by Gary Sapp
you’ve become sensitive about the weight thing. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has been too long, Xavier.”
They finally embrace for long time, tears stinging at the corners of Xavier’s eyes. When they release one another the younger brother can tell that his older sibling shares his sentiment.
“Xavier, you know what all this reminds me of?”
Xavier didn’t and told his brother so as he pulled a toothpick from his plastic bag and stuck it in his mouth.
“I should have attended your mother’s funeral. The woman took me in…she accepted me when she didn’t have to. In the little time that the four of us lived under her roof she always treated me as if I were her biological child.” It was Chris’ turn to look shamefaced. “Yet, I wouldn’t attend her funeral. I came to all the other outside stuff but—“
“My mother loved you, Chris.” Xavier said. “She told me that on her deathbed. But you were only 14 years old man…and you’d lost your own mom four years earlier. And then we both knew you had to deal with our dad’s situation between our mothers. And finally you were abducted by Louis Keaton. She understood all of your anger and frustration…and confusion. She understood, Chris and so did I.”
They let the past; the silence and the stench of the bathroom have their own separate and collective moments.
Chris broke the hush by saying: “After all we’ve been through together; it hurts me to know that we are on the opposite sides of the fence on this one.”
Xavier pushed the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other with his tongue. “Are you absolutely sure about that?” Xavier raised his brows and scratched his sideburns. “I think we are a lot closer on the issues at hand than you think, Bro. I know first and foremost that we both want the safe return of Keaton’s kidnapping victims. Look Chris, is there anything you can tell me on that front without you compromising yourself or your people within the FBI?”
Chris shook his shaven head. “No, not really; and if Grace Edwards is still a House in Chains Intelligence Coordinator or whatever title you’ve given her, then you already know what I know…maybe more.”
“Alright then, let’s say for arguments sake that both of our organizations share some of the same theories.”
“About what,”
“Your people believe that Louis Keaton is the answer to today’s glaring question.”
“We both know that he is.”
“Well then the next obvious question is this,” Xavier said. “Is how long do we have to find him before he begins to molest these children?”
“I would say that day soon approaches.” Chris shared Angel’s running theories about where she thought Keaton was from various aspects of his thought processes without mentioning her specifically by name.
“I’m inclined to be more concerned with Serena Tennyson’s influence over him. We both know that that woman is more than capable and willing to pull strings to get what she wants.”
“Yea, I know that. I also know that if history is to repeat itself, she will order these children killed…the same exact way that the Caretaker had those poor boys who had been abducted along with me killed if she feels Keaton’s position and his mission is compromised in any way.”
“Yea,” Xavier couldn’t mask his discomfort with the direction this conversation had drifted towards. “Yea, I guess you would know a little something about that, Chris.”
“I would.” Chris shook his head while he said it though. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Bro. You may not have been molested by Keaton, but no child was more abused during your time with him. “Xavier, look, tell me that you’re not going to do anything stupid are you?”
Xavier stood flatfooted and pulled the toothpick out of his mouth. “I hope that you don’t believe that using the Peacekeepers to defend a community of people from of our race against an extreme criminal element or preparing ourselves to engage Pandora if and when the time calls us to bear arms as stupid then I guess so.”
“And what if Thomas Pepper produces evidence and tells our people a part or all of the three things that they want to know the most.”
“Pepper is acting on the request of our former mayor, a woman who you should now know was my Number Two in the Circle, and a respected member of our House. The reporter’s findings are sure to weigh heavily on my decisions moving forward.”
“What are you hoping to accomplish, Xavier?”
“You know, Chris, I understand better than most what has transpired in your personal life over the past few days and weeks.” Xavier said in a matter of fact tone. “I just hope that you haven’t forgotten the 411 attacks. You were there from what I’m told. You and I both were targeted. Pandora massacred our people. Now Serena has unleashed an unstable man to once again to kidnap our children. Her actions cannot go unanswered.” Xavier lowered his voice to barely above a hiss. “I may not be the leader that our father was…I may not even be the leader that you would have been, but Serena’s crimes will not go unpunished. I can promise you that.”
“You’re bluffing, Xavier, I know you.” Chris said carefully. “You won’t order any type of true offensive against Pandora.” Instead of allowing himself to waste precious time and energy getting angry, Xavier told his older brother: “I hope my enemies mistake my finesse as weakness as well, Big Brother. I guess you slept through of capture of those twins who were terrorizing some of the neighborhood stores, or our victory at Calhoun Prison and maybe…just maybe you’ve already forgotten the Peacekeeper’s incursion and liberation of Carver.”
“Don’t talk to me about beating up damned thugs, drug dealers and gang bangers.”
Xavier raised his voice a tone. “I didn’t see you sacrificing people to better the situations in any of those places.”
“Xavier, when you are talking about taking on Pandora head on you are speaking about unleashing collateral effects that are potentially beyond anything that we have ever seen before.”
“And by saying that, I assume that you believe that all of the losses, all of the casualties will belong to a House in Chains. Do you believe that only People of Color will die in any conflict?”
“Serena has nearly unlimited resources.” Chris planted his fist on his hips in exasperation. “Hell, I belong to a licensed government agency and we’re struggling to match her blow for blow.”
Xavier cracked a disingenuous smile. “I’d be inclined to believe that none of your concern about all of this is about my strategy, resources or manpower. You’re not concerned about a House in Chains…it’s all about me. My big brother doesn’t think I’m up for the challenge.”
“Xavier—“
“Do you,”
Chris said, “My overriding concern is that you have failed to see a no-win scenario when it is flashing all of the warning signs in front of your face.”
Xavier snorted. “Then you might want to tell your bureau friends to do their damned jobs, my man. Perhaps we will all be spared knowing whether I am over my head or not.”
After a tense silence Chris said: “And I want you to know something, Xavier,”
“What’s that?”
“We are on the same side.”
“Just like always,” Xavier replied in a more relaxed tone. “And sometimes I feel as if it seems as if it is never at all.”
“I guess it’s another day in the life and times of the Prince Brothers.”
They embrace again. Xavier can’t kill the thought that it will be a great deal longer before they see one another again. For the first time since he entered this bathroom, Xavier felt the urge to smoke a cigarette.
“Watch your back, Little Brother.” Chris’ warm breath filled Xavier’s ear. “I especially want you to be careful around Quincy Morgan. You must never trust him.”
“I don’t.” Xavier responded. “And Chris, I know how you feel about Angel. I know how much her friendship has meant to you over the years. I’ve always liked her…more than she thinks I do. I certainly re
spect her work from one professional to another, but I’m hearing troublesome things on my end—“
“I gotcha; I’ll handle Angel.”
Xavier excuses himself as he walked past Chris to the mirror. He methodically reattaches all of his makeup and attachments, unlocks the door and turns back to his brother before he opens it. “I’ve always wanted to ask you something I just never could figure out whether I should?”
“Shoot,”
“It’s not my business.”
“But you should ask it anyway, Xavier? We are each other’s keeper.”
A beautiful instrumental piece begins to pipe in the room through the speakers that Xavier can’t see. It sounded faintly familiar. “Yes, I guess we are each other’s keeper at that.” He said, his voice sounded muffled underneath the skin of the fake nose. “I know very few things in my time in this world, but I do know that you loved Hoshi Givens with all of your heart and soul. I also know for a fact that she’s the only woman that you’ve truly ever loved…including the poor troubled soul we just buried.” Xavier rubbed his lower lip in a faint attempt to mask that it was trembling as he spoke. “Was how you felt about her then, the memory of your love; was it enough to overcome losing her in all of the years that have passed since?”
“It was.” Chris Prince did not hesitate. “It is.”
Xavier stood in his stance long enough to listen to the melody in its entirety. After a time he opened his eyes and realized he had tears in them and he felt the
