A loud crash from the kitchen echoed throughout the small house. The seven year old girl shook in her sixteen year old sister's arms. Their mother wrapped her arms around the two of them as their father adjusted himself in his fighting position. With a grip so tight his knuckles turned white, he held a baseball bat-length stretch of pipe he'd bought intending on fixing a problem with their home's sink.

The gang violence in their little town in Mexico had risen over the years, but they had never before had to worry about it affecting them since they were as poor as anyone else. As the girls were growing up, the only thing their family had was each other. Recently, however, their father's great uncle died and left a good sum of money to him in the will. It wasn't long before everyone in the small town knew; which meant it wasn't long before the local gang knew. First, they tried to pressure him into giving them money, but he refused. He wanted to put it all away for his girls to use for college. Furious at his defiance, the gang decided to take the money by force.

Another deafening boom resonated as the gang members forced their way through the house, closer and closer to the bedroom in which the family huddled. The younger girl began to sob silently as she watched her father poised at the door, ready to take on whatever came his way. The older girl noticed and brought her sister even closer to her, whispering, "No te preocupes hermanita. Estoy aqui. No voy a dejar que te golpean."

Just then, the loud crack of the door being kicked in pierced the silent room. Three men stood on the other side. The one in the middle snickered. His lackeys laughed with him. They found it amusing that the girls' father thought he could fight them. The middle glared at him, saying it was his last chance to hand over the money. The girls' father readjusted his hold on the pipe and said no, then he quickly swung at the middle. The pipe collided with the middle's head, splattering blood on the wall and door frame. He collapsed on the floor, clutching at his head desperately. It took the other two a moment to process what had just happened. When they did, they jumped over the middle to attack the girls' father. One tried to rival the pipe with the bat he had, but it was no use. The pipe split the bat apart and slammed into the man's arm with such force, the bone broke. He cried out in agony, curses flowing from his lips with great speed. The other shuddered at the bloody sight before jamming his hand into his jacket to pull out his gun. The girls' father looked at their mother, a fleeting glance, but she knew what to do. As he swung to knock the gun from the man's hand before he could shoot, she shoved her daughters forward, shouting for them to run. It took a moment for her words to register, but the older girl understood, picked up her sister and shot toward the door, ducking just to be safe. Their father managed to knock the gun from the gang member's hand, allowing for his wife and daughters to get out of the room safely. However, not a few steps from the doorway, the man whose arm was broken, took out his gun and shot the girls' mother. From over her sister's shoulder the younger girl watched her mother's body fall limp onto the floor. She screamed. The sound of the shot, and his daughter's scream caught the father's attention. In the moment he looked to see his older daughter turn out of the house, the man whose gun he'd knocked away, retrieved his weapon. A couple feet from their home, the girls heard another loud crack of a gunshot. The younger girl wept violently, but silently on her sister's shoulder. Tears streamed down her sister's cheeks as she sprinted away to safety, never looking back.

"Alia! Alia!" Summer shook her little sister.

Alia's eyes shot open. "What? What is it?"

Summer looked at her, concern in her eyes. "You were crying. You dreamt about it again, didn't you?"

Alia reached up to wipe the cold sweat from her face. "Yeah. It only happens around this time of year now. No need to worry though. It's been ten years after all. I'm alright." She ran her fingers through her long brown hair and yawned. "Breakfast ready yet?"

"Yup. Just got done making the chorizo con papas."

Alia groaned. "You know I don't like spicy food so early in the morning."

Summer bopped her on the top of the head. "Did you buy it?" Alia made a face. "I thought so. Go eat while I call Tio."

Alia hopped out of bed. "Tell him I said hello and that I can't wait for summer so I can help out at The Silver Peso again."

Summer chuckled. "I will. I will." The girls really loved their tio. He was the one who looked after them after their parents' death. They lived with him until Summer turned eighteen. Although they loved him very much, they didn't want to impose on him anymore so they got their own place and Summer took care of Alia.

Alia looked up from her breakfast to watch her sister make the call. For a while growing up, Alia couldn't look at her sister without crying. Summer was the spitting image of their Cherokee mother. At the same time, Summer had to resist the urge to tear up when she saw her little sister who resembled their father so much. After ten years though, it didn't hurt so much, rather, it was a sweet reminder of their parents who gave up their lives for them.

Summer told their tio all about how Alia was doing in school and about her own experiences at work. Then she asked about him. Her face fell and she fumbled the phone a bit. Alia got up and approached her sister. She mouthed, "What's wrong?" Summer pressed her forefinger to her lips and motioned for Alia to come closer. She turned the phone so Alia could hear him too. He told them that their favorite cousin Romeo was in a mini-coma in prison. They bombarded him with questions like, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Their tio said he didn't want to worry them, but apologized for not informing them when it happened. He said that the doctor said Romeo might wake up if he heard the voices of relatives and that he would go himself, but with his old age and having to look after the restaurant he wasn't up to it. The girls shared a look before saying, "We're going to visit him then, Tio. We'll come see you after ok? Hasta luego."

"Are you worried about missing school?" Summer asked Alia as they walked through the hall leading to the room in which their cousin lay hooked up to various machines.

Alia scoffed. "You're kidding, right? Primo is way more important!"

Summer ruffled Alia's hair. "I knew you'd say that."

Alia chuckled. "So why'd you ask?"

"The awkward silence was getting to me." The girls smiled at each other and Alia purposefully knocked into her sister a moment before the prison guard that was leading them announced they had reached their destination. The girls took a deep breath before entering the room. They found two men, one on either side of Romeo's bed, on their knees, rosaries held tight in their hands as they prayed silently.

Summer and Alia looked at each other. Alia whispered, "These must be the guys Tio mentioned on the phone." Summer nodded. Not wanting to disturb the men while they prayed, the sisters stepped back to lean against the wall. Alia was so focused on the men she knew to be the famous, or infamous depending on the person, Saints that she actually managed to trip over her own foot. Luckily, Summer caught her before her head collided with the wall. The clatter alerted the Saints to the sisters' presence. Summer cleared her throat and looked away, trying not to giggle at the hilarious, embarrassed expression her little sister was making. Alia stomped on her older sister's foot as she said, "Sorry guys. You can go on praying."

The Saints got to their feet. Connor flashed a half-hearted smile. "Relatives?"

"Cousins," Summer replied, returning the smile.

"We'll get going then," Murphy muttered, looking away to wipe a tear from his eye.

As the guys walked passed them, Summer and Alia said, "Thank you for looking after him."

They stopped dead in their tracks. "What?"

"For watching over him and praying for him: thank you."

They nodded "you're welcome" and continued out the door. Curiosity peaked by the sisters, they lingered just outside the door with the guard that would bring them back to their cell.

Alia and Summer went to sit where Connor and Murphy had just been kneeling. Alia grabbed Romeo's hand. "What are you doing, you stupid primo? Weren't you always the one to cheer me up when I was hurting? Like that time I was picked on in sixth grade and ran away in the middle of the school day. You came and found me on the swing in that park people hardly ever visited. You acted like a complete fool just to get me to smile." Her voice cracked. "What am I supposed to do to help you, Primo?" She rested her head on his hand and began to cry.

Summer felt her heart ache to see her primo and her hermanita like this. In her head she prayed for a miracle to happen. She pleaded with God to bring her primo back to normal. She begged Him to spare her sister from any more pain. She was so focused on her prayers that she failed to notice the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Murphy turned away before Connor. They trudged back to their cell in silence. Connor sat down on the bottom bunk while Murphy slid down the wall until he was sitting with his knees close to his chest. He twined his fingers and hung his head so that his chin was inches from his chest. Connor lay back and stared at the bottom of the top bunk. He brought his hands up and covered his eyes as he let out a deep, aggravated sigh.

"How many more?" Murphy's question was muffled, but Connor heard it.

"'How many more' what?"

"How many more innocent people are we going to hurt?" he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet. He stood hardly a foot away from his brother.

Connor groaned. "I don't know, Murph." He sat up and looked his brother in the eye.

"They thanked us. Thanked us! And for what? It's our fault Rome's like that in the first place!" Connor was silent, not breaking eye contact. "Say something!" Murphy gripped his head with both hands and paced the small area of the cell. "We're supposed to be eliminating evil, but with the suffering we've inflicted on others, aren't we doing evil too?"

Connor still didn't respond. He couldn't. He'd asked himself the very same question countless times, but he could never find an answer. Was it worth it? he thought, living by the theory of "the greatest good for the greatest number"?

Murphy sank to the floor again, burying his face in his hands. "They seem like such sweet girls."

"Calm yourself, Murph," Connor finally said. "Your wound is open again."

Murphy looked down and saw the crimson liquid stain the bandage around his middle. He sighed heavily. "Help me change it?" he asked, tossing his brother the roll of bandages the guards had given them.

"How is he?" Cesar asked as he set tall glasses of soda in front of his nieces.

"His hands twitched a bit, but he didn't wake up," Summer said, weary from crying.

"Well it's something, right?" he commented optimistically.

Alia nodded. "I want to do something," she said, breaking the short awkward silence that had fallen.

"For Primo?" Summer asked, taking a sip of her soda.

"And the Saints."

Summer choked a little as she swallowed. "What? Hermanita, I understand you have sympathy for them and support their cause, I do too, but what can we do?"

"I don't know," she mused as she swirled the soda in her glass around. "I just have this feeling. It's like I can't leave them alone."

Summer nodded. "I have that feeling too."

Alia smiled. "I knew it! I knew you were thinking about it too!" She sat up excitedly. "We absolutely have to do something."

Summer conceded quickly. "Alright. But let's discuss it more after school tomorrow."

"I'm not going to school tomorrow."

"Like hell you're not!"

"Hermana, I wouldn't be able to focus even if I did go. Let's just go see Romeo again."

"Alia, you're going to school. You need a proper education and you can't get that if you take days off like this too often."

"It's just two days! Summer, please! Tio, tell her!" Alia implored her uncle.

Cesar stood up. "Do you smell that? It smells like something in my kitchen is burning. I'll just go check it out."

"Wimp!" Alia pouted.

The next morning, Summer got up early and went out to buy donuts to make Alia feel better about not going to see Romeo again. When she got back, she found a note on the dinner table saying that Alia had gone to the prison again while she was out. Summer crumpled the note in her hand. Fuming, she said through gritted teeth, "That damn, stubborn girl!" She grabbed her coat and headed out after her sister.

Alia stared up at the entirety of the prison before taking a step closer to the doors. Suddenly, someone behind her grabbed her hair and yanked it back. Alia clutched the area where the greatest pain emanated. "The hell?" She spun around and smiled sheepishly when she saw her sister looking back at her, an eyebrow raised and hands on her hips as she leaned to one side. "You sure got here fast."

"I'm the one with the car remember?"

"Oh yeah." She laughed while rubbing her head. "You didn't have to do that you know."

"You're lucky I didn't kick your ass for leaving like that. You blatantly disobeyed me."

"I'm sorry, Mufasa. I didn't mean to put Nala in danger."

Summer smacked the back of her sister's head before strolling passed her. "Now's not the time to be a smartass."

"The same damn place!" Alia shouted as she covered the aching spot. "Where are you going?"

Summer stopped halfway to the doors of the prison. "We gonna visit or not?"

Alia grinned and hurried to catch up. "Thanks, Summer."

Summer smiled her "you're-so-dumb-but-I-love-you" smile and mussed Alia's hair.

The girls recognized the guard escorting them this time as the one who lead the Saints back to their cell last time. On their way, Summer broke the silence by asking, "So, about the Saints: how are they?"

The guard didn't turned around. He took a while to answer. Summer had begun to wonder if he was one of those people who thought the Saints were wrong. "I'm not sure how to answer that. They're healthy and recovering, but I haven't seen either one of them smile or laugh since they got here."

The sisters looked at each other with concern. "Is anyone giving them shit here?" Alia asked.

"They only leave their cell to shower and visit Romeo. We let them shower alone to avoid letting anyone attack them."

"Does that mean you guys support them?" Summer asked, relieved to hear the guys were being treated well.

"Most of us. Everyone who has contact with them anyway. We've all lost someone or known someone who's suffered because of gangs and the mafia and all that. Those guys are heroes to us. It's bullshit that they have to sit in here while murderous scumbags are walking around out there without a care in the world."

Alia hopped up beside the guard. "I think so too!" she said excitedly.

He looked down at her and smiled. "We're here."

Summer and Alia thanked him and headed into the room. Connor and Murphy were sitting on one side of Romeo's bed. They weren't praying this time, just looking at him. Alia and Summer made their way over to the other side of Romeo's bed and sat down. The guys looked up. "Hi," the sisters greeted them happily.

"Hey. We'll go now," they said as they moved to get up.

Alia quickly put her hand on Connor's shoulder to stop him. Then she looked and saw her sister had done the same with Murphy. "Stay. We were hoping to get the chance to talk to you again."

"Us?" Murphy asked, obvious confusion showing on his face. "Why?"

"We haven't seen our cousin in a while so we were hoping you could tell us about what you guys went through before . . ." Summer's voice trailed off.

"Is he still the idiot we remember?" Alia offered.

The guys told them all about their time with Romeo from when they met on the ship. Near the end of the recounting, Connor chuckled. "He got himself these really gay guns."

Summer and Alia burst into laughter. "Yup! That's our primo alright! Bet they had to do with the Mexican flag right?"

Murphy smiled. "They did! You should have seen the dumb look on his face! He was so proud of himself."

Connor nodded. "Hey, has he always been a crier?"

Alia and Summer shook their heads, pretending to be deeply saddened. "Always," Alia said. "He cries watching Desperado."

Summer giggled. "And Fools Rush In! We think he has a thing for Salma Hayek."

"Well she is quite a beautiful woman," Connor commented.

Murphy laughed. "She is. The only time I love to hear that Spanish accent."

A soft knock on the door caused them all to look to the open door. The guard grinned. "Sorry to interrupt but it's time for you guys to get back to your cell."

Connor and Murphy stood. They were almost out the door when Murphy paused and turned back. "We don't know your names."

"Summer and Alia Martinez," Summer replied.

"It was nice talking to you, Summer, Alia," he nodded toward each girl respectively.

"The feeling is mutual," Alia said and Summer nodded in agreement.

Alia yawned loudly and stretched before climbing into her sister's car. "Let's go get lunch."

"Only if you're paying," Summer said derisively.

"Fine," Alia said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a slip of paper and gasped. "Summer, look at this." She handed it over to her sister.

"What is it?"

"Just read it."

Summer read it and looked up at her sister. Their hearts were beating faster than normal. "You don't think-?"

"What else could it be?"

"Whether or not it's true, we're going aren't we?"

"Without a doubt."

"Anyway, let's just go get lunch."

"Am I still paying?"

"Are you a moron?"

"That's a yes," she sighed before giggling.

Summer crumpled the paper as she shoved it into her pocket.

The paper read:

We're working on breaking the boys out. If you'd like to help, please go to your uncle's restaurant at midnight tonight.

- EB