by Unknown
“You look like your mother,” he said, taking a long swig of his beer. “Looks to me like you even take punches as good she does.”
Dai glared at his stepfather. What a piece of shit. “You hurt her again, you fucker, and I’ll kill you.”
Chen laughed. “Yeah, yeah. You’re a real tough guy, aren’t you?” He pulled a revolver from inside the waistband of his pants. “You can try, little boy, but I’ll take you down.”
You can try, fucker. Dai grabbed some clean clothes from his room then dragged himself to the bathroom and got into the shower. He winced when the hot water spray burned his cuts and seared his bruises. Shit. He felt like a freight train ran him over— twice.
He leaned against the shower stall wall, shivering as his back came in contact with the icy cold metal. He turned and moved into the water spray once more, sighing as the hot water eased some of the stiffness from his aching muscles. Fuck that Watts. Fuck him for being right. He did want to do more than run the streets or be a lazy ass like his stepfather, picking up cash by doing shit jobs for the tong men.
The cop’s words echoed in his ears as the water slid down his back and along the crack of his ass. But you know Bubba ain’t gonna romance you. No son, he’s gonna get his boys to hold you down and then he’s gonna take his big old dick and shove it up your pretty virgin ass.
And he’s gonna fuck you again and again before he turns you over to his friends. And when they’re through with you, they’ll loan you out to everyone else in the cellblock, because those boys like fresh meat.
Dai clamped his eyes shut as another memory assailed him . . . the memory of watching some of the older tong boys do that to one of Toretto’s kids they’d caught on their turf.
The kid had laughed while he’d been raped. He said their “little Chinese dicks” weren’t anything to be afraid of. He said it tickled . . . .
But the pressure of Watts’s nightstick pressing against Dai’s ass hadn’t tickled. It hurt, but not in a totally unpleasant way. At the memory, Dai’s cock grew hard. He ran his hands over the soap and began to pump himself. Slumping forward, he pressed his forehead against the shower stall wall, his hand working harder and faster, his ass clenching, reliving the not unpleasant pressure . . . .
Without thinking, Dai slid his free hand slid around as far as he could and pressed soapy fingers into his tight hole. He came instantly, harder than he ever had before by jerking off.
“Oh, shit . . . .” Dai leaned his shoulder against the wall as his legs gave out from under him. He slipped down the wet tiles and kneeled in the soapy water puddling under his feet.
The pain prickling his skin, the soreness that went to his bones . . . the way his balls ached . . . helikedit. Dai didn’t want to think about what that might mean, not now, maybe not ever. All he wanted to do was keeping rubbing his cock and hold on to the fantasy.
1992
Ray dropped down on the flattened cardboard next to his car and slipped underneath the 2000 pounds of black Detroit muscle. His first day off in what felt like a marathon run of shifts on the night patrol, and it was time to give his love some attention. He fit the oil filter into place and held it still while he fished around on the ground next to him for the wrench to bolt it.
“He did it again. The fucker did it to her again. Worse than before, because you hauled him to the station last time.”
Ray recognized the pain in Daisuke’s voice. “Oh fuck.” He pulled himself out from under his GTO.
“Tell me what happened,” Ray said, though he already knew. He wiped his hands on a rag to get the grease off, preparing to go down there and take care of that mother fucker, Chen, once and for all.
“Why?” Daisuke shouted. “So you can go down there and arrest him again, and then maybe he’ll kill her next time? Why don’t you just kill her yourself?”
Ray turned. Tears streamed down Dai’s cheeks and his nose looked red and raw. Ray stepped over and wrapped his arms around the kid.
“You think you’re helping but you’re not,” Dai cried into Ray’s chest, the tears soaking into his cotton T-shirt. “You don’t know what it’s like.”
“I do, Daisuke.” Ray held him tighter. “I know exactly what it’s like.”
“Liar.” Dai pulled back, quickly wiping the tears away with his hand.
Ray lifted the edge of his T-shirt, revealing several long thin scars across his abdomen. “My father used to beat my mother whenever his boss rode his ass at work and she’d take it to keep him from hitting me or my sister, but as time went by, he wore her down. She’d pass out from the pain and then he turned on me.”
He lowered his shirt and leaned back against the car fender. “My father was an assistant DA. You think they’d arrest him? Fuck no. Not even the night she died from pneumonia because she was laid up for two weeks and he wouldn’t let her go to the emergency room. He was fucking responsible and they chalked it up to ‘natural causes’.”
Dai stared at him, obviously too stunned to say anything, at least for the moment. Ray could understand how the kid felt; he was pretty surprised, himself. He could count on one hand the number of people he’d told about his father. Like so many other things in his life, he never talked about it. But he’d opened up to Dai now, so the kid would know he wasn’t alone.
“That fuckingbastard!” Dai burst out, wiping his face dry on the sleeves of his jacket. He was shaking all over, his hands balled into fists at his side. He rushed forward and grabbed the front of Ray’s shirt.
What did you do?” Dai’s look and tone held total desperation. “He can’t just get away with that!”
“What would you do, Daisuke?” Ray asked quietly, knowing the boy wasn’t just asking about Ray’s father.
“I’d kill him.” Daisuke released Ray’s shirt and took a step back, clenching his hands into fists as if ready to do immediate battle.
“Listen to me.” Ray placed his hands on Daisuke’s shoulders, squeezing them firmly, commanding the young man’s attention. Dai met his gaze without having to look up. Only sixteen and the kid was already as tall as Ray. And he already had that hard look in his eyes . . . one Ray had seen in the mirror plenty enough times.
“When you’re a cop, you walk a fucking thin line between the person you want to be and the people you put behind bars.” Ray squeezed Dai’s shoulders a little harder. “That’s just the way it is. So you need to be real sure who you want to be, Daisuke. Don’t act like a fucking savage before you’ve had the chance to prove yourself as a man.”
Dai said nothing but the expression in his eyes said the words were sinking in . . . and as far as Ray had been able to tell, the same could be said for most everything he’d told the kid since that day in the restaurant cellar.
Ray released his shoulders and stepped away. “Ïs your mom bleeding? Do you think she needs a doctor? How about your brother?”
“She said she was okay. She took Wei for a walk to get some ice cream and to the park. She said she needed a little time to relax.
Nodding, Ray went with his gut feeling, sensing things would be calm until he could look into it personally. He ruffled Dai’s dark hair. “So, you know anything about cars besides how to hotwire ‘em?”
“Maybe,” the kid answered half-heartedly.
Ray grinned. “Then get your ass under there and help me fix this transmission.”
Dai gave him a dry look. “Shit, Watts,” he grumbled like he didn’t like the idea, but at the same time the corners of his lips curled up.
He crawled under the car and a few seconds later Ray heard the clang of metal on metal as Dai tinkered with the parts. “What have you been doing to this baby?” Dai huffed.
Ray smirked. “She’s been waiting for you, kid.”
“Fuckin’A, Watts.”
Dai was smiling all the way now; Ray could hear it in his voice.
“Listen, while you finish that up, I have to run to go get the tranny fluid.” Ray grabbed his jacket from the front seat of the car. D
ai peeked out from under the front tire well.
“You forgot it? Oh man, you’re hopeless.” Dai snickered and went back to work.
Smiling to himself, Ray slipped into his jacket. “I’ll be back in about half-anhour.”
On the way out of the garage, he dropped the rag he’d used to clean his hands over the three bottles of transmission fluid he’d bought yesterday, covering them up.
* * * * *
Ten minutes later Ray knocked on the front door to Dai’s apartment. Chen answered with a snarl.
“What the fuck do you want—hey!”
Ray didn’t let him finish before shoving him into the apartment.
Chen crashed backwards into the card table and landed on his ass. Ray was on him before the fuck had a chance to stand.
Fist after fist smashed into Chen’s face, with Ray only half-aware that it was his arm delivering the blows. When Chen tried to scramble away, Ray grabbed him by the throat and slammed him back down onto the linoleum.
“Get off me!” Chen squealed, blood gushing out of the messed up slop of a nose he now had. He raised his hands to try to block the blows, obviously too stunned to even consider hitting back. Ray just kept punching.
“What’s a matter, you fuck? You only hit women? Boys?” Ray spat.
A loud gasp sounded from the doorway and Ray whipped around. The old lady who lived next door stood there, clutching her bag of groceries from the Chinese market and staring at the scene in horror.
Ray pulled out the leather wallet holding his police ID and mini badge. “Just walk away.”
The old woman nodded once then hurried inside her apartment and slammed the door shut.
“Please don’t kill me!” Chen moaned. “You crazy fuck—don’t kill me!”
“Listen to me, you piece of shit.” Ray picked Chen up off the floor and slammed him against the refrigerator. He reached around his back and pulled his off-duty weapon from the holster clipped to his belt and placed it against Chen’s head “If you touch any of them again, Iwill kill you. Understand?”
* * * * *
Although they never discussed what happened that day, Dai always knew where Watts had stopped either before of after the auto parts store. When Dai went home later to check on his mom and make her some dinner, he’d discovered Dave Chen with a swollen jaw, busted nose and cracked rib. Not long after that, Chen began living elsewhere. Dai was also sure Watts had some kind of hand in his mom getting a better job and he knew positively that he’d gotten her the new apartment because it was atop the restaurant of that old geezer who’d let Watts rough him up in the cellar.
Dai hoped the friendship between his mom and Watts might become romantic but it never did. It was obvious his mom was interested, but Watts never treated her more affectionately than a big brother might.
But that was okay in Dai’s book. His mom was safe, always smiling, and Dai was glad to have Ray Watts be part of their lives.
1994
Dai thought back on that day often in the two years that followed as life became better and more peaceful for himself and his small family. He finished high school with a near-perfect grade point average, and even secured a scholarship to Columbia University before entering his senior year. For a while, he’d held out hope Watts and his mom might get together but that didn’t happen and he really didn’t push. He was just thankful to have Watts as a good friend, the one person he could turn to in the world, the one person he could trust to watch his back if anything happened.
Like it did on a rainy May night the month before his high school graduation ceremony.
Dai bolted out of the corner deli and made a dash down the street toward home. The muggy night air made his shirt cling to him like a second skin and fat rain drops fell steady and soft. He hurried home with the bundle of sandwiches tucked under his arm, but instead of going in the front way, he ducked around the back of the restaurant so Mr. Magera wouldn’t see he’d made the ultimate betrayal in going to the Phelpman’s deli for dinner instead of buying his food downstairs.
He jumped up to grab a hold of the bottom rung on the fire escape, pulling the rusty railing down so he could climb up to the apartment window.
“So you think you’re a big shit now, right?”
Dai paused on the rail and squinted into the dark alley. Down below, Chen moved out of the shadows, his hair, clothes, everything—soaking wet. The fucker must’ve been there a while. Every muscle in Dai’s body locked up as all the old anger he’d felt toward his stepfather bubbled up to the surface again.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Dai clenched his jaw hard enough to make it ache.
“S’prised you made it through school.” Chen laughed and although he was still about eight feet away, Dai could smell the reek of stale liquor on his breath. “Your worthless little ass shoulda been in jail.”
Making every effort to ignore him, Dai started up the escape.
“Where’s your mother?” Chen lurched forward. “She up there?”
“Fuck off, Chen,” Dai snarled.
“You tell that bitch I’m not through with her, you hear me? Tell that whore she better get her ass down here.”
“Fuck you, Chen. She wants nothing to do with you.”
“I want my son. I want Wei Qing with me.”
“Wei Wei doesn’t want anything to do with you, either. He’s not even here.”
Dai scrambled up the escape and into the apartment.
A few minutes later, Chen came and banged on the apartment door.
At first, Dai told his mother to ignore him. But then the fucker took the fire extinguisher in the hall and broke open the lock.
“Dai dai, no!”
“Lock yourself in the bathroom!” Dai shouted as he charged Chen. “Come back here, you bitch!” Chen shouted.
Dai shoved him into the wall, punching him in the mouth. He grabbed a handful of Chen’s soggy shirt and tried to shove him back out the door, but Chen caught him with a sucker punch to the balls.
The world disappeared behind a shower of bright flashing lights as Dai crumpled to his knees, gasping for air. The sharp, throbbing pain wracked his entire body and made Chen’s next blow to his jaw feel like a love tap by comparison. But it was strong enough to knock him off balance, leaving his side wide open for a kick.
“Little shit.” Chen spat on Dai’s face as he spasmed on the floor.
“Leave him alone!” Dai’s mother threw open the door to her room. “I’m calling the police.”
“Keiko, you bitch!” Chen turned toward Dai’s mother.
“No!” Daisuke choked out, desperately grabbing Chen’s leg. Chen swung back around, driving his free leg into Dai’s jaw.
Dai thought he heard his mother scream and he fought to remain conscious. Through his blurred vision he saw Chen running up to her, punching her in the stomach and shoving her back into the bedroom.
His mother screamed again and Dai struggled to his feet. He stumbled into his bedroom, the sounds of his mother’s screams in between each of Chen’s blows echoing in his ears. Dai tore through his closet, flinging out the clothes to get to the shoebox he had on the shelf behind them.
The semi-automatic inside was already loaded and he fumbled to get the safety off. In those few seconds, his mother’s cries had turned to weakened sobs.
Dai charged into the room. Chen straddled Keiko, raining blows on her face and chest.
“Get off her, mother fucker!” Dai screamed.
Chen glanced up, his eyes wild and red-rimmed. And that’s when Dai caught sight of the gun Chen held in his hand. The fucker raised the gun and pressed it to his unconscious mother’s bruised cheek.
“Put that down or her fucking brains are going to be all over the place,” Chen snarled. “Get the fuck out of here!”
“No!” Dai cried out. The moment Chen moved to aim the gun at him instead, Dai pulled the trigger.
* * * * *
Ray collapsed onto the couch the minute he got home, not
even bothering to take off his boots. Drained of all energy, he wondered if he was getting too old for this shit. He worked hard, then played even harder on his days off, and although he wasn’t even drunk, he was kicked in the ass from the club and the drive back and forth from Connecticut. He’d like to find a hanging spot closer to home but that had never been a good idea. He had too much to lose to risk being caught up in any dumb shit.
“Shut the fuck up!” He groaned at the telephone as it began to ring.
“Son of a bitch.” He grabbed the cordless receiver, intending to toss it against the wall.
“Ray you there? Come on, answer!” Vinnie Magera’s voice sounded frantic.
Ray brought the phone to his ear, a sick feeling riding low in his gut. “Vinnie? What’s up?”
“It’s the kid. He shot someone.”
Ray bolted upright. “Fuck no! How? Where? He in lockup?”
“Nah, he’s here in the apartment. Guy was beating the shit outta his mother. She’s okay but should probably see a doc. I wanted to wait ‘til you got here before I called anyone.”
Ray thanked Vinnie and hung up the phone, his thoughts racing.
* * * * *
When Ray got to Daisuke’s apartment, he found Keiko sitting on the couch in the living room, shaking all over. Vin held a washrag and gently dabbed at her face, cleaning away the blood. He looked up as Ray closed the front door.
“Are you okay, Keiko?” Ray asked softly. He crossed to the sofa and knelt down, touching her chin to get a better look at the bruises. “We’re going to call the ambulance in just a minute.”
She burst into sobs and Vin placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.
“Go check on him.” He pointed with his chin toward Keiko’s bedroom. “He’s still in there.”
The first thing Ray saw as he stepped inside the bedroom was Chen’s body, lying half on top of the bed. Blood spotted the yellow and pink comforter. Dai sat on the floor across from the bed, hunched over, elbows on his knees. He stared straight ahead, looking up only when Ray touched his shoulder.
“He would’ve killed her,” Dai said.
