※ Edited 2.5.18 ※
Don't throw stones at me
Don't tell anybody
Trouble finds me
All the noise of this
Has made me lose my belief
Imagine Dragons : Roots
Bless This Wayward Daughter
Self-Contained
Intervention
Alex had once told her she had a miraculous gift for finding trouble. From taking in disease ridden stays to drug-addled boyfriends, she had a real knack for being at the wrong place at the right time.
Odette had corrected him upon his examples.. She didn't find trouble. Trouble found her. And oh how right she seemed to be.
Ettie stared out onto the barren road, trying to focus on the situation at hand when a sudden itch started under her skin. She needed something to focus on. Turning on the radio she was struck by the overly cheery chorus of a gospel hymn. She changed the channel rather aggressively, ignoring the presence standing behind her. When she found something other than static she sat back in her seat.
"Right now we are hearing from police chatter that the Geckos did in fact escape." The broadcaster reported. "Local sheriffs and DHS have no leads on the vehicle."
"Best news I heard all day." Seth huffed a sigh, finally feeling his luck was changing as he dropped into the chair behind Odette. His comments went ignored as both older Fullers stared ahead at the open road. Both lost in their own thoughts until a particular piece of information redirected Ettie's attention.
"The Geckos have a knack for flashy exits. They shot their way out of the bank with $30 million in bonds. Using bank teller Monica Garza as a human shield. She is still unaccounted f-"
Ettie's eyes narrowed as she glanced at the arm that seemed to spear towards the radio, turning it off with as just much force as Ettie had turned it on. Seth's head turned, his face tense as he met her eyes before falling back into his chair. Her head turned, following him as much as she could before he disappeared from sight. Her head remained turned, the side pressed to the upholstery, listening to his deep huff as her eyes shifted back to the radio before staring at her father.
A silent exchanged happened between them. A similar and worrisome question on both their minds. Where was Monica Garza?
Her father's attention returned to the road, but Ettie didn't have the luxury of a distraction. Her gaze fell to the strip of space between them. Bits and pieces of overheard sentences coming together in her memory. Her head slowly rolling back forward as she came to a harrowing realization.
Behind her Seth slightly swiveled in his seat as he undid a few more buttons from his shirt. With gritted teeth his hand slipped under the fabric. Prodding the wound on his arm, he pulled his fingers out to see most of the blood already dried or congealed. It was a painful graze at most.
"You got a first-aid kit in this beast?" He asked Jacob. When he got no response he turned to Ettie, the young girl turned her head to watch her father. Immediately, she took note of the new hollowness in his eyes. He remained unresponsive, lost in his own world.
Seth began losing his patience. Clearing his throat he glanced backed at his brother and the teens at the table. They too remained in the same silence.
"Let me explain something to you here, Jacob: now, there's only one song that we're gonna be singing on this little road trip, and it ain't "99 bottles of beer on the wall". The song is called "my way". So if I say make a turn, you're gonna make a turn. If I say don't talk, you don't talk." Seth stood, straightening to his full height as he braced one arm on either of their seats. "But if I ask you for a first-aid kit, you're gonna-"
He couldn't even finish before the girl rounded on him. Nearly toe to toe, Ettie's arm shot out to the cabinet beside him, pulling out a modest red bag before pushing it into his chest. Seth released the grip on her seat to grab it before it fell.
"We get it, you're the big, bad, alpha male. Now stop overcompensating and cut us some slack."
Seth watched as she walked past him to the bathroom. "Thank you." He offered in slight sarcasm. Of all the things he'd asked he didn't think that one was very difficult.
Digging through the first aid kit he found quite the surprise. A church ID. "Pastor Jacob Fuller, huh?" He examined at the laminated card of a much younger pastor. His hair not yet grey and his face less worn and wrinkled. "Guess that explains all that, uh, hellfire and damnation back at the motel, huh?" Seth ripped open a package of gauze, sitting back in the chair. "You do know the one about turning the other cheek, I hope?"
Jacob didn't even hesitate. "I prefer the old testament."
"Well, this is gonna be real, real simple, padre." Seth pulled on the end of the medical tape ripping it with his teeth before placing it over the gauze in a thick makeshift bandage. He smoothed it down over the deep graze, flinching when he began slapping it for good measure. "We, uh, reach the crossing at Acuña, you wave your passports, flash your pretty, corn-fed smiles,-" Seth observed the rest of the family in the rear as he buttoned his shirt and relaxed back into his seat. "- and then we're gonna sail on and I will close our deal with our guy in Mexico. After that, we go our separate ways. Nobody else is gonna get hurt. You got my word."
"What about that bank teller you took hostage in Abilene? You give her your word?" Like his daughter, the lack of hostage didn't escape his notice.
Seth paused in his movements. He stared at the side of the pastor's head, face tightening in a mixture of anger, annoyance, and discomfort. He stood and put the bag back in the cupboard. However hard he tried to control his face, the way he slammed the little door gave him away.
Through the rearview mirror Jacob watched with raised brows. He'd picked up on the change of attitude from arrogant and relaxed to unsure and tense. "Well, well." Jacob gruffly teased. "I didn't know you were capable of not talking." He seemed almost proud of the rise he'd gotten from him, Seth noted.
Like father, like daughter.
"Let me help you continue to save your breath." The Reverend turned back to the road, his grip tightening on the wheel. "I don't need you to promise my family's gonna be alright. I know they will be." He said confidently. "You know how I know that? 'Cause they're tougher than they look and I'm behind the wheel now. And I'm gonna make it my mission, my singular mission, to get us all across that border. Not for you, not for all your riches. For the only three people I have left in this world." He wouldn't fail them like he failed Jenny… of that, he was sure.
Seth swallowed, his head moving as he tried to collect himself. "I'm a professional thief." He tersely corrected. "Not a killer."
"It ain't you I'm worried about."
Seth seemed to calm slightly at the admission. He surveyed the back of the bus. Ettie backed away from his brother as she passed him coming out of the bathroom. She eyed Richard with a keen sense of distrust. Like a confrontation with a wild animal, she made sure not to turn her back on him as she moved out of his way so he could enter the lavatory.
Seth couldn't blame her. Underneath the calm and collected exterior he was familiar with, Seth saw someone unpredictable. Uncontrollable even. Their years apart seeming to have left his brother a bit untethered from reality. His trigger finger itchy and his judgment crass.
With lowered eyes, Seth thought of the number of bodies they - he - had dropped so far. Over ten years of heists combined hadn't left them with the amount of blood on their hands as the past seven hours had.
His gaze traveled back to Ettie, taking notice of the way she leaned back against the small kitchenette counter, her hand grabbing back at the counter's edge as if to keep herself upright. Her clenched hands trembling as she seemed to stare at nothing. "Clam down." He heard himself say, loud enough to be heard but soft enough as to not be an order. Her head turned, listening but her eyes remained on the wall ahead of her. "You're fine." He reassured, sending the same look to the tense children stoically sitting in the back.
It made him uncomfortable. He hated frightened women. Hated how they flinched, or cried, or -
Begged, his mind finished. "Look, you do as you're told and you're all gonna be fine." He said a bit terser for anyone who listened. He didn't know if he was trying to reassure them, or himself.
The bathroom door opened, stealing all their attention as Richie quickly stepped backwards out of it before slamming it's door shut.
"Park it, Richie." He ordered a bit stronger. "Relax. It's all smooth sailing from here." He assured. Odette pried herself away from the counter, returning to her seat. He watched as she seemed to rub her inner arms in a curious manner as a musical ringing came from Seth's inner coat pocket.
Pulling out his phone, Seth scoffed at the number. "Fashionably late as usual, I see." He greeted.
"I have a problem." Carlos, the Gecko brother's ticket to El Rey and the man who set in motion this disastrous day, ignored his sass. His voice drawled lowly over the line. "Would you like to know what it is?" His calm tone did little to hide the edge to his voice. The question was sarcastic. Seth didn't care.
"I'm sorry, did you say that you have a problem?"
Carlos continued on calmly. "I am sitting at my favorite panadera, I'm staring at my favorite concha, and I cannot eat it."
If that was his problem, Seth had him easily beat. "Yeah?" He scoffed. "Well, mine trumps yours." He stood up and bean to pace.
"I cannot eat it because you and tu pinche hermano,-" Carlos's voice became angrier and terser. "-and your very public trail of destruccian y mierda-" Carlo's voice became angrier and terser. "-has cost me my appetite!" He roared over the phone, the sound of a woman screaming and metal and glass clanging clear over the line.
"Okay, okay. Easy there, Khan." He tried to calm him.
"Just when I thought you couldn't ruin my efforts anymore, my employees tell me that you have a rinche on your tail?" He seethed.
Seth paused in his pacing, struck by the nerve of him. "Carlos, it is the very nonexistence of your efforts that has led us to this juncture." Seth began pacing around the R.V. "In fact, I'm starting to rethink that steep commission of yours. You know, $10 million seems like a lot of money to pay for nothing."
"And how exactly do you plan to get into Mexico without me?" Carlos challenged.
"Same way we figured everything else out so far. On our own." He looked to the front of the RV.
"And el rinche?" Carlos asked, his fingers strumming on the now cleared table he sat at.
Seth sighed. "Well I already took care of him, too." He remembered rolling him off the RV top.
Carlos gave a huff of breath, akin to an amused laugh. The ignorance of these brothers. "A rinche is like a rabid dog." He informed. "Once it picks up on your scent, it's not easy to take him down."
"Then I will put him down." Seth hung up. He returned to his seat, meeting the girl's gaze in the rearview mirror. After a moment he turned away. Silence settled in the front as conversation picked up in the back.
Having heeded his brother's warning to sit down and relax, Richie sat across from the two teenagers. His arm stretched across the back of the booth, his leg cross over his knee. The picture of relaxation that had been requested of him. All except for the pistol in his tight grip, aimed unwavering at the teens.
Kate shifted in discomfit, her posture so ridge it was making her back hurt. She tried to ignore the gaze of the Gecko brother, instead choosing to stare at the mirror. The little watchful glances their sister would give with tight encouraging smiles gave her hope.
"Um e-excuse me?" Scott cleared his throat.
"Scott, don't talk." Kate shushed. She was afraid what would happen if they broke the silence Richie seemed to prefer.
"I just want to ask him not to point that gun at us." Scott defended with a glance. With pointedly raised brows, he glanced from Richard to the gun. "We hit a bump - it could go off."
"It won't go off." Richie was confident. The response was too quick to give any real comfort.
"That's a Taurus 9-millimeter, 17-shot-capacity magazine." Kate turned to her brother watching him with thinly-veiled surprise, and a bit of concern, that he knew that. "And a hair trigger." Scott finished with a slight nod to the pistol.
Richie smirked, looking from the boy to his gun. He was completely right. "So Bruce Lee does know his guns."
"I'm just saying," Scott tried to reason with him. "-we could hit a bump or a pothole or something."
"Maybe-" Richie began leaning closer,"-I don't care if we hit a pothole." Richie's gaze was intense, his smirk gone. "Maybe I'm hoping we hit 17 potholes so I can empty this entire mag in that smartass mug of yours." Kate's eyes going wide as she stared at the gun coming closer, the sudden image of those deputies flashing before her. "Did you ever consider that, Tokyo Drift?"
Scott's mouth tensed as it hung open. He looked to the gun pointed at him, trying to control his response as he felt a familiar sensation. Petrifying fear that slowly grew to cold rage. A sudden bravado kicked in, Scott's eyes rising back to Richard's. "I'm Chinese." He tersely corrected. "And so was Bruce Lee."
Kate swallowed, having a bit harder time controlling her breathing as she took quiet, short gasping breaths. A brittle silence stretched before Richard smirked once more, lowering the gun and relaxing back in his seat. Kate finally felt she could breathe.
All seemed well for a moment. They thought their situation had improved.
It hadn't.
Richie's gaze fell to the bag on the seat between them and the duo watched as his brows furrowed in concentration before his face tensed into something akin to horror.
Before they could even ask what was wrong, he stood at his full height. Kate gave a scream. The pistol cocked and aimed at Scott's face. Both teens leaned back as far as they could.
Upfront, the sharp cry alerted the other adult's attention. Ettie's body twisted around the seat as she tried to see what was happening.
"What's going on back there?" Jacob questioned loudly. He couldn't see anything other than Richard's back and Scott's frightened face in the rearview mirror.
Ettie rose and tried to move back only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. Seth pushed her back as he propelled himself forward. He made quick work of grabbing his brother and pulling him away from the children.
"Hey, come here. Come here!" Seth gruffly ordered. He pushed him against the kitchenette in the middle of the R.V. The older and younger fullers were respectively trapped at different ends, separated by their clearly unstable captors.
"They're not what they seem." Richie began immediately. He was well aware of his brothers soft spot for women and kids, but he had to know the truth. "They're dangerous."
"They're not what they seem?" Seth repeated back in disbelief. "Richard, what the hell is going on with you?" He sighed. "Now, you were firing on all cylinders back at the motel. If you come apart on me now, I swear to God-"
"Look, I'm trying to save us! I know what they really are. I can tell."
"What the hell do you mean you can tell?"
"I can just tell." He tilted his head and sighed. "Look, I don't want to have to do this, but I'm gonna have to kill 'em, okay?" He said apathetically.
Seth visibly recoiled at the idea. He meant what he said. He was a thief, not a killer. And he was trying to keep this fucked up day's body count to an absolute minimum.
"It's the only way." Richard went on knowing his brother wasn't keen on the idea.
Bullshit. Seth stared at him with cold eyes. Every wrong turn this day had taken has stemmed from something Richie alone was seeing, sensing, and hearing. They killed only when backed into a corner. And it seemed to be Richie doing the backing.
"Hey, Richard. Just talk to me, buddy." Seth pleaded. "Explain it to me, all right? Just tell me what's going on."
Richie sighed, peeking back at the kids watching them, the two having seemed to move closer to each. Under the table Scott held Kate's shaking hand. "Okay." He took a deep breath trying to think of a way his brother would understand. "Okay, for a while now, I've been getting these... signals, I guess you could call them. I didn't really know what to make of them until she came along." He began rapidly.
"She?" Seth was already lost.
"Yeah, she's the reason I know what Jacob and Scott really are. She's been calling me, Seth. She's been calling me to the other side."
"Who? Who?" He sounded like a damn owl as he tried to make his rambling brother focus.
Richie sighed at the interruption, taking it to mean he wasn't paying attention. "I-I don't know her name. She's like a Goddess or something." Seth's brows raised. Richie picked up speed. "I-I usually only see her in reflections. I saw her in the refrigerator at the liquor store and then in the safe at the bank, and then one time I saw her through the hole in my hand."
"Wait a minute." Seth raised his own hole-less hand to stop him. "You saw her in your hand?" He was both revolted and dubious at the notion.
"Yeah." The casualness in which he confirmed it made Seth's eyes flutter close for a moment as they tried to roll on their own accord. "Right now I just saw her. You know, she's probably still watching." Seth gave the slightest disapproving head shake as Richard turned to the bathroom. "She's the one who's been calling me to Mexico." Seth could only stare at his brother the grim reality sinking in. "That's why I know about them. She told me to look, Seth. So that's what I did."
Seth jaw ticked as he held back what he really wanted to say. A desperate curiosity got the better of him. And before he finished asking, he already knew he was going to regret it. "What did you see?"
"Well..." Richie leaned closer his voice a hushed whisper. "You see the old man?" He redirected his attention to Jacob. "He's really a demon. He's got fangs, and claws, and slime in his teeth and shit. And that kid?" Their heads swiveled to the other end. "Kid's got a tail. You remember Monica, the bank teller? She was gonna shoot me, Seth." Richard defended himself for what felt like the hundredth time.
"And the Goddess told me about that, too, and that's why I had to sacrifice her. You see, there's something bigger going on here." He continued to ramble at full speed. When his brother's eyes fell to the floor, quickly nodding along to his words in a distracted, mindless fashion, Richie grew irritated. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you? Do you?"
"Yeah." Seth's head rose, staring at his brother. His lips thinned into a straight line as he came to terms with the truth.
It just wasn't Richard's truth…
"Yeah, and-and, hey, listen." He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Richie, you're right."
"What?" Richard watched his brother curiously, not understanding why he said it that way, or why he looked so… sympathetic.
"Yeah, something's been off about this whole thing, okay? I can sense it, too." Seth tried to placate him. "The trouble is, I'm not as tuned into it as you are. Never have been." Seth cracked a smile, knowing Richard "the progeny" was always the smarter of the two. And the colder. Richie was the brains and the locksmith, Seth the mouth and crowd control. There was a reason for that... He glanced at the kids in the back, knowing Richard wouldn't even hesitate to shoot them. "I mean, come on, buddy. Cut me some slack here, okay? I can be a downright stubborn son of a bitch when it comes to admitting I'm wrong." He tried to get a laugh from his brother, even though his own grin felt forced. But it was true, and that stubbornness had put him behind bars for five years.
His smile fell a bit, as he stared at his brother's eyes, seeing but not really recognizing the guy behind them. "I-I guess it's just 'cause you're- You're my brother, you know. That I just never-" Seth shrugged in a dismissive manner.
"What?" Richie wanted him to finish the statement.
"I just I never want to admit that you're-" His eyes fell to the floor, saddened by his own late realization. When they raised, they seemed a bit empty. "That you're right, you know?"
He never wanted to believe what people had been saying. Richie wasn't right in the head. He spent too much time alone in those woods while Seth was locked up. And it seemed without his brother there, what semblance of normalcy just kinda faded into nothing. He didn't want to admit it, but Seth was faced with no other choice. His brother was batshit crazy. But he still needed him. He could fall apart after they got to El Rey. Right now he needed him focused.
"But when you're right, you're right." Seth grinned. He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "You always have been the smarter one, Richard."
Richard looked at his brother with trepidation at the sudden change. Immersed in their own conversation, they missed the two plots hatching at the R.V.'s ends.
As Scott made a surprising revelation to his sister. Jacob contemplated taking action.
The reverend's eyes strayed from the road to the space under Ettie's seat. The sudden change in Richard's temperament forcing him to come to a decision.
"Ettie." He whispered. He peaked at her from the corner of his eye, waiting till she looked away from the brothers and to him. He pointedly dropped his gaze below her seat. "There's a wrench that slid under the seat. I want you to feel around and see if you can find it." He kept his eyes on the road.
"Careful." He scolded her when she moved to much. She couldn't draw attention to herself.
Damn it. Ettie slid down her seat as much as possible, keeping a peeking eye on the brothers as she slunk. She blindly felt around. Her fingertips brushed cold metal a bit thicker than the rest. With cold concentration she struggled to get a grip on the wrench. She almost smiled when she felt the cold metal slip into her hands. She pulled. It stayed.
Damn it twice.
"It's stuck." She whispered. She tried to wrangle it out of the under-seat mess of wires and beams. Her lack of success prompted Jacob to intervene. Taking his eyes off the road he tried to navigate her.
"To the left, hard turn left." Jacob guided her. Ettie obeyed the instructions finding the wrench came a bit looser. "Tilt it down, and pull."
Distracted by the operation, Jacob didn't notice the shortening road until it was almost too late. He turned back to the road just in time.
The RV came to a unexpected stop, the breaks screeching as all occupants were jostled. The brothers were thrown. Ettie had braced herself at the last minute, keeping her head from going face first into the dash but losing her grip on the wrench. She cursed through gritted teeth as she was thrown back into her seat. The back of her head surging with pain once more.
"What the hell are you doing, padre?!" Seth yelled as he settled on his feet.
"We're here."
"You're not just gonna stand there, are you?" Jacob asked the shorter Gecko.
Seth stood behind the passenger chair, his attention focused on the sea of cars ahead. So close but so far... "Huh?"
"You know, they could board us randomly at any time." Jacob informed.
Seth looked visibly exasperated, offended by pastor's belief he was that stupid. "We were gonna hide." He corrected. "That was the plan, soon as we get a little closer." He motioned to the sea of cars ahead of them. They could be here an hour, easy.
He took advantage of the time and slid into Ettie's seat as she got up to move. Closing the windshield's privacy curtain half way, he hid himself from outsider's view.
"Your brother's not well, is he?"
The sudden question tripped him. Seth was disenchanted with the attempt for small talk. "Just keep driving, padre."
"Is that why you're going to Mexico?" Seth sighed at the continued chatter. "You know, a life of looking over his shoulder isn't gonna bring him any peace."
Seth glanced into the rear view mirror. "Yeah, well, where we're going, the ends more than justify the means." He turned to the reverend. "Place makes club med look like Haiti. $10 million means never having to look over your shoulder again ever."
Jacob nodded. "Sounds like heaven on earth."
"Well, I hear it is."
"Doesn't exist."
Seth scoffed at the man. Looking him over, his eyes caught something he'd previously miss. A picture was clipped to the sun visor above the reverend's head. Reaching over he plucked it from the paper clip. He held the corner's rather gently as he leaned back in his seat, ignoring the reverend's watchful gaze as he studied the picture.
Odette stood centered in the middle, a graduate cap on her head and a dark gown open over her green dress. She was all smiles, as her sister and brother stood on one side of her, her father and what he assumed to be her mother on the other. Their arms all wrapped around each other and smiles tattooed on their faces. It was a far cry to what they were now.
"So, where is Mrs. Jacob, anyway?" He began tapping the picture against his hand, watching as the pastor swallowed before opening his mouth. No words came. The old man stared ahead. Seth's brows rose in surprise. "She run out on you?" He guessed, projecting his own history onto them. Family meant everything to him, but somehow that cookie-cutter shit just never felt right. It made his skin crawl.
"Lord called her home six months ago." Jacob corrected.
Seth's face froze in interested surprise before relaxing. He almost felt bad. He examined at the picture once more. What a happy, wholesome family. He'd never had that. "She was young." He noted, taking in her appearance before his eyes drifted back to Odette. The similarities between mother and eldest were prominent. "What? Cancer?"
"Car accident."
"Phew." Seth sighed, staring at the happy family. "No wonder you don't believe in heaven anymore. I don't know how you could keep your faith in the man upstairs after something like that." He studied the reverend. "But you do believe in his judgment, though, don't you, padre?" He asked, remembering his loud plea for his children to go free. He had a feeling there was a whole 'nother story behind that one. "I mean, you believe that, uh, all this was supposed to happen. You also believe that your wife was supposed to die?"
Jacob remained stoic.
"Well, I guess it makes it easy in that case, right? Just let Jesus take the wheel and all that?" Seth paused, his tone changing as his eyes narrowed. "Except he's not a very good driver."
Jacob stared at the man but did not reply as he turned his gaze forward. If only he'd known that a year ago...
Odette braced herself against the small sink. Her vision blurred as her head hung. She was ashamed of her shaking hands. She wasn't afraid. She was addicted.
As selfish as it was, more than anything else, Ettie was craving a fix.
She was stronger than this, she thought. Her arms trembled. "I'm stronger than this." She whispered aloud. She look at herself in the mirror. Taken back to the last time she crave the prick of a needle this badly
A younger version of herself wiped the tears from her eyes, grabbing the needle of the porcelain sink. She inserted the needle into her vein, her thumb resting on the plunger of its own accord. Ettie's chin tucked into her chest, her hands shaking as she struggled to regain self control.
She could hear Alex's voice as if it was whispered into her ear. "You're stronger than you think." He always said it with such surety.
"I'm stronger than this." She told herself. "I'm stronger than this."
She pulled the need from her skin. "I'm stronger than this." She stared at herself in the mirror as she pressed the plunger, emptying the syringe into the sink.
She had to be stronger than that.
Just like she had then, she turned on the faucet, running her hands under the chilly stream She splashed the cold water on her face and neck. She wanted to be strong; however, at that moment she'd never felt weaker. "You're stronger than this." She repeated once more. Her voice broke. She didn't really believe it, but she had no other choice.
Turning off the water she heard a sudden commotion outside the door. She whipped the excess water from her face, drying her hands with her jeans as she opened the 'door.
As the old expression goes : She stepped out of the frying pan, and into the fire.
What. The. Hell.
"I was gone five minutes" Ettie's exasperated comment cut through the group of people.
Seth aimed a gun at Scott's head, not exactly an unfamiliar sight by now. What was, was the fact he wasn't the only one taking aim. Scott held a gun in his hand, aimed at Richard's forehead. Richard seemed unperturbed.
"Kate, grab his gun." Scott asked the girl frozen to her spot.
"Don't do it, Kate." Richie ordered calmly. "You're not like them."
"Just do it!"
Kate glanced from her brother to her sister. Odette provide no help. Her eyes seeming to be glued on the gun in some sort of shock.
"I'll put one in your pretty head before you ever touch the grip, sweetheart." Seth stopped her. "As for you, you take that gun off my brother before the ounce of forgiveness that I have on reserve goes-" Seth caught a shadow quickly approaching. He turned, catching Jacob and his raised wrench just in time. "Back off!" He screamed at both the older Fuller's. Ettie kept her hands raised in defense, her father doing the same. "Back up! Back, back!" He stepped forward making Jacob step back. "Drop it!" He ordered the reverend. Jacob obeyed.
"Get in the driver's seat!". They were too damn close for this shit to fall apart now. "Drive! Keep moving!" He waited for the old man to take his seat before turning back to the core of their crisis.
"I told you, Seth." Richie gloated. "I told you, just shoot this kid in the head."
"Richard." Seth scolded. "Relax. I got this."
"Hey, padre." He called to her father upfront. "Why don't you talk some sense into your son before I have to take my brother's advice?"
"Son, put the gun down!" Jacob begged.
"Dad, this is bullshit!"
"I know how you feel! You want to protect the family, but this isn't the way!" He tried to reason with the boy. No matter who fired first, his children would be caught in the crossfire.
"Put down the gun, Scott." Ettie ordered, slowly approaching the tightly clustered group of men and guns.
Scott shifted his feet. His aim remained steady. He shook his head. "They're bullies and they're assholes. And they don't deserve to win." His voice rose with emotion. They were just like those lacrosse jerks. Pushing, and pushing, and beating until they destroyed you. "As soon as we get across that border, they're gonna bury us in the desert."
Ettie watched him with such pity. That tone, that look on his face, she'd seen those before. Bandaging him up from a fight one to many times. She'd always wanted to involve dad or call the school but I'd just get more upset. They wouldn't understand, he'd claim. She'd tell him to calm down and let her handle it but he never would. Like his sister, he was stubborn. And like his sister, he suffered more than he'd let on.
"I know you think I can't do it." Scott's words were for Ettie as he pulled the hammer back. She never believed he could fight his own fights or fix his own messes. "But I can."
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Seth called for his attention as Richie brazenly leaned into the gun, closing his eyes as she cold metal pressed into his skin.
"Now, I know that you thought you could. I do. But that was before you had your finger on the trigger, wasn't it?" Seth did what he did best. Crowd control. "You see, now that you do, you're worried about the consequences, whereas I am not. That's why your hand's shaking and mine's steady as a rock." Seth's line of sight fell to the boy's trembling hands. "Because you're not like me, Scott. And you don't wanna be."
There was an honesty to his words that made Odette spare him a softened glance. Seth continued to hold the gun, his eyes focused on the boy and the boy alone. He didn't want to shoot the kid. But if it came down to him or his brother...
Scott gave a shaky breath. He was torn.
"Scotty." Odette called him. Moving between Seth and he, she kept one hand up in surrender as the other grabbed his arm. "They get over the border. They get off. We leave. Nothing's gonna happen. I'm not gonna let anything happen." She reassured him.
Slowly, Scott lowered the weapon.
"That's it. That's it, there you go." Seth encouraged as the gun was pointed to the floor. "See? Was that so ha-"
Richard bolted up from his seat, grabbing the gun from his waistband as he tried to shoot the kid. Ettie stepped between, shielding her brother behind her as she gave a hard kick to the taller of the duo's knee, knocking him backward and into the arms of his brother. Seth tried to restrain his brother as Kate screamed and Scott was kept behind Ettie.
"I have to do this, Seth!" Richie struggled as the gun was wrestled away from him "This has to happen!"
"Enough!" Seth roared over him.
Jacob, seeing the struggling but unable to move, did the only thing he think off. He pressed the gas.
The RV rocked as it bumped into the car in front of them. Richard lost his balance and was pushed to his seat once more by an infuriated Seth. "Sit your ass down!" He ripped the gun from Richard hand. "Give me that." His brother raised them in surrender, breathing heavily. "Stay!" Seth barked, with pointed finger. If he was gonna act like a mad dog he was gonna treat him like one.
"What the hell did you do?!" Seth yelled after a sigh. This fucking family, he thought bitterly.
Outside, Seth saw the other driver get out of the car, angered and awaiting an explanation as well.
"My foot slipped." Jacob lied, pushing past him to get out. "What did you expect?"
"Hey!" Seth stopped him. His hand pushing his chest. ""Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"Are you gonna go out there?" Jacob pointed to the man pacing in front of their vehicle.
Seth flashed an apologetic smile when he was seen and went as far as giving a wave. As soon as the man turned away he was back to business. "You so much as scratch your nose or tug your ear, my brother gets his gun back, okay? Got it? Move." He watched as he exited the door, turning around to see Ettie right behind him.
"Fuck." He yelled at her. "Where the hell did your brother get a gun?"
"I don't know." She lied. She did. "I mean I do." She corrected. "-but I don't know why he has it now."
"Are there more?" He studied her.
"No."
"Because the next time-"
A bang against the RV cut the argument short. Ettie darted to the side window, peeking out the curtain to see her father holding the driver against the RV.
"I thought you were a pasto-" Jacob punched the man in the face, silencing him.
Ettie's mouth dropped open. Seth watched over her shoulder, shaking his head. "Now that's Old Testament."
Ettie held open the door as Seth and Jacob carried the driver into the RV.
"What a fantastic idea." Richard snidely praised. "Let's bring another hostage on board!"
"You're not helping." Seth grunted as he and Jacob tossed the limp body onto the couch."What the hell were you thinking?!" He was fuming.
Jacob stared back with surprising malice. When he agreed to trade insurance, the driver had tried to flag down an officer to let them move off to the side. When faced with the idea of his children being put in more danger, he acted without thinking. All his pent up anger releasing into his punches. If he couldn't beat the men that deserved it, he'd beat the man that added to it.
"All we got to do is move the man's car forward." Jacob defended.
"So, you're calling the shots now?" Seth glared.
"Well, I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas." Jacob's voice raised over the increasingly honking horns. All other lanes were moving forward while there's was at a standstill. If they didn't get moving, border agents would come sniffing around.
"I-I'll move his car forward." Kate hesitantly spoke up.
"That won't work." Jacob dismissed.
"Why not?"
Jacob looked from his oldest daughter and son standing side by side to the shortest Fuller.
It was rather ironic. It was her exact lack of secrecy that led to her siblings bonding. Kate had never been one to hold under pressure, thus being the one the parents went to when they needed the truth. As the kids grew older, Scott and Ettie closed ranks. They stopped confiding in Kate, knowing intentionally or not she'd spill the beans.
As much as he hated to say it, he doubted his daughter wouldn't break under the pressure. He couldn't take than chance at her endangering the others. "I'm sorry, Katie-cakes, but lying's never been your strong suit."
Kate's eyes burned into him. "Well, then maybe you or Ettie should do it." She callously replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jaob recoiled with a confused expression.
"We have to do something now." She changed the topic. "People are getting angry out there." Kate informed nervously, the honking increasing behind them at the lack of movement. "Police are gonna notice!" She feared the same thing Jacob had. She had no wish to be in another situation that mimicked that at the motel.
"Really?" Seth's words dripped with sarcasm. "Well, thank you for stating the obvious!"
"Hey, don't yell at her." Richie stopped him. "It's not her fault." He surprisingly defended.
Jacob's voice cut short the argument. "Scott, you're gonna drive the car."
"Me?!" Scott felt his palm start to sweat at the idea.
"Him?" Seth was just as disbelieving.
"Oh, that's fantastic." Richard snarked. "Why don't we just throw the cuffs on right now, then?"
"It's the only way." Jacob defended. "I have to drive the R. V. and I need Ettie here, or it'll look suspicious." He observed the brothers with contempt. "And you two trigger-happy bastards have your faces plastered all over the state, so unless you want to answer the officer's questions, Scott's our guy."
Scott swallowed as all eyes turned to him.
Ettie escorted her brother to the car, asking the one question they all wondered. "Can you handle this?"
Scott paused, worrying his sister before he nodded. "I can handle it." He smiled.
Scott couldn't handle it.
Ettie covered her face with her hands as they watched an agent escort Scott into the center. Behind her, Seth cursed under his breath.
"You see? What did I tell you?" Richie yelled. "They planned this! They wanted the kid to get caught."
"No, no, no, that's not true." Kate defended.
"Alright, just calm down, Richard." Seth tried to calm him, he couldn't think if he was nagging in his ear.
Ettie rolled her eyes. "Why would I want my brother to get caught?"
"To rat us out." Richard justified. "In your mind, he's safe and we're screwed."
Ettie actually gave a laugh at the insane idea, brushing the hair from her face as she turned her stare towards the ceiling. God give me patience...
"Seth, give me my gun." He tried to advance on her. His cold gaze was met with her suddenly serious burning glare. Her laughter stopped, her grin morphing into a sneer.
Seth held up his finger in warning, silencing and stopping his brother as he turned to Ettie. Brown eyes burned into hazel.
"Is my brother telling the truth?" He asked simply.
Ettie didn't even hesitate. "No." Seth nodded his head, believing her.
"I'd never risk my daughters' lives." Jacob rebutted.
Richard scoffed. "Seth, this is a man who killed his own wife."
"Excuse me?" Jacob cried.
Odette looked like she'd been struck. "What the fuck?" She looked to them in disgusted disbelief at the insane accusation. Seth surveyed the three family members. Jesus Christ.
Richard reached behind them, grabbing Kate by the arm and pulling her into the group. "She told me."
Jacob studied his daughter with such sadness it was uncomfortable to watch. "Is that what you think, Katie-cakes?"
"I didn't tell him anything." She was honest. He just seemed to… to know things. "He's insane."
Richard recoiled, visibly hurt by the accusation. "No, I'm not."
"Just what is it exactly you think you know?" Jacob challenged.
"I know what you really are." Richie said.
"All right, all right." Seth tried to placate the men. But there was only so much Jacob would stand. Stepping forward, he punched Richard in the face. "Hey! Enough!" Seth grabbed Kate pointing the gun at her head as she gave a shriek. "Pigs got your son. You make one more wrong move, I take your daughter." He threatened.
Jacob calmed his breathing, trying to level his head. He stared at them. "Whatever your brother told you was wrong. Don't let him make you doubt yourself not now. In fact, if any of us, including me, makes a stupid move, we're all dead. And we've just got to stick to the plan." Seth didn't know if he was talking to Kate or him, but either way it seemed to resonate with both of them as they calmed down. "It'll work if we do." Jacob nodded to himself.
"Guys!" Ettie called out.
Seth's attention and train of though were stolen by the approaching border agent. "Yeah? Well, you better hope it does." He pushed Richard back into the bathroom, pulling Kate along with them. Jacob witnessed his pleading daughters face one last time before returning to the driver's seat.
"What's your purpose in Mexico?" The border agent asked as Jacob handed over three passports.
"Family vacation." He smiled.
Ettie peeked back into the rearview mirror, eyeing the bathroom door with a quick glance.
Richard stood behind his brother's crouching form in the RV's shower, wiping the blood away from his nose. "After everything I told you? After he hit me?" Richie seethed quietly.
Seth kept his hand over Kate's mouth, trying to keep her heavy breathing quiet. The effort meant nothing if Richard didn't stop talking. "Look, I told you, I got this."
"You don't have shit, Seth. You never have."
"Richie, be quiet." Seth shushed him.
"How many with you?" The border agent asked, inspecting the passports.
"Me and my two daughters."
The agent 's eyes rose up, holding up Odette's passport to verify her. "Can the other step forward, please?"
"If it's, uh, absolutely necessary. She's a little under the weather, and she's sleeping it off right now. This trip has taken its toll on her."
It wasn't a lie.
Kate tried not to move a muscle inside the shower.
Richard gave a sigh, refusing to let it go. "Look, if I don't kill everybody in here, we are never gonna make it." Kate gave a whimper under Seth's hand.
"Well, maybe that's what the voices are telling you, but they're not calling the shots right now, okay? So shut up." He ordered, straining to hear anything that was happening outside.
"You don't believe me." Richie gave a bitter chuckle. "I knew it."
"Richard, now is not the time."
"I have to finish this." Richard tried to move past his brother and out of the bathroom. Kate's whining sound increased under Seth's hands, terrified of what was about to happen to her and her family. Seeing his brother had no interest stopping or listening to reason, Seth gritted his teeth and cold cocked Richie with the butt of his gun.
The bathroom fell silent. Richard fell back against the shower wall unconscious. Seth looked down to the girl who stared up at him. Both of their gazes shifted to the door. Seth removed his hand, allowing Kate to take a few deep calming breaths.
Jacob thanked the agent as he was handed back the passports. She held up the clipboard, two black and white paper mugshots staring at them. "Have you seen these boys?"
Jacob didn't know why but he hesitated. "Can't say that I have."
"Are you sure?" She asked with furrow brows.
"They look kinda familiar." Ettie spoke up. "Those are those crazy brothers that like killed a bunch of people, right?" She played naive. Pitching the tone of her voice, she gasped. "Oh, wow, you guys think they'll be in Mexico?" Her face shifted into one of worried fear. Jacob was at a lost, saying nothing as he watched his daughter and the agent.
The older female smiled reassuringly, confident in her answer. "Not if they come through here. Have a safe trip."
Ettie screamed inside her head, biting her lower lip to keep her sardonic laugh at bay. Cruel irony. Her eyes staring at empty air as the office began walking away. They were home free.
At least until a sudden thud echoed through the cabin.
Ettie deflated, closing her eyes in exasperation. So close…
"What was that?" The border agent returned, having heard the thud.
"Uh, that's my daughter. She's in the bathroom." Ettie's hands tightened into a fist at her father's quick but poorly thought lie.
"I thought you said she was asleep?" The agent reminded.
"Nature calls." Jacob smiled.
The border agent studied him, her eyes catching sight of a bit of dried blood just under his nose. Her hand went to her weapon. "I'm coming aboard, sir."
Ettie waited till she was passed the privacy curtain Seth has wisely closed before jumping to her feet. They had an unconscious stranger on their couch and nowhere to hide him. A string of silent curses formed on her lips. She pulled a blanket from a cabinet above.
"Sir, I need you to open up." The agent called, knocking once more.
Ettie threw the blanket on top of the man, tucking the blanket around him before taking a calming breath and opening the door with more force than necessary.
"Sorry!" She immediately apologized. "It's a bit rusted so it sticks."
The officer gave a quick sweeping glance around the RV, her eyes settling the mass under the blanket. "That your daughter?"
"Yes, ma'am." Jacob responded. He watched with baited breath as her hand reached forward.
"I wouldn't poke the bear unless you need to." Ettie whispered. "Bad cramps and an even worse mood." The officer gave a tepid glance at the form, her hand dropping to her side. She gave another glance around the R.V. as she made her way out, stopping when they caught sight of the bathroom. Her brows furrowed, glancing from it to the couch and back again.
Ettie watched, casual in posture as she leaned against the back of her seat, her arms crossed over her chest. Inside she was cursing up a storm, praying to god she'd just leave. She'd forgotten god stopped listening to her prayers long ago.
The floor creaked as the woman began walking towards the back.
"Oh, son of a bitch." Seth hissed, hearing the footsteps come closer. Pushing Kate back into the shower, he brace himself in front of the door, readying his gun. He wouldn't go back to prison. Sure as hell not without a fight. He stared at the small girl, even tinier in size huddled in the back corner. "If you still believe in that God of yours, now would be a good time to call him." He cocked the revolver.
The door to the RV opened, Jacob jumping while Ettie merely shifted her gaze. Scott stepped into the belly of the beige beast with an officer following close behind. Ettie tightened her grip on her arms. She couldn't get jittery now.
Scott looked to his sister, trying to keep up with her casual appearance as he was released into her custody.
"Kadner, you're needed inside." The senior agent called her away from the bathroom. "Some detainee's taking a stand."
"I didn't hear that on the radio."
"Well, you're hearing it now."
Kadner got the hint from his aggressive tone. "Copy that." She nodded.
When she left the RV, the other agent stared directly at the bathroom before he turned to Ettie. "You're free to go, Odette."
She straightened at the use of her name, eyes going to Scott who looked similarly perturbed. When she turned back at the agent her eyes narrowed, staring into his. Another sense of familiarity nagging her. "Tell Seth, Carlos says "hello". Drive across the last checkpoint and you're home free." Ettie kept her watchful gaze on him as he walked back out, shutting the door behind him.
Ettie was stuck to her spot for a few more minutes, shaking off the strange feeling of déjà vu before going to the door.
A heavy revolver was immediately pushed towards her face. The very long, no good day was starting to take it's toll on her. "You keep waving that in my face, it's gonna lose it's effect." She said dully. The novelty already having worn off for her. Seth released the hammer and lowered the gun with an annoyed huff. His head lowering as he collected himself. "Carlos says Hi."
Seth's fingers drummed over the steering wheel repetitively. His eyes may have remained focus on the area outside the car but he wasn't oblivious to what was happening inside it.
"Stop it." Seth glanced out the corner of his eye.
"Stop what?" Odette asked causally.
"Staring like a bug eyed freak." She was leaning out of the passenger seat beside him, too close for comfort as her gaze burned through the side of his head. Seth shifted uncomfortably under the unwavering stare. He was anxious enough already. "Knock it off." He scolded once more.
"Oh god." Ettie acted aghast. "I'm sorry, am I making my kidnapping awkward for you?" The sarcasm dripped. "My bad." She straightened in her seat "I was hoping you'd take the hint. You're grinding." Ettie reached over, trying to shift the gears.
Seth slapped her hand away. "Sit down." Ettie complied. Her pointed staring continued.
After a moment, Seth's tapping on the steering wheel finally ceased. "Fine." He quickly switched seat with her. It was probably better he not be in plain sight anyways.
Checking the back of the RV he found their unnamed hostage still out on the couch, Richard in much of the same state in the chair across. At the very back sat Jacob and his younger children. Their hands joined in comfort and talking quietly around the table. "Why aren't you with the rest of the prayer group?" He inquired.
Ettie turned in her seat, copying his body posture as they both watched the back. "He's not praying. I think he's confessing." She corrected. "He can't forgive himself so he's looking to be forgiven by them." Ettie inspected the bank robber. "You wouldn't understand." She dismissed as she turned around. She missed the way he looked at her as she rolled the RV forward. The short distance much smoother than Seth had pushed.
"Confessing what?" He pried. His eyes caught sight of a familiar black cowboy hat and silver star. Straightening in his sat, his full attention was on the ranger walking towards him. The only thing that could break through the train of 'fucks' running through his head was the surprising announcement.
"That my mother killed herself."
Seth examined Odette with calculating eyes, missing the light they had so anxiously been waiting for turn green.
Please Review :)
Thank you so much to those that returned to this story and gave feedback! Do you guys like longer 8-9K or shorter 4-6K chapters? Please let me know, I can always break an episode in 2 (I'll probably have to later down the line).