Jhondie
Brian tottered forward, getting in between Bradshaw and me before I could do anything. "Why?" he shouted hoarsely. "You had Dad, you had the business, you had everything!"
Bradshaw sighed. "Spanky, Spanky, Spanky. My poor pitiful cousin. Uncle Darryl just won't give up on you. He really thinks one day you're going to pull yourself out this pigsty of a life you've created. Oh you are a little clever, hiring these bodyguards. The girl actually did fool me. But really, Spanky, think of that boy. You never had the guts to kill him. I had to do it to protect the family honor. We wouldn't want anyone to think of us as being weak like you now would we?"
He gave me a regretful smile. "If I wasn't going to kill you, I'd hire you in a second. You really are fabulous." I had two words for that, and they weren't happy birthday.
I stepped to one side, feeling my muscles tense. My eyes focused down on the gun. I had one try at this. We were about thirty feet apart. I was going to have to get to him in one jump, and he didn't think I could. To be honest, I wasn't too sure either. It wasn't going to be easy but I knew I could do it. But I neglected the testosterone factor. Justin was smart enough to know I was the one who needed to make the jump. He couldn't do what I could. But, Brian didn't know that.
With a sudden roar I didn't think the skinny little guy was capable of, he charged. "DON'T CALL ME SPANKY!" he screamed as he jumped for his cousin.
I moved. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Justin rushing Brian, as a gunshot rang out. Both of them tumbled to the ground, and for a second I thought my heart was going to stop. If Justin got hurt too, no he was moving.and then I was on Bradshaw. He wasn't exactly expecting me.
I snatched the gun from his hand, and kicked him hard. He flew into the wall, and friends and neighbors, it never felt better to nail someone like it did then. I had the gun. I had him. He was in a heap, conscious, but in pain. I'd felt ribs cracking under the blow, and I wanted to hear more bones break. I wanted to tear him limb from limb. I wanted that coppery taste of his blood in my mouth. But.but.I'd sworn to myself.never again.never be an animal like we were in the woods.I'd sworn.
"Go on," he hissed, blood on the corner of his mouth. "Shoot me! You know you want to. Do it!"
He really did want me to. Maybe it was feline instincts coming out, but I would rather torture him to death then simply kill. He was going to prison. He'd confessed in front of three people, and there wasn't going to be any help from Uncle Darryl this time. Maybe he would be the one running for his life from a group of genetically engineered kids. It wouldn't matter. What would happen to him in prison would take years to kill him. I knew what imprisonment was really like. It kills your spirit long before your body.
I could feel the edges of my mouth curl into a tight smile. "I would," I purred. "But you're going to die a thousand times in prison." I dropped the clip, and made sure the chamber was empty. I let go of the gun, and then slammed it with my foot, shattering it. The shock on his face seeing me do that was beautiful. I tossed the clip over the edge. "And I'm going to laugh every time you cry. You're going to remember me for a very, very long time. Consider that an honorable promise."
I turned and sauntered away. Maybe not killing him was weak. I wondered what Lydecker would think. Killing the enemy or letting him die by degrees. Tough call. Both had pluses and minuses. I looked at Justin, the relief that I didn't kill Bradshaw evident. That was the biggest plus of them all.
Justin
When Spanky.maybe I should call him Brian.jumped, we were all in motion. I heard a gunshot, and dived to cover Brian, who was already on the ground. Don't ask me why I did; it was just an instinctive thing. He was holding his leg, a bright red stain spreading on the front of his pants. I glanced up, and Jhondie was already there. In a second he was in a heap, and she was standing over him, gun in hand.
Don't do it, I thought. Please Jhondie, do this the right way. He lost his protection. If you do it, if you are the cold killer you were supposed to be, how can I ever really respect you again? Please don't do this. After what seemed like an eternity, she said something to him, and turned away. I got off of Brian, and looked up again just in time to see Bradshaw jump up behind Jhondie, knife in hand.
"Behind you!" I yelled. She whipped around, ducking as she went, the knife skating past her by mere inches. God, that had been too close! She grabbed his wrist, twisting it hard. I could hear the bones snap with a dry brittle cracking sound. He screamed, and she flung him back into the wall, knocking him halfway unconscious. I knew she was going to kill him now, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Why the hell was I already running to them?
She suddenly back flipped, and grabbed someone standing in the doorway, yanking him out, and pinning him to the ground. The new arrival made it an official family reunion. I grabbed Jhondie around the waist and hauled her off of Darryl Knight. I'm pretty sure I was one of the very few people that could have done that to her at that moment without getting killed.
He'd obviously just run up the steps. He was a fit man, but he was breathing hard and sweating. If he'd just seen this drama, he had the right to be breathing hard and sweating. He got to his feet carefully. "My God!" he gasped, and went to his son.
"I tried to tell you!" Brian cried out. "Dad, I tried to tell you about Emerson, but you.you," His father looked stricken. I guess your disbelief nearly getting your kid killed was pretty hard, even for a hard case like Knight.
We were over there quickly. Jhondie had some first aid knowledge, and she used Bradshaw's knife to quickly cut Brian's pants, and check out his wound. It was bloody, but the bullet went all of the way through.
"Your tie?" Jhondie asked Knight, holding out her hand. He looked at her, confused. "Give me your tie," she ordered. He took it off, and she used the cut part of his pants as a bandage, tying it on tightly with the tie. "He still needs a hospital," she muttered. At the word hospital, Knight seemed to look at her a little more closely, and some kind of knowledge seemed to spark in him.
He got up and went to Bradshaw who was coming around again. "Uncle Darryl," he gasped. "They're in Brian's gang. Told them to let him go.they were going to kill him,"
Knight shook his head sadly. "I heard you," he said simply. He patted his nephew kindly on his cheek. "Your lapel pin is a microphone." He sighed deeply. "Emerson, I tried to teach you so well."
"All I'd ever be is the lapdog," Bradshaw snarled back. "Good enough to make the money, but not good enough to own it."
"No, my boy, I would have given you the business outright. Oh, there would be money for my own, but you would have been the one in charge. I tried to teach you. You can betray anyone in business. Friends, associates, partners, lovers, none of them mean anything. But the moment you betray your own blood, you're nothing. I do not value anything that is nothing to me."
Before I could take a breath, he pulled out a small caliber pistol and fired one shot into his nephew's head.
Brian tottered forward, getting in between Bradshaw and me before I could do anything. "Why?" he shouted hoarsely. "You had Dad, you had the business, you had everything!"
Bradshaw sighed. "Spanky, Spanky, Spanky. My poor pitiful cousin. Uncle Darryl just won't give up on you. He really thinks one day you're going to pull yourself out this pigsty of a life you've created. Oh you are a little clever, hiring these bodyguards. The girl actually did fool me. But really, Spanky, think of that boy. You never had the guts to kill him. I had to do it to protect the family honor. We wouldn't want anyone to think of us as being weak like you now would we?"
He gave me a regretful smile. "If I wasn't going to kill you, I'd hire you in a second. You really are fabulous." I had two words for that, and they weren't happy birthday.
I stepped to one side, feeling my muscles tense. My eyes focused down on the gun. I had one try at this. We were about thirty feet apart. I was going to have to get to him in one jump, and he didn't think I could. To be honest, I wasn't too sure either. It wasn't going to be easy but I knew I could do it. But I neglected the testosterone factor. Justin was smart enough to know I was the one who needed to make the jump. He couldn't do what I could. But, Brian didn't know that.
With a sudden roar I didn't think the skinny little guy was capable of, he charged. "DON'T CALL ME SPANKY!" he screamed as he jumped for his cousin.
I moved. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Justin rushing Brian, as a gunshot rang out. Both of them tumbled to the ground, and for a second I thought my heart was going to stop. If Justin got hurt too, no he was moving.and then I was on Bradshaw. He wasn't exactly expecting me.
I snatched the gun from his hand, and kicked him hard. He flew into the wall, and friends and neighbors, it never felt better to nail someone like it did then. I had the gun. I had him. He was in a heap, conscious, but in pain. I'd felt ribs cracking under the blow, and I wanted to hear more bones break. I wanted to tear him limb from limb. I wanted that coppery taste of his blood in my mouth. But.but.I'd sworn to myself.never again.never be an animal like we were in the woods.I'd sworn.
"Go on," he hissed, blood on the corner of his mouth. "Shoot me! You know you want to. Do it!"
He really did want me to. Maybe it was feline instincts coming out, but I would rather torture him to death then simply kill. He was going to prison. He'd confessed in front of three people, and there wasn't going to be any help from Uncle Darryl this time. Maybe he would be the one running for his life from a group of genetically engineered kids. It wouldn't matter. What would happen to him in prison would take years to kill him. I knew what imprisonment was really like. It kills your spirit long before your body.
I could feel the edges of my mouth curl into a tight smile. "I would," I purred. "But you're going to die a thousand times in prison." I dropped the clip, and made sure the chamber was empty. I let go of the gun, and then slammed it with my foot, shattering it. The shock on his face seeing me do that was beautiful. I tossed the clip over the edge. "And I'm going to laugh every time you cry. You're going to remember me for a very, very long time. Consider that an honorable promise."
I turned and sauntered away. Maybe not killing him was weak. I wondered what Lydecker would think. Killing the enemy or letting him die by degrees. Tough call. Both had pluses and minuses. I looked at Justin, the relief that I didn't kill Bradshaw evident. That was the biggest plus of them all.
Justin
When Spanky.maybe I should call him Brian.jumped, we were all in motion. I heard a gunshot, and dived to cover Brian, who was already on the ground. Don't ask me why I did; it was just an instinctive thing. He was holding his leg, a bright red stain spreading on the front of his pants. I glanced up, and Jhondie was already there. In a second he was in a heap, and she was standing over him, gun in hand.
Don't do it, I thought. Please Jhondie, do this the right way. He lost his protection. If you do it, if you are the cold killer you were supposed to be, how can I ever really respect you again? Please don't do this. After what seemed like an eternity, she said something to him, and turned away. I got off of Brian, and looked up again just in time to see Bradshaw jump up behind Jhondie, knife in hand.
"Behind you!" I yelled. She whipped around, ducking as she went, the knife skating past her by mere inches. God, that had been too close! She grabbed his wrist, twisting it hard. I could hear the bones snap with a dry brittle cracking sound. He screamed, and she flung him back into the wall, knocking him halfway unconscious. I knew she was going to kill him now, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Why the hell was I already running to them?
She suddenly back flipped, and grabbed someone standing in the doorway, yanking him out, and pinning him to the ground. The new arrival made it an official family reunion. I grabbed Jhondie around the waist and hauled her off of Darryl Knight. I'm pretty sure I was one of the very few people that could have done that to her at that moment without getting killed.
He'd obviously just run up the steps. He was a fit man, but he was breathing hard and sweating. If he'd just seen this drama, he had the right to be breathing hard and sweating. He got to his feet carefully. "My God!" he gasped, and went to his son.
"I tried to tell you!" Brian cried out. "Dad, I tried to tell you about Emerson, but you.you," His father looked stricken. I guess your disbelief nearly getting your kid killed was pretty hard, even for a hard case like Knight.
We were over there quickly. Jhondie had some first aid knowledge, and she used Bradshaw's knife to quickly cut Brian's pants, and check out his wound. It was bloody, but the bullet went all of the way through.
"Your tie?" Jhondie asked Knight, holding out her hand. He looked at her, confused. "Give me your tie," she ordered. He took it off, and she used the cut part of his pants as a bandage, tying it on tightly with the tie. "He still needs a hospital," she muttered. At the word hospital, Knight seemed to look at her a little more closely, and some kind of knowledge seemed to spark in him.
He got up and went to Bradshaw who was coming around again. "Uncle Darryl," he gasped. "They're in Brian's gang. Told them to let him go.they were going to kill him,"
Knight shook his head sadly. "I heard you," he said simply. He patted his nephew kindly on his cheek. "Your lapel pin is a microphone." He sighed deeply. "Emerson, I tried to teach you so well."
"All I'd ever be is the lapdog," Bradshaw snarled back. "Good enough to make the money, but not good enough to own it."
"No, my boy, I would have given you the business outright. Oh, there would be money for my own, but you would have been the one in charge. I tried to teach you. You can betray anyone in business. Friends, associates, partners, lovers, none of them mean anything. But the moment you betray your own blood, you're nothing. I do not value anything that is nothing to me."
Before I could take a breath, he pulled out a small caliber pistol and fired one shot into his nephew's head.