Author's Note: Thanks to Brina and Haylie for all their help and support!
Danny would be the first to admit that he was more than a little cautious with his money. Some people would go so far as to call him cheap. The truth was, he just hated extravagance. To him, people were more important than possessions. Maybe that's why he found himself mounting his bike after a ride on the Staten Island ferry, on the way to see his brother.
Louie and Danny had never gotten along as well as they could. What could he say; they were very different people. Danny had always been the talkative one when they were kids, much to his mother's annoyance. Louie, on the other hand, was quiet and reserved. He could go for hours without saying so much as one word. That, and they had nearly polar-opposite lives. While Louie had spent his youth running around on the wrong side of the tracks with people of questionable motives, Danny had gone off to the police academy and graduated at the top of his class. If they didn't look so much alike, no one would guess that they were related. Still, he loved Louie. He was his brother, after all.
After a short trip down the highway and through a couple of side streets, Danny pulled up beside a dingy looking bar. The place was all but deserted; there couldn't have been more than six cars in the parking lot. Among them, he recognized his older brother's supped-up beater he'd had since he was in his twenties. Danny rolled his eyes. He hated that car. Taking a deep breath, he got off his bike and walked inside.
The interior of the bar was so close to what he had expected, Danny briefly wondered if he was psychic. The dark-brown wallpaper was stained and peeling, and the roof was decorated with what looked suspiciously like bullet holes. The carpet was a shade of green reminiscent of Danny's stomach contents after seeing his first bloated corpse. Behind the bar counter, there was a surly looking man with tangled grey hair and a long beard, who acknowledged his presence with a low grunt.
Just then, Danny felt a light tap on his shoulder, causing him to jump. He whirled around to see a familiar pair of brown eyes staring back at him.
'Jesus, Louie,' he groaned. 'You scared the crap out of me.'
'Still jumpy as ever, huh D?' Louie said with a chuckle. 'It's good to see you, bro.'
'Yeah, yeah, you too. So, how about that beer you promised me?' Danny asked. Knowing his brother, he was probably going to need it.
After taking a seat and making some uncomfortable small talk ('How's Mom?' 'You seen the Giants game?' 'Miserable weather, no?'), Danny grew tired of playing his brother's little mind games. He knew in his heart that Louie was only after one thing: A handout.
'So, what do you say we cut to the chase?' he said sharply, pulling out a checkbook from his coat pocket. 'How much do you need?'
He watched Louie's facial expression change to one of false shock. 'What, you think I can't invite my brother out for a drink without asking for some cash?' he asked, trying to sound indignant.
'Don't kid yourself, Louie. You and I both know that I'm just some sort of cash cow to you. So why don't you stop dicking around and tell me how much you need?' he demanded, his patience slipping away at breakneck speed.
Danny wasn't remotely surprised when Louie sighed melodramatically and looked down into his half-drunken beer. 'Ten-thousand dollars,' the older man mumbled quietly.
It took Danny a minute to get over the shock of what his brother was proposing. 'Ten-thousand dollars?' he repeated slowly. 'Ten-thousand? You gotta be kidding me! I don't make that much in a month!'
'I know, I know,' Louie said sheepishly. 'But I'm in a tight spot right now, D.'
Danny shook his head in disbelief. 'Maybe you don't get it, Louie. I'm living paycheck to paycheck here. Just because I've got a college degree doesn't automatically mean I've got money coming out of my ass!' He looked down at his hands and noticed they were shaking lightly. No one had the power to get under his skin quite like Louie.
'Well, you sure as hell made a big stink about it at the time,' Louie hissed bitterly. 'You think you're hot stuff just because you got a shiny badge and a diploma in your closet? Give me a break. You're low-life scum, just like the rest of your family.'
'Shut up! Just shut up!' Danny screamed, jumping to his feet. 'You know what? Maybe I am some low-life piece of trash, but at least I don't use it as an excuse to be a freeloading user!' At this, he took out a check and ripped it cleanly into two pieces. 'And since I'm such a scrap of human garbage, I guess you don't need my money.'
'You can't hide from the past, D!' Louie shouted after him as he stormed out of the bar and into the cold December night. Once outside, he took several deep breaths in attempt to calm his jangled nerves, but it failed to make him feel any better. How the hell did Louie manage to make him so angry every time the two crossed paths? He had to get off this damned island, where all his troubles seemed to multiply.
Just as Danny was about to leave, he once again noticed his brother's hideous old car sitting crookedly in its parking space. The very sight of it only enraged him further. In a single bound, he ran over to the old hatchback and began kicking fiercely at the door. With every kick, it seemed to release his anger. This had to be better than any therapy.
Eventually, Danny felt a calm wash over him. As he stepped back to admire his handiwork, he was surprised by how little damage he had done. The car was already so badly dented; it was nearly impossible to tell that he'd just gone to town on it. Feeling better, he walked to the other side of the parking lot and mounted his bike.
'This is the last time I try to do anything nice for that bastard,' he thought to himself as he merged onto the highway. To him, his brother was nothing more than a living reminder of everything he hated about himself. He wanted nothing more than to never see Louie again, but he knew it wasn't possible. It was like trying to escape a tornado. If he tried to run from it, it would only change direction and suck him in. So instead, he would simply have to batten down the hatches and wait out the storm.