JC got the morning off so that he could drive his son to yet another school. Mateo was as bad as JC when it came to staying out of trouble. This was his third school this year. He was constantly getting into fights and talking back to his teacher. If he wasn't JC's son then JC would fine all this rather funny, but Mateo was his son and that meant he had to deal with Mateo's mistakes. "Look, Mateo, just promise me you'll try this time. No more fights and no more talking back to your teachers. This needs to work. I can't keep sending you to a new school. We'll run out of schools if you keep it up." JC tells him.
"It's not my fault. All the teachers are idiots." JC chuckles. "And the kids are pussies."
"Yeah, well…." JC frowns as he walks around the corner and sees a rusted up piece of crap parked by the sidewalk. Much to his surprise, he saw the blonde, Annie, standing at the front with another girl. "Huh." JC says with curiosity.
"Who is that?" Mateo asks, causing JC to look at him.
"Hey, Mateo, do you still want to help us out?"
"You mean with the business?"
"Yeah."
"Of course, what do you have in mind?" Mateo asks, his eyes shining with excitement.
"See that woman up ahead?"
"The blonde?"
"Yeah. Uncle Rio and I are trying to work with her and her friends. They took something from us, so we're working on getting it back. We could use an inside man."
"An inside man?"
"Yeah. That kid must be hers and I figure she has to be going to the same school as you, so…"
"So you want me to make friends with her?"
"Yeah, I figure if the mom is up to something then the kid is bound to notice and tell you all about it."
"You want me to be a spy?"
"You think you can handle it?"
"Defiantly." Mateo grins. "Do you think Uncle Rio will be pleased?" JC snorts at he looks at his son. His son looks up to Rio, hell he even dressed like Rio. The kid had on a t-shirt, jeans, and a hoodie with the hood only half way on. He was even walking like Rio. It always amused JC to see how much his son looked up to Rio.
"Oh, yeah, Uncle Rio will defiantly be happy to hear you're helping us out." Mateo grin grows. "Come on, let's go say hi." JC grins. He walks over with that charming smile on his face. "Excuse me, I hate to intrupt, but I'm looking for the school that's supposed to be around here." Both of the girls turn to JC. Annie's eyes widen with fear and shock as her daughter looked at the both of them. "My son here is starting there."
"Isn't it a little late to be starting school?" The girl asks.
"Well, I'm like my dad. I go through schools like he goes through women." Mateo gives an identical charming smile as his father. "Do you think you could show me around?" He asks. "I don't want to get lost on my first day."
"Yeah, sure. I'll show you where the school is." The girl turns to her mother. "I'll see you after school, okay?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." Annie manages to get out before her daughter and JC's son heads off for the school. "What are you doing here?" She snaps once the kids were out of earshot.
"Dropping my kid off, you got a problem with that?" He asks as he crosses his arms over his chest. Annie's eyes followed the movement, watching the muscles bunch in his arms and the way his chest muscles become defined. Annie looks up at JC, who is smiling down at her. "Relax, Annie, you get us our money and you'll never have to worry about me harming your pretty little face." JC says, running his fingers over her cheek. "You got a cute kid, make sure to keep an eye on her. Kids her age are assholes." He lets her go, shoving his hands into his pockets, before turning and walking away.
He really did hope they'd get the money back because he meant what he said. It'd be a real shame to damage that beautiful face.
…
Later that day, JC followed his brother into the diner. JC and the guys find a booth in the corner. He sits where he can see the girls, leaning back against the soft leather seats. The booth is surprisingly comfortable. He almost wants to laugh as he looks at Bullit, who is looking over the menu and sticking out like a sore thumb in this place. JC moves and his eyes meet the colored woman's eyes. "I got a question for you." Rio says, not even bothering to look up at the girl. JC reads her name tag, Ruby. She definitely didn't look like a ruby, but the name did sound nice. "The two, two, and two meal deal… How much is that?" Rio asks as JC looks past Ruby and towards where the other girls were sitting. Annie looked even better now than she did earlier.
"Seven, ninety-five." Ruby answers.
"Yeah, see, but if I order two hotcakes, two sausages, and two eggs a la carte, it's cheaper."
"You get a garnish." Ruby tells him.
"Like parsley or something?" JC looks away from the sisters and at Ruby.
"It's an orange slice." JC raises an eyebrow.
"You tell the owner that ain't right?" Rio asks as the other guys looked at her. "Cheating people like that?" Ruby looks down at the seat and sees the golden pistol and black glock. "We're gonna get you your money. All of it. I swear." The girl's voice shook with obvious fear.
"Now would be great." Rio tells her as JC laces his hands behind his head and gives her a lazy smile. He was like a cat. He could stretch out and get comfortable anywhere.
"We need more time to get it." JC glances over at Rio and clearly see he is not happy at all. JC looks past Ruby and saw the fear on the girls' faces. They could clearly see Rio's anger too. Ruby sighs, sounding almost happy. "Thank you." JC raises an eyebrow. Did she think Rio was going to give her more time?
"I'll come by tomorrow." JC almost laughs as he sees the sudden realization come over the girl's face. "One o'clock good for you?" Rio grabs his gun and slides out of the booth. "Your friend's house." JC sighs and grabs his own gun and follows after his brother. He subtly slips the gun under his waistband and tucked his shirt over it before grabbing his jacket. "You can subtract the coffee." Rio tells her before starting for the door with the men and JC behind.
"Juan." JC stops in his tracks, spinning around and looking at Annie as she walked over. How did she get his name? "Your name's Juan, right?" JC raises an eyebrow. "Look, tell your son to stay away from Saddie."
"Excuse me?" JC asks, Rio motions for the guys to head out before moving and standing by his brother. JC waves him off as he saw the fear come over Annie's eyes. "I'll meet you outside." Rio glances at Annie and then at JC. JC pulls his eyes from Annie and looks at his big brother. "I'll meet you outside." He says a bit more forced.
"Ten minutes." Rio orders JC before heading out. JC looks at Annie and crosses his arms over his chest.
"Now, you got a problem with my boy?" JC asks. He could feel Ruby's and the sister's eyes on them.
"I don't want your son near my daughter." Annie repeats, causing JC to chuckle, but it only sends chills down Annie's spine.
"I heard you the first time." JC's voice is no longer the easy-going carefree tone that it had been. This tone is darker, colder. "That still doesn't answer my question. Do you have a problem with my son?" JC says slowly as if talking to a child. "Because if it wasn't for my son your daughter would have her head dunk into the toilet today." Annie's eyes widen in shock. "Don't believe me?" JC reaches into his back pocket, but Annie only sees him reaching behind him, causing her eyes to widen even more with fear, but when he pulls out his phone a look of embarrassment comes into her eyes. "What, thought I'd shoot you in front of a bunch of people?" JC tsks. "I'm more of a shoot you in a dark alley kind of guy." He holds out his phone and raises an eyebrow at Annie. "Go on." Annie takes his phone with shaky hands.
'Papai, if you get a call from the school please don't be mad. I had a totally good reason for getting into the fight. That kid we met this morning was about to get her head dunk. You always said that I can't be a bystander, please don't be mad.'-Mateo
Annie looks up at JC with a look of guilt. JC takes back his phone. "That being said, you say shit about my boy again…" He eyes over. "Then you and I are going to have a problem." He slips his phone into his pocket. He looks past her and at the other girls before looking back at her. "Have a nice day, gorgeous." He turns on his heels and walks back out to where his brother was waiting.
"You going to tell me what that was all about?" Rio asks once JC was beside him.
"Mateo's going to school with her daughter." Rio scoffs.
"And what she thinks your boy's going to stab her daughter or some shit?"
"Not anymore. I can fix my own problems, Rio. I don't need big brother to protect me. He's my son and I can handle it." Rio eyes JC over.
"She got to you." JC rolls his eyes and ignores his brother, making his way to the car. "You think you can get the job done if they don't get our money?" JC spun on his heels and faced Rio with a look of anger.
"Fuck you." JC snarls. "You know I'll get the job done regardless of who the fuck it is. No smart-mouth bitch is going to keep me from pulling the trigger and if you accuse me of that again then you and I are going to have a problem, brother." Rio stares at JC for a long moment before nodding.
"Got it, brother." Rio pats him on the chest as he walked by. "Let's going. We got shit to do." JC swallowed the lump in his throat, his eyes shooting towards the diner where he can see Annie watching him through the window. JC takes a deep breath before turning and following after his brother.
He didn't fight often with Rio or even get angry at him. JC can't remember a time when he raised his voice or swore at Rio. On the way back to the warehouse JC was filled with guilt. His mama taught him better than to fight with his big brother. He was told, you listen to your brother and do as he asked. He's the man of the house. "Forget, Juan." Rio spoke up. "You're in the right." JC looks over at his brother. "I need to trust that you'll do what you have to do at the end of the day. This shit won't work if we don't trust each other, but you tell me that that girl ain't getting to you." JC blows the breath he's been holding.
"She's just another pretty face."
"You seem to get in trouble often with those pretty faces." JC rolls his eyes.
"Shut up."
"I mean," Rio looks over at JC with a grin. "You got two kids from the last ones."
"I hate you." Rio laughs.
"Maybe you need some fun. You're awful tense."
"I hate you."
"When's the last time you had sex? When Marianna was born."
"I seriously hate you." Rio laughs.
"How does Mateo like his new school?"
"Probably as good as any of the other schools he's gone to. The kid goes through schools like-"
"Like you go through women?" JC turns to Rio with a glare.
"I knew that shit sounded like you. What did I tell you about saying that shit in front of Mateo. The kid says literally everything that comes out of your mouth." Rio laughs. "Oh you laugh, but it's true. The kid looks up to you. He almost didn't have his hoodie this morning because I couldn't find it and he was about to throw a fit."
"I saw that." Rio says. "He's dressing like me."
"And speaking like and acting like you. You better watch what you do because that kid is trying to be you and I don't need another Rio. One is plenty."
"There can't be enough Rio." JC rolls his eyes.
"Conceited much?"
"Nah, I'm just saying the truth. Rio is always better than Juan Carlos." JC huffs. "Shut the hell up." Ever since JC can remember Rio has always bragged having the better name, which sucks because it's true. Juan Carlos, that is like the stereotypical Portuguese name.
"Just drop me off at my place. I don't want to deal with your ass more than I have to today." Rio laughs and takes the turn. Big brothers always suck.
…
JC sighs as he sits back in his chair, counting the money in his lap. Rio left the boys at home today, so it's just JC and Rio with the girls, but JC isn't worried. He has quick reflexes, so if these girls tried anything he'd have them dead before they could even complete the task. "Well?" Rio asks as JC drops the last of the money in the bag. He glances back at Rio and then at the girls. This was it. He was going to have to take care of this and unfortunately, that meant killing the pretty blonde. The thought of lying to Rio popped in, trying to save these girls, but JC dismissed it as quick as it appeared. He was not going to let his feelings cloud his judgment. "JC." Rio's words brother through JC's thoughts. JC sighs and drop his feet, which had been resting on the table, down on the ground and dropped the bag to the floor.
"They're short." JC says as he pulls out his gun, causing the girls to jump. JC moves and stands by Annie with his gun in his hand.
"No, we're not." Annie says with a confidence that causes JC to raise an eyebrow.
"Oh really because I counted the money, twice. You are short." He says to her, speaking clearly for her to understand.
"Actually we're over." Annie tells him in a cocky manner before pulling out a shoe box and setting it on the table. "See, these are super rare collectibles." JC glances back at his brother as if to see if they were serious.
"Treasures." Rio looks at the sister with a raised eyebrow. JC didn't miss the look between them. He would have called Rio out on that shit if it wasn't for the other people in the room and the money still being an issue.
"Yes, sister, you're correct." Annie tells her. "That's a better word for these because these super rare treasures go for ten to fifteen gs on eBay. How much legwork is there, right? But the truth is, it's very little." Honestly, JC was a bit impressed with their efforts, but the point is that they do not have the money and the brothers were not interested in dealing with eBay or any of that shit. "Because we have done the lion's share of the work for you. Ruby?"
"These are the usernames and passwords for our eBay accounts. Plus, auction tips to maximize your profits." Okay, now they have really done it. They expected them to be happy about this? They are not wasting their time with dolls or any of this bullshit. They asked for the money today and they didn't get it. Instead, they got papers of potential money and work that they are not going to do. JC turns to Rio and sees the same annoyed and lack of patience in his eyes.
"You want me to sell your dolls." Rio clarifies.
"Tell him about Hans." Rio raises an eyebrow at the sister again.
"Oh, our little drummer boy. The pride of Hamburg." Annie chuckles. Rio steps forward, causing JC to take a good three steps back, this is about to get ugly.
"You see, Hans here is one of the only twelve in the entire-" Rio smashes the doll, causing JC to wince. He saw that coming. JC could see Rio was struggling on not losing his temper. JC, being JC, wasn't that pissed. He did want the money, but JC was gifted at locking his emotions up. He never loses his temper or gets upset because those emotions were locked away a long time ago. "Eleven in the world." Annie whispers.
"This some kind of joke to you?" Rio asks, his voice tight with his anger. Annie quickly shakes her head. "I'm done playing with you guys." Rio looks at them all before turning to JC. "JC, you know what you got to do." JC takes in a breath, throwing his emotions inside the box and locking them up, leaving him feeling numb and empty. He switches the safety off his gun, cocking it, the sound echoing horrifyingly in the house. Each step he took sent chills of fear down the girl's backs.
He pushes off the things on the nearby dresser, causing the things to shatter the ground. He moves and tosses the dresser to the floor, causing the girls to jump. He moves into the living room and begins to knocking things off the shelves and knocking bookcases down. "What are you doing?" Annie asks JC, but he ignores her, focusing on making as big of a mess as he can, while Rio sits on the arm of the couch texting.
"He's making it look like a home invasion." Ruby tells them.
"So they can kill us." The sister cries.
"Please don't do this!" Ruby yells.
Rio chuckles and looks up at them. "I wouldn't bother reasoning with him. He already set himself up for the task." Rio says, knowing full well that his brother's emotions were gone. Only Rio's orders could stop JC from killing them.
"Wait, Juan, please wait! We can get you the money! I swear!" Annie screams. JC finishes up destroying the house before putting his silencer on his gun.
"We have families. We have kids." Ruby cries.
"Please, Juan." Annie cries. JC moves towards the sister, putting the gun to her head as the girls scream. JC looks at his brother, waiting for the go ahead. "Please don't." Annie cries. JC waits as Rio continues to text, not caring about the girls' emotions.
"You're an idiot." The sister spoke up.
"Beth!" Annie cries.
"What are you going to do? Blow our brains out all over the room?" Beth asks. "Because that's how it works, right? Someone shorts you and they get tossed out like trash? And no one cares. No one even notices. Your problem this is, that's not us. We're normal people." Rio finally looks up from his phone. "We pay our taxes and… we take our kids to P.F. Chang's and we take orange slices to soccer games. And when bad things happen to good people, everyone else goes crazy." Rio was obviously thinking about her words. "It's all over the news. And there are all these hashtags and movements. Because if it could happen to us, it could happen to anyone. So, if you wanna invite all that attention… over a few grand, then you're not the smart businessman you think you are. Now, roll the dice. Tell your brother to pull the trigger. See what happens." Rio looks at JC. His brother was emotionless and Rio knew JC would pull the trigger. He would kill this family without even blinking, but he also knows what will happen to JC afterward. He knows JC will have nightmares as he thinks about killing these girls. He can't lock his emotions up in his sleep. That is where his emotions and past guilt comes back to haunt him. JC will be okay while he's awake, but once he falls asleep he will relive this moment over and over again. Rio feels both guilt and pride for his brother's willing sacrifice for him. But his brother isn't what is important here, at least no the most important. What is important is their business. This will affect them all. Rio looks at the girl for a long moment, contemplating what it is he plans on doing.
"Please." Annie whispers.
"JC." Rio says, breaking the silence. JC raises an eyebrow. Rio shakes his head, causing JC to drop the gun and step back. Like a snap of a rubber band JC's emotions are back in him. He takes a shaky breath and turns the safety on in his gun before slipping it back into his jeans.
"Oh, my god." Annie breaths as Rio places a hand on his brother's shoulder. He can feel JC shaking. "Oh, my god." Annie breaths once more before looking at JC. She can see the fear in his eyes, the pain, the guilt. This is what happens when JC puts the gun down, whether it be after a shot or not, it takes JC a good hour to bring all this emotion back into his secret box. That's why when he is sent on a hit he doesn't come back for hours. Rio only ever seen this side of JC a handful of times. Normally JC forces himself to stay emotionless until he could be alone to let it out, but Rio knows that JC doesn't want to hide himself from these girls. JC wants to show them just who he really is. "Come on, baby brother. You need a drink." Rio mutters as he wraps his hand around the back of JC's neck and leads him out of the room.
…
It takes JC a good three shots of some very strong bourbon to feel back to his old self. "What was up with you and the redhead?" JC asks as he downs another shot. "You say shit to me, but you're just as bad. Hell, I thought you were going to fuck right there and then." Rio snorts as he looks over at his brother.
"You feeling better?" JC looks at his brother with a look of guilt.
"Rio-"
"Don't, JC. I know how you are." Rio squeezes his shoulder. "You can only bury so much though, JC. You'll have to face those emotions eventually." JC takes the bottle and takes a gulp of it. "JC-"
"Rio, just let me deal with things my own way. I did what you ask, now leave me to drink."
"JC," Rio takes the bottle from JC. "Go home. Go to see your kids. Let them dull the pain. Not this crap." JC takes a deep breath and looks at his brother.
"Look at you. Protecting your baby brother again." Rio smiles and kisses JC's temple.
"I'll always protect you, baby brother. Now, go home." JC sighs and hands over the bottle. "I'll drive you home."