Chapter One

The country roads rolled past him, almost lazily in the heat. He hated the way he had been removed from the marines, but supposed this could work for the best since his last letter from home indicated his father had retired as sheriff of Polkville and was having health troubles trying to run the family farm. He knew his sister could use the help. Adjusting himself in the stiff seat of the cab, Ruler looked to hid right to see the Welcome To Polkville sign.

"Stop right here, man," Ruler said.

"Sir, with all due respect the commander told me to take you directly into town," The driver said.

"Look, if you let me out here, there is an extra fifty in it for you," Ruler said, removing the bill from his wallet.

The drive stared at the money a moment before taking it. Ruler got out of the car, and grabbed his single bag. He also grabbed a small box in the seat, which held his sunglasses. He removed the mirrored sunglasses and put them on, along with his backwards Duke Blue Devils flat billed hat. He missed being dressed as a civilian. He wore a white tanktop that showcased his 'Killkwik Soldier' tattoo on his right arm, and the spiraling barbwire in flames around his left bicep. He also sported some denim shorts that were a bit baggy, not overly baggy. He had met Kobe Bryant a few years back after a lakers game, and recieved Kobe's game shoes. He sported those too.

Ruler walked along the railroad tracks he had gotten out of the cab at, passing by the old mill. Polkville Textiles used to be the heart and soul of his town. But from the looks of it, in the ten years he had been gone, things had changed. The mill sat with a ghostly appearance to it, broken windows and some graffiti covered its once glorious walls. Staring intently at the graffiti, Ruler noted it was the trademark of a gang that had given the upper part of North Carolina so much trouble his platoon had been called in to handle things: The Gorzia Gang. Ruthless criminals who had run rampant throughout the northern parts of the state until Ruler and is loyal platoon etered the fray. Shaking away the memory, Ruler kept walking. He adjusted the bag over his shoulder and continued walking.

Meanwhile on the otherside of town, a large red Ford f-350 carrying six passengers pulled into a parking spot in front of a hardware store. the four doors opened as all six men clambered out. The driver, wearing a black tanktop and tight denim pants, signalled to the other men, who all wore denim pants and button up shirts, to enter the store. The men all laughed as they spotted the sole customer in the store.

"Why, Mrs. White, why didn't Mr. White come down here himself?" asked the white mustached guy, with a red tattoo of a dragon on his right forearm.

Mrs. White smiled and nodded gently.

"Mr. White doesn't know I'm buying him new tools, Mark, and the only hardware store he trusts is Frank Bingham's," she said softly.

"Mr. White's birthday is this week isn't it?" Mark asked.

Mrs. White nodded.

Looking to the driver, Mark signalled with his right hand. The driver picked up a bunch of tools off the shelf and stuffed them into a bag. He passed the bag to Mark. Mark extended the bag to Mrs. White.

"Here you go, Mrs. White. All on the house courtesy of Tommy Leons and The Leons' Boys," Mark said, waving his free hand towards the driver.

"Mark, you were such a nice boy growing up. And you've gotten yourself in the Leons' Boys and become something else," Mrs. White said, taking the bag.

As Mrs. White walked out the door, Tommy Leons locked the door and changed the open sign to close. The Leons' Boys walked to the back of the store with Tommy and Mark leading. Mark approached Frank Bingham and smiled.

"Ah, Frank. Have you had time to think out our offer?" Mark asked.

"Mark Bagwell, you double crosser. You boys have no credit in this store. You just let Mrs. White steal a bunch of tools," Frank said, his gray eyes narrowing in anger.

Mark stared deeply into those gray eyes with his own green eyes.

"Frank, you know The Leons' Boys don't steal. We brought cash to pay for those tools," Mark said, as Tommy dropped a pile of cash on the counter. "You just need to answer my question,"

"Mark, I refuse your offer. My Great-Granddaddy ran this store, he passed it to my granddaddy, who passed it to my daddy, and then he passed it to me," Frank said.

Tommy stepped forward, removing his mirrored sunglasses.

"How sweet? Family ties within business. Well Frank, see here's the deal. There are fifteen hardware stores in this county. Your hardware store makes the least amount of money out of them all. That's got to hurt your pride and joy? So why not let us take it off your hands for a bit, spruce things up a bit, and then we can make this store the number one hardware store in the county," Tommy said, with his northern accent that seemed like a mixture of southern dialect.

"No means no," Frank said, pushing the money towards The Leons' Boys.

Mark grabbed Frank's extended arm and held it tightly. Tommy grabbed a rubber hammer from the nearby shelf and slammed it five times into Frank's forearm. Frank's arm broke after the fifth impact.

"Frank, listen to me, and listen to me good. This is your last time to think about our offer. It is very generous and I am a very generous business man. Frank, you do not want me to force your hand. If I do that, Frank, your family could be endanger and you don't want that do ya?" Tommy asked, getting right in Frank's face.

Mark's watch started beeping loudly.

"Oh Frank, saved by the bell. The Leons' Boys have to go welcome an old friend home," Tommy said as he signalled to the boys with a whistle to get in the truck.

Ruler walked silently upon the porch to his father's farmhouse. He dropped his bag on the grass at the steps base. He opened the screen door with ease, silently and stepped into the kitchen. A smiled spread across his face. He could hear his mother singing softly in the kitchen as she prepared lunch for his father and sister.

"Alex, tell your father that your home and lunch is served," Mrs. Ruler said, without looking behind her at Alex.

"How did you know I was there?" Alex asked.

"It comes with the terroritory of being a marine's mother," She said turning around and kissing his cheek, "and before you get your father, do you think you could pick up Chase?"

"Chase?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Amy's son? You have been gone a while," Mrs. Ruler said.

"Who is his father?" Alex asked, suddenly angry.

Mrs. Ruler looked at the floor, tears welling in her eyes.

"Amy was dating Alhan Davis, the preacher's son. They were going to get married right after Chase was born, but a week before the wedding, Chase was just a month old, Alhan was caught in a crossfire between The Gorzia Gang and The Leons' Boys," Mrs. Ruler explained, "He was killed upon impact by a .357 revolver round because the two gangs were fighting over drugs. The sheriff, of course, didn't do anything to either gang because he is married to Gorzia Gang's only daughter and he is the brother of Tommy Leons the leader of the Leons' Boys,"

"Sounds like a bunch of hicks and mexicans don't know their roles," Alex said.

"Chase is at Martial Arts School in town. Can you please pick him up?" Mrs. Ruler asked.

"You mean Ames let him take martial arts?" Alex asked turning to leave.

Alex ventured back into the backyard and saw his father had already returned from the fields. The hardened ex-marshal of the quiet town was on the bumper of a bright blue 1969 Chevelle Coupe. He motioned for Alex to come closer.
"What is this?" Alex asked.
"A project. You crashed this beauty the night before prom. I had it towed here and using the money you sent us every month, along with Chase's help, I fixed her up just in time for you to drive her," Mr. Ruler said, tossing Alex the keys.
"Dad, you know I love this car too much. I didn't want you spending that money on my car, it was to hire help for the farm and pay bills," Alex said, his eyes narrowing.
"Chase even suggested we install a CD player," Mr. Ruler said, ignoring Alex's comment, "and he filled the over the visor CD case with your favorite artist after asking Amy about it,"
Mr. Ruler flipped down the visor and displayed a collection of Eminem CDs. Alex gingerly walked around the car and tried opening the driver's side door. It didn't budge.
"That's the thing son, we couldn't get neither door to open, so we took the liberty of removing the windows. Chase, a smart kid, he installed NASCAR brand windows. You velcro them up if you ever need to use them. We just park it in the building over there and leave the windows open," Mr. Ruler said.
"Thanks Dad," Alex said smiling,
"Now hurry and pick up Chase. It'll be the first run of the car since we fixed her up for you. Then come on back for dinner," Mr. Ruler said, his eyes welling up with tears.

Alex turned the key in the ignition and felt the engine rumble beneath the hood. He slowly backed out of the driveway and turned towards the town. He didn't bother with the radio, he just enjoyed the ride. He passed several familiar places in town: Polkville High School, The Rollerama Skating Rink(where he had broken his arm in three separate occasions), Davis's Drug Store, and Bingham's Hardware. His eyes spotted the sign that read closed on the door. He pulled the Chevelle into a parking spot and got out. He checked his watch.
It's only 11:15a.m. why is Frank closed so early? Alex thought. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the door open and several men walked out. He recognized one of the men as Mark Bagwell.
"MARK!" Alex called out.
Mark turned his head and saw Alex standing next to the Chevelle. He walked over and extended his hand to Alex. Alex shook his hand, hesitantly.
"What's up at Frank's?" Alex asked.
"Nothing much. Frank closed early due to some convention in town. He asked me and Tommy Leons here to close up for him. We were just sweeping up," Mark said.
"Oh really, sweeping up you say?" Alex asked, cocking an eyebrow. "So if I walk over there, the door will be locked and Frank isn't in the store?"
"You don't trust us, Marine?" Tommy asked.
"I didn't say that, Mr…um?" Alex said.
"Leons. Tommy Leons," Tommy said extending his hand.
"I didn't say that at all, Mr. Leons, but you see when Mark here tells a lie, his right eye twitches just a bit. And just as he was feeding me that bullshit story, his eye was twitching like a crack addict on caffeine. So would you boys mind if I just looked behind you to make sure everything is locked up and secure?" Alex asked, pushing past Mark and ignoring Tommy's hand.
As Alex pushed past, Tommy and one of his men grabbed Alex's arm, turning him around.
"Come on, Marine, let us buy you a drink. Marines do drink, right?" Tommy asked.
"Yeah we do. But I suggest you don't ever put your hands on me again if you wanna continue using them," Alex said, narrowing his eyes at Tommy's muscled up goon. "I'd love to catch a drink with you boys but I've really gotta get over to the Martial Arts school and pick up my nephew," Alex said.
Mark's eyes lit up.
"How is Amy anyways?" He asked.
"I haven't seen her yet," Alex said.
"We haven't seen her since her fiancee's funeral," Mark said, "Could you tell her hello from Mark and The Leons' Boys?"
Alex stopped in his tracks. His mothers words echoed throughout his brain.
"You run with the Leons' Boys, Mark?" Alex asked without turning to look at his former friend.
"Yeah. Everyone you know runs with The Leons' Boys. That scumbag Antoine Demarco began running with The Gorzia Gang. We had to defend ourselves. The only person from our graduating class who has chosen sides has to be the two boys you ran around with during school: Kwondo and Manson," Mark said.
"Did you know that your little Leons' Boys Gang and The Gorzia Gang are the ones responsible for Amy's Fiancee's murder?" Alex asked.
"The Leons' Boys were found to be innocent of that charge. We were nowhere near that incident. Matter of fact, we were out of town on business," Tommy said, "you can ask Judge Taylors about that one,"
"Lemme Guess, the Leons' Boys are just like the boyscouts. You defend your homes, go on camping trips and hold fundraisers?" Alex asked.
"Never thought of it like that, Marine, but yeah something to that effect," Tommy said.
"Well then, I'm just going to warn you. I'm back in town and I don't want either of the two gangs near my family," Alex said, climbing into his car and starting it.

Anger passed over fairly quickly as he drove towards the martial arts school. It was gone as soon as he saw the sign on the top of the building that read: Kwondo's Karate and Martial Arts.