Drawing his name in the trash-laden dirt with a stick, Amare could feel the summer's relentless rays beat on his brown skin. There was no tree in sight to protect him from the heat and inside was hardly any better. The young boy breathed heavily, the putrid smell of month old garbage wafting in the air as he scanned the open space between two apartment complexes. "Reni!" he called out, clutching his flimsy stick. The boy inched his way down the alley, peaking over each beat up garbage can.
"Renisha, I ain't playin' with you!" he shouted, reaching the end of the alleyway, leading to wider space behind the complexes. "Raaaawwwr!" a voice growled, causing Amare to jump. "Girl, do you know I will kill you!" he threatened, dismissing her howling and cackling. "It's not funny, I thought someone took yo' ass." he expressed, dusting off his shoes and yanking her hand. Renisha rolled her eyes, hardly protesting. Her brother had a point.
At least nine women had been kidnapped within the last two weeks. Sometimes, in broad daylight such as it was now. Everyone knew where they were though, but no one could do anything about it. It was just how things were when you lived under the authority of the Vice Kings. It was usually the young girls that were snatched up, even as young as sixteen – Renisha's age. Some of the older female residents volunteered to work for Tanya Winters, usually the pretty women that the gang wanted to gang bang anyway.
Two years ago, their own mother met with this fate after losing her job at the cleaners over in Chinatown. Desperation and two children can make you do some insane things. Amare and Renisha would go days without ever seeing their mother and whenever they did, she always had some fresh bruise, cut or a couple of sore spots from where a client had been just a bit too rough. This naturally, made Amare feel powerless and angry.
Between the rampant prostitution, the children also had to deal with frequent drive-by shootings, trap houses leaking toxic chemicals and the occasional Vice King attempting to rough them up for money that they owed for simply existing in their territory. The Stilwater police department were the least of their worries and with their father leaving nearly a decade ago, he felt it was his duty to protect his family as best as he could. Even if that meant quite literally, following Renisha just about everywhere she went. Amare vowed to get his family out of this neighborhood someday, no matter what it took to do that.
Later that night, Renisha and Amare were sprawled across the couch, spending the weekend cooped inside of the small apartment. Amare could hear Renisha's stomach growl softly, though she pretended to hear nothing. "Aye, you wanna order a pizza or something? I got a little cash for that." he suggested, his heart stung with disappointment. "Nah, I'm good." She replied, brushing him off to continue watching Fuzz. Amare shrugged his shoulders and left to call for pizza anyway. He knew she was lying, just to make him feel better.
Standing by the window, he whipped out his cellphone, scrolling through the contacts. From the corner of his eye, he could see it was a typical Saturday night, vagabonds milling about the sidewalk, rambunctious bangers blowing their last $500 on booze, weed and pussy. He kissed his teeth, and turned to his phone. In the distance he could hear frantic squad cars, and no sooner did he press the 'call' button, did two SPD vehicles pull into the yard directly facing their house.
Renisha's attention snapped to the front window. She scooted from the couch and leaped to the front door, sprinting outside. Amare dropped his cellphone, hearing the pizza employee greet him, and raced behind her. Reaching the front yard, Amare grabbed his sister by her waist, holding her back. They had seen the police a thousand times, but this time was ultimately different and ultimately life changing. Amare could feel his heart sink to his feet as the burly man walked towards them.