Chapter two

Author's note: Hey guys, thanks for the great reviews, I still can't believe I'm writing in english! ;) Here's chapter two, enjoy!

***

Bosco ended his conversation after telling Faith that he was going to meet her up at the House in a little while, and put the cellphone back into his pocket. Talking to her, he'd momentarily forgotten about the dingy alley he was in, but a quick look around made him realize it was time to leave the place. And leave it fast.

"You going somewhere, buddy?" A voice came out of nowhere, startling him as a shiver ran through his spine. He turned around to see two guys standing there, a menacing look on their faces.

"Yeah, actually I was. So get out of my way." he said, immediately switching to "cop" mode.

"Not so fast, man." the other guy said as he came closer.

Damn you, Mikey, he cursed to himself. Why couldn't we meet in a bar, or someplace else? Why did I even listen to you in the first place? "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"My my, you shouldn't talk to him like that." the bigger of the two guys said, stepping forward. "You know, you piss him off, you're a dead man."

Bosco's mind was still trying to figure out who these two assholes were, and how he could pull himself out of the mess. "What do you want?" he asked, putting both hands on his hips so that he could reach for the gun if things got out of hand. Which he figured it probably would.

"You're quite a loud-mouth, you know that?"

"Yeah. I've been called worse." Bosco retorted.

"You know, that attitude could get you in trouble someday." the man Bosco figured was higher in rank told him.

"And you know what? I'm sick of this crap! You wanna tell me what the hell this is about before I walk out of here?" He was getting angrier and more nervous by the minute. Wonder where Michael is, he thought to himself. Hope he's safe somewhere.

"Why are you so angry at me?" the man glared at him, an evil smile on his lips. "I just thought I should introduce myself. You know, you're new, someone should warn you about how things go around here. About... people you should respect."

"What are you talking about?" Bosco asked in disbelief. Man, this is getting worse. "Look, I really have to go now..." he said, trying to push his way through them.

"Hold on, buddy. I'm not finished yet." the man said as he reached for the right side of his coat and revealed a gun.

***

The black car stopped a few blocks later. This is it, Mikey thought to himself. This is where it ends. "Where are we?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Oh, the place doesn't matter." one of the guys said as he opened the door. "We just want to talk to you for a while."

Yeah, talk. How am I supposed to talk with a bullet in my head? He shook his head and got out of the car. He could hear seagulls in the distance. We must still be close to the river, he reasoned. "What's wrong, Barry?"

"You, man. You made a big mistake."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know, it wasn't very nice of you to lie to us, Michael."

"Lie? I never lied to you!" he immediately replied, rising up his hands in defense.

"You did, and you're doing it again!" Barry angrily said, moving dangerously close to him. "You're supposed to show us some respect, you son of a bitch!" he hissed. "Now, as I said, you made a mistake, and you're going to pay for it."

"I swear, man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Mikey pleaded.

"You told us you didn't need our help anymore, and then you got yourself a new boy. Now, that wasn't very nice, was it?"

"A new what?"

"Don't play fool with me, Michael, I know you're smarter than that!" Barry said, rising his voice. "We've been following you. You know, to make sure you were telling the truth. And today we saw you and your friend down at the pier. That was nice." he laughed. "Too bad he won't be around to deal drugs anymore."

"Friend? No, that wasn't... That was my brother,man!"

"Stop lying, Mikey, it's not going to do you any good!" the other man yelled, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the wall.

"I'm not lying, I wouldn't lie to you, man. That was my brother!" Mikey pleaded again, gasping for breath. God, please leave Maurice out of this, he prayed. My life's already a mess, I couldn't deal with him getting hurt because of me.

"Your brother, huh? And what exactly were you doing with your *brother* in that alley?" Barry taunted.

"I... we were just..."

"You know, now that I come to think about it, Michael, you still owe me some money. What? You thought I would forget? Thought you could just walk around and find someone else? Answer me!" he said as he punched him in the stomach.

"No!" he screamedas he doubled forward in pain. "I... I didn't forget about the money! I was just..."

"You were just what? I saw what happened! The guy gave you something! Now are you going to tell me the truth or should Johnny here remind you what happens to people who screw up?"

Mikey's eyes widened in fear. I was indeed being followed, he realized. They were watching me. "Please, I told you." he tried to speak again. "That was my brother. He's not a drug dealer. I just asked him for some money so I could give it to you! ... Here," he pointed to his jeans pocket. "Let me..."

Barry immediately reached for it and found the small envelope.

"See? Told you I wasn't lying!" he smiled nervously. "There's a thousand bucks in there, man. You can take it. I was going to give it to you anyway. You've got to believe me!"

The two guys stared at each other for a few seconds.

"You'll leave my brother alone now, right?" Mikey asked. Hope you never find out he's a cop.

"I can't promise you that, buddy." Barry replied. "I'm afraid the problem's already been fixed. Someone's taking care of him as we speak."

***

Bosco looked down at the gun and wondered if his brother had anything to do with that. "I think there's been some mistake here." he said.

"You're right." the older of the two guys answered back. "Your mistake." He took a few steps forward, as Bosco stood his ground, his eyes focused on him. "You either have to be extremely smart, or completely stupid to deal drugs in my territory." he harshly whispered.

"What?" Bosco asked in shock. "You're lost here, man! I'm not a drug dealer!" And as soon as I'm out of here I'm going to lock you up, you son of a bitch!

"And you expect me to believe you?"

"Yeah, I do, 'cause it's the damned truth, and the only one you're going to hear from me!"

"Hey! I told you not to talk to Mr. De Marco like that!" the big guy said as he back-handed him on the mouth. Bosco immediately tasted blood on his split lip, but his gaze never left the man.

"It's okay, Frankie. My young friend here just needs some good advice."

"Yeah, Frankie, do as your boss says and leave me the hell alone!" Bosco said, shoving him away. "Look, Mr. De Marco, I don't know what this is about, but you got the wrong man. I sure as hell ain't a drug dealer, and if you let me go now I'm going to forget about this little incident."

The man smiled, an amused expression on his face. "You know, I really need a guy like you for my business."

"And I need a vacation. Life's not fair, man."

Frankie immediately rached for his gun and pointed it straight at him.

Bosco paused, then went on. "Listen to me, I'm not stepping on your territory here, and you know why? 'Cause I ain't a drug dealer! You can check me out but you're not going to find anything." Except my gun, maybe.

"Yeah, but only because you just gave it to that little bastard! I bet he said he's going to pay you next time." he smiled. "He always does that."

God, Michael. What have you gotten yourself into? Bosco thought to himself. Is that why you were so worried about anybody following me? He stuffed one hand in his jacket pocket and tightened the grip on the gun on his belt with the other. That's why they think I'm a drug dealer. Man, could this day possibly get any worse?

He knew how these people worked, knew they were never going to believe him. I have to do something, he reasoned. Hopefully Mr.Boss here is not armed, so if I can take Frankie's gun there's a good chance I can end this without getting myself killed.

"What, you got nothing to say now?" Frankie said in mock annoyance, punching him again.

Bosco took the blow and glared at him, but he didn't move. If I tell them that was my brother they'll go after him. I can't let them. Better slow things down and hope it's not going to hurt too much.

"You know, you're right." De Marco spoke again. "I could forget about this... forgive you maybe, pretend you didn't know... But I won't." He pulled out a gun from his coat pocket, and before Bosco had a chance to react, a shot was fired.

TBC...