Soldier of Memory

Vol. 3
By Bobi D
It was a warm spring day, and I had a riffle in my hand.
We'd been at the range for an hour or so. I had an AK-4 with a simple s!ope on it, ta"ing shots
at those weird bla!"-bo# targets meant to loo" li"e the silhouette of a person$ %ar enough to be
!hallenging, but !lose enough for me to ma"e out the targets without a problem. I'd been shooting in
the same fashion for all my life, and didn't miss a single blo!"-man's fa!e or !hest.
After a few maga&ines, my o'erseer finally spo"e up. ()an, I gotta hand it to ya, *ay, you sure
"now your way around a riffle.+
A legitimate smile tou!hed !ame on to me. )y new boss was always thrilled to witness my
prowess with a rifle. (,eah, well, I guess I'm -ust a natural at e'erything.+
Boss laughed a little before pulling out his phone for a .ui!" moment. (Alright, listen, let me
tal" to ya for a se!. Important shit. /it down, sit down. I'm your employer, not your fu!"ing platoon
sergeant.+ I did e#a!tly as I was told and folded my hands in my lap. I was an#ious to start a!tually
getting out to the streets and doing some wor". /in!e *ason brought me out to 0le'eland, Boss didn't
ha'e me doing any wor" whatsoe'er. *ust pep-tal"s and (learn the trade+ s!enarios, and I figured the
only way he'd e'er let me go do some illegal shit would be if I made some ma-orly good impressions.
Boss was an interesting "ind of person. 1is fa!e was de'oid of blemish or moles, his bla!" hair
and beard were "ept neatly !ut short, he had enough mus!le to be noti!eable, but not enough to loo" a
frea". 1e was of 2uerto 3i!an des!ent, with a strange a!!ent I !ouldn't pla!e. )ost noti!eable were his
eyes, though. 1e had dar" brown eyes that seemed to !on'ey nothing but sin. When he was happy, you
saw pride and gluttony. When he wanted something, you saw lust and greed. When he was angry, you
saw wrath... and death.
4hose eyes lo!"ed on me with serious intent, and he assumed the mentor-figure on!e again.
(5oo" here, man, I need you to tell me true. ,ou e'er shot a person before6+
)y heart s"ipped a beat. I didn't "now what to say. 1ow !ould a !riminal mastermind li"e the
Boss e'er employ me if he "new I was really -ust a s!rewed-up, depressed "id with so!ial issues6 1ell,
I wasn't e'en a teenager yet, and I'd attempted sui!ide. If I lied and the Boss saw through it, what would
he end up doing to me6
)y !on!ern must''e shown on my fa!e, be!ause he wa'ed off whate'er my answer would ha'e
been. (%orget it, your fa!e is easier to read than a pop-up boo", it's ob'ious you ha'en't. ,ou gotta wor"
on lying with some impressi'eness, "id. Besides, don't worry about it. A "id your age shouldn't go
"illing anyone anyway, it messes with your mind.+
I ga'e a sigh of relief. (,eah, guess nobody been dumb enough to try n' start something with
me.+
Boss too" a 0uban !igar out of his po!"et and lit a smo"e, unamused. (1ow many times I gotta
tell you to not fa"e some ghetto a!!ent6 ,ou're a !ountry white boy, not some /aint 5ouis nigger. A!t
li"e what you are.+ I !ho"ed a little upon hearing the slur. 7o matter what I was trying to do with my
life, ra!ial slanders and pre-udi!es went utterly against what little things I "new did embody who I was.
I wasn't e#a!tly in a position to be !riti!i&ing, so I -ust bit my tongue and fought down the bad taste in
my mouth.
4he Boss missed my feelings, though, be!ause he -ust "ept on tal"ing. (5oo" here, though, you
thin" you !ould do it6 5i"e, !ould you shoot someone6 /a'ing yourself, money, re'enge, -ust wanting
to "ill 'em-whate'er the !ase, you thin" you !ould do it6+ 7aturally, I -ust did what any (tough guy+
would do and answered yes. (All right. 2i!" that gun ba!" up and ta"e a loo" at the !losest target on
the far left side. 1it the top bit right in the !enter.+
I loaded the AK and too" aim. 4oo" me a bit to fill the s!ope with the bottom-part of the target.
I mo'ed up to the (head+, and was surprised to instead find a pi!ture of a fa!e. A light-s"inned, big
smile, wide-eyed, !ute fa!e...
I turned ba!" to the Boss, feeling si!" to my stoma!h. (I !an't shoot that.+
1is fa!e was !ompletely unreadable. (Why not6+
(Be!ause you stu!" a pi!ture of a fu!"ing baby on it8+
1e shrugged, li"e I said something totally unrelated. (*ust a pie!e of paper with some in".
7othing to it.+
(7o, there's something to it-+
1e !ut me off by raising a finger for silen!e. (/ee, it's that "ind of attitude that will pre'ent you
from e'er being able to only shoot someone, and not do anything more. ,ou ha'e to be able to -ust
!ompletely deta!h yourself from the sub-e!t. Don't see a pi!ture of a !ute, little, laughing baby. /ee a
bit of paper with some in". Don't see a man or woman with a soul and feelings. /ee a mass of flesh and
bones, a brain supported by o#ygen, whi!h is supplied by blood, transported with the heart, and
gathered with the lungs. /ee all the ma-or organs you !an target to ma"e that body stop mo'ing, but
don't see them as a person. If you let emotions get in the pi!ture, it's gonna s!rew you up, ma"e you
lose tra!" of the best !hoi!e. It's the e#a!t same way with business. ,ou !an't let emotion be what
guides you.+ 1e too" a long puff from the !igar, e#haled, and loo"ed me straight in the eyes and said,
in a tone that made me sha"e, (/hoot the fu!"ing target.+
I pi!"ed the riffle ba!" up and got on the target. I didn't see the !hild who must''e not e'en
turned one yet, and instead fo!used on the idea of it -ust being a bit of paper. I steadied myself, too" a
deep breath, e#haled a little bit, and slowly s.uee&ed the trigger.
A hole erupted where the paper's nose use to be, and red e#ploded from behind the target, where
a watermelon was taped to the ba!" of it, and I -ust felt... numb.
I !ame to shi'ering and sweating in front of the mirror, feeling li"e I was gonna throw up. I
dropped my tooth-brush into the sin" and had to grab onto the edges to steady myself. I felt utterly
miserable, but more !onfused. It had been years sin!e I had any re!olle!tion of times in 0le'eland, of
my first Boss. 9f the terrible lessons I re!ei'ed from that psy!hopath. Why, now, of all the times, was I
getting flash-ba!"s6 I had people out there who wanted me dead, I didn't need to worry about my
ghosts at a time li"e this.
9r maybe that was it. )aybe I was ha'ing these flash-ba!"s be!ause I was on the road to
be!oming like him...
I turned to the toilet and ret!hed into it 'iolently. 4han"fully, I hadn't eaten anything in a while,
and it was mostly a bit of fluid. Well, fluid and trauma, I guess.
I !leaned up when I was done and headed out of my room. It was some time around noon, but I
!ould hear shouting !oming from the lobby. /ounded li"e heated arguments, that typi!al situation
where e'eryone thin"s they ha'e something in!redibly important to say, and are too impatient to wait
for their turn. 4his was gonna be a long day.
I found the lobby absolutely pa!"ed. :'ery !hair and !ou!h was full to bursting with people,
and there were many more standing ;I too" a note to in'est in more furniture. 2riorities<, and it seemed
li"e e'ery single one of them was shouting. *ason stood on the table in the middle of the room, his
hands in the air, shouting for .uiet or order, or maybe he was trying to announ!e his plans for world
domination. I sure as hell !ouldn't tell.
*a!" strode o'er to me, an apologeti! smile tou!hing his fa!e. (Didn't wa"e you, did we6+
I ga'e a sar!asti! yawn. (7o, no, don't worry about it. ,our wel!ome !ommittee !an !ertainly
wa"e a ghost, though. What did he tell them6+
(*ust that someone tried to "ill you, but you were fine. /aid he'd lea'e it up to you to de!ide
what else they should "now.+
=reat. 4he de!isions that !ould a!tually piss off the employees he lea'es to me. 4han"s a lot,
*ason.
I wal"ed to the !enter of the lobby, "eeping my eyes fo!used on absolutely no one, holding my
head up high with a posture that s!reamed, (/hut up and listen !lose+, whi!h was signifi!antly more
diffi!ult than it sounds gi'en the pain in my leg. It must''e wor"ed, be!ause the 'oi!es all rapidly died
away, and *ason got off his table to gi'e me the opportunity to spea".
I loo"ed around the room, gauging the emotions of the people around me. 3elief that I was 9K,
anger about what happened, an#iety to hear the whole story... but also a disturbing amount of
e#pe!tan!y. 4oo many of them had faith I "new e#a!tly what I was doing, and I'd pull it all off in the
end. I -ust hoped I !ould li'e up to their hopes.
(I understand you all want to "now the whole story. /o here it is, start to finish. 5ast night, after
a business meeting with 0arlos, I was -umped in an alley behind the 0ardinal 0ountry 0lub. I got
stabbed in the leg, but it's nothing ma-or. We got the bastard, and I had an aggressi'e, informati'e
!on'ersation with him. 1e wasn't a professional, but he was promised money li"e he was. All we "now
is his employer stayed !ompletely anonymous, rea!hing out to him with notes and pay-phones.+
4he people around me started muttering to ea!h other, and loo"s 'arying from fear to anger
were e#!hanged. I "new they hadn't been able to hear the lie. I hated it when I lied to the 4ribe, but I
had no idea how mu!h information was safe to dis!lose. 7ot to mention I didn't wanna ta"e the ris" of
endangering old /mithy or his family. I mean, sure, he tried to "ill me, but I wasn't in any position to
start pointing fingers.
(Is that all6+ A 'oi!e as"ed.
I addressed the !rowd, not the spea"er. (7o. Whoe'er did this !learly had the money and the
smarts to pull off a real hit, and the -o"er they hired !learly wasn't that. It's safe to say "illing me wasn't
their primary goal. 7o, this was a message or a test of some sort... or I finally pissed off someone with
a sense of humor as bad as mine.+
A small laugh went through the !rowd, but was silen!ed by an angry !hallenge. (,ou !an't
"now that for sure though. ,ou !ould be wrong.+
4he room turned mu!h .uieter, and I turned to whoe'er the ass-hole was that was de!iding to
tear me down at a time li"e this. I wasn't surprised to find it was )uhammad I was ha'ing the pleasure
to desire to strangle. )uhammad, or )'ed, was nineteen, a little under si#-foot, and built li"e steel
!able> wiry but strong. 1e had thi!", beaded, surfer dread-lo!"s ;I always thought it loo"ed a little
girly, to be honest<, and light bla!" s"in.
)ost noti!eable, though, was that damnable a!!ent he thought made him better than all of us.
1e !ame from 5os Angeles, and always !laimed to be des!ended from /omali immigrants. Being from
(the real ghetto+, he always thought his !hoi!e was always the right one when it !ame to anything
illegal. In reality, he was in fa!t born to the more up-standing areas of the !ity and en-oyed a de!ent
edu!ation and martial arts lessons. 1e loo"ed and thought he was street, but !ame from wealth and
pride. A 'ery annoying but dangerous !ombination, and he was the biggest !hallenge to mine and
*ason's leadership of the 4ribe.
7eedless to say, he was the last fu!"er I wanted to be tal"ing to under the !urrent !ir!umstan!es.
(I'd say it's a 'ery reasonable dedu!tion, )'ed. ?nless you "now something I don't6+
1e ga'e a great, big, mo!"ing, pun!h-able smile that showed off his platinum fillings. (In fa!t, I
do. @AB's started dealing heroine off the !orner of 9rson A'enue. A drug push into our territory at the
same time someone tries to "ill you6 =otta be them, man.+
When it rains in this town, it drowns me. (@AB+ was a gang of white suprema!ists 7a&is ;named
for the year 1itler was born< we'd butted heads with e'er sin!e the Wolf 4ribe was first started. About a
year ago, things between us and the s"in-heads got hea'y and it wasn't a -ust ri'alry anymore. When
the dust settled, fi'e of their guys were in the hospital, and so were three of ours, plus another two of
ours and ten of theirs lo!"ed up. After that, we sat down and agreed to a tru!e, with ea!h side drawing
boundary lines and agreeing to 7:C:3 get in the other !rew's business or territory ;that was ba!"
when the 4ribe distributed instead of supplied<. 4hings had been pretty .uiet sin!e then.
I !ouldn't really blame )'ed for the way he was thin"ing. A push against us at the e#a!t same
time someone tried to off one of the leaders6 )an, that is almost too !oin!idental. But it didn't fit with
the @ABers. (7o, that isn't how @AB wor"s. 4hey do their own dirty wor", and ma"e sure e'eryone "nows
it was them who did it, too. 2lus, why waste money ordering a hit when they !ouldn't gotten a few guys
to -ump me6+
)'ed didn't li"e it, but it was !lear I had !on'in!ed e'eryone in the room. @AB was always 'ery
'o!al about their dealings, it's what made fighting them so easy. (A'ight, you win. But we gotta do
something about them whities ma"ing a mo'e on us. I say we fu!"ing smash 'em.+
2eople around nodded their agreement, but I hesitated. We !ouldn't afford to get bloody. With
some spoo" out there pulling strings, fo!using on the @ABers would lea'e us open. 7ot to mention
0arlos's orders brought us too mu!h heat to ris" another war. 4his had to get s.uashed .uietly, but )'ed
had his heart set on wa"ing the entire fu!"ing !ity.
(With the amount of weight we're mo'ing these days and somebody we don't "now ordering
hits, we !an't ta"e the ris" of getting loud.+ I said.
)'ed lat!hed on the opportunity. (/o what6 ,ou -ust wanna step ba!" while these 7a&i mother
fu!"ers push their rotten shit into our 'hood6+
I did not need this. (7o, I'm saying we s.uash this .uietly, without painting an e'en bigger
target on us.+
)'ed started to wal" towards me, !learly intent on getting his point a!ross. (,ou "now what6 I
thin" you s!ared. /ome pun" manages to get the drop on you, and suddenly Big *ay's running away to
go hide under *essi!a's-+
Whate'er 'ulgar thing he was about to finish with was interrupted. I too" the large, !erami!
ash-tray off the table and smashed it upside his head. 4hese was a 'ery satisfying (03A0K+ as pie!es
flew o'er the room and )'ed dropped onto the floor. 4he room got dead-silent.
I put my hands down and, sounding li"e a father s!olding his son for stealing a !oo"ie, said,
(7e'er !ome at me again, boy.+
In a mo'ie, the main !hara!ter would ha'e wal"ed out the room li"e a bad ass, his rule firmly
se!ured. In real life, howe'er, )'ed laun!hed to his feet and tried to !harge me, s!reaming and !ursing
'iolently. 4he people around restrained him, but it didn't !ease his efforts to return the blow. *a!" and
*ason guessed what my rea!tion would be, and I was soon attempting to es!ape their grasp with the full
intent of ta"ing )uhammad's eyes for trophies. 4han"fully, neither he nor I were su!!essful in es!aping
out !aptors.
It too" a long time for things to settle down after that. Well, by (settle down+, I mean we
stopped a!ti'ely trying to "ill ea!h other, but neither of us were "een to let what -ust happened go. It
was *ason who bro"e the silen!e. (5oo", e'eryone's pissed off, I get it, but we !an't fall out here. We
need to sti!" together if we're gonna get on top of this.+
)'ed responded with (,eah, but maybe the people leading us ain't strong enough to do that.+
4he anger returning, I bar"ed ba!", (I'm strong enough to tear your limbs off, you prideful
bastard8+
/houts started to erupt when )'ed threw his hands up and !alled for silen!e before answering.
(Alright, you willing to ma"e good on that threat6+
(Damn right. 7ame the time and pla!e.+
5oo"ing ba!", I should ha'e been smart enough to see )'ed's trap before I wal"ed into it, but I
was too damn angry to noti!e. (Alright, ne#t wee", you and me. :le'en 9D!lo!" at the 0olosseum. *ust
fists, and no bit!h mo'es li"e the one you -ust pulled, either. 7o biting, !rou!h shots, or going for the
eyes li"e you do. *ust you and me, brawling 'til one of us is out !old. We'll see how strong you really
are.+
4he anger o'erriding me reason, all I did was smile, sha"e his hand, and say, (Bring it.+
4he powwow was !ompletely in order after that. 2eople were gi'en their duties for the ne#t
month, with a few getting told to patrol our turf for any of the @AB's a!ti'ities. *ason handled the rest of
it, with me sitting ba!" and !oming down off the adrenaline. When all was said and done, e'eryone
left, and I !alled for *ason and *a!" to meet me in the war room.
4he (war room+ was e#a!tly that. It was a medium-si&ed room, a table and se'eral !hairs
dominating the !enter. 4here were si# maps spread a!ross it, four of whi!h were of our belo'ed !ity,
and the other two of the surrounding !ounty area. A boo"-shelf full of phone boo"s was in one !orner
of the room, the other had to safes> one was a gun safe holding our (pani! toys+, the other full of
ledgers and emergen!y funds.
I designed the room to loo" li"e a mastermind's planning area, but it was really all for show. 4he
point was not to really use the four do&en phone boo"s or the maps, but it was to gi'e e'eryone in the
room the idea of fo!using on the tas" at hand. 4he pla!e had an atmosphere of purpose, and "ept
e'eryone's head to the tas" at hand.
I fell into one of the !hairs, loo"ed helplessly o'er the maps, and said, (I seriously fu!"ed up.+
It wasn't that I was afraid to fight. I was in fa!t a damn good fighter and "new how to hurt
someone with my fists, but the problem was that I didn't "now how to fight fair. I had always relied on
doing things the a'erage person wouldn'tA!ouldn't do or e#pe!ted. I went outside the rules of warfare,
and it was the only thing that let me fight people mu!h stronger than me, li"e )'ed !ertainly was.
And I -ust agreed to a brawl where I !ouldn't do that. Worst, it was against )uhammad, who
too" lessons and was parti!ularly s"illed in Bra&ilian *u-itsu, a martial art that fo!used nearly
e#!lusi'ely on grappling. A 'ery deadly and painful style of fighting that, while impra!ti!al in a street
fight due to its relian!e on one-to-one unarmed !ombat, was totally in its element in staged, man-to-
man (show fights+. 1e !ould ta"e my shoulders out of their so!"ets, brea" my arms, and !ho"e me out
before I e'er got the !han!e to hurt him, and I had no idea how to get out of the holds without brea"ing
the rules. I had -ust agreed to fight a python without any weapons, and I was gonna suffo!ate for it.
*ason spo"e up first. (5oo" man, we !an-+
I wa'ed off his solution. (%orget it, let me worry about )uhammad's di!"-measuring !ontests,
we ha'e bigger things to worry about.+
*a!" nodded his agreement. (4he @ABers and the spoo" who ordered the hit.+
(3ight. We ha'e absolutely no leads to the later, and need to figure out how to sol'e the earlier
without getting bloody.+
*ason wasn't inspired by that. (/o what the fu!" do we do about either one, then6+
I leaned ba!" in the !hair, thin"ing. Both the attempt on my life and the @ABer's push had to be
answered, but neither one had any option a'ailable. What solution !ould there be...
(We're flying blind here.+ I stated suddenly. (We ha'e no !lue what we're up against, or why
we're needing to go against it. We need information before we thin" of ta"ing any a!tion.+ *ason and
*a!" both agreed. (9K, *ason, I want you to dig up e'erything there is to "now about @AB these days.
9ld, new, ma-or, minor, doesn't matter, we need to "now e'erything. =et enough information to write a
god damn boo".+
*ason seemed relie'ed at the idea, and e#plained why> (Won't be a problem, but what about the
other matter6 5i"e you said, we ha'e 79 leads as to who it was that !alled the hit, other than a 'young
woman with bla!" hair', whi!h en!ompasses how many girls in Ameri!a these days6+
I turned to *a!". (A!tually, we in fa!t ha'e more than that. *a!", see if you !an figure out who
(/mith+ was. If we find this mystery woman tal"ing to him in front of any !ameras at his apartment,
we're set. Also, we need to loo" into the one thing that !hanged with us before the hit was !alled.+
(0arlos.+ *a!" and *ason answered at on!e.
I nodded. (*a!", I need you to go full-in'estigation on this, but do it .uietly. We don't need to
ma"e any more enemies than we ha'e, and we might end up needing 0arlos's money if things go bad.
)eantime, I'll handle the rest of the runs and ma"e sure none of our boys do anything stupid. Does the
!ounter support the notion6+
*ason answered, (,eah. Does the *usti!e appro'e6+
(,es.+ 3esponded *a!".
We left it at that, and went on to another day in the glorious town of 0olumbus.
Before I go on, allow me to e#plain the wor"ings of e'erything that -ust o!!urred. 4he 4ribe had
a 'ery uni.ue system of leadership, primarily be!ause it was thought up when e'eryone was high. It
was agreed there would be monthly (powwows+, usually had upon the EB
th
of the month, in whi!h ea!h
member was assigned a tas" they'd be handling until the ne#t powwow. ?nder spe!ial !ir!umstan!es, it
!ould be s!heduled earlierAlater, as was done when (/mith+ tried to "ill me.
4he 4ribe itself was ruled by two (/enior 9ffi!ers+, who had e.ual say in e'ery matter. Any
a!tion proposed by one would half to be agreed upon with the other, or it went to a 4ribal Cote, in
whi!h it was demo!rati!ally de!ided. %urthermore, there was a (*usti!e+, who would appro'e or
!hallenge any agreed-upon notion. A !hallenged notion would also go to 4ribal Cote. 7ow ba!" to the
story.
4he ne#t few hours' e'ents were surprisingly by the boo", !onsidering. 0alls up to 0arlos's
boys, heading to the shipments, getting handed the money, !ounting it up... only differen!e between this
day and my normal one is I was "issing a s!ot!h flas" nonstop, and !he!"ing my gun's !hamber.
It was after one of the drops I got a !all from *essi!a. I as"ed her to meet up with me when she
had a !han!e, and we set a meet$ a mo'ie theater. 9ne of our newer guys apparently de!ided it was a
good reason for him to spea" up. (1ey *ay, sir, how !ome you and *essi!a ne'er, you "now, hoo"ed up
before6+ It suddenly brought ba!" a flash of something I hadn't thought about in a long time.
It was se'eral years before, !lose to midnight. 4he 4ribe hadn't yet !ome into being. I was still
wor"ing for the Boss, but I was !limbing the hierar!hy surprisingly .ui!". I was a natural at
manipulating people, getting them to do what I wanted, but more importantly, I was always
underestimated. :'eryone assumed I'd be easy to rip-off or steal from, but they were always wrong,
usually to their own downfall.
I was in my room-at the Boss's unne!essarily large house-whi!h was more of a large !loset than
a real room, !leaning my nine millimeter when he !ame into my room. 1im and two almost-na"ed
women under ea!h one of his arms, and a blunt in his mouth. (1ey there *ay, the fu!"s happening6+
I for!ed a smile, suddenly in!redibly un!omfortable around the women. I was twel'e, after all.
4hey must''e been !ollege age. (7othing mu!h, Boss. *ust "eeping up maintenan!e.+
1e laughed heartily, and the women -oined in. (Damn'it boy, you e'er gonna refer to me by
name6 Ah ne'er-mind. 5isten, I''e been thin"ing, and I thought you !ould do with a little something to
unwind with.+
I got !onfused, and a little ner'ous. (I''e still got plenty of reefer, and I !an always get li.uor
from Bill.+
1e smiled. (7o, "id, I'm tal"ing about something e'en better than those. It in'ol'es your
weapon, man.+
I loo"ed down at the gun. (/hooting range6+
4his time, all three of them ga'e a great big laugh, the women ha'ing to support Boss, else he'd
of probably fell o'er. (9h man "id, you got all the brains in the world, but sometimes, youDs dumber
than a !op, I swear. I'm tal"ing about ma"ing a man out of you, *ay. 1ere, I want you to meet /ofia.+
Boss be!"oned, and a red-headed woman wal"ed into the room. /he was dressed in a
very tight &ip-up sweater, a very short s"irt, and bare-feet. 1er red-hair was tied ba!" in a ponytail,
lea'ing her pale shoulders e#posed. 1er fa!e was e#.uisite, as was her other... womanly .ualities ;to
this day, I !an still remember her without error<.
A moment after she entered, Boss spo"e up (0lose your mouth, *ay, you're drooling a little bit.+
And laughed as I immediately used my hand to !he!" and ma"e sure my mouth was indeed !losed,
whi!h it was, than" you 'ery mu!h. (/mooth mo'e, "id. Well, you two ha'e all night to en-oy ea!h
other. Don't gi'e me that loo", "id. I "now a .ueen-si&ed bed would be preferable, but I'm sure you two
!an ma"e due with a double.+ With that, he win"ed, left with his es!orts, and it was -ust me and /ofia.
9nly four times in my life ha'e I truly been !aught off-guard and !ompletely !lueless of what to
say$ this was one of them. A few se!onds passed before I barely managed to whee&e out a 'ery .uiet,
(1ey.+
/he laughed, and it did indeed sound wonderful. 9ftentimes, I''e wondered if that laugh was
genuine or !onstru!ted for men to lo'e its sound. 7ot then, though. I was far too lost to thin" of
anything as intelligently paranoid as that. (1i. What's up6+
I !ertainly felt li"e I was, to be honest. I felt totally... odd. (7othing. ?m... how old are you6+ It
was the only thing that !ame to mind.
/he giggled. (I'm a!tually gonna be turning twenty in a month. 1ow about you6+
(I, uh, I'm twel'e.+
/he giggled again. (Wow. Is this your first time, li"e... you "now6+ /he !o!"ed her eyebrows,
and I felt my !hee"'s temperature rise to a hundred. I barely managed a nod. )y throat suddenly forgot
how to tal", interestingly enough.
/ofia smiled, and her teeth were as perfe!t as they were white. (Wow. ,ou "now, I''e ne'er
a!tually gotten to be someone's first time before.+ /he "nelt in front of the bed, her green eyes lo!"ed
on mine. (,ou ha'e to ha'e the hottest eyes I''e e'er seen.+ /he pla!ed her hand on my !hest and tried
to gently push me down onto the bed.
I did not mo'e an in!h.
/ofia ga'e a little ner'ous laugh. (It's 9K, don't worry, you don't ha'e to be shy.+ /he stood up,
and un&ipped her sweater, and threw her shoulders ba!" to spill it onto the floor, shi'ering her torso
slightly. /he then pulled of her shorts, and stood before me in nothing but bla!" underwear. /lowly, she
slid onto the bed and began to massage my ba!" while gently breathing into my ear.
(/top.+ I said, s!ar!ely louder than a whisper.
I want to say I ne'er ga'e sleeping with her so mu!h as a thought be!ause I was too noble to let
my (first time+ not !ome solely out of lo'e, but that would be the biggest lie I''e e'er told, whi!h is a
really damn long list. I was twel'e, depressed, and undesirable$ she was nineteen, beautiful,
wonderfully shaped, and probably in!redibly (s"illed+. 2robably one out of e'ery thirty people ha'e
the !han!e to sleep with something li"e that before they're e'en a teenager. 1ell, e'erything pointed to
me lo'ing the situation and going right along with it... e#!ept for a 'oi!e in the ba!" of my head saying
one thing>
This ain't right, Joshua. Don't do it.
1er hands fro&e when I told her to stop, and the breathing !eased. Apparently, I must ha'e
surprised her by saying no as mu!h as she did by !oming into my room in the first pla!e. A few
moments passed before she, still 'ery sensually, pulled my fa!e to be loo"ing into her eyes, barely an
in!h away from mine. (0ome on, don't do this to me. 4here's nowhere else I !ould be than in this room,
in this bed.+ Although she did her best to !on!eal it, I !ould -ust barely noti!e signs of something that
set me off. 2ra!ti!ally na"ed, she was perspiring a little, and that shi'ering definitely wasn't from being
!old if she was sweating$ her breath was shorter and faster, with no !lear !ause$ her eyes, now very easy
to see, were dilating e'er so slightly$ her sensual 'oi!e had lost its strong !onfiden!e, repla!ed by a hint
of un!ertainty. All these things pointed to one, simple !ause>
%ear.
It was then, for the first time, I loo"ed at the situation in a ta!ti!al manner, li"e I should''e the
moment Boss introdu!ed her. Despite !limbing the hierar!hy, I was still a (nobody+ within the
organi&ation, and still mostly bro"e. I wasn't attra!ti'e, so, unless /ofia had some si!", ugly !hild,
pedophilia-type fetish, she had to of !ome here purely by the Boss's orders ;hell, it was a safe bet he
fu!"ed her himself the night before<. If there was e'er a man who demanded e'erything went the way
he planned, it was the Boss. =od help the people who didn't do e#a!tly as they were told.
/o /ofia, ordered to sleep with me, was terrified by the fa!t I was refusing her, be!ause she
probably was told not to allow su!h a thing to happen. If I was playing the Boss's role, I'd of said
something li"e, (,ou ain't e'en allowed to !ome out of that room until morning.+ If I did refuse to let
her stay, it meant she would be punished, all on the a!!ount she got ordered to sleep with the most
unusual twel'e-year-old on the planet.
/o, trying as hard as I !ould not to sha"e, I gently !aressed her ne!" with my hand. /he moaned
and !losed her eyes, and the relief that !ame o'er her fa!e !onfirmed my suspi!ions. /oftly, I said, (5ay
ba!" on the bed and !lose your eyes.+ /he did, and spread her legs e'er so slightly to gi'e my immature
imagination all sorts of idea.
I grabbed the blan"et that was !urled up at the bottom of the matters, and !o'ered her with it.
1er eyes flew open, and it was her turn for her mouth to gape open in sho!". )eanwhile, I
grabbed by -a!"et off the table, bundled it up, and used it as a pillow on the floor. (If there isn't
anywhere else you !ould be than in here, you're wel!ome to stay. I'll be damned if I ma"e a lady sleep
on the floor, so you !an ha'e the bed.+
7ow, the only thing that showed on her pretty fa!e was total in!omprehension. (I... um... we
!ould share-+
(7o.+ I responded, !old enough to be unfriendly, but soft enough to not be !ruel. With that, I
shut off the light, and that was that.
4wo 'ery important things happened there. =rowing up, I was raised that we males owed
women some e#tra politeness, !onsidering they ha'e to endure periods, pregnan!y, and menopause for
the sa"e of the spe!ieDs reprodu!tion. 4he (gentleman manners+ my parents drilled into my head as a
'ery young !hild returned for the first time in two years right then. /ee, when the depression !ame on, I
didn't gi'e a damn if you had two F-!hromosomes or not, I was !ruel to you. 1owe'er, that was the
first time I de!ided to gi'e a woman ;anyone, for that matter< a no-strings fa'or sin!e my life went
downhill.
/e!ondly, though, the worship I paid to the Boss was repla!ed by a deep, burning anger. What
he did to /ofia and the s!ores of other women that surrounded him was wrong. 4he way he played
(puppet-master+ with the affairs of his employees and friends was wrong, though he didn't !are for
anyone enough to truly !all them a friend. He was wrong. Before, I thought being li"e him was the
dream, the greatest thing I !ould do with my life, the way I !ould gi'e it meaning. 7ow, I reali&ed he
was the "ind of thing I ne'er !ould allow myself to be!ome.
I wo"e up early the ne#t morning, sometime around si#. /ofia was still asleep on the bed,
loo"ing pea!eful. I pulled the !o'ers o'er her more, and turned to the door. 4hin"ing twi!e, I de!ided to
grab my nine of the table, slid it into the ba!" of my pants, and wal"ed out of the door. While I was
lea'ing, I de!ided to ma"e a promise right then and there. If I e'er were to sleep with a woman, it
would half to be be!ause both of us genuinely wanted ea!h other, nothing else.
I ne'er saw /ofia in person again. /ometimes, now so many years later, I lie awa"e in bed
wondering what happened to her. )y e#perien!e with her has affe!ted me a great many times sin!e
then, and I get the feeling it will !ontinue to do so. I hope she's doing well. I hope I maybe had as mu!h
of a good impa!t on her as she did on me, but I get the feeling it's -ust another one of life's ne'er-
answered .uestions.
7ot a few moments after wal"ing out the door, one of the guards told me the Boss wanted to see
me in his room. I wasn't surprised, I figured he'd want to as" me all sorts of inappropriate .uestions
about what happened the night before.
I went to his room, whi!h was more of a lobby !onsidering its si&e and furniture. It had an
ornate table with eight !hairs in one !orner, and a large leather !ou!h in the other. De'oid of windows,
the room's light !ame from a gold-!olored !handelier-styled light in the !enter, and lamps on ea!h side
of the ridi!ulously large bed-he had already "i!"ed out the women from the night before. :'erything in
the room was a dar", brown, e#pensi'e loo"ing wood with similarly !olored !loth and leather, e#!ept
the gold trimming on the... well, e'erything but the !ou!h and... 7o, -ust !ou!h, e'en the fu!"ing !arpet
had golden designs. 1a'e to hand it to him, the Boss was one hell of a de!orator.
(In here.+ he !alled from inside one the (!losets+. Well, I always figured it had to be a !loset. I
went towards it, and found it wasn't a !loset at all, but a large se!urity room. 4he boss was in a large,
pi'oting arm!hair ;guess he was too good for regular offi!e-!hairs< in front of a table supporting
do&ens of monitors. It seemed li"e e'ery room in the whole building was !o'ered, and...
4hat was when I saw my room, /ofia still sleeping pea!efully.
I su!"ed in my breath, suddenly fighting the urge to fa!e-palm. I should''e "nown better than to
thin" a paranoid psy!hopath li"e him would not ha'e !ameras and mi!rophones in e'ery room of his
house. I had -ust sealed /ofia's fate.
/till loo"ing away from me, the Boss spo"e, (4ell me, "id, was it the red-head thing that "ept
you from en-oying that6 Would you prefer a blonde6 Brunette, bla!" hair6+
(7o, she was a 'ery good loo"ing lady.+ I responded, leaning to my side and hoo"ing my right
thumb through my ba!"-po!"et, -ust a few in!hes from my nine. I'd be damned if I let anything happen
to /ofia. /he didn't deser'e whate'er shit he might do to her be!ause I was an unusual... hell, I thin" I
might really ha'e be!ome a man from that situation.
(7o, I !ould tell by your fa!e you wanted her+. 1e responded, slowly turning the !hair to fa!e
me. (/o if it wasn't her or your se#uality that was the problem, tell me why you turned down su!h a
fine gift+.
When the Boss spo"e, it was either a !ommand you wanted to follow, or a threat you needed to
run away from. 4hat time, it was a mi#ture of both. )ost men !owered before him li"e the sound of
artillery shells raining down in war. 1e wasn't -ust terrifying, he was fear. )ore than that, he !ould read
you li"e a boo". 7o, more li"e a playboy maga&ine, be!ause he pra!ti!ally got off on "nowing e'ery
time you lied, learning e'ery se!ret you had. 1e was e'erything a !riminal needed to be!ome a "ing,
and people we're rightly afraid of him.
But I was ready to put a bullet into the bastard whate'er shit-storm it might bring on me, let
alone lie to him. 1e lost something he had probably en-oyed for a great deal of time> his edge. Without
it, he didn't "now how to loo" at people, whi!h meant it was me who had the ad'antage now.
I shrugged in a 'ery !a'alier manner and said, (7o disrespe!t, Boss, but I don't wanna ha'e any
tail unless I !at!h it myself, if you get my meaning.+
A few moments of deafening silen!e later, he finally responded. With a great deal of laughter.
(=od damn "id, if you ain't the definition of odd, I don't "now what the hell is. 9h, fu!"ing hell. /it
down, sit down, ha'e a drin", nothing you gotta worry about. 5et me e#plain that little show.+
1e leaned ba!" and !rossed his legs, e'er the businessman, and went on. (/ee, e'ery time a new
re!ruit starts to show a little promise, I li"e to run 'em through that little s!enario. /ti!" the guy with a
woman, see how he handles her. If he's all gentle and tender, I lea'e him to do a!!ounting. If he's out to
ha'e some fun, I let him be the "ind of styling guy I'd want handling the drug deals. If he li"es his fun a
little (loud+, I let him handle se!urity. 9r a little wet-wor", if the bit!h's bruised enough. But you6 ,ou
ha'e to be the first time one of them ever turned the girl down. 4ell me, what I should I ma"e of that6+
I smiled e'er so slightly. (,ou wouldn't be as"ing that if you didn't already ha'e the answer.+
1e laughed a little. (4hat's the truth of it. ,ou "now, I loo" at you, I see pride, I see brains, I see
strength, but more than anything, I see an unstoppable will to get what you want. If there's a goal,
you're the "ind of person that will a!!omplish it, whate'er sort of things you gotta do. ,ou "now, I
!ould see you rising high. ,ou !ontinue on the path you're on, I !ould see you ha'ing a 'ery long-term
position within this organi&ation. )aybe e'en a management position. Would you li"e that6 )a"ing a
few !alls of your own, eh6+
I had to be 'ery !areful what I said. If I sounded too ambitious, he'd off me to "eep himself
se!ure. I ga'e away how I really felt, and he would ha'e remo'ed me from the situation to pre'ent and
(!riminal gets !ons!ien!e, goes to !ops+ s!enario. /o, I laughed a little and said, (I li"e money, and I
li"e respe!t. 5ong as I'm getting those, it's fine with me.+
1e smiled, and I prayed it was enough. (/ounds good. Why don't you go find *ason, see if you
too !an go ma"e me some money.+
I stood up and wal"ed out. I was my own man first after that. I wasn't in his po!"et anymore.
I got to the mo'ie theater to meet *essi!a, wondering the whole time what the hell was going on
with me. 4wo 'i'id re!olle!tions in one day6 Was I losing it6 I !ouldn't understand it, and I sure as hell
!ouldn't deal with it at a time li"e this. I had 7a&is, martial artists, and hidden i!e-pi!"ers to deal with, I
did not need ghosts added to that list.
I wal"ed in, bought a ti!"et to some random mo'ie, and went o'er to the same e#it door she
always used to snea" in with. We e#!hanged a hug, went off and found some mo'ie so unimportant I
!an't e'en remember whi!h it was this time. 4he only thing that mattered was the fa!t the whole room
was empty.
We went up to the top where the whole room !ould be wat!hed. I poured a bit of s!ot!h into my
)t. Dew, and *essi!a said, (Don't you thin" you're hitting that stuff a little hard6+
(,eah, you're right. 4his !affeineDs gotta be terrible for my sleep s!hedule.+
(Cery funny.+ /he said, gi'ing me a light pun!h in the arm. (Alright, what did you need to tal"
about6+
(1ow any of the ama&ons do you feel you !an trust6+
(What, to be loyal to the 4ribe6 I'd of "i!"ed the shit out of any I didn't.+
(What about to be loyal to you6 5ittle personal fa'or.+
/he pursed her lips and thought for a moment. (Well, I thin" I !ould find a few who I !an trust
with some things. Depends on what needs doing.+
(I need you to get some girls to start hanging around )uhammad and his more loyal boys. Keep
tabs on them and ma"e sure their minds are "ept off the issue of the @ABers.+
1er eyes widened. (,ou thin" he might ta"e retaliation into his own hands6+
(I don't "now, but I !an't ta"e the ris" of -ust lea'ing him out on his own, and it -ust helps his
!ause if I put a tail on him.+
/he nodded. (1e's always more of an eye for 5atinas. I thin" I "now a few girls who !an do it.+
I nodded, silently than"ing the fa!t *essi!a wouldn't be offering herself up. (4han" you. 4ell
them I owe 'em a fa'or in return-+
(7o.+ /he !ut me off. (9n the off-!han!e I'm wrong about the girls, we !an't ha'e it said you
were in'estigating one of the 4ribe. I will owe them the fa'or.+
I bit my tongue and thought, but I had to admit she was right. (4han" you.+
/he smiled and said, (Anytime.+ Before !on!ern too" her fa!e and she as"ed, (Are you 9K6+
I rolled my eyes and said, (*essi!a, I got enemies of the in'ading, hidden, and internal "ind all
!oming for a pie!e of me. 9f !ourse I'm not 9K, but it doesn't matter. I always get through it.+
/he pla!ed her hand on my shoulder. (I "now you will, baby. I'm -ust worried about what it does
to you to get through it.+
(I'll be fine.+
/ee6 If don't worry about you, nobody else is gonna.+
I laughed. (Well, I guess I !an't argue with you on that.+
We both had a good laugh o'er that. We sat .uietly for a moment before *essi!a said,
(3emember when we !ame here e'ery wee"end6+
I smiled, e!stati! to ha'e some wel!ome memories !ome to me. (,eah. We always use to be as
loud and !ra&y as we !ould.+
(5ittle !ompetition to see who got us "i!"ed out first.+ /he giggled.
(7o matter how often we did it, shit ne'er got old.+
(,eah. :'erything's !hanged sin!e then, hasn't it6+
:'erything had, in all honesty. 4he 4ribe numbered less then fifteen, I was more rela#ed, the @AB
had stu!" to their own territory, and nobody put a hit out on my life. 4urning to her, I saw the worry she
had on her fa!e. A storm was !oming, and it was my -ob to lead the !harge right into it.
I put my arm around her and said, ()aybe, but a lot's stayed the same, too, girl.+
/he smiled, turned to me, and threw a bit of pop!orn at my fa!e. We spent the rest of the mo'ie
li"e we use to> 5aughing, -o"ing, and food-fighting as loud as we !ould without so mu!h as glan!ing at
the s!reen. 4his time, though, nobody !ame to "i!" us out. 5ast time we !ame here, I had bro"en one of
the staff's nose for !alling *essi!a a (bit!h+, and I !ouldn't -ust ignore that, not in 0olumbus. 4he dar"er
aspe!ts of my !areer always seemed to find their way into e'ery area of my life.
I got ba!" to the %ort around si# ;it's a!tually best to !arry out drug deals during the day, as
!rowds at night attra!t more attention<, and remembered we would be getting another shipment o'er at
the depot. I figured. With so many new enemies out and about, I figured I ought to go see what growers
!ame ba!" to town, say hello, li"e a leader should. 4hey had already gotten a !all about what happened.
*ason and I went out, not in his da&&ling, red mustang, but instead in (/hadow+. /hadow was an
old, EBB@ %ord 0rown Ci!toria. It was pit!h bla!", other than the rust spots on the wheels, front, and
rear, about as fre.uent as the dents present around it. Its windows were of a fairly dar" tint, without
being illegal. It was .uiet, and loo"ed poor, beaten, and 'ery unremar"able.
But it was .uiet be!ause it had the most effe!ti'e muffler money !ould find. In fa!t, while I
admit I am not the most !ar sa''y, I did "now it had a 'ery powerful, turbo-!harged engine !apable of
faster speeds than most run of the mill mus!le !ars. 9ther than that, /hadow was a!tually a modified
poli!e inter!eptor, with all the reinfor!ements and performan!e enhan!ements su!h en-oy, and
e'erything some genius me!hani!s !ould do to it. 4he head-lights were a!tually as dim as they !ould be
without being illegal, but the high-beams were e#tremely bright flores!ent bulbs. /hadow was what the
/enior 9ffi!ers en-oyed when we did something that (shouldn't be done+. 4he depot was e#a!tly that.
What we had always !alled the (Depot+ was an old !ountry property -ust outside of town, down
a 'ery long dri'eway, with trees all along the outs"irts of the property. It was en!ir!led by an ele!tri!,
barbed-wire fen!e, with a !hain-lin" fen!e around the house. 4he house had a !lear 'iew of the entire
area, and the trees were !o'ered with a multitude of trail-!ams that reported to a !omputer in the
building.
Although it was surrounded by the se!ond fen!e, the house itself ser'ed only the purpose of
being a de!oy, and a se!ond head.uarters should the %ort be !ompromised, for la!" of a better word.
4he real important part was the hay-barn, whi!h was 'ery de'oid of hay bales at this time. 4hat was
about to !hange.
4he two tru!"s got there not too long after we did. About twel'e 4ribe members were there
before us, and another three !ame with ea!h tru!". 9ne was your normal hay-hauler, and the other was
filled with !ages of !hi!"ens, the latter being large enough to not be inhumane and draw animal-rights
a!ti'ists onto the property. Dri'ing the !hi!"en-tru!" was a man, about twenty-eight years of age. 1is
Apa!he An!estry showed with his tattoos and bla!" hair, as did his )ohaw" in being 'ery tall, broad-
shouldered, and -ust ridi!ulously ripped.
(*ay8+ 1e shouted, and embra!ed me in one of his bone-!rushing bear hugs.
(0hrist, 5one :agle, let me go before you s.uee&e the life outta me.+ I laughed, hugging him in
return. 5one :agle was the one who handled all of the produ!tion the 4ribe used. 1e owned a large
farm about two hours north of the !ity. 1e was 'ery friendly and humorous, but also proud, strong, and
god damn 'is!ous in a fight. 1e was a 'eteran on!e, though an I.:.D. led to an honorable dis!harge
when he was only twenty-three.
If you're wondering about his name, let me e#plain. 1e grew up on a reser'ation, but not in the
ni!e way you'd hope. 1is father was apparently a wealthy )ohaw" with ties to the nation's !asino. %or
some strange reason, he had de!ided to tour some of the 7ati'e Ameri!an !asinos throughout the
!ountry. Cisiting the *i!arilla Apa!he 7ugget 0asino, he met 5one :agle's mother, spent a night with
her, and left. 5one :agle ne'er on!e met his father, and his mother died in !hildbirth. 1e told me that,
after being ta"en outside for the first time, a golden eagle landed but a few feet from him and the
woman !arrying him. It was this, and the fa!tor of being alone, that earned him his name.
(I didn't e#pe!t you to ma"e the trip out here.+ I said as *ason suffered a similar hello.
(I left 4roy in !harge of the farm. What !an I say6 %elt li"e seeing you !ity-boys.+ Although he
said it with a smile, I "new the truth of it$ he wanted to be down here to deal with whate'er was going
on.
(Well, business before pleasure. 5et's see the money you brought us today, eh6+
We turned our attention to the hay-bales first. I !ut the ties on one and pulled it apart to re'eal
three 'a!uum-sealed, one-pound bags of mari-uana. While it wasn't of a parti!ularly high .uality, it was
!ertainly better than the shit most "id stuffed into their pipes ba!" in my hometown of 1ar'ey.
/atisfied, I turned to the !hi!"en-tru!" and pi!"ed what appeared to be a normal egg out from under
one of the !hi!"ens. In fa!t, though, it was made of plasti!, and uns!rewed to re'eal a fair amount of
!o!aine, about as mu!h as you !ould pa!" into an e#tra-large egg.
/ee, his farm ser'ed us three 'ery !on'enient roles at the same time. 9ne, it was an out-of-the-
way pla!e for growing mari-uana plants ;small po!"ets hidden in !ornfields< and had a perfe!tly
legitimate reason for ha'ing as many greenhouses as it did, e'en if their basements were full of !o!aine
plants. /e!ond, it was a 'ery effe!ti'e means of transportation, as nobody suspe!ts farmers dri'ing hay
and !hi!"ens anywhere.
4hirdly, it was the most effe!ti'e means of money-laundering I''e e'er helped !reate. /ee, 5one
:agle did own an actual farm, with !rops, !ows, !hi!"ens, and e'en some horses. /ure, the entire
property was surrounded by fen!ing, and people patrolled it with riffles and dirt-bi"es li"e some sort of
apo!alypse mo'ie, but it was in fa!t a real farm. When har'est time !ame, we'd rea!h out to friends and
sell those !rops, mil", or whate'er for about fifty-per!ent of their normal pri!e. In e#!hange, they'd
write it down on paper we sold them !rops for about si#ty-per!ent more than their normal pri!e, and
about double as mu!h produ!t. It a!!ounted for all the e#tra !ash the 4ribe's true business brought in,
and allowed us to buy and rent all sorts of properties and toys without e'er raising a red-flag with the
D:A, %BI, or e'en the I3/. =otta lo'e the Ameri!an farmer.
/atisfied with the produ!t, I signaled to the boys we had waiting. (All right, e'erything's good
here. =et the bales stored and the !hi!"ens in the !oupe.+ I turned to the men who !ame with 5one
:agle. (Why don't you boys go up to the house, find something to drin"6 I'll see about getting you
some dinner. 5one :agle, how 'bout you -oin me and *ason after these dudes are settled6+
(It'd be a pleasure.+ 1e said. (I !ould do with a bit of grub, myself.+
I settled the dri'ers down to some !hi!"en and beer in the downstairs dining room while *ason,
5one :agle, and I sat down in the upstairs one to whis"ey, wine, and stea". I made sure to ha'e some
'ery fine !oo"s, both in s"ill and loo"s, both here and at the %ort for the 4ribe. %or a'erage adult and
teenage men ali"e, nothing's better than a belly full of good food ser'ed to you by beautiful women.
)aybe not the most honest thing, it ensured e'en more loyalty from the members. A man might go to
war out of fear, but only loyalty will ma"e him die for something.
I filled 5one :agle in on e'erything. 7ot -ust what we told the 4ribe at the powwow, but
everything$ the @ABers, )uhammad, and the things about the hit. I didn't tell the others. Although he
wasn't a senior offi!er, 5one :agle played one of the most 'ital roles within the 4ribe, but more than
that, he was one of my !losest friends. When e'eryone, e'en *ason, turned to me for guidan!e and
hope, I would oftentimes find myself turning to 5one :agle for the same. 1e always had a talent for
spotting the good where no one else !ould.
After repeating e'erything that was against me, I found myself painfully tired and not hungry. I
stood up and wal"ed o'er to the window, loo"ing at nothing. 5one :agle !ame o'er and stood beside
me for a while, before suddenly saying, (Do you remember how I got mi#ed up in the 4ribe6+
I pursed my lips, thin"ing ba!". *a!" and 5one :agle were in boot !amp together, but 5one
:agle didn't -oin the tribe when he did. 1e had still owned his farm at that time. (We were out for a
ride, if I re!all !orre!tly.+ I always had a passion for horses. (4he 4ribe had re!ently !on!luded its
treaty with the @ABers, and you were telling me about the hard times your farm was fa!ing, how you
didn't thin" you'd be able to hold onto it.+
1e nodded. (And now loo" at us. 4he 4ribe has more than doubled in si&e and .uadrupled in
profits, and I own one of the most su!!essful pri'ate-owned farms in the state. 4hat !ame from you,
*ay. ,ou thought of something nobody else had e'er !ome up with, and built a "ingdom off it. ,ou''e
fa!ed things li"e this in the past. ,ou !an do it again.+
I loo"ed at him for a moment before turning to *ason. (1ey, would mind going out to the barn
and ma"ing sure those boys ain't using up any of our money6+
It was !ompletely unne!essary, as they would ne'er be so stupid or !ourageous to try su!h a
thing with the rulers of the 4ribe present, but *ason didn't miss the point. (/ure.+ 1e responded, and
left.
With him gone, I !ould finally get honest. Although he was one of the 4ribe, 5one :agle was
'ery dis!onne!ted from many of the problems we at 0olumbus fa!ed. I didn't ha'e to appear so
in'ulnerable in front of him. (It's not the same this time, brother. I don't this I'm up to this.+
(What are you trying to say, *ay6 What's going on6+
(I... it's -ust... I''e been ha'ing these weird... 'i'id re!olle!tions. 5i"e, dreaming while I'm
awa"e. I don't "now what the hell's going on, man. I'm s!ared.+
5one :agle loo"ed at me for a moment before he leaned ba!" against the wall, his fa!e sad.
(4he I:D that got me dis!harged from the army. I was the only one who li'ed through it. I was the
gunner, and I was fortunate to get thrown outta the 1um'ee. 4he other guys in the !ar with me...
weren't so lu!"y. In the hospital, my train of thought would wander towards one of them, and I'd get
these (wa"ing dreams+ about some sort of memory I had of them. Do!tors told me it was a 'ariant of
the hallu!inations !aused by 24/D.+
)y eyes got drawn to his s!ars. 9ne 'i!ious !ut going -ust below his left eye !ame from some
shrapnel, and another was a giant mar" on his left arm. 4he later !an't be des!ribed properly$ it was a
weird !ombination the mar"s !aused by la!eration, burns, and blunt-trauma all at on!e, and was
impossible not to noti!e. 4he "ind of thing that would be found on a 'eteran's !harity website, too
graphi! for 4C ad'ertising. (/hit, I'm sorry man. ,ou ne'er told me about that before.+
1e shrugged. (7e'er was any point. ,ou dwell on pain too mu!h, you forget about e'erything
else. 4he point is, after a while, things !almed down and I a!!epted what happened e'entually. 4hese
flash-ba!"s are going to end, man, don't you worry. /omeone almost managed to "ill you, it's natural to
be sha"en up pretty damn bad after that. ,ou're strong, though, you'll get ba!" on tra!" soon enough.+
I smiled and pretended to a!!ept the en!ouragement, but in reality, I !an't say it helped at all.
:'eryone around me always saw the strengths I had in me. )y (brains+, my (words+, my (fero!ity+,
my (passion+, whate'er it may be, they left off on the things they said were what made me strong, and
what they always hoped to emulate when they !hose to follow me. I had to ma"e them thin" that was
all there was to me in the end. /hit, if they "new how wea" I really was, what would inspire them6 A
leader doesn't ha'e the lu#ury of honesty, espe!ially when it !ame to their own wea"nesses.
It was then something finally !ame into my mind. (1ey 5one :agle, I'm gonna ha'e to be going
away until %riday. 4hin" it'd be alright if you stayed in town until this wee"end6 I don't want to lea'e
*ason to deal with all this on his own.+
1e shrugged. (:'erything's doing good on the farm, shouldn't be a problem. Anyone as"s, I'll
say I'm ha'ing myself a little 'a!ation.+ 4hen he turned to me and stared right into my eyes. (9ne of
these days, you're gonna half to tell me where you get off to so many days out of the wee".+
(9h, you "now. =oing to 1igh s!hool and li'ing a normal life, mostly.+
1e threw ba!" his head and laughed so hard, I thought he might feint. (7i!e try man, but I sure
as hell "now better than to pi!ture you in any "ind of normal life. 9h shit, you must thin" I'm pretty
damn gullible.+
I smiled, barely managing to restrain myself from brea"ing into an e'en bigger laughing-fit than
he did. 9h, if he only "new...
We stayed at the depot for another hour or so before heading ba!" to the %ort. I figured I'd either
get drun" and pass-out or get high and pass-out$ either way, I wanted to not thin" about things for a
while before -ust !rashing. /adly, li"e most plans, life had other ideas.
Isabella, *ason's girlfriend, !ornered me in the lobby. (I''e been !alling you all day.+
I flin!hed a little, "nowing e#a!tly what she wanted from me. (/orry, my phone ran out of
-ui!e.+
(3eally6 Is that why it too" multiple rings before it went to 'oi!e-mail6+
/hit. /hould''e hit the ignore-button fast. (Alright, you got me. 0an't *ason handle it6 7ow isn't
the best time.+
(I tried to tell him that, but he swore that it was your turn to handle it.+
(Alright, alright. Who we re-e!ting today6+
/he handed me a few files that wouldn't normally be e#pe!ted anywhere but a poli!e station.
(%our boys. 4wo of them out of a group home and another had an abusi'e father. All three of them ha'e
re!ords, but nothing too bad. 9nly the fourth one is s.uea"y !lean. Kid's young, too. I'd say turn him
down.+
I flipped through the files. 4he first three were what you'd e#pe!t to a!tually be willing to try to
-oin a !riminal organi&ation. Bro"enAno home, did something that got them in legal trouble so they !an't
get a -ob in the same town, failing in s!hool, the usual. But the last one stu!" out to me. 1is grades
were good, ne'er had any trouble with the law, and the only thing that stu!" out was he had a single
mother. I mean, it loo"ed li"e she got pregnant at si#teen with him, but I didn't see anything that raised
a red flag. /he "ept her life on tra!" and was a restaurant manager, apparently.
5oo"ing through the ba!"ground information, I found a pi!ture from the s!hool. All four of the
boys were in it, despite being se'eral years apart. Apparently, they were all real !lose friends,
interestingly enough. 4ypi!al group pi!ture, e#!ept the young "id seemed to be doing his best to be
unnoti!ed in the pi!ture. If he was shy, he wouldn't be friends with "ids three years older than him.
4hen I noti!ed something about him that really stu!" out to me.
(4wel'e-years-old.+ I said to no one in parti!ular.
(I "now, right6+ Isabella said, thin"ing I was addressing her. (/urprised a "id that age would
e'en ha'e the guts to !ome here to try and -oin up with us.+
I smiled, appre!iating the many ironi! !ir!umstan!es in my life. (,ou'd be ama&ed what a
twel'e-year-old !an do. /end all of them to the offi!e in about ten minutes. I'll meet them there.+
4he (offi!e+ was e#a!tly what it sounded li"e. It was designed after what you'd thin" a 0:9's
offi!e would loo" life, with a fan!y des" and a big leather !hair. 9nly differen!e was the bottles of
li.uor and a distin!t la!" of a name-plate. Also different was how rarely the room got used. Its sole
purpose was to meet with new re!ruits. 5et them feel a little intimidated about what they were getting
into.
We used the newbies for e'erything we didn't want to ha'e to do, li"e !leaning. It was -ust as
mu!h about us dodging the shit--obs as it was about tea!hing them a bit humility. 5east that was the
!on'enient e#!use. :ither way, we wanted to appear to them li"e the De'il himself. I rolled a loose
blunt and let it -ust sit in the ash tray for the dramati! effe!t, poured myself a glass of s!ot!h, and put
my feet up on the des". 4hin"ing for a moment, I de!ided to pull out a wad of hundred dollar bills and
started organi&ing them into pointless piles, li"e I was wor"ing the boo"s or something.
A few minutes later, Isabella opened the door. (/ir, they're here. Are you ready to see them6+
I smiled, lo'ing the fa!t this was the only time she e'er !alled me (sir+. 1oping these were a bit
more than your typi!al ass "issing wanna-be loo"ing for a gang, I bid she let brought them in with a
wa'e of my hand.
4hey wal"ed in, e#pressions differing. 9ne loo"ed !o!"y, the other two were more intimidated,
and the short, young one-last to enter-loo"ed mostly indifferent, or maybe it was -ust a good po"er fa!e.
I told them to ta"e a seat in the !hairs against the wall opposite of me. I finished pretending to organi&e
the money in front of me before I slid my feet off the des" and addressed them. (/o tell me something>
Why are you in front of me today6+
4he ner'ous ones shifted un!omfortably, but it was the !o!"y one who spo"e up. (We're
loo"ing to -oin the Wolf 4ribe.+ After a moment, he added, (/ir.+
I narrowed my eyes. (I wasn't as"ing what you wanted to happen. I was as"ing why you're here
in front of me. Why would I !onsider letting you into the 4ribe6+
I saw the un!ertainty flash a!ross his fa!e, and !ould instantly tell this guy was all tal", no
brains. 1e started to ramble on about what he !ould do for me and all sorts of other !rap I !an't
remember. 3ather than listen, I too" the opportunity to gauge the boys in front of me. 4he two .uiet
boys went from ner'ous to flat-out pale, and I had the feeling it was all they !ould to sit in here. )r.
4ough-guy was tall, strong, and had the !lear loo" of a foot-ball player, and must ha'e been relying on
that to get him in. /uddenly insisting he uses his words threw him totally off his game.
I was drawn to the young one, now. 7ot only was he twel'e, but he was short for his age, and
didn't appear 'ery strong. 1e was fairly handsome, but nothing that !ould be !alled remar"able. In fa!t,
e'erything about him s!reamed unremar"able. 1e was loo"ing in my dire!tion without ma"ing eye-
!onta!t, dressed li"e a normal "id, and didn't e#hibit any parti!ular emotion. %ear, !onfiden!e, being
!o!"y or shy... it set him apart from the other boys. 1e was doing his best to not be noti!ed, -ust li"e the
photo.
I raised my hand for silen!e. (4hat's enough. I'll !onsider e'erything you''e said. ,ou may go
now.+ 4hey all started to rise when I pointed to the .uiet one. (:#!ept you. I wanna tal" to you for a
bit.+
4he other three boys, starting to lea'e, stopped in their tra!"s and turned to him. 1e shoo" his
head only -ust and motioned to the door, li"e he was trying to tell them it was 9K, they !ould go. 4hey
left after that. I told the shorty to pull his !hair up to the des" so I !ould tal" to him a bit. (What's your
name, "id6+
(4*.+ 1e said, his fa!e 'ery mu!h a mas".
(4*, huh6 4ell me, how would the name 5il' 4 sound to you6+
1e shrugged, still unreadable. (It's a name, I suppose.+
(3ight. It's not about the name, but what's been done by it.' I finished the glass of whis"ey
before !ontinuing. (Would I be right in saying you were the one who !on'in!ed this little appli!ation
group6+
1is eyes widened, he swallowed, and, -ust li"e that, the mas" was bro"en. A po"er-fa!e is mu!h
harder to "eep going when someone !hallenges it with the e#a!t truth. (I... yes, sir.+
(Knew it. /ee, what ga'e it away is you were trying to be too unremar"able. 7obody loo"ing
for a life as a !riminal is a nobody. ,ou should''e been trying to loo" -ust li"e the other guys, blend in
more. 4oo many people thin" you !an -ust hide the truth. 4a"e it from me, whether you're running a !on
or a'oiding attention, the only way to hide the truth is with a lie people belie'e, and don't wanna loo"
at.+
)y rant was !learly !onfusing him .uite a bit. (What do you mean6+
(Well, if you're trying to a'oid unremar"able, the best way to do it is to loo" li"e you're
pretending to be remar"able. :'eryone thin"s the unnoti!eable man has more to him then he loo"s,
whether or not it's true. But if you loo" li"e a poser, a wanna-be, e'eryone thin"s you're too patheti! to
loo" at more than on!e. 2erfe!t for a'oiding attention, little man.+
(,eah. I get that. 4han"s for the ad'i!e.+ 1e shoo" his head. (Why you telling me all this6+
(Well, I rant, sometimes. )aybe it's '!ause I''e had to "eep my mouth shut so often, I don't
"now. )ore importantly, though, I !an tell from one loo" at you you're more than twenty of those "inds
of "ids. ,ou got brains, and you loo" li"e someone use to being underestimated. 4wo 'ery useful things
in this "ind of life. But tell my true. Why do you and those "ids want this "ind of life, eh6+
1e too" a moment before answering, !learly de!iding what to say. 4han"fully, he de!ided not to
be dumb enough to try lying again. ()ar"'s been trying to get into this "ind of shit for a while, and
Brad's mom needs help paying the rent. I figured this was the best option for us.+
(And you6+
1e loo"ed away, !learly not wanting to answer. (I... I sti!" with them.+
(And why the hell's that6 ,ou got good grades, no re!ord, mother's got a good -ob... why are
you with these "ids6 Why are you leading them into an organi&ation li"e this6+
(I... In my e#perien!e, the people who !ome from nothing are the ones who gi'e the most of
themsel'es to you. I wanted people who !ared about me as mu!h as I did them, and I found 'em in
those guys.+
I nodded, perfe!tly understanding what he meant. It was the same reason I was here, after all.
(I'll tell Isabella you guys are a go. /he'll !all you with all the details. 1ere, ha'e a drin".+ I poured him
a glass of s!ot!h.
(I, uh... I''e ne'er a!tually had a drin" before.+
I raised my eyebrows with sho!". Boy, did this "id ha'e a lot to learn. (Alright, first of all, don't
admit that again. ,ou don't want anyone to e'er thin" you're anything but a hard!ore psy!hopath with a
bit of passion on the side for your allies. /e!ondly, you're in a life where people are going to e#pe!t you
to be drin"ing a fair bit. /tart building up your toleran!e to al!ohol now, or you're gonna be !ompletely,
unthin"ably wasted at the wrong time.+
1e nodded and dran" it down... and barely managed to not spit it all out in the pro!ess. 1e
!oughed, I laughed, and we said goodbye. 7ot sure why I de!ided to get !lose to this one, but I "new
from the 'ery moment I met him he was meant for some great things. I didn't want those great things to
be at odds with me. 4a"e ad'antage of e'ery opportunity, be!ause these are e'il times ;:phesians G>EH<.
7othing in parti!ular happened for the rest of the night. Bit of drin"ing, little smo"ing weed,
then it was off to bed. After that, it was /unday$ the day I'd head ba!" home. 7o, not the %ort. I mean,
home home, ba!" in 1ar'ey with my blood-family. ,eah, I don't blame you if ya forget them.
4he rest of the wee" was .uiet. I figured it wasn't that bad of an idea to stay away for a while
!onsidering the hit was on me, not *ason or anyone else. Besides, with 5one :agle and *a!" there, it
was a safe bet e'eryone was safe.
)ore than that, though, I didn't want any of them to see me the way I was. I got worse and
worse e'ery day, staying home on 4hursday. I got random flashba!"s at different times throughout the
wee". 0on'in!ed my parents it was -ust another fe'er. 9ne thing I did "now was I had to figure out
something to do about )uhammad first and foremost. If I didn't sol'e his power-play, things would get
real bloody fast. :'erything else !ould wait.
%riday rolled around a bit faster than I would ha'e li"ed. I went to the fa!tory, li"e I would
oftentimes, and !alled up *essi!a. We !on'ersed for a while before I spo"e something that randomly
!ame to mind. (1ey, how's that new "id 5il' 4 loo"ing6
(4he short one6+ /he said. Well, I guess the phone said, but same thing. (1e's a!tually doing
pretty damn well. 7e'er !omplains, no matter what we tell him. Kid's smart, too. )ade fifty bu!"s off
of peter in Bla!"-a!", and two hundred swindling )uhammad at pool.+
I li"ed this guy more and more. (Kid shows promise. 1ey, feeling' li"e hitting up the old
shooting range off 'I with him. Wanna !ome6 =et him a bit of target pra!ti!e.+
(/ure. What "ind of armament should I get6+
(1mm... ma"e it the IJ-JH, an AK with irons, a B mm, a .4G, I'ory, a .IG, and a sawed twel'e.+
(9h my, sounds li"e su!h a night. ,ou're su!h a romanti!, *ay. Be there in an hour.+
5i"e she said, she got there in an hour. If you really !an tell a lot about someone based on the
"ind of !ar they dri'e, it said something about *essi!a that she rolled up in a =) 1I 1ummer, pit!h-
bla!" and loo"ing li"e something a =orilla would dri'e. /he hopped out and, naturally, ga'e me one of
those -umping-hugs that will "no!" you on the floor if you don't "now they're !oming. What you ma"e
of that with the !ar, I !an't say.
5il' 4 was in the ba!", sitting in front of a !ouple of large duffel bags !arrying our toys for the
day. We e#!hanged a greeting, then head out to the range in .uestion. 4here wasn't anything too spe!ial
about it, other than I was !lose with the owner and en-oyed all sorts of freedoms a teen wouldn't
otherwise ha'e at a shooting range. 5i"e automati! weapons, sawed-off shotguns, and e'en e#plosi'es
on /undays. Don't as".
We too" a seat at the shooting ben!hes, and I as"ed *essi!a to ha'e !lip duty for us until I got
the "id to a de!ent le'el of s"ill. 4urns out he had ne'er shot a gun before either. I mean, really6 Don't
thin" I'll e'er again find someone in this state that hasn't shot a gun 93 had a drin" but tried to be!ome
a !riminal. 4hat's what I !all surprising. I started him off with the IJ-JH, whi!h was -ust your typi!al,
s!oped, bolt-a!tion, deer hunting rifle.
(Alright.+ I said when he had it loaded and ready. (When you got the barrel where you want it,
ta"e the safety off. 9K, steady. 7ow align the !rosshairs with the red !ir!le in the target. =ood6 Alright,
now ta"e a deep breath, let half of it go, then slowly s.uee&e the trigger.+
After a moment, the barrel roared, and 5il' 4 held surprisingly good !ontrol of the weapon. A
hole erupted -ust a few in!hes abo'e and to the left of the yellow !enter, about two se!tions away.
(Damn.+ 1e said, mo'ing his head and wor"ing the a!tion li"e an amateur would.
(Damn6+ I responded. (4hat was pretty good for a first-time. 7ow, don't let the gun swing
around so mu!h when your wor" the a!tion. Keep the barrel and s!ope in the same pla!e as when you
shot as best you !an. 7ow do it again, but go a little bit slower.+
A maga&ine later, he finally got a bullet in the top-right area of the yellow. (Bull's eye8+ 1e
pro!laimed triumphantly.
(7ot bad. 2ut the ne#t maga&ine in there, and you !an brag. Don't get !o!"y.+
A few maga&ines later, the whole !enter was gone. 1a'e to admit, the "id was a natural, but not
at shooting. 1e was !al!ulating the bullet's tra-e!tory, not feeling where the bullet would go. In a fire-
fight, you didn't ha'e time to multiply tra-e!tory, wind, and angle all together. ,ou had a se!ond to get
on target, or you were dead. It'd ta"e a while for him yet.
I mo'ed him on to the iron-sighted AK-4. 5i"e I figured, he went from de!ent to awful again.
4hree banana !lips later and a !ouple of targets later, he was ba!" on tra!" to getting the yellow e'ery
shot. Wasn't e'en that badly effe!ted when I made him stand up to ta"e shots. 1e adapted .ui!"ly, I'll
gi'e him that.
(,eah, you !ould be a real shooter yet, "id.+ I said after his se!ond filled bull's eye. (5et's mo'e
on to the nine.+
7ow, he did horribly. 9nly one bullet hit the target on the edge, in fa!t. After a whole wasted
maga&ine, he let out a loud (9h fu!", I thought for sure-+
(4hat's the problem. ,ou're thin"ing too mu!h. :'ery bullet flies differently, both based on its
!aliber, grain, and what it's getting shot out of. Don't loo" at this li"e a math problem. eel where the
bullet is gonna go. Also, handguns are less about aiming, more about lining up the barrel with the
target, then the sights, then shooting.+
(4hat doesn't sound li"e it'll wor".+ 1e said.
)y retort was to pull I'ory out and pop three shots into the !enter of the target in rapid
su!!ession. ,oung blood ain't got shit on me. 4 was wide-eyed for a moment before regaining
!omposure and ta"ing a !ouple more shots. 5i"e I e#pe!ted, he was high e'ery time.
(Alright, you're doing 9K. 1ere, let me load the gun for you. 7ow, shoot and stay !alm while
you're doing.+
1e brought the pistol up, pulled the trigger, and nothing but a (!li!"+ !ame from it this time, yet
he still flin!hed noti!eably when he did it.
0onfused, he wor"ed the a!tion e#pe!ting to see a misfired !artridge to fall out, and his -aw
dropped. 1e e-e!ted the !lip and loo"ed at it. (,ou... you forgot to load it.+
(I don't forget shit.+ I said, ta"ing the pistol and !lip out of his hand. (4hat was on purpose.
7oti!e the way you flin!hed when you pulled the trigger6 4hat's what's !ausing you to "eep hitting
high on the target. ,ou need to be !ompletely steady, nonmo'ing.+ I demonstrated by pulling trigger
totally without flin!hing. (We're gonna ha'e a little e#er!ise. I'm gonna load the gun and wor" the
a!tion, and you'll ha'e either one bullet in, or be empty. We'll "eep going 'til you're totally without
flin!hing.+
4hat must ha'e went on for a good twenty minutes until he stopped flin!hing entirely. (=ood.+ I
said, after he went without doing so twel'e times in a row. (7ow, you''e got !omplete !ontrol of the
weapon. 5et's see you unload a whole !lip into that there bull's eye.+
1e unloaded, ea!h bullet now getting right sma!" on target. )an, this "id was damn good.
%inally, on what would ha'e been the last bullet, the gun ga'e another (!li!"+ and he "ept his hands
still.
(,:A1, now that's what I'm tal"ing about8+ I shouted, sma!"ing him on the shoulders. I had
ne'er taught someone to shoot li"e I had been for their first time shooting. :'eryone had !ome to me
with their own methods already learned, and only *essi!a was willing to try to learn from me. 7o one
was e'en !lose to me. :#!ept *a!" and 5one :agle, but that's be!ause we all had men with !areers in
the ser'i!e tea!hing us. 4hey had drill-sergeants, I had my father.
I !ontinued with the lessons after the .ui!" !elebration. (Alright, but here's the thing. In a real
firefight, you ain't got the time to aim li"e you are. 4he guy's gonna be shooting at you, and du!"ing
behind !o'er or running to some. ,ou gotta learn to ta"e .ui!" shots. /tart out by -ust loo"ing at the
target and lining up, don't ta"e the time to aim. Do that for a while, you'll learn how to ta"e .ui!"
shots.+ I positioned myself with I'ory pointed at the floor and my shoulder toward the target, li"e I was
behind a wall. I mo'ed forward and brought the gun up, and too" a .ui!" double-tap at the target. 9ne
was in the bottom area of the bull's eye, the other -ust on the top border. .GJ !aliber, remember6 Don't
mo!" me. 4 positioned himself in the same manner and did the same thing, with his first bullet hitting
the top, left-hand !orner of the target and the ne#t missing !ompletely.
(Well, not bad.+ I said en!ouragingly. (%or your first day, you''e done a hell of a lot better than
the a'erage person. Alright, you're on !lip duty for *essi!a now. /hall we ha'e some fun, mam6+
(9h, I been waiting all night t' start lettin' some lead fly8+ /he said in an awful 4e#an a!!ent,
and fle#ed, naturally.
We stayed there for another half-hour or so, me spreading myself out between the weapons,
*essi!a fa'oring the shotgun and I'ory. 4hat woman !ould handle more gun than most men !ould. =od
help anyone with balls who !laimed otherwise, be!ause she'd probably shoot them off. 5il' 4 was deft
with his hands, loading the !lips .uite e#pertly and .ui!"ly after not too long. Adaptability, there's
nothing li"e it.
We pa!"ed up and dro'e off, *essi!a blaring rap-ro!" out of her sound system unne!essarily
loud, when 5il' 4 as"ed, (1ey /ir, !an I as" you a .uestion6+
I responded, (9nly if you !all me by name, little brother.+
(*ay. 3ight, sorry. I was wondering, how is it you and *ason are related6 I thought he grew up in
orphanage.+
I laughed. (,eah, he did. )y mother's father got around more than Bill 0linton. 1alf of the
northern ?/ is probably related to me.+
(7orthern6+
(/orry "id, I ain't telling you that mu!h about me. But I will answer your .uestion. *ason and I
went in to get some blood-wor" done some years ba!"...+ and although I was telling them about one
memory, I had a different one flash through my head when I had finished.
It was se'eral years ba!", and about two months after me and *ason had dis!o'ered we were
related. 1e was more than bewildered when he found out. 4he e#tent of his "nowledge of (family+ was
the leather -a!"et he was wrapped up in when someone, presumably his father, left him at the
orphanage as a baby and a small, gold /tar of Da'id in an en'elope with him. We were always !lose
e'er sin!e he found me sitting around moping in an alley in my hometown of 1ar'ey, but dis!o'ering
we were related is what triggered us be!oming brothers.
)eanwhile, the Boss was doing e'erything he !ould to dri'e a wedge between us. 1e had us
wor" -obs together, but *ason's payments were always about ten times the si&e of mine. I got one
hundred bu!"s, he got a thousand. I got a pat on the ba!", he got a gold wat!h. I got an oun!e of weed,
he got a pound. I got a bottle of !heap whis"ey, he got a mini-bar of !hampagne. I got... %o!us, *oshua.
4his isn't the time to get emo about the past.
Anyway, we had been told to wrongfully a!.uest a parti!ular messenger bag on a !ertain day
from a target. 1e was an older man, somewhere in his forties, of a mild height, fat, and !ruel. 1is son
and bodyguard, howe'er, was different in all the ways we had hoped him not to be> tall, mus!ular,
young, and dangerous. We had been gi'en the assignment about a wee" in ad'an!e, and we had found
in that time the two ne'er separated other then when (old *immy+, as I li"ed to !all him, was with one
of his other sons at their house. 4he Boss warned us they would be armed today, as well.
We in a bar. A bar whose parti!ular details will ha'e to remain undis!losed for my own personal
safety. *immy and his boy were setting at the !ounter, me and *ason were playing bla!"--a!" at the table
!losest to the door. I had intended for it to (.uell his ner'es+, but *ason seemed to be in!apable of
!alming down.
(Damn'it8 We ain't got time to sit around here and do shit8 We got less then two hours to get the
pa!"age from him. What-+
(Keep your fu!"ing 'oi!e down.+ I spat under my breath as I won the hand for the eighth time
in the row. 4he high-strung are easy to hustle at !ards, and I -ust ha'e no self-!ontrol. (9nly be a few
more moments... ah, there we go.+ *immy had -ust finished his beer, and he never stopped at one.
(What6+ *ason said, loo"ing in the dire!tion of the bar.
(*ust trust me on this. When it happens, get your ass out to the !ar and get it started. I'll be in a
bit of a hurry.+
(When what-+ I didn't gi'e him the !han!e to finish and instead wal"ed to the bar. I too" a seat
a few down from *immy and his boy, far enough to "eep them from noti!ing me. 4he first step in any
operation> 2osition.
4he bartender was somewhere in her thirties, I would say. 5i"e most of the ones in 0le'eland,
she wasn't hard to !on'in!e to let a twel'e-year-old and his fourteen-year-old !ousin drin" in her
establishment$ in fa!t, it only too" fifty bu!"s. =od bless Ameri!a. After a moment, *immy !alled for
another beer. As she was wal"ing towards him, I rea!hed out and gently grabbed her wrist, li"e one
would when trying to get someone's attention.
(:#!use me.+ I said, trying my best to sound li"e I was in!redibly bad at flirting. It's harder then
you thin". (/in!e I wal"ed in here, you -ust seem to "eep !at!hing my eye. I was wondering if I !ould
ha'e your number by !han!e6+
/he laughed in my fa!e, of !ourse. /!ore. (/orry baby. I might of a!!epted your fa"e I.D., but
there are some lines I won't !ross. 4ry as"ing the girl ne#t to you in math !lass.+ *ust li"e that, she
wal"ed away from me to get *immy his drin".
I slowly turned around and put my elbows on the bar, loo"ing li"e someone who was 'ery
disappointed. *ason was loo"ing right at me, and we signed ea!h other. Well, let me e#plain. ,ou e'er
had a friend or sibling where you !ould ha'e a !on'ersation -ust by gi'ing the other a fa!ial
e#pression6 Well, it was something me and *ason -ust always seemed to be good at doing. 7ow, his
fa!e was s!reaming at me, (/o now what6 ,ou -ust got turned down by some bartending milf. 1ow
does that help us6+
I ga'e him a win" that said, (*ust wait.+ A short time later, old *immy started !oughing. Well,
(!oughing+ doesn't do it -usti!e. It sounded li"e he was trying to gi'e birth through his throat. 1is fa!e
turned 'ery red and he was leaning hard into the bar, "no!"ing his new beer to the ground.
(Dad6 Dad, you 9K6+ *immy's bodyguard put his hand on his father's ba!" -ust before the old
man fell ba!"wards and had to be !aught. (Dad8 Dad, what's wrong6 Are you ha'ing trouble
breathing6+ 1e started to sha"e his father.
I wal"ed o'er li"e any !on!erned !iti&en would, and tapped his son on the shoulder. (Is there
something wrong6+ I as"ed, !on!erned enough to not draw suspi!ion, but !asually enough to pro'o"e
.uite the response.
1is son turned to me and shouted, (0all nine-one-one8+ I nodded, and began to pull out and dial
my phone. *ust then, a do!tor drin"ing away an apparently re!ent end to a relationship, a!!ording to
what I heard him and his friend gossip, on the other end of the establishment !ame o'er to *immy's son.
(1ere, let me get a loo" at him. It's alright, I'm a do!tor. 5ay him down, lay him down.+ While
e'eryone had their attention on the do!tor and his patient, I got up to lea'e the room while trying to tal"
on the phone, li"e you would if you had to dial an emergen!y in a 'ery loud bar. 4he only differen!e
was I had *immy's bag in my other hand.
4han"fully, *ason was smart enough to follow my instru!tions and had the !ar running and
ready for me. I -umped into the passenger seat, and had to yell at him when he almost made the tires
s!ree!h. (1ow the hell did you do that6+ 1e as"ed when we were a few blo!"s down.
I held up a small plasti! tube, barely 'isible inside of my hand. (2eanut powder.+ I said. *ason's
loo" of utter !onfusion made me e#plain. (If you'd payed more attention, you'd of noti!e our target has
a 'ery strong allergy to peanuts. Well, it -ust so happens he mispla!ed his epinephrine in-e!tor in his
son's -a!"et, this morning. )eaning we had a .uaint little distra!tion.+
(1oly shit. /ounds li"e something out of the mo'ies.+ )aybe where I got it from, !ousin. (1ow
did you get the peanuts to him6+
(Well, tube this small fit between my fingers easily enough. %rom there, I -ust had to get !lose
to his drin"...+
(Whi!h is why you flirted with the bartender li"e that.+ 1e said, as reali&ation !ame to him.
(/hit man, you're good.+
(I "now. 5et's get this pa!"age ba!" to the Boss. I'd rather not ris" ha'ing it if we get pulled
o'er.+
We got ba!" to the Boss's pla!e soon after. We handed him the bag, of whi!h he pulled out a
'ery large amount of money. We waited until he was done !ounting it before he addressed us. (All
se'en-hundred and fifty thousand's there. 7i!ely done, "iddos, and without "illing the old bastard you
say6 Well, by all means, how'd you do it6+
*ason would ha'e told him the whole truth had I not spo"en up first. (It was all *ason's play.
4he few days before-hand, he figured out the old man had some "ind of food allergy. 1e sprin"led
some into his drin" and snat!hed the bag while the dude was !ho"ing. It was genius.+
(3eally6+ the Boss said, his eyebrows raised. (Well, ni!ely done, *ason. *ay, I gotta as", where
you during this6+
I loo"ed down at my shoes and bit my lip, li"e someone ashamed would. '1onestly, Boss, I "ind
of dropped the ball this whole -ob. I !ouldn't thin" of anyway to get the bag from the old man with his
son with him. I-+
(:nough.+ 1e said, his tone 'enomous. (Well, if you didn't !ontribute anything to the -ob, -ust
means I ain't gotta pay for this time around. ,ou, on the other hand *ason, did a damn fine wor".+ 1e
pi!"ed up a pair of "eys off his des". (4a"e this, *ason, plus fifty grand. 4he "eys are to a little
something out of my garage that you're wel!ome to ha'e. In the meantime, why don't you go see if you
!an find some easy wor" for *ay here. /eems li"e he needs it.+
I !ouldn't be more than"ful that the Boss didn't ta"e his i!e-!old, furious, and e#traordinarily
disappointed stare off me while he was spea"ing. 9therwise, he'd of seen the utter sho!" and !onfusion
on *ason's fa!e. 1ell, I almost had to drag him out of the Boss's offi!e. After !losing the door on the
way out, I whispered. (We'll tal" in the !ar.+ to him, and we went to see his reward.
4hat was the day my !ousin got his )ustang. KJJG with a IGE Windsor engine, turbo-!harged,
nitrous, and fast. /he had a beautiful red e#terior, !risp ony# interior, and e'erything that was metal
was !hromed. I'll ne'er forget the way his -aw dropped when he hit the unlo!" button and figured out it
was his, or the way he started -umping into the air and s!reaming at the top of his lungs. I !asually
leaned onto the trun" and waiting for him to finish !elebrating.
A few minutes later, *ason finally seemed to noti!e I was sitting there. When he did, he stopped
-umping, the smile faded from his fa!e, and he said but a single word> (Why6+
I loo"ed to the s"y and inhaled deeply. =otta ha'e the dramati! effe!t, it !an really help your
!ause. (1a'e you noti!ed e'ery time we wor" a -ob together, your payment has always seemed to be a
lot bigger than mine lately.
*ason turned red in the fa!e, but didn't deny it. (I didn't "now what to say-+
(Well, you shouldn't of said anything, ob'iously. We both "now how the Boss ta"es people
se!ond-guessing his !hoi!es. 4ell me, did you noti!e when he started doing it6+
(I don't "now, maybe a month or two6 I guess sin!e-+
(/in!e we figured out that we were family.+ I finished for him.
1is eyes gaped and -aw dropped when he reali&ed it. 4here was no way to deny or argue with it.
(I. I don't. Why would he6+
(Well, it's simple really. 1e's afraid.+ I stood up and mo'ed !loser to *ason. (4hin" of how he
wor"s, man. 1e wants people to be afraid of him, so terrified they'd ne'er dare ris" betraying him. 1e
needs to be the =od of e'erything around him.+
*ason was turning pale and darting his eyes around. 0learly, he was not at all !omfortable how
this !on'ersation was going. 1owe'er, it did not pre'ent him from whispering, (/o6+
(/o, thin" of how you felt when you found out we're family. 2eople ta"e for granted what they
ne'er had. ,ou were fu!"ing e!stati! when we got those blood-tests. We were always !lose sin!e you
pulled me out of that shit town, but we really be!ame brothers that day. 4hat day, you remember what
we promised ea!h other6+
(4hat... 4hat we'd always ha'e ea!h others ba!"s no matter what.+
(Whi!h is e#a!tly what he's afraid of$ his employees ha'ing stronger lo'e for ea!h other then
they ha'e fear of him. /o he tried to ma"e me hate you, by pampering you and negle!ting me, li"e
some sort of dysfun!tional parents would, huh6+
I saw the fear get repla!ed by anger. If there's one thing *ason was the "ind of person to hate, it
was being manipulated and played by someone else, espe!ially when it !ame to betraying the people he
was !lose to. (What do we do, then6+
I leaned ba!" on the !ar. (:#a!tly what we did today. %rom here on, you ta"e all the !redit.
:'ery -ob that goes great, it was your genius that pulled it off. Any that go badly, it was my fu!"-up.
,ou get all the rewards and the reputation.+ I loo"ed him straight in the eye. (We're gonna ha'e to
!ompletely trust ea!h other to do this. If not, it all falls apart.+
1e loo"ed at me for a moment before ta"ing out the en'elope full of his payment. 1e started to
di'ide it, then suddenly sho'ed all the !ash ba!" in... and offered it to me. (1ere.+
(7o-+ I started.
(4a"e it.+ 1e said, sho'ing the en'elope into my hands. (4his !ar's worth a shit ton more than
fifty =s.+ 1e pla!ed his hand on my shoulder. (4here is nothing but trust between us. If you're willing
to hand e'ery oun!e of !redit to me, you are my family. It's you and me, brother, and there ain't nothing
that's gonna e'er !hange that. 4he Boss has another thing !oming if he thin"s he !an !hange that.+
4hat moment is what set the foundation for the Wolf 4ribe. )ore importantly, it's what started
mine and *ason's distan!e from the Boss. I don't e'en wanna thin" what might ha'e happened if he
didn't try to pull us apart. 2robably a mu!h !rueler, mu!h shorter life...
(*ay8 ,ou awa"e, man6+ *essi!a's 'oi!e brought me ba!" to the present with a start. I !an't say
for !ertain how long I was out of it, but the song had !hanged at least on!e, so must ha'e been a few
minutes.
(/orry+ I said, noti!ing too late my 'oi!e sounded li"e I -ust wo"e-up to a bad hango'er.
(Loned out, !ouldn't hear you o'er the musi!. What's up6+
/he ga'e me on of those loo"s only a woman is !apable of-yeah, one of those loo"s-before
saying, (7ew "id as"ed you a .uestion.+
I loo"ed ba!" at 5il' 4, who loo"ed 'ery mu!h li"e a friend witnessing an un!omfortable
domesti! dispute they "now nothing about would. Don't worry "id, it's not usually this 'isible with me.
(?m... I was -ust as"ed, li"e, why does the 4ribe own so many guns6 *ust for fun or what6+
I laughed, than"ful to ha'e someone finally as" the .uestion. (Well, it's !ertainly true more guns
is always more fun, I wouldn't ha'e wasted as mu!h money buying as many as we ha'e if that was the
only reason. /ee, it all depends on the situation. :'ery gun is better or worse at something. It all
depends on the !aliber and the a!tion.+
(Is it really worth buying so many though6+ 5il' 4 as"ed, s"epti!al.
(I wouldn't ha'e done it if it wasn't. I mean, there's the ob'ious e#ample of how a twel'e-gauge
will do more damage than an assault riffle inside of ten feet, but the shotgun !an't rea!h out as far as an
AK will. 9b'iously, you !an !on!eal a handgun, so that's why you'll own them. %inally, a s!oped riffle
!an't be used indoors li"e a sub-ma!hine gun !an.+
(But that applies to guns in general.+ I went on. (%or us, it goes deeper than that. 2oli!e won't
respond to reports about a IJ-JH anywhere near as fast as they will an ?&i. )y Desert :agle will go
through a 'est or !ar-door where e'en a .4G won't. ,ou !an hide a .KG !aliber pla!es a .44 would be
noti!ed in a heartbeat. A .KK !an get silen!ed a lot better than other guns. And let's not forget, there's
nothing as intimidating as the roar of a shotgun or some automati! fire.+
(9K, I !an understand that. But what about the double-barrels6 Why don't we -ust "eep
shortened pump-shotguns6+
(/ame reason we "eep any re'ol'ers.+ I too" the .IG out of the glo'e bo# and the .I@ out from
behind the sun 'isors, both of whi!h were /mith M Wesson re'ol'ers. *essi!a, a lady after my own
heart-I shouldn't ma"e those -o"es. (,ou fire on of these, the !ylinder is me!hani!ally rotated to allow
the ne#t bullet to fire. ,ou shoot an auto-loader, the slides wor"ed ba!", e-e!ting the spent shell and
wor"ing a new one into position. What's the primary differen!e between these two6+
1e loo"ed at me blan"ly a moment before the answer !ame to him. (3e'ol'ers only e-e!t the
spent shells when you go to load new rounds in.+
(:#a!tly.+ I said, repla!ing the two weapons where they were. (,ou fire an auto-loader, and
you're lea'ing behind shells that are more than li"ely to ha'e your fingerprints on them. ,ou fire a
re'ol'er, and the only thing you're lea'ing behind is the bullet itself. 0ourse, auto-loaders en-oy higher
rates of fire, less re!oil, and bigger !lips, but those don't matter if you ma"e sure you're only ha'ing to
fire one or two bullets. 9ne's a weapon of defense, the other's a weapon of subtlety. Wor"s the same
with brea"-a!tion shotguns.+
(/o, the re'ol'ers are for when you're putting a hit on somebody.+ 5il' 4 said.
(It's a ne!essity we gotta ha'e, man.+ I turned around in my seat and loo"ed him right in the
eye. (But ne'er forget that "illing somebody's a fu!"ing last resort. It ma"es the hardest mess in the
world to !lean up. )oreo'er, there's almost always a better option then getting your own hands dirty.
0ompetition ain't always gotta e.ual blood. /hit, 5et the fu!"ing !ops ta"e !are of it for ya.+
(0ops6 What, you mean, li"e, snit!h or rat6+
I laughed. (/ee, that's the "ind of shit some idiot would say. ,ou gotta loo" at the !ops li"e a
rabid dog. ,ou don't use a dog on your brother, so you don't snit!h on friends or family, but if an
anonymous tip or something li"e that sa'es you the pri!e of a bullet, some plasti!, and a!id, why not let
the !ops "i!" down your ri'al's door6 )ore than that, if the !ops find a stolen !ar full of meth or some
homemade e#plosi'es in the ass-hole's garage, what's the harm in that6+ I !oated my 'oi!e with
elo.uent sar!asm. (,ou -ust doing your !i'il duty in "eeping s!um off Ameri!a's streets.+
1e laughed, but I !ould hear something in his 'oi!e. (,eah, we're all a bun!h of saints, aren't
we6+
(Well shit man, we "ind of are. 4here's always gonna be !rime and drugs and all of that shit.
,ou !an't !hange that. What you !an do is "eep it !i'ili&ed. I mean, you got pla!es li"e 0hi!ago and
0ompton where little "ids get shot for wearing their fa'orite !olor to s!hool. 4hat's not right. 2eople
get obsessed with the power and the fighting that !omes with this "ind of life, they're not... they're not
human, anymore. When that happens, they be!ome Ameri!a's most wanted, and it's only a matter of
time before the !ops and the go'ernment !ome and remo'e you. ,ou !an't beat the go'ernment, "id. It's
a simple fa!t. What you !an do is not gi'e them a reason to do that. )ore than that, it -ust feels good to
"now you're still a person. 5i"e, that's -ust not something that needs e#plaining+
(I hear what you're saying, but ain't the go'ernment !oming after you no matter what6 A
!riminal's a !riminal, to them.+
(7aw man, that's not true at all. 4he go'ernment is only !oming after you if you're an ob'ious
!riminal who's ma"ing them loo" bad or a 'is!ous !riminal who ma"ing a ton of noise. ,ou gotta be a
.uiet !riminal, a .uiet !roo". ,ou gotta be good enough to go totally unnoti!eable on paper, but .uiet
enough that the publi! isn't ma"ing it their mission to shut you down, e'en if they all "now what you
do.+
(,eah, that ma"es sense, but how do you wal" that line and still e#pand your !rew and
e'erything6+
(Well, loo" at it li"e this> Al 0apone on!e said ',ou !an get more with a "ind word and a gun
than you !an with -ust a "ind word.' )ost people fo!us on the part about the gun so mu!h, they forget
about the "ind words. What people hate most about !riminals today is the stereotypes of murder and
rape. %orget about how wrong that shit is, it's not e'en good for business. ,ou gotta ha'e both, man.
Balan!e it out. 0ompassion and !ruelty. Business and lo'e. Kings !an be built on tyranny, but it ta"es
lo'e to ma"e a =od.+
I smiled as we finally !ame upon the glorious !ity of 0olumbus. (Besides, ne'er forget this$ it's
!uiet crooks that ma"e up the fu!"ing go'ernment8+
It had been a tradition sin!e its formation for the 4ribe and friends of to host a sort of %ebruary
0elebration on some %riday, for the sa"e of Calentine's Day, and of partying -ust be!ause. *ason had
thought about !an!eling it be!ause of e'erything going on, but I refused. We !an!eled something li"e
that, it would -ust ma"e things worse. Better people release their aggression with so!iable drin"ing and
hard!ore se# then dwelling on their issues and really getting pissed. Don't say (hypo!rite+.
,ou "now, something that will always ama&e me is the star" similarities between this sort of
semi-ghetto, illegal party and my own s!hool fun!tions. /ure, you had people getting high, drin"ing,
girls gi'ing borderline lap-dan!es to guys sitting on !hair, and pairs ;sometimes more< doing some
unmentionable a!ti'ities in their rooms, but other than that, it loo"ed a lot li"e my last home!oming
had. /ome people were up dan!ing on the floor, others were -ust hanging out with a few friends at a
table, some were going !ra&y on the dan!e-floor -ust be!ause they !ould.
)e6 I go to these "inds of things for different reasons. I mean, I was sitting on the !ou!h with a
few of my inner !ir!le, but I wasn't doing any tal"ing and hadn't e'en "illed off my first drin". I went to
these things for the atmosphere, -ust to drin" in the feeling of it. I didn't dan!e, but not be!ause I
thought myself (too hard+ or some patheti! !rap li"e that, but be!ause I honestly wasn't interested. It
was the feeling in the air that drew me. 2eople went to these things to ha'e fun, to en-oy life, and to
forget whate'er misery they might ha'e been dealing with for. 4hat was something I !ould get behind.
:#!ept for tonight, sadly. 4onight, I !ouldn't get the fight s!heduled for tomorrow between me
and )uhammad out of my mind, unless I started thin"ing about the @ABers. 4hin" of the feeling you
might ha'e gotten the !lass period before a final e#am you totally forgot to study for, or that
hopelessness when you reali&e yours and your wife's anni'ersary !ame and went without you noti!ing.
If you are in!apable of !omprehending either one of these feelings, than you ha'e had one hell of a
blessed life, friend. 9r you're -ust a lot wiser than I am, either one's possible.
I thin" 5one :agle was regaling the girl sitting ne#t to him with some sort of war story when a
bit of shouting !aught my ear, whi!h is no small matter, !onsidering the ridi!ulous 'olume the musi!
was set to. I was sadly unsurprised to find it was 4essa and her new boyfriend who were the sour!e of
the drama.
4essa was one of the Ama&ons, but she was anything but a fighter. /he was se'enteen, but
always stru!" me as someone mu!h younger. 1er mother had apparently died when she was 'ery
young, and she grew up with an abusi'e father until so!ial ser'i!es too" her away. 4essa was brought
into the 4ribe through *ason, who had ta"en sympathy on her situation. =irl wasn't a fighter, but she
was "ind.
In fa!t, she was too "ind, to the point of being easy to ta"e ad'antage of. What's worse, her
!hildhood hadn't turned her into someone paranoid, but someone far to trusting, and totally de'oid of
ba!"bone, whi!h was made e'en more worse by her smooth fa!e and brunette hair. /he was that person
we all want to grab hold of and s!ream, (/tand up for yourself8+ at. It was domesti! trouble that had
introdu!ed her to *ason, and her 'ulnerability to su!h abusi'e relationships ne'er really impro'ed e'en
after she was brought into the tribe, regrettably enough.
4a"e the guy she brought with to the party, for e#ample. 1e had stained !lothes, an un"empt
beard and hair, and seemed to -ust s!ream (stereotypi!al redne!"+, probably fresh out of high s!hool
without graduating. 1e had an empty !up in his hand, and was s!reaming at 4essa. )e, being the
!onfrontational being I am, stood up and wal"ed o'er.
5i"e I figured, the man was drun", I mean slurring words without falling down drun". I li"e to
!all it dangerous drun", be!ause it's the spa!e where you're drun" enough to do something stupid but
sober enough to put up a fight. When wal"ed up, he was shouting something li"e, (4he fu!" do you
mean you don't ha'e it with you68+
4essa, responded with her .uiet, apologeti! 'oi!e that -ust made my blood boil at the way this
guy was tal"ing to her. (I'm sorry, Brad. I -ust don't ha'e it on me right now. If you -ust gi'e gi'e me a
little more time-+
(What do you mean 'more time'6 It's already been a wee" later than you said it would ta"e, you
lying bit!h8+ At that, he ga'e her shoulder a small push, the "ind someone does when they really are
-ust trying to s!are you, and it made 4essa burst into tears.
I'm gonna gi'e all you fellas a word of ad'i!e. 7e'er, under any !ir!umstan!e, ma"e your
girlfriend !ry in publi!. Whate'er domesti! troubles you two may be ha'ing, wait until you get home to
start arguing about them. 9therwise, you might ma"e the mista"e of ma"ing her !ry in front of
somebody li"e me, rash enough to not gi'e whate'er's wrong a se!ond thought before ma"ing you stop,
and I wouldn't want that to happen on the off-!han!e you aren't really the bad guy in the situation.
I had approa!hed them from behind (Brad+, to his right a little. I put my left hand on his
shoulder, spun him around while mo'ing him away from 4essa, and deli'ered a 'ery satisfying right-
hoo" to his temple, whi!h sent him right into the table behind him, spilling him, the table, and its
!ontents to the floor.
A word of ad'i!e> It is a!tually 'ery diffi!ult to "no!" someone un!ons!ious with a single
pun!h, but it !an be easy to "no!" them to the floor, espe!ially when it's a su!"er-pun!h. %irst, put them
off-balan!e, li"e I did when I spun him around. /e!ond, put your weight into the pun!h, "eeping a !ool
head to ma"e sure it's a proper pun!h. 4hird, hit him in the temple. /ure, the !ra!" of brea"ing
somebody's -aw is great, hitting them in the nose is ni!e and bloody, and you !an do a whole lot of
damage hitting them in the eye, but there's nothing that will "no!" them flat on the ground li"e a blow
to the temple will.
After a moment, Brad started to -er" li"e somebody about to -ump up and get !ra&y would... but
fro&e when he loo"ed up. I don't "now if re!ogni&ing me is what did it, or if it was the fa!t 5one :agle
and *a!" both !ame up to stand behind me-nothing's more intimidating then one 'K bla!"-!lothed
gorilla-man and a H'G s!arred army 'eteran-but the man was smart or !oward enough to stand down.
4he entire party had gone .uiet ;*essi!a had shut off the musi!, the !le'er girl<. :'ery oun!e of
anger, agitation, and fear I was e#perien!ing o'er the last wee"'s e'ents was getting fueled into this
moment. (%irst of all, you will not e'er lay a hand on one of my people again, espe!ially 4essa. Is that
understood6+
I'm sure there was a bit of angry defian!e deep inside him, but it was buried beneath the fear
Brad was feeling. 1e swallowed a few times, and barely managed to say, (,es. 9K.+
(Alright, se!ond of all, you wanna tell me what the issue was that you thought ga'e you the
right to atta!" 4essa6+ Bastard turned so pale, I thin" his beard went a little albino. When he didn't
answer, I turned to 4essa and as"ed her, (,ou wanna tell me what this was6+
/he flin!hed at being addressed, and started stammering, (I, uh, he, we, um-+
I too" her fa!e in my hand and for!ed her to loo" me in the eye. (4essa, listen to me$ there is no
e#!use for him to lay his hands on you or !all you what he did. 7ow ta"e a deep breath, !alm down,
and tell me what !aused this.+
I was worried she wouldn't do it at first. 4hen, slowly, she too" a breath and told me. (We''e
been together for about three months. %ew wee"s ago, we went out and had a really ni!e dinner, but I
didn't ha'e the money to pay for it. Brad had to, and I promised him I would pay him ba!", but I
ha'en't had the money to do it.+
Dinner. /i!" fu!" got angry be!ause he had to pay for dinner, and his girlfriend didn't ha'e the
money to pay for it at the time or a while later6 (1ow mu!h did you promise him6+
(A hundred dollars.+ /he said.
4here are feeling you !an't properly put into words. 4rue lo'e, the -oy of holding your !hildren
get born, and the death of your spouse are all !lassi! e#amples. 1ow I felt in that moment is one of
them. What I !an say is I was less angry, and more -ust disgusted by it. It was the "ind of feeling that
ma"es me... poeti!.
I pulled out my wallet and too" a hundred dollar bill out. I "nelt down to be at a !loser le'el to
Brad, and addressed him .uite !asually. (,ou were promised a hundred bu!"s, and the 4ribe "eeps its
word. I'll be !o'ering her debt. 4he only thing you ha'e to do in return is to -ust say 'ah', sound good6+
I would ha'e laughed at Brad's fa!e if the situation were different. (Ah6+ 1e as"ed.
(,eah, -ust say 'ah' and open wide, li"e you would at the dentist. Do that, you get your money,
and I'll e'en ha'e you get pi!"ed up from here, free of !harge.+
1e didn't get it, but he too" the bait. (%ine. AA1-+
I grabbed his bottom--aw with my left hand, for!ed it open wide by pushing my elbow against
his forehead and pro!eeded to sho'e the money right down his throat. 7ot -ust in his mouth, but I
pro!eeded to -am it down using my fingers. 7e#t, I grabbed a bottle of al!ohol, whi!h I thin" it may
ha'e been brandy, off the floor and began pouring it down his throat, for!ing him to swallow or drown.
,ou always hear people tal" about sho'ing things down another's throat, but you ha'e no idea
how graphi! it is. 1e gagged and ret!hed 'iolently, on the border of pu"ing. Blood, spit, and al!ohol
were sputtering out of his mouth while I grabbed his wallet and whispered, (reparations for the table.+
I stood up and, with a 'oi!e that the s!um li"ely would ha'e nightmares about, spo"e without
ta"ing my eyes off him. (,ou ha'e what was promised. Do not !ome near a member of the 4ribe again,
be!ause I won't be so "ind ne#t time. *a!", 5one :agle, I as" that you pi!" )r. Brad up and es!ort him
the the !urb... for!efully. I am, after all, a man of my word.+
*a!" and 5one :agle hoisted the gagging man up li"e he was a sa!" of potatoes and wal"ed
o'er to the door, whi!h *essi!a was holding open. 5i"e a sa!" of potatoes, they threw him right out the
window onto the sidewal" outside, and !losed the door behind him.
I too" the se'enty-fi'e dollars ;!heap bastard< he had in his wallet and handed it to )aria, who
was wat!hing from the !rowd. (/ee the table's repaired and the glasses repla!ed.+ I turned to 4essa and
too" another three hundred out of my own wallet. (If you're ha'ing money troubles, you should ha'e
said something. 1ere.+
/he started to sha"e her head. (7o, I-+
(4a"e it.+ I said, putting the money into her hand. (,ou need to stop getting with those "inds of
dirt-bags, 4essa. /top settling for trash. ,ou're better than that, and if some guy starts getting li"e that,
you brea" it off, and !ome see me if he has trouble mo'ing on.+ I ga'e her a hug, and I !ould feel her
shi'ering, trying her best to hold ba!" the tears. I turned to 5one :agle. (0an you ta"e her home6+ 1e
nodded, put his -a!"et around her, and es!orted her out to his !ar, going out the door Brad wasn't
thrown out of.
I turned to the mess made and found 5il' 4 already stooped down !leaning it. 1e loo"ed up at
me and smiled. 0onsidering his situation with his mother, I !ould tell his only regret was he wasn't the
one to dish out the punishment. I turned to the !rowd who was still -ust starring and shouted, (4he fu!"
y'all standing around for6 4his a party, not a theater. 1a'e some fun, you sons a bit!hes8+
At that, somebody turned the musi! ba!" on, playing (7e'er Again+ by 7i!"elba!". :'eryone
laughed, and !heers and applause erupted all around. I turned to find *essi!a wal"ing away from the D*
booth with the 5obby's first-aid bag o'er her shoulder. I raised my eyebrows and said, (3eally6+
(It's a good song, and I thought it was fitting.+ /he said, a giant grin on her fa!e. (7ow sit down
and let me ta"e !are of your hand.+
I loo"ed down to find my right hand s!rat!hed up all to hell. (Damn. Didn't thin" of what his
teeth would do.+ I said, gritting my teeth while *essi!a disinfe!ted it with Isopropyl al!ohol. (I -ust
wish 4essa learned to stand up for herself a little.+
(Well, not all women !an be as awesome as me.+ /he said, putting bandages o'er my hand.
(Besides, if they were, you !ouldn't ride to their res!ue and sweep them up into your arms, while
punishing their !ruel boyfriends with poeti! -usti!e. /ounds li"e the plot of a bad porno.+
I stood up and fiddled with the bandages un!omfortably. (Well, gee, I'm glad you appro'e.+
()m-hm.+ /he said, putting a drin" in my good hand to stop the fiddling. (If only all your
problems !ould end in steamy, sweaty, preferably lubri!ated !on!lusions.+
I pursed my lips and felt my fa!e start to turn red... but instead my mouth gaped open as an idea
suddenly dawned on me. (*essi!a, you're a genius.+ I said.
/he turned ba!" to me. (What-+
I !ut her off by "issing her... on the forehead. I guess e'en a light-bulb moment !ouldn't brea"
through to me. I gulped down my whole drin" and said, (/unday night, I am buying you a fi'e hundred
dollar stea" dinner with !hampagne and wine.+ I started wal"ing to the door, and shouted in the
dire!tion where *ason and )aria were dan!ing. (*ason, to the )ustang8 We need to go to a beauty store
double-time8 0ome on.+ I threw my -a!"et on while running out to e#e!ute my grand s!heme for
'i!tory against )uhammad tomorrow night.
%ast forward to the afternoon of the ne#t day. /aturday, at the 0olosseum. 4he 0olosseum was...
well, it was your real-life, stereotypi!al, underground fight ring, I'm sad to say. Big old warehouse full
of !rap whi!h someone had the great Idea to put up a big !ir!le of !hain-lin" fen!e in the middle of, and
lay some !heap gym mats down inside. 2la!e was the epitome of ghetto, really. I mean, in the mo'ies,
there's a professional, padded ))A !age and dis!o lights, but in real-life, we had !heap stage lighting,
mats that lost all their padding years ago, and old bo#es for !hairs. What fun.
I wal"ed in, and )uhammad had already gotten in the ring and started dan!ing around. Well,
doing ba!"-flips and spinning li"e some sort of nin-aAballerina hybrid might be more a!!urate. 1e was,
as to be e#pe!ted, dressed in nothing but a pair "arate-style pants, displaying all his wiry mus!les and
si#-pa!".
I, on the other hand, loo"ed anything but impressi'e. I was wearing nothing but a pair of bla!"
7i"e shorts, displaying my... total absen!e of a si#-pa!". 1ell, the only thing I'd a!!omplish if I tried
doing those flips would be to test how mu!h padding the mats still had left. 2robably pro'o"e a few
laughs.
Despite the !heering of the !rowd, I !ould still hear the mo!"ing 'oi!es of )uhammad's
supporters. (/hit, loo" at him. /weating so mu!h, he's as shiny as gold.+
()an, the white boy don't stand a !han!e.+
(7o way !an he beat )'ed.+
(%at "id's going down, fool8+
9h, did they all ha'e another thing !oming.
I stepped into the ring and started getting my hands wrapped by *ason. Well, it wasn't so mu!h
as my hands as it was ea!h indi'idual finger where it !onne!ted to the "nu!"le. I on!e made the -o"e
doing it this way was more hard!ore than a true wrapping. 9h, how fate ma"es us eat our words.
)e and )uhammad e#!hanged nods while *a!" stood between us and e#plained the rules. 7o
biting, no !rou!h-shots, and no eye-gouging. %ight ended when one of us got "no!"ed out. We ea!h had
two -udges we got to sele!t, who would wat!h from their own spot around the ring for any rule-
brea"ing, and would announ!e any that should o!!ur. As *usti!e, *a!" would rule it true or false, and
any !heating would result in an automati! forfeit... and being stru!" si# times with a hea'y-duty bi"e
!hain *a!" had in his hand.
If you''e e'er been whipped by a belt, you "now how mu!h that stings. )ultiplying that by
about twenty gets you the damage a !hain does, and multiplying that by another twenty gets you the
pain a hea'y-duty, big ass motor!y!le !hain would do. It was meant to dis!ourage !heating, and instil a
little obedien!e in the fighters.
%inally, *a!"son stepped out of the ring, wa'ed his hand, and shouted, (%ight8+ )uhammad and
I both opened up with a .ui!" feint forward to test the other, and I got reminded how mu!h slower I
was than him. We hopped around ea!h other for a minute or so, e#!hanging a few -abs, when I threw a
left-hoo" that was mu!h slower than it should ha'e been. )uhammad sei&ed both the opportunity and
my arm with what was li"ely the full intention of dislo!ating it...
Before my arm slipped right out of his grasp li"e a wet noodle, and I grabbed behind his ne!"
with my right hand, and sho'ed him right sma!" into one of the poles that made up the !age, resulting
in a 'ery satisfying, wet (!run!h+ as his nose met metal.
4he !rowd went !ra&y.
)uhammad fell on his ass for -ust a moment before s!rambling to stand, leaning on the fen!e
for support. 1is nose was all bent out of shape and was bleeding profoundly. What's more, his eyes
were watering terribly. Breathing and 'ision both impaired. 7ot the best start.
)y boun!ing, -iggling, probably embarrassing (ner'ous bo#er+ stan!e was repla!ed by total
!alm. Any real fighter "nows you need to stay rela#ed in battle, be!ause tensing up slows your rea!tion
and ma"es any hits you ta"e worse. 1ell, I was wired tighter than a drum normally, but here in a brawl
I got more rela#ed than a massage !ould ma"e me. I was swaying a little, but steady and !onfident.
When I spo"e, I sounded li"e a professor le!turing his "indergarten !lass would.+It's always a
good idea to remember that, in any fight, throwing somebody's fa!e into metal or !on!rete will always
do more damage than your pun!hes e'er !ould.+
)uhammad's eyes flashed with anger, and he !harged me. 7o, it'd me more a!!urate to say he
sprinted at me with his left arm !oming up to throw a pun!h. %irst mista"e> going at a full-on sprint in a
!lose-.uarter fight is a huge mista"e, as you won't ha'e time or the ability to rea!t to the opponent,
espe!ially with your 'ision hampered by a bro"en nose. /e!ond mista"e> raising his left arm as early as
he did. It was beyond ob'ious it was a fa"e be!ause of the dire!tion of his shoulders. 1e'd go for a right
upper-!ut, and I "new it.
I leaned right for a moment li"e I fell for the bluff, and then immediately di'ed to my left,
lashing both my feet out in the pro!ess. I !aught him inside his guard, se'eral in!hes beneath and in
front of the armpit. I went down onto the mats hard, but not nearly as hard as )uhammad went
sprawling into the wall, !lut!hing at his side. /trangely, I slid a!ross the mats without a problem, and
got up without any problem. )uhammad, on the other hand, was no !lut!hing his side and grabbing
onto the fen!e to "eep from falling to the floor.
(,ou see )'ed, most people thin" of the balls and eyes as being a person's only serious wea"-
spots. It's why you said we !ouldn't target them. 1owe'er, there are plenty of other spots on the human
body that !an result in serious harm. %or e#ample, that blow was to your right "idney. 1itting that
!auses e#treme amounts of pain, sha"ing, and nausea. 1ell, you hit it hard enough, it gi'es a guy
internal bleeding.+
(%u!" you8+ 1e shouted, spitting blood out of his mouth-from his nose, not the "idneys. (4his
ain't s!hool, white boy. Nuit playing tea!her.+ Although it was meant to insult me, the pain in his 'oi!e
did little but enfor!e my !onfiden!e.
I smiled and responded, (Why, )uhammad, I'm afraid I'm !onfused. I thought the whole point
of this little fight was to edu!ate. 4ea!h an idiot his pla!e.+
I ha'e to hand it to )uhammad, he didn't gi'e up easily. I barely finished my senten!e before he
!harged me again, intelligently this time. 1e got a few .ui!" -abs and e'en a lu!"y hoo" to my nose
before he tried going for another grab. 1e too" my arm in his and dropped all his weight down while
lo!"ing his legs around my shoulders. 4he mo'e was meant to bring me to the ground and grant him an
arm-bar lo!", with whi!h he !ould brea" my arm.
Instead, the out!ome was .uite !omi!al as he merely slipped right off my arm and I threw his
legs off my shoulders with the other. 1e fell right on his ba!", and I made a mo'e to stomp on his
!hest. 1e rolled away, but left himself open for a hard "i!" to his other "idney. 1e sprawled o'er,
trying to defend his body by entering a feudal position.
I didn't do any fan!y mo'e or start pun!hing him in the ba!" of the head. I merely dropped
myself down, putting both my "nees together and bring all me weight own on his right "nee. I hit the
ground pretty hard, but dropping two hundred fifty si# pounds on his "nee didn't go without
!onse.uen!es. We both rolled away from ea!h other, but I was the only one !apable of standing
afterward. /ure, it too" me a moment, but he !ouldn't put any weight on his "nee.
(Why !an't I get a grip on you6+ 1e said, but you !ould barely hear it. In that moment, I "new
the the fight was o'er.
I stood up straight and too" a deep inhale. I smelled dust, mildew, a little rust, the steel fen!e,
mari-uana and al!ohol in the audien!e, sweat... but abo'e all, bloody. I had gotten a bit of a bloody
nose, but the entire ring got !o'ered in spe!"s and drops of blood. It's bitter, !oppery s!ent put me in a
wise-ass mood.
(*ason8+ I e#!laimed, pointing a finger in his dire!tion. (3emember how I said fighting is a lot
li"e really good se#6 2eople getting together and releasing pent-up energy. *ust bring forth ridi!ulous
amounts of sweat and pain. A giant storm of hormonal urges all getting released at on!e. 4ell me, what
did I say about the two6+
An enormous grin !ame onto my !ousin's fa!e as he rea!hed into his messenger bag and
e#!laimed, (It's always better with a little lube.+ 4hen, he pulled out the e#tra-si&ed, !lear, totally
empty bottle of baby-oil we bought the night before, and held it up high. 4he !rowd went nuts, a
mi#ture of !heering, laughing, and a little bit of angry shouts.
)uhammad saw it, and turned to me with fire in his eyes. (,ou !heated.+ 1e spat between
!len!hed teeth.
(I am a man of my word, and I "ept it to the letter8+ I shouted ba!". (We agreed no !rou!h-
shots, eye-gouging, or su!"er-pun!hing. I ha'e followed the rules as we agreed. %inding ways to wor"
around them to !on.uer e'ery situation.8+
I wal"ed o'er to where he was still sprawled on all fours, not bothering to attempt to get up.
(4hat is why I'm a /enior 9ffi!er. A leader is not determined by how strong his arms are, or how good
he is at martial arts, what neighborhood he !omes from, or e'en how wonderful his braided bla!" hair
his.+ I stooped down to be at a more e'en le'el with )uhammad, whose teeth were still !len!hed in
rage. I pointed at my head and said, (It's determined by the !apabilities of what's in here.
4hen, I threw a hard right elbow, with e'ery oun!e of my body weight, straight into his -aw,
"no!"ing se'eral of his shiny, platinum teeth out onto the blood-spe!"led mat, and his head hit the mat
!ompletely un!ons!ious. *ust li"e that, the fight was o'er, and I was 'i!torious.
*a!" wal"ed into the ring, !he!"ed )uhammad to ma"e sure he was done, and then held my
hand up in 'i!tory. Applause and !heers roared all around, as well as a total absen!e of disappro'ing
shouts. I guess the beating )uhammad got .uelled any mutinous thoughts people may ha'e had, for
now. *a!" patted me on the ba!" and said, (Damn fine -ob, *ay.+
I wal"ed out of the rings, suddenly feeling all the a!hes and bruises now that the adrenaline
wore off. I need to do better at guarding my left torso, I !ould feel the throbbing pains there, plus that
hoo" he got in on my nose shouldn't ha'e happened.
Almost immediately after I got out of the ring, *essi!a ran forward and almost barreled me o'er
with a giant hug. Whether it was to go along with the atmosphere of the e'ent or to tease me, she was
wearing (yoga shorts+ and a sports bra, of !ourse. I really shouldn't ha'e been surprised anymore. /he
too" a deep breath of my ne!" and said, ()m, !o'ered in sweat and baby oil. I !ould really get used to
you li"e this.+
(/orry sweetheart, but I don't ha'e time for that right now.+ I said, grabbing a -oint from *ason
and ta"ing a ni!e, big puff. (I need a ride ba!" to the %ort and a shower. )eantime, *ason, I want you to
get together all the information about the @ABers you were telling me about last night. I thin" I "now
how to sol'e our 7a&i problem.+
9n the ride ba!", I put an i!e-pa!" on my left ribs and did my best to !ome down off the
adrenaline rush of the fight. I needed something else to fo!us on, something to distra!t me. (*essi!a, the
girls you had pushing up on )uhammad, they mention anything really personal6 /omething only him
and they would "now6+
/he tapped the wheel a little before answering. (Well, the two who went so far as to sleep with
him said he li"ed gi'ing these after-se# massages, but he he was -ust terrible at it. 5i"e, painful le'el of
bad. It's funny, be!ause he apparently la!"ed in stamina, also.+
I smiled, as the plan slowly started to formulate. (4hat'll wor" perfe!tly. 4han"s, *ess.+
/he loo"ed at me. (What do you mean6 What's it wor" for6 ,ou "i!"ed )uhammad's ass ba!"
there. What else do you ha'e to do6+
(I too" away his following and !rushed his pride ba!" there. It wasn't -ust a beating, but also a
demonstration of my strengths and his wea"nesses. I wounded him ba!" there beyond the !han!e of
him being a danger anytime soon... But if I -ust lea'e him be, you !an be damn sure he's gonna !ome
ba!" at me again.+ I loo"ed out the window to admire the !ity in daylight. (,ou lea'e an enemy
wounded, ti gi'es them the opportunity to !ome ba!" and atta!" you again. ,ou need to destroy them
the first time.+
(4hen... what are we doing about the @ABers6 4hey might -ust !ome ba!" again if we don't do
the same to them.+
4hat's why I am going to do e#a!tly that. I !an't "ill that enemy, but if I !ut off his arms and
remo'e his teeth, he !an't do anything to hurt us.+
I got ba!" to the %ort and immediately headed for the shower. 4here's nothing better than
!leaning filth and blood off yourself after a tough win, belie'e me. Afterward, I dressed upper-!lass
!asual and went off to find *ason in the war-room, files and pi!ture spread out before him, a mug of
!offee in his hand with another for me on the table.
I grabbed the !offee, too" a long drin", and said, (9K, what the hell am I loo"ing at6+
*ason responded with a 'oi!e that sounded li"e a feds, surprisingly enough. (4his is all the
information I !ould gather about the @ABers and their !urrent 'entures and asso!iates. I''e got
e'erything we !ould need here, let me gi'e you the run-down. Keep drin"ing that !offee, you're gonna
need it.+
An hour and a few more !offees later, I had all sorts of information about the !urrent @AB. Best
of all, I found out what li"ely !aused them to start pushing into our borders> leadership turno'er. A new
guy, %rederi!", !alled Big %red, was in !harge now. =uy was a -o"e, G'@ and o'er two hundred eighty
pounds of steroid-indu!ed mus!le ;*ason found his dealer<.
Better yet was the many rumors about %red's (inade.ua!y+, meaning he wasn't so big after all.
/teroids tend to ha'e that effe!t, fellas. It wasn't all that surprising the only woman willing to pretend to
lo'e him was Ashley 4rent, a gold-digger if I e'er saw one. /he was "nown to ha'e gi'en blow--obs to
all sorts of small-time shot-!allers in 0olumbus, pretty enough to be paid for but too used to go
anywhere. %red spoiled the bit!h rotten, !onsidering the !ir!umstan!es, and seemed to be a!tually
deranged enough to be in lo'e with her.
/ad thing was that she was !onstantly !heating on him. In fa!t, she went to the same bar e'ery
/aturday night to pi!" up some new, young, strapping "id with barely any !hest hair. It wasn't hard to
figure out that she was our ti!"et to %red.
(9K, this wor"s perfe!tly. 0all up )uhammad, tell him I'm gonna need his 0adilla!.+
/omething ni!e enough to impress, but not so uni.ue as *ason's )ustang as to bring re!ognition. (I'll
want you to be waiting with *a!" and 5one :agle in shadow a!ross the street form the building, -ust in
!ase ba!"upDs needed. It shouldn't be, but better safe than sorry.
Issa! was waiting for us in the lobby, and stood up when I wal"ed in. ()y house is all set,
e#a!tly how you wanted it. I'm also all ready.+
(7i!ely done.+ I said. (Alrighty boys, let's all go fishing.+
)e and Issa! got to the bar in .uestion and sele!ted a table. )ust ha'e been around fi'e or so
by then, and Ashley 4rent was at the bar on her se!ond )argarita. /he loo"ed e#a!tly li"e her pi!ture
and personality suggested. Blonde hair that was done e'ery %riday, fa"e breasts, the "ind of slea&y yet
!lassy dress older sluts wear, s"in fresh out of a tanning salon... "inda si!"ening, really, but I wasn't
surprised at all. 2eople who li'e by lee!hing off of others tend to all fit a similar profile.
After our first drin", I turned to Issa!. (Alright, so this is how it's gonna go down. ,ou're going
to head o'er to the seat -ust right of )s. 4rent, and start some 'ery disrespe!tful flirting. After a bit of
that, I wal" o'er and tell you to fu!" off. I'll ta"e it from there, you position yourself for the se!ond part
of the plan. Nuestions6+
Issa! turned to me with un!ertainty in his eyes. (4wo. What if she li"es me flirting with her6+
(Won't happen if you do it li"e we tal"ed about. )a"e it sound li"e you thin" she owes you
something be!ause you ha'e testi!les, li"e any disrespe!tful hi!" would. Woman li"e her won't stand
for it. /he needs to be treasured and worshiped. 2lus, no offense, but your fa!e is definitely gonna put
her off.+
It's true. Issa! had a !roo"ed nose and a nasty s!ar on left !hee" that ran to his ear, whi!h had a
!hun" missing off the bottom. /ou'enirs from his time in -u'enile hall. =ranted, Ashley had no
problem ha'ing relationships with disfigured men, but she only li"ed to fool around with ones she
!onsidered attra!ti'e. (7one ta"en. I gotta as", though$ how !ome you're the one hear and not *ason6
1e's got the reputation of a womani&er and all.+
(Be!ause *ason is what e'ery normal girl finds handsome. /trong -aw, mus!ular but not
ridi!ulous, lean, pale s"in, well-shaped fa!e. 4rent would ne'er belie'e someone li"e that would be
interested in her, plus her taste differed anyway. /he only fools around with young, dimples, baby-
fa!ed guys. All traits I am !ursed to ha'e to bear.+
(9K, but do you thin" you !an, um, !on'in!e her to try fooling around with you6+
9u!h. =old digger who was prone to pedophilia, and he doubted I !ould pi!" up some late
twenties woman li"e that6 =ee, than"s Issa!. (:ither way, it's less about the physi!al traits with her, and
more about how the men treat her, and ma"e her feel. 7ow get your ass o'er there and throw out some
red-ne!" flirting, you bastard.+
Issa! went up to the bar and started beha'ing e#a!tly li"e white trash would. %lirting 'ulgarly,
tal"ing a little too loud, o!!asionally tou!hing her "nee or the ba!" of her ne!". 5i"e I e#pe!ted, 4rent
was less than pleased.
I waited until she had all her attention fo!used on Issa! before I too" up the seat one stool away
from her. /he was turned in her seat, her arms folded on the !ounter, glaring at Issa! while he offered
some ridi!ulous des!ription of her .ualities. While she was distra!ted, I mo'ed her drin" so it was -ust
behind her elbow, then I started to spea".
(1ey buddy,+ I said to Issa!, (I thin" the lady's made it 'ery !lear she doesn't !are for your
ad'an!es. 1ow about you wal" out of here before a problem has to start6+ Issa! loo"ed at me a
moment, displaying a 'ery !on'in!ing loo" of in-ured pride, and then wal"ed out of the establishment.
)s 4rent let out a great big sigh of relief. /he started to say than" you and turned towards me,
but her elbow magi!ally bumped into her drin" and "no!"ed it right o'er. Nui!"ly, I grabbed I sho'ed
my !oat into the li.uids path to "eep it from spilling onto her. 1ow gentlemanly of me, no6 (0hased off
the s!um-bag, but not .ui!" enough to warn you about your drin". I'm sorry about that.+
(7o, no, it was my fault, I'm 'ery sorry.+ /he said, grabbing a nap"in and wiping up what my
!oat didn't !at!h. It was a simple sports !oat, ni!e enough to suggest wealth, but not so e#pensi'e to
raise a warning. (I'm so sorry about you -a!"et, I'm afraid it's soa"ed now.+
I shrugged, loo"ing .uite li"e I'm sure a spoiled ri!h boy would. (I'll -ust ha'e it dry !leaned
tomorrow. Better it gets soa"ed than you.+ I smiled. (Would it be alright if I bought you a drin" to
ma"e up for the one I didn't sa'e6+
/he smiled and sat up straight and rolled her shoulders ba!", pla!ing emphasis on her
(intentions+. (Why, I'd appre!iate that 'ery mu!h, than" you. Ashley 4rent.+ /he said, offering me her
hand for a hand-sha"e.
(3obert Winter.+ I said, ta"ing her hand and pla!ing a light "iss on it. I !an be a goddamn pimp
when it !omes to women I don't !are about. (2leasure to meet you, )s 4rent.+
(4he pleasure is mine, and please, !all me Ashley. /o, what is it you do, )r. Winter6+
4ime for the elo.uent ba!"-story. ()y father's the owner of Winter *ewelers, down at the mall.
I'm the head manager down there. It's a ni!e -ob, e#!ept for when somebody de!ides to throw a fit
about the pri!e we offer them for an engagement ring.+
(I !an imagine.+ /he said, and I !ould see the way her eyes lit up at the thought of -ewelry. ?gh,
gold-diggers. 4hey ma"e me si!". (I imagine that's how you handled that man so well6+
(,eah, I'm 'ery mu!h use to low-li'es getting angry be!ause they set their eyes on something
too good for them.+ We went on li"e that for an hour or so. I was !areful to let her do most of the
tal"ing, as a !reature li"e her would want, and me -ust offering the o!!asional praise to her.
After a while, I finally de!ided. (,ou "now Ashley, it's getting late and I'm afraid I''e wor"ed
up .uite an appetite.+ I put -ust enough emphasis on the last word to gi'e the hint you !an !ertainly
imagine. (2erhaps you'd to -oin me at my pla!e for a stea" dinner and a bottle of 0hateau )argau#
Bordeau#6+ 4wo things that will always bait any woman who's use to the finer things in life> home-
!oo"ed red meat and twel'e hundred dollar red wine.
1er fa!e s!reamed -a!"pot li"e something out of 5as Cegas. (Why, I would lo'e to. But tell me,
what will we be ha'ing for desert6+
I smiled, ha'ing a hard time "eeping myself from gagging. (Whate'er the lady prefers, of
!ourse.+
We got ba!" to Issa!'s pla!e a short time later. I had all of his !heap li'ing-room furniture ta"en
out and repla!e with the most e#pensi'e things the %ort had... and what we !ould steal any ri!h families
out of 5an!aster on 'a!ation for Calentine's Day, whi!h I assure you we would gi'e ba!" when we
didn't ha'e need of it. It loo"ed li"e what a spoiled ba!helor's pad would, whi!h was perfe!t.
I a!!epted and hung up her !oat. (2lease, ma"e yourself at home. =i'e me a moment to ta"e
!are of my -a!"et, I'll be with you shorty.+
(1urry ba!".+ /he said, easing herself onto the !ou!h and !rossing her legs. )eanwhile, I went
to the ba!"room with the washer and dryer and tossed my !oat into one of the bas"ets. 4hen, I opened
up one of the drawers and pulled out a .IG. It was polished and in good !ondition, but no !ustom detail
was done to it by me or the owner it was stolen from, or the owner who sold it to him. ?ntra!eable and
lethal, e#a!tly what !ould be ne!essary if 4rent !aught on.
I slid into an an"le holster, and ne#t pulled out a small syringe filled with some sort of mil"y
li.uid. I wal"ed ba!" into the li'ing room where she was admiring some of the paintings on the walls.
(9K, sorry about that. What do you say we open the bottle now and en-oy a glass now before I put the
stea" on6+
/he laughed. (Well, you're an eager one, aren't you6 I li"e my men eager.+ /orry lady, but I
wouldn't tou!h you wearing nothing short of a 1AL)A4 suit. I turned around and grabbed the pain in
the wallet bottle of wine ;why people pay so mu!h to get drun" is beyond me<. I opened it, poured two
rather large wine glasses, and s.uirted the syringe into one of them.
I wal"ed ba!" to where Ashley was sitting and offered her a glass. I sat down right ne#t to her,
and said, (4o your health, Ashley.+ We !lin"ed our glasses our glasses and ea!h too" a big, only
slightly improper swig. 2ersonally, I thought that bottle was sure as hell not worth the twel'e hundred I
payed for it, but Ashley's fa!e !ertainly seemed to suggest she thought otherwise. When she was
finished, she laughed and pla!e her hand on my thigh, and started to ma"e me 'ery un!omfortable
where it was sliding towards.
4han"fully, it didn't last for but a moment until she swayed slightly and fell ba!"wards onto the
!ou!h. I grabbed the glass from her and said, (Whoa, easy there girl. 0an't ha'e wine spilled on
something this ni!e. Don't be embarrassed, passing out is what usually happens to people who swallow
a ni!e dosage of animal tran.uili&ers. ,ou "now, I'd say I'm sorry, but this wouldn't ha'e happened if
you weren't su!h a whore.+ I pulled out my phone and made the !alls needed for the rest of the plan.
4he @ABers did a ma-ority of their dealing out of an old, run-down hotel on the west-side of
town. It was, li"e most things about !riminals, stereotypi!al. I had !hanged into all-bla!" !lothes and
had a messenger bag draped o'er one shoulder, loo"ing li"e you'd e#pe!t a !riminal to. We're !reatures
of habit.
)uhammad was with me. 1is nose was bandaged up, and he had a limp when he wal"ed, but
was perfe!tly fine other than that. It was /unday afternoon, so I guess a day was all he needed to
re!uperate. We were in the par"ing lot, waiting near a suburban$ Big %red's !ar.
(4ell me again what we're doing here6+ 4he only thing I told )uhammad was that there was
something he needed to see, and he wasn't 'ery "een about the two of us being alone in enemy territory.
)aybe my ass-whooping in-ured his balls, after all.
(Well, you were so !on!erned with out @AB problem, I figure it's only fair if you witness my
solution.+
(9K, but doesn't tell me why you're here alone8+
(Don't worry. Any se!ond now, you'll- Ah, there he is.+ Big %red wal"ed out of the building and
started in our dire!tion, !ounting some money in his hands. I too" a few steps forward. (:#!use me,
)r. Big %red6+
1e loo"ed up, fro&e, and rea!hed his right hand behind his ba!", li"ely e#pe!ting 'iolen!e. I
raised my hands abo'e my sides to demonstrate I had no su!h intentions. (Who the hell are you6+ 1is
'oi!e was mid-toned, probably use to be 'ery deep before the steroids too" hold.
()y name's *ay, /enior 9ffi!er of the Wolf 4ribe. I -ust wanna tal", %red.+
(,eah, well I got nothing to say to you penny-pin!hing bit!hes.+ Ah, antisemitism, I "now ye
well. 1e wal"ed past me, probably trying to show he wasn't afraid, and yan"ed open the dri'er's door
of his !ar.
I'll ne'er forget his fa!e when he saw Ashley 4rent.
/he was in the passenger seat, un!ons!ious still. All her !lothes were stripped off. What would
ha'e drawn eyes away from her pri'ate parts would ha'e been all the things !o'ering her body. /tar of
Da'ids, other Wolf 4ribe tags, and degrading words li"e (whore+, (s"an"+, and (gold digger+ had been
drawn all o'er her body with sharpy mar"er. /he also had a new tattoo> a bla!" wolf, howling at a red
moon with a gold si#-pointed star embla&oned o'er it, the symbol of the Wolf 4ribe. %inally, a 'ery
distin!t !rosshairs, li"e what you see in a s!ope, had been drawn o'er her fa!e, the lines meeting right
between her eyes.
%red spun around, but I didn't gi'e him the opportunity to do anything. I smashed him against
the !ar and sho'ed the sawed-off I had in my bag into his mouth. )uhammad had drawn then, and
rea!hed o'er and grabbed %red's pie!e from out behind his ba!". I "ept my eyes lo!"ed on %red's, and
!ould see the fear !reep into him. ,ou rarely e'er found the "ind of insane bangers who weren't afraid
to die out here, espe!ially with the small-time s"inhead !rews. 1is mus!le earned him leadership, not
his heart. =ood. 4his whole play hinged on fear.
I didn't ha'e to for!e my 'oi!e to sound threatening$ the hatred I had for these 7a&i bastards
was all real. (7ow I want you to understand. 4hat group of pun"-ass teens you "new as the Wolf 4ribe
ain't the same anymore. 4here is nothing I !an't do in this !ity. 7obody is untou!hable, espe!ially you
patheti! bigots. ,ou e'er try to spit on my family again, ma"e a push into our territory, it won't -ust be
your !rew we !ome for and we won't -ust put you in the hospital this time. We will !ome after you,
your !rew, your families, your friends, e'en your fu!"ing babysitters and dog wal"ers, we will !ome
for them all, and it will be slow and bloody.+
(If you e'er start to thin" we !an't do it, you loo" at your bit!h's !hest, you admire that tattoo. I
will personally see that her, you, and that old mother of yours up in A"ron !an fit in a single shoe bo#. I
will tear e'erything you lo'e to pie!es. 9r, things !an go the way they always did before. ,ou "eep
your business inside the pla!es we agreed on, we'll "eep our bullets and "ni'es out of your people.+
(9h, and, for what it's worth, I had my girls see to Ashley getting de!orated, but if I e'er ha'e
to go after her again, I !an't promise I'll be so "ind ne#t time, and there are some 'ery si!" fu!"s
wor"ing for the 4ribe these days. I'm sure you understand ea!h other.+ It was an empty threat, my
people and I would ne'er do something li"e that, but better to sound li"e a monster than ha'e to
be!ome one.
I pulled the shotgun out of his mouth, but )uhammad "ept his gun pointed at him. %red had
turned white and was sha"ing, fear ta"ing priority o'er any anger he might ha'e had. I turned li"e I was
going to wal" away, and then stopped. (9h, I almost forgot.+ I grabbed the barrel of the shotgun and
swung it li"e a golf-!lub right sma!" into %red's genitals.
If you''e e'er seen someone ta"e a brutal blow to their man--ewels, you "now there isn't any
s!reaming or !rying. 4here's a .ui!", .uiet (humph+ and they -ust !rumple to the ground li"e a sa!" of
apples, then sob and moan .uietly, -ust li"e %red did. (4hat, my friend, was for your little penny-
pin!hing !omment.+
I leaned o'er and grabbed the big wad of money he was !ounting when he wal"ed out. (4his is
the 4ribe's !ut for the heroine you had sold on our territory. 1a'e a good day, )r. %rederi!".+ I pulled
out my "nife and stabbed two of his tires while )uhammad and I wal"ed ba!" to his 0adilla!.
I dire!ted )uhammad to dri'e for about twenty blo!"s before ha'ing him pull into an alley in
whi!h /hadow was par"ed and waiting for me, empty. I told )uhammad to shut off the engine, and
then pulled out and lit a -oint. )uhammad waited for me to ta"e a puff before saying, (Well, that was
brutal.+
I !hu!"led. (0ouldn't afford to get bloody, so I got s!ary. It's the best alternati'e to murder.+
(%air enough.+ 4here was a paused before he as"ed, (Did you mean what you said ba!" there6+
I loo"ed )uhammad in the eye. (I mean e'erything I say. I am, li"e I said, a man of my word.+
4hat was the signal. Issa! leapt up from the floor of the ba!"-seat and wrapped the !ord of piano
wire around )uhammad's throat, tight enough to !ho"e him but not "ill him. )uhammad's hands shot
up to his ne!", then started to mo'e towards his waist and his gun. I put the barrel of my .IG against
his temple and !o!"ed the hammer ba!". (Don't.+ )uhammad fro&e, apparently all out of the will to
test me.
I listened to him gag for a bit before spea"ing. (If you e'er try to undermine me again, tear
down the leadership, espe!ially during a !risis, I will not hesitate to gun you down. 0olumbus is a big
pla!e, and you're well "nown for your big mouth. 9r hell, nobody would be 'ery surprised if you
'anished presumably ba!" home to 0alifornia. ,ou are nothing, and !an disappear with less effort than
it would ta"e for me to pull this trigger. Don't be!ome more trouble than your worth, )'ed. Are we
understood6+
1is airway !ut off, a .ui!" nod was all he !ould manage. (Issa!, go start /hadow.+ Issa! let
)uhammad go and ran to start the other !ar. I lingered for a moment. (/ome ad'i!e. Do some resear!h
into massaging before you attempt it. Women !an be fragile !reatures. Also, a se!ret to help impro'e
how long you last in bed is lubri!ation. 4ry baby oil.+
1is eyes widened and he turned towards me, disbelief spreading a!ross his fa!e. )uhammad,
li"e most men, apparently underestimated the power of a woman, and how easily a male forgets to
guard himself when they get in'ol'ed. 1a'ing no fear of him pulling out his own gun or trying to run
me o'er, I 'ery !asually got out of his !addy and wal"ed o'er to /hadow.
(,ou wanted to see me, sir6+
I loo"ed away from the mirror I was using to admire my formal attire. (Ah, Issa!. /it down,
shut the door, and ha'e a drin" please, some weed, too, if you li"e.+ It was around si# thirty in the
e'ening, a few hours after the %red and )uhammad problems getting sol'ed. I had promised *essi!a a
stea" dinner, and had rented a presidential suite at the lo!al 1ilton for it. /hould not ha'e told her she
!ould !hoose anywhere she wanted. I was going to be heading there, soon as I was finished with this
last bit of business.
I sat down in the !hair opposite of Issa!. (4hese past wee"s showed me something, Issa!. 4hey
showed me things are !hanging. 4he only thing growing bigger than our wallets is our list of enemies.
It's a problem be!ause we ne'er too" the !han!e to wrap our head around what we would do if things
got as !ompli!ated as they are.+
(I !ouldn't agree more, *ay.+
(=ood. 4he other problem is *ason. Don't get me wrong, I lo'e the guy to death, but I don't
thin" he'll be ready for some of the things it's gonna ta"e. 1e still has too many romanti! ideals about
the 4ribe. We are a family, yes, but he doesn't understand what that entails. 1e doesn't reali&e that e'ery
family has its se!rets.+
Issa! shifted in his !hair un!omfortably. (I understand you perfe!tly, sir, but what does this ha'e
to do with me e#a!tly.6+
I loo"ed the boy right in the eye. (I wanted to offer you an opportunity, Issa!. Between Ashley
4rent, )uhammad, and the !on'ersation with '*immy', you''e pro'en you're !apable, smart, and most
importantly, .uiet. I wanted to offer you an offi!er's position.+
An offi!er's position was e#a!tly what it sounded li"e. It entailed more authority, an assistant
!alled a s.uire, bigger pay, and some area of wor" whi!h was your -ob to o'ersee. :'ery offi!er
!o'ered something. 5one :agle was 9ffi!er of 2rodu!e and handled the farm. )aria was 9ffi!er of
1ouse and handled domesti! affairs and the %ort's up"eep. *essi!a was 9ffi!er of Ama&ons and was in
!harge of representing their interests. Ben was the 9ffi!er of War and "ept information and
maintenan!e of the guns. Do! was the 9ffi!er of )edi!ine, and you already "now his -ob. We had an
9ffi!er of 4reasury, 9ffi!er of 5and, and a few other areas. Issa! "new this, and understood what being
an offi!er would entail. (What would this position be6+
(9ffi!ially you'd be the 9ffi!er of Intelligen!e. ,our -ob would be to stay fully up to date on
information !on!erning e'ery !rew in 0olumbus, as well as our friends, foes, and ma-or players in the
9hio area. %urthermore, you'd be in'ol'ed internally, "eeping tra!" of e'ery member's a!tions and
moti'es. ,ou would report dire!tly to me, and withhold any information from e'eryone else besides
me, *ason, and *a!".+
(I'm afraid I'm not mu!h in the way of boo"-smart.+
(7o, you're not, that's definitely true. 1owe'er, you do ha'e more street-smarts than most other
people in the 4ribe, and damn fine intuition. I'll be assigning 5il' 4 to be your s.uire. Kid writes
perfe!tly, and reads faster than a bullet. 1e's smart, damn near has photographi! memory, but he don't
"now shit about the street.+
(,eah, that sounds li"e that'd wor".+
I stood up and loo"ed out the window, out at the !ity. (?noffi!ially, you'd be my hidden "nife.
Anything I need done off the boo"s or under the table, I would turn to you with it. I'll still get my hands
dirty when I ha'e to, but e'en then, you'd be my ba!"up. In e#!hange, I !an promise you pay from my
personal !he!"s and anything you !ould need that's within my power will be yours.+
Issa! loo"ed at his drin" for a moment before putting it down and wal"ing o'er to me. (I''e
seen you defend an inno!ent girl, s.uash an internal beef without "illing somebody, beat a ri'al !rew
without firing a shot, and sa'e so many people from death, addi!tion, and prison. ,ou !an be ruthless
and terrifying, but also "ind and noble. I will ta"e the offi!er's position, and I will be your hidden "nife,
but not be!ause of in!reased pay or fa'ors. Be!ause for the first time in my life, I "now that you are
someone I !an follow, and "now that I'm doing right. ,ou and the Wolf 4ribe are what I belie'e in.+
I didn't "now what to say to that. I nodded and we e#!hanged a hug, and I said something about
!alling him tomorrow, but I had no !lue what to really say. After he left, I loo"ed ba!" at the mirror,
straightened my !ollar out and fiddled with my !uff-lin"s a little.
2eople always said they say me as strong and wise. A few said handsome. /omeone on!e
literally told me I was li"e a giant, towering abo'e normal people's !apabilities and 'ision. )e6 I
loo"ed at myself and all I saw was...
1ell. *ust another fu!"ing .uestion I don't "now the answer to.