Chapter Thirteen

Rated: T for mature themes and language. Comments, criticisms and suggestions are welcomed!

Bobby made a point to smile as warmly as he could manage when Charlotte re-entered the room late in the day. She had truly helped Jack and yet Bobby had behaved like a lunatic in front of her. While this wouldn't normally bother him, Belle's was a place he'd rather not get thrown out of, and Jack was nowhere near ready to leave... probably wouldn't be for a few more days at least. Jack needed Charlotte, and so Bobby needed her, too. Maybe he could turn on a little Mercer charm and sweeten her opinion of him. Ma swore he had it in him, and she would never lie to him.

The sun had not yet disappeared, but the lengthening shadows and his growling stomach told him it was past suppertime, and Bobby was mildly annoyed that Angel hadn't brought him up something to eat. He had turned down offers from others who had passed by the room, hoping Angel would appear so he could talk to him. Looks like he would have to go find his errant brother himself.

Belle had visited Bobby earlier that afternoon, and had gracefully accepted his apology. She had then evenly informed him that he had officially used up her reservoir of obligation towards him, and further behavior such as he had displayed that afternoon would not be tolerated. Ruining her stern appearance, she had then fussed a bit over Jack, straightening his blankets and smoothing back his hair before leaving the room. Bobby snickered once she was gone and reckoned that he would simply rely on some of the goodwill Jack had built up with the proprietress if he needed it later. Belle was no more a fusser than Bobby was, but she seemed quite taken by Jack. Bobby supposed Belle felt pity for Jack, and couldn't blame her, since she hadn't seen Jack's tough side yet. Jack might look like a lost lamb at the moment, all beat up and drugged into slumber like he was, but Bobby knew better.

Charlotte entered with a tray, which she placed on the table next to the bed. If she noticed Bobby's smile, she gave no indication, so Bobby dropped it. He had abandoned holding Jack's hand when Belle had entered, and had not taken it again. The urgency which drove him to grasp the boy's hand to begin with had passed, and the laudanum Charlotte had given Jack kept his dreams at bay. Jack was likely enjoying the first bout of solid rest he had seen in a while.

Charlotte lowered the blanket and quickly examined the wounds across the front of Jack's body.

"They look good," she said softly. She directed Bobby to lift Jack up, and as before, Bobby propped Jack's head on his shoulder after sitting next to him on the bed. Charlotte spent a bit more time examining the wounds on Jack's back. Bobby thought Jack's skin was still too hot, and mentioned it to Charlotte.

"It's to be expected," she murmured. "He'll sleep for a day or more, but he's not so weak as to worry me too much. He's strong enough to see this through." She nodded brusquely and helped Bobby lower Jack back onto the bed. Together, they maneuvered him onto his side, tucking a pillow into Jack's arms and laying another at his back to keep him in place. There was nothing more to do for Jack now, but before Bobby could even begin to employ his enviable Mercer sweet-talking skills on Charlotte, his stomach growled audibly, drawing a smile from her.

"Why don't you head downstairs for a spell? The boy will sleep for a while yet."

Bobby hesitated, recalling the horrible sound of Jack's screams, but at the same time wanting to speak with Angel and Terrence about what needed doing. He had to catch Angel before he headed out for the evening. And he was pretty hungry. . .

"Go on, Bobby. I'll stay with him if it makes you feel better. I've already had my supper and could do with a bit of peace and quiet for a change." Charlotte gave him such a look as she over-enunciated that last phrase, Bobby couldn't help but laugh. Looks like the Mercer charm needed no words at all! He thoroughly shocked Miss Spencer by planting a wet kiss on her cheek before sauntering from the room. He glanced back as he reached the door, seeing her blushing furiously even as she smiled.

Oh yes, Charlotte had definitely forgiven him.

Bobby made his way to the dining room on the first floor, finding Angel playing cards with several of Belle's customers, some of whom had girls on their laps as they played. Bobby figured Angel was merely killing time. No way would Angel stand for shenanigans like that during a serious game. He waved at his brother before poking his head into the kitchen and asking for some dinner. Bobby found a table which placed a wall at his back and gave him a good view of the room as well as the door, then checked the gun at his hip before sitting down. Bobby knew that Terrence or one of Belle's other men were just outside the door as well as on each floor of the building, but he took his and Angel's safety too seriously to leave it solely to others. A few minutes after his food was brought out, Angel joined him.

"How's Jack?" Angel asked.

"Better. Charlotte's with him now." Bobby snickered in between bites of potatoes.

"What'd you do, Bobby. I know that look."

"Planted one on her. Made her blush like a little girl. You're not the only Mercer with charm, you know." Angel chuckled while rolling his eyes.

"If you think making a spinster like Charlotte blush puts you anywhere near the level of my charming self, you're sadly mistaken. You get Belle to blush and I might give you some credit." Bobby had taken an overly large bite of steak so could only glare at Angel as he continued to chuckle at Bobby's expense.

"Hey, speaking of Charlotte, she gave me this to hold. Where'd you get all this money?" Angel asked, holding up the cash and bags of coins Jack had taken from Pollard. Bobby swallowed hard and took a swig of beer to clear his throat.

"That belongs to Jack. Little fucker took it right off Pollard's body while the jackass was lying in the hay." Angel grunted in approval.

"No wonder you took a shine to him. So, you want to tell me who this Pollard is, and why Jack stole all his money?"

All the mirth left Bobby's face at Angel's question. Fuck no, he didn't want to tell Angel about Pollard, since he had already hinted at sharing a similar past as Jack's.

But this was his brother.

He trusted Angel with his life, and Angel had never let him down. He needed Angel 100 percent on board with whatever he planned for Pollard, and the quickest way to get him there would be to tell him everything he knew. Not that Angel wouldn't back him if he hadn't a clue what was up. Case in point was how easily Angel had accepted Jack's presence that morning. But Bobby wasn't lying to Jack when he called Angel a clever son of a bitch. He was as cunning as Bobby was ruthless. And Bobby aimed to put that cunning to work to get some retribution for Jack and to put a sick motherfucking pervert out of business. . . permanently.

Angel waited patiently as Bobby wrestled with his decision. He seemed to know when Bobby was ready to talk, though, so when Angel called out for a bottle of whisky and two glasses, Bobby grinned appreciatively across the table at his brother. Angel was a clever son of a bitch indeed.

Bobby told this tale the same way Bobby told every tale, quickly and laced with expletives. Angel had asked a few questions to clarify some of the parts Bobby glossed over a bit too quickly, but he knew he had not been spared any important details. By the time Bobby had finished, half the bottle was gone.

"So, how do you want to do this?" Angel asked Bobby. There was no question that something had to be done. Something which did not involve contacting the local authorities. Bobby had practically adopted Jack, which meant Pollard would be getting wrath of God style treatment from Bobby for hurting a Mercer, or an almost-Mercer. Distinctions like that weren't important now. Seeing how Bobby spoke about this kid, Angel had no doubt that Jack would be around for a good long time. That made Jack his brother, too, and he would do anything for his brothers. Angel had thought up several possibilities on how they might handle Pollard, but this was primarily Bobby's deal. He'd back Bobby up on whatever he decided.

"I haven't nailed it down yet," Bobby replied with a glint in his eyes. Oh, Angel would definitely leave this to Bobby. No one could match Bobby Mercer at full-on wrath of God style revenge. "Besides it's too soon for any of that," Bobby added. Angel nodded thoughtfully.

"We need to find that motherfucker first."

"I knew there was a good reason why you're my favorite brother, Angel." Bobby reached over to rub the top of Angel's head as he spoke. Angel batted the hand away, but grinned at Bobby's response. He'd heard him say the exact same thing to Jerry, but from Bobby, teasing like that was high praise indeed. He thought a bit more about what he needed to do as he sipped at his whisky.

"Say Bobby, this Pollard character knows what you look like. Am I going out on my own?"

"No fucking way, Angel. No one goes out alone in this damned city," Bobby muttered darkly before a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Not if we can get one of Belle's guys to take the night off and go with you. Hell, let's just ask who has the night off already and see if they want to make some extra cash."

Angel nodded, then leaned back in his chair and shared a conspiratorial grin with his brother. There was a lot more to figure out, and any number of things that could go wrong, but damn if it didn't feel good to plan on skirting the law like this with Bobby. He wanted his Ma to be proud of him, but he had been born on the wrong side of the law, and had lived the majority of his life there as well. Angel sometimes felt he was more suited to shady dealings than honest card games. If Evelyn Mercer hadn't spent the past seven years disabusing him of that notion, loving him unreservedly and challenging him to live an upstanding life, he didn't know where he might be today. Dead, probably. Or in jail, at the very least.

Nevertheless, Angel felt that old familiar thrill like when he was setting up a con with his daddy back in the old days. Before things went so bad. . . Besides, Bobby would never let anything happen to Angel. Bobby Mercer was ten times the man his daddy ever was.

His mind was racing with ideas on how he would go about finding Pollard, even as he watched Bobby wave Terrence over to them, ostensibly to get Angel some discreet backup for the evening. He didn't know this kid Jack all that well, but he would do his best to do right by him.

After all, he was a Mercer.