Chapter Twenty-Five
"Take it easy darling." Alexa said, holding her hand up, staring at the golden gun. She began to reach for her own when Sarah's finger began to push on the trigger. Alexa put her hands fully in the air at that point. Sarah just shook her head, her arms trembling wanting to pull the trigger… but wanting answers at the same time.
"Do you remember me?" Sarah asked, feeling a tear starting to roll down her cheek.
"Of course I remember you." Alexa said with a small laugh. "How could I forget you. Mitchell's baby sister, Sarah."
"Don't say his fucking name you bitch." Sarah said, walking up to Alexa, grabbing the gun out of her holster and putting it into her own bag. Alexa sighed and nodded her head, understanding why Sarah was being so harsh.
"What do you plan on doing? I know there isn't a bad bone in your body Sarah." Alexa said, being patted down now.
"I guess we're gonna find out if that's true." Sarah said, pushing Alexa down the alley, out of anyone's view. Alexa unwillingly walked, the gun pushed into her back. "Why did you kill him?"
"It was a job honey. I got paid to do it, I didn't do it for shits and giggles." Alexa said, facing a brick wall. Sarah felt her blood boil, pushing Alexa into the brick wall.
"Didn't you have feelings for him? How can you go from wanting to run away, to killing without hesitation?" Sarah asked her, using all her will not to pull the trigger.
"That's the thing. I couldn't do that. I still can't. There is always hesitation, I freeze up whenever I think of the moment." Alexa said, letting her guard down. "It's something I will never be proud of, the look on his face…"
"Stop." Sarah warned, pushing the gun into the back of Alexa's head now. "Let's just make this quick."
"What is this about?" Alex asked as he was shoved into the backyard by Tank. Catherine was standing out there as well while Carlos and Leo sat on the fence. Tank walked over and joined the two, leaving Alex and Catherine standing there in the middle of the backyard.
"Do you know what's going on?" Catherine asked, receiving a shrug from Alex as a response. Leo cleared his throat, drawing the two's attention.
"We are tired of you two fighting like school yard kids." Leo said. Alex raised an eyebrow and Catherine just scoffed at the comparison.
"It's fucking annoying." Tank said.
"It's our problems, let us handle it." Catherine said. Alex nodded but they didn't leave, knowing the three weren't done talking.
"Well, it is our problem when you argue so loud we hear it. Or fight right in front of us." Carlos said. "You guys are leading us, you know that right?"
"Mitchell treated you two like prophets or something. He knew you two were gonna lead when he was gone." Leo said.
"Prophets?" Alex asked with a laugh. Catherine kept a serious face, not liking having to be talked to as if she was young kid. Leo paced back and forth in the yard now, rubbing his head and looking at the ground.
"Y'all need to just kiss and makeup." Tank said with a simple shrug. Carlos nodded, agreeing with the idea, but it obviously wasn't that simple.
"We are disagreeing on a few things yeah but none of you need to be involved. It's our problems let us handle it. And Alex is not in charge. I'm not either. We all have a say in what we are doing, as a group." Catherine said, looking at Alex when she said the last part. She walked inside after that and Alex just sighed and closed his eyes.
"What the hell are we supposed to do man?" Leo asked, looking over at Alex. Carlos and Tank now stood next to Leo, all waiting for an answer. Alex looked up at the three and shrugged.
"You heard the girl. We all have a say. I'm not in charge." Alex said. Carlos just shook his head and walked away, back inside the house. Leo and Tank walked over to Alex and they lowered their voices now, in case anyone inside was trying to listen for some odd reason.
"We your boys Alex." Tank said.
"We got your back no matter what." Leo said. Alex nodded his head and the two slapped his shoulders as they walked back inside.
"So where we headed?" Dean asked through the window in the back of the pickup truck. Colton looked in the rearview mirror at him.
"A place I learned about working for Morgan and Paul. It's an old abandoned shack across the lake here. Quiet. No one will bother to look there." Colton said. Dean nodded in response. Sam and Spencer were sitting in the back with him. Jensen was in the front of the car with Colton, plucking at the strings on his guitar.
"We appreciate this a lot." Sam added in. "It's the first time in so long we been out. The fresh air is nice."
"Better than looking at concrete and ugly guards everyday." Jensen said with a smirk.
"Us four and Daniel… we were the first ones ever in that hell hole. Hell I still don't know why these guys ended up there. But for some reason we all ended up in the same grouping system." Dean said with a small chuckle. "Funny how things work out huh?"
"Group A." Colton said with a nod. "Those are the dangerous ones. The ones who get the most attention from guards and higher ups. Alex and I have been a thorn in Morgan, Paul, even Connor's side. I never heard about you guys back in the days I worked for them."
"I witnessed Paul Madden execute the mayor before him." Jensen said. "Made it look like a suicide took place. I only witnessed it cause it was out in Sandy Shores where I lived. Standing on my porch and I see a gunshot go off in the house across the street. Paul walked out and saw me standing. Surprised I didn't die."
"Paul was a smart man. He didn't want too much blood on his hands or in his tracks. He would've been figured out quickly if that was the case." Colton said. Jensen nodded his head and went back to playing with the guitar.
"Spencer has always been quiet. Since the day he entered the prison. Only reason we knew his name was cause Clarence told us." Sam said. Dean nodded at this and looked back inside the open window.
"You think that Smiles guy is gonna kill Clarence. He may be a dickhead guard like all the others but he seemed to have feelings under all that douchiness." Dean said. Colton just shrugged, honestly not sure if Clarence was going to be killed by Smiles and his gang.
"So out here, we just gonna wait 'till you contact us?" Jensen asked.
"Yeah. I'll leave a disposable phone with you guys to call me with, or for me to call you. Only for emergencies got it?" Colton said, handing the phone over to Jensen who nodded. Colton then turned on the radio, driving the rest of the way in silence.
Tyler walked outside Steven's house, needing to get away from the mess of people who were inside it. He saw Tony sitting in a rocking chair outside the house, a shotgun in his lap. Tyler couldn't help but laugh at the site as Tony slowly dozed off. Tyler walked over to him, tapping his shoulder. Tony's eyes shot open and he clutched the gun, aiming it forward, causing Tyler to raise his hands in the air.
"Sorry to wake you." Tyler said, scared he was about to die.
"Ah shit kid. Don't do that. I almost shit myself." Tony said, shaking his head. "I haven't had my medicine in a while. I'm saying all this random shit." Tony said with a laugh.
"You miss the home?" Tyler asked, sitting down next to him. Tony slowly turned to look at the boy and raised an eyebrow.
"Are you kidding me? Fuck no." Tony said with a laugh. "This is the most fun I've had in forever. It's exciting. Gets the dinosaur blood in me pumping."
"That's good to know. I can't believe no family ever checks in on you. Kinda strange you had no one until I came along." Tyler said, leaning back in the chair he was on. Tony looked over at him and sighed, taking a moment before he continued the conversation.
"I do have family. They just left me there in that place and took off. After what happened… watching all my men be gunned down by one of their own… something changed in me. I was paranoid for a while. I would talk to myself, almost as if I was insane. My daughter didn't like it. It made her cry… made her for fear for my own safety probably. I knew what I was doing though… I was keeping myself from losing it. See… it's better to talk out loud then to keep it in. Keeping it in boils things up, making it worse. Letting out there is relaxing… she just always caught me at the bad moments. Well it had gotten to the point where she was scared for her own son's safety when she found my pistol. I only kept for safety reasons… you should understand." Tony explained, trying to find the words to help piece everything together for Tyler as he went along. "But to my own amazement, my family found me again one day. The day my grandson walked into that old age home to visit me."
"Wait… what?" Tyler asked, looking at Tony in shock. Tony just slowly smiled and closed his eyes. "You and I are related? But my mom told me to visit you for commun… Holy shit!" Tyler shouted, jumping out of his seat. "You never said anything!"
"I didn't want to scare you off. Why do you think I was so hard on you? I wouldn't have given a shit otherwise." Tony said. Tyler calmed down and sat back down beside him.
"Should've told me sooner you old fart." Tyler said, looking out at the road, not knowing what to think.
"Love you too sonny boy. Love you too."
Maddog, Elijah, Tyreese, and Fat Richie stood around a table. Two dozen men stood with them, armed with pistols, Mini SMGs, and shotguns. Maddog had plans laid out in front of him, holding Reg's old revolver in his hand. He used the revolver to point from place to place on the plans, explaining what was going to happen with his men.
"Each of you will be split into four groups." Maddog said. "I'll decide that shit later, but Tyreese found a Triad hideout while scouting the area."
"They got guns, money, drugs, lots of shit stored up there." Elijah added in.
"This ain't about making a point. This about fucking up the guys that killed our brothas. We won't stand for that shit and we gotta prove that to them. They branded our boys, leaving a dragon on their fucking foreheads. We gonna kill each one of them in that hideout, then piss on their fucking bodies." Maddog said, receiving hoots and hollers from his men.
"We are gonna be noisy with this shit, stealth don't matter. We are hitting them hard and they are going to fucking know it." Elijah said, causing more men to shout in agreement.
"If you get shot, walk it the fuck off. If any of you die I'm pissin' on your body too since you ain't give it your all." Maddog said, causing the room to fall silent.
"People with me, let's go get us some ammo." Tyreese said. "Grab bats, knives, axes, pipes, whatever you need to bash some skulls." he said, leading the small army of gang members out of Maddog's house.
"I'll organize the boys into the four groups boss." Fat Richie said. Maddog nodded and Fat Richie walked away. Maddog looked up at Elijah, who was staring at the plans on the table.
"They wanted a war, they got one." Maddog said. Elijah looked over at him and nodded without hesitation, showing they were on the same page.
Steven walked to his door after hearing someone knock on it. He opened it up and standing there was Raquel, wearing actual clothing instead of her stripper clothing she had on at Maddog's. Steven squinted his eyes at her and look behind her.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Is Heath here?" she asked back. Steven stepped away from the door, going into the kitchen where Heath was talking to Carlos.
"Heath there's a girl here for you." Steven said. Heath looked surprised, but not as surprised as Carlos. Heath stepped out of the kitchen and walked to the front door, smiling at the sight of Raquel.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, the smile not leaving his face. She smiled back and looked around.
"Should I come again later?" she asked.
"No no. Come in." He said, moving out of the way so she could walk in. Carlos and Steven stood in the living room as the two came in and sat down on the couch. Carlos took a seat in one of the reclining chairs while Steven just leaned against the wall.
"This is my friend Carlos, the one I talked to you about. That's Steven, he owns this house." Heath said, introducing her to the two.
"Howdy." Steven said, still in shock at the situation.
"Are they shocked cause I'm black or cause I'm a girl?" Raquel asked with a laugh.
"Definitely the girl one." Heath said with a laugh back. "So what are you doing here?"
"Elijah gave me the address. He told me I had to get out of the neighborhood, that Maddog was going to start something bad. When I left this morning he had at least twenty or more guys piled into his house, and not for a party. I think they are planning on fighting someone." Raquel said.
"Fuck… the Triads." Heath said. "I knew they had problems but that isn't good at all."
"Is Maddog the one we want on our side?" Steven asked. Heath looked up and nodded. "Fuck. Then it really isn't good."
"Is there anything we can do?" Carlos asked. Raquel just shook her head.
"When he wants to do something, he's doing it. Do… do you think I can stay here for a bit?" She asked looking at Heath and then at Steven. Steven just shrugged before walking away and Heath smiled again.
"You'll be safe here. For now at least." Heath said. Carlos gave a small laugh and Raquel seemed confused. Heath just waved it off, and Carlos left the room, letting the two get a chance to talk privately with each other.
Smiles stood in a barn that his gang owned. The doors to it were closed and lots of tools were spread across tables. The tables were around Clarence who had a bag over his head, not able to see anything. His hands were tied to the arms of the chair he sat in. His legs were tied down as well, and his mouth was gagged just for good measure. Smiles took off his suit jacket, handing it to one of his men. He then rolled up his sleeves, revealing tattoos that went up and down his arms.
"How are we doing today Clarence?" Smiles asked, grabbing a sledgehammer off one of the tables. He smacked it against his hand, and motioned for his men to remove the bag from his head. The gag was taken out as well and all hope seemed to be drained from Clarence's face when he saw the view.
"Fuck." Clarence said.
"Fuck is right." Smiles said, smiling that signature grin. He put the sledgehammer down onto Clarence's foot, slowly pushing down onto it. Clarence gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "I want information Clarence. Are you going to give me that information."
"Go fuck yourself." Clarence said. Smiles looked at his men and laughed. He took the sledgehammer off of Clarence's foot and then slammed it right back down on his foot, a cracking noise going throughout the barn. Clarence yelled out in pain, feeling his foot throb in pain.
"The name Smiles is obviously not my real name." Smiles said, putting down the hammer and picking up a knife off one of the tables. "It was given to me. Do you wanna know why?"
"I assume you smile a lot." Clarence said, toughing it out through the just laughed and dragged the knife along Clarence's cheek, causing a small cut to form where blood started to come out of.
"I used to torture scumbags like you daily. No matter what they would say, or how tough they would act, I'd end up getting what I wanted. And I would always make sure to leave those people with smiles on their faces." Smiles said, putting the knife next to Clarence's mouth now.
"You can act tough all you want, but you'll sing like a canary eventually." G said, standing around Clarence with some other Vagos boys. Smiles nodded his head then slammed the knife down into Clarence's leg, a small amount of blood shooting out of the cut being plugged up by the knife.
"Fuck!" Clarence yelled, gripping the handles of the chair. Smiles punched him across the face, as hard as he could. Clarence's head snapped to one side, and he slowly moved back to sit straight up. Once he was straight up, Smiles punched him again. It happened again, and again. Over and over until Clarence's eye was swollen, his mouth filled with blood.
"I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life." Smiles whispered to the man. "I don't care who you are. I don't care what people are on your side. If I gave any fucks, this wouldn't be happening."
"Just kill me." Clarence said, the blood spilling out of his mouth and onto his chin. Smiles backed up, shaking his hand, a small pain in it after so many punches.
"I'm going to. But not now. You don't deserve it yet." Smiles said. He picked up a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and lighting it. He didn't smoke it though. Instead he walked over to Clarence and pushed the burning end into Clarence's neck, causing smoke to rise out from the spot.
Clarence let out a roar of anger and pain as the burn was inflicted on him. A small dark circle formed on his neck and Smiles threw the crumpled cigarette onto the ground. He grabbed another one from the pack, lighting it. He snapped his fingers this time and his men grabbed Clarence. They began to rip his shirt off, revealing his chest. Smiles grabbed the back of Clarence's head and smiled at him.
"You a smoker?" Smiles asked. Clarence took a moment before answering, not knowing what to expect. He nodded his head and Smiles slapped his cheek. Clarence opened his mouth and Smiles put the lit cigarette into Clarence's mouth.
"Get the iron." G said, looking back at some of the Vagos boys. A steaming hot iron was passed from person to person as Smiles slid a kitchen mitt over his head and took hold of the iron.
"Don't let that smoke fall." Smiles said, slamming the burning iron into Clarence's chest. Clarence's mouth opened, but nothing came out. He couldn't scream in pain, or let out any noises. When Smiles pulled the iron away from Clarence's chest, skin was pulled off of his body slowly.
"Ready to sing me a song?" Smiles asked grinning, as Clarence began to pass out.