Chapter Twenty-Six

"Woo! We did it baby!" Mitchell said as he kicked open his front door. Leo, Alex, and Catherine came in after him, everyone smiling while Carlos and Tank pulled Allen's body out of the back of the pickup truck. They leaned him against the front of Mitchell's house and stared down at his body.

"Not everyone did it." Carlos said to himself. A car pulled up out front of Mitchell's house and Carlos looked back. Sarah rose from the passenger seat, slamming the door and running over to Carlos. He met her halfway and the two slammed into each other, forming a hug that seemed to choke both of them. She squeezed him and he squeezed her back and kissed her on the cheek multiple times.

"I was so worried when I heard the gunshots." Sarah said as she started to sob into Carlos' shoulder.

"No se preocupe." Carlos whispered in her ear. "I'm safe mi amore." He kissed her cheek once more before the two stopped hugging and Sarah realized Mitchell was staring at them from the front door.

"Ain't that adorable." Mitchell said as he rolled his eyes. Carlos and Sarah laughed at themselves and walked into the house and Tank tried to come in as well. Mitchell stuck his hand up and stopped Tank in his tracks.

"What's this dog?" Tank asked.

"This is us discussing what to do with you… dog." Mitchell said as he slammed the door in Tank's face. Tank sighed and sat down outside the house, right next to Allen's body. The head slumped over and landed on Tank's shoulder, causing him to jump up and move away from the body.

"We need to talk." Alex said as everyone was finally inside. He made them sit down in the living room and grabbed the remote for the TV. Carlos, Sarah, Leo, Catherine, and Mitchell sat down on the couch while Alex turned on the TV on the wall.

The sight on the TV was a helicopter circling around the City Hall building. Multiple Family gang members stood around the building, holding weapons of all kinds and two police officers were kneeling in front of the doorway in. Both officers had the word "REG" imprinted on their forehead along with a bullet hole right in between the eyes.

"Jesus Christ." Carlos said as he stared at the screen. He looked around for a moment and then looked at Alex. "Yo man, where's Maxine?"

Alex looked at the ground as the news clip played on. Sarah's eyes had gone wide and Catherine also looked down the ground.

"Not the best topic bro." Leo said.

"He killed her." Alex said. "This Reg guy."

"Oh… shit man I didn't know I'm sorry." Carlos said.

"It's cool man. You've been out of the loop. Look. Something's going on around this city. Jordan and Heath haven't been in contact with us for a while. Colton has gone MIA. Reg is taking over City fucking Hall." Alex said.

"What are you saying?" Mitchell asked.

"Don't you guys think it might all be connected?" Alex asked. "What if he has Heath and Jordan in there?"

"What about Colton?" Catherine asked.

"Some woman has him. I could never get a hold of him after I called right before the breakout." Mitchell said as he pulled out his phone and tossed it onto his coffee table. Everyone looked to Alex who tapped his chin with the remote.

"I'll figure this all out. Go do whatever you have to. I'll work on all this." Alex said as he shut off the TV. He grabbed a pack of markers, pens, and pencils and a stack of paper before walking away, out onto the balcony.

"What's good nigga?" Leo asked as he walked outside and saw Tank sitting in the back of the pickup truck. Tank looked back at him, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He nodded his head at Leo and looked forward again. He pulled the carton out of his pocket and extended toward Leo.

"Want one?" Tank asked.

"I ain't trying to fuck up my insides nigga." Leo said as he looked at Tank with a side look. Tank shrugged and put the carton back in his pocket. Leo continued to stare at Tank who swung his legs and puffed smoke out from the side of his mouth.

"I know things aren't gonna be okay." Tank said.

"Aw don't hit me with that bullshit nigga. It ain't gonna be good is an understatement. You lucky I don't pop you right now!" Leo said as he got into Tank's face. Tank nodded and flicked the cigarette onto the ground. He hopped off the back of the pickup truck and stomped out the cigarette before looking up at Leo.

"You have every right to do that. But I'm a different man now. I promised Rory I'd change for the greater good. He didn't deserve to die like that. He was dragged into all that shit just like Jesse dragged you into the gang life nigga." Tank said.

"You fuckers killed Mikey. And Jesse!" Leo said as he pushed his finger into Tank's chest. "You killed Alex's best friend Chris. You orchestrated all their deaths. Don't tell me I have the right to do shit. Yo ass should still be behind bars."

"And you niggas killed CK. You killed Jorge. Pablo, Miguel, and Paul all died too because of y'all. You as bad as me." Tank said. "I ain't trying to argue bro. I just want you to know I'mma be different now."

"Shit was self defense man. You fucks came after us. Waving guns, knives, bats, anything you could get ya greasy hands on. Wantin' blood. But shit came back to bite you huh? Shot up ya own man. Then end up behind bars." Leo said. Tank looked at the ground and wiped his eyes.

"Not a day go by where I don't remember what I did. Rory was N.F.L. Nigga fo' life! I popped him. I shot that nigga down. When really he should've done it to me. I needed that shot of reality. Not him." Tank said as he sniffed. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Shit's gonna be different now. You don't gotta trust me. But I trust y'all now."

"Yeah. See how far that gets you until you prove it. Fuckin' bitch." Leo said as he spat at Tank's feet, pushing by him into Mitchell's house.

Mitchell watched as Catherine stood in the living room, saying something quietly to herself. She was looking out at Alex who was writing down stuff frantically. Mitchell chuckled to himself and shook his head. His phone was in his hand and was about to call Alexa but he stopped and walked over to Catherine.

"What's going on kiddo?" Mitchell asked.

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked as she stopped herself from opening the sliding door.

"Something's on your mind." Mitchell said.

"I was gonna go and talk to Alex about it." Catherine said. Mitchell looked at Alex and then back at Catherine. He smirked at her and walked over to the couch, slowly sitting down. He motioned for Catherine to sit as well. She responded by rolling her eyes but taking the offer.

"I'm sorry to inform you but Alex has a lot on his mind too." Mitchell said. "Talk to grandpa Mitchell."

"I'd rather talk to him about this topic." Catherine said.

"Look, I've seen you two have grown close recently okay? But right now Alex can't deal with… this. He needs time to get past Maxine for good. Know what I mean?" Mitchell asked.

"I wanted to talk about Donny." Catherine said, her face extremely serious and annoyed. Mitchell puckered his lips and clapped his hands together.

"Right!" Mitchell shouted. "Of course. Don Don. What about the douchebag nephew of Paulie boy, god rest his soul."

"Are you okay?" Catherine asked.

"I feel way more awkward than you do right now trust me. Shut the fuck up and talk about Donny." Mitchell said. Catherine gave a half smile and a small laugh and shook her head.

"He escaped too Mitchell. I had the chance to take him out, for good. Carlos saved him though. I don't think he realized it was me who had the shot. Who needed that shot to hit. He's gonna come for me Mitchell." Catherine said.

"You're scared of that half bit, pussy?" Mitchell asked. "I've fought women manlier than him!"

"It's not the manliness. It's the mental state. He's crazy." Catherine said. Mitchell laughed and slapped her leg as he stood up.

"Aren't we all?" Mitchell asked. "Keep your distance for a bit. Stay with someone at all times if you need to. Always be on alert and carry a weapon. You see the son of a bitch kill him or send him my way. Maybe send him Alex's way too, he could take out that rage he has in him."

"Oh trust me he has done that." Catherine said raising her eyebrows. Mitchell looked back at her, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"Did you two…?" Mitchell asked. Catherine took a moment to realize what he was saying. Her mouth hung open and she looked disgusted.

"No! We have not and will not!... Well I mean I'm not saying I wouldn't but…" Catherine went on.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Mitchell shouted as he plugged up his ears with his fingers and walked into his bedroom, slamming the door. Catherine looked over at Alex who was still working and smirked.

"I gotta go check on Latavius." she said, grabbing a pistol that Mitchell had left out. She tucked into a holster she had on and left the house.