight in killing you if I asked him to. He’s already in there for life and he hates rapists like you....Do we have an understanding?...Good, now go have fun with your big cellmate.” He hung up the phone and handed it to one of the cops who had his eyebrows raised high.

“Were you serious about those things you said? The man that sent this guy is a rapist.”

“Yeah, don’t know if it got much coverage worldwide but it was big news when this guy Frank’s place was busted into. He had quite the child prostitution ring going and two of the guys who are staying in that house were just little kids when they ended up in his place and one of them was the key witness that got him put away. Needless to say he’s pissed.”

“I remember hearing about that. It was quite heavily covered really because that’s a worldwide problem. It gave all of our police departments some thoughts about how to fix our own attempts at stopping that shit. Well, do you think he got the point?”

Fredrico smirked, “Definitely, my buddy Jack is a big guy who apparently has already made himself known to Frank and Frank is quite scared of him. They’re both in there for life which I think helps as well because he knows he can’t get away from Jack.”

“Well that’s good. We’ll use the fact that that Frank guy called the guy’s cell phone as evidence against him. Get well.”

Fredrico smiled and nodded. He was determined to make his life better from now on. He would protect these men if it meant the death of him and he would get a job that gave back to society somehow. He couldn’t keep living his old life anymore. His conscience was awake and screaming at him for the first time since he was 10.

***

When they brought Fredrico home two weeks later Tank was very excited to greet him. The cops had cleaned up any signs of his blood which they were all thankful for. Fredrico’s left arm was in a sling but he crouched down and pet Tank with is right hand. “Hey buddy.” He looked up at Stan and Julie and said, “You’re right, there’s no better greeting than that.”

The couple smiled at him and Stan said, “Yeah, he’s great that way. Shitty day, good day, he’s there to wiggle away and make you smile.”

Tank licked Fredrico’s face and he laughed. That night they had a good dinner made by both Tom and Stan. Fredrico felt something he hadn’t felt since his mom had been sent to prison, he felt like he was part of a family and really cared about. He decided as he ate that all the money he made as a hit man would be donated to charities and he’d use his fighting knowledge to teach self defense courses.