19. Honesty - The right way?
"Ya have to pinch to survive here, huh? Or what are ya doin' otherwise to get money?" Pony asked without thinking.
That was actually a harmless question but Johnny became serious.
"Hey, what's the matter? Did I say somethin' wrong?"
Johnny shook his head. "Nope, ya ain't! It's just, 'cause..."
"What? Tell me what's up?"
"Ya know...
How shall I tell it? I was told quite easy!
I also didn't realize it at first but now I see everythin' a bit different!
But believe me, I ain't done it yet."
"What? What did they tell ya? Please, tell me, what's the matter?"
Johnny breathed out and said with lowered eyes, "Well, another thin' to get money is that we sell drugs!"
"What? Oh... no! Tell me that ain't true! This can't be..." Pony shouted shocked.
"No, it's right, we deal with drugs, but as I said I ain't done it yet!"
"No!" Pony shouted mad.
The others looked up surprised.
"Please, Pony, calm down!"
"I shall calm down when my friend's somethin' to do with drugs? And the others sell these only to get money to survive? There I shall calm down? No way...
There's pinchin' still better! It's a quite different thin' than THAT!"
"What's wrong with him? Did he perhaps hear now that we've somethin' to do with drugs?" Thomas mocked.
"Thomas, shut ya trap, ok? This ain't funny!" Isabell scolded him.
Thomas only shrugged casually and talked again with his friends.
"Yeah, ya know we've to sell these drugs for a man called Enrico and afterwards we've to hand him over a large part of the money, so to speak as protection money!"
Ponyboy looked at his friend shocked and asked, "Who's this Enrico anyway?"
"Oh, ya better should be glad that ya don't know him! And pray that ya also never get to know him!" Patrick answered to his question.
"Is he that bad that you're gonna fall into fear and fright 'cause of him?" he asked.
"Much worse..." Thomas replied and shuddered. Actually he can take a lot.
"I hope so much for ya that ya ain't gonna get to know him!" Johnny said worried.
"Really? What could this one do to us? I ain't scared of this guy anyhow!" Dally said.
"Ohoh! Ya ignorant! He could do to ya heaven knows what and ya even couldn't defend ya! He really could scare ya with his threats, 'cause he's always gonna take out his threats.
Even Thomas, who's actually regarded as tough, already cried in front of him, 'cause Enrico has beaten him up so much!"
Dally snorted contemptuous and would add a comment just in this moment when suddenly a black elegant car stopped in front of the factory and Enrico got out with his 5 men.
"Ohhh, holy crap!" Patrick murmured.
"Speakin' of the devil..." Ricky let out.
"So we're gonna meet again!" Enrico greeted his 'protégés'.
Patrick and the others stiffened for fear.
"Is this time everybody here? Well, look, who we have there? Two new ones... What are ya names?" he turned at Ponyboy and Dally.
"Um, we? I'm... Ponyboy and that's my friend Dally. But actually we're only uh, guests, here!"
"Be careful what ya say! He can't stand wrong or cheeky answers and punish 'em with slaps!" Natalie whispered to him.
But this warning was unfortunately too late! Enrico raised his hand and slapped Pony's face.
"Ouch!"
"I don't care a damn shit if you're or ya friend only on a 'visit' here or even belong here, got it? At first I asked ya for ya names and then I only wanna know ya names and not just ya whole personal record!"
"Yeah, yeah, never mind, I got it!"
Enrico raised his hand again but this time Pony held his hand protective in front of his face.
"What? Ya defend against me, huh? Ya probably don't know who I am, do ya?"
Pony nodded a bit frightened.
But Dally wasn't impressed of this guy and that's why he meant condescending, "And ya probably don't know who we are, huh? Guess who stands in front of ya."
Enrico turned with an extremely outraged glance at Dally, looked at him shortly and then said, "Who do ya think you are? Ya come here with ya friend and then also get fresh to me, the benefactor of these bastards! Ya see my companions over there?"
With these words Enrico pointed to his 5 companions.
Dally shortly looked to them, shrugged and stared at Enrico devastating.
"Oh, please! Don't do anythin' to 'em! They ain't done anythin' to ya! I brought 'em here! That's why I should been punished!" Isabell interfered.
"What ya want? Why did ya bring 'em here at all? Are ya the good Samaritan, who put poor abandoned kids up, huh?" Enrico asked.
Now Johnny stepped in front of Enrico and began quietly, "No. They're my friends. That's why I've to stand up for 'em!"
"What do ya know? Ain't that the one, who also was quite cheeky not all too long time ago? Really, that's him! Well, well, well, ya friends, huh?" Enrico laughed dirty.
Johnny lowered his eyes. "I'm gonna stand up for 'em! They..."
"Johnny!" Pony hissed to his friend.
"If ya wanna go on that way I'm gonna punish ya, too! Well, how do ya like that? Then ya would get the same punishment as ya friends. And friends share everythin', don't they? Aw, so what...
Come on, reprimand the both! Punishment must be, no matter if 'guest' or not!" Enrico turned at his companions.
"Begin at first with the little one, so that the other one wanna understand, who's the boss here!"
"No, please don't..." Johnny begged.
2 of the men seized the surprised Ponyboy by his arms.
"Ah! What have ya planned with me? Hey, let me go! No! Dally! Johnny! Patrick! Help me! No! No!" Pony screamed and defended himself.
Johnny would go to him and help him, but he was held up by Enrico.
The other 3 men kept Dally away, so that he couldn't help Ponyboy.
"Well, ya really wanna fight with me? That's good, but only a pity for ya!" Dally said with a devilish sneer and fought with the 3 grown-up men.
Pony defended himself so tough that he even could tore off and ran away. But this was no use to him. The men caught up with him and grabbed him again and pulled him now to Enrico.
"Ya damned brat!" this one said and slapped Pony's face.
Because Pony was held tight by the two men, he couldn't defend himself and had to endure the slaps. Ponyboy swore.
"My laws have to be obeyed! Nobody has the right to ignore my law!
When I notice a disregard this one gets a decent punishment! Ya understand?
Ya friend's gonna take the blame for it now, only 'cause ya regarded it as unnecessary to show respect to me!" Enrico turned at Johnny.
With that he gave Ponyboy another heavy punch into his stomach, so that Pony writhed with pain and inhaled the air whistling.
"That's the way it is... I'm slowly fed up with ya!
When I get another one, who offends against my expressed laws wouldn't be punished less than this little brat here!" Enrico finished and gave his men the sign that they could let Pony go now.
This one sank to the ground and held his stomach with a painful distorted face.
Tears ran down his cheeks.
"My goodness, Pony!" Johnny rushed to his buddy and helped him getting up.
At a sign of Enrico the 3 men left Dally also alone and turned to their boss.
"What? Ya wanna go again? Now, where it just started all the more?" Dally meant mocking and wiped careless over his bleeding nose, where one of the 3 men hit him.
Now Enrico and his companions got in the car again and left.