by Glenn Trust
“Who the fuck are you?” Slice snarled.
Sole sighted along the top of the barrel and smiled. “The man who will put a hole in your dumb fucking head if you move.”
“You think you can put a hole in all of us, motherfucker?”
“Seven more rounds in this pistol.” He lifted his shirttail with one hand to reveal the Glock in his waistband. “Fourteen more here. I figure I can take out enough of you, pretty fucking quick. And one thing is sure.” He stared into Slice’s eyes. “You will be the first.”
He motioned with the Colt. “Everyone gather around your fearless leader. Do it now!”
The crowd moved toward Slice. The looks on their faces made it clear they hoped Slice wasn’t going to tell them to rush the man with the big-ass Colt pistol.
“Ben,” Sole said. “Bring the girl here.”
While Sole held Slice in his sights and the gang members moved away from the door, Ben reached down and helped the girl to her feet. He put an arm around her and hurried to Sole.
“Good.” Sole nodded. “Take her outside. My pickup is by the loading dock. Get in and wait. I’ll be right behind you.”
The heavy door opened and slammed shut behind him. Sole remained standing in front of it, his pistol pointed at Slice. Unsure what to do, the other gang members shuffled from one foot to the other, avoiding eye contact with the man holding the pistol—all except one.
“Motherfucker, you ain’t gonna do shit. You pull that trigger and we’ll be on you … tear your motherfuckin’ head off.”
Ape came forward. For a moment it appeared others in the group would follow suit. The gun roared again, and Ape fell before he had taken three steps.
“Six rounds left … and fourteen more,” Sole said softly. “Who’s next?”
He began backing to the door. “Not gonna give you any warning to stay here for five minutes because I know you won’t listen. So, you do what you got to do.” He motioned with the pistol at Ape’s body. “But I promise you whoever comes through that door first will end up like your big friend there.”
He opened the door behind him with one hand and backed through. As it slammed shut, he saw the faces turn from Ape’s body to Slice. No one moved, but that wouldn’t last long. Without the Colt pointing at them, they would soon recover their courage. The bullshit machismo code they lived by required it.
Sole pulled a pallet from a stack on the loading dock and broke off two slats, then wedged them under the door. Once they decided to come through the door, it would only slow them down for a few seconds, but a few seconds were all he needed.
Jumping from the dock to the pavement, he slid behind the pickup’s wheel. Ben stared straight ahead. The girl sobbed between them.
Sole accelerated away from the dock and around to the front of the building. Two gang members were standing in the drive and more were coming from the small office area attached to the warehouse. So much for his plan, he thought.
He floored the pickup, aiming directly for the two gangbangers blocking his way. They fumbled for the guns tucked in their low hung pants, but he was gone and racing down the street. He heard the report of two rounds being fired, but their aim was as shabby as their attire.
They were several blocks away before the girl was able to gasp and stop sobbing long enough to say, “Thank you.”
“No thanks necessary. What’s your name?”
“Juanita,” she said, wiping her eyes. “And you are?”
“Not important.” Sole looked at Ben. “You okay?”
The boy’s head turned slowly in his direction, a mixture of confusion and relief on his face. “How did you … I didn’t …” He shook his head. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“You were in a bad spot. You’re out now,” Sole said matter-of-factly. “Thank your mother and grandfather for that.”
Ben nodded and looked out the window.
“I’m going to take you someplace safe,” Sole said to Juanita. “To the police. You can make a report and they will follow up.”
“No.” She shook her head, adamantly. “No police.”
“But …”
“No,” she insisted. “No police. When they ask questions it will only cause more trouble and then they will leave and it will still be the same … except worse.”
“Then where?” Sole looked at the girl huddled on the seat.
“To my brother, Carlos. He will take care of me.”
“Alright.” Sole nodded. “To your brother.”
She gave him the directions, and they drove in silence. When they pulled up in front of the abandoned service station, Sole gave her a puzzled look.
“Your brother lives here?”
“Not live … it is where he is. It is his gang place. He will know what to do.”
Brother Carlos was a gangbanger, Sole realized. The reason for avoiding the police became clear.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“Alright, but I go inside with you.” Sole slid out, held the door open for her, and looked at Ben. “Stay here. I won’t be long.”
But nodded without speaking, content to be told what to do.
“Alright,” Juanita said and led the way inside.
As it turned out, Juanita’s brother wasn’t just with a gang, he was the gang, the leader. Carlos, Big-C to the Cent Killers, listened intently to Juanita’s account of her abduction and near rape. When she finished, he turned to Sole.
“You saved my sister. I know what the motherfucker Slice woulda done. I owe you.”
“Hoped you would see it that way,” Sole said. “There is something you can do.”
“I’m listening.”
Carlos was silent while Sole explained. When he finished, he nodded and said simply, “Okay.”
The drive home only took a few minutes. Edgar and Maggie were both in the store. They looked up expectantly as they came from the alley. Ben climbed the stairs. Sole entered the store, looked around to make sure no customers lingered in the aisles.
Assured that they were alone, he turned to them and said, “Something big happened.”
Pick Your Brothers Carefully
“Is he alright?” Maggie asked as her son plodded up the stairs to the apartment like an old man.
“Physically, he’s fine,” Sole said. “But he’s gone through a pretty severe emotional trauma.”
“What happened?” Edgar leaned across the counter, his voice low. “Tell us everything.”
He reviewed the events of the last several days. Following the Chevy as it made its rounds through the city, always to end up at the old warehouse used by the Demonios de la Muerte. The daily harassment of the girl at the bus stop. The drug deals. The stakeout of the warehouse.
Sole told them everything, almost. He did not mention the death of Ape, the gang member who thought himself Superman, but turned out not to be faster than a speeding bullet.
“And Ben did not do what these others wanted him to do to the girl?” Maggie’s eyes narrowed. She wanted the unvarnished truth, with nothing held back.
“No. He did not,” Sole said firmly. “When I came in he was standing beside her, shaking his head, frightened but he made no move to do what they were shouting at him to do. He stood his ground.”
“Thank God,” Maggie whispered. “What happened after that?”
“After that, we left.”
“And the girl?” Maggie asked.
“I took her to her brother.”
“Not the police?”
“I suggested it, but she said no.” He shrugged. “I didn’t think it was my place to argue with her about it. She didn’t seem to have much confidence that the police would be able to do anything about what happened, and when they finished their investigation, things would get worse.”
“She was right.” Edgar nodded. “The gangs rule the streets. The police don’t live here. We do. When they leave, the gangs take it out on the neighborhoods. I’ve seen it. Things can be worse than befo
re the police came.”
“And when you left her with her brother, she was alright … not hurt?” Maggie asked.
“Not physically, but she was terrified while it was happening. That’s understandable.”
“So, it’s over?” Edgar asked.
“I don’t know.” Sole shook his head. “The gang is not going to be happy. I think they may try to harass Ben, maybe you too … try something worse in retaliation. We have to be prepared.”
“Yes,” Edgar nodded. “We would be naïve to believe that it ends so simply. You challenged them … their control … their manhood. They won’t forget that so easily.”
“I made some arrangements that might help.”
“What kind of arrangements?” Maggie’s eyes narrowed.
“The girl … her name is Juanita … her brother is in a gang. He seems to be the leader of it. That was where I left her.”
“You made arrangements with a gang?” Maggie asked, eyebrows raised in disbelief.
“He wanted to repay me for getting his sister out. I told him the only repayment I wanted was for them to both of you, Ben, the store, the street under their protection.”
“Which gang?” Edgar asked.
“Juanita called them the Cent Killers.” He shook his head. “No idea what that means.”
“Central Avenue Killers.” Edgar nodded. “They are very bad, and that could be good for us. They are strong enough to stand up to the Demonios de la Muerte.”
“I hope so,” Sole said. “Juanita’s brother said they would spread the word that you’re under their protection … send a signal, whatever that means.”
There was a glimmer of a smile on Edgar’s face. “That means something very bad is going to happen to someone.”
“I need to go up and see Benjamin,” Maggie said, stepping from behind the counter.
“Can I have a word with him first?” Sole asked. “It’s what I was supposed to be doing all along. Now’s my chance.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll wait here.”
Sole climbed the stairs and entered the apartment. The door to Ben’s room was closed, as always. He tapped and called through the door.
“Ben, it’s Bill Myers. Can I come in for a minute?”
There was no answer. Sole waited a minute, then tapped again and pushed the door partway open.
Ben sat on the floor across the room, knees up, and his back against the wall. Sole pushed the door open wider. “Can I come in?”
Ben looked up and nodded. Sole entered, closed the door quietly, and crossed the room to sit on the floor beside the boy. They leaned against the wall without. Ben rested his chin on his knees and stared at his feet. Sole waited, unsure what to say or how to begin.
Several minutes ticked by before Ben finally spoke. He began as if they had been engaged in conversation the entire time, debating with himself, confused, questioning, trying to understand what had happened.
“Yeah, but …” Ben began with a shake of his head. “I didn’t do a fucking thing.” He looked at Sole. “I stood there while they dragged her in. I didn’t try to help her, I just stood there … afraid.”
Sole allowed a minute of silence to pass before he said, “You did the right thing, Ben. There wasn’t anything else you could do.”
“Bullshit. I could have tried to help her … take her out of there.”
“That would have been impossible. You had no chance, and no telling what they would have done if you tried … killed you … killed her. They had their blood up. I could see that. The situation was unpredictable and dangerous.”
“Yeah, but you did something about it.” Ben looked at him and Sole saw the tears in his eyes for the first time.
“I wasn’t in your position, surrounded by gangbangers shouting for blood.” Sole gave a nod of approval and added, “You didn’t run. You stood your ground and said no while they chanted for you to rape the girl. That took courage, Ben. Don’t sell yourself short.”
“I thought I was going to piss myself,” Ben said, disgusted. “Or that I might pass out.” He looked at Sole. “But not you. You came in and took control while I just stood there and trying to keep the piss from running down my leg.”
“I’ve probably had more experience with gangs than you. I was prepared.”
“You were in a gang?” Ben brow lifted in curiosity. “Where?”
“Yeah, I was in a gang.” Sole laughed. “They call it the Marine Corps.”
“The Marines aren’t a gang.”
“Sure they are, in a way.” Now, Sole leaned forward, resting his chin on his knees so that he and Ben were on the same level. “The Marine Corps has a code, and once we go through the initiation process, we Marines live by it for the rest of our lives. In the Marines, you are surrounded by your brothers and sisters, people who would die for you if necessary, and you would die for them. Marines never leave anyone behind. You take care of your own.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t do the things the DMs do.”
“You mean break the law?” Sole nodded. “We might not be out on the streets selling drugs and kidnapping girls, but we Marines get into some hairy situations sometimes, but the code we follow has a morality to it. That keeps us from doing those other things. We live by that code.”
Sole stopped speaking and waited. Ben sat quietly digesting everything he’d said, then shook his head, the look of disgust back on his face.
“I really fucked up.”
“Temporarily.” Sole agreed. “But not permanently. There’s a lesson to be learned from this, Ben.”
“What lesson?
“Pick your brothers … your gang … carefully. Where they go, you will end up too.”
This Ain’t Over
“Who the fuck is he?”
“I swear, Slice.” Joey ‘Keet’ Gonzales stood trembling outside the gang’s warehouse. “I swear on my mama, I ain’t never seen him before.”
He had the urge to run like hell, but with Cheech and Poco leaning in from either side, he stood there, trapped. It didn’t matter. There was nowhere to run and hide from the DMs, not for a teenage gangbanger who relied on his connections with them for cash and survival.
“You brought him to us.”
Slice’s eyes bored into Joey until he turned his head away, looking for an understanding face in Cheech or Poco. There was no reassurance there, only icy stares.
“No.” Joey shook his head. “I brought in Benny … Little Man, but I never seen that other dude was. He just showed up.”
“Bullshit!” Slice snapped. “He shows up just when you and your pussy friend do.” Slice jerked a hand toward the loading dock door. “You know what’s in there?”
Joey knew, but couldn’t make the words come from his dry mouth. He nodded and looked at his feet.
“Fuckin’ Ape is lyin’ there in his own blood! In our house!” Slice shook his head. “That can’t stand. It ain’t gonna stand.”
“I swear, Slice. I don’t know who he was. On my mama’s life, I …”
“Shut the fuck up about your mama,” Slice shouted. “She ain’t here, but you are. Let’s go.”
“Go?” Joey’s eyes opened wide. “Where we goin’, Slice?”
“We gonna find that motherfucker … that big ass white boy with his big ass gun. Then we gonna find your boy, Little Man, and do to them what he did to Ape.”
“Alright, whatever you say, Slice. We find the motherfucker and do him.” Joey nodded emphatically. “Do him like he did Ape, except take our time, hurt him bad so he suffers.” He turned a hopeful eye to Slice, trying to move the focus to the man who killed Ape. “Fuck, yeah. Make him suffer bad, right?”
“Give me your car keys,” Slice said.
“My car? But why my car? Shouldn’t we take the van or something?”
“Your car!” Slice growled and Joey shut his mouth. “You brought this shit on us … brought him into our house. If we get spotted, they not gonna tie it to any of our rides.” He smiled. “Gonna be yours.�
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“Right, man.” Joey’s head bobbled up and down like a dashboard toy, his words coming fast now, desperate to show he was all in on finding and killing the big white man. “I get it. My fault he came, so I take the hit if anyone has to. Yeah, man, I get it. Let’s do it! Let’s find the motherfucker!”
He handed the car keys to Slice and moved to the Chevy parked at the foot of the loading dock.
“In the back,” Slice said, sliding behind the wheel.
“The back?” Joey said, standing beside the passenger door, a look of apprehension returning to his face.
“Yeah, the back. Don’t want you tryin’ to get out if you get cold feet.”
“Shit, bro. I wouldn’t do that.” Joey said, trying to put a hurt look on his face. “You can trust me, bro. I been blooded. Remember?”
“I remember. I remember you brought your pussy friend to us. I remember that Ape is dead.” Slice started the car. “In the back. Now.”
“Right.” Joey nodded. “In the back.”
He slid into the back seat. Cheech followed and pushed him to the center while Poco got in on the other side. Sandwiched between them, their shoulders pressed tight against him, Joey was trapped. The odor of their bodies mixed with the weed they had smoked earlier was overpowering. He began trembling again.
They drove the blocks of the neighborhood, looking into storefronts and eyeballing people on the street. The big man with the Colt was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Ben or the girl.
Slice pulled to the curb in front of Dupart’s Market. Through the glass, they saw the old man, Edgar, behind the counter. A customer walked out, leaving him alone inside.
“Let’s go.” Slice stepped out of the Chevy.
“Here?” Joey looked around nervously. “In my car … in broad daylight?”
“Like I said, you the reason we got this problem. Anyone sees what goes down they gonna see your car.”
Cheech stood on the curb, waiting for Joey to get out. When he didn’t move, he reached in, grabbed him by the shirt, and dragged him from the back seat.
