~Julian~
Zayden's new phone lit up as messages appeared on the screen.
I peeked up at the console where the phone sat, before glancing back at Zayden looking through the content of his overnight bags in the back seat. Not ten seconds passed before another round of messages made the phone vibrate.
«You want me to check the messages?» I asked as we sat parked at the bus stop next to the highway.
«It's fine. I'll be right back after taking a leak.»
My hand reached over to the console. «I'll just check them for you-»
Zayden's hand reached from the backseat and swatted mine away from the phone.
«I said leave it,» he grumbled.
I scoffed at his reaction and cocked an eyebrow at him in annoyance.
«What? Scared it's Cassie sending you those messages?»
I smirked at my brother's all too telling silence. It was nice seeing him flustered for once.
Settling back into the driver's seat, I crossed my arms over my chest.
«Has she been sending you any racy pictures lately, is that why you don't want me touching your phone?» I continued with a small smirk, knowing full well that wasn't the case.
Zayden's eyes met mine in the rearview mirror with an unimpressed look. I met his glare until he brought his attention back to the bags underneath him. He finally pulled out the power bank and the wire to the phone.
Zipping the bag back up, Zayden nudged his head to the phone and offered a lazy shrug. «Go right ahead. Check the messages if you're so curious.»
I imagined he held his breath as I reached forward and unlocked his phone. He still hadn't stepped out even though he had found what he was looking for in his bag.
Didn't he say he needed to pee?
I chuckled under my breath at his persistence.
This bastard.
«Damn, Zay. Try replying every once in a while,» I exclaimed as I scrolled through all the unopened messages on the phone. There seemed to only be a sum of three people that had the privilege of hearing back from this guy.
Ignoring the string of curses aimed at me from the back seat, I found the most recent messages.
«It's Brock,» I mumbled, not failing to notice the way Zayden's posture relaxed behind me.
«Update me on the situation when I come back,» was all he replied before backing out of the car and heading to some nearby bushes, suddenly uninterested in the situation. The fear of Cassie finding out where he was headed was enough to make him act all stressed out. It was truly ridiculous.
«They're being tailed by Pete and his crew.»
I kept my eyes glued on the darkening road ahead as I caught Zayden up with the information from Brock.
«Are they going to do anything about it? How many members are with him? » Zayden asked, slightly frustrated from trying to connect the power bank charger to his phone with only one hand.
I glanced over at him just as he successfully got his phone to charge. «Six. He said they were just going to wait them out. Keep an eye on them and see what they do. He told us to stay put - not too far away from the city. They'll let you know when they have them cornered. He'll update you later.»
Zayden checked the time. «How much later?»
I shrugged. «He didn't specify.»
«Of course he didn't,» Zayden grumbled, resting his elbow on the car door and rubbing his temple.
The car was silent for a moment, though I heard Zayden's breathing pick up. I glanced over at him once more. His eyes were squeezed shut.
Either his shoulder was acting up again, or the stab wound was hurting.
«You want some Tylenol? I think I have some in my bag somewhere...»
Zayden waved me off before I could continue. «No, no, don't bother. I'll be fine as long as I don't think about it. What else did he say?»
I frowned but answered what I had read. As predicted, the rest of the messages from Brock didn't give us any new intel on the situation.
The rest of the car ride consisted of me insisting that he take the painkillers, and Zayden promptly refusing. Blaming his refusal on not wanting to fall asleep, I ended up having to listen to his occasional groans and grumbles every time I hit a turn a little too hard. This continued for the remaining thrifty-five minutes to Range. By the time we arrived, my turns were at the speed of an old woman's walking pace. Anything to get Zayden to shut up and quit complaining.
Listening to Brock's advice over the phone, Zayden and I parked just at the end of the lake that snaked through the city, located just by the outskirts of town.
It was late evening and the streetlights were on, the crescent moon barely visible on the cloudy sky. We walked in silence through the shadowed streets of Range Lake as we waited for further updates from Brock.
The gravel picked up from under our feet as we avoided walking on the heavily cracked pavement on the side of the road. The occasional stray cat dashed from one side of the street to another, making my pulse quicken every time the heavy silence in the alley broke.
The air felt humid around us, somehow completely different than in Goldhaven. Though tall brick buildings with narrow alleyways were no rare sight from where I was from, the back roads here in Range seemed more... weathered. The wind howling as a gust passed through the alleyway didn't make the town seem less eerie.
I couldn't ignore the ominous feeling in my body as I glanced up at the ill-lit, gloomy street ahead.
It somehow sent chills down my back.
I had to remind myself that this had been Zayden's playground for four years, and Cassie had grown up on these streets. As someone coming from the outside, this place seemed anything but welcome.
Zayden stopped walking when we reached a roadblock.
Ahead was a single-story building under construction. On the side of the building were two empty supported scaffolds.
'John's Auto-repair' is said on a crooked sign next to the trash can by the entrance.
It was a mechanic garage. Quite fitting for the outdated styling of the building.
«John's...» Zayden's voice drifted off as he blankly stared at the building. His expression turned thoughtful as he glanced over at the trash cans sitting by the edge of the building.
«This was Cassie's father's garage.»
My eyes widened at the realization, and I looked back over at the partly mangled building.
Two ladders lay strewn across each other next to a spray-tagged fire hydrant, as if forgotten. Around the building's entrance, the black paint had been hacked away at, ruggedly revealing the grey concrete underneath.
Zayden didn't need to say it. I already knew that this was the place Cassie witnessed her father's death.
«She told me her father's friend took over the place, but...» Zayden continued, seemingly conflicted.
Indeed, it seemed that the place was to be reconstructed, or perhaps a new owner was taking over the place. Whatever it was, it seemed that the building's time as John's auto repair was over for good.
I didn't say anything, feeling uncomfortably bitter at the thought of my father being the cause of her family's suffering.
Zayden turned to me and pointed to the small cluster of overflowing trash cans.
«When Mike did it, I was watching it all go down from behind those,» he said quietly.
He hesitated.
«That was the first time I saw her.»
Although I knew that Zayden had been shadowing Mike on their trip to Range Lake all those years ago, it had never occurred to me that he might have seen what happened that day. Looking at him now, quiet and unmoving, I couldn't imagine what he felt being back here now.
The sound of Zayden's phone ringing brought the two of us back to reality. Still, the haunting memory of the murder still lingered in the back of my mind as Zayden answered Brock's call.
Zayden's expression was surprisingly gentle as he hung up and glanced over at me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze; a gesture I rarely experienced from him.
«RL has Pete's crew surrounded," he said.
"They're waiting for us.»
**
By 'surrounded' Zayden meant it in every literal sense possible.
Brock had made sure that selected members of the gang covered every possible exit route for Pete's crew, in case they tried to make a run for it before Brock got a word in. Over the phone, Zayden had told Brock to stand back and not approach the crew until he arrived.
I sped through the narrow streets lit only by yellow, flickering lights, as I attempted to guide the car in the direction of Brock's location.
Brock and another guy I didn't recognize were leaning against the building next to us as I parked the car, lit cigarettes resting between their lips.
Brock nodded to Zayden before glancing back at me as I got out of the car. He looked back at Zayden and grinned.
«Even got your little brother to drive you around,» he mocked before giving me a nod. I cocked an eyebrow at his words.
«How you doing, Julian? Long time no see.»
Even though I had only seen him fleetingly at the fight between them and Mike, Brock had certainly made an impression on me. The image of Brock's arms locked around a man's throat in a chokehold with a knife in the man's stomach had been difficult to shake for the next few days.
Slightly intimidated by the damage I knew he could do, I pursed my lips and nodded in reply. Best not to say anything, just in case I mess something up and irritate him somehow.
The guy next to Brock blew out a puff of smoke. As he adjusted the cigarette between his fingers, I recognized the RL tattoo drawn across his forearm. Identical to Zayden's.
«They seem to have racked up quite a few allies against us this time, Zay. Seems like some neighborhood gangs have been promised a good price for our spot at the top,» the man said before inhaling another puff of smoke.
I glanced over at Zayden. My mouth opened before I could stop it. «The second you step down, it all goes to shambles, eh?»
Zayden sighed at my joke. He might as well be telling me to shut up. Neither of the other two people seemed to take humorously to my words.
These were definitely not my kind of people.
«Seems we have no other choice than to give them a wake-up call,» Zayden said. He gestured to Brock. «It seems you've managed to get them right where you wanted them. You already know the plan from here on. Get in contact with Hector and the other guys. We won't lead on with a fight, but we'll give them the warning to get out of the city. I'll join.»
Brock held his hands up to stop Zayden's already advancing figure. «Whoa there, Zay. You're still in bad condition, plus you've given up your role already, remember? Leave this to me and go focus on recovering back in your car. It's enough just to have you back in the city.»
Zayden chuckled lowly. «Calm down. I won't be in the front, okay? I'll just be there for backup in case anything goes wrong. Besides, I got some history with these guys. I need to be involved somehow.»
Brock took a moment to think. He shared a look with the other guy, who in return simply shrugged in indifference. Brock sighed and dropped his cigarette on the ground, crushing it under the heel of his shoe.
«Fine. I'll have you positioned with Jesper on the fire escape. You'll get a good view of what's happening, and you won't be in the way.»
As we started walking back to where the rest of the gang had gathered, Brock turned to Zayden. «Hey. How you feeling about this whole plan so far, Zay? You OK with everything? We'll keep the contact consistent and call it off the second anything turns bad.»
Zayden looked back at his friend, seemingly puzzled by Brock's sudden need for confirmation.
«Sure,» he replied slowly, eyes still searching Brock's expression to find any clues to why he felt the need to say what he said. He eventually patted Brock's shoulder reassuringly, and offered him a small smile of encouragement. «I know you have it under control, man.»
I stayed silent.
We rounded the corner of the building and continued down the alleyway toward the rear end of a large convenience store. Brick buildings rose on either side of us as we continued through the alleys. The time had passed ten in the evening, meaning all the local stores had closed up by now. The streets were nearly deserted.
Not a minute later, we met up with the rest of the crew, save for the members that were stationed around the area. Brock gestured to Zayden and another guy, presumably Jesper, and then pointed to what looked like several apartment complexes.
He pulled a door key out from his back pocket and handed it to Jesper.
«Key to an apartment nearby. You'll go through the window on the far left, and settle on the fire escape.» His voice was significantly lower than before. Pete's crew had to be nearby.
Not even getting a chance to ask him how they managed to get the key to the apartment, I was ushered away with Zayden and the man, Jesper, down the dark back road and toward the entrance of the complex.
The apartment was dark, cold, and particularly small. Looking around, I couldn't help but notice that the kitchen, living room and bathroom combined were the size of my bedroom at home.
The sound of muttered voices and the occasional kick of rubble could be heard outside the window of the apartment as Zayden loosened the rusty hinges on the windowsill. With swift ease, Zayden and Jesper climbed onto the fire escape, leaving the window just open enough for me to wriggle through.
We were on the third floor, and just like Brock had said we had a decent view of the whole length of the alley. Though it was dark, two street lights lit up the graveled path beneath us, making it possible to see the small group of people gathered at the entrance of what seemed to be an underground bar.
Zayden crouched down by the railing while tapping madly at his phone.
«Piece of trash phone. Dead already,» he muttered, annoyed. He shoved the dead phone back into his jacket pocket with a tired sigh. «Jesper, text Brock that we're here. Tell him to get this started already.»
I moved next to Zayden by the railing and looked through the metal fencing.
«We're just going to watch?» I asked in a hushed voice, careful so that my feet made as little sound as possible on the metallic platform.
«Seems so. Brock said he'll handle it, so he'll handle it. If they start fighting back, I'm not wasting a second up here. Jesper and I will join in, and you'll run to the car, got it?»
I nodded, adjusting my position to keep my legs from cramping up under me.
I cleared my throat and lowered my voice to speak again.
«So, if they decide-»
«You don't need to whisper," Zayden interrupted, lazily resting his forearms on the rails. "They're going to know we're here in a minute anyways when Brock and the guys move in on them."
Still not comfortable with speaking normally, I only raised my voice slightly as I continued.
«If they decide to not leave. When is my cue to get to the car, exactly?»
«When the first punch is thrown,» Jesper answered smoothly from behind us, his body leaning against the building with yet another cigarette in hand.
Zayden eyed me carefully, no doubt noticing the way my breath picked.
«They won't fight back,» he quietly reassured me.
«If they did, they're dead. Their size and experience are only equal to half of RL's.»
Zayden angled his face and peered down on the crew beneath us. I followed suit.
I could make out seven people in total, sitting on the pavement and lounging on benches, sharing bottles of beer and tobacco. My eyes moved from one person to the next. I recognized a few of them, though the one that stood out the most was the burly-looking fellow with a short, boxed beard covering his jaw. Even though I couldn't make out the details in his face, I knew he was the one who had threatened me outside the nightclub.
There weren't many other faces I recognized from the distance. Aside from the man with a buzzcut currently kicking rocks into a fallen trashcan, and the slightly lankier-looking man with blonde hair flicking a lighter on and off, the men were total strangers in my eyes.
«You recognize some of them, don't you?» Zayden calmly asked as he stared down at the group.
«Yeah, only three of them though,» I answered absentmindedly, my eyes landing on the seventh member.
As if reading my thoughts, Zayden frowned in the direction I was looking.
«Didn't Brock say there were only six in this crew? Why are there...»
Zayden's voice trailed off as his eyes locked on the seventh person, currently sitting sideways on the wooden bench.
Their face was partly hidden in the shadow.
«Wait. Is that...» He paused, scooting closer to the railing. He squinted through the railings.
«...Is that fucking Cassie, I see?»
I looked up just in time to see Zayden's jaw clench and his teeth grit as he stared, baffled, at his girlfriend sharing a smoke with a blonde-haired fellow at the entrance of the bar under us.
This showdown suddenly got a lot more interesting.