Ashes to Ashes

The idea for this story was inspired by an idea from a reader. If you haven't read chapters one and two yet, I suggest you do so to fully understand the story.

The reference to an incident where a wronged husband nukes his cheating wife comes from a previous story, "The Monster He Created."

For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper...

As always, constructive comments are always welcome and appreciated. Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc.

*****

Synopsis so far:

John and April Sullivan had been married for almost 25 years. He is a successful businessman, having started his company from scratch. She has been involved in politics for 22 years, having served on the city council, the state legislature and Congress.

John learned of April's adultery at a Party fundraiser and filed for divorce shortly thereafter. His revenge consisted of a funeral service for their marriage, where he had divorce papers served on her.

After the memorial service, he left for a 200-day round-the-world cruise which followed a three and a half-month stint in the Florida Keys. April caught up to him at the cruise ship and the two later reconciled after John learned the whole story of how April was blackmailed by a corrupt U.S. Senator and his henchmen.

Ending of Ashes to Ashes, Ch. 02:

They packed and made their way to the gangplank. After saying their goodbyes, they walked down to the pier. As John stepped off the gangplank, a series of shots rang out and both he and April fell to the ground, their blood pooling on the concrete.

...

A week later:

John woke up in his hospital bed and looked at the doctor standing over him. He felt extremely groggy, as though he had been asleep for a very long time. His mouth was dry and his chest hurt like hell.

"Good morning, Mr. Sullivan," the doctor said. "How are you feeling today?"

"I've been better," John croaked after a nurse gave him an ice chip to suck on. "Where's my wife?"

"She's just down the hall," the doctor said. "In case you didn't know, she was shot as well. Her injuries were a bit worse than yours, but not by much. I'm sorry to have to inform you of this, but she lost her baby in all the excitement."

"Baby?" John asked, shocked. "She was pregnant?"

"Yes, didn't you know?" the doctor asked.

"No, she had been nauseous a bit lately, but I thought she was too old to get pregnant," John said.

"Well, pregnancy rates for someone your wife's age are quite low," the doctor said, "and unfortunately, the risk of miscarriage in the first trimester are quite high. The trauma of being shot probably caused her to miscarry."

"How is she?" John asked. "Does she know?"

"Yes, she knows," the doctor said. "And she's quite upset, as you can imagine. She'll be okay, physically, given time. We have a counselor working with her now. Both of you were really quite fortunate that the bullets didn't do more damage than they did."

"When can I see her?" John asked.

"Soon," the doctor said. "Very soon. I just wanted to make sure the repairs we did healed before we allowed you to move around too much. We've kept both of you sedated for a few days. We'll also have you both work with a physical therapist for a while, maybe a week or so. We'll evaluate you then. In the meantime, get some rest." He closed his clipboard and prepared to leave.

"Doc," John said, causing the doctor to turn back to him. "Please tell April that I love her. Will you do that?" The doctor nodded his head.

"I will, Mr. Sullivan," he said. "I'm sure that will make her feel much better." He left, leaving John alone with his thoughts. About half an hour later, the door opened and Ryan Williams and Cheryl Masters came in. John was glad to see the two FBI agents and hoped to get some more information.

"About time you woke up, John," Ryan said, smiling.

"Very funny," John said, chuckling.

"Seriously," Ryan said. "We were quite worried about the two of you."

"Doc says we were both lucky the shooter didn't do more damage," John said.

"I don't think luck had anything to do with it," Ryan said. "I won't bore you with all the details, but after examining the rounds we recovered and the extent and nature of your wounds, let's just say I think the shooter wanted to send a message more than anything else."

"You think this was Cramer's doing?" John asked, referring to Robert Cramer, the man identified as Senator Jenkins' "enforcer." Ryan looked at Cheryl and nodded.

"I do," he said.

"So much for your nationwide APB," John said.

"John, we're doing everything we can," Cheryl said. "Cramer's a highly-trained operative. He's got years of experience and he's damn good at what he does." John looked at her for a few moments before speaking.

"So, do you think he'll come after us here in the hospital?" he asked. Ryan shrugged his shoulders.

"It's hard to say," he said. "We'll have police officers standing guard just in case he tries." The door opened and a doctor came in the room with a couple of orderlies and a wheelchair.

"Mr. Sullivan," the doctor said, "are you up for a little trip? Your wife would like to see you." The orderlies helped John into the wheelchair and attached the IV to the chair. They all left the room and went down the hall to where April was being kept.

"April?" John asked when he saw his wife. She looked haggard, her eyes red from crying. She looked at him, sadness in her eyes. He hugged her as best he could with the IV in his arm. She put her head on his shoulder and sobbed.

"They killed our baby," she cried. "That fucking bastard killed our baby." John held her and looked at Ryan.

"Cramer has to die," John said. Ryan and Cheryl looked at each other for a moment before looking back at John. Neither one responded to John's declaration, but John noticed that Ryan nodded his head once, very slightly. He understood what John was going through.

"We'll be in touch, John," he said. "Be careful and don't do anything stupid. Remember, Cramer is a pro."

After a while, the orderlies came in to wheel John back to his room. John kissed April before they left.

"We're going to see if we can get you guys into a room together," one of the orderlies said. "It may be tomorrow before we do, though."

"Good," John said as they wheeled him out.

That night, John awoke when the door to his room opened. He saw someone in medical garb looking over his chart and the monitors next to his bed. He thought it was one of the nurses checking on him as they often did. Then the man came by John's bed and looked down at him for a moment. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to John. Then he put one hand over John's mouth and spoke to him quietly.

"Shut up and listen, asshole," the man said. "I just want you to know that I could've killed you and your wife when you got off that boat. Hell, I could've killed you any time I wanted to. I just wanted to get your attention. Are you listening?" John nodded his head.

"Good. Now listen up, cuck," the man said. "You really fucked up when you went after me and Senator Jenkins. Jenkins is dead now, but I'm very much alive. I could've taken you on the cruise, but that FBI bitch was always around and ship's security nearly caught me. So I got off the ship and made other plans.

"So, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to kill your parents, then I'm going to kill your son. I may or may not kill your daughter, but I am going to fuck her brains out. Depending on how good she is, I may keep her, or I may sell her off to some brothel in the Middle East. There's people who would pay top dollar for her. I'm also going to fuck your wife and I'm going to do it right in front of you, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Then I'm going to cut her fucking head off. I may kill you at some point, but first, I'm going to make you hurt so bad you'll beg me to kill you. I'll be seeing you around, cuck." The man's hand came off John's mouth and he left before John could say anything. Frantic, he grabbed the remote on his bed and hit the call button, several times.

A nurse came into the room and looked at him, concerned.

"He was here," John said. "Cramer was in my room. Please, check on my wife. Where's the police guard?"

"He just went to grab a cup of coffee," the nurse said. "I'll check on your wife. Are you okay?"

"No, dammit," John said. "Cramer just threatened me and my family. I need a phone. Now!" The nurse gave him his phone and he called Ryan.

"Williams," he said when he answered the phone. He sounded as though the call woke him up.

"Ryan, this is John Sullivan," John said. "Cramer was just here. In my room."

"What?" Ryan asked. If he wasn't awake before, he was now. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," John said. "He threatened my family."

"Okay," Ryan said. "We'll be right over." Ryan and Cheryl showed up about a half-hour later. At Ryan's direction, Cheryl went to April's room to check on her.

"You said Cramer was here," Ryan said. "Are you sure it was Cramer?"

"Yes," John said. "He threatened my parents, and he said he intends to kill our son and have his way with our daughter. Then he said he was going to fuck April and kill her in front of me. You have to stop him, Ryan."

"How did he get past the officer?" Ryan asked.

"The nurse said the officer went to get a cup of coffee," John said. "And Cramer was dressed in medical garb. He could've easily talked his way past the guard if he had to."

"Okay," Ryan said. "We'll check the hospital's security footage. You said he threatened your parents. Where are your parent now?"

"They live on 10 acres in northern Arkansas, just south of the Missouri border," John said. "And our children still live in Springfield."

"Do your parents own guns?" Ryan asked. John nodded his head.

"Yes," he said. "My Dad has a small arsenal and they know how to shoot."

"Okay," Ryan said. "I'll let you call your parents and your children. We'll also have someone go out, visit them and assess the situation. I'll get officers on your children as well. Don't worry, John, we've got you covered." Ryan started to walk away but John grabbed his coat. Ryan looked at him.

"Kill him, or I will," John said.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Ryan said. "I don't need you taking the law into your own hands."

"If he comes into my house, I will take him down," John said. "I happen to know that my state recognizes the 'castle doctrine' and I intend to protect myself."

"Be careful, John," Ryan said. "Be very careful."

"I will," John said. Not wasting any time, he called his parents and told them what happened.

"Look, son, I'll call the kids and explain things," John's father said. "I'll have them come on down and they can stay here with us till this blows over. If that asshole shows up here, we'll fill his ass full of lead."

"Thanks, Dad," John said. "Be careful, though. Cramer's a pro." His father laughed.

"Yeah, well, I may be old, but I'm still a trained SEAL, so maybe he should be careful," his father said. John laughed.

"Just be careful, Dad," John said.

"Don't worry, son," his father said. "We'll be alright. You just take care of that pretty wife of yours."

The next day, John and April were put into the same room and they spent hours discussing their situation. John suggested they buy a gun for protection, but April balked.

"John, you know how I feel about guns," she said.

"I know," he said, "but this is an extreme situation. We need to protect ourselves."

"But the FBI said they'd look out for us," she said.

"Right," John said sarcastically. "Did you know Cramer was on the cruise? The only reason he left was because he nearly got caught. Then he shot us both right in front of the FBI and he made it into my room. Face it, April. The FBI can't protect us forever."

"But I'm not sure buying a gun is the answer," April said.

"April, you weren't there when Cramer was in my room," John said. "He was very explicit about what he was going to do to my parents, you and our children. I can't just sit here and hope someone else with a gun will be around the next time he shows up."

"Please, John," she said. "Let's not discuss this right now." John could tell this was a sore subject for her, so he dropped it - for now.

They spent the next week going through therapy, both physical and emotional. Soon, they were able to get around without too much pain and the doctors agreed they could be released. Ryan and Cheryl met them in their room.

"We have a plane standing by to take you two home," Ryan said. "I promised you we would stick with you and that's what we're going to do. We haven't seen any activity on Cramer's part, so maybe he's backed off. But we're not going to take any chances." Ryan and Cheryl had also arranged for all of their luggage to be transported to the plane waiting for them.

John called his parents to let them know they would be home shortly. He also spoke to the children, who were happy to hear their parents would be safe.

They rode in silence to the airport and boarded the relatively small Lear Jet that would take them home. Ryan said he would accompany them to their home while Cheryl coordinated things from the local field office.

Once they landed, Ryan and Cheryl helped load John and April's luggage into the SUV Ryan would use to take the couple home. They rode in silence to the house that neither John nor April had seen in over 200 days. For John, it had been about 10 months since he had seen their marital home. He almost didn't remember the code necessary to open the gate.

They drove down the long driveway and John could see the grass hadn't been cut in at least three weeks. They looked around and didn't see any other cars on the property. The house also appeared to be deserted.

They got out of the SUV and made their way to the front door. John turned the knob and found it was locked. He got his keys and unlocked the door. Ryan edged his way to the front and motioned for John and April to stay behind him. He pulled out his sidearm and carefully worked his way inside. John turned off the security alarm and April followed as Ryan and John moved slowly around the house, making sure everything was secure.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and Ryan was thrown against a large china hutch in the front room. He fell down on the floor, his blood soaking the carpet. As John and April watched, Robert came into the front room, his pistol aimed at them.

"Well, well," he said. "Look what the cat dragged in. What, you think your little rinky-dink security alarm would keep me out? Please, don't insult my intelligence. Now, go upstairs. Move."

John and April looked at each other and slowly made their way up the stairs with Robert following.

"In your bedroom," he ordered. They went into the master bedroom at the top of the stairs. Once they were all in, Robert motioned for John to sit in a chair placed by the door and took a bundle of zip ties out of his pocket. He handed them to April, keeping his pistol trained on them.

"Tie him up," Robert ordered. "Make sure he's secured." April took the ties and looked at John. "Move, dammit," he yelled. April began securing John to the chair, tears flowing down her cheeks. Apparently, she wasn't moving fast enough to suit Robert. "Hurry up, Goddammit!" he yelled. Finally, April finished and stood in front of her husband.

"I'm sorry," she quietly told John.

"Shut up, bitch!" Robert yelled. He holstered his pistol and pulled a large knife out of a scabbard attached to his belt. It was the largest knife John had ever seen. He held it close to John's face. "Take a good look, cucky boy," he said. "You'll be seeing this again real soon." He turned to April with a wicked grin on his face. "Your turn," he said. "Get naked."

"Please, Robert, don't do this," she pleaded.

"Shut up, bitch and strip!" Robert ordered, grabbing her clothes and cutting them with his knife. Soon, April stood in just her tiny panties. Robert grabbed them and cut them off of her. "I said to get naked, slut," he said. He stood back and admired her body.

Embarrassed, April tried to cover herself with her hands, but Robert wouldn't hear of it.

"When did you become modest, bitch?" he asked. "Looky there," he said, his eyes riveted on April's shaved pussy. "You finally shaved your cute little pussy." He looked at John before speaking. "I wanted her to do that for months but she refused. You should've seen her back in Washington, cucky. Your wife really knows how to please a crowd." He looked back at April. "Don't you, bitch?" April said nothing but looked down at her feet. "Don't play coy with me, bitch," he said. "I know how much of a slut you are. On your knees."

April slowly got on her knees before Robert. John shook his head vigorously.

"April, no, don't do this," he pleaded. Robert slapped him across the face.

"Shut up, cucky boy," he yelled. "We're just getting started." Robert grabbed April by the back of her head. "You know what to do," he said. "Now do it."

Slowly, April reached up, unhooked Robert's belt and opened his trousers. She reached up and pulled his trousers and boxers down to his knees, freeing his cock, which was already starting to get hard. John tried to look away but Robert slapped him again.

"Watch, cuck," he said. "Watch as your wife sucks my cock and swallows my cum." He turned back to April. "Do it, bitch. You know you want this." April looked up at him.

"Why don't you lean up against the dresser, Robert," she suggested. Robert grinned as he leaned back against the dresser for support. He put the knife on the dresser as he did so. April began stroking his cock, making it grow larger.

"April, no, please," John pleaded. April looked at him with a wicked smile and John saw her wink her right eye at him. What did she have in mind, he asked himself. She looked back up at Robert, who was moaning as he leaned back, his head thrown back, his eyes closed.

"You like this, don't you, Robert?" she asked. "You love it when I stroke your cock like this, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah," Robert moaned, his eyes still closed. April looked at the top of the dresser where Robert's knife sat. She kept stroking him, her hot breath on his cock. As she stroked, a drop of precum appeared at the head of his penis.

Suddenly, she grabbed the knife with her left hand, and slashed down on Robert's erect cock as hard as she could, severing several inches of his manhood.

Robert's eyes flew open and he screamed as he grabbed what was left of his cock, thinking he could stop the flow of blood, which was spewing everywhere, covering April's hands and face. As he fell, April grabbed his pistol out of the shoulder holster.

"You BITCH!" Robert screamed. "I'll KILL you!!"

"I don't think so, asshole," she said. "You killed my baby, you shot my husband, you threatened my family. Now it's time for you to DIE!" Robert screamed in pain as he squirmed on the floor, but somehow, April managed to put the barrel of his pistol in his mouth. Robert's eyes grew wide in terror.

"Eat this, motherfucker," April hissed as she pulled the trigger. As John watched, horrified, the back of Robert's head exploded, blood, bone and gray matter spewing all over the floor, the dresser and the wall.

April dropped the pistol as fast as she could and visibly shook as she looked at the gory mess on the floor. She began heaving, and ran into the bathroom. John heard her heaving her guts into the toilet several times. He heard her run the sink for a while before coming back into the bedroom. He looked at her as she stood next to him.

"Could you please untie me?" he asked. April got the knife and cut the zip ties holding him to the chair. He held her tight as she sobbed on his shoulder.