Turning Tables

chapter twenty two

A-Rab rolled his eyes, not liking how they were all waiting for Tony when he wasn't the leader of the Jets anymore, they didn't have a leader. In many ways, they didn't know what they were supposed to do and were just waiting for someone to make a decision. "He ain't alone, the old lady's down there with him."

"Does he know we're up here?" Velma wondered after seeing her friend glaring, wanting her to say something to back her up. As much as Velma didn't want to get involved, she knew that she couldn't ignore Graziella's request and had to say something. "Me and Grazie?"

"Does he know I'm here?" Graziella snapped, believing that she was the only one that could talk to Tony, that she was the only one he would listen to when everyone else in the room knew that that wasn't true. The only person there that Tony would talk to was Elizabeth but she seemed to not want to talk to anyone about anything. "Tony cared about me once."

"He don't wanna see you, Grazie, go home." Ice snapped, narrowing his eyes at her and was done with her constant selfishness. Their friend was dead and all she cared about was letting everyone know how important she was in the room; they were all grieving and the ones that were struggling the most were the ones that didn't speak. Not only Elizabeth, who had lost her love but Baby John, who had lost his innocence that night.

"We left him lying there." Diesel spoke up, keeping his hand covering Elizabeth's smaller ones but his own eyes held tears as he thought back to the events of that night; stopping the argument between Ice and Graziella. "In the salt shed, Ice."

"I know."

"That's bothering me."

He sighed, shaking his head and feeling himself getting emotional as he had flashbacks to Riff dropping to the floor; his vest stained with red blood and his face completely stoic. "Bothers me too, Deez."

"He ain't there anymore."

Everyone (except Elizabeth) turns to look at the doorway where Anybodys was stood, his eyes were focused on Ice because he was the new leader of the Jets now that riff was dead but he couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable with everyone staring at him. No one had heard the boy slip inside, he was good at sneaking around and that was why he had helped Elizabeth into the Salt Shed without getting caught. He had snuck out before the police got there but he knew what happened to the bodies, he knew that neither Riff or Bernardo was still lying on the floor of the shed. He knew more than that, he had been following the Sharks and heard exactly what their plan of action was; he knew that the gun was being passed between them and that Tony wasn't safe. He had killed their leader and now, they were going to kill him.

Action jumped up from his seat, surprised. "Jesus Christ!"

"Where'd you come from?" Ice questioned, moving away from the door of the basement to stand in the middle of the room, some of the other Jets moved forward to, wondering what was going to happen.

"Down the chimney like Santy Claus." He snapped before moving towards the basement door but A-Rab stood in front of him, blocking the way. "What's Tony gonna do?"

The Jet narrowed his eyes at the one person that he couldn't stand, he hated Anybodys more than he hated the Puerto Ricans. "Go pop yerself, ya blister."

"How long's he figure on holing up down there?"

"Till the heat dies down." Ice answered, seemingly the only person that would talk to Anybodys because the others didn't like him and didn't treat him like a person.

Hearing their conversation, Baby John glanced over his shoulder and asked with a shaky voice. "When's that gonna happen?"

"Two guys died, so never ever." There was silence as everyone took in the words of the newcomer, once again realising the seriousness of the events that night before Anybodys continued. "Bernardo's friend, Chino, he has Riff's gun."