10 Years Ago:

Darwin Tremor dragged his brother into the wrecked elevator, both soaked in blood and Jeeves hardly able to walk. He screamed, shouted, and fought him every step into the car, fighting to get back to Lester, who lay dead on the marble floor of the Nomad Hotel.

"It ain't worth it," Darwin yelled in his face, grabbing the straps of Jeeves' Kevlar vest. The giant kept shouting, tears beginning to stream down his face. "We gotta go, you damn idiot."

Jeeves turned his anger on Darwin and violently slammed him against the mirrored elevator doors. "He's our brother; I'm gonna to kill those bastards." He pulled the wood maul off his back, and Darwin had to hold him back from smashing it into the call buttons.

"You ain't going to get no revenge if you die here. Let's go!" After a tussle, he managed to wrench the ax from his younger brother. Jeeves fell to the ground and put his head in his hands, his black mohawk hanging in his face and dripping watered down blood onto his forehead. A deep wail escaped his throat and turned into a roar of rage.

He yelled and with a primal scream, slammed his fist into the wall, shattering the mirror. "What're we gonna tell Ma?" He asked, looking up at Darwin with wide eyes.

Damnit Jeeves, do you ever think about yourself? Darwin thought to himself looking at his youngest brother huddled on the floor.

Darwin sighed, "I don't know." He slid onto the ground and pushed his goggles on his forehead. They needed to get out of there without getting gunned down by the feds. He could blend in, but his gorilla of a younger brother would stick out like a sore thumb. "Fuck!"

"We got more brothers; Ma won't be any more hurt than when we lost AK and them when Lester went after-" He trailed off as Jeeve's steel eyes burned into him through the safety goggles on his face.

"Fuck off, Darwin." He muttered and then went to work, stripping off the blood soaked combat gear. He shoved it all into the duffel bag and dressed in the security uniform they had sneaked in with. Darwin followed suit and slicked his hair back. He dressed in a jacket and red shirt and grabbed the wallet of the FBI agent they had gunned down.

"Gotta plan," Darwin said.

When they got to the bottom floor, the elevator doors opened, and Darwin held up the badge like a shield as Jeeves leaned on him. "FBI!" He screamed, doing his best to sound rattled, which wasn't hard. Shit had hit the fan. "It was hell. Oh Lord, have mercy, the blood, the blood! The man here saved my life. The agents waiting glanced at each other before rushing in and helping them toward the EMTs outside.

When they left them, the brothers sprinted towards the parking garage. Jeeves limped, but his long gait helped him keep pace.

Darwin was first up the steps, and halfway to Cuda, he saw a man leaning against a truck in a Tahoe sweatsuit. He arched an eyebrow and looked around for Jeeves. Where the fuck is he?

"Is that your car?" The man said, nodding to the Cuda.

Darwin tilted his head for a moment and narrowed his eyes. "I'm confiscating' it." He held up the badge again.

"You're F.B.I.?" The man said disbelievingly, and a gun flashed in the setting sun.

Where the fuck is Jeeves? "That's right, and I'd advise ya ta' lower yer weapon." Darwin fought to keep his hand still.

"Are you investigating those murders by the lake?"

Shit. He recalled the men he and his brothers had gunned down outside of Lake Tahoe. He told Lester and Jeeves to throw 'em in the lake, but neither had the sense to check if they were still alive?

"W-whu?" The door to the stairwell opened, and Jeeves stepped out. He froze when he saw the sickly man and Darwin facing each other down. Darwin is fighting back with a smile now. "I don't hear of any murders." The lie felt weak in his mouth. They should double tapped the bastards. A spark of anger grew at his brothers, but it faded as he pictured Lester's lifeless body on the hotel floor. Darwin could never forget that image.

"Oh, you 'ain't'?" The man took a step forward, but Jeeves was behind him in an instant. His large hand closed over the man's jaw, and he pushed on his shoulder. There was a sick crunch, and the man collapsed in a heap on the concrete.

They looked at each other for a minute before releasing a deep breath. Darwin pumped his fist in the air and began to laugh. "That was close. I'm glad you're here to watch my back, little brother. Let's get the fuck outta here." Jeeves said nothing as they jumped in the Cuda and fired up the Hemi engine. It roared to life and sped off out of the garage, leaving the Godforsaken Nomad hotel in the rear view mirror.

***

They didn't stop driving until the Cuda was almost out of gas, and they were forced to stop at a service station. Darwin slipped into the restroom and cleaned up the best he could before throwing twenty bucks into the tank. While he was inside, Jeeves was slinking around the dark parking lot, snatching off a local plate and swapping it with the Cuda's.

Darwin always seemed to forget that his giant baby brother was smarter than he liked to let people know. He owed his life to him several times over, and today only cemented that fact. Jeeves' eyes were rimmed with red, and he kept his mouth shut. Lester went down in a blaze of glory, but he was the closest to Jeeves, despite all the squabbles and fights they had.

"We gotta tell Ma," he said as Darwin finished filling up the tank.

Darwin nodded. "Yea, ok. The payphone."

They both squeezed into the plexiglass booth, leaning in closely over the receiver as Darwin put his last coins into the machine, and it rang.

"Hello?" came a raspy voice on the other end.

"Ma," Jeeves blurted out, "it's us, Darwin and Jeeves."

There was a pause on the other end. "Billy, now is not a good time; I have company. Make it quick." The brothers looked at each other. Darwin mouthed, "Cops." The feds must have known who they were and contacted the FBI back in Tennessee. "Billy" was the name they used as a code to lay low and avoid being recognized by law enforcement.

"Hey, we made it out." He said, trying to find a way to be discreet. He had avoided saying it until now. "One of us decided to stay in Cali, Ma." His voice cracked. "We don't got money. We're runnin'"

"Billy, I can't help you right now; you ask the good Lord, and he'll get you sorted." Her voice trembled through the receiver. She understood. "I love you, Billy; I gotta go help these nice gentlemen now."

"We love you, ma," Jeeves said, and they hung up. It wasn't the first time they were on the run, and it wouldn't be the last. Jeeves sniffed and wiped his nose on the back of his hand.

Ask the good Lord. That wasn't what she meant. Darwin had only heard her say that once before. When Fritz was in trouble. She was telling him where to go.

"Stop it, you Sasquatch. We gotta move, get the Cuda painted, or dump it. You know the drill." Darwin said, and he headed back to the car. He tightened his hands on the wheel. His throat burned with guilt, knowing it was all his fault. Israel had been his idea; it was his job to set them up for life. Now Lester was dead, and they were cut off from the family.

They pulled out of the stop and headed north. "Where are we goin'?" Jeeves asked.

"Coeur d'alene," Darwin said.