Avenge Thy Brother

Chapter 11: Best Friend

"This is America, Ms. Headley. Nothing is fair if you aren't a straight white man with money."

"And see, you just accept that. Therein lies the problem. I am sick and tired of people acknowledging the problems with this country but not choosing a solution to those problems. We've all become so wishy-washy and this organization is prepared to put an end to that with regards to bigotry against queer people. No more, damnit! No more!"

"While I agree with some of what you said, you can't change people's hearts and minds. No matter how hard you try to eradicate it, bigotry will continue because those in power will never equate themselves to those without. And those who wish to have power will do anything to gain it, including turning on their own. This country fought to the death over slavery and it will fight to the death over every single instance of existing bigotry. I'm not here to discuss American history with you, Ms. Headley. I'm here to figure out if your organization got my best friend killed."

"Where in the hell did you get an idea like that?"

"Cut the bullshit! I know about the safe deposit box at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Why was there a photo of me in that box? What in the hell are you people really up to?"

She stared at me in silence for a little while before saying, "When we first approached Tommy during his freshman year, it was subtle and he didn't show interest. When we approached him again a year later, we left him no choice."

"What do you mean?"

"We showed him that photo of you and we told him we'd kill you if he didn't do exactly what we needed him to do."

When she told me that, I stood up and backed away from her desk. "You people are out of your fucking minds!"

"It was the only way we could get him to do what needed to be done. And you fit the description."

"Fit the description. What are you talking about?"

"You were a gay black student who was an only child. We told Tommy he only had a year left to join us or we'd kill you and make it look like the others."

"Oh my God. The campus killings? You knew about it and you let it keep happening?"

"It was fate, Agent Rowell. The fact that you and Tommy enrolled at that particular university was nothing short of fate. We knew about the killings but we didn't know who was doing it. So, we got Tommy to write an article about it for the university's newspaper. It was going to be his big break into national stardom."

"You were going to kill me and frame the fraternity for it?"

"Actually, we didn't know it was the fraternity. Tommy was going to eventually figure it out though."

"You people got him killed! How could you sit there and act like this was a success?"

"Because in a way, it was. The fraternity got shut down. The killings stopped."

"What about Tommy? He's dead!"

"And we are very sorry about that but the movement goes on, Agent Rowell."

"I don't believe you."

"What? Honey, why would I make any of this up?"

"No, I believe most of it but I don't believe you were going to keep your word to Tommy. All of this, it was for a purpose that you deemed too important to fail. You were lying to him, weren't you? You told him you wouldn't kill me to get him in but you were going to kill me to keep him from ever leaving." Tears filled my eyes as I pulled out my pistol and aimed it at her head.