As always, huge thanks to babythunder for being the rocking beta she is. G And thanks to CTB for helping with the Spanish, because internet translators? suck.

And here is Chapter two. Enjoy!

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"He steps up to the plate . . . eyes Alvarez at bat. This Danny rookie might be good, but he's ain't no match for the 90-miles-per-hour fastballs Andres Listonado's been throwin' all season -- "

"Shut up and throw the ball already?"

Oblivious to Danny's annoyance, Andres continued to speak in his mock-announcer voice, kicking at the dirt as he stood on the makeshift pitcher's mound. "An MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same year, he's won the World Series for his team -- "

"Dammit, I want to play baseball."

" -- twice -- "

"Are you going to pitch already? Because if not, I'll go home. I don't have to listen to your crap."

" -- and leading sports authorities predict him to win the Heisman Trophy in the fall."

Danny sighed. "That's for football, dumbass." Distracted, he hardly noticed the ball come flying over the plate. His arms reacted too late and when he swung he sliced through nothing but thin air.

"Fuck you." Danny grinned. "I'm gonna get y -- " Before he could turn to retrieve the ball, something solid (probably the very ball he was going to pick up, he realized) flew through the air and struck his head from behind. "What the fuck was that?" He demanded, turning around, brandishing his baseball bat like a club.

The boy who had thrown it was tall and thin, with eyes that were hard and cold and focused as he spoke. A malicious grin spread across his face when he hit his target, and he asked, "Are you Alvarez?"

"Yeah." He replied, trying to appear tough and hoping that he wasn't as foolish as he sounded to himself. The bat now hung from only one of his hands, and he was leaning on it for support rather than wielding it as a weapon.

The man -- somewhere around Rafael's age, he noted, eighteen or nineteen -- nodded, and a sturdy, muscular boy who appeared wider than the swamp dogwood tree behind him, stepped forward. Danny nearly raised his fists reflexively before the boy grabbed a handful of Danny's shirt and lifted him into the air, slamming him against the tree and knocking the wind out of him. His heart a racing jackrabbit, he struggled to keep his eyes from straying to the ground as the infamous gang leader spoke.

"Then tell your brother to keep his nose out of business that don't concern him. The next time he wants to waste his money at the racetrack, you tell him I don't want his business no more, not unless he can pay me the fuckin' money he owes me when he loses. Tell him about this little incident, will ya -- let him know that I can do more than just make threats if he even considers it again?"

Danny nodded.

"And tell him I want my money by tomorrow night. ¿Entienda?"

Danny nodded again, figuring he was better off without speaking.

"Good." The burly kid dropped him, and he fell to the foot of the tree as the gang walked away.

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"But they're gonna kill you!" Or me, he failed to add, not wanting to think of what Pedro would come up with for them if Rafael didn't pay him. He had heard tales of the town's main drug dealer before, but none of them had prepared him in any way for his first encounter with the legend himself.

Rafael sighed. "Look, I got that, okay? I don't have any fucking money. His old man's store gets the most cash in the town, that's the only place I could get enough." His laugh was dry and humorless. "And then he'd kill me for stealing from his dad's store."

"Look, I can help you get it." The words came out of his mouth before he could help it, but he knew he couldn't follow up a sentence like that with No, I didn't mean to say that at all.

Gazing at his brother with newfound curiosity -- and maybe, Danny thought, even some respect -- Rafael slowly said, "Are you sure?" When he received confirmation he continued thoughtfully, "there's that garage over on the next street. How much d'you think we'd get for that '79 Mercedes that's been sitting there all week?"

"I don't know." He replied uncomfortably.

"Well," Rafael patted Danny's shoulder. "I guess we'll have to find out."

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The air was cooler at night, rare breezes occasionally passing through and providing a temporarily relief to the humidity that plagued the town during the day. Danny could see why Rafael did all of this -- it wasn't just for the money, it was also for the adrenaline rush that came with the thrill of doing something dangerous and forbidden.

The summer night was still fairly light, dark enough for the boys to blend into the shadows with their dark clothing but light enough to see without the assistance of flashlights.

"You stand guard." Rafael hissed at Danny, who obediently moved out front and kept watch while Rafael and Dino jimmied the lock. Every whisper, every creak of the door as it slid open seemed to reverberate in the alley and spread through the town. Any minute now the cops would come and arrest them, and it would all be over.

The boys tinkered with the wires and buttons behind him as goosebumps sprung up on his arms, a cold fear filling him despite the heat.

"Almost done." Dino whispered.

From around the corner Danny could hear footsteps approaching, and he froze. These weren't part of his imagination, and they weren't the soft steps of the rats that scurried by his feet. Sure enough, Danny could make out the figure of an elderly man coming down the street, his face obscured by shadow.

"There's someone coming." Danny whispered breathlessly to the boys behind him, his throat dry.

Rafael looked up from the car. "Fuck." He swore softly. "Do something!"

The man was coming closer, and he began to shout when he noticed the door to the shop open. "Hey! You cabrones get the fuck outta my garage!"

Danny's hand shot out and grasped an empty beer bottle that had been resting on the card table next to him. The last dregs of the liquid inside trickled out as he gripped it by the neck, waiting tersely as the man came closer until finally, he was so close to them --

His mind wasn't controlling his body anymore. One arm brought the bottle crashing down on the man's head as the man fell to the ground. Shaking, he tossed the bottle into the street, watching it fragmentize and send its pieces scatter across the road.

"Good job." Rafael commented offhandedly as he continued to work on the car.

Minutes passed slowly as the man lay still on the side of the garage, where Dino had moved him. Finally the car was hotwired and ready to go, and relief filled Danny as they quietly cruised out of the garage and into the street.

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"Here's to Dino and his carjacking skills." Rafael held up his can of beer as a toast, and he and Dino took a swig from their cans. "The only fucking Italian in Hialeah!"

Dino and Rafael laughed heartily. "Yo, Danny. That was pretty damn good for your first time." Rafael was offering him the last can from the current pack, pushing aside the plastic rings that had held them and reaching towards Danny. "Whassa matter?" He slurred. "Won't kill ya."

Uncertainly he accepted the drink, popping open the tab and swearing in surprise when the warm foam came gurgling out of the top. While the other two laughed he took a cautious sip, trying to conceal his grimace.

He didn't know how long he was there. All he knew was that when Dino and Rafael left him, there was a pile of cans at his feet and he couldn't go more than a few steps without puking in the street. He tried to follow them, pushing himself forward with the thought of his soft bed and the breeze of the fan next to it. The last image in his brain before he blacked out was the soft spinning of the fan blades going around . . . and around . . . and around.