"Alright then, see you later Mac." Mario nodded from the driver's seat.
"Later Mario." Mac waved goodbye from the sidewalk in front of the Punch-Out Gym.
As Mac went inside the gym, Mario turned the gear into drive and rode off. Hopefully Luigi's up right now and looking over the schedule today. Customers like it when you meet them early. Makes them feel special.
Actually, on second thought, maybe he could use the shut eye. Mario reconsidered. Is there anything in the fridge he can eat? Uh...screw it, I'll just hit up McDonalds. Why not?
Pulling into the drive through, Mario rolled down the window.
"Hello! Welcome to McDonalds! Can I take your order?"
"Yeah I'd like 2 Big Breakfasts with Hotcakes, and 2 Large OJs please."
"Step into the next window please."
Mario ate with one hand as he drove away from McDonald's. As he drove back to the apartment the distant sounds of sirens grew louder and louder.
Sounds pretty close. He realized as he got back to the apartment. Is that is coming from our street? At this time in the morning? As he was reaching Miyamoto Avenue, red and blue light flashed through the air.
What the hell happened here? Mario turned onto Miyamoto Avenue searching for an answer. Looking down the street, he saw the crowd gathered around his home. What the...
Then he saw the police car and police tape.
Oh my god.
Pulling up as close as possible, Mario ran out of the car. "YO! I LIVE HERE MAN!" He shouted, pushing his way through the crowd. "WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?"
"Sir are you the owner of this residence?" An officer asked.
"Yes I am! What happened here?"
"There was a shooting here sir about 20 minutes ago."
"A SHOOTING!?" Mario slowly turned his head to the apartment. Bullet holes riddled his home. Shattered glass was everywhere. Couch stuffing was littered everywhere. The table had a leg blown off. The TV was busted open. The chairs has been laid out.
Then he saw a green cap on the floor with a blood spatter painting it red. Luigi. Mario's heart stopped.
"My brother! Where is my brother?! Is he okay? He was wearing green. Tall and thin. What happened to him? He's my brother. Why was there a shooting at my apartment?! Yo what the hell man tell me something?!" Mario dug his fingernails into his own sides trying his absolute best to not break down.
"It was a drive-by shooting by local Blood gang members. They shot at a Crip and the man you describe. The Crip was pronounced dead at the scene and the man you describe was rushed to the hospital in critical condition."
"A-A-A CRIP?! Why was a CRIP at my apartment?! I don't fuck with no Crips!"
"Bags of cocaine were found on his body. It looks like he came here to distribute the crack to-"
"To my brother?" Mario shook his head. "Nonononono. My brother isn't like that."
"Sir, I know this may all be a shock to you, but I need you to consider that your brother was selling, or addicted to-"
"I SAID HE ISN'T FUCKING LIKE THAT!" Mario snapped. "HE WATCHES DEGRASSI AND FUCKING ONE TREE HILL! MY BROTHER AIN'T ABOUT THAT DRUG LIFE MAN! YOU CAN'T BE A THUG AND TALK ABOUT SNEELS AT THE SAME DAMN TIME!" Mario paused for a second, reminding himself that he was talking to a cop. "l'm sorry Officer...Wilde. It's just... there's no way Luigi is responsible for this in any way. Do you know where he was taken?"
"Kimishima Hospital. You'll have to go down to the police station later and give a statement. Oh, and by the way, are those two animals yours?"
"WOOF!" "QUACK!" Hiro and Kiyo were in the apartment, fortunately unharmed in the shooting. They were now staving off numerous officers.
"Y-Y-Yeah. Hey, Hiro! Kiyo! Over here you two!" Mario called. "Come on, get in the truck. We gotta go. Now."
Happy to see a familiar face, the two bounded into Mario's truck.
As Mario drove off, Wario took his eyes away from the blinds. "So now Mario's just coming back. Why the fuck were they up so early? Now everything's gone to shit."
Waluigi was trembling on a chair. "Wa! The plan was to plant the drugs at Mario and Luigi's place, get them arrested, and drive them out of business. Now we got a fucking drive by! This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"They can't pin this back to us, okay? I made sure of it! Just don't say or do anything stupid! I got this under control!"
"Wa! Waluigi is too cute for prison!"
"Don't fucking talk like that!" Wario snapped. "If you think you going to jail, you going to jail! I can't have you being a fucking pussy right now! So just calm the fuck down! If he dies, then that's just good news for us. Dead men don't say shit. The goal was to get rid of them, so this is just a win-win."
Mario ran into Kimishima Hospital. "Hey!" He called out to the clerk at the front desk. "I'm here for Luigi Martinet. Where is he?"
"He was taken into surgery upon arrival. The surgery waiting room is down the hall on the left."
Walking down the hall, Mario reached the waiting room and took a seat. As he looked around, he realized he was the only person there.
There were some newspapers and magazines on the table. Hospital had a little building block set and a bead maze for the kids to play with.
"Sir?" A nurse spoke to him.
Mario looked out of the window. The first few beams of sunlight were peering over the horizon. Dozens of people where already moving on sidewalk. Traffic was starting to pick up in the streets. New York City was the City That Never Sleeps for a reason.
"Sir?"
Luigi was probably- no, definitely minding his own damn business when the Crip came by. Crip was out selling baggies. Bloods see Crip out selling. Bloods get wheels and go out looking for the Crip. Crip sees the Bloods and books it. Bloods were on the Crip's tail. Crip's looking for an escape. Crip hears Luigi's awake, bangs on the door. Luigi turns to see the Crip as the Bloods bear down on him, then the guns start popping off. Luigi gets caught in the line of fire, and there we go. That had to be the series of events that happened. Not a thing else. His brother was innocent. Completely innocent. Yett he's on the operating table, fighting for his FUCKING LIFE, WHEN-
"Sir... Sir! SIR!"
"W-W-W-What?" Mario snapped out of it, turning to the nurse.
"I'm here to give you an update on your brothers. As you know, Luigi Martinet is undergoing surgery right now." The nurse, whose name-tag said Hopkins on it, said to him. "Its going to take hours, if he doesn't die first."
"How-how bad is it?" Mario asked, mouth dry with fearful anticipation.
"Sir... I'm not going to lie to you." Nurse Hopkins said. "It does not look good. He's lost a lot of blood. Several bullets in the intestines. That means he'll probably catch an infection, if he survives. A bullet pierced his left lung and it looks like the entire organ is going to collapse. Numerous bullets in extremities to make things worse. And to top it all off...one in the spinal cord. If your brother survives this, I can't promise that he'll ever walk again. All those problems compounded at once, I'm not sure how he's still alive."
"It, It, It, It's that bad?" Mario's voice trembled.
"Sir, if you have some family members and friends, I suggest you call them right now. You need to begin to prepare yourselves for the worst."
"I'll-I'll get on that." Mario responded.
"I'm sorry I have to tell you this. "
"N-N-No, it's okay." Mario absently nodded. "T-Thank you."
As Mario walked over to the hospital phone, he could feel his legs tremble. His hands shook trying to grope the phone, fingers twitched as he punched in the numbers.
His brother was dying.
His brother was dying and there nothing he could do.
Just when his brother needed him most, Mario was completely useless. Forced to sit on the sidelines while doctors wrestled with death and gambled with God.
Mario heard a beep and snapped out of it. His parents weren't there. Time to leave a message.
"Mom. Dad. It's me." Mario started. "Listen umm... when you get this, Luigi... Luigi got shot. He got shot and... he's not doing good. He's not doing good at all right now and... I, I, I don't know whether he's going to live or die. There was some Bloods and a drive-by and... forget I even said that. That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. I'll come explain everything when I can. I just need you to know that...Luigi's not okay. I'm sorry. You told me to always look after him and now... now he might die. I'm sorry, I love you. I'll talk to you later, I, I, I promise. Later."
Mario hung up. Time to call Mac and tell him to stay at Doc's place.
"Hello?" Doc's deep voice said through the phone.
"Hey Doc, it's me, Mario. Listen, can Mac stay with you until I come get him?"
"Sure, no problem... what's wrong?" Doc asked.
"Oh it's nothing. I'll tell you about it later."
It don't sound like nothing." Doc said. "I been around the block to know heartbreak when I smell it."
"Alright." Mario confessed. "Luigi got shot."
"Oh my Lord." Doc whispered in horror. "How bad?"
"Good chance he's not gonna make it." Mario said. "Look, I'd appreciate if you don't tell Mac. I'll get him when I have the chance."
"Oh take your time, I understand. I'll hold on to him as long as I can." Doc said. "I'll be praying for him, and you too. I'll see you later."
"Thanks."
Time to call Pauline.
As Mario dialed the number, a voice rang out. "Excuse me, Mario Martinet?"
Mario turned. Two police officers were in the doorway.
"Yes, officers?" Mario replied.
"We're here to bring you in for questioning."
"Questioning? I was told I would have to fill out a statement, but not questioning. What is this?"
"All I know is that we were told to bring you in for questioning. If you would come with us, please."
"But- M-My-...Fine." Mario said.
"So you're going on the record and telling me that you had no contact with any Crip gang members asking for any drugs to push off, correct?" The officer sat back in his chair and casually took a sip of his coffee.
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm telling you. Again." Mario white-knuckled the chair. This fucking cop was just trying to piss him off.
Officer Plume nodded. "And you're telling me that you don't believe your brother Luigi did either?"
"I know he didn't."
"Alright." Officer Plume nodded. He turned to his partner Officer Rinskiroo. "Show him the tape."
While the tape was in rewind, Plume turned back to Mario. "Mrs. Winterbottom, someone who lives upstairs from you, installed cameras around the building. We found something interesting I want you to take a look at."
The tape started playing. The video showed the Crip going up to the Mario Bros. door, getting out a piece of paper, and looking at it to confirm the address. The Crip puts the paper away and knocks on the door. Luigi comes out, and talks to the Crip. Crip shows Luigi the bags, Luigi doesn't take them. Crip checks the paper again while him and Luigi talk. Crip walks away. Cocaine does not change hands. A few minutes later, the Crip comes running back. A van pulls up as the Crip reaches the door.
"I don't think I need to show you the rest, do I?"
"No. No you don't." Mario said, coolness masking his rage. These cops were the ones with the guns. These cops were the ones with the guns. These cops were the ones with the guns...
"Now, Crips only go to places where they are told. They don't do random visits. The Crip was there for a reason. And if Luigi wasn't the ones buying the drugs, then who was?"
"It wasn't me." Mario said. "You think that if I was looking for drugs, that I would have gangbangers around my home? That Luigi would be the one meeting with the dealers?"
Plume stroked his clean-shaven chin. "Get Dee's interrogation review."
"Whose Dee?" Mario asked.
"Dee Redfeild is the leader of the local Crips. Dee's cousin Taff Redfeild was the Crip that was killed. Consider Redfeild as our resident evil: they keep shit in line. We brought Dee in for questioning. So, anyways: here is what Dee had to say:"
"Dee, I could care less about you, or your worn out jeans, or your Reed watch, or your Chuck Mosley shirt. I just want to know who made the call to put the coke at the Mario Brothers Plumbing address."
"My contact had like a bird in the background. Something screeching like a hawk or something. There was another dude in the background tryna shut it up."
"When did they call?"
"About 5:30 Tuesday."
"How many times have they call?"
"Call every month or so. They been pretty reliable for me for a while."
Officer Plume paused the recording. "Now you just happen to have a duck." Officer Plume said. "So I'll ask again: is there anything you're not telling me?"
"They said 5:30 Tuesday, right?" Mario has heard enough. "I was with a client at a time. A Mr. Cy Fox. I'm really good with dates and times. I'm a timeoligist: I do studies in clockwork. Besides, I won't ever forget that accent. Call him up, that's my alibi. I got nothing else to say."
As Mario got on Miyamoto Avenue, the world became enshrouded in a tint of rose. Strange.
Then he saw the Maserati parked outside, and the rose went away as quickly as it came.
"MARIO!" Pauline rushed him and gave him a hug. "I heard about what happened on the news; thank God you're okay! How's Luigi?"
"Not good." Mario said. "They said it wasn't good."
"Well listen; if you need anything at all, just know that I'm here for you, okay?"
Mario couldn't help but chuckle as a tear ran down his face. "I appreciate it." Then he looked up and saw Wario Bros. Plumbing.
The rose tint came back as he stepped away from Pauline.
They were dead. They were fucking dead.
"It was you two. You were the ones that ordered the coke." He said as he entered the store.
Wario put down the newspaper. "What the fuck are you talk about now fagg-"
A fist rattled Wario's jaw, knocking him off his chair.
"YOU WERE THE ONES THAT GOT MY BROTHER SHOT!" Mario shouted.
"WA! BEGONE YOU PEICE OF SHIT!" Waluigi came forward weilding a tennis racket, swatting away furiously. Mario snatched the racket away and jabbed Waluigi in the gut with it before smashing the bridge of the lanky man's nose with a livid set of knuckles.
Wario charged and tackled Mario into a desk. Wario tried to get on top of Mario and hold him down for a beating, but Mario smacked him in the face with the tennis racket. As Wario fell down stunned, Mario grabbed Wario and threw him into the window. The glass exploded as Wario crashed through the window and onto the street.
Mario pulled out his .38 and aimed it right the Wario Brothers fucking faces.
"MARIO! DON'T DO IT!" Pauline shouted. "THEY AIN'T WORTH IT! THEY AIN'T WORTH IT!"
"DROP THE GUN!" Mario saw a few police officers rushing towards them
"I WANNA KILL THEM!" Mario said. "I WANNA KILL THEM SO FUCKING BAD!"
"I KNOW YOU DO! I KNOW YOU DO! BUT YOU CAN'T YOU CAN'T SHOOT THEM!" Pauline pleaded.
"I AIN'T DO SHIT TO YOU!" Wario shouted. He tried to stand, but instantly fell back down as his legs gave from under him. "SHOW ME THE PROOF! SHOW ME THE FUCKING PROOF!"
"I KNOW YOU MADE THE CALL. I KNOW YOU DID!"
"YOU WANNA DIE MARIO? HUH? GO AHEAD AND SHOOT ME! YOU ALWAYS THINK YOU THE HOTTEST SHIT IN TOWN! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ALL THESE COPS, HUH? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GONNA DO?" Wario spat out blood.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Mario shouted. "YOUR CHICKENSHIT ASS. COULD NEVER FIGHT LIKE A MAN. ALWAYS HAD TO SNEAK AROUND AND PULL SOME FUCKED UP SHIT! AND NOW YOU GOT MY BROTHER SHOT! MY BROTHER'S GONNA DIE AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE IN THE OPERATING TABLE! YOU SHOULD BE THE ABOUT TO DIE! YOU! NOT HIM! YOU! YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE FEELING LIKE THEIR WHOLE WORLD'S FALLING DOWN AROUND THEM! NOT ME! YOU! I FUCKING HATE THE BOTH OF YOU SO FUCKING MUCH! I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL FUCKING KILL BOTH YOU HERE AND NOW!"
"FUCK YOU!"
"FUCK YOU!"
"MARIO, STOP!"
"DROP THE GUN AND GET DOWN PN THE GROUND RIGHT NOW! WE WILL OPEN FIRE!"
"SKREE!"
Degeneracy swooped down, talons at the ready. The bottom talon caught Mario in the top of the head, slicing him open and knocking him down.
It happened so fast.
Mario fell to the ground screaming as the officers moved in. Blood ran down his face as he was tackled and put in handcuffs, still screaming.
Waluigi jumped up and cheered as the eagle landed.
Wario laughed as Mario was put into the squad car.
Hiro and Kiyo erupted in the back of Mario's truck as Mario was taken away.
And Pauline was left to take it all in.
"Time is Illmatic"
End of Illmatic Arc