The day after, we stopped by the store Mom had been shot in and a man we ran into when we got there decided to let us see the tape from the security cameras that had been put up a few months ago. I stood next to Angel and Jack as I watched the screen of the tiny TV. I watched from when two thugs came busting through the front door with guns to when they had found Mom hiding. Just as Bobby was saying as we watched, the two guys had the money. Why didn't they just leave? I could feel something on my face as I watched as one of the thugs came down an isle and pointed his gun at Mom. I was crying again and I knew why. I knew they were going to shoot her. I could already feel it. I could remember the sight of Mom's still and lifeless body lying in a pool of red. I could remember that horrible smell blood that filled the air. It made me sick to my stomach. The next thing I knew I was watching as the thug filled Mom with bullets. Jack exhaled sharply as he turned away from the screen and walked to the other end of the store, tears running down his face. My breathing quickened as I felt my legs get heavy and I crouched down, feeling the need to get off of my feet as I tried to keep from crying harder than what I already was. Why would anyone want to kill Mom? She was the sweetest woman in the world and wouldn't hurt anyone.
A few minutes later, once we had all built up enough anger to overpower our sadness, we left the store, all ready to start kicking some serious ass to find who killed our mother.
"That was an execution. They set Mom up. They set her up," Bobby said through gritted teeth as we hurried down the street towards the gym. "Come on."
We quickly got to the gym, walking in on a basketball game. I wonder what Bobby had in mind. What was I thinking? Bobby always did the same thing all the time. He winged it.
"We're always winging it," Jerry sighed when Bobby told him that was the plan.
"We're going to get killed," Jack said behind me, stating the obvious.
"What you mean 'we', white boy?" Angel asked, glancing at Jack.
I chuckled before crossing my arms and watching Bobby walk right into the middle of the basketball game. Soon, the Bobby I knew was pulling out his gun and demanding answers more than asking nicely. As Bobby and Jerry worked with the guys on the court and Angel went off somewhere, a black boy not to much older than me stood up in the crowd and hurried to get out of the gym. He was in too much of a hurry for my taste. I tapped Jack's arm, but he had spotted the guy to.
"Come on," I said as we ran across the gym to catch up with the boy.
I pushed open the side door the kid had run through and Jack followed me. Right outside of the door we saw the kid.
"Hey, kid!" Jack yelled and the kid made a run for it.
I took off after him, running pretty fast for a girl in high heel boots. Jack was right beside me, ready to help me pin this kid down if we had to.
"No running in the halls!" Jack yelled at the kid, making me laugh.
I groaned though when I saw the kid was almost to the door. We weren't gonna make it. He was going to get away. But then something I didn't expect happened. When he tried to run out the door, he wasn't able to push it open and bounced back right into the arms of Jack and I. Perfect or what? Ha!
"Get off me!" the kid yelled as he struggled to get away from me and Jack, but we had to good of a hold on him.
I looked up when the door the kid had tried to go through opened and Angel walked in. Oh, so that's where he had disappeared to.
"You got something to tell me, youngster?" Angel asked the kid as he continued to struggle. "Jack, go get Bobby and Jerry."
"You got him?" Jack asked me.
"Yeah, I got this punk," I said with a smirk and slapped the boy over the head when he made to kick me in the leg. Like I said, I don't take crap from men.
Angel and I pinned the kid to a wall as Jack hurried off to stop Bobby and Jerry before they really started something in the gym.
"What's your name, kid?" Angel asked the boy, who had finally calmed down.
The kid kept his mouth tightly shut, but that was fine with me. I knew him anyway. He went to my school and had actually asked me to a school dance once.
"Hi, Keenon," I said and smiled when Keenon went wide eyed as he stared at me.
"Samantha Mercer?" he stuttered once he recognized me.
"I like Sam better. You remember that. But, yeah, it's me," I said.
I turned when I heard my other brothers coming back. Jerry stood on one side of Keenon with Angel while Bobby, Jack, and I stood on the other side. He wasn't going anywhere.
"What's his name, Keenon?" Bobby asked him once he was face to face with the boy.
Keenon knew he had no choice but to give us a name and sighed once before telling us the guy's name was Damian.
"He's my brother," Keenon admitted and I raised my eyebrows. I never knew he had a brother.
"No shit. These are my brothers," Bobby said as he pointed to us.
Keenon looked like he wanted to laugh as he glanced at each of us, but knew better than to do that with us all around him. A lot of people did that.
"No, dog, he's my real brother," Keenon said, a hint of laughter in his voice as he spoke.
"Yeah, these are my real brothers. This is Angel, I'm Bobby, this is Jack and Jeremiah," Bobby said and then pointed to me. "You might as well call Sam a brother to."
Keenon looked at me, as everyone did when they heard I was a brother and not a sister. I gave him my famous raised eyebrow, which made him look away and avoid making eye contact with me.
"We got something," Jerry said as he stared at a piece of paper.
"Don't worry, Keenon. We just want to talk to him," Bobby said, telling Keenon that we wanted to talk to his brother. But he didn't mention we might still hurt him.
"What is this? Aluminum?" Jerry asked as he checked out the jewelry around Keenon's neck.
"Shit doesn't even spin," Jack said before following Bobby out of the building.
"Knowing my brothers, Keenon, you got lucky today," I told him as Jerry, Angel, and I left to.
The last thing I said left Keenon frozen to the wall in fear. That was what the Mercers did best: Scared the crap out of people and soon beat up people till we got what we got what we wanted.
---
I decided to take small nap as we sat in Bobby's car, waiting for the so called witness of Mom's murder to show up. I laid my head on Jack's shoulder as he moved his fingers back and forth on the fogged up window next to him. I rubbed my legs, trying to keep them warm. Yeah, I was wearing tights, knee high socks, and boots. But that was the last time I wore a skirt out in the cold. Jerry had to leave because my nieces had gymnastics. I knew that. But I think he just wanted an excuse to leave so he wouldn't have to get caught up in this mess of trying to find Mom's killer. Jerry had changed a lot ever since he got married. I'm not complaining. He saved my ass from getting arrested many times. But I still wished he could have stayed with us.
"That's my hat!" Angel said when he saw I was wearing his favorite hat. "What have I told you about taking my stuff?"
"I've been wearing your clothes since I was little," I said and threw Angel his hat when he demanded it back.
"I was wondering where my red shirt went," Jack said and tugged at his shirt I was wearing.
"What do you have of mine?" Bobby asked, only joking. But I seriously was wearing something of his.
"Here," I sighed and removed his gloves from my hands.
"You stole my gloves?" Bobby asked and snatched the gloves from me.
"I always borrow your stuff. What is the big deal?" I asked before once again leaning against Jack and napping.
I had the bad habit of taking my brothers' clothes without asking. But they should have been use to it by now. I had always done it, for as long as I can remember. Wait till Jerry found out I took his vest he had left behind at the house.
"It's him!" I jumped when Jack suddenly said that.
I looked past him and out the window as Bobby and Angel all but leapt from the car with Jack and me right on their tails. I spotted the guy up ahead. He had the afro and sweatshirt the guy at the store describe to us. This had to be the guy. Bobby was the first to get to the guy and whipped out his gun. As soon as the guy saw the gun he ran into an elevator and frantically pressed the button to close it before we got a hold of him.
"Bobby!" I groaned; mad out him for his bad habit of taking out his gun at the wrong time.
"Why you always pulling out guns and shit?" Angel asked with equal frustration.
"Jack, Sam, stay here. Tell me where this stops," Bobby said before he and Angel took off up the stairs to try and catch up with this fool.
Jack and I never took our eyes off of the numbers above the elevator door. It went from four to five. For a moment I thought he had stopped at five. Then it switched to six. Come on, now. This guy had to stop soon.
"Six! It stopped!" I said and grabbed Jack's arm. "Come on."
We hurried to find Bobby and Angel. Angel looked tired as hell when we found him breathing heavily on the stairs. Bobby was still going, determined to catch the guy that had gone up the elevator.
"Six!" I yelled once I caught sight of Bobby.
Bobby stopped for a moment when he heard my voice and looked back.
"He stopped at six!" Jack told him just in case he hadn't heard me.
Bobby sighed and rolled his eyes when he realized the number of stairs he still had to go. Jack and I watched as Bobby and Angel continued running up the stairs, heading for the sixth floor. Bobby didn't trust Jack or me with a gun, so I guess we had to stay behind. Jack slowly walked up the stairs as I sat down and crossed my legs, patiently waiting, knowing Bobby wouldn't fail in catching Damion. I jumped when I heard gunshots, dogs barking, and Bobby yelling at someone.
A moment later I heard Bobby yell, "You're going down now!"
I watched as something black fell past the window next to me and I heard a loud thump, muffled by the snow.
"I think they got him," I said to Jack as he hurried back down the stairs.
After Bobby and Angel had come back down, we all headed outside to find Damion lying in the snow, holding his leg as he panted.
"Do you know why we're here, Damian?" Bobby asked as we all stood around Damian, who looked up at each of us in alarm.
"Come on, man. Call me an ambulance," Damian said through deep breaths.
"For my dog bites? I'll be okay," Bobby said as he looked at his arm. "Give me a name and I'll call 911."
That was a simple trade. If I were this dude lying on the ground at my feet, I would be taking that offer pretty quick.
"I didn't shoot no one," Damian said and took a moment to swallow to catch his breathe.
"Say what? Can't hear you, playboy. Not with all this wind," Angel said with a smile. "If we leave, ain't no one else gonna hear you out here either."
"It's gonna be a cold night," I informed Damian, trying to get him to spill a name.
"Ain't gonna make it far with that leg," Jack said and looked at Damian's leg.
I winced, able to see the bone through the skin. Man, that had to hurt. This dude was stupid if he didn't talk soon. I knew Bobby and Angel would leave his ass right where he was.
"Come on, man. I can't say nothin," Damian said, a pleading look in his eyes.
Oh, man! I was going soft. I actually felt sorry for the guy. I mean if I was lying there, I would want someone to call 911 for me to.
"Fair enough," Bobby said. "You're going to die right here."
"Yo, man! Come on!" Damian begged as Bobby and Angel walked off.
Jack slowly followed our older brothers, not sure if he felt right for leaving this guy here. Damion turned to me since I was the last one standing next to him.
"Help a brother out, girl," Damian pleaded and grabbed my leg.
"Sorry. Unless your last name is Mercer, you ain't no brother to me," I said and pulled my leg out of his grasp before hurrying after my brothers.
I could hear Damian's calls for help as I glanced over my shoulder and looked at him. I couldn't help him. I would be betraying my brothers if I did that. Besides, he was a liar. He was only paid to see Mom's murder and lie about it.
"Turn around, dick," Angel said to Jack, who had been glancing back at Damian to.
"What are you looking at?" Bobby asked me as he turned me away from Damian. "Come on."
We all walked back over to Damian and Bobby once again asked for a name. This time Damian knew we were serious and cracked like so many people had before him.
---
Continuing our search, I followed Bobby, Angel, and Jack into the 'Casino' restaurant. Something was going to go down very fast in here. If Bobby didn't kill these guys then I would. These were the dicks I had seen in the car that night Mom had been shot. I had been right there and let them get away. But they sure as hell weren't getting away tonight with four of the five Mercer brothers around. We were looking for a guy with a goatee. That was the main killer I wanted to find. He was the one that had shot Mom.
"There he is," Jack said as he tapped Bobby.
"Where?" Bobby asked, looking around.
I found the guy to. He had one of those goatees that were in a long braid, hanging down his chin. Easy to spot.
"I see him," Bobby said and reached for his gun. "Come on. Let's go."
My hand found my trusty knife that I had tucked into my boot. A girl has got to keep herself safe, you know. Suddenly, gunshots sent all of us ducking. They had spotted us.
"They're getting away!" I said as we ran to catch the two bastards that had escaped out the back door.
I slipped past people in the restaurant easily while my brothers fought their way through. I rushed outside after the two killers, Jack behind me. I don't know when Jack had grabbed Bobby's gun, but he fired at the killers as their tires squealed in the haste to get away in their car.
"You go, girl," Bobby said to Jack as he and Angel finally made it outside.
"Nice shooting, Jack," I said as I put my knife away.
"Let's get these motherfuckers," Bobby said and ran to his car, closely followed by Angel, Jack, and I.
I held on for dear life as Bobby hit the gas and sped after the killers at full speed. He was crazier than ever and I had the bad feeling he might actually get us killed this time.
"You gonna get these guys before you kill us?" I growled at Bobby as Jack and I were thrown from one side of the car to the other.
"Sit back and put your seat belt on, Sam," Bobby ordered as if I was a little girl again. "You to, Jackie."
I ignored him as Angel rolled down his window and started firing some shots at the killers' car up ahead. The next thing I know, I'm jumping out of my seat top grab Angel before he goes flying out the window.
"Bobby, let's just stop the car. Bobby, let's stop," Jack tried to talk some sense into Bobby, but as usual, Bobby didn't listen.
"Shut up, Jack," Bobby said as he sped up a little bit more.
I squeezed my eyes shut and gripped Jack's arm tightly as Bobby slammed our car into the killers' car. I watched with wide eyes as the car flipped and rolled down the street before coming to a stop upside down.
"Oh my god!" I laughed and whistled at Bobby's work.
Bobby brought the car to a stop and shut it off. Once he was out of the car, I got out and followed him along with Angel and Jack to finish off the guys who had killed Mom.
"Jackie, Sam, wait here," Bobby said and put up a hand to tell us to stop.
Jack and I both stopped running and came to a halt as Bobby and Angel continued forward to the car that lay upside down. I had no problem with staying behind. I was still jumpy from the car ride and didn't need anymore excitement for the night. Jack and I watched through the snow falling around us as Bobby and Angel dragged the two killers from the car and started punching them.
"Who sent you?" Angel asked the guy that he currently was banging his head against the door of the car.
I heard grunts, moans, and cries of pain coming from the killers as my brothers continued to rough them up. I felt slightly uncomfortable watching this. Usually, whenever my brothers would want to beat the crap out of someone, I would have to leave or turn away till it was over. They had never actually done this kind of stuff in front of me and, for the record, I didn't exactly like it. Jack stood next to me, looking just as disturbed by the sight of what our brothers were doing. I couldn't blame him with his past and all.
"You fucked with the wrong lady!" Angel yelled as he got one last good kick in.
Both he and Bobby backed up, raising their guns and aiming them at the two killers. I nearly jumped out of my skin as the gunshots rang through my ears and I turned away from the sight before me. I don't know what was wrong with me. It wasn't like I hadn't heard gunshots before. On the other hand, I had never seen my brothers kill before.
"Sam, come on." I jumped when Bobby suddenly appeared at my side and grabbed my arm, pulling my back towards the car.
Bobby let me get in before climbing in himself and starting up the car. Jack got in on Angel's side and dropped into the back seat beside me. I could see he was more shaken up than I was, but I didn't say anything as I crossed my arms and sat back in silence for the ride home. I always knew my brothers were completely capable of killing and had killed before. But it was just bothering me a bit to actually see them do it. What would Mom say if she were still here? I didn't even bother to think about it as I laid my head on the window beside me and tried to get some sleep, the best way to clear my head.
As soon as we got home that night, I headed to the bathroom and locked the door. I threw my leather jacket to the floor and stood over the sink, gripping the sides tightly. Why did those guys have to run? Why couldn't we just have finished them when we first saw them? There just had to be a car chase. At the thought of a car going over the speed of sixty, I ran over to the toilet and threw up my entire stomach. I panted, everything going dizzy. I'd hate cars if I didn't love them. Memories flooded back as I sat on the floor, wiping my mouth with a towel.
I remembered the day I lost my sister as if it was a movie playing in my head over and over again. We had only been five years old at the time. Sydney and I had been double dutching in the park that day. We were some of the best double dutchers around. Since we were twins, we knew each other's moves by heart and could jump perfectly at the same time. But something had taken Sydney's mind away from me. She probably saved my life that day by not paying attention. As Sydney shoved me to the ground, I saw a bullet cut through the air and hit a nearby building. There was a drive by shooting going on and Sydney had spotted the three cars speeding past the park.
"Sam, come on," Sydney had said as she took my hand and pulled me along as she ran.
I hadn't had time that day to figure anything out. The whole thing had confused me. The world rushed by as Sydney continued to drag me after her. All I remember was Sydney telling me to keep running and that we would be okay. She had lied. We wouldn't be okay. Sydney yelled at me to keep going as the three cars sped after us and the rest of the kids running from the park. As the cars got closer and closer the more things got confusing. As we started to cross the street, I skidded to a speedy halt, gripping Sydney's hand hard to make her stop to. But she was stronger than me and kept running. I yelled at her to stop, telling her that the cars were coming to fast. But she said we would get shot if we didn't keep running. I lost my hold on her hand, feeling like I had lost half of my life the second I released her. I screamed at her as she ran, leaving me behind. Sydney realized half way into the street that I was no longer with her.
"Sam, run!" she screamed and hurried back to get me.
I turned when I heard tires squealing loudly. They were coming way to fast, smoke coming up from the tires. Sydney wouldn't make it.
"Sydney, go back!" I screamed at her, warning her to stay away from me.
"Sam, get over here!" Sydney shouted, not hearing my screams over the sounds of the cars and bullets.
The next seconds always went in slow motion for me whenever I thought about them. I screamed and fell onto the street as I watched the front of one of the cars hit my big sister. Sydney bounced right over the roof and dropped to the street right behind the car as it sped off.
"Sydney!" I screamed and tripped several times when I tried to get to my feet.
I rushed to Sydney's side and rolled her over. Even a five year old knew what a dead person looked like. I knew, but I didn't want to believe it. I don't remember how long I sat in the middle of the street that day, cradling Sydney in my arms. But I would never forget how Sydney's body got cold against my body or how her blood soaked my clothes. I think because of that day, I'm probably the safest driver in Detroit. Bobby called it grandma driving. He doesn't know. I never told any of my brothers. They all knew about Sydney, but they don't know how she died. Angel had his suspicions. Jack had figured some of it out to, having watched me closely the first time I drove with him in my car. And every time I drove to visit him, I would be extremely stressed out after a long drive. After tonight, I don't know if I would get behind the wheel of a car for a long time. Every time I did start up my engine, I would imagine Sydney sitting next to me, telling me everything would be okay. Once again she was lying. It would never be okay. She was my twin sister. She was half of me. Now that half was gone and would never come back. An hour later, I finally left the bathroom. When I went to get ready for bed, I found Jack sitting on his bed, once again playing his guitar. Something was bothering him to. I knew the look. And when he looked up at me, he saw the same look on my face. It had always been like this. Neither of us had to say a word. We just understood each other in looks. I smiled as did Jack before I changed into my pajamas and got in bed.
"Sam?" Jack said and I turned around to look at him.
"Yeah, Jackie?" I asked. I never called him Jackie unless I was hurting and wasn't paying attention.
"I heard you in the bathroom," Jack confessed, not looking up from his guitar.
"You always do. But you never ask questions," I said, having heard Jack outside of the bathroom a couple of times when I had freaked out. "Thanks for that."
Jack nodded, before directing his attention back to his music. I turned towards the wall, my back to my brother, and stared at the sketches I had hung up until the soft music from Jack's guitar calmed me and caused me to drift off to sleep.