by J. A. Howell
However, right now, he could only think about Dillan. The pain he had inflicted upon her still loomed over him. If he had just told her the truth from the beginning he could have avoided this mess. He could have avoided these feelings he was unsure about. His contemplation of any possibility of a future with Dillan, while unlikely, still served to make this trip harder for him.
That look she had given him, so full of hurt, was forever burned into Trey’s memory. But it was better for her this way. It was better if she loathed him. It would make it easier for him to disappear from her life. He could go after Carlos knowing that Dillan wouldn’t mourn him if he died.
But as he sat in the diner, he allowed himself a little more time to think about her, a little more time to think about the last few days he had spent in Midtown. He thought about the night they had stayed up late going through her photo album, and the day at the stream. All of these thoughts were now bittersweet memories. Any sort of bond they had shared during those precious days was now severed, and as much as he longed for it, it didn’t do him any good.
As usual Trey, leaping before you look.
Even when he had gotten involved with the cartel he hadn’t thought it through and he lost his family as a result. Sure, he had planned on giving money to his mother to keep her from losing their house, but he probably could have done that by getting a part-time job. One that didn’t lead to his family’s demise. Being a naïve know-it-all kid, he hadn’t realized the gravity of what he had gotten himself involved in, until it was too late.
If only they had not mistakenly tracked down the wrong brother. Trey wished it had been his door that they had knocked on. At least that way no one else would have gotten hurt and it would have been over. Revenge, no matter how misconstrued, would have been taken out on him, and not Jamie. Jamie could have gone on living his life with Dillan while Trey faded into a distant, painful memory of a former life.
Trey had always expected that to become his fate since the day he had met Agent Decker and Agent Luciano. He had known full well the consequences that came with becoming a narc against one of the largest families of the So Cal Drug Cartel.
***
“Drop the gun you piece of shit!” Alex froze as he gripped the 9 millimeter pistol that was already shaking in his hands. His stomach twisted tighter into knots, already sick from the job he had been given. His eyes dropped to the teen in front of him. He looked familiar, maybe someone he had seen at school. Just your average all-American teenage boy… just like Alex. His eyes were staring up at Alex’s, welling up with tears, pleading for his life through the muffled sobs that escaped through his gag. Alex had never wanted this...
Neither of them had, and Alex couldn’t help but wonder what exactly this kid had done to deserve a punishment so grave. He had only been told he had to prove himself. He had to be the one to do it. Alex was frozen, knowing he was caught, knowing he had failed to do what he was told, and either way there would be hell to pay.
“Don’t be a fucking idiot kid, drop the gun!” His eyes glanced at the DEA agent that was slowly creeping toward him from behind a shipping container, with his gun pointed at Alex. Alex glanced back at the kid in front of him, silently apologizing as his hand shook and his pulse thumped loudly in his ears. The other kid squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the shot, but he opened them again when he heard Alex place the gun on the ground. Though Alex had spared his life, neither felt any reprieve. If he didn't get the job done, surely someone else would come to do it later, and they would be sure to send someone after Alex too. The thought made his stomach lurch and churn painfully and the earth seem to tilt as he stood there.
A moment later, Alex was thrown to the ground as one of the agents tackled him from the side. It happened so quickly that he did not have any time to react before his head was bashed against a piece of cracked concrete, sending him into a confused darkness.
He might not have remembered what had happened if not for the throbbing pain circulating over the back of his head. His vision was slightly blurred when he came to, and this only worsened as a bright light was pointed in his face. Alex went to put his hand to his head only to realize that he was handcuffed to the cold metal chair he was sitting in.
“Told you I only roughed him up a little bit, the kid’s fine!” a husky voice grumbled. Alex tried to make his eyes focus on the two forms moving in front of him with little success. “Well kid, hope you didn’t have plans for Princeton, because I doubt this will look good on your high school resume.” The man snorted, laughing at his own comment. Alex squinted, this time able to focus a little better on the two agents across from him. One of them held one of his passports in his hand as he paced the floor across from Alex.
“Sadly these days it doesn’t surprise me anymore to see one kid trying to kill another. But I do wonder why both are carrying around passports, both of which were tampered...” The man thumbed through the pages of the passport, several different stamps a blur as the pages flipped by.
“You enjoy visiting Mexico, Alex?” The agent rested his hand on the table as he dropped the passport, his eyes narrowing at Alex. Alex didn’t answer, looking away from the agents gaze. He watched Alex curiously, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He was a large man, with biceps bigger than Alex’s head. He had light brown skin and short buzzed hair, and looked to be in his mid-thirties.
“Who are you guys?” Alex finally spoke, sidestepping the last question. Alex’s expression didn't betray him; even though they already had him backed into a corner.
“I’m Agent Decker,” the man with the biceps answered, then motioned to his partner, “This is Agent Luciano. Now that we have finished introductions, are you going to answer us? Why have you been traveling to Mexico under an alias, Alex? Why were you about to shoot another kid that appears to go to Mexico as frequently as you, also using an alias?” Both Agent Decker’s palms were pressed against the table as he leaned over it, scrutinizing Alex with a piercing stare.
“Don’t I get a lawyer?!” Alex objected, “Or at least my legal guardian?” He could feel beads of sweat forming at his hairline.
He remembered watching the Discovery channel when they show the lions attacking gazelles and wondered if this is what it felt like for the slowest gazelle of the pack. The lion staring at him now appeared ready to pounce, to rip out his throat in a second as soon as he found his weakness.
“Kid, you watch too many shows, and you have gotten yourself in way too deep. Neither mommy nor a lawyer are going to help you very much. You seem to forget when we saw you, you were holding a gun in your hand… a gun related to several other execution style murders, all of the victims in the same position your buddy there was in when they were shot.” Alex felt the color drain from his face as Agent Decker smirked, seeming satisfied. The lion was poised for his attack now. “Now, I have a suspicion that you are certainly guilty of possessing a stolen passport. I also think someone gave you that gun to kill, Mike, the kid you were aiming at when we got to you. But if you were really the guy we were looking for, Mike would have already been dead, and you would have opened fire on us as well.”
“What are you getting at?” The radiating pain in Alex’s head grew as he winced.
“Glad you asked, kid.” He walked around the table patting Alex’s shoulder. “We have been following the De La Rocha family of Southern California for several years now and we have been waiting to make a move on them for a while, but we want to be sure we have a solid case before we proceed. We would be willing to overlook what happened today, as we really don’t believe you’re the killing machine they were hoping to mold you into. We are even willing to let go of the drug trafficking charges we could press against you, in exchange for some information about your little after school job.”
"But then what happens afterwards? I'm free from you...but they'll find out somehow. And then they'll come for me, maybe even my mom and my brother. You don't know how bad these guys are!" Alex gulped; there went the gazelle’
s jugular.
“If you give us this information, we can protect you. We can get you and your family somewhere safe. To start, I want your contacts, both here and in Mexico, names and addresses. How much you transport at a time and how. Who pays you, who gives you assignments, and most definitely who gave you that gun.” The sickening feeling in Alex’s stomach seemed to rise up again.
This time he could feel an uncomfortable tightness growing around his chest, and his throat seemed to close off as his heart pounded. He knew that by doing this he would be writing his own death sentence, possibly his whole family’s if these guys didn’t come through. But he had no other choice, he had to trust that if he gave them what they were looking for, they would hold up their end of the bargain and help his family get to safety.
Agent Luciano, who had not spoken one word, now slid a notepad over to Alex with a pen resting on it as Agent Decker un-cuffed him from the chair. With one more wary glance at the agents, Alex grabbed the pen and began to write down anyone he could remember, what they did, where they were, and any contact information he had been given for them. In the time he had worked for the De La Rocha family, he was sure he had witnessed more than enough to help the DEA bring down some strong charges on them.
Before this last assignment, they had taken him on “training”, had shown him what it was like to kill those that had wronged the family. He had been forced to watch a man and his toddler gunned down in their own backyard. Alex later found out the man had been an accountant for the family, that had been skimming money off the top for several years. When he was caught, he begged for him and his son’s life, pleading that he could get their money back easily.
They didn’t care about the money though, they were already set from their successful drug trade with the Mexican Cartel. The child’s face haunted Alex’s thoughts ever since. Even then he had known that he would not be able to complete his assignment, yet he had no choice but to accept it.
Alex was ready to get out right then and there. But if he refused, then they would no longer have a use for him. Clearly, they wouldn’t just let him put in two weeks notice and be on his merry way. The more you knew, the more of a liability you became to the family if you wanted out. So he stayed, knowing that the next murder would occur by his own two hands.
He could feel Agent Decker’s eyes peering over him as he wrote down everything he could think of, even information that might have seemed trivial. He couldn't believe things were going this way. He knew someone would tip them off, then someone from the family would find out and his life and his family's lives would all be on the line. The panic he felt was only deafened by his determination to make sure that he could get his family away before it was too late. He looked up at both agents as he put the pen back down. They both watched him with interest as his eyes moved back and forth between the two for a moment.
“I wrote down everything I could think of, can we please go get my family now?” Alex watched as Agent Decker grabbed the notepad that he had been so frantically writing on. His eyes glossed over the information as he flipped over a couple of pages, a look of satisfaction spreading across his lips. A few more minutes passed as he seemed to be going over the information with a little more depth, then he passed it over to Agent Luciano. Alex watched quietly as Agent Luciano read over the notepad, then glanced down at the agent's watch. He could faintly hear the ticking of each second passing, only seeming to call further attention to the lack of time he had to get his family to safety. Come to think of it, he might have even less time. He hadn't even thought about the fact he was supposed to check in after he killed Mike.
“What time is it? Please one of you tell me!” Alex could feel his heart begin to beat twice as fast as it had been only a few minutes ago.
“It's six thirty in the evening... is there something we should know, Alex?” Agent Luciano put down the notepad, watching as Alex 's hands gripped the corners of the table.
“I was supposed to meet with Julio at six. They are going to be sure something is up now!” He kicked the chair out from behind him as he stood, sending it clattering against the wall as he paced back and forth. Agent Luciano stood up, and grabbed him by the shoulder.
“You gave us quite a bit to work with and we are going to keep up our part of the bargain. Let's get going before it gets any later.” They walked outside, leaving Agent Decker to start working on the leads Alex had given them. Alex got into his cruiser with him, barely aware of the throbbing pain in his head anymore. All that was on his mind now was his family.
“I need to call my brother, it might be better if he meets us a couple blocks from the house. If someone is there waiting, I will have a better chance of convincing them I finished the job if I am not with a DEA Agent.” Alex glanced at him as they drove out of the parking lot. He only nodded in agreement and handed over his cell phone as he drove.
“Andrew... I need to ask a huge favor of you. I need you to meet me at Wellspring Avenue and Bell Street as soon as you can. I can't really explain at the moment but it's important.”
“I am on my way.” Andrew's voice answered back without hesitation. Alex seemed a little surprised at his brother's reaction, but quickly hung up the phone. Any other time that he acted so secretively, Andrew would have given him the third degree. Always wanting to get down to the bottom of what had slowly been separating them for the past couple of years. About ten minutes later, the corner of Bell Street and Wellspring Avenue came into view, along with his brother leaning against his old Toyota sedan. As the agent’s car pulled up behind his, Andrew’s attention turned to the dark cruiser, spotting Alex in the passenger seat. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Alex climb out of the car along with Agent Luciano.
“Alex...what the hell is going on?” Andrew studied him with concern as he eyed the swelling knot on his brother's head and the abrasions on his face.
“You guys have ten minutes and then I am heading over there. Call this number if something goes wrong.” Agent Luciano handed Alex a card, interrupting Andrew’s question. Alex nodded, then grabbed Andrew's arm as he pulled him towards his car.
“We're in danger, thanks to me. That is what's going on. Now get in the car because we have to go get mom right now.” He yanked open the passenger door of his brother's car and climbed in, watching as Andrew quickly did the same.
“Alex, what sort of danger? What did you do this time?” Andrew asked in an annoyed tone as he pulled his car into drive.
“I was working for a dangerous family, and now I'm being forced to squeal on them. Something they aren't going to take lightly.”
“Quit tip-toeing around it and just say it”
“Fine. Remember all those weekends I had disappeared to go spend time with some of my friends? I was actually transporting drugs across the Mexican border for the De La Rocha family. Today I was supposed to kill someone for them but was tailed by two DEA agents and forced to narc on them in order to get you, me, and mom into witness protection.” Alex could hear his voice shaking as he tried to loosen his grip on the door handle in Andrew's car. Andrew's hands were squeezing his steering wheel as his eyes stared straight ahead. His jaw tightened and Alex could hear the car engine whine as it shifted into a higher gear, the car accelerating down the street. He didn't even attempt to get a reaction from his brother right now. He knew that there was only one thing on both of their minds at that moment. We have to get to mom. Alex held his breath as they turned down their street, bracing himself for the worst. His eyes scanned the street looking for anything wrong, anything out of place. Nothing... everything seemed strangely fine.
“Just grab a bag of clothes, we have to get mom out of here as quickly as we can.” Andrew also appeared to be searching the street for any signs of trouble.
He seemed to be too preoccupied with the current danger to express anything else, which only added to the guilt that Alex felt for putting them into this situation. He nodded in agreement as his brother ran toward the front door, quickly climbi
ng out of the car and following him inside.
“Mom?” Alex 's voice called out, “We need to talk to you.”
“One second hon!” Her voice rang out cheerfully. He could hear her rummaging around in the kitchen as a few pots clanked together loudly.
“It's serious mom, never mind whatever you are doing.” Andrew spoke up this time, with a more urgent tone in his voice.
“All right, all right boys. I'm coming right this second.” she placed down the pan she had been holding with another clank as it knocked against the countertop. A moment later she appeared at the other end of the living room, standing in front of the hallway with her hands on her hips. Her wavy black hair bounced against her shoulders as her hands rested on her hips. Her blue eyes that they had inherited filled with concern as her cheerfulness dissipated.
“Mom we need to-” Alex 's words were cut short by the sound of tires screeching to a halt outside their house. Not one set of tires, but several. Andrew and Alex both shared a confused look at the sudden interruption, then looked back at their mother who turned to walk to the window.
“Mom don't-” Neither could get out any more warning before the thundering sound of bullets ripped through the air, followed by the smashing sound of glass clashing with it... and then her scream. Both boys yelled in terror at the sight of their mother being thrown back against the wall like a rag doll. Alex instinctively started to run to her, but he felt himself thrown against the floor as Andrew’s arms grabbed him and pulled him down.
Not a half a second later, the deafening sound returned with even more ferocity as it ripped through the walls, the windows... and their mother. The agony on her face as more bullets and shards of broken glass riddled her broken body was unbearable. But all they could do was lay there as the endless assault continued. All they could do was watch, knowing she would not be able to recover as her blood soaked into the carpet, already splattered down the wall from where she had fallen. Alex screamed out to her as he watched the life fade from his mother’s eyes.
