Chapter Nine: Downward Spiral
"Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But, in they always fall. Always."
Outsider's Point of View
On the corner of Charlotte Street and 2nd Avenue sat the Mercer house. The house had once been a revolving door for foster children until Evelyn Mercer had adopted six children, after that there was an occasional guest staying the night but it was the Mercer's house. Though most can't deny the fact that the Mercer children were rambunctious and violent. They were loud and hardly well behaved. But, not even on their worst stunts had the house that had been a home to all of them looked like this. The light brown house was riddled with bullet holes. The enclosed porch had broken glass littering the ground. Pictures were fallen around the entrance to the house.
"Jesus, look at this place," Bobby groaned. He avoided looking towards the electricity pole where there was still a puddle of Jack's blood. They had come so close to losing him at that very spot, but the second youngest boy was still in the fight for his life.
Both Jerry and Angel remained silent, ignoring the police officers buzzing around treating their home as a normal crime scene. Bobby sat on the front steps, with Angel and Jerry following suit, watching as Lieutenant Green approached them.
"Look, I'm really sorry, guys," Green said. "But, what happened here?"
"Victor Sweet did this," Bobby growled.
"How do you figure that?" Green replied.
"Because his friend in the bag over there told me," Bobby smirked.
"Okay, I'll make sure I get a statement from him then," Green sneered.
"Why did Sweet do us like this, man?" Angel muttered. "And, why did it have to be our moms?"
"Because Evelyn was going after him," Green filled them in. "She knew her son, man. She never thought for a second that you were corrupt."
"But, I never told her about my business," Jerry frowned.
"Jerry, were you ever able to keep a secret from her?" Green scoffed. "She knew all about your trouble, man. The moment they shut you down, she went down there, raising hell with the councilman."
"You gonna bury Sweet, or are we?" Bobby demanded.
"Well, I got me a dirty uniform I gotta deal with first," Green retorted.
"What?" Angel asked.
"You see, Evelyn filed a report that got passed on to Victor Sweet."
"By who?" Bobby snapped.
"Look, I just got something I…"
"Don't bullshit me, Green," Bobby warned. "Who are you protectin'? Your boy Fowler?"
"Look, Fowler's my problem," Green snarled. "I'll deal with him and then we get Sweet."
"So, how are we gonna deal with all this?" Angel asked.
"Self defense," Green shrugged. "Wasn't it?"
The Mercer brothers said nothing to disagree and Green knew when it was time to leave them alone. They had enough to deal with Lux missing, Jack in ICU, and their mother gone, he knew better than to add onto any of that.
It was another two hours before they were let back into their house, they stood around the dining room table looking at the pictures on the wall. The ones that hadn't been knocked down in the all the gunfire were filled with bullet holes but it was still easy to see some of the pictures.
"What are we gonna do?" Angel demanded.
"You can go to war with Victor Sweet," Jerry stated. "Not straight up. He'll just hire more and more goons until we're all dead."
"I don't know," Bobby confessed, staring at his little sister's smiling face. Who even knew if she was still alive or dead, or what Victor had done to her. "I don't know what to do anymore."
"We have to get Lux back," Angel growled. "She's not dead yet. She can't be."
"I got an idea," Jerry said.
"What?" Angel asked
"We'll take the rest of the money from Mom's insurance, pay Sweet to call off the dogs," Jerry explained. "He'll deal. He's a businessman."
"It doesn't count as a plan if it takes longer to say it than it does to think it up," Bobby frowned.
"Yeah, Jerry, Sweet will meet up with you, take your money, and we won't find your body until the river thaws," Angel agreed.
"If you can get that far," Bobby looks away.
"Trust me," Jerry said. "It'll work. Give me twenty minutes, I'll be right back."
Before either Bobby or Angel could say another word, Jerry was out the door and into his Volvo driving towards an old friend's house.
"This is crazy," Angel growled.
"Crazy is all we got," Bobby scoffed.
"You think Lux is still alive?" Angel whispered.
"I don't know," Bobby frowned. "It's not like he took her to ransom her off. We would've heard something by now."
Bobby's phone rang interrupting the conversation that neither brother really wanted to have.
"Ben?" Bobby asked answering the phone.
"Bobby, Jack's outta surgery," Ben announced. "But, they're not letting me see him and they won't tell me anything."
"Okay, Benny, calm down," Bobby soothed. "They probably gotta get him situated. I'm sure they'll explain everything soon."
"Yeah?" Ben sighed.
"Yeah," Bobby replied.
"What about Lux?" Ben demanded. "Is she okay? Have you heard anything"
"Not yet," Bobby said.
"Bobby…"
"Yo," Jerry called walking through the door. "Evan called Sweet. He's going for it."
"Ben, I'll talk to you later," Bobby said shutting his phone closed. "So, when's the meet?"
"Four o'clock," Jerry stated.
"Today?" Bobby growled.
"Yeah," Jerry shrugged.
"That's in three hours," Angel cried.
"Well, we ain't got no choice," Jerry retorted. "Sweet's supposed to roll up on us any minute now."
"What?" Bobby asked. "What else?"
"Well, Evan, we cool," Jerry explained. "And he let me in on a little something. If Fowler's there, he don't think he's gonna go for it."
"So, there's no plan," Bobby snapped.
"Yeah, there is Bobby," Angel disagreed. "We need to take Fowler out before the meet."
"We can't kill a cop even if he's dirty," Jerry retorted.
"He handed Ma to Sweet, okay?" Bobby snarled. "He's not walking away from this."
"What about Lux?" Angel asked.
"Evan doesn't know for sure but rumor has it that Sweet's talking bout a new piece of merchandise," Jerry growled. "Description matches Luxie's."
"That son of a bitch," Bobby yelled. "Okay, we gotta get everyone else outta here. Angel, tell Sofi to pack a bag. Jerry, get Camille and the girls and get them outta town. I'll go tell Ben to stay at the hospital."
Lux's Point of View
The last thing I remembered was Sweet's cry of "pistol" before everything went back. I thought maybe he had actually killed me but nope I had just been shot in the shoulder, a clean through and through, which seems almost considerate for a man who had tried to wipe the Mercer family off the map, the day before.
I came to wearing only a thin tank top and a pair of panties. I felt ridiculously exposed and angry about that fact. I wasn't exactly sure where I was but there was a small sticky note on my leg. I picked it up and read it feeling better about my situation. Jerry's friend, Evan had written the note saying that he was going to try to get me out of here, but it would be a lot easier if I didn't provoke Sweet.
I crumbled up the note and threw it behind the couch as a door swung open. Two of Sweet's enforcers came storming into the room and grabbed me by my arms pulling me with them through the door. My right arm, the one that had been shot, screamed in protest but I managed to bite back my moan of pain. I was carried through the mansion and into the garage and thrown into one of the black jeeps. The door shut and locked behind me. Before I could say a word or even wonder what was going on, I noticed that I wasn't alone in the car.
"Your brother's are negotiating for your life," Sweet sneered. "Who knew that the Mercer's weakness was family."
"You did," I growled.
He smacked me across the face without even looking in my direction.
"When I ask for your opinion you'll know, bitch," Sweet snapped. "Did you know your life and that of your useless brother's life is 400 grand?"
"More than your life 400 times over, I'd say," I retorted.
"You know, I got respect the fight in you," Sweet said, conversationally. "It means it is going to be so much more fun to break you of it. You'll be calm and docile before you know it."
"If I could be broken, I would've already been," I muttered.
"Careful, Lux, there's a difference between having a spine and being a fool."
I glared at him, but he smiled back without hesitation, clearly feeling no pressure. It must've been good to feel to be king of Detroit's underground. I glanced out of the window, not exactly sure where I was or where we were going. I settled back figuring that if Sweet wanted me dead, I would've been stone cold by now. But, my brothers were still in harms way. I tried not to think about Jack, how bullets had riddled his legs, in addition to the one who had gone through his shoulder. I hoped that he wasn't dead, there had been too much death to think about more.
"Look at that," Sweet smiled and I did as he said looking through the front windshield to where a group of men had gathered. "Your fool brother showed up and they say there's no such thing as a free lunch."
A jeep pulled to a stop about ten feet from where the group had gathered. Sweet slide out of the car with his two goons stepping out as well.
"Let's sink this dumb-ass and get out of here," Sweet ordered. "I got a candlelit date lined up with a hot piece of Puerto Rican pussy. Hey, maybe I can turn into a ménageá trois deal. What do you say, sweetheart?"
"If you think you're walking away from this, you're a bigger idiot than I thought you were," I snarled. "But, I'm not above a pity fuck."
"You little bitch," Victor growled.
He rushed towards me with a rage I had seen multiple times in foster parents. He smacked me around, bloodying my nose and splitting my lip. He wrapped a fist around my hair pulling me out of the jeep.
"I was going to let you stay in the car, but now I can see you need to be put in your place," Sweet hissed. "Let's go, bitch. Now you can say goodbye to your brother."
I barely managed to hold on to the scream that bubbled up my throat as my bare feet landed on snow. I stumbled along after him already shivering in the cold Detroit air. As Sweet approached the circle of men he pushed me towards one of his lackey's.
"Jeremiah Mercer," Sweet sneered. "Businessman."
"Lux," Jerry whispered.
"Oh, right," Sweet smirked. "That sweet piece is your sister."
Jerry's eyes glowed with rage as he looked me over from head to toe.
"Give me that," Sweet ordered snagging a duffel bag from Jerry. He crouched down and opened it, revealing that it was filled with money. "God Damn, I like the way you do business! You're a reasonable man, you should've let me in on your project. We could've been partners, it would've been a sweet deal for both of us."
"We gonna deal or what?" Jerry demanded.
"Careful, now," Sweet whispered. "Watch your tone."
"My tone?" Jerry whispered. "I thought we had a deal."
"And what was that deal, again?" Sweet asked. "You give me 400 grand and I pardon you and your brothers and your sister, is that right? Forgive and forget, right?"
"That's right," Jerry said. "My brothers said that I was naïve. That you would shoot me and just take the money."
"Damn, man, you hurt my feelings."
"Good," Jerry sneered. "Because you don't know shit about hurt feelings. I just buried my mama, you shot my brother, and kidnapped my sister. I think that's payment enough, Vic."
"You been doing a lot of thinking, boy," Sweet scoffed.
"Yeah, my mama raised me to be a thinking man," Jerry stated.
"Well, my Uncle taught me that actions speak louder than words."
I gasped when Sweet whirled around grabbing me from the person who had been holding me into their side, seemingly attempting to give me some warmth in the freezing environment. I had already been shivering uncontrollably, and could no longer feel my feet. So, my reaction time was slowed as Victor pulled me away from the person, glared at Jerry before walking towards the hole in ice.
"Jerry?" I whispered.
I barely saw two people get in front of my older brother before I had been pushed. For a moment it felt like I was flying, and then I hit the water. I had heard once that falling into freezing water was the worst pain you could imagine. But the reality was so much more than that. I thought I knew pain, truthfully though, I had never felt the agony I felt the instant I hit the water. Every inch of my body was alive and screaming.
"Swim!" My mind screamed and I fought my way to the surface.
"Come here, girl," One of the men barked holding out his hand.
Somehow he grabbed my wrist and pulled me onto the ice. Someone else pulled me to my feet and into his arms. I was barely aware of the fact that there were so many people shouting and cheering as I was crushed by the crowd.
"Lux, talk to me," Jerry pleaded as wrapped me in his jacket, followed by blankets. He cranked up the heat but I was still freezing.
"Lux!" Jerry growled.
"Cold," I whimpered.
"Hey, you can't go to sleep right now," Jerry scolded. "Open your eyes."
The effort it took to even open one of my eyes was ridiculous.
"What's going on, Jer?"
"Bobby, we gotta go," Jerry mumbled.
"What are we looking at?" Bobby demanded as he hopped into a driver's seat as Jerry got into the back.
"Hypothermia," Jerry sighed. "No doubt about it. She's blue, Bobby."
"Then call the fucking hospital!"
"No, no, Lux!" Jerry shouted. "You have to stay awake. Please, baby girl."
I felt more than heard Jerry's pleas as he shook me, urging me to keep my eyes open. If only he knew how impossible the normally easy task was. There was no reason why things should be this difficult but they were. My eyelids felt leaden. I could feel my body shutting down, but I kept shivering. Somewhere I knew that if I stopped that uncontrollable movement, I'd be dead before we could even reach the hospital.
The next time I woke up it was too a blindingly white, too-clean room. The hospital. My eyes opened in slits as I tried to make out my surroundings. There were IVs plugged into either arm and I could hear Bobby snoring in the chair besides my bed. His feet were on the side of the bed, his head hanging back. It took a lot of effort to knock his feet off the bed, effectively startling him awake.
"The fuck," Bobby barked before his eyes landed on mine and then both his eyes and voice softened. "Lux."
I opened my mouth, trying to speak but only managed to irritate my throat, throwing me into a coughing fit that left my eyes watering and my ribs aching. Terrific. Bobby leapt into action quickly pouring a cup of water. When the coughing died down he held it up to my lips and helped me take small sips.
"Home," I croaked.
"You just woke up and you're asking to go home?" Bobby scoffed. "Nice try, Lux. You're not leaving here just yet. Don't look at me like that."
"How long?"
"It's January."
"What?" I shrieked before falling into another coughing fit.
The sensors attached to me began chirping sending a rush of people into the room.
"Sir, you're going to have to step outside," One of the nurses ordered.
"Do not touch me," I hissed. "He's not going anywhere."
"Lux," Bobby frowned.
"We just have to check your vitals," The same nurse soothed.
"I'm fine," I growled.
"Miss, you've been in a coma for the better part of a month," A doctor explained. "We have to make sure that there was nothing we might've missed in the original diagnosis."
"Like what?" Bobby demanded.
"Anything, sir," The doctor said. "Your sister's survival rate wasn't very high. We have to make sure that nothing's damaged either from the cold or the fact that she was technically dead for five minutes."
"I died?" I whispered.
"Your body was pushed to the limit," The doctor replied. "Which is why we have to make sure everything is okay. Your brother can stay."
I sat still allowing the doctor to scan my body, searching for anything they might've missed. When everything on the surface was deemed acceptable I was wheeled down the hallway to get x-rayed and an MRI done. After both things were over I was escorted back to my room where Bobby, Angel, and Ben were waiting.
"You need to stay in bed, Ms. Mercer," A nurse stated firmly when it looked that I was going to get up.
"Where's Jack," I demanded, ignoring the woman.
"He's fine," Bobby said. "He's in physical therapy, will most likely walk with a limp for the rest of his life but he's okay. A lot of the bullets were grazes or superficial, the ones that weren't were luckily mostly fixable."
"What about Sweet?" I asked.
"We will never have to worry about him again," Angel said.
"Okay, boys, your sister needs to rest," The nurse stated.
They all looked like they were going to argue but the nurse didn't seem to care as she ushered them out of the door, closing it behind her. Clearly the nurse was new because not even an hour later, Ben had snuck back in.
"Hey," I croaked, tiredly.
"Hey," He said.
"It's good to see you."
"Shit, Luxie, I thought I'd lost you, again."
"I'm sorry, Benny," I whispered.
He closed the distance between us, slipping out of his shoes and joining me on the hospital bed. I curled into side as his arms wrapped around me. It was a position that we had outgrown years ago, but neither of us were focusing on the fact that we were too old to be like this, we were focused on the fact that we were together, that the family was okay. This was one position that had been seen a lot when I first arrived at the Mercer's, when neither Ben nor I were comfortable letting one another out of our sight.
Outside Point of View
When Evelyn rescued Lux from Meadow Brook Psychiatric Hospital, she thought for sure that Evelyn that would pass her to the next family. Instead the woman had taken Lux to her house, talking to the young girl the entire ride home in a low soothing voice.
"I have four sons," Evelyn explained. "Soon to be five but he had stipulations."
"Oh," Lux whispered.
"I think you'll like them," Evelyn replied.
Lux didn't say anything because while this woman was nice, and had rescued her. But, Lux didn't trust men, after all one had been raping her consistently over the course of a year. Evelyn took the silence in stride, parking her mini van in front of her house.
"I promise that they'll be on their best behavior," Evelyn said as she ushered the girl up the salted walkway and into the warm house.
Evelyn opened the front door noticing that the girl was now using her as a shield. It broke Evelyn's heart but she was use to seeing this whenever she had one of her foster children stay the night.
"Boys!" Evelyn called. "Come greet our guest."
The boys surfaced from all areas of the house, stopping a few feet away from their mother, trying to peer around her. Lux was going a good job at hiding until she caught sight of the soon to be newest Mercer. Ben was the last to arrive, stopping next to Jack.
When Lux gasped she startled everyone and then she was off like a shot, running straight at Ben. She collided with him, Ben for his part realized who had run at him and hugged her tightly.
"Oh, my god, Lux," Ben whispered.
Evelyn smiled at the scene of the siblings reuniting. It wasn't often that Evelyn was able to keep siblings together so to be able to put the twins back together. Lux began to cry as she realized that she had found Ben. When Ben pulled back he saw the scratches that ran down her neck to her collarbone and the one that split her left eyebrow.
"What happened?" Ben demanded.
Lux just shook her head realizing that there were other people in the room.
"Lux, these are my sons," Evelyn explained pointing them out one by one. "That's Bobby, Angel, Jeremiah, and Jack. Boys, this is Dorothea Lux, she's Ben's sister."
Ben and Lux didn't let one another out of each other's sight for weeks. It took even longer for Lux to even be comfortable around the other boys. It would've even be longer if Ben hadn't gotten involved. His trust in their new brothers had Lux warming up to them faster. It took a long time for Lux to trust her new brothers the way she trusted Ben. Bobby swore that the first time Lux ran to him after a nightmare instead of Ben to be one of the best moments he had with his little sister. Because he knew more of her past than the others and knew how much it took for her to trust strangers after everything she had been through.
Lux's Point of View
It hit me in the middle of the night as I cuddled into my twin brother that we had almost lost each other. That I had almost died out on that ice. The fact that I survived with only a few side effects was insane. It was another two weeks before I was allowed to be released from the hospital. Though, it was on a temporary basis, as I still had to attend physical therapy because my muscles had atrophied slightly. At least Jack and I were in the same class. Jack had moved from a wheel chair to crutches and while he would limp for the rest of his life, he was with us.
Evelyn Mercer might be dead, murdered in cold blood, but the lessons she taught my brothers and I stayed with us. The countless lives she saved and the family she gave us were gifts. Detroit definitely missed her, but not as much as we did.
Between my physical therapy and Jack's, our brothers worked on restoring the house. I knew that Bobby had called University of Pennsylvania in order to ensure that I had a medical leave, which would guarantee me a place for a full calendar year. Before Mom had died my brothers and I had scattered to all corners of the country, with her death, it seemed like we didn't really want to go that far from one another.
One Year Later (Outsider's Point of View)
"I know present to you, University of Pennsylvania's graduating class of 2007," Amy Gutmann, the President of the University announced to the crowd that filled the stadium.
Dorothea Lux Mercer leapt to her feet with the rest of her classmates with a cheer. Despite everything that had happened in her life, she now held two degrees, one in History and the other in biochemistry. Dorothea Lux was able to do something that she had never even fathomed some eleven years prior, where she had almost taken in her life.
Evelyn Mercer had saved Dorothea from a life in a Psychiatric Hospital. She had given the twenty-two year old a home and brothers. Dorothea had been reunited with her twin brother and given four new brothers who were loyal, and protective, and everything she never dreamed could happen. Evelyn Mercer had given her hope, made her realize her potential. And as the new college graduate walked over to where her family had gathered, she couldn't be happier.
Jack Mercer had survived a shoot out, though he walked with help from a cane. Jack and his band, The Strokes had recently signed a record deal, due to be released that very year. Jeremiah and Camille Mercer, and their two daughters moved to Philadelphia shortly after Dorothea Lux went back to school. While, Detroit would always be home, it was too difficult with Evelyn no longer present. Bobby and Ben ran a rather successful automotive shop, which was also located in Philadelphia. Angel Mercer and his fiancé, Sofi stayed in Detroit. Sofi was pregnant and they also were foster parents, having adopted a boy, Sammy and a girl Vanessa. They lived in the house that the Mercer siblings had grown up in, not being able to just sell the home that Evelyn had willingly opened to them.
No matter where Bobby, Jeremiah, Angel, Jack, Ben, or Lux Mercer found themselves, they knew that family would always be there. It had been the one lesson that Evelyn never really had to teach her children, they were loyal to one another because, in the end, family is all that matters.
