Birdcage Ch. 11

"Are we expecting anyone else?"

Henri's sharp tone cut through her reverie.

"Erm...yes Sir. I was told it would be convoy."

The guard was considerably more polite and deferential to Henri than he had been to her or the Doctor, and Joni reminded herself that Henri's still held position as a head, no matter how threatened that position was currently.

"Convoy of who? Who is behind?"

"Sir?...I-"

"Is it another head? I wasn't informed?"

"I don't know I'm sorry...I...I just know there are guards. I don't know who else."

Henri huffed impatiently and the car lurched ahead as it sped up once more.

"Is...everything ok Sir?"

The rustle of fabric next to her and the jerk of his arm, told Joni that Doctor J had ripped off his blindfold.

"Henri!" The doctor exclaimed.

"Put your blindfold back on Doctor."

The guards voice was stern, but a waiver of uncertainty could be heard too.

"He's fine...it's fine Jack. We'll...we'll figure it out."

Henri's voice grew louder for a moment as he turned towards the back.

"Sir?..."

"Jack, can you get on your phone. Find out what's going on. I didn't hear about this so maybe that was intentional. FUCK."

"Sir?...SIR?"

The guards panic escalated just as quickly as the car accelerated. Marnie had awoken and her fingers twisted in Joni's.

"Erm...it's ok, sit back...it's...it's fine!"

The Doctor to her right was leaning forward to try to calm the guard, Joni could hear the creak of the leather as he shifted around in his seat.

Joni's mind raced just as her heart rate did. This didn't feel like the suspiciously straight forward plan from earlier. She considered tearing off her blindfold and creating some sort of distraction when the guard yelled once more.

"SIR, are you...what is this? STOP THE CA-"

He was interrupted by an earth shattering bang.

Joni felt the warm explosive spray across her chest and the coppery smell instantly permeated the thick coarse material of the blindfold.

Ripping off the sodden material the first thing she saw was Henri's eyes reflected in the rear view mirror; his brow deeply furrowed as he settled back into his seat.

Barely three feet across from her lay the crumpled dark suit of the guard. He had fallen away from them; his head, or lack of, thankfully out of view. The growing pool of dark liquid in the leather seat next to him was far more difficult to miss, and looking down at her beige coat, she was now stippled in red.

In almost the same moment as Joni was considering the eery quiet of the car, the ringing in her ears eased off and a cacophony of noise shocked her back to her senses.

Marnie was screeching next to her, cursing loudly and roughly brushing down the front of her jumper. The Doctor was muttering under his breath what sounded like prayer, and Joni heard the words 'lord' and 'mercy' repeated.

"Jack. JACK...what the fuck is going on. Why is there a helicopter. This isn't right."

"Jesus...Jesus Christ 4...Jesus Henri! You didn't have to kill him."

"He had a gun. I couldn't risk it...this shouldn't have happened. I don't understand. It's coming in close now...how could they know?"

His eyes were fixed on the mirror and Joni followed his gaze to see the the rapidly approaching helicopter; a smudge of black against the sky.

"Henri?" Joni found her voice.

She wanted to move across to speak to him, but the guards inert form separating them kept her firmly seated.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Doctor J was looking through the rear window, his eyes fixed on the car behind weaving across the dirt track to keep up.

"Jack?...what have you done?"

"I'm...I'm so sorry. Joni my love, I'm sorry."

Tears fell, catching in the deep creases around his eyes. He reached his hands out to grasp hers, but she snatched them out of reach.

"JACK?"

Henri turned in his seat, the car lurching as his hands slipped on the wheel momentarily. His head snapped back and forth between the road and the three distraught figures.

"They have Helena. 2 has had her for some time. I'm so sorry. They knew more than you thought. I had a choice to make. They promised me the girls would be safe."

He reached out for the handle of the door, to steady himself against the rolling motion of the car as it weaved more aggressively now.

"I had to tell her. You have to understand! The hold she has on me...on Helena!...what would you have me do!?"

"...You're a fool Jack...2 hasn't got a merciful bone in her body, and death will be a mercy to what she'll do to us all."

"I...I'm so sor-"

"QUIET."

Joni could see the thick tree line fast approaching, and wondered how dense it may be as the car continued to speed ahead. In her peripheral vision she saw the helicopter flank them and looking back, the car behind was still keeping pace, trying to pull aside them as Henri continued to aggressively cut in front.

The shadow of the forest canopy darkened the car instantly.

"Shit."

Marnie had her eyes tightly shut and her splinted arm clutched tight to her chest. The painkillers were now wearing off and the increasingly erratic driving was jostling her in her seat.

"Henri...HENRI! We need to lose them...where are we going?"

He didn't speak but his eyes flitted to Joni's in the mirror.

"We can't keep driving through this. It's too thick. Is there somewhere to stop?"

Henri took a sharp turn and Marnie gasped again. Looking back, Joni lost sight of the car behind for a moment, before it swerved to follow them.

"Fuck fuck...FUCK."

The car slammed on, and all three passengers were jolted towards the front of the car, falling in a tangle against the guards body.

"Arghhhhh."

Marnie had a thick sheen across her forehead and her eyes rolled back into her head for a moment as the pain lanced through her.

Another set of tires screeched to a halt behind them and Joni saw Henri wordlessly dart out of the car before she could speak.

The short sharp 'pop' of bullets began, and as she edged toward the window she saw two dark figures exit the front of the car, guns drawn.

"Shit. Marnie you have to get up."

There was a 3 foot high rock wall ahead which had evidently stopped them, and Joni was sure she could reach it to take cover with Marnie.

The Doctor was quivering on the floor, his hands clasped over his head. Joni had to forcefully push him out of the way to open the door.

The pop of bullets continued and peering out of the other window, Joni could just about see Henri taking cover behind his own open door.

"That's it. We have to run Marnie. We have to move."

Her friend was concentrating on the pain, but opened her eyes and slowly nodded her assent.

Just as Joni was leaning out, the back window shattered over them, sending a flurry of glass down over their heads.

"We...we can't."

"Yes we fucking can Marn...we have to."

Joni pulled at her arm again but Marnie resisted.

"PLEASE."

"We won't make it J...I just can't."

Joni scowled but wouldn't give in so easily.

She kissed the back of Marnie's hand before letting it fall, and moved towards the front of the car. Crawling over the guard, she slipped through the partition and into the front seat. Henri was only feet away from her, his body tensed and his arm jerking as he let off round after round.

Joni groped around the centre console, under the seat and then opened the glovebox. She was sure there had to be a backup weapon somewhere. Her hair was falling into her eyes and she brushed it impatiently back and slammed her palms into the dashboard.

"Fuck!"

She turned back to return through the partition and saw Marnie disappear through the open door, the dead guards gun grasped tightly in her uninjured hand.

"NO! MARNIE NO!"

Joni flung open the passenger side door and leaned out. But a hail of bullets forced her back.

"MARNIE!"

And just as quickly as it had started. The gunfire ceased. Leaving behind an eery quiet.

"Marnie...Marnie!?"

Edging out, Joni could see a puddle of dark hair behind the back wheel.

"JONI!?"

Henri shouted from behind as he barrelled towards her but Joni barely heard him over the rushing blood in her ears.

She threw herself to the floor and rolled Marnie's thin frame over; her delicate pixie features blank. One arm lay awkwardly next to her, sling still tangled around it, the other was outstretched in the dirt, gun in hand.

"No...no no no. Henri. Fix it. Fix this!"

"I...I'm sorry."

He wrapped one arm around her, but she barely felt it. The tears stung as they rolled free.

She pounded on Marnie's chest, and pulled away the jumper to reveal the dark and angry bullet hole between her breasts.

"No no no. NO. You have to...fix her." The words were barely discernible through the sobs that racked her.

Joni looked up to the noise of footsteps as the Doctor ran past them, not a second glance back as he bolted back down the track the two cars had created.

Not even 20 feet away lay the bodies of 4 guards, surrounding the car whose engine still hummed gently.

"We have to go."

"I can't fucking leave her!"

The sobs continued and from them grew a deep ache in Joni's chest.

"Joni...we have to go."

"I can't...sh-she wouldn't leave me."

"There's cabins out here. We have to make it to one before dark. She's gone...we can't take her."

Her head fell defeated into the warmth of Henri's chest.

- - -

When they had reached one of the cabins that Henri has described. The sun had only recently disappeared over the horizon, leaving a soft amber hue to the world.

"They paid the landowners off when they built here. Farmers use them occasionally I think, but it should be empty."

Henri mostly spoke to himself. The walk following the shootout had been a quiet one. He initially tried to coax some conversation out of the catatonic Joni, but quickly gave up. From then on he had spoken at her rather than to her, and only to fill the haunting silences as they had traipsed through the wilderness.

Joni had mostly concentrated her efforts in thinking of literally anything other than Marnie's empty eyes, that and putting one foot in front of the other in the uneven terrain.

It was plain but utilitarian. One small room which acted as living/dining/bedroom, complete with small cotbed at the side, and dirty looking brown couch in front of the dusty wood burning stove. A kitchen at the back which stretched the modest length of the cabin, narrower than a normal hallway and home only to a handful of cabinets and a large gap which presumably at one point housed the oven. Joni had yet to see the bathroom, except for it's yelllowing door next to the kitchen. She couldn't bring herself to imagine using it.

"I'll grab some wood, there's a store outback I think. Here."

Henri slung the open doctors bag to the floor and handed Joni the solitary beer from the white room mini fridge. She mustered a small polite small and placed the beer besides her on the floor. It seemed the more hygienic option compared to the couch.

"Are you...okay?"

Once more on autopilot, Joni nodded. She couldn't yet bring herself to actually answer or even ask that question. She didn't feel like she had ever been or would ever be alright again.

She found it easier to distract, and busied herself lighting the fire and also an array of tea lights she had found in one of the cabinets. Henri did likewise, tidying as best as he could and trying to secure the flimsy window locks. They circled each other like enemy ships, never touching, only passing close by.

A small part of Joni longed for contact. Longed to sink into the hard warmth of his frame and feel safe again. The other larger part of her, the part that clung desperately to sanity, knew better than to let the wave of emotional envelope and drown her.

"Was that an engine?"

Joni strained, but could hear only the gentle rustle of leaves against the windows as the wind stirred the branches of the large tree out front. Her eyes were beginning to get heavy amid the soft flickering candlelight and she couldn't recall when she had last slept.

"I don't-"

"Stay here. Keep hold of that."

He pressed the cool metal of the gun tightly into her palm, and pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth. She clung to his shirt as he moved away, pulling him back and pressing her lips more firmly to his. The tears threatened and she looked away as they separated.

"I'm not going to take any risks tonight Joni. Stay quiet. I...we are going to be ok."

And with that, he was gone. The door creaking shut behind him.

Joni placed the gun down on the edge of the couch. It felt like a rattlesnake in her hand and she didn't want to hold it any longer that necessary. She was doing everything she could to not picture it in Marnie's hand. At the back of the gun was the small embossed emblem of The Fort. The caged bird.

She pressed her palms to her eyes until she saw stars, willing the other images out of her head. Her hands still smelt faintly of copper and sweat and she stood, hoping to find a source of clean water.

One look at the murky stain outside the bathroom door put her off going in and trying the sink, but remembering the water bottles they had brought she made her way back to the couch and the Doctors bag.

A shout stopped her dead, from somewhere outside. Loud enough to be close by, but quiet enough that she couldn't recognise it. Henri's name was on the tip of her tongue, but instinct told her to keep quiet.

Another shout, further away now and harder to identify.

Taking two steps back until she felt the couch at her left, she reached down to where she knew the gun lay. Her fingers found it as her eyes stayed fixed on the door.

She stood and she waited. Her legs willed her to move to the door, or either of the boarded up windows. It was dark now but the moonlight already filtering through the slats would surely illuminate anyone trying to approach.

"Hello little bird."

Joni turned in an instant, snapped the gun up, and aimed. Her heart hammering in her chest and her veins icy cold at the sound of Michael's voice.

"-I wouldn't darling, I've got your loverboy outside, and if you hurt me, what's to stop 2 doing all manner of terrible things to him."

Michael's hair had grown since she had last saw him. It was now an inch long crop of tight black coils. His face was also no longer clean shaven, and a dark shadow clung to his jaw and upper lip. He had ditched his suit for dark jeans and a thick black hoodie. That and his heavily scuffed boots suggested he had not been living the pampered life he had been accustomed to in The Fort.

The bathroom door was open behind him and a cool chill from the open window swept in.

"I don't..."

Joni still aimed the gun at him, but it grew heavy in her hand, and her arm began to waiver.

"2 knew Henri was a fucking rat years ago. She just couldn't pin anything on the bastard. When it all kicked off with me, she saw the opportunity that it was. I've been...around...keeping an eye on things and ready to intervene as milady requires."

He still wore the same smug smirk that he had on Joni's first ever day, and she reeled at the memory of his touch.

"-and now she's got all the evidence she needs. They'll have his head for it...all the money lost."

Joni took a step back and felt the couch at her calves. She tried to visualise how close the front door was from her now, and how many strides it would take.

"-but you...little bird...she doesn't need you."

His deranged smile grew and Joni swallowed as he took his first step towards her. He lifted one edge of the hoodie to reveal the brown leather holster under his left arm.

'Shoot him shoot him shoot him'

The words blared like a siren in her head.

"It's what I'm owed I think...I've done enough for that woman...that company. They owe me this. I'll call her after...but right now..."

He took another step and the heavy gun slipped from Joni's grasp, clattering to the ground and startling her into action. She spun on her heel and bolted towards the door, her hand inches from the doorknob when he caught her.

"I've had a taste once before, starters...but now I want the main course."

He had caught her by a fistful of knotted hair, yanking her back into his chest and moving to hold her wrists firmly. His warm breath smelt like rum and cigarette smoke as he pressed his mouth to the side of her neck.

"I'm..I'm still a virgin. They've already sold me...my buyer he won't...you can't-"

"-I can do what I fucking want. They owe me this. I've given my life to them, and for fucking what? To be beaten half to death for something as minor as selling a fucking whore to a good paying customer."

"HENRI!"

Joni found her voice, at the realisation that nothing she would say would convince Michael against his intended course of action.

"Hush now."

His hand released one wrist to press firmly against her mouth. She tasted blood as her teeth bit into her lower lip. The taste of his skin against her mouth was hauntingly familiar.

"I don't think we have long little bird."

He walked them to the narrow couch and shoved her, folding Joni over the armrest in one swift motion. He settled his weight against her back and moved one hand to grip a handful of her hair once more.

"That's it...stay down."

Joni's mind was unusually quiet as she felt his hands rip at the thin material of her tights. She recalled fighting off the drunk man at the Fort, tearing at his skin and straining against his weight. But now she felt drained. She allowed herself to empty completely, the anger and fear evaporating.

The hair at the back of her head was still gripped tightly in one of Michael's fists, and in the sudden quiet of her mind, Joni could hear the soft 'snap' of strands as his hand jerked against her scalp.

He finally tore through the last scrap of material and she felt his skin against hers for a brief moment before he plunged into her.

"Fuckkkk. I forgot how tight virgins are."

The pain lasted for a split second, before Joni let the numbness consume her once more.

- - -

"Joni...JONI!..please, come back to me. PLEASE."

Her eyes focused on Henri's face; his eyes wide and desperate.

"Are you hurt?...where?...FUCK."

His hands were all over her, pulling at her dress and brushing over her stomach and back.

Looking down, Joni could see why. Her dress and legs were sodden with blood. The deep red hue stained Henri's hands as he moved over her and she looked down at her own to find her small flip knife still gripped tightly in one bloody fist. She let it fall the short distance to the floor with a clatter.

"JONI! Come on baby, come back to me."

He took her face in his hands and forcefully brought her eyes to meet his own.

"Did he..."

Her tights were in ragged pieces around her ankles, and as Joni shifted, the burning pain came rushing back to her.

"That fucking scum...I'll fucking...Joni, I'm so sorry. Please say something. Just fucking speak to me...I'm sorry...PLEASE."

Over Henri's shoulder she found Michaels face. Eyes closed but mouth open slack. A thin trickle of dark liquid spilling down the edge of his mouth. His limp cock hung out of his zipper, still glistening with a creamy pink fluid.

- - -

"Paolo my love, it smells magnificent as always."

Giulia floated around the vast kitchen island to coil herself around her husbands waist.

"Joni, would you like wine with dinner?"

Joni nodded meekly, mustering a smile. Alcohol made things easier, softened the edges of all of the dark thoughts that continued to find her even now.

It had been 8 weeks but the grief was still fresh, the despair still all consuming.

"Make that two."

Henri stood filling the doorway, his phone slotting into his pocket as he approached.