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Introduction:

We return you to your actually scheduled series already in progress.

She’s going to call.

Bullshit, yeah she likes the idea but nobody is that stupid.

Greed and envy my friend, greed and envy.

I’ll keep wrath for the win every time because at least I get shit done.

And he has a plan for that too but you need to pull it back and not rush it, remember the rules.

It’s a beautiful Thursday at school and I’m not the center of attention wherever I go but I’m not passed over in the least. Been about a week since I put the early points of my plan in motion and I haven’t heard anything from Lupe but I have plenty of options and her bit can be interesting if she calls but if not then we move on. Bethany and the cheer squad make it a point to sit with me at lunch almost daily, I say almost because I’m alone as Brandon is making his way towards me minus his varsity jacket.

“We need to have words,” he states sitting down across from me.

“Animal, Vegetable or Mineral,” I ask and he looks confused,” You said words so I’m wondering which category it falls under if we’re playing a guessing game.”

“No I mean talk, I need you to speak with Brett and get me back on team, we got two games left and I’m almost out of options. Coach won’t let me play because he’s scared of losing the rest of the offense and none of them will talk to me,” Brandon explains and I knew it was bad, I spoke with Brett previously.

“You need? I could spend a week going over how I don’t care and how it’s not my job to fix your problems and you still wouldn’t understand so I’m just going to say no,” I reply and Brandon doesn’t look to happy.

“Yeah it’s not your job but you can, you got the inside track and you know it wasn’t any one of us that did that to you,” He says it and I clench my jaw and sigh.

Both barrels, locked on and ready.

“And I know that how? And which time are we talking about because of all the times I remember recently you got away with it,” I state and now I see some embarrassment,” Is that guilt or just some embarrassment over the fact that we both know the truth and you need me?”

“Whatever you want man, I can get it,” he offers and I laugh.

“I have cheerleaders at my beck and call if needed, money to do whatever I want and probably the one thing that you can’t give me,” I state and he looks curious,” I’m smarter than you.”

“Okay you’re smarter but with scouts watching this is my last shot these two games, I need your help,” Brandon is truly desperate and I can almost taste it.

Now make the offer.

“You are going to owe me a boon,” I begin and he stops me.

“What is that, like a favor,” he asks and I shake my head.

“Something like that but bigger, a favor would be you just doing something when convenient. What I want is more. One time you will be required to show up somewhere and do something that I tell you to its completion regardless of the consequences,” I explain as I pull a piece of paper out of my briefcase, it replaced my backpack,” just sign here and date.”

“Wait is this a contract,” he asks and I nod,” what the hell does it mean ‘under pain and bodily harm’?”

“It means that if you refuse or back out once I’ve completed my half of the bargain then I am permitted to send people after you to extract what is mine from you,” I explain and he begins to laugh before seeing my face and realizing I’m not joking.

“Why not just threaten to sue me,” Brandon asks and I laugh.

“Again I have money, what do you actually have? Never mind, don’t answer that. That is the deal, sign and date or leave,” I remark waiting.

HA HA, he signed it!

Of course he did, you doubt him.

Sometimes yes but he takes forever.

And with a few pen strokes I return my contract to my briefcase and message Bethany asking for Brett’s location. It comes back quickly as she’s at some cheer practice and I leave Brandon where he is to find Brett who is talking with some of his friends on the team.

“Brett I need a word with you,” I ask and the teammates look like they want to stay,” You can stay I just need Brett’s attention.”

“Guys its cool. We all know Guy is cool so relax,” Brett calms his teammates down and I smirk.

“I don’t start fights but I’m looking to stop one. Brandon needs to play the next two games,” I get the words out and all of them look at me like I’m deranged.

“After the shit he pulled with you? What did he do,” Brett asks and I see a couple large football players flexing their aggression muscles.

Can we use them to hurt him?

“Nothing actually, well nothing bad. We simply have an accord and I’d like to see the team win out my final year here and that means we need the best people on team. You can’t throw all the time and they’re beginning to catch on when you play,” I’ve been listening in on game talks; football is big here in Texas.

Brett isn’t sure about this but he doesn’t need to be. He did this to bring himself closer to Bethany and he did, now it serves my purpose to have him bring Brandon back in. The team talks about their chances now that they have their star running back and I leave to prepare for more interesting tasks.

School finishes out for the day and I head to my side place. I got myself a little apartment and storage area for three months just for planning and staging of a few things I really want to get done and it’s here that I keep my rental car and my changes of clothing outside of my new suits and sportier wear. I change and head into town in a hoodie and jeans with a baseball cap and sunglasses. I make the rounds checking on a few spots and people watch for now. I see the who and where for the next steps but still I’m waiting on one thing to come my way and everything will be set. I finish my surveillance and return to my side spot to change after a couple hours and the return home. The rest of the family is already there and I get a hug from Mom before heading up to my room to change again, this time into something comfortable and talk with Mom and Rosa before dinner. Family dinners are good and for the first time in weeks everyone isn’t looking at me like I grew a horn out of my forehead. I get to my room and find my phone, my secondary line, has a message on it.

-Hi this is Lupe calling about the paid auditions. I’m interested and was hoping to set up a time soon. Please call me back.

YES!

Patience is rewarded, believe me now?

Just get this shit started I’m aching for some action.

I call back the number and it gets four rings when I barely catch the pick up on the other end.

“Hello,” I hear the familiar female voice ask.

“Is this Lupe,” I ask patiently but pacing.

“This is Lupe, who is this,” she asks back.

“This is Jeff,” it’s a fake name but she doesn’t know that,” I’m going to assume you are calling about the paid audition?”

“Yeah, I’m interested but one question. How much is the audition,” Lupe asks and I smile.

“Just the audition is one hundred dollars,” I post the amount and I can hear her thinking.

“Okay well do we meet at a hotel or something,” Lupe asks and I chuckle a little.

“Hotels are very informal, the company uses an apartment so that you can sit down and relax,” I explain.

“Okay well how soon can we do the interview,” she’s eager and I’m happy to advance things properly.

We set up a meeting time for her ‘audition’ tomorrow at my side place in the late afternoon so that we’ll be able to sit and talk. I finally end the call and begin double checking some of the files I have when I hear someone outside my door and quietly put my papers away.

“Guy, can I come in,” Abby asks poking her head in.

“Sure, come on,” I wave her in with a smile.

“So we haven’t talked in a bit,” she says and I’m a little confused.

“We were talking at dinner,” I counter and she shakes her head.

“No I mean talk, like you let me in a little and I try to help you,” Abby begins and I wonder at her reasoning.

“We weren’t much for talking about my problems before… okay I wasn’t but really aside from another police investigation that is going nowhere I’m pretty good,” I explain sitting on my bed at the head on my pillows.

“But that’s not all of it. Something is wrong,” Abby sits down on the side next to me,” You’re spending time away from school and we don’t know where you are? Then today you talked Brett and the football team into letting Brandon play. I’m just trying to understand what’s going on with you.”

“I’m handling things my way sis and as for Brandon he and I talked, he asked me to talk to Brett and now Brandon owes me,” I say it and she wants to interrupt,” We agreed on the terms and that is the end of his and my problems as far as he’s concerned.”

“And what about as far as you’re concerned,” she asks and I note Abby is in her bed clothes, t-shirt and cotton shorts.

“When I call in my favor and he does it, which he will,” I say it and she’s doubtful,” then it’s over and done with.”

“I know better than that… you’re up to something,” she says it and I raise my eyebrows in surprise,” Mom and Dad and everyone else are happy that you’re just not moping through the house and waiting to run away but I’ve been watching you for years and you are up to something.”

Stop her, I know she’s family but stop her now.

Shhh my friend let me help with this.

“Only thing I’m thinking of right now is the last time we were both wearing pajamas and in my bed. Remember that,” I ask and Abby blushes,” I know you said never again but I wonder sometimes.”

Now Abby is blushing and a little embarrassed as I smile at her before we both laugh. It’s a good distraction but there are times I think about her and Beth and mythical threesome with twins, hey I can dream. Abby leaves me alone to think a little longer before I settle down and sleep before my big day.

School on a Friday is quick as I still only have two real classes that I have to go through and finally I get to coast through the rest of my day save for final period where I’m alone in the library when a visitor comes knocking… in a manner of speaking.

“Hey Guy,” Jenna greets me sitting down in the next cubicle.

“Hello Jenna,” I whisper back without looking, I know it’s her.

“So Brandon is back on the football team playing, he said he spoke with you and you made it work. Any chance I can get some help too,” she asks with a desperate chuckle.

“A couple months ago I would have jumped at the opportunity to help you,” I remind her and she frowns.

“We were close, good friends and I trusted you a lot. I know I took you for granted but you read more into everything than what was actually there,” Jenna argues and I shrug,” I know you haven’t pulled your name out of the scholarship and you know one of the people on the decision committee. You could help me.”

“Took me for granted? In the one month we were ‘just good friends’ I spent a little over fifteen hundred dollars on you. Didn’t add it up? I did afterwards and I found that I was disgusted with myself for doing it,” I state my point with calm annoyance,” Now here you are and you want more.”

“Please, I know I’m asking for a lot but you still have money and can go anywhere you want. I need the scholarship just like Brandon needs these two games so the scouts see him play and he gets picked up by a good college,” Jenna explains her grand plan.

“And I could care about those things but when we were good friends what did you do for me,” I ask the question and she pauses to think hard,” See that’s the problem you just now got to see for the first time. I gave to you because I thought you liked me…”

“I do like you Guy,” she counters but I continue my statement.

“I thought you liked me but you only liked what I could do for you and when I was looking for something in return, something that you could give you hurt me,” I want to continue but she won’t stop interrupting.

“I was trying to be honest with you not hurt you,” Jenna explains and I have to continue again.

“It doesn’t matter if you meant to hurt me or not, you did hurt me and then you told everyone that it was all on me. Did you know people were calling me your dog,” I ask and Jenna looks down a little sad,” So even if we were friends you allowed people to openly mock me and did nothing to stop them. Now you know why I don’t have friends.”

I resume my work as Jenna sits at the computer next to me wondering what to do or say that will help convince me to drop out from the scholarship. I do steal a few looks at her and she’s still insanely attractive despite the simple fact I can’t stand her as a person. School ends and I head to my side spot to set up and put my car in the storage garage and remove the rental, I need to get rid of the rental car soon. I have a camera and all the basics set up so that when Lupe and I talk it’s very professional, I need it professional so that she believes everything I’m putting in front of her. I’m sitting waiting casually with a video camera set up in the what passes for the living room/dining room/kitchen in the small ass apartment when I get a knock at my door. I check the eyehole and see just Lupe waiting for a response and looking worried about her surroundings.

“Hey Lupe,” I greet her after opening the door.

“Jeff,” she asks and I nod,” We met at my job.”

I welcome her in and note she’s in just t-shirt and jeans with sneakers and a big purse on her shoulder. I have her take a seat on the couch while I take the one living room chair. I point out the contract for the audition on the coffee table and the camera on a tripod.

“Read the whole thing first, it’s only two pages then sign and date,” I advise Lupe who looks it over.

“So sign answer questions and follow your requests then I get paid,” she asks and I nod.

She signs it with minimal reading, they never read the contracts and after looking it over and seeing everything is legitimate I put it away for safe keeping. I put the camera on record with it focusing on her and not me as I’m off camera.

“Go ahead and introduce yourself,” I have the camera next to me to keep her from looking between it and myself.

“Hi I’m Lupe,” she says nervously.

“And how old are you,” I ask again and she laughs a little.

“I’m twenty,” I checked her out and it’s real.

We go through all the basic questions of who she is, what she does while leaving out details that would tell people where to find her in the world. I explain that while we’re using her name we’re not giving people her location so they can stalk her, we both laugh a little at that.

“It’s alright my boyfriend would kick their ass, he’s tough,” she says with a laugh.

“So what would he think of you doing this,” I ask and she shrugs.

“Not really doing anything right,” she makes a good argument.

“Very true this is just the basics of a get to know you for the people in charge,” I restate for the record.

More conversation about what she wants to do and why she’s here, she says money which I knew. We only talk for fifteen minutes total when I figure it’s time to get to the potential deal breaker.

“Okay so let’s get a good look at you,” I motion for Lupe to stand,” just down to your underwear, don’t want to give too much away.”

She laughs a little but she’s nervous and it shows as she gets her shirt off but struggles with the jeans. It’s not really struggling it’s more of her being nervous and finally I get a good look at Lupe. She has short almost boyish brown hair and while she works a taco truck she doesn’t have the ‘eat tacos everyday’ physique. Mostly firm b cup breasts and a meaty ass and thick but not fat thighs and all of it covered in a matching green bra and panties set, simple too as in not super fancy.

“Very nice, go ahead and turn around again for me,” I ask and she does a slow turn,” Now bend over just a little.”

I have her go through some basic poses before telling her everything is perfect and have her say goodbye to the camera before shutting it off.

“That was interesting, usually you should be trying to fuck me on the couch,” Lupe says with a laugh.

“Remember this is a business and those girls have signed contracts before the camera for the ‘audition’ was ever turned on. Besides how many girls wouldn’t notice a GoPro on a guy’s head filming them and not realize they were being set up,” I make the joke as she puts on her clothing and laughs.

“So how long do you think it will be before they make me an offer,” she asks it and I smile a little.

“Give it a couple days. I’m sending it to them directly so it’s just as soon as they see it and reach a verdict on whether or not they want to pay for a scene,” I explain and she is interested,” That scene has a separate contract to protect you and them and you’ll be doing the scene with someone else under contract that we’ve verified is clean and legal.”

“So will it be you I do the scene with,” she asks and I shake my head,” Okay well anything else.”

I smile and pull out five twenty dollar bills and hand them to her which quickly get folded and placed into her purse. I show her out and she gives me a light wave and smile before returning to her car and leaving. I grab the recording and put everything away then change into home clothes and retrieve my car and head back to the house. Everyone is about to sit down and eat when I walk in and I get a chance to change for the fourth or fifth time today, not sure which, before joining them for dinner. Mom and Mr. Delauter are taking a couple days away from home this weekend and I smile at that, they need time away from the stress we bring and it’s good to have some peace and quiet. Abby asks mom about having a friend over and she agrees as the parents will be leaving shortly after dinner to catch their flight, Mark is driving them. I am heading back to my room after eating and saying my goodbyes when Bethany pulls me aside for a moment.

“Hey, are we really okay,” she asks and I can tell something is bothering her.

“Yeah, we’re good. Hell we’re a shit ton better than we were,” I add with a smile.

“Okay because Brett thinks you lost your mind letting Brandon back on the team but I told him you had it handled,” she explains her day’s conversation and I smirk.

“And how do you know I have it handled,” I ask and now she smirks.

“Because you’re not the only one who has plans that they don’t want everyone to know about. Don’t worry though, if we’re good then I’m not worried,” Beth ends our conversation on a good note.

I return to my room and settle in for some review of the recording from earlier, everything came out nice except for the sound which needed a few touch ups. I get my editing done and while Lupe is a little more than moderately attractive I will have a more difficult time putting two and two together. Brandon’s first game back is tomorrow night and while I could go to the game I am going to stay in and relax as much as possible before I make the call on Sunday.

So Friday night to Saturday midday I’m in my room playing video games or double checking the information I have on people I’m working towards. It doesn’t sound like much but I’m still in the beginning. I talk with Rosa during lunch when I hear Abby and her guest come in and while I like people I’m not sure about all people.

“Is that Abby’s friend Marta I hear,” I ask Rosa who nods,” Yay for me, I’ll be in my room till dinner.”

I head upstairs and make it up just a bit behind Marta and Abby who both notice me pass without a word as I head to my room. Okay I don’t hate Marta first off; she’s really not a bad person. I just know that there is going to come a point where she will hate me. I know this because my family hates her brother for what he has and hasn’t done so ergo she’ll eventually hate me. Afternoon comes and goes quietly for me as I’m spinning my wheels and killing time till I make my phone call midday Sunday. I get messages from Bethany who is at the game and apparently Brandon is killing it out on the field and nobody can seem to stop him. I smile as she gives me the score and realize I have a quarter of step one in place. I eat dinner at the counter and I’m about halfway done when Marta and Abby come down to eat. I finish my food and return to my room to relax with a movie and some gaming. I’m through with the movie and onto games solo and stop for a break to see Rosa off for the evening. I gave her all of Sunday off and figure she could do with more days off even though she likes working for the family. I don’t even make it back to my room as Marta is quietly slipping out of Abby’s room and once the door is closed I’m standing there.

“Jesus… Guy what are you doing,” Marta asks in a surprised whisper.

“Giving Rosa tomorrow off and heading back to my room after walking her out, better question is what are you doing sneaking out of Abby’s room,” I think it bears weight my question.

“She’s asleep and I’m bored,” Marta answers and I shrug.

I move past her and down the hall to my room when I realize she’s following me. I turn and give her a disapproving look.

“The TV room is downstairs,” I point out and Marta nods.

I turn back and continue towards my room but stop after a few more steps because Marta is following me still.

“Marta,” I ask and she perks up as I turn to look at her,” Why are you following me?”

“Because I’m lonely and bored,” she responds sounding a little sad.

“This is why you have internet on your phone and access to the TV room downstairs,” I explain and turn to get back into my room.

“Can we hang out,” she asks as we reach my door.

“No,” I open and enter to find she’s in the doorway attempting what I can only call ‘sad puppy face’.

“Please? I just want to hang out and talk,” Marta says it but something is wrong with this.

“Nobody ever just wants to hang out and talk,” I counter and she smiles a little.

“Okay I also want to play on that huge TV you got in here,” she adds peeking past me into the room,” That thing is bigger than the one downstairs.”

“I haven’t measured them against each other and what part of no are you not getting from the no I don’t want you in my room and no I don’t want to hang out,” I ask
Marta who is a little shocked at my rudeness.

Take that girly. We don’t need your kind here.

Oh Christ what kind is that? The soft, curvy female kind?

The sibling of our enemy’s kind.

Oh, okay I thought you were getting queer on me.

Shut… up…

“What did I do? I know my brother is a jerk for letting asshole Hector and his buddies kick your ass for years but honestly what did I do,” Marta asks and I shrug.

“Nothing but I’m not interested in company,” I state my position and find she’s still there in the door way waiting,” I’m gaming so please don’t get all weird when there’s blood or scary shit.”

And now I have a happy female who throws herself onto my bed to sit down while I play a horror game. Basically it’s game where you solve puzzles and shit randomly jumps out to scare you every once in a while. I only get fifteen minutes in and look to the side to see Marta hugging my pillow watching the screen.

“Don’t like scary things,” I ask and she lightly nods.

“How do you like them,” she asks quietly and I think.

“Ever go into the bathroom and turn on the light to see yourself in the mirror,” I ask and she nods a little,” Next time you go to the bathroom don’t turn on the light and when you get in front of the mirror start at your reflection.”

“That sounds creepy as hell,” Marta replies a little shocked.

“It’s just your reflection in the dark, you can’t see it but it can always see you. It’s always there waiting and the one thing it wants more than anything else,” I am building her up and smirk to myself,” Is for you to leave the light off.”

“Why the hell would I leave the light off,” Marta is more than a little creeped out.

“Because then you see it for who it really is,” I turn my head and smile at Marta before resuming my game.

You are seriously dark, you do understand that right?

Don’t look at me on this one.

Oh we are so bad.

I keep playing and the whole time I can see Marta watching the screen in anticipation of the next big jump scare. We get to a part where you can hear the game doing that slow build to something jumping onto screen out of nowhere and making you nearly piss your pants and Marta is hiding her eyes listening in when I realize I need to hit the button to start the sequence and I stop the game where it is. Quiet for a few seconds and then Marta realizes nothing is happening and looks up as go to change the game out.

“Why change the game,” she asks confused.

“You weren’t interested,” I reply and she makes that shocked noise girls are known for,” You had your eyes closed for three minutes last time and I figured I should play something else.”

“No you play that I’ll watch from here,” Marta informs me and now I’m stuck.

Not in the metaphoric way, I sit back down on the wide cushioned chair and Marta sits down partially on my lap. I say partially because she’s got her ass on my leg as I’m going to attempt to play. I’m playing a bit and Marta is just sitting on my leg and not quite leaning back on me while clutching a pillow. I keep playing but I’m getting distracted by the Mexican girl on long cotton shorts and a t shirt moving around every time something jumps out at her. I shift a little to get more comfortable but as quickly as I do Marta moves again to make her more comfortable on my lap. Maybe three times she jumped a little and ended up completely in my lap and pushing my hands and arms to one side. Fourth time I drop the controller on my leg and then the floor. Marta sees it and immediately leans forward to pick up the controller, I respond to her bending over in my lap by gripping her waist with my hands and pulling her ass hard in to my lap. She freezes where she is and I’m pretty sure thoughts of her boyfriend are running through her head right about now but I don’t give a shit. Marta slowly sits up and I move my hands around to her front putting one up her body and squeezing her breast in one hand while moving the other down and cupping her mound through her shorts. I don’t know if she’s pulling away from my lap or pushing her hips against my hand but slowly she grinds against me on two fronts and now I’m getting hard where I was earlier annoyed. I pull my hand off her mound to slide it down Marta’s shorts and feel some hair and soft folds at my fingertips, it takes almost no time to put my finger on her clit and immediately she moans a little in surprise. I rub her clit slowly and she continues grinding against my hand and groin in a circle. I press and play with Marta and feel her getting wet on my fingers as she leans her head back moaning or breathing hard, I can’t tell which. My cock is rubbing her ass and I’m hard enough to fuck Marta through our shorts and underwear but I’m not an animal… well not right now at least.

“Get on my bed,” I order Marta pulling my hands out of her clothes and allowing her to stand up.

I watch her move the short distance to my bed and crawl up to the middle as I get out of my chair and move to my nightstand and grab some of the protection left by Mark. Marta is stripping out of her clothing and I am doing the same before pulling on the condom and crawling on to my bed. Marta lays back and spreads for me but that’s not what I’m into right now as I take her leg in hand and roll her over onto her stomach with me on my knees behind her. Marta raises her ass off the bed and back a little towards me so I can line up my cock with her slit and once I find the opening press all eight inches deep inside Marta’s tight pussy. Face down and ass up Marta takes me inside her and I hear her groan a little as she is tighter than I’ve had recently but with ample padding on her ass as I pull back and slam back inside as Marta grips my bed spread and whimpers a little. I take long hard thrusts into her letting her feel every inch of me pounding my way down and deep inside. Every thrust has its own reaction, some she whimpers, once in a while she bites down on the blanket, and every so often she makes a noise like the wind was knocked out of her but in a good way. I push her ass down to the bed laying her flat on her stomach and continue to grind my cock inside her. I have my hands keeping my body off the bed next to her ribs and I lean off one hand to get a handful of her black hair and pull back gently but firm. Marta’s mouth lets go of my bed sheet and I hear her grunt hard as I continue to push hard and deep into her. It’s been a while for me and even with minimal foreplay I can feel my orgasm coming fast and slow down to stave it off but Marta is pushing back into me a little and that doesn’t help my plans to not cum quickly. I slap her ass letting go of her hair and she yelps a little but pushes back all the same and I feel that little brain trigger and start pounding hard and deep into Marta who grunts taking my length. I cum hard, no other way to put it and the condom has to do its job of holding my seed in but I’m still feeling the head rush as Marta pushes up and back a little and moans long and deep before fully resting on my bed. I take a moment to back off and out of Marta, staggering a little off my bed and cleaning up pulling the condom off and trashing it. I crawl back into my bed and pull the blankets up around me as I feel Marta shifting around before finding a spot and curling into bed next to me.

I don’t remember falling asleep, I don’t think anyone can honestly but waking up is something we all should remember as I’m laying on my back with a female curled up resting her head on my chest. It’s Marta and I replay our night together and realize I wasn’t the softest of lovers and that makes me feel a little bad, I mean she’s not a bad person towards me that I know of and if she was why come into my room to hang out. She wanted to have sex or at least talk to me right? My questions are not going to get answered right this second as I move a little and she stirs before opening her eyes and looking at me body then up at me before smiling.

“So how was that last night,” she asks and I shrug,” well I think you need a second opinion.”

I want to ask who we are getting this opinion from but Marta isn’t in a question and answer mood as she slides down my body taking the blankets with her exposing us. I have morning wood, it’s something I get regularly so deal with it, but Marta sees it and begins stroking me with her hand slowly and then leaning her head down and taking me in her mouth. It’s soft and warm and feels a lot more intense than when I had a condom on last night but Marta isn’t taking all of me, just a couple inches before pulling off and crawling up my body while straddling me. It takes a little maneuvering but she has me in hand and guides me towards her entrance for the second time in less than a day and slides down burying me in her. She’s still got a grip on me like she did last night but now I can feel everything as she works half of me in and out of her. I watch as Marta leans back and I see her large c cup breasts bounce a little as she rides me softly, I cup one with my hand and Marta responds by taking my other hand and placing it on the free breast. Her nipples are large and a little hard between my fingers but soft and I am distracted from my review of great breasts by Marta sinking me into her again and leaning forward. She gently moves my hands down to her hips and then forces herself down onto me hard and fast. Slow up and fast down is the pace she’s setting and it feels just as good as what I was doing last night… fuck it it’s better without a condom. I wrap my hand up her back and push up to meet her a little bit at a time. It doesn’t take long for us to find our rhythm and we’re pushing and grinding against each other and I’m losing all control as I hear Marta groan in excitement. I don’t know what my face was doing when Marta takes it in her hands and proceeds to declare my tongue hostage in her mouth. I move my hand to the back of her head and retaliate by pulling her hair back a little and slamming my hips into hers hard. We’re bucking and grunting hard for either two minutes or twenty, not sure which and don’t care when Marta breaks our kiss and begins shaking a little as her body clamps down on me in orgasm. My own orgasm arrives about half a second into figuring out she’s cumming and we grip everything and each other riding out the sensation before Marta collapses on top of me. Sweaty, breathing heavy and a little sore in multiple areas but satisfied. This is a great start to the day.

He was better last night.

Excuse me oh wrathful one but this was better and he knows it.

Last night he took her. It’s plain to see he’s more onto my thinking than yours.

Except he enjoyed this more but I think you like the idea of sex as a bit of revenge.

Nope, takes too long.

Only if you do it right and that was very right.

Still need to hurt someone, I’ve been denied for too long.

And it will happen, we both know the timetable.

Yeah but you’re getting your bouts of lust. I’m getting nothing.

Except giving a good fucking to her last night in spite of her attachments.

Fair enough but I want blood.

“That was amazing. Tip about some of us catholic girls, we hate condoms. It ruins everything,” Marta informs me rolling onto her back and off of me.

“I’ll try to remember that. So think your boyfriend will be pissed about this,” I ask intrigued at the betrayal.

“Boyfriend? No that position is vacant currently,” she says and I give her a look,” I broke up with him a little bit ago.”

“Like hours or days,” I ask and she giggles, it’s kind of cute.

“About a week or so, right around the time you decided to have my brother kill you before you destroyed everything he holds dear,” Marta repeats my words back to me and I flinch a little,” Did you really want him to kill you?”

Be very careful, she is living with the enemy.

And now we declare victory.

“Yes it would have been simpler for me,” I answer and Marta gives me a confused look,” Your brother and his friends stripped me of everything for years and got away with it. I’m owed some measure of revenge or at least reclamation of my character and since all they want is for me to forget it and move on I’m going to have to take it from them.”

“You’re talking about making them respect you,” Marta asks and I nod, it’s a lie but I nod,” Well just as long as you don’t do it at my house.”

“And why not,” I counter question.

“Because my parents live there too and they don’t need you screaming at them. Oh and you owe my mother an apology,” Marta answers and declares with certainty.

I owe someone an apology? Fair point but not yet, not in the next couple weeks either because things are finally at a point where I can take action. Marta and I clean up and dress before she sneaks out of my room and back to Abigail who is mercifully sleeping. I get almost halfway down the stairs as Marta follows me and we have cereal for breakfast. We don’t talk about anything important and I don’t ask about anything that I would guess is important to her as we wait for the others to wake up. Abby is first but she always was a heavy sleeper and when she sees the two of us talking she goes into her suspicious mode and asks all sorts of questions, best part is not one of them involve either of us sharing a bed or having sex so no awkwardness or lying first thing in the morning. Abby and Marta spend the rest of their Sunday together hanging out and talking while I end up tending to Beth who decided that drinking was a good idea last night and now feels like her head weighs about as much as her truck. I’m flushing her system with water and putting food in her to help absorb or remove excess alcohol from her system; I used to do it for Mom. About two in the afternoon when Abby leaves to take Marta home Beth, who now is mostly human again gives me a soft look.

“I’m sorry I was such a bitch,” she says resting her chin in her hands.

“In the past,” I keep it simple before adding,” And I accept your assessment of my treatment at your hands and your heartfelt condolences.”

“What? What the hell does that mean,” Beth asks confused.

“It means I accept your apology. Besides I have enough people out there who hate me, I don’t need fights here with my family,” I explain and she perks up.

“Who hates you,” Beth asks now interested.

“Well there is Carlos and his people, Brandon and his boys on the football team, Coach Hayes and Principal Copeland. Just a few,” I count them off and she shakes her head.

“So what are you going to do about them,” She asks and I look at her serious.

Open the gates. Just a little bit.

I turn and smile at Beth and something in my face says exactly what I’m capable of and for a moment I see fear on my step sister’s face. I nod to her and keep smiling and finally she realizes this isn’t directed at her and she smiles back. I head back to my room, I have appointments to make.

Jenna: Wednesday the following week

Here we are going into the last few months of the year and Brandon isn’t doing shit to help me with Guy and the scholarship. He knows that I need this for our life plan to work out but all he is going on about is scouts this and colleges that. I know he’s been talking to Guy but when I ask him about the scholarship he remembers that he was supposed to talk to Guy about it. Things used to be simple and now just because I wasn’t interested in Guy everything I’ve worked for is screwed up. Make things worse now Guy is the talk of the school and everyone is looking at me like I did something wrong, I was honest with him and he knew I was waiting for Brandon. I mean Brandon and I are meant to be; it’s just how it is. Now people who thought it was cute with him following me around and spending money on me are giving me attitude because I was his friend. I’d still like to be his friend but he’s clingy and that is a turn off.

Looking at it or more like at him during lunch I have to realize that Beth and her cheer squad were right, Guy is a golden goose. Brandon is a thorough bred stallion but Guy will be set in whatever he wants to do and right now that is singing. Worst part is he has an amazing voice and I know that my dance needs a little more tuning where as my modeling portfolio is my winner. I have a shoot set up for this afternoon then I’m getting with Brandon for some actual couple time, usually we get three days a week to just be together but he’s been busy with the championship games and scouts. Come to think of it he’s been really good to me not getting upset when I have to take longer or break a date or can’t spend time with him. I have a meeting with Mr. Akagi and Mrs. Lawson about my position and scholarship. Beth got Guy an audition well I am hoping a meeting with two of the deciding voters will put me back where I was. No offense to him but Guy came in this almost too late. Small problem with all of this is yet again I have to put Brandon on hold, why didn’t he just convince Guy to help me out? School ends and I catch up with my boyfriend who is happy to see me.

“Hey babe,” my sexy future pro football player greets me and I smile before giving him a good kiss.

“Hey honey, so you remember I have a photo shoot tonight right,” I ask and Brandon nods,” Well I got that meeting with the scholarship board right afterwards but that’s going to be really late. Mind if we set a date this weekend?”

“Game Friday night and then a party on Saturday if we win and you want to go on date when we should be there together anyway,” Brandon seems annoyed with me trying to get us together.

“Well we go to the party when you guys win then ‘we’ go have a party of our own,” I offer, he can’t refuse this deal.

“Well that’s a much better idea, I got some stuff I can do today anyway Jen. Go get your scholarship and I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” Brandon gives me a kiss and heads off to meet with some teammates for practice.

And off to the photo shoot I go only to find that Renald, my main photographer, has lost his mind by having me get into full make up and look like some sort of monster.

“Jenna we have beauty shots, we have glamour shots but we need depth. There needs to be that dark mysterious side,” Renald informs me as I am sitting in the chair getting my face painted.

Full contacts sting like a bitch and my body is covered in some glow in the dark paints so that when there is different lighting I have symbols or whatever. Whole setup takes three hours, then two to shoot and I realize that I’m going to miss my meeting with Mr. Akagi and Mrs. Lawson. I am barely able to make a call to Mrs. Lawson but only get her voicemail. I continue to be stuck in full makeup for another thirty minutes and it is after eight when I finally get out of all the makeup and almost make it out of the studio when I nearly run into Mr. Akagi and Mrs. Lawson both of them standing outside the studio talking with Guy. Brave face and smile girl.

“Ms. Christianson we’re glad you were able to get out of your shoot so quickly,” Mr. Akagi greets me and big smile time.

“I left a message with Mrs. Lawson about my delay,” I try to speak and Guy interrupts.

“Mrs. Lawson got your message and since you weren’t able to meet with her she contacted me. I told her that we were acquainted and offered to help her find you so that you three could have your meeting,” Guy explains why he’s there with a smile and a different suit from what he had at school today.

“Well maybe we can find a coffee shop or something where we can sit down and talk,” I offer hoping for some mercy.

“Actually Guy invited us to dinner and we’ve been waiting on you to get done, we had almost given up hope my dear,” Mrs. Lawson informs me of their plans and now I’m stuck,” Leave your car here, Mr. Akagi and I will drive and you can ride with Guy.”

And now I have to convince Mrs. Lawson and Mr. Akagi of my position while Guy sits there and probably ruins it for me. Guy says a few words to Mrs. Lawson who nods and I watch the officials leave as Guy opens the door to his very sexy car to me, when the hell did he get this? I feel like I’m inside a demon as Guy fires up an engine that sounds angry and drives us away from the studio. It takes less than ten minutes but Guy has me at my house and now I see how he’s screwing me when he flips the script.

“Go get something on we have less than twenty to be at the BL Bistro and you need something nice,” Guy informs me as he parks in my parent’s driveway.

Set a record for picking out the perfect clothes, check. Set record for classy and tasteful makeup, check. Get out of there before Daddy sees Guy’s car and proceeds to keep us up a couple minutes before Guy shakes his hand, which never happens for anyone even Brandon, and off to the restaurant we go. I kept it simple with a nice tight red blouse and black skirt while Guy is wearing a black suit with a flashy blue shirt and black tie. It’s a quiet ride and we’re parked and in the restaurant with some time to spare. I learn that the reservation was in Guy’s name, not Mrs. Lawson’s or Mr. Akagi’s, both of whom are sitting with drinks at the bar. Our waiter seats us and leaves to get the rest of our party and now I realize what it is about Guy that is so different, he’s confident. He wasn’t very confident before but now he’s so sure of himself it’s astonishing. Mr. Akagi and Mrs. Lawson are seated and orders are places for appetizers and entrees, I’m informed that my bill will be taken care of by someone else. Again I’m left out of the loop. First plates come and go, just the appetizers and I figure while we wait I’ll start my pitch.

“How goes the decision making for the scholarship,” I ask Mr. Akagi who is sipping his wine.

“Not really a decision to be made. We have several good contenders but there are a couple stand out candidates that have made grand impressions on us,” he is avoiding answering.

“How do you feel your chances are,” Guy asks me and I want scream at him.

“I’ve been in the front of the pack for a while now, so hopefully good,” I answer him and Guy smiles.

“Well your modeling portfolio is strong,” Guy pulls a small tablet out of his jacket and shows Mr. Akagi who then shows Mrs. Lawson,” I mean stepping away from the beauty and glamour for something raw and almost primal is very… what was the word you were using to describe the type of people you wanted to give this scholarship to?”

“The word I was using was earlier Mr. Donnelly was bold,” Mrs. Lawson helps him and now they’ve been talking at length about the scholarship,” I mean taking stage in front of so many of your peers was bold, it was daring and too many applicants are routine. Ms. Christianson’s current photos are a bold look and really show more energy than some of her previous work.”

I see the pictures on the tablet, they’re from today. How the fuck did Guy get today’s pictures? Only way he could get them is if…. he paid Renald for services before and his name is on the contacts list. I had to put it there when Guy covered an expense on the session and now he’s got access to my work. I’m smiling as they’re complimenting my photos but excuse myself to the bathroom to catch my breath. Guy is sitting there pushing my work and making himself the host to what was supposed to be my meeting to get my spot back. Wait why is he pushing my work when he’s competing for it? Is he trying to win me over by helping me? Check makeup and back to the table, it’s time to eat I think.

Food was good and conversation was light on scholarship and heavy on politics, art, and music. I almost want to bring things around to the scholarship but everyone is enjoying the mood so much I can’t do it and not sound like nag. Dinner ends and I’m left with Mrs. Lawson outside while Guy and Mr. Akagi take care of the check.

“So you are worried about your place in the scholarship,” Mrs. Lawson asks and I’m too shocked to do anything but nod,” I used to be you. Didn’t have anything great but my looks and I built everything I have now on those and my desire to succeed.”

“You were a model,” I ask and she nods,” How did you get your break?”

“I didn’t want a break, I wanted a life. I modeled enough to be noticed by the right man and then I married him and had a child, and I’ll tell you something no modeling agency will,” Mrs. Lawson says leaning forward,” The husband and child were worth more than a magazine cover.”

“But wasn’t your husband rich,” I ask and she laughs.

“Oh he was rich and successful but I wasn’t a trophy, I was a lioness and he was my lion,” she explains as Guy and Mr. Akagi join us.

We part ways and I’m back in a car with Guy riding towards my home when I realize my car is at the studio.

“Don’t worry, I spoke with your father and he’s already picked it up for you,” Guy informs me before I can even mention it.

“Why did you invite yourself to my meeting,” I ask and he almost smiles.

“Your meeting was at five, you were late. I optioned to turn your meeting into a dinner meeting and Mr. Akagi loves the food at that restaurant. All I had to do was offer to pay and you got your meeting,” Guy explains but that doesn’t help my question.

“But you were there and you brought my work up, work I did today, to them,” I ask and he is still smiling.

“You gave me access to your work and I used it to help make your points for you at ‘your’ meeting,” Guy justifies his position but I’m still not getting why he did it.

“Why help me, after everything everyone has said I did to you and how hurt you were why help me,” I ask and he smiles.

“You think this was all about helping you? Understand that if I was going to help you there would be something in it for me and it would be something worth my time and effort. You were a conversation piece, a point of moderate interest at dinner,” Guy is harsh and more than a little mean.

“I’m sorry about the winter formal, I didn’t want to hurt you and we were really hoping you’d join us. I still think of you as a friend,” I say it and he doesn’t look affected,” Maybe the three of us can sit down sometime and work things out like Brandon and you did?”

“Brandon made a deal and that’s all. I don’t like him, I don’t care for him and I certainly don’t care what happens to him after our deal is concluded. You I thought cared about me, I was wrong. I thought you were someone to save me, I was horribly wrong on that topic,” Guy explains as we pull up to my parent’s house.

“Let’s get together then, just you and me. We’ll talk and try to put our friendship back together,” I offer and Guy almost laughs.

“Why, I have nothing to gain from it,” Guy replies before smiling,” Besides, I already paid for another dinner and I’m going home alone, you got what you wanted.”

I’m half way up to the house when I realize he, Guy, probably doesn’t like me. It hurts because I like him; he was always nice and said good things when people were mean. Weirdest part is when I’d be broken up he’d tell me something really nice and I’d ask him why he thought that and he’d just smile and say ‘I don’t think it, I see it and it’s real’. He saw good things in me once and I have to screw him over to get my dreams. The world sucks sometimes. New plan, how do I make up for taking the scholarship from him? I mean something nice, not just come with me and Brandon somewhere.

Romeo: Saturday at the football game victory party

Well here I am trying to hang out with my boys, they are my boys now and I am missing Marta. She knew I wanted this, she knew I could make it work but as soon as I got it she couldn’t be happy for me. I don’t get what is so bad about me actually being part of the crew. I got to work with Hector a little more and he’s shown me a couple things, I can’t fight great yet but when you’re beating down a crack dealer there doesn’t need to be a lot of skill. What Carlos wants from me in those times is a steady hand. Beat the man out of the area but don’t hurt him too much. Too much damage causes too much attention and it makes perfect sense. I suspect there are a time where people don’t listen and things get more violent but that’s not where I’m at yet. I still wonder what I can do to get Marta to see that me being a part of her brother’s group isn’t a bad thing. Only real problem we have seems to be Guy, seriously he’s lost his mind. I watched Hector and the boys… and some of the girls beat up Guy and tried to talk to the crew before I was in it about leaving him alone but they didn’t listen. Only reason I didn’t get beat up is Carlos but Guy took beatings almost weekly for a while and the worst was what happened at Homecoming. Everyone knew Hector was pissed because his girl couldn’t make it and instead of trying to relax he figured he’d find Guy and beat him up. Everyone saw Guy after he pulled himself out of the dumpster and everyone laughed, even me and I feel bad about it. Now Guy is walking around and has more women watching him than anyone could imagine. If I said he’d be like this six months ago people would have laughed. Now only time anyone laughs around him is when he’s already laughing.

Back to my boys and the females in the crew, some are out dancing near a bonfire, some are sneaking adult drinks when nobody is paying attention, but most are chilling out and enjoying the generally happy mood as my school’s football team celebrates their victory. I keep my eyes open as Carlos is rarely allowed to relax, got to keep my crew mates safe. My phone going off is unusual since the only person I’d be expecting any communication from broke up with me two weeks back. My phone is loading a video message but the video isn’t from any number I know which is odd in today’s technological world. I look and see a few other people in the crew looking at their phones and I thank god my volume on my phone is turned down as immediately the video loads and there are two people having sex on my screen. Immediately everyone whose phone loaded the video is laughing and it looks like a black guy screwing a girl, not sure the ethnicity till she speaks a little Spanish at him. The camera zooms in as he pulls her legs over his shoulders and we can see both their faces, all the laughter from the crew stops and now we have a problem. Guadalupe, Hector’s older girlfriend, is fucking Brandon from the school football team on camera and encouraging the shit out of him. I move as quickly as I can to Carlos while stopping the video.

“We need to get Hector now,” I warn him and he gives me a questioning look.

We both turn to where Hector was by his car except he is up and moving towards Brandon. We try to cut him off, stop him or anything but we’re too far behind when he hits the school’s star running back with a solid right to the head. And that is how it started, one punch turned into an all out football versus Carlos’s crew. Enough punches were thrown that nobody got out unscathed and while Carlos is trying to rein in Hector there is another fight breaking out between Brandon’s girlfriend Jenna and some very ghetto black girl who looks two sizes too big for the tight skirt and halter top she’s wearing. I move in since there isn’t anything to do now and listen.

“How could you cheat on me, how could you sleep with this…. Whatever she is,” Jenna is yelling at Brandon and the ghetto girl is obviously offended.

“Baby let me just explain,” Brandon is trying to talk his way out of it but it’s not looking good.

“I got this honey,” the ghetto black girl says stepping in Brandon and Jenna’s path,” See I know how to please a man. When you kept turning him down and putting him on hold I picked up that call and he rode me hard and put me away wet every single time.”

“You fucking bitch,” Jenna says that much before she is dropped onto her very nice ass.

“I’m THAT bitch, remember that,” ghetto girl states before turning around and walking away.

Brandon is a little worse for wear and now his girlfriend the super model is slapping his hands away when he tries to help her up. I don’t pay attention to their fight turning my attention back to Hector who has Carlos telling him no on the subject of round two with the football team. What little adult supervision we have is the football coaches and they don’t want to see anyone caught up two weeks before a state championship; we are in line for it now, so everyone is informed to quietly disperse and not
speak about what happened. We get back to Carlos’s parent’s house and I’m pulled aside by Carlos to be questioned.

“Who the fuck sent this,” Carlos asks video in hand on Hector’s phone.

“I don’t know, I need to get home and on my computer to find out but they know what they’re doing,” I explain pointing out details,” They zoomed here so you could see both faces, they used a camera so that would make mistaken identity an impossibility and they recorded audio. Someone did this for a reason.”

“Get me something fast, I’ve got people getting Hector drunk so he can’t stand up,” Carlos informs me before getting serious,” Till he’s back on his feet you take point on this. I need shit locked down with him and anyone getting to our people got it?”

I nod and while I’m happy I’m scared shitless at the same time. I’m in charge of something for the sake of the whole crew? Better work fast or next time they decide to fuck with someone in the crew we’re not going to be able to calm shit down if this is their first shot.

Guy: Same time as the party was in full swing

Two minutes and thirty eight seconds ago I sent the video package off to everyone in Carlos’s crew and parked my rental car just around the corner of my main destination. Hector keeps checking into the same little storage spot every couple of days but nothing goes in and nothing comes out which means they’re sitting on something big and I want it, or at least don’t want them to have it and I don’t care which. Looks like one of Carlos’s boys outside and I tool up for the task. I’m dressed in blue jeans, a white button up shirt, sunglasses and a black rag on my head covering my hair. Just like most of Carlos’s crew. I walk up and he sees me and nods not recognizing me as I keep my head down and he’s more interested in the video on his phone.

“Hey you see this video someone sent, that looks like Hector’s girl,” he’s talking in Spanish but I only make out Hector.

“Enlightening video,” I ask and he nods still not paying attention.

I’ve seen videos of what a real cattle prod do to a person but watching one of Carlos’s cholo boys dance from the electrical arc coursing through his system is worth every dollar I spent on the tool. He shakes and goes down which has me stop shocking him and as he sits on his ass in the side alley trying to regain his composure I slam my brass knuckled fist into his temple and put him out. I check the door, it’s locked and after checking the idiot outside realize there are more inside the building. I estimated two to three people at most so hopefully they’re as dumb as the unconscious idiot next to me. I do a quick bit of planning and knock on the door to the building and wait. There’s no eye slit to see who is outside, I thought there would be but that’s in the movies and shit, people don’t have those in the real world. I pound on the door again and hear someone talking on the other side. I wait and when the door opens a couple inches shock the metal door with the cattle prod. The Mexican ganger asshole on the other side jumps back holding his hand and is in obvious pain as I feel my blood pumping through my veins and my heart pound in my ears. I pull the door open and drop the prod pulling on the second set of knuckles and after a text book, it’s where I learned it, body-body-head combo ganger number two is down. I hear someone coming fast and rush to meet them colliding with a female in Carlos’s colors and brandishing a pistol. She tries to raise it but something I learned about myself recently is that when my blood is pumping I’m fast, not super human but my reactions are quick so to me she’s moving like she’s in water and punch the top of her wrist hard and watch the gun clatter to the floor. She grabs her wrist in pain as I follow up my attack with a straight punch to her forehead and that rattles her brain enough to put her down. Yes I just beat up a female but in my defense she had a gun and she was in my way and fuck you. I get the door open again and drag ganger idiot number one inside. A couple industrial grade black zip ties to lock everyone’s hands and feet together in a circle around single post and now we go exploring. No paperwork, nothing here but wooden crates without labeling, don’t they have to put weights on them and stuff?

I can hear the three stooges or two stooges and a stoogette coming to their senses and return to them pulling their rags over their eyes. I almost forgot that part; don’t want everyone knowing it was me just yet. They are asking questions and I respond by taking a nearby piece of metal and scraping the end on the ground as I walk around them. The first guy is threatening me in Spanish, the girl is quiet and the second ganger is crying. It’s at moments like this I laugh and I do so in a fashion that I’ve never felt before. This laugh comes up and out from the depths of my soul and I must sound scary as nobody is making noise now.

Put some more fear in them, take a crowbar to a knee or slap the girl around.

Easy, you need to remember control. He needs to control the situation right now.

He is in control so how about letting it get a little out of control.

You know what is coming; just remember everything he did was perfect. She even had a gun and he stopped that cold.

I know, it warms my heart.

Metaphorically warms your heart.

What?

You don’t have one, neither do I but that’s a moot point.

I see a crowbar resting on a box I passed, wonder why I didn’t see it sooner? I take that in hand and pull out a crate you could hide a car engine in and after some work because opening these things is a pain in the ass. I get the top open and off and now I’m in the shit, not literally but this is some hilarious shit. Carlos has weapons, military rifles in a box and now I’m celebrating Christmas all over again. Rifles, grenades, I saw a box that had RPG and realized it’s going to be a good day. I step out of the warehouse and jog to my rental and bring it back to the rolling gate of the warehouse. Once my rental car is inside it’s time to load up. I load the trunk and backseat of my rental car with rifles, some of those sub machine guns they use in all the drive bys you see, a small box of grenades that have W.P. written on it, magazine fed pistols and a couple shotguns along with ammunition. A lot of ammunition, enough to wage war on Mexico. Lastly I go for the happiest box I found, I don’t know how much use they’ll be but some of us play first person shooters and they are hilarious in those so let’s try the real world. Okay maybe a small village in Mexico but still it’s a lot. My captives are listening in and talking among themselves in Spanish when the female decides to speak English at me.

“You fucked up man, robbing us is going to be the last thing you regret,” she says and I smile before moving over to where they are secured together.

“Why’s that,” I ask in a mocking childlike voice.

“Because we’re gonna find you and we’re gonna fuck your world up,” she says and I laugh again,” Keep laughing puta, you gonna die screaming when our boss finds you.”

“You know you’re absolutely right, which means I have two options. One… I can just give all these wonderful toys back and leave quietly,” I keep my voice different and higher pitched,” Or I can just go to this box of… Incendiary grenades I think they are called? Yes I can take a few of those and just burn the whole place down.”

I think they’re praying because I hear a lot of ‘Jesus’ coming out of their mouths in Spanish and figure we need to play for keeps today. Since I have them zip tied together in a circle by their hands and feet I have three wonderful place holders for three presents. I take a grenade from the box then grab two more and decide to tell everyone the rules.

“So we’re gonna play a game. The game is live long enough to tell the tale. I have three of those wonderful incendiary grenades… oops,” I am joking as I drop one next to them and they jump,” sorry I’m just having too much fun right now and I’m all thumbs. Back to the game.”

I put a grenade in between the shared hands of each of them so everyone is holding two grenades with each other in a trio of fire and then I pull out the pins. Each pin pulled is a small jump and I laugh as they suffer, I like their suffering.

“So here’s the game, all you have to do is hold on as if your life depended on it but remember if someone else loses their grip and that clasp comes free,” I pause then lean in and in a guttural deep voice,” You’ll burn for eternity and take your friends with you.”

I can taste their fear and I find it to be intoxicating. My rental car is full of enough weapons and ammo to start a war and I smile, I have munitions so where does someone steal an army? I whistles as I finish making sure everything is secured in my car, he’s a jolly good fellow is a catchy tune, and when I’m all packed up I can see the three dumb ass gangers are still holding on for dear life. I don’t leave them with any parting words of wisdom, they aren’t ones for high culture or humor and they have bigger things to worry about as I open the rolling door and after pulling my rental out of the storage area close and lock the gate behind me. I keep things legal and by the limits as I head to my alternate storage unit, I have two, one for the rental which has to go back soon and one for emergencies which this is definitely one of those but it’s a happy kind. I get the rental unloaded and return it to its own storage before changing in the apartment that I used for filming Lupe and Brandon. Back in my normal clothes I sit and think about everything I did tonight. Broke up two relationships probably, set two groups of people I mostly despise against each other, physically beat the shit out of two males and a female before psychologically torturing them and leaving them to potentially die after stealing enough weapons to start a war. What a week, what a great fucking week.

Mr. Henry Mulligan: Monday morning

Only thing I come into the city for is business I can’t bring out to the ranch and most of the people who come out to the ranch leave with a new respect for their own lives or as pig feed. It’s big business keeping the criminal element of a city from eating itself and everyone around it. I have two pieces of business in town and first one brings me to my legal office as I received notice that I was being dropped as a standing client and no explanation was given as to why, just a name, one Mr. Mark Delauter. I keep my hat on indoors and have my tweed suit jacket on with a denim button up shirt and jeans with cowboy boots. I never liked the fancy suits and leave that shit to the kids. People see me and if they’re smart they know to stop screwing the fuck around and get their shit in check toot fucking sweet. Up an elevator trip to the main offices of the senior partners at this firm and I let the secretary know who I am and who I need to speak with. She calls it in as I stand and wait before another secretary; a sexy little thing with almost black hair comes out and shows me into the office I want. He’s a good sized man, not as big as my 6’3” near three hundred pound frame but he’s not a ninety pound accountant either.

“Mr. Mulligan, I trust you got our notice,” this Mr. Delauter addresses me without looking up from his work,” Kelsea I need these organized before three today.”

He hands some papers to his sexy female secretary and she leaves with a shake of her ass. I notice, you’d have to be dead not to, but I’m here for business.

“I received your notice about dropping me as a client but there was no explanation as to why when I pay all my fees regularly to have your firm on retainer,” I explain trying to gauge the man in front of me.

“Well your files were handed over to me a couple years back and I’ve had time to review them along with a few cases that you were brought in on or used our firm on and it brings to light that you sir have some not so obvious connections to criminal activities in this city. Our firm has a reputation to uphold and if this were ever to get out we’d be scrutinized for dealing with known criminal activities,” he’s being formal but not telling me what he wants, this is a hard man and I admire that.

“I have a lot of business Mr. Delauter, Mark, can I call you Mark,” I ask being polite.

“No you may not Mr. Mulligan, this isn’t a social call it’s a notice. I understand that you have paid a great deal of money to this firm but we can’t afford to be seen with a tangible criminal element,” he’s holding back something, I better press on this.

“We can’t or you won’t. You’re a smart man, smarter than the last partner I spoke with and I thought he was a genius so what is the real problem here,” I figure just get him to tell me what he wants should work.

“People under you are criminals; I am removing a black spot from our records is all. Nothing personal,” he’s angry about something and I can see it now.

“That’s horseshit Mr. Delauter. Something pissed you the hell off and now you’re putting the screws to me because you can and you’re allowed to get away with it. I’m here right now, talk to me like a man and we’ll figure this out,” maybe an offer of help will put things in a better place between us.

“My problem is my firm has aided criminals in doing whatever the hell they want and now people are walking around in pain and I won’t stand by and take part in ensuring they are able to commit horrible acts and walk freely from punishment,” that spells it out for me pretty good.

Someone got to him or his family and did something. Not sure what is was but it was enough to get him to go through everything I’ve ever paid his firm for and root out some of my ‘alleged’ business dealings.

“I’ll be back soon and we’re going to work out a new contract,” I inform Mr. Mark Delauter who smiles and as I leave I hear him talking on his phone to his security.

I haven’t been escorted out of a building in over a decade and this time it wasn’t even a good escorting. They didn’t touch me or tell me not to come back, pussies. I have my boy Jessie, not really my boy but he drives my truck for me cause I hate paved roads deeper into town and to the Union tattoo house where Jim usually does most of his meetings. Jim and I have been doing good work for years running more weapons out of the country for the big names back east that when I come through the door he is happy to see me and not worried about his skin cause he has no reason to be worried. We get sat in his office and I’m brought an iced tea by his grand-daughter, a sweet little thing named Vicki.

“Not surprised you came in yourself but then again it has been a while,” Jim welcomes me with a smile.

“It’s been a while since I needed to see what the hell happened to my investments,” I counter and he nods.

“Bit of a hiccup really, our system has been in place for almost a decade and my current movers have been doing really solid work when someone got wind of one of the holding spots and hit it hard. Nothing to go off of other than they disguised themselves and the people that were on site say one of them was crazy,” Jim explains as I sip on some good tea.

“Numbers,” I ask and Jim shows me,” You mean to tell me this is the first time in years we’ve had any opposition and they take us for one fifth of a shipment? Jesus you made it sound like they hit every unit you had.”

I’m laughing but a shipment can be up to half a million dollars and someone just took a fifth of it and walked off into the sunset. I check the lists, Jim has lists just for me and I know he does them only when I’m coming otherwise they’re in his head where nobody can get at them. I put the list down and take another sip of my tea.

“So who was running your show, not your boys directly I’m hearing,” I ask and Jim nods.

“Local crew, came in a couple years ago with a deal,” he explains and I let him continue,” they wanted enforcement and support to run some bad dealers and drug dens out of a couple neighborhoods.”

“Those kids, the neighborhood watch ones. They are why you asked for permission to take a hard line on drugs in the south side,” I ask and he nods.

“Yeah, it was dragging things down anyway and with a little help, some munitions and a little money we have kept the worst out of neighborhoods the police never could all the while hiding weapons in everything from elderly homes to storage units privately owned and not in any names they can connect,” Jim fully explains and I nod in agreement, it’s a smart plan.

“Bring in their man in charge, I need words with him,” I tell Jim who makes a call.

We talk about easier things and a few of our deals to move merchandise out west. I explain that I have a few legitimate businesses that need a couple hardnosed drivers for Mexico and he promises to get me some prospects from his Union boys to run them for me. I can hear people talking in the main area and figure Jim and I need to say hello.

“Carlos Ortega I’d like you to meet a friend of mine,” Jim introduces me without giving my name and I shake the young but smart and tough man’s hand.

“Who are you,” Carlos brought a skinny loudmouth with him and the boy is asking questions he shouldn’t.

“Shut up, H,” Carlos scolds his boy and I notice the kid has been in a fight,” It’s good to meet you sir. I know we have a problem and I want you to know my people are working on it as we speak.”

“No working on it, I want everything locked down and secured. That’s your job and I want it done,” I order Carlos who understands who I am without any names, his friend however.

“We’ll handle our business man, that’s what Jim pays us for and we get results,” the boy, H, is digging himself a hole.

“Hector shut up and wait outside,” Carlos orders his boy and I don’t smile, it doesn’t help to piss off children.

The loudmouth Hector leaves us in peace and only Carlos, Jim and his son Smitty are with me in the main lobby of the tattoo parlor.

“I want my business brought to order, Jim has a great record and is immune to any sort of backlash from this. You have an alright record according to Jim and at his recommendation I’m going to keep you working however I get anymore problems and we’re going to find a new group to assist in our business,” I explain my position in a firm tone as Carlos listens patiently.

“I’ll have everything taken care of properly in the hour,” he tells me and now I smile, he’s a smart boy.

“Good, I like your dedication. I’ll leave anything else I want you to do with Jim,” I tell the boy Carlos and he nods before making his way out.

“A lot of merchandise just walked out and you don’t make them pay for it,” Jim asks and I shake my head.

“Who took it will try to sell it, we find out who is looking to buy hardware that isn’t us and we find the people who took it,” I explain and Jim sees the plan,” After that we figure out where the weak link in the system is and remind the competition that this is our city and to move on.”

“I’ll get people on it, our contacts in the police say there isn’t anything on their end,” Jim tells me and I am surprised, he can tell by my expression,” I made the call the morning after it happened, didn’t put them at the scene or anything but I have a few legal ears to the ground as well as the rest of them.”

“Good, now what the hell am I gonna do about my lawyer,” I ask as a joke and get a confused look,” I got notice Friday last week that the firm I’ve been using for all my legitimate and other businesses is dropping me as a client and today when I went to meet with the lawyer who sent me the notice I could tell he was taking something that happened to him or someone close to him out on me.”

“Who’s the lawyer,” Smitty asks as a reflex, good boy and likes to get his hands dirty.

“Mark Delauter, he’s senior partner and Delauter and some other names I don’t care about right now,” I really don’t I just pay for the best.

“I know that name… Vicki,” Smitty yells to his daughter who is outside and she comes in quickly,” How do I know the name Delauter?”

“I don’t know, I think that kid Carlos was here talking about a D name like that a while back,” she says and he waves her off.

“Vicki darlin’ is Carlos still outside,” I ask kindly and she smiles and nods,” Send him back in here please? Thanks girl.”

Always be nice, if you’re mad and the person ain’t there that pissed you off be nice to everyone else. It takes a minute or two but Carlos comes back in and leaves his idiot outside.

“Delauter, that name ring a bell with you Carlos,” I ask and he knows something.

“Yes sir, a couple of his kids go to school with some of my people and my sister,” he slipped a little with mentioning his family, he’s trying to be open but that was more than he wanted to give,” His two daughters and step son are seniors this year.”

“Why does that man have a fucking hard on for making my life miserable,” I ask the question rhetorically and see an answer on Carlos’s face and it’s not one I’d like.

“Carlos tell the man what you know, same as you told me,” Jim orders him calmly but there is no way out of this.

“The step son, nobody knew he was their family for years and my boys have been picking on him a lot,” Carlos explains and I’m missing something.

“So you push the kid around, so…,” I ask and he resigns himself to his fate by telling me.

Three years they beat this kid up, made his life hell and then things got worse. The secret of who the kid’s family came out and the police got involved. I remember the hold on business as police were watching the situation but Jim said he had everything in hand and he did. Carlos vouches for his entire group’s innocence in stabbing this kid and in a follow up attack someone tortured the boy and sent him on a walk naked through their neighborhood. I don’t read the papers much but I’m pretty sure there is something in there about at the very least the stabbing.

“So you allowed all the shit to happen but who was the instigator, you just don’t seem the type,” I ask Carlos and his day is just getting worse.

“Hector, it was Hector who he disrespected and it just snowballed from there,” the boy explains and I nod.

“Get him in here now,” I tell Carlos before turning to Smitty,” Get your daughter out of here, this isn’t gonna be pretty.”

Carlos brings his boy Hector back in and the kid’s got a look on his face that says ‘what the fuck do you old bastards want now’. I’m just waiting for him to say it.

“What you need me for,” Hector says it, close enough and I slap him hard enough to stun a baby calf which ends his ass on the floor,” What the fuck?”

“I don’t like swearing ya little turd now stand up,” I order the kid and he stands up,” Who is the kid you’ve been kicking the shit out of?”

“Guy… Guy Donnelly, what the fuck is this about,” he swore again and I slap the snot out of him again,” Fuck old man.”

I kick him onto his back and stand on his chest putting just a little of my three hundred pounds down. He’s squirming and his boy Carlos is standing back, Carlos knows better and I like that.

“You don’t know how high up the pole you pissed son so I’m going to ask you this one time and if you fuck with me I’m going to take a tattoo gun and burst your eyeball in your head. If you lie after that I’m taking one of your testicles and if you keep lying to me after that I’m going to get creative you understand me,” I explain to Hector who nods at me while in pain from the pressure,” Were you part of what happened to this kid when he was stabbed or when he was tortured?”

“No,” he’s not lying but I push down and he almost screams at me,” No, I didn’t do it.”

“Did you get someone to do it for you,” I ask and he shakes his head no.

“No, I got in his face once after it happened but I didn’t hit him or nothing,” Hector explains and I take my foot off of him and with one hand yank his skinny ass from laying to standing.

“Listen to me very carefully, your boss and friend Carlos, he has a very good idea of who I am and he has respect for my position. You don’t so from now on take your pointers from Carlos on how to act around people you don’t know, that lesson is free,” I state firmly before letting him go and address all three in the room,” I want the people who touched this boy found, I want them found and I want them brought to me. If you need an explanation as to why it’s simple, I fucking said so, that’s why.”

The boys nod and I know Jim will take care of things without even asking. I let the kids leave to do their small but important jobs and spend most of my day talking to Jim while my driver runs down some information and finally at three I head out to my new third appointment. Mr. Delauter has a very nice house and they left the gate open for me, or they’re just decent people and I like decent people. I leave my Jessie outside by the truck and knock on the front door. Their maid answers and I tell her I’ve got an appointment with Mr. Delauter and I’m told he’s not home and am allowed to wait in their sitting room or whatever fancy people call a waiting room. I am not waiting long before I hear two teen girls one all bright and excited talking about her social life and the other quietly doing just enough to make it seem like they’re actually talking to each other. I don’t go out and say hi, if this Delauter doesn’t like me now he’ll hate me for socializing with his family. I hear what I believe is the man of the house arrives home and immediately he comes into the sitting room with really pissed off look.

“Mr. Mulligan I’m not going to ask how you found out where I live but you are not welcome and need to leave right now before I call the police and have them remove you and your driver for trespassing,” no wasted time with the threats from Mark Delauter.

“Well since you’re not asking then I will. Do you actually want the people who hurt your family found or are you content to just take shit out on anyone that you think has criminal dealings,” I ask the question and now he’s thinking.

“The police will do their jobs,” he’s lying to me but he’s good enough that the only reason I know is because it’s happened twice and he’s smart,” Now about you leaving.”

“Can we talk privately, man to man,” I ask as there is an open door to this sitting room.

I was hoping we’d move to his office but he closes the door to the room and now we’re both standing like gunslingers. He can make the call or he’s told someone to make it already and is stalling, no he’s not stalling, he’s reading me out.

“Okay, so you don’t believe the police are going to find who did this to your boy anymore than you believe that I’m a simple ranch owner,” I say it and he nods in agreement,” So don’t drop me as a client, I can have things looked into.”

“And you looking into things would do what exactly. People who did this to my family,” I have to cut him off.

“You mean your son; I know it was your step son that someone decided to kick around. I’ve put my word down on that already but with what was going on after that, it’s callous and brash,” I explain sitting down.

“He’s my step son but he’s a good kid that people have been pushing around for too long,” he explains the boy and I can figure out why the kid was a target.

“Problem for me isn’t who the kid is it’s why people think shit like this can happen without backlash,” I explain my end of the stick to the lawyer.

“Well then what is your problem,” he asks taking a seat across from me.

“My problem aside from you dropping me as a client is people thinking that they can do whatever they want in this town. We have rules, rules that are in place to prevent things like what happened to your son,” I explain and he’s listening,” When people break rules and start thinking they can do whatever they want to whoever they want which they did then we have a problem.”

“Bad things happen to decent people all the time, way of the world,” he doesn’t like the idea but he uses it anyway and he’s right.

“Except what happened wasn’t isolated. Your boy didn’t get stabbed and beaten randomly then get pulled into a warehouse and tortured because of fate. People do these things because they have a goal in mind and they’re using him and your family to make a statement. Nearly killing him is one thing but then to turn around and come back again,” I’m making a point about shit not being random here and he sees it.

“So the police could figure out it was connected,” he says it and they probably have.

“If they could they would have more than a bunch of ‘We’re sorry but we just can’t find out who is hurting your son’,” I tell him and he agrees but doesn’t like it,” I’ll have this looked at, if there is a hole these people are hiding in I’ll have the owner pull them out. If there are friends they brag to their friends will tell me what they know. One way or another I’ll have the people who did this taken to the woodshed.”

“This needs to be handled by the courts, by the law,” he tells me and it’s not up for discussion by his tone.

“Fair enough but don’t drop me because you don’t like what you think I do. I’m a nice guy most of the time,” I give him a smile and he doesn’t return it,” Let your friend take care of this and keep cashing my checks.”

We stand and shake hands, he will keep me as a client thank god and with Jim looking into everything that happened without coming near the boy we’ll get something soon. I’m walking out with Mr. Delauter when I see a young man in a tailored suit and sunglasses coming my way. His blonde hair is taken care of well and when the glasses come off I see his blue eyes and I have to stop. The boy walks past and barely looks at me before smiling at his step father and I wonder about the boy as I return to my truck and Jessie. It’s a good distance to drive back to my ranch but that kid, something is wrong with him. If that’s the kid, the same one that has been gutted and tortured and beaten on for years then I might need to put some attention on him just in case.

Guy: Friday that week

How do you win a war, you don’t fight it yourself for starters. Take two sides and give them a reason to fight then step back and watch. Okay so they didn’t fight much when Hector found out that his girl had a one time with Brandon and Jenna didn’t fight with Nicole, Brandon’s side girl, much since I don’t see any bruising on her but still it’s a good start. Something kept ringing in my head about Carlos and his people, something that didn’t make any real sense. Everyone kept calling them neighborhood watch. What did they watch out for and what did they do to keep things safe. I’ve spent a good portion of my time this week looking up crime rates over the past couple years and where there was once a major drug scene in Carlos’s neighborhood there is nothing now. More than that it’s like drug dealers and manufacturers avoid the urban areas and moved east in the city.

Oh I have a couple ideas.

I can tell, care to share?

I have been sharing, just wait and see.

Everything at home has been really good, Beth isn’t as wary around me as I thought after we ‘talked’ a little and I let things ‘slip’ out. Actually she’s been pretty happy with the way that Mom is treating her since her and I are talking and getting along really well. Abigail is more reserved around me and Mark is just oblivious to anything really that doesn’t involve an obvious threat to the family or his siblings. I have siblings. It’s actually nice to say that even though there are moments where I want to take one of my sisters to bed and wear out every section of my room. I do believe I’ve said that I find them attractive. But thanks to my getting through my classes early and basically riding out the year for the few remaining months I have free time to set up a few meetings and make some changes. First thing switch my lease to a different unit. Hector and Lupe both came by, each once alone and once together looking for ‘Jeff’ but I was elsewhere and having disposed of his phone I’ve cut ties to that part of the plan. My new side apartment is set up across from the old one so that I can look out the front and see if anyone comes by looking for ‘Jeff’. I also tested to see if Lupe would recognize me without the facial hair and in my new clothes once just to see if she’d think it was ‘Jeff’ and nothing happened. I could see she was bothered by everything that happened and I remember when I felt bad about things like hurting people who didn’t deserve it.

This is not where you puss out.

They aren’t your friends; you have one friend and your family.

Everyone else is the enemy! Everyone else is just a new target!

Calm down friend, let’s not rush things.

So Friday I’m cultivating a good reputation with my Mom. I don’t need to but she does all this charity work so I’m taking a personal interest in one of the girls at one of the halfway houses and using ‘my’ new apartment to get her a head start.

“So since I can’t stay at the halfway house anymore you’re putting me up in an apartment you own,” she asks as I show her the inside of the ‘new’ but same as the other one I had apartment.

“Pretty much, you were nice to me and when Mom said it was going to be tough for you I figured you could use some actual assistance,” I explain to Jackie, my new friend.

I explain the basics of my rules for the place, yes she can have company, and no it cannot be over night. I paid for three months rent and first utilities, but she needs to find a job to pay for months two and three. I will be visiting the area and have a key of my own which she understands but then asks a question.

“So am I like your booty call girl in an apartment,” she asks with a level of concern.

“No, if you wanted to have sex with me then let me know. You did something for me and you’re not a bad person so I figured you could use a hand up and here we are,” I explain and she nods but is skeptical,” Did you want to have sex?”

“No, I mean we could but I’m not really into men. Had a something bad happen to me for a couple years when I was a kid and now I’m just not into relationships and stuff,” Jackie says sitting down on the couch.

“Well someday when you’re more on your feet and able to take care of yourself we’ll sit down and discuss childhood damage and what it did to us sometime,” I joke and she laughs a little,” As long as you got everything I have some food in the fridge. You have a phone?”

She nods and we part as I return to my car and I’m only five feet away from it when I almost run directly into Hector who is heading my way with a question and an attitude.

“What you doing here,” he asks me and I’m not afraid for once.

“Helping out a friend,” I don’t need to lie to him.

“Who,” Hector asks and I don’t see any of his friends.

“Nobody you’d know now back off,” I tell Hector and he is a little surprised at me talking back.

“You better start talking,” he warns me and I laugh.

“Okay, so what is this I hear about your girlfriend screwing football players,” I ask and he’s pissed but holding back,” Nothing? You mean the video that went around with her saying his name and him just pounding away at her was a joke?”

“Shut your mouth pendejo or I’m gonna shut it for you,” Hector is mad and threatening me.

“Haven’t you kept count but you and your friends tried to shut me up, twice and I’m still here,” I respond and he takes a step back.

“We didn’t do that, nobody in our crew went after you,” he is trying to validate himself.

“I could ask you to prove it but it’d be a lie or the word of your friends so honestly I don’t believe you and even if you didn’t do it I don’t care,” I tell him and he’s confused,” If you haven’t noticed yet things have changed and they are going to continue to change. I don’t care what you think you did or didn’t do; I don’t care what your friends did or didn’t do. I am owed and I will no longer wait for someone to tell me when I get satisfaction.”

“So what, you don’t care who put you in the hospital,” Hector is so slow on the uptake.

“It isn’t that I don’t care, it’s that I’m not very picky with who I’m going to take what I feel I’m owed from. Since ‘nobody’ knows who attacked me twice then ‘all’ will suffer and ‘all’ will be held accountable. Now what is that girlfriend of yours name again,” I end on a question and a smile.

For the first time in almost four years Hector is backing away from me and sadly not going to fight me. Mostly sad because I have a pair of brass knuckles on my left hand and am waiting for a fight that doesn’t come. Mores the pity if you ask me cause I want a fight. I watch him leave and when he stops to take a look back it’s not at me, it’s at the old apartment; I almost give myself away and laugh. She hurt him worse than I thought. I check my phone and realize that I have a meeting with some people that don’t really want to miss at a place I’m pretty much over dressed for, silly forgetful me. I head back into the apartment and surprise Jackie a little and let her know I actually need to change and after getting into some worse clothes, a dirty track suit and sunglasses. I return to my car to take it to the new rental car I got last week and drive to Denny’s to meet with my new acquaintances. They are already sitting down and I recognize them, a skinny nervous black man and a white man who looks like face is a scab. I sit and they both look at me like I’m not what they expected.

“You the one who hit me up through one of my…,” the scab face asks and I nod,” I hear you know how to expand my business?”

“I do, geography,” I say it and he gives me an odd look.

“Like a class or something,” the twitchy black man asks and his ‘better’ slaps in the arm.

“Shut your mouth, you talking about expanding my area. Where do you think we’re going to expand to,” the scab faced man asks and I smile.

“South side,” I say it and he laughs at me.

“South side is a no go kid. No places to set up business that won’t get moved on,” nervous black man says and I smile.

“Okay who am I talking to here? Which one actually makes a decision,” I ask and the scab face nods,” Okay so you got moved out right? They did what exactly? Threaten you? Rob you? Beat you?”

“Pretty much but they have numbers,” he tells me picking at his cheek.

“So why don’t you just stand up to them, push back. Actually show some back bone,” I ask knowing a bit of where and why but I like to hear it.

“Can’t buy a piece worth shit unless you go through the south and the south doesn’t sell to us,” the black one comments and I nod.

“What happens when someone says they’ll sell you better, what then,” I ask and scab face snickers, nervous black one laughs, I’m not laughing.

“And who is gonna do that, you? You barely got any hair on your nuts,” the black one jokes and I stop the laughter.

Get ‘em boy.

I’m quick enough that most people don’t see it but the scab face does and that’s what is important as I draw out the pistol I carried in my loose track pants and put it to
the now not so laughing black man’s ribs. Nobody is joking around now and both are looking at me and reevaluating their positions on who I am.

“I am THAT person, I’m the one people don’t talk about because when you do I’m standing in the shadows listening in. Now I’m here to make a deal and do some business,” I look from scab face to now pale black,” And the hair on my nuts could make a rope to hang your skinny ass.”

Granted it couldn’t but my balls are probably bigger than his are as I put my piece away and pull myself out of the booth. They follow me outside but not too close, they’re nervous and rightly so but I’m making a point.

“You get your boys together, you get enough of them and you move on a few key spots, places they will come for you and then you surprise them with this,” I tell the two as we reach the back of my car and I open the trunk.

I only brought one duffel bag of hardware and ammo but I kept it simple, AK-47’s and Tech-9’s being the bulk of the bag but a few pistols and shotguns just to keep things rounded. Both are staring in disbelief at what they are seeing and both have no clue how they’re going to pay for it, but I do.

“I can’t afford this right now, gotta give me a few weeks,” scab face informs me and I laugh.

“I don’t want money, I’m going to give these to you but I expect only one thing from this trade. I want them used,” I say it and he doesn’t really get it,” How does anyone in your position gain any sort of real respect? Nothing, try fear. Enforce your claim to the area. Stamp out anyone who tries to remove you from what you know will be a profitable location. I want you to use them, that is my price.”

I hold out my hand to shake and he does, warily but he does before I close and grab the straps to the bag and allow the two of them to barely carry it out of the rental trunk and off to wherever they are going to sort their new toys out. I watch them leave; I watch the area around me and take a deep breath. It smells clear considering the east side of the city is a dump on a good day. I return my other car to its storage spot and I’m back in my car. Trade out and back to change, this time Jackie sees me coming and she’s confused as to my changes but she’s being given something big and she knows better than to ask questions. So I’ve learned to trust her, well trust her need to keep herself out of a homeless shelter now that she can’t stay at the halfway house.

My return home is halfway though dinner and Mom is not happy with me and I am apologizing to her immensely for missing the start of dinner. I eat and tell her that I was doing what I said I was doing, sneaking around and trying to hang out with Sydney. Mom doesn’t like me doing something that could get me in trouble. I rest that night with hope, hope for war, and hope for blood. I want them to suffer and I couldn’t care less which side suffers more, all will suffer.

Saturday morning wake up and I have nothing that needs doing. No plans for today, no major schemes or plots. I have my wheels turning and now I wait to see what happens. I’ll set up more meetings sometime, give out some more of Carlos’s weapons to people who will turn them on him for their own greedy profits but for now I’m thinking about taking a day for myself.

Meanwhile…

“So Daddy we’ve been here for a couple days now after you kept us from leaving next day like we wanted,” Gwen starts in and I haven’t even had breakfast yet.

“Sweetie first off I was making sure things were taken care of at our home. Second I had to arrange shipping with a friend. Now that we’re here and we have a lay of the land I’m going over to introduce myself today,” I explain to Gwen who is excited.

We’ve got a couple motel rooms in the center of the city, I wanted ones with joining doors just in case and it took a while to find one. Then we were waiting for my package to arrive, not something you can rely on from the local UPS man. Then getting lay of the land which didn’t take long and looking up a few people unbeknownst to my daughter. Now I am ready to face my lost son and I hold no illusions about the fact that I lost him and now I’m going to try to apologize and make up for not being there when he needed me. Breakfast is done thanks to a Denny’s by our Motel and I head to the truck with my daughter right behind me.

“Stay in the room honey, I’ll be back in a couple hours if things go well and pick you up,” I tell Gwen and watch that sour look run across her face.

“Uhhh the hell you think I’m going to do? Watch cable for a half a day while you’re doing all the hard stuff. Daddy I’m going, you lock me out of the truck and I’ll just get a cab and ride over after you and then you get to explain why I was sitting away from MY family while you were trying to work things out,” Gwen is upset with my plan and I’m not mad at her for taking a nasty tone with me but she sees this isn’t easy and calms down,” Daddy I’m going for you just as much as for myself and Guy. And Momma to a lesser reasoning since she was the one who screwed everything up.”

I could argue with her but that does about as much good as throwing a skinny man on a fragmentation grenade, anything less than a hundred and eighty pounds and people are still getting hurt. Gwen is nervous on the ride up and right about now I’d rather be in Kuwait hiding in a cellar waiting for a patrol to pass by, less fear of failure there. The man who married Lori is wealthy, that much I knew but his house is stately, brick and has a yard that would take a small team to maintain. The front gate is open and I’m able to park in front of their house but give myself a moment to compose my thoughts and emotions, Gwen however needs no time and is already at the front door as I’m just getting out of the truck. She’s already knocked and I hear her talking with what looks like the maid.

“Hi, I need to speak with Mrs. Loretta Donnelly… Oh wait I mean Loretta Delauter,” Gwen mispronounces her mother’s new last name.

“Rosa who is here,” I hear my ex wife’s voice and wait for her to see us and the shock almost drops her where she stands,” Oh my god Neal.”

“Hi Lori, I found her,” I can’t think of what else to say but Lori realizes who is standing next to me in less than four seconds.

I watch as Gwen hugs her mother for the first time in almost two decades and Lori is eager to bring us both inside and we’re seated in a TV room as Lori takes a moment to tell the maid that she is not to be disturbed by anyone. I let Lori and Gwen talk, Gwen shocks her mother with how much she knows about what happened and what broke up our family years ago and Lori is quick to take the blame on herself for what happened but I state that it was me who started the divorce proceedings.

“Neal you were trying to save our family from me, I was destroying myself and it was affecting our son. I was stupid and hurt you just for trying to protect him from what I was turning into,” Lori is more like the woman I married and not like the one I divorced,” So yes you started it but I did what I did to hurt you, you always were a good man.”

We talk some more, mostly catch up and Lori can tell that I’m anxious and more than a little nervous about asking for Guy but she just smiles and says she’ll be right back leaving Gwen and I alone to retrieve our son. Gwen squeezes my hand and I see him, he’s thin with some muscle and he’s got his mother’s blonde hair and blue eyes but I can see my jaw and cheekbones. He’s looking at us, Gwen and me, with a little confusion but then I watch as his face changes and I brace myself.

Guy: Right Now

Abort, abort now and fall back. Get the keys and drive away.

Is there something I’m missing here?

Too late, he’s gone.

“What the hell is this,” I ask and see the two faces lose their smiles.

“Guy it’s your father,” Mom says it and I turn to her and try to hold back my anger.

“I know who he is, why the hell is he here,” I ask again and nobody seems able to answer me fast enough,” Why did you come here?”

“I came to see you son,” my ‘Father’ says and I want to laugh or spit in his face, actually both but Mom is here.

“Don’t call me that, you don’t deserve to call me that. I haven’t allowed any man to call me that and get away with it in nine years. NINE YEARS! I believed you were dead for years now just because I’d like to have thought that if I had a ‘Father’ he would have come for me,” I explain and I see my Dad’s face sadden.

“Guy, Neal is here to try to help fix things between us,” Mom says and I turn to her and almost scare her out of talking,” Remember I screwed our family up.”

“I remember Mom; we’ve spent time getting past that. What I don’t understand is why the hell he thinks that now, after all the shit he allowed to happen, why is it now that he suddenly decides to show up and try to ‘fix’ us,” I am spitting mad.

Oh this is going to ruin everything.

His plans or everything?

Yes.

He needs to get out of there.

“Guy I have done a lot of things I’m not proud of but for me I am asking you to sit down and talk with us,” Mom tries to explain but I’m not interested.

“Talk to him all you want, I don’t need this situation, I don’t need the drama and I certainly don’t need this lying deadbeat trying to come out of the fucking shadows to make me feel better,” I could swear I heard grass growing after my words left my lips it’s so quiet.

“You need to watch your mouth,” the blonde woman, a bit older than me, says standing up and staring me down.

“Oh I’m sorry but who the fuck do you think you are,” I ask it and now everyone looks a little embarrassed.

“Well for starters I’m your big sister,” she says it and I’m confused but not stupid.

“Bullshit, I’ve never been told about having a sister so why should I buy this shit now,” I say it and regret it as Mom takes my hand.

Mom explains the full history behind the drinking, the neglect and the divorce. She explains how my Father would take trips to hunt down leads to bring back my kidnapped sister. She gets into detail how as time wound on and Dad found less and less information about my sister, sounds fucking weird to me, Gwen my older sister. As things wound on she Mom was more and more into the bottle and less into the parenting and my memory takes over from there. My father, it sticks in my head that he’s actually fucking here, explains how he was working in the military. I thought he left but her rejoined I guess, he gets into how he never stopped looking for Gwen and finally found her. I listen so that I know my enemy and his history, that way I don’t leave anything out when it comes time to respond.

Would you stop feeding him rage?

I haven’t been doing anything; I want him out of this situation. Why don’t you try making him cry and run or something?

I can’t, it doesn’t work like that and you know it.

Well mine doesn’t work like that either so don’t blame me.

“That was a great story, really riveting stuff. I’m going now,” I tell all three and stand up to leave.

“Guy, please just stop for a minute,” Mom places her hand on my arm and I’m ready to scream,” Neal never did anything to hurt you, he didn’t do anything wrong it was me.”

“Your mother isn’t the only one at fault here. I know that you feel hurt,” Dad wants to talk, I don’t want to listen.

“Hurt, hurt… I feel hurt. I was hurt when my father promised me that he’d take care of me no matter what then wandered off into the horizon for nine years. I was hurt when I took care of my mother during her worst years all by myself. I was hurt when I found out that you were nowhere to be found and were never coming back. I was hurt when twice people decided that for no reason other than their own enjoyment I was going to be beaten or tortured or stabbed and left for dead or humiliated,” I am in control but barely,” You want to know what I feel now? HATE!”

“Listen baby brother, I know it’s been hard,” Gwen, my ‘sister’ wants to speak up.

“Shut your mouth, you were sought after. You were wanted for years by both of them, I was an afterthought,” I get the words out and Mom is beginning to cry,” Stop that. This isn’t about you.”

“Guy I… we… you were never an afterthought,” Dad says trying to appeal to my better nature, it doesn’t exist.

“Alright, you knew where I lived right,” I ask and he nods,” How long did you know where I lived? A couple months? A year maybe?”

“I’ve known for a few years,” he is solemn, good.

“Okay and how long did you wait to go get Gwen when you found out where she was,” I ask and now he’s ashamed.

“It took me a week to travel to where she was and get her,” he tells me in a cool and even tone.

“So let’s recap, Gwen is taken and as soon as you knew where she was you just flew like the wind and got her. Now same thought you had my information for three to four years,” that is the definition of a few,” and you didn’t even bother till people were using me as their personal torture boy?”

As much as we need him to leave, and leave like five minutes ago, I’m kind of with him on this.

“Guy I was kidnapped and lied to for years before Daddy came and found me,” Gwen wants to add her two bits, this should waste two minutes,” You had Momma and you have a home. I was living with our Aunt for years and she was trying to brainwash me that she was my Momma. Daddy let you down; he has been hurting for years because he is sad about not being there for you when you needed him. We’re here now…”

“And I don’t need you,” I tell the both of them and I see that hurt, good.

“Guy, you’re my son,” he should stop saying that but he doesn’t know how.

“When have I been your son in the last nine years? When have I been hurting, afraid, alone and scared and you were there to be a father,” I say it and turn to Gwen,” As for you don’t sit there and tell me he’s been hurting because I’m the winner of the fucking hurt person award for this fucked up little family reunion we have going on here.”

“Guy nobody is dismissing anyone being hurt but you need to understand,” he starts in and I’m unmoved.

“I don’t need to understand, I have understood for you not being there for years. I remember when I would lay awake at night and wait for you to just come in the door to my room, scoop me up and steal me away. I prayed for that for almost five years. Then I studied the law a little and learned when I would be able to leave living with Mom and move to live with you I put money down and sent everything to the courts so that I could make it happen,” I explain and Mom’s a little hurt by this reminder but I am not done with this knife twisting yet,” So after six months I get a notice that you couldn’t be found or might just be dead.”

“Son I wasn’t dead,” he replies and I snort.

“Could have fooled me, I went looking for you but you were like Bigfoot. So I made a new plan that relied on the person I could trust the most, ME,” I state and turn to Mom,” I’m not doing this to hurt you but I will not be told that because other people suffered it’s alright to let them have their sins forgiven.”

“Guy, stop for a minute and take a deep breath,” Mom says trying to calm me.

“No, I’m not listening to more shit about how sorry everyone is. Too little too late, so do me a favor Dad and Gwen. Leave,” I say it and both have a hurt and shocked look on their faces,” Don’t write, don’t call, don’t stop by to visit because you never existed and you died as far as I’m concerned. I don’t need you in my life and I don’t want either of you dragging me down so that you can feel better about abandoning me.”

And at that I turn and walk out, no more words just me upstairs to my room and grabbing my keys and shoes head down to the garage to my car. I get the garage door up and fire up the engine as Mom makes her way into the garage to stop me. I don’t think she planned this nightmare but I’m not staying around to give it any more influence on my day as I back out and whip the car around in the driveway before peeling off down the road. Where I’m going, I don’t know.

Neal: Right now

“I knew we should have stayed home,” I remark and Lori is quick to take my hand.

“Neal you wanted to come here and mend a family I ruined. There has been a lot of things that Guy still is processing but his doctor says him being in touch with his emotions is a good thing,” Lori explains as Gwen doubts her Mother.

“How in a horse’s ass is my baby brother cutting out Daddy’s heart and taking us to the woodshed a good thing Momma, that sounds like some stupid city shit,” and there is my daughter’s temper.

Lori explains Guy’s problems to our daughter taking time so that I can listen in and process everything. He felt isolated in a home he thought he would be welcome in, Lori was a mother of four and was making up time with her new step children and regrets Guy’s alienation. I am a bit mad at her for that. I know the basics about my son being a punching bag for half his school but he has no friends? He was always a nice kid but years of embarrassment because of Loretta’s drinking and everything screwed him up.

“Gwen at least you get to see your mother, we can look at the positive in that. Hell I could have brought us together years ago but I just couldn’t,” I can’t continue, it hurts too much.

“Daddy it’s okay, we have a good life now and we’re just adding to it,” my girl hugs me and I hold as much in as I can.

We hear knocking and I get to meet the man of the house himself as Lori’s husband enters the room. Introductions are made and I let Gwen and her mother talk alone while I step outside and wait for one of them to come get me. I’m not alone for long as the man of the house joins me on his back porch.

“I can only guess that either Guy wasn’t home or it didn’t go well in there,” he asks and I nod,” can’t say I’ve been a good father figure to him these past few years either.”

“How bad,” I ask as we walk.

“Well my youngest of the twins was cruel and turned her siblings, well one of them, against him. Then she somehow intimidated him into not telling anyone that he was part of our family and the whole time I didn’t see it,” he explains and I think a moment.

“She is your daughter, they do cause a big blind spot in the brain,” I tell him and he agrees.

“Very much so, worst part is I just thought Guy was quiet and needed to come out of his shell. Then I find out he’s being beaten up almost weekly and he’s been stabbed and now after this last attack I’m worried that I made a mistake agreeing with my wife about taking him out of the hospital,” he gets it all out and I’m at a question.

“Well if he didn’t need to be there then you should take him out, it’s not like they stabbed him again right,” I ask and he shakes his head.

“Before the first attack Guy was quiet and reserved because he felt he had no choice but he’s smart and he had a plan to escape my family and his mother. After the stabbing he still had a plan but slowly we started to turn the family around and he was gradually coming out of his shell and he told us that he wasn’t going to try to run away anymore and with my daughter came up with a new plan for himself. It didn’t have many details but he said he felt like he was finally home,” I listen and add.

“And now here I am and I’ve screwed him up worse,” I state and he stops and shakes his head at me.

“No that’s not even close to the actual problem. When he was in the hospital all he wanted was to come home. As soon as he’s home he starts asking for things, Lori thinks it’s him trying to step out of his shell and I try to help but what he asks for isn’t like him. He was always very… poorly dressed. Ugly t shirts, old beat up jeans and a week after the second time someone screwed him up he wants suits and he’s spending money on things he never would have before. I got a few of the billing statements because the card is on my account and I don’t know what he needed small surveillance equipment for but he bought it. Then there is a rental car that I don’t understand why he needs it and this whole time my family is telling me he’s alright when I think he’s doing something that could get himself hurt or killed,” Lori’s husband is right to be concerned and he got all that out without stopping to think on his words, definitely a lawyer.

“Well we’re probably going to leave town in a few days once Gwen and Lori get caught up. I know that there wasn’t anything good to come from showing up after so long. I just couldn’t bring myself to deal with how… grand my failure as a father to him is,” I tell this husband to my ex wife and he nods.

“I didn’t do a good job of step fathering either but I am going to ask you to stay,” he gets the words out and immediately I can think of four reasons to leave,” Hear me out, Lori will need time with Gwen and vice versa. Also I am just going to guess that if you try to drag your daughter away after the first try she’s going to bury her feet in the dirt and make things worse.”

“Pretty accurate so far, how did you guess about Gwen,” I ask and he smiles a little.

“I married her mother, no offense,” he is trying to be funny and I’m not mad about it,” but biggest thing is Guy is hiding something. He’s open and obvious about everything all the time. People who do that are usually the ones hiding the worst things and I need help if we’re going to keep this family from imploding around him.”

He’s got a point on a couple things and it looks like swallowing my pain and soldiering on is the current order of business. We talk a little more and Gwen pulls me back in so three of us can talk and go over some of the missing history pieces but all through it I can tell we’re thinking the same thing. We need Guy here to help us as much as him.

Guy: Right now, again.

I want blood now. I want blood to rain from the sky and I want to dance in it like Gene Kelly. Then I want fire, I want to watch everyone burn and listen to the pop of their bones in the heat. I have everything I need actually; I can start this now and just get everything over within one good rampage.

No, No stop him.

Give me a freaking minute okay; I kind of like this.

Plan; remember your fucking plan Guy. Acting now is rash and reckless, you are smarter than that. You are better than that and you know it.

Oh thank you.

Hey long term is bigger and better, we both agreed.

Sydney, I can go to Sydney’s house and we can talk and her parents will be there to help me keep my control over the situation. What a fucking situation, Dad shows up. Where the fuck did he come from… okay he said Montana but I mean metaphorically. Gone for almost a decade and when everything has already been put into a blender of shit and piss. Oh and I had a sister that literally nobody bothered to tell me about at any point in time during the whole of my life. Yeah she was kidnapped when I was a baby but what about when I was eight or nine years old. Hell how about explaining to me that Mom missing her was what drove her to drink and that my Mom is less of a piece of shit than I thought for years? I left everyone there because all they were going to do is get in my way and complicate a simple situation, that and prove that I was the least important thing in the room.

I’m outside Syd’s parent’s home and there are no cars. I get out and make it to the front door knocking and nobody answers. I don’t remember if her family had plans but they must have because nobody is home. Well who am I going to talk to now? I’m back in my car and after driving for an hour I’m still angry and after filling up the tank swing into my hidey hole and find even Jackie, the live in tenant I’m helping, is gone. Nobody to talk to so now what. I change into something lighter and head to the gym. Mark might find me if he comes in but I can just ask him to tell everyone I’m fine but not coming home right now and he’ll help. Saturday at the gym is pretty busy since most people who work during the week are trying to get themselves looking slightly better by Monday or they’re looking for someone as desperate as they are for attention. I run, use free weights and find myself at the full contact room staring at a small class of women as an instructor goes over proper evasion and neutralization. It’s a male instructor and I watch as he runs them through drills on how to get out of different holds as I head past and I see an anatomically correct standing dummy and the switch gets flipped. Running full speed and I hit it with a knee strike in the throat knocking it over. I hit the mat and roll, shift my weight and charge the now ‘prone’ victim and grab the head and twist at the jaw and the back of the head hard and I hear a metallic pop. I stand up over my victim and there are more than a few people staring at the now broken neck of a target dummy and I snarl at it before stepping over the corpse and head to the showers. I’m leaving the gym not tired and it’s barely the afternoon. I wonder if they’ll make me pay for the dummy I ‘killed’. I head out and figure it’s time to hit the mall, why not I mean I’m a teenager and it’s Saturday, also I almost never go to the mall so nobody will think to look for me there.

I don’t want to see a movie; it’ll distract me from remembering my plans. I don’t really need to buy anything but I do want some food and hit the food court. Chinese food is my choice today and it’s not bad considering it’s made by Mexican cooks. I eat and sit quietly debating how to handle the reappearance of Dad and what I said. I really don’t need him and the fact that he could have come for me years ago really burns. I pop the lid on my soda by squeezing the paper cup and realize I’m not calming down thinking about it. I fix my cup but its all goofy looking now and throw my trash away when I see her but she doesn’t see me I don’t think. Jenna is in the mall and not in a fashion I’ve ever seen her in. She’s dressed down in loose jeans and a sweat shirt her usual cascading hair in a pony tail and no makeup. Quick scan of the area and I see nobody watching her or her looking for anything in particular when my brain says follow her.

Two clothing stores and no purchases before I see her in a bookstore looking at photography books, the how to kind. I watch as she sits down in a color coordinated to the store’s logo chair and begins to scan the pages. I can tell she’s not reading them fully because she’s going too fast for reading. I keep a watch on her for about five minutes as she flips through books and finally stops to decide on which one to get by reading their prices. No books purchased and now I’m curious why the girl with the formerly perfect life and relationship is in a mall not buying anything? Depression, did I really do that much damage? I don’t keep my distance as much as I should and almost walk directly in front of her and now she spots me.

“Guy,” she asks and looks a little shocked at me being there,” What are you doing here?”

“I was eating then looking around at shit I don’t need or want. You,” I ask being civil, why am I being civil.

What are you doing?

Shhh I’m just trying something out here.

We’re done with her, let it go.

No.

“Looking at stuff I can’t afford since I will have to pay for college myself if since I won’t get the scholarship,” Jenna says and she is probably right about that thanks to Beth,” and now that Brandon and I are done I really don’t have much other than my modeling.”

“Brandon and you broke up again,” I ask knowing more than she even suspects.

“He’s been cheating on me, not just during our break but for a long time. There was a video of him screwing one of the little gang boy’s girlfriend then his main other girl went super bitch on me and I’ve been avoiding him since,” Jenna gives me her life events since I decided to help crash it.

“Wow that has to be a record low for football players sleeping around. I need ice cream,” I remark and walk towards the food court as she follows.

I’m waiting in line and finally order before surprising Jenna.

“What do you want,” I ask and she is confused.

“I’m not hungry,” she replies quietly and I know she wants some.

“Order some fucking ice cream,” I tell her being kind and forceful.

We get each basically get a bowl, I have mint chocolate chip and she has chocolate chip cookie dough with fudge sauce. Depression eating at its finest and we sit down. I’m half way through my bowl and she is looking at me oddly.

“Why buy me ice cream, why talk to me if you hate me so much,” Jenna asks and I think about it for a second.

“Because this is the real you. No posturing, no superiority, no finery to make you more than you are. Now you are down in the dirt with the rest of them,” I nod to the random people in the mall,” You don’t feel like the girl who decided to use and manipulate me when I wasn’t able to withstand your charms.”

“So now that everything in my life is messed up you can talk to me like we used to,” she asks and I shake my head.

“Not like we used to, I’m not a simpering little stooge anymore and you’ve learned that the world doesn’t revolve around you and that perfection is a lie,” I state my perceptions and she looks at me with a little anger.

“So what are you now? And for the record I never thought of you as a stooge. I may have called you a few names and made you mayor of the friend zone but you were never a stooge,” Jenna clarifies and I think of the words.

“I’m more now, I know what I am capable of and I have no more fear,” I explain and she chuckles.

“That’s not answering my question,” she states and I laugh.

“If there were a word for me I don’t know it,” I say and she shakes her head still chuckling.

We know a word.

Smug bastard.

That’s two words.

“Well how about telling me what you and Brandon were talking about that got you to let him back onto the football team,” Jenna asks and I laugh.

“We made a deal, simple contract really,” I state leaving out about ninety percent of the details.

“Okay well since you won’t tell me and he wouldn’t tell me anything what does a girl have to do to make a deal,” Jenna asks and I laugh,” Seriously you hated Brandon, you said so when we were friends so what do I have to do to make a deal.”

“Thing is you don’t have anything I would want and I know what you want,” I state and she groans.

“Yeah you know what I want, everything else in my life is shit so what do I have to lose by making a deal with you,” Jenna asks and I laugh now and that quiets her down.

“So much to lose, there are so many things you can lose when you deal with me Jenna. I am not a nice person,” I tell her and she pauses for a second.

No chance it was going to work friend. At least you got her good.

Well damn, there goes that idea.

“Prove it,” Jenna says and I smile with teeth.

Wait… what… No.

Yes! Oh yes!

This ruins everything.

Oh this makes it so much more interesting.

I get up and leave my half eaten ice cream on the table and head towards the exit and my car. Where is Jenna? About five feet behind me and I tell her to go home and that I’ll be there in an hour and to dress in something amazing. I head to one place I’ve been avoiding, home. I just need to get in, clean a little, change into a suit and I’m out. The truck I think Dad and his daughter brought is still parked out front but I have somewhere to be so I’m not going to waste time. I’m in the house and moving towards my room with a purpose. I get cleaned up a bit and I’m half way dressed when there is a knock on my door and I don’t bother to respond. It takes a second before my new sister steps inside as I’m buttoning up my dress shirt.

“We didn’t know where you went,” she says as I fix my shirt cuffs,” You gonna talk to me?”

“About,” I ask in response killing time as I figure out which tie to wear.

“You’re mad at Daddy and you think he didn’t care about you. I was there for years and I know he did. Can you just listen to us for a little bit and try to understand how much it hurt him to lose you,” Gwen asks and I shake my head,” Why are you being so ornery?”

“What? What the hell is that supposed to mean,” I ask and she isn’t happy with me.

“You won’t listen to us, your family, when we’re trying to make things better,” she says it and I look at her for a second and think before breaking this down.

“You seem to think that by adding you and our Father to my life that I’m going to somehow be fixed. What neither of you seem to realize is that the person you came looking for is gone and now,” I stand and figure the red silk tie would be best,” I’m what in his place. I look back on who I was and I hate him as much as I hate the fact that the only time anyone put any effort into me was when things got so bad I couldn’t be ignored anymore.”

“That’s not what our parents and your step family did,” she is trying and I’m not enjoying it in the slightest.

“Don’t talk to me like you know me, you don’t… Even if you’d like to think you do,” I state as I’m tying up my tie,” See you were always the one that got away so they chased you. I was there and the first time either of them wasn’t so busy dealing with what they were going through with you to notice what was going on with me was after I was left bleeding in an alley so don’t stand there with all this familial love thinking if you tell me to do something or feel something it’s going to happen because it’s not. Now if you excuse me I have a meeting.”

And just like that I pull on my suit jacket and am walking out the door of my room and down the stairs like a boss. Never got that saying till right now and I’m two steps from the garage when Mom calls after me and I stop to address her.

“Guy are you going to be back for dinner,” Mom asks and I know others are listening in.

“I have a meeting and I’m running behind picking them up,” I am polite to Mom; she’s not the problem in the house.

“Well are you going to be back this evening,” Mom asks and I shake my head,” Honey I know you are trying to be your own person and I love you but there is room for mending things with the rest of the family.”

“Maybe but not today, I have more important things to do,” I tell Mom before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

In garage, in car and down the road leaving the family and my new/old family behind me for now I have to wonder why does Mom want to complicate our finally good lives?

More important things.

Like what, Jenna ‘the cunt’?

Don’t underestimate him.

I am just over an hour when I pull up to Jenna’s house and make my way to her front door. I wait after knocking for a moment when Jenna answers and I must smile at her taste. She did her hair and makeup in a simple manner with cascading curls and red lips but her dress. Full length, dual shoulder straps on each shoulder, skirt split up to mid thigh and the color almost like my car’s wine red.

“Daddy I’m going to be out with a friend,” Jenna calls to her father who barely pays attention most days,” You look amazing.”

I have on my smoke black suit with straight black shirt and red silk tie and doing my hair took five minutes where hers probably took forty. I walk her to my car and get the door before gently closing it after her and walk around to the driver side. I let the engine roar a little before heading down the road to somewhere nice. Its late afternoon so I settle for the Hilton Hotel, yes the one Paris’s grandfather owns, and have the valet park my car after giving him a twenty so that my car is parked and not screwed with. Jenna takes my arm and we walk into the Hilton Restaurant and we’re directed to a circular table and the server pulls out a chair for Jenna letting me get my own chair across from her. We’re sitting for only a few moments when menus are brought and we’re looking through when we’re asked if we want anything from the wine menu.

“I’m going to have to pass on alcohol this evening and every evening for the next 2 years and some months,” I joke and the waiter actually gets the joke.

“Thank you sir, we don’t like having to card the customers,” he jokes back and this is actually funny.

Simple drinks are ordered and we browse the menu quietly till he returns and we order. I don’t tell Jenna what she can and cannot get, we simply order and wait. I thought talking would come later but I was wrong.

“So this is our first date,” Jenna says with a chuckle and I don’t laugh.

“Not really,” I reply evenly.

“It is for me, I was so caught up in Brandon coming back and picking up our relationship that I put you in the friend zone,” Jenna admits it and I give her a lightly nasty look,” I know and I’m sorry. I can say with some truth that I didn’t deserve you for a friend.”

“Well here we are, not friends or anything else really for that matter,” I state and she gives me a questioning look.

“Then why dress me up and take me to an expensive hotel and restaurant,” she asks and I smile,” Okay so you’re planning something for me.”

“I’m going to open your eyes,” I reply and smile with a little teeth to show.

“Why do you do that,” Jenna asks and I shrug,” No I mean the teeth. You smile like everything is happy then you turn it into ‘I’m a predator happy and I’m going to go kill some defenseless bunnies’. Why do you do that?”

“Because what is normal for a spider is chaos for a fly,” I reply and she shakes her head chuckling.

This is going to be so fun.

All this for a seduction of a female not worth his time or effort?

Who said seduction, he’s going to tell her what he did and then walk.

Wait are you serious, you magnificent bastard.

Little joys, little joys of life.

We talk about basic things and I discover that she is asking me more questions about what I like and trying to take an interest in my things. It is kind of funny that she is now, months later, trying to learn who I am. We eat, we talk some more, we pass on a dessert and I figure it’s time to take this conversation to a better location. I call the waiter over and tell him quietly what I need and he nods before rushing off to get them. It takes a minute and I have a courtesy clerk at my side and I hand them a my personal card through Mr. Delauter and give her a simple requirement before getting a nod and she leaves all the while Jenna is looking at me wondering what I have planned. The clerk returns with a bill and key card for the room I just paid a night for and Jenna is more than a little curious as to what I have planned, sadly it’s not going to be the festivities she was hoping for.

“Let’s go somewhere a lot more private so I can answer your questions,” I tell Jenna standing up and move around pulling out her chair for her.

We walk to the elevator with Jenna’s arm wrapped around mine and I smile, this is going to be a major twisting of the knife when I’m done. We ride up to our floor and a short walk down the hall I get my room open and let Jenna in. It’s a large suite with big glass windows facing south; there is a purpose to that, and a large queen sized bed. There is no purpose in that. I take a chair from the little sitting table as Jenna takes in her surroundings. I smile and wait as she looks at the city skyline and shrugs her shoulders.

“Okay so here we are,” Jenna says not sure what to expect.

“I did it,” I tell her and she shakes her head in confusion,” I knew he was cheating on you, Brandon I mean. I set it up so that he’d screw Hector’s girlfriend and I recorded it. I also found out who his regular side girl was and made sure she showed up to stake her claim on him. All this I did not only because I wanted to hurt people, I did it because I could.”

“Wait… hold on, you knew he was cheating and you helped him screw another girl,” Jenna asks sitting on the bed in shock,” And you set up this other girlfriend to cheat on her boyfriend why? You were the nicest person I’d met.”

“Well people need to suffer. I know about that better than most considering my life has been a long litany of suffering at the hands of others,” I say with a smile pulling off my suit jacket.

“But even though I was nice to you and Brandon wasn’t that mean,” Jenna tries to defend her position but I cut her off.

“Hell with Brandon, I did what I did and made sure you felt it so you could know what it was like to have your life broken. I wanted you to feel pain and suffer under it. You took happiness from me and so I took your perfect little life plan and turned it on itself and now I am telling you this because I’m done with you and Brandon. I did everything I set out to do,” I explain pacing back and forth, also I feel great.

Almost done, then we leave.

“So you tell me now because,” Jenna asks and I just smile at her,” Because it doesn’t matter what I think.”

“Very good, wasn’t sure you’d pick up on why that quickly,” I remark and she shifts in her seat on the edge of the bed.

“So what do you do now,” she asks and I look out the window.

“I wait for it all to burn and watch as it does,” I look down on the city and smile as Jenna sits nervously behind me.

“What do you plan to do with me now,” she asks and I shrug,” You’re just going to leave me here like this?”

“Why should I spend more effort than I already have on you? You don’t like me; you liked using me but actually liked me? I think not. I see you for who you truly are and I’m content with where life has left you,” I state turning and holding my arms out to the room,” An empty room you can’t fill with friends, can’t afford with money and no way back home.”

I grab my coat and sling it over my shoulder as I walk past the bed towards the door. I feel great and she’s devastated.

Told her off…

Like a boss.

Walking out…

Like a boss.

I can hear her moving behind me, she’s not following me but she’s moving and I hear her say something and pause my exit.

“I want to see the fire,” Jenna says it and I have to stop, I’m confused.

I turn around and there she is not quite naked, she’d need to take off the black lace thong and high heels to be naked. Heels actually put her at my height and I feel compelled to just take her now.

What did I do?

I got this! Hold ground and do not advance!

I hang my coat up on a spot by the entryway and return to where I was standing when I was walking out only I’m facing Jenna now and I point at a spot on the floor about a foot in front of me. Her hips sway a little as he covers the distance between us and leans in to kiss me but I put a hand on her shoulder stopping her.

“Undress me,” I order Jenna in a calm even tone.

She takes her time with it, loosening my tie, making sure to pull off my shoes before my slacks, actually bothering to unbutton my shirt. The little things till I’m standing in front of her in my underwear. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little turned on by the Jenna almost naked in front of me with her light ginger hair cascading over her shoulders but I’m in control, not her.

“Look at that skin,” I comment looking to her body,” So bare, so smooth, it tells a very quiet story.”

Self consciously Jenna backs away a step from me and I reach out and grab her hand. She resists for a moment and I touch her fingers to my last great scar.

“You told me when it happened you didn’t feel anything. Is that true,” Jenna asks and I shake my head.

“I was having the best day of my life, I thought it was a fitting end,” I tell her and she furrows her brow at that.

Her touch is soft and warm as her fingers trace the scar and the other moves to my chest. She smells like roses, roses can hurt if you grab them too tightly. Jenna isn’t a rose. I take the back of her neck in my hand and pull her neck to my mouth. I kiss and lick neck to her jugular and use my free arm to grab her leg and pull her up. She’s either not as heavy as I thought she’d be or I’m stronger than I thought I was, I think I’ll believe stronger as I walk and carry Jenna to the bed and sit her down on the edge of it. I’m standing in front of her and pull my boxer briefs down with one hand and with the other pull her head to me. Jenna uses her hand to pull me up to her mouth and slowly takes a couple inches in her mouth. Want to talk about awkward, that is a blowjob from Jenna. She doesn’t use her mouth on more than a couple inches; her hand is there for support and does nothing but support. I grow bored after a minute or two and pull her hand off before taking either side of her head and pulling her mouth onto me deeper than she would like. I know it’s deeper than she likes because she struggles a bit and tries to pull back.

“If you’re going to give me a blowjob then actually give me a blowjob worth my time,” I tell Jenna who is surprised at my critique.

She doesn’t say she’s surprised but her head moved to try and look at me. I didn’t let her as I push back into her mouth getting about half of me in before backing out and repeating. It’s easier this way since now I’m in control of her and able to get enough of me in her mouth to feel better since she sucks at giving head, okay that was a bit funny. I finally get hard and push Jenna back letting my cock leave her mouth and surprising her as she backs up the bed a little. I don’t bother to pull the black thong off Jenna; I simply pull it to the side and push the head of my cock against her entrance. I am almost straddling the corner of the bed as I take her hips and legs in my hands and pull her into position while pushing myself inside.

“Fuck you’re tighter than I expected, didn’t you ever fuck Brandon,” I ask because she’s tighter than I expected.

“We had sex… every two weeks or so… we just got busy,” Jenna grunts as I work in and out of her with long slow strokes.

“So what, he has a small dick or something? You just don’t like to fuck,” I ask as I keep my steady pace.

“No it’s just… I don’t get off much so it’s mostly for him… he understands that,” she talks like they’re still together.

“Except he didn’t, he was fucking around remember,” I tell her and I see recognition of my words in her eyes.

I don’t keep the conversation going and instead focus on taking my time with Jenna since I’ll probably never take the opportunity to do this again with her considering it’s more me doing her a favor than vice versa. It takes a few minutes of my steady pace before I feel her getting wetter and where she was looking at me like she was trying to figure out what I was doing now she’s breathing heavy and holding her legs back so I can get deeper inside her. Okay I’m all the way in but it feels deeper and that’s the important thing right? I think about what I’ve heard a few girls say about Brandon then I think about how long we’ve been going at it and I have an epiphany.

“Are you actually going to cum,” I ask and Jenna gives me a questioning look,” you’re enjoying this.”

“Why haven’t you cum yet,” she asks trying to keep the conversation off her.

“Because this is nice but I am holding out,” I make sure she has her legs in her hands so I don’t have to hold them.

“Well you should have cum by now, it’s good but you are just trying to prove a point you made it and can finish now,” Jenna is trying to hold onto something, her pride maybe.

I release he hips and legs since she has them and put my hands around the back of her neck and lock my fingers bending her so she can see exactly how I’m going to fuck her. It’s a little uncomfortable for her to be bent like this with her knees almost up by her head but we’re not close to done as I go from steady and measure pace to jack rabbit on a hot date fucking her near worthless in bed self. I’m shaking the bed, Jenna is making squeaking and groaning noises, and I’m beginning to feel her clamp down on me like she’s going to cum and thankfully so am I but I am still holding out. Yes I’m waiting for her; it’s nice to be nice in bed. Jenna cumming is kind of like someone coming up for air in a pool, her head goes back and she gasps for air while trying to keep her head above water… or more aptly me inside her. Something about her moaning in orgasm from me sets me off and I pull out and with a few quick strokes shoot my load up her body hitting her breasts a little and more on her hips and stomach. I let her head go as I pulled out and she collapsed on the bed as I came on her almost oblivious to my actions. I pull my boxer briefs back up and take a step back as Jenna sits up slowly and after kicking off her heels, she’s been wearing them this whole time, staggers off to the bathroom.

Put your clothes on and walk out, do it!

I crawl onto the bed and lay down; I’m listening to Jenna as she is cleaning herself up since I made a mess on her. It’s almost funny considering everything but no need for laughs right now as I hear the water stop and she exits the bathroom.

“Can we sleep here tonight,” she asks and I shrug at her.

Jenna crawls into bed with more sex appeal than the actual sex we were having minutes ago and curls up next to me but not on me.

“What,” I ask as she lays on her side looking at me.

“You really are different, I thought it was some new clothes and a new attitude but the same Guy. This is a very new you,” Jenna explains her view of me.

“People don’t want to believe reality so they make up a lie to help them cope,” I state and Jenna props her head up on her hand.

“So how long before I am able to see the fire,” she asks and I chuckle.

“I’ve given matches to morons, now we wait and let them light it up for me,” I state and she pouts, why is she pouting.

“I saw that video with that Mexican girl and Brandon. They talked some super shit to each other, him more than her. Why didn’t he ever fuck me like that,” Jenna asks and I look at her finally.

“Probably because you put him on the side of everything for so long that he couldn’t be himself with you,” I explain and she moves in to rest her head on my chest.

I don’t know why I’m letting her sleep with me tonight but it’s different. I’ve only spent the night with one girl, Marta, and that was mostly because we were at my home. Now I have one of the most physically beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen with my own eyes in bed, granted it’s a rental for the night but it’s mine right now and so is she.

Congratulations on ruining everything.

She’s interested in what is to come; I think she’s something worth exploring.

Yeah he did that and now they’re all lovey. You are an idiot.

Even if she talks what can she prove? Nothing. Didn’t think about that did you?

Elsewhere….

“Okay now what,” big man asks his friends.

“We wait to see what he says to do next,” the older man replies.

The two men wait with a nervous one for a few minutes when a fourth, confident man sits down with them. All men know each other and the original three are waiting for the newcomer to speak.

“She’s not getting any closer to the real criminals. She is focusing on the victim who is not playing the victim as I’d thought,” the confident man says to the three.

“So we hit him again,” the big man asks and the nervous one shakes his head.

“We’ve done enough, we do this again and we expose ourselves too much,” nervous tells the table rubbing his face.

“He’s correct; we need to find a way to point her in the right direction. Also are we sure that everything is clear in case she gets too close to us,” the confident one asks.

“I’m working on it, I’ve got something that with any luck will pull her right into where you want her sir,” confident answers.

“Good, major players are making trips into town to discuss business but we need evidence. Find it and put it in front of her quietly,” the confident man says before standing,” I’ll leave you to your tasks.”

The fourth man leaves the original three and they look to each other. What do they do next they all wonder.

Guy: Next morning

I can hear her; she’s thinking and awake but not moving. I am on my back and she’s facing away from me on her side. I breathe deep and smell her, Jenna smells like beautiful if it had a smell. I finally turn my head and see her in the light of the morning, blankets around her hips leaving her upper back exposed to me, light ginger hair covering her pillow. I can honestly say that now, not last night but now I want her. I turn to her and spoon; I think that’s the word, up behind pushing my arm under her head and neck. Jenna for her part moves back into me and discovers what happens to me when I wake up in the morning.

“Is that for me,” Jenna asks with a smile I can hear.

“No, but I’m going to give it to you anyway,” I inform her pulling my arm up around her neck.

She tenses, I’m not gentle pulling her against me nor am I gentle as I push against her entrance and press inside. She’s not wet so it’s a little rough getting inside her for the second time in less than twelve hours. I push and pull back very little while keeping her from moving away with my arm around her neck. Jenna struggles with me, I think it’s struggling but I’m not choking her as I keep going at it a little dry. We grunt and struggle, her more than me, till I’m finally seated all the way in and begin fucking her hard and slow. Jenna makes this gasping noise every time I slam inside her, its music to my ears and I pull her body against me hard. It doesn’t take too long for her to get wet and make things a little easier but I’m not going any easier, just faster. It hard and hot as I use my free hand to squeeze her breast, I magnificent breast, hard and almost not in a good way causing Jenna to almost object in some form of grunt or whimper. I feel her relax her head on my bicep that is holding her neck in place and push her onto her stomach. It’s like one of those chokes you see in wrestling or the ultimate fighter where they choke someone while on their back, except I’m not choking Jenna and they aren’t usually fucking each other. It’s only when I feel Jenna clamp down on me and begin to struggle/flail that I realize she’s finally enjoying being fucked and I hammer her bouncing my hips off her near perfect ass.

“Mine,” I growl into her ear and watch her bite down on the bed sheet.

I release her head from my arm only using my hand to pull her face away from the bed by her jaw. We both groan as I fuck her and this time I’m not in an easy position to stop myself this time.

If it’s going to happen I’m doing it my way.

Is this about last night?

You screwed up; I’m fixing your mess.

So this is what it feels like to be you.

I feel Jenna cum, she moans loud and her voice breaks and I bury myself in her and reach orgasm myself filling the most underused but powerful asset she has. I don’t collapse on top of Jenna instead finish fully and roll off lying on my back and letting her lie on her stomach and breathe. It is minutes before she moves and slides off the bed before slowly walking to the bathroom and I watch her with interest. When I see her sit on the toilet I stand up and move into the bathroom with her but slowly, don’t want to startle her, and turn on the shower after stepping inside. I wash and clean when the door to the shower opens behind me and I know Jenna is standing there waiting. I turn and now with slightly smeared make up messed up hair I gently take her by the upper arms and back up so the shower water moves past me and wets her down.

“You are mine till I say otherwise. I am not kind, I am not gentle,” I tell her and she nods,” you are broken and beautiful. My beautiful disaster.”

“Will you ever love me,” Jenna asks and I smile.

“I could lie and say yes, I could also lie and say no. Let me just say that I enjoy you. Did you enjoy me,” I ask and she nods,” Then I might love you someday.”

“But first it must burn. You need to hate, not love,” Jenna says it and I smile.

“And that is why I could love you,” I tell her with a smile.

We shower and dry then dress. I let Jenna take her time with makeup and things as I stare out the window. The sun is up and I’m looking at it make shadows of the buildings below and as far as I can see. How much burns before I get what I want? I hope for a couple lives at least, anything less would be a waste of my time.

Salvaged that for you, you moron.

At least now we have someone to confide in.

What about the other one? I like the other one.

Which other one? You need to be more specific.

I see Jenna is ready as she puts her heels on from last night and I smile at her. What I see first is that now she doesn’t look concerned and her smile is almost like my own.

“So what did you change into when you were in the hospital,” Jenna asks as we exit the room.

“A man of wealth and taste,” I tell her still smiling.

“I’ve heard that before, a song, an old one,” she comments and then smiles,” Oh you are evil.”

“I am what I was meant to be, as heads is tails,” I let her hook her arm to mine and we walk to the elevator.

It’s going to be a very interesting time in the next few weeks. I hope I don’t get too excited and rush the moment.

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