Ghost Not Forgotten

XXII: Now

The second Stanley pressed the gun to my head, Bennet dropped the butt of his down against Billy's skull, knocking him out cold. Billy slumped to the floor as Bennet swung his gun up, aiming at Stanley. Or me, really, since I was Stanley's shield now.

Bennet's aim was steady, his eyes narrowed. "You don't wanna do that, Stanley."

"You've forced my hand, Bennet," Stanley said, keeping the gun to my temple. "I didn't want it to come to this, you're right, but you did this. You got her involved. You broke the rules. This is on you, Bennet."

Bennet let out a breath, thinking.

"All right, Stanley," he said. "Let's be reasonable about this. We both don't want to see her hurt, so let's put the guns down and just talk, all right?"

The gun shook against my temple, rattling against the bone. It hurt my already aching face, but I tried not to grimace. I had to get my wits about me.

"What do you say?" Bennet said, slowly raising his gun until he had his hands up and the gun pointed away toward the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Bennet," Stanley said, his gun not budging. "It wouldn't be smart for me to do that. I'm an old man, I can't move as fast as you. The second we put our guns down you could have yours up and shooting before I could even blink."

Bennet let out a growl and aimed the gun at Stanley again. "You son of a bitch, just let her go!"

"Bennet," I said, my voice came out scratchy. "Don't."

He calmed, letting out a shaky breath but not lowering his gun.

I felt Stanley relax. His grip on me wasn't as strong, so I moved to elbow him in the stomach.

"Natty, no!" Bennet shouted, freezing me before I could really move. He took a small step forward, aiming the gun over my shoulder at Stanley's face. "I love it when you get scrappy, baby, but now's not the time, all right? Just stay still."

"I'm a little unsteady right now, pumpkin," Stanley said. "You don't want to cause any accidents."

I felt the cold metal press against my skin. I bit back a sob and did as I was told, trusting the look in Bennet's eyes.

"Let her go, Stanley," he growled, enunciating each word. "This is our fight, yours and mine, not hers. And you obviously don't wanna shoot her or you would've done it ages ago, so let her be."

"We have to discuss a few things first," Stanley said. "Like how we're goin' to deal with this whole situation. I've been thinkin' it through the last few minutes and I'm gonna cut the same deal I cut with you sixteen years ago: you leave, you keep quiet, she lives, everybody's happy. How's that?"

"No, Stanley," Bennet said, slowly shaking his head. When Billy gave a groan from the floor, Bennet gave him a swift kick in the head and knocked him out again without messing up his aim.

"I'm not a scared kid anymore," Bennet said, stepping forward. Stanley tightened his hold on me and leaned back. "I'll leave if and when I want to leave and she won't be hurt at any point."

Bennet crept closer, slowly, just barely. His eyes didn't leave Stanley but he lowered his gun. He kept it in his tight grip at his side, like he was ready it whip it back up if need be. "I've waited a long time for this moment and it's gonna be had. I'm doin' the talkin', you're doin' the listenin', you got me?"

His eyes were flashing like lightning. It was kind of scary.

Stanley cleared his throat. "Okay, Bennet. What do you have to say?"

Stanley's tone was too calm and I could tell it pissed Bennet off. He only let it show for a second though, a quick second, before his face turned to stone again.