II: Nolee

They say home is where the heart is. For me, home is the one place I can actually go to be safe. It's a place away from pawing men, from the hardships of The Pedigree. What I don't like about home is the crowdedness of it. There's me and my three brothers, Carter and Vance and Kip. It's quite crowded, that's for sure, but the main problem is the fact that we all take part in different walks of life.

For instances when I get home there is a uniformed police officer sitting on my couch sipping a beer and eating popcorn while watching a hockey game.

That would be Carter, my oldest brother. He's been on the force for a few years. If there's a good cop left on the Titan City police force, my brother is that cop. Then again, my brother's boss and friend Christian Cage, Captain of the Titan City force, is a good man too. I hear the toilet flush in the nearby bathroom and, speak of the devil, Christian enters the room a few minutes later. "Hey Nols!" he greets jovially as I sit on the easy chair. "How goes?"

"Good, you boys off work?" I ask, smiling as I steal Carter's beer.

"Yeah, I was just freshening up," Christian nods as Carter tosses a handful of popcorn at me. "Carter, you should freshen up."

"Yeah, I'll get to it soon as the show goes to commercial," Carter focuses on the Rangers hockey game. I've always thought of Carter and Christian as a cute couple, no matter how they deny it. I know Carter's gay but he's so worried about Christian hating him. C'est la vie. As the show does cut to commercial, Carter gets up to peck the top of my head before leaving the room.

"Where you workin' now kid?" Christian asks.

I hesitate. If I tell Christian that I'm a stripper at the club of a mob boss turned politician, I'll never hear the end of the questioning. "Oh I serve drinks at The Fandango," I lie with a smile.

"Nice," he nods back, "Pay's good?"

"Fairly. What's your new case?" I try to change the subject from me to him.

"It's a mess is what it is," Christian snorts. "Both of the major ones. We still haven't found that girl AJ Lee, we still haven't found the money Cena supposedly stole, and now there's news of mafia bosses starting wars against each other. Everyone wants to control the city but no one wants to do the real work to make it a good place."

"Mob bosses? Like Heyman and the like?" I'm curious for two reasons. The first is Hunter. Everyone knows how power hungry he is. If mob bosses are starting wars against one another, Hunter could be one of those bosses. The second is…well…that man Sheamus. Though he ordered a dance from me in private, he was respectful and bought me drinks first. He's kind and sweet, at least to me. I've heard his name whispered at the club but I dunno if he's mob or just a hitman.

"Worse, like Barrett," Christian corrects, "there's even rumour Barrett's got one of his foreign friends in the states." Bad News Barrett, real name Wade Barrett. He's a frequent of The Pedigree because he's in a three man relationship with our bartender Justin and the lead singer of our house band, Heath. Foreign friends? It could be anyone even though I have a feeling it's not just anyone.

Before I can speak, the living room door clicks open and my brother Kip enters. Well…we call him Kip. His real name is Edward. We call him Kip cuz of his ability to kip up in a fight, which he does quite often as he's an amateur boxer. He looks beat and his left eye is black and swollen. "Jesus Christ Kip!" I shout as I rush to get him a frozen pack of peas from the fridge in the kitchen, having him press it against his eyes. "Tough fight tonight?"

"Pretty tough fight," he nods as he slowly makes his way to the couch. "You should see the other guy though. I actually won."

"You did? Great!" Christian grins, patting Kip on the back. Kip flinches in pain and glares at Christian who gives a sheepish look. "Sorry."

The shower stops running and Carter enters the room in shorts and a muscle shirt. "Damn Kip. Didn't duck right didja?"

"Nah man, I ducked but Lucas Turner hit that uppercut," Kip sighs, though instantly looks as if he shouldn't have said what he did.

There's a tension in the air as Christian and Carter exchange a look, "Turner? They let him fight again?" Carter asks. That name sounded familiar and now I know why. Lucas Turner was in prison for a while, he killed a man named Titus O'Neil in the boxing ring. How could they let him fight?

"Yeah…well…I'm tired," Kip mutters as he stands, "I'm gonna hit the hay."

"Concussion?" Carter crosses his arms over his chest as he checks to make sure that Kip will be allowed to sleep.

"No, I learned my lesson from the last fight and was careful," Kip snorts, "Can I go?"

"Go," Carter says but the look in his eyes is one of wonder at whatever Kip's hiding. I feel the same way. It has to be big for Kip to be hiding it.

"Well guys, I'd love to stay but I promised Vance I'd go with him to help open the bar tomorrow," I grin as I peck both boys on the cheek and head off to my room. Vance is the owner of a small music bar called The Spin. He focuses on records be they rap or classic country. I help with his record collection, both stocking the jukebox and decorating the walls. Laying on my bed, my stomach rumbles and I can't tell if it's hunger or nerves for a moment. I'm not hungry. No, I stopped for burgers on my way home. Naw, I have to be nervous.

But what about?

Am I nervous about Kip and the fight he had with the violent Lucas Turner? I suppose so. Kip was fighting a criminal, a man who committed murder, be it on purpose or not. Kip could have died. Another part of that is HOW Kip got to fight him. Wouldn't a normal official stop such a brutish man from competing? The secret Kip was hiding in his eyes has to be a big one.

Yet the second trouble I have is that man at the bar, Sheamus. What if he's one of the mob bosses who came here from Europe? I'll tell you what, Hunter will have me report every single thing Sheamus tells me back to him. I don't wanna rat out Sheamus like that. He's been the one man in the history of my time at the club who hasn't treated me like property.

He makes me feel human.