Chapter 10

Facing The Fearsome

It was new trash day at the dump once again. Most of the gang found themselves looking through piles of garbage in hopes of finding something useful or fun. It had been three days since Marny was taken from them, and Billy was still depressed over the incident.

He sat in a pile of sludge listlessly rolling a truck tire up and down. He'd look at the patterns the deep treads made in the muck, but his eye was glazed over and didn't really register what he was seeing. His body was on autopilot as his slowly degenerating mind tried to figure out where he failed his Fluffy and how he could fix things.

Meanwhile Snake, Arturo, and Grubber were playing with a pile of sticks they found in a trash bag. Grubber made a battlement, and Arturo and Snake were using smaller sticks as toy soldiers to try to seize the fort. It was immature, yes, but there weren't that many good items to take home that day.

As Arturo smacked into Grubber's outer perimeter wall with his stick, Snake was about to knock over some of the stick soldiers. When he turned his head however, he could see Billy sitting alone listlessly pushing a tire.

Snake knew what this was about. It was about Marny, and about the fact that they all knew she was being mistreated at home. It didn't seem right to let her rot and die somewhere when they knew she needed help. Every member of the gang had a story, though most of them didn't tell each other. Really the only member of the gang that was completely open about their family life was Arturo, who had a father serving a life sentence for murder.

Of course even Snake knew it wasn't realistic to expect a sweet little girl to become a hardened member of their gang. It was possible, but not ideal. So for the first couple days they simply tried to forget she was ever there, since they couldn't save her. Seeing Billy consumed with guilt and pain however…that wasn't ideal either.

Snake turned from Billy to see if he could locate Ace. Ace was sitting on a wooden crate picking at a scab on his arm. Well, at least he wasn't paying attention to any of them.

"Guysss?" Snake whispered to Grubber and Arturo.

"Remember this, Alamo!" Arturo shouted as he smashed into the tiny barrier, paying no attention to Snake.

"Hey guysss?" Snake said more forcefully.

"Huh?" Arturo finally paid attention, "What do you want? I was winning."

"It wasssn't a competition," Snake reminded him.

"Says the loser," Arturo replied smugly.

"Pfft?" Grubber asked what was up.

"Well, I've been thinking," Snake said carefully, "I think we should try to gets Marny back."

"Marny?" Arturo repeated, "Snake, that's a terrible idea. We're lucky she didn't die while she was with us. The policia taking her in was the best thing that could happen to us."

"But the worssst thing for her," Snake pointed out, "I know it'sss weird, but she needsss usss."

"Pfft pfft, brrpt pfft," Grubber added.

"You too?" Arturo hissed quietly, trying to avoid alerting Ace, "You know Ace ain't gonna let us run off and re-kidnap the kid. Look, I liked Marny too. She was cool, and she didn't rat us out. That don't mean we're the best people to take care of her."

"But we're all she hasss," Snake said sorrowfully, "We can't abandon her. We alssso can't abandon Billy. I'm worried he'll ssstay depresssssed if we don't get her back. We gotta do sssomething."

"Well…okay, I'm in," Arturo conceded, "We'll do it like the food run. Snake, you and me go into their casa and grab la niña. Billy will wait outside to make sure no cops are coming."

"Pfft?"

"You're not gonna like this, Grubber," Arturo warned him, "But we need a distraction. Ace can't know what we're up to, or he'll say no. So, you gotta keep him busy while we're gone so he don't find out. Can you do it?"

Grubber nodded with all the professionalism his goofy face could afford.

"Bien," Arturo nodded in turn, "We gotta make this quick, and we can't have nobody see us. Grubber, you go distract Ace. Snake, let's go tell Billy the plan."

"He'll be ssso happy," Snake smiled warmly, "Maybe we can even find sssome toysss for the girl on the way backs."

"One step at a time," Arturo cautioned, "First we need to find out where she lives. Then we need to get dog biscuits."

"Why dog bissscuitsss?" Snake asked in confusion.

"In case they got a guard dog, stupid," Arturo explained, "We gotta plan for everything."

"Oh," Snake replied sheepishly.

The Gangreen Gang were good at certain types of crime. They could steal, they could vandalize, and they could loiter like no one's business. Kidnapping however, especially when it was merely a less-than-legal rescue mission, was out of their purview. Snake was concerned that they would fail, but with Arturo's brains and Billy brawn they might actually stand a chance.

Marny had the worst day of school she could remember. Without her backpack she had to carry her books all day, and she kept dropping them. That led to her losing her English book, which led to her getting in trouble. It also led to her classmates making fun of her for 'not needing English' anyway because she was mute. Marny didn't like the school kids very much.

Losing that book likely meant her grandpa would beat her too, so she rode the bus with the negative energy of someone approaching death row. She missed her toys, she felt the urge to write in a journal that she no longer possessed, and she needed her backpack for her school supplies. In short, Marny felt like everything in life was against her.

The bus dropped her off at her house, and the bus driver waited for her to go inside before pulling off, but Marny wouldn't move from her spot on the sidewalk. The driver was annoyed that she was holding him up, since he was just trying to make sure she was safe. Marny however, knew she was safer right where she was.

Finally, after waiting for nearly two minutes, the bus driver had to leave so he could drop off the other kids. Marny stayed right where she was, staring at the house, not yet willing to face her doom. She touched her stomach, right where the burn was, and wondered how much worse her punishment would be this time.

As she stood there waiting for a meteor to strike the house down or something, she saw a shadow engulf the ground in front of her. She knew an adult was behind her, and she gulped in fear. Turning around, Marny was relieved to see it was only the maid, holding her purse and wearing a scarred smile from her fight with Marny's grandpa from the other night.

"Monday, huh?" The maid chuckled, "Yeah, my first day of school after the weekend is always rough too. Today we had an algebra test. Like I'm ever gonna need that, huh?"

Then, in a desperate flash, Marny got an idea. She dropped her books and rifled around in her pockets for a pencil. The maid, seeing the mess, picked up the books immediately.

"Marny, honey, you need to be careful," The maid chided her, "These books are school property, and they're real fussy about that sort of thing."

Marny wasn't listening however. This was her only chance to avoid a potential beating, and she needed to act quickly. Marny took out a pencil and a piece of paper, and used the concrete sidewalk as a solid place to help her write. Her frantic note completed, she handed it to the maid.

The gang has my bak pak. Can we go get it?

"The gang?" The maid asked in confusion, "You mean your friends at school?"

Marny shook her head no.

"Um, okay…" The maid thought hard for a moment, and then, "Wait…you mean the men who kidnapped you?"

Marny nodded her head yes.

"Wait, wait, wait!" The maid exclaimed anxiously, "Are you asking me to take you to some crack house to get your stuff back from a bunch of thugs?"

Marny, undeterred, nodded yes.

"But honey, that's dangerous," The maid tried to reason with her, "We could get shot, or stabbed, or mugged. You don't really wanna risk all that, do you?"

Marny filled her cheeks with air and stared down the lady, arms crossed in defiance. If she was choosing between her grandpa and the gang, she knew which one was the lesser threat.

"But I don't even know where that is!" The maid shouted, frazzled, "We can't just go wandering around and hope to find them."

Marny took the piece of paper back, and wrote on the back: I no were it is.

"Terrific," The maid replied sarcastically, running out of arguments, "Look, this is a bad idea. Is it really worth all this effort?"

Marny nodded once, her eyes the picture of hardened determination.

"Well…okay," The maid relented, "The bus is usually late, so this'll probably take all day. Just…when we get there, let me do the talking, okay?"

Marny looked at her like she was crazy, and the maid realized her mistake.

"Oh, right. Of course you will. Thanks," The maid winced sheepishly.

The maid took Marny by the hand and they walked to where the bus stop was. Marny smiled up at the older girl, finally happy someone was willing to listen to her and treat her like a person instead of a freak or an animal. She really hoped her grandpa didn't fire this maid like he did all the others. Marny needed a friend right now.

Arturo, Snake, and Billy found the house where Marny's grandparents lived. It was in the heart of Old Townsville, and everything looked so neat and orderly compared to their own home in the dump. When Arturo researched the place on the library's computer, he discovered something that complicated their plans…Commissioner Milford.

"So much for not involving la policia," Arturo said under his breath, "Okay guys, if we're gonna get through this, we gotta be smart. We can't let them find us. We gotta get in the joint when the old man is at work."

"Sssoundsss good," Snake replied uncertainly, "Let'sss hope we don't get caught."

So, when they arrived at Old Townsville, they waited. They could see a station wagon in the driveway, but they didn't know if it was Commissioner Milford's car or his wife's. They had no way of knowing who was inside without going in, but going in could be dangerous. After all, who would blame a cop for shooting criminals in his own house? They would be dead instantly if he found them.

One hour passed, and then two. Billy fell asleep and Arturo and Snake were getting bored. They tried playing slap jack to pass the time, but Snake got annoyed because Arturo was faster than him every time.

After two and a half hours of waiting and watching Arturo couldn't take it anymore, so he woke up Billy and ordered everyone to split up and start searching.

"Everyone?" Snake repeated, "Even Billy?"

"It's been forever, ese!" Arturo snapped, "People have probably seen us by now. If we don't leave as a group it'll look more suspicious."

Snake didn't exactly agree with the point, but he didn't want to argue with Arturo when he was frustrated. After all, Arturo might be small, but his temper wasn't. It was easier to just go with the flow and hope for the best.

The three teenagers snuck around to the back of the house. They looked at each other in annoyance, since they were supposed to split up. It was clear they were all scared however, so they silently agreed to stay together instead.

The yard looked neat, with a patio that had a table and chairs for eating outside and well manicured grass. There were no toys however, and no pot marks…nothing to indicate a child lived here. Did the gang even have the right address?

"Okay guys," Arturo whispered quietly, "We go inside, but we don't call for her. We look around quietly. Don't touch anything, don't break anything, and if we see someone we leave. Comprende?"

"Yesss," Snake replied.

"Okay," Billy added.

"Bien," Arturo nodded seriously, "Let's move."

Together the boys went to the glass door that led inside. The door was locked, so Arturo whipped out a fake mail-offer credit card he kept on his person. He picked the lock with the card, taking several minutes before the door opened. When he finally heard the click, it was louder than expected, so the gang cringed and waited for someone to show up. No one did, so the boys proceeded.

As soon as they entered the dining room, Billy's stomach knocked into the table. He tried to catch it, but that just caused him to tear off a piece of the wood. Everyone looked at him in panic, so Billy shoved the whole table into the counter; breaking it into pieces.

"So much for not breaking anything," Arturo muttered under his breath, "Just hurry up."

They went down the hall and into the living room. They didn't see Marny yet, but at least this room had carpet. That made their footsteps silent, which was a welcome turn of events.

Billy started lifting couch cushions to look for Marny, and Snake was ready to ascend the stairs to check on the second floor. Before they could go their separate ways however…

"Hold it right there, punks!"

Ca-click.

The boys heard the gun cock, and lifted their hands over their heads reflexively. They slowly turned around, and saw the old commissioner holding a rifle on them; his wife cowering behind him.

"Don't shoot!" Arturo yelled, "We're unarmed!"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Commissioner Milford growled, "Let me guess, you got the wrong house."

The sarcasm in his tone dripped like water from an ice cube. The boys gulped, knowing it would take a miracle to save their skins.

"Uh, uh…we did, actually," Arturo tried to lie, "We thought this was where our youth group was meeting."

Snake couldn't help but look down quizzically at his friend. No one was going to believe that!

"Yeah, right," Commissioner Milford ground out, "A home invasion in broad daylight. What is this world coming to? Well, good thing for castle doctrine…"

"lo sabía," Arturo muttered to himself.

"George, can't we just call your department to take care of this?" His wife suggested, "I don't want their blood all over the floor. Remember the cleaning bills from last time when Mar-"

"I don't wanna hear it, woman!" Commissioner Milford roared, "These lowlifes don't deserve your pity!"

"But we gotta find Fluffy!" Billy whined.

The other two groaned, knowing that Billy was too dense to read the room. Arturo mentally kicked himself for not leaving Billy outside.

"Fluffy?" Mrs. Milford asked.

"Yeah, she's my pet," Billy replied, "We gotta find her."

"Why would you break into our house to find your pet?" Mrs. Milford asked in obvious confusion.

When she said that, Arturo got an idea…

"Si, si! Fluffy ran in here!" Arturo exclaimed.

Arturo then reached into his pocket, and George lifted his rifle ready to shoot. His wife gasped, but Arturo just pulled out a baggie of dog biscuits.

"We thought fluffy was still in here, so we was gonna try to get her back," Arturo quickly explained, "Have you seen her? She's, uh, got brown fur and a pouty face."

"That'sss one way to put it," Snake hissed softly.

Arturo elbowed Snake in the leg, and then tried to put on the most innocent face he could muster.

"George, maybe we should help them look for their dog," Mrs. Milford suggested.

"You buy that load of crap?" George asked skeptically, "These kids are green. You know how it is in Townsville. You can't trust a green kid as far as you can throw them. They're probably high on meth right now, or have our valuables in their pockets."

"Dudes, empty your pockets!" Arturo commanded the others.

Quickly, nervously, all three of them pulled their pants pockets inside out. Billy's had an obscene amount of lint, and Arturo had his special comb. Snake's were truly empty. Mrs. Milford cringed at all the lint on her clean floor, but otherwise they hoped this would be enough to convince the elderly couple of their innocence.

"See? Nada," Arturo said for emphasis, "So…we can see Fluffy isn't here. May we go now, señor?"

Snake raised an eyebrow, surprised at how polite Arturo could sound. To be fair though, most people sound more polite with a gun to their head.

"If I find your mangy mutt in my house I'm shooting it," Commissioner Milford warned them, "Keep your dog out of our house, and stay away from my neighborhood, you lousy punks."

"Si, si, whatever you say, señor," Arturo shakily promised.

"Good. Now get out."

The gang didn't have to be told twice, Arturo led Snake and Billy away, and they left via the front door. As they ran Billy looked back at the house, but Snake grabbed his hand before he could think about going back.

"Billy don't understand," Billy bemoaned, "Where was Fluffy?"

"It don't matter," Arturo said bluntly, "We can't go back. If we try again, we're muerto for sure. We almost died this time."

Billy hung his head but didn't argue the point. He wanted to get his friend back more than anything, but they failed. He considered going back by himself. Maybe if he could still remember the way by nightfall, he would.

Marny and the maid sat at the back of the bus on their way to the dump. Marny kicked her legs back and forth contentedly, while the maid nervously fidgeted with the keychains on her purse. One looked like a sparkly gel-filled star, and another looked like Bubbles.

"Where are we going exactly?" The maid asked.

Marny wrote down: The dump.

"That doesn't seem sanitary," The maid said worriedly, "This seems like a really bad idea. I know at your age any property you own is precious to you. I know kids don't get a lot of breaks. You need to understand though, these men are dangerous. You were kidnapped by a street gang. They could have shot you, or beat you up, or tased you."

Marny frowned, but it wasn't for the reason the maid thought. She had been tased before, and burned, and beat up. No gang did that though, but rather her so-called grandpa. She wanted to tell the maid these things, but she didn't know if she could trust this person or not. She seemed trustworthy, but grown ups had a way of letting kids down.

"Marny, did these men do anything bad to you?" The maid asked somberly.

Marny thought about it for a moment, but finally shook her head no. Anything they did was minor compared to what she dealt with at home.

"Then why did they take you? Did they want ransom money?" The maid further questioned.

Marny just shrugged and went back to kicking her legs.

"Well…I guess if I get mugged I'll only lose two dollars and a lip gloss," The maid cringed into herself as she spoke, "I guess I can live with that."

The bus stopped a block away from the Townsville City Dump, and Marny and the maid got off. They walked to the dump slowly, Marny because she was in pain and the maid because she was scared.

As they entered the dump and started walking around the maid suddenly started holding her nose.

"I think I'm gonna barf!" The maid shrieked, "This place smells so bad! How are you still okay?"

Marny just ignored the older girl's complaining and kept moving. She remembered exactly where the shack was, and ten minutes later they were there.

Ace was standing outside the shack smoking a cigarette, and the maid stopped walking and tried to back away before the other teenager saw her. Marny, seeing this, tried to pull the maid's jeans to make her go the right way.

"Honey, no!" The maid whispered in a panic, "We can't. That guy looks really scary. What if he pulls a knife on us?"

Marny, rather than argue with the lady, decided to walk right up to Ace herself. The maid, not wanting the little girl to get hurt, gathered what little courage she could muster and followed her.

"Excuse me, sir?" The maid spoke up.

Ace looked up, and saw a girl with long ginger hair and an hourglass body walking straight toward him. He couldn't help but smile, stomping out his cigarette and preparing to pour on the charm.

"Hey, babe. I know you don't come here often," Ace said smoothly, "If you're lookin' for somethin' around here though, maybe I can help you out. The name's Ace."

"Like a deck of cards?" The maid asked obliviously.

"Ooh, don't mention cards," Ace winced, "Thirty rounds of gin rummy today. I don't know what got into Grubber, but I don't wanna see another deck of cards for as long as I live."

"Um…okay," The maid replied awkwardly, "Actually sir, I'm here because um…you um…Marny forgot her backpack when she was kidnapped by you."

Ace raised an eyebrow, and then looked down to see Marny was right in front of him, looking up expectantly.

"You came all the way here for that?" Ace chuckled.

"Believe me, it wasn't my idea," The maid replied emphatically.

"Well don't worry. I can hook you up," Ace replied easily, "Look, I know how bad dis looks, but we never kidnapped Marny…well, not exactly anyway. It was all a huge misunderstanding."

"Okay," The maid replied, nervously nodding her head.

"Yous two don't have to rush off, you know," Ace grinned in what he hoped was an inviting way, "You could stick around a few minutes, drink a beer. They're warm, but you know, we do our best."

"I'm only 16," The maid refused.

"So? I'm 17," Ace casually retorted, "Who cares? Booze is the right of the independent."

"I'll settle for the backpack, thank you," The maid tried to be diplomatic.

"Ah, come on. Don't be that way," Ace cooed, "You know how often we get visitors around here? Never. Let me be a good host, okay?"

"Well…"

Marny was so annoyed by how long they were talking. Grown ups had to be the slowest creatures on the planet next to snails and turtles. She tugged on Ace's pants to get his attention, and Ace looked annoyed by the interruption.

"Fine, fine, I'll get yer backpack. Sheesh!" Ace groused, but then muttered as he walked away, "…Every time there's some action in town, and some kid has to cramp my style. Unbelievable…"

"Thanks, Marny," The maid whispered with a smile, "That was getting a little uncomfortable."

Marny looked at her quizzically.

"I'll explain when you're older."

Ace came out with the purple backpack, paint stains littering it that weren't there before. Marny grabbed it quickly before Ace could even let go, and started checking for all of her things. Everything was there, though the paints weren't capped off that well. Her journal was the real prize though, and she hugged it when she saw that it was safe.

"You sure you don't wanna stick around for a few minutes?" Ace offered again, "After all, the evenin's young."

"That's okay," The maid tried to smile, but it looked extremely forced, "Thank you for your help, Ace. Oh, and thank you for not killing us."

"No problem," Ace replied nonchalantly, "Listen though, before you go, could you at least tell me yer name? I gave you mine, didn't I? And I got a lot more to lose by givin' it."

"B.W. McArthur," The maid said as she held out her hand, "Or if you ask my employers, Wilma."

Marny chuckled to herself, being the only one in on the joke. Ace knew B.W. wanted to shake hands, but he wasn't ready to give up on his conquest efforts just yet, so he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it like a gentleman of old. This did not have the desired effect, as her mouth thinned out into a pensive line.

"I won't forget this first encounter," Ace said softly.

"Please forget," B.W. said flatly.

"You know, Marny sure is lucky to have a sister as carin' as you."

"My name's not Karen," B.W. corrected, "And she's not my sister. My sisters are both older than me. They're both just as pushy though. You got any siblings, Mr. Ace?"

"Don't call me Mr. Ace, it's just Ace," Ace replied coldly, a far cry from a moment prior, "And my gang is my family."

"Oh…well…that's nice," Was all B.W. managed.

She then took Marny's hand and led her away. Ace followed them for a few steps and then finally turned around and went back to the shack. B.W. let out a breath in relief, and Marny moved her shoulders to feel the weight of her backpack. The little girl smiled, overjoyed that for once everything went well.

When they exited the dump to walk to the bus stop however, Marny noticed the sun was going down. It didn't register before, but now that she realized how late it was, she began to think about going back to her grandparents' house. They would be furious at her for staying out so late again. Would the maid defend her against them again? Could she even do that? Would they both get hurt again?

Marny looked up at the maid, seeing the crack on her lip was starting to heal. Marny began to silently cry, knowing that she was responsible for putting so many people in harm's way. Billy almost got eaten by a house when he looked for her. Billy also got in trouble with the store when they were seen together. The maid got hit by her grandpa when she stood up for her. Marny sighed, trying to make her tears dry up. She was bad for people. She was a bad kid. This made Marny wonder if that was how most of the Gangreen Gang started out too.