The cigarette Rebecca had just lit burned to the core, she had been too shocked to smoke it, it fell out of her opened mouth and on to the floor, burning the ground as it burned away, she stubbed it out with her foot.

"Aren't you going to give your big brother a hug?" Andrew Merrill grinned, how could she have not noticed it, his resemblance to Ace was uncanny, apart from his jet black hair they looked so much alike and not just on appearances.

Ace made a gesture to everyone to go away and they all left, Jack Mudgett looked round his shoulder one last time in disbelief before catching up with the rest of the group.

Rebecca stood and watched as the eldest Merrill made his way closer to them, he walked just like Ace.

"Leave." Ace whispered into her left ear, she shook her head in response, she wouldn't dare leave the two on their own. "Do as I say, Rebecca."

"No." She stubbornly replied.

He shot her a look, that would turn anyone's stomach.

"Why it's the girl with the beer. Should have known you'd be with a guy like him." Andrew stated, studying Rebecca's face and Ace shot him a glare, his nostrils flaring which meant one thing, he was ready for a fight.

Rebecca sensed that, "Don't do it, Ace." She warned him as she could see his hand was in his back pocket. She whispered into his right ear. "He's a cop."

"Ace? Who the fuck is Ace?" Andrew asked, his eyebrows raised and then he proceeded to laugh, "Don't tell me little bro, you're in a gang and you have some silly cool nickname?" He chuckled to himself before spitting. "You faggot." The coldness in his voice was just like Ace's if not worse.

"Just leave, Andrew." Rebecca warned him and his eyebrows raised again, how did she know his name.

"Stay out of this, Rebecca." Ace told her pushing her aside with his right arm.

"Rebecca?" Andrew questioned and then he remembered. "Of course! Why if it isn't little Becca Chambers, I'll be damned, you really grew into those skinny arms, didn't you?" Andrew asked, he wasn't looking at her arms.

She shuddered, he was giving her the creeps. Andrew took a couple of steps forward by now he was reaching distance between them and in Rebecca's personal space.

"Back in the early fifties you and my brother were inseparable, you remember? You were the ass-hole's wet dream for about two years."

"Think she can remember herself, Andy." Ace spat interrupting his brother. His body language had stayed the same, cold and unwelcoming, just like always and Rebecca wondered if he'd ever let his true feelings show, she knew how he felt about his brother deep down.

*Flashback Spring 1953*

It was a chilly April's day and Rebecca and Ace were in his bedroom, doing their homework, his dad was out at work and his brother Andrew was nowhere to be seen, his mom had been gone for over a year now and the place was a dump.

"Why do you read that stuff?" Rebecca questioned, she watched him as he sat reading 'The Way West', he shrugged and smirked at her.

"Nothing better to do." He replied and she rolled her eyes at him. "Besides I like it." His grin never leaving his face as he went on to the next chapter.

"You're too smart you know that?"

"Well maybe if you read, you'd be smart too." He joked, he snatched her homework pages out of her hands and studied it. "Jesus! Think you'll have to read a whole library to get anything but a failure."

"Shut up!" She glared, snatching the pages back. "Not all of us are school material." She muttered under her breath.

They were interrupted by the sound of the Merrill's front door opening. "Shit!" Rebecca heard her friend exclaim as he slammed shut his book and hid it under the bed.

"Who is it?" She asked. "Your dad?" She gulped, Junior Merrill could be very intimidating sometimes.

Ace shook his head as he peaked over the banister, watching his brother and a few of his friends at they made their way into the Merrill's kitchen. "C'mon let's go." He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her up from the floor and they sneaked down the stairs, but they both stopped when the middle stair let out a loud creak.

"Hey, Johnny." Andrew laughed as he walked into the hall, he was drinking and had been drunk for quite sometime. "This your girlfriend?" He taunted.

"No!" Ace stated and frowned at him.

"Good, 'cause you shouldn't be seen with a street rat like her, a disease ridden Chambers better watch out she doesn't give you fleas." Andrew told them as him and his friends laughed away.

"Hey, you jerk!" Rebecca glared down at Andrew.

"You going to let a girl talk to me like that, Johnny? Or are you going to put her in her place?" Andrew asked.

"Stop it, Rebecca." Ace warned her.

"But John-Jo-"

"I said stop it." He pushed her shoulder with his left hand and she stepped away in defence, her foot misplaced a step and she tripped down the flight of stairs, a scream was heard while everyone burst out laughing, Ace stood on the stairs, motionless as he watched his best friend regain herself, she looked up at him expecting to see a reaction but was met with a cold stare.

"Good boy, Johnny," Andrew grinned as Rebecca pushed past him and ran out of the house.

*End*

*Slam* And and another shot glass hit the bar, the sound knocking him out of his memory.

Ace gestured to Irby to bring him another shot of whiskey and Irby shook his head. "Listen here, Kid. That was your fourth shot in under two minutes, any more and you'll hit the floor." Irby warned him, taking the shot glass away from him, Ace reached out and grabbed Irby's arm.

"Just shut up and pour." Ace stated as he took a drag from his cigarette and the door to Irby's swung open and Rebecca marched in, Ace chuckled to himself knowing what he was in for.

"What do you think you're doing, Ace?"

"Just having a nice cold drink." Ace replied, a small glass of whiskey in his hand and he shook it slowly. "Care to join?" He asked as he downed it in one.

"Fuck, Ace." Rebecca sighed as she took a bar stool from her right and perched herself on to it. "Take it easy, will ya?" She took the empty glass from his hands.

"Why do you care?" He slurred and she was taken aback, that was the most vulnerable she had ever heard him in a long time.

"I think you know why." She answered. "Now tell me what happened?" She asked, pulling out a pack of smokes and lighting up one. Back at the race there had been a cold stare off between his brother and himself, he had grabbed Rebecca's arm and forced her in the direction of Jack Mudgett, who in return took her to her car and drove her away, she hadn't seen him or Andrew since.

"Nothin'." Ace replied.

"Tell me, Ace. What happened?" Rebecca watched him carefully, he still had the cool presence about him but there was something else hidden deep down inside, she hoped he'd let it out.

"I said nothing." Ace replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So drop it."

"I won't." She replied and grabbed his face with her hands. "Talk to me, Ace. Let me in."

He pushed her hands away. "Jesus! What's gotten to you? Can't a guy have a quiet drink alone."

Rebecca felt her temper rising again and her voice cracking. "Why do you have to be so cold? Why can't you just let me inside, Ace? Why do you have to be so distant." She was showing him emotions she hadn't shown in years. "No matter how hard I try, you just keep pushing me away."

"Well you can't seem to take the hint, can you?" He smirked as he took the beer Irby had given to him and drank it.

"There's no talking to you, is there?" She took a hard look at him, waiting for a reaction but as usual there wasn't one, she grabbed her purse from the bar and got up from the stool and stormed out.

"Cheers!" Ace motioned his beer in the air and downed it.

"What you doing here, man?" Jack asked Ace from the front step of his porch.

"Need your help, Mudge." Ace replied, an evil glint in his eyes, by now he had sobered up.

"Oh and what's that?" Jack asked, looking around to see if anyone else was around "So where's your cop of a brother?"

"That's what I've come to you about." Ace smirked, he pulled out his brother's old switch-blade and handed him the knife.

Jack gulped. "What do you want me to do with it? What do you want me to do with your brother?"

"I want him dead."