TW: Gun Violence and Death scene. Read at your own discretion.
~PAXTON~
The four of us are walking back to the car and I am still stunned that my father left us a part of him for us to have. And the ring. Am I at the stage to be thinking about marriage? I still have school to finish, enroll in the academy, and find a job. Maybe in the future, but yeah, wow. Marriage with someone I can call my love. That's not something I ever would have thought about.
Nicky taps my arm and I look up at her. She motions her thumb closed in a fist twice in front of her chest. I nod my head. I continue walking at a steady pace, gripping Chrys by the arm and subtly moving her in front of me.
"HANDS IN THE AIR! LEMME SEE YOUR HANDS! HANDS!" Nicky commands and we all whirl around to see her holding a young man at taser point. He doesn't listen and pulls out a handgun. Oh, no. Oh, no. No, no, no, no. Please, no.
"Which one of you is Chrysos? CHRYSOS BEAUMONT!" he hollers, searching each of our faces, but then his eyes lock with mine. Hold up, that faded haircut and tattoo of an omega symbol on his wrist. No way.
"Emmanuel?" I ask and he stands up taller to look at me, "Paxton?"
I study him in perplexity as he does the same. We used to be friends in high school and shared the same gym classes with each other since we were freshmen. Because I was really competitive and preferred to play seriously during class, I was either head-to head-with him or we would be playing as a team. From what I remember, he was a funny dude. He would say hi to me in the hallways and smile whenever we had recess. What is happening? And why is he pointing a gun at us?
"Emmanuel. What are you doing?" I ask softly.
His grip on the gun shakes as he waves it haphazardly around, "F**** off homie! I want Chrysos! I don't want to shoot any of y'all, but I will shoot f**** all yo brains."
"Why are you doing this, Emmanuel? What has she done to you?"
"Nothing. Just... SHUT UP. Dawg, get yo *ss outta here. This is not yo fight!" he seethes.
I put my hands clenched at my sides, "Not my fight? She's my girlfriend. I would do anything to protect her. I would walk through the deserts of Tartarus for her. What are YOU fighting for?"
His jaw drops and his arm slightly droops like he is trying to think of an answer. Nicky steps in and cracks his arm. A blood-curdling howl is heard and he drops to the floor. In the silence of the block, a few curtains are drawn back, but these events are regular that no neighbor dares to interfere especially when a gun is involved. They will keep their silence. Even if they call the police, they will be brought to court to testify as witnesses and none body wants to be called to the stand with the possibility of retaliation stalking in the back pews.
"Aghhhh, *****! Stop! She needs to die! She needs to die. You've killed me. You've killed my family. I need to kill her," he cries and we all turn to him in confusion.
I secure his weapon and turn his cheek to face me, "What do you mean she needs to die? What do you mean you've been killed?"
He spits on my shoe and I look at him with pity. What happened to him? Nicky tightens her grip and twists her hold. He lets out a yelp of pain.
"Salaud. Show some decency or I will pop you right out of all your sockets and filet you like a longhorn," Nicky hisses in his ear.
We all shoot her looks; chilllll.
"Bosses want her dead. I'm just a stake. The person I work for is sending out people like me to kill her. I accepted. If I return without her dead body, they will kill me and they will kill my family. If I am sent to jail, they will still kill me and my family," Emmanuel breathes out heavily.
We all look at each other, wondering what to do next.
"We need to call the police," Nicky said first, but I wave at her 'no'.
"We can't. Didn't you hear what he said? He's as good as dead. And he has parents and three younger siblings. We can't do that. Just let me think," I said.
I take a few paces away from them and stare out in no particular direction. He failed his prior mission and we live, but he and his family will be executed. Even though he is guilty of attempted murder, I will not let the punishment of his crime or attempted crime follow to innocent lives, to innocent children.
"How will they know you failed? Why can't you just run?" I crouch to his level.
"They will find me because I am on the limit once I am accepted. I have a task and an expiration date," he said.
"If they find you what will they do?" I ask.
"They will shot up a gun on the back of my head. Blow out my ***** brains. Mark me. Then leave my body to the press where my body will be made an example. Then they will find my family and make them disappear," he quivers, highlighting the exact process of his fate.
"Oh, god," Chrysos whimpers.
Bennet holds her tightly. My box was secured in his other arm. I start taking a mental note of all of this trying to find a loophole to this deranged ritual.
"What if you are already dead?" I say hesitantly.
"What? You want to kill me?" he quakes in his stance and Nicky has to secure him tighter.
"No, no. What happens if you met resistance? They would see you dead already, therefore they can't kill you and you didn't fail. You were fighting against the greater evil, which is us," I suggest.
"You want me to play dead? B****, you stupid? They gangsters, not children," he scoffs.
"If they think you are dead for like one or two days. Heck, even a few hours, it will buy you time!" I deliver.
He takes a few minutes to contemplate his fate and we wait restlessly for his answer.
"Are you going to stab me? Or shoot me in the leg? Or something?"
I bite my lip for this coming part, "You're not gonna like this."
~~~~
Nicky and I are crouching a few feet away from Emmanuel who is badly beaten and bruised from our light pummeling. His body is lying 'dead' on the ground as we wait for his crew to arrive. It's already after nine o'clock and still no sign of them. We are all getting restless from waiting more than four hours in the scorching heat. Emmanuel is twitching on the floor. Don't get up Emmanuel. Don't move, dude.
Nudge. Nicky points to an approaching vehicle. It is a small black convertible, but in the dark, I can't make out the license plate. Shoot, shoot. They're here. We watch in bated breath as two large figures exit the vehicle. Both are maybe around five-foot-eight to around six feet tall. They are wearing all-black attire. From where we are, we can't see their front profiles.
Please work. Please work. I beg you, God. God, please make this work.
BANG!
"Ahmmmm!" I yelp, but Nicky quickly smacked her hand over mine as the shot rang out. She keeps it there as the two men continue their work. Now they crouch over the body and spend a minute on it before heading back to their van. Their vehicle speeds off and after a few agonizing minutes, Nicky slowly removes her hand from my lips which are trembling.
In caution, we make our way to the body and I hold in my vomit when I see the bullet hole in his head, bits of flesh spewing out, and the crude etch of an x where his tattoo used to be.
"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Emmanuel," I recite over and over, collapsing my hands to my neck and stomach.
Nicky goes to the side and retrieves her phone which was recording the footage and audio of the event.
"Come on," Nicky said, towing me by the waist because I couldn't move.
We head back to the car which is idling a few blocks away. When Chrysos sees us getting in without Emmanuel, she bursts into horrid tears. I hold her in an embrace as Nicky calls the police.
"I am calling in an anonymous tip. I need you to send protection to this family immediately... Yes, thank you. Goodbye," Nicky hangs up and rubs her temple.
"We did our best. We got what we need and his family will be okay. There is literally nothing more we could have done for him," Nicky said, and I stared frozen in shock.
The drive back home was bitter and when we got back to our apartment, I ran to the bathroom and emptied all the contents in my stomach. I collapse on the cold tile floors and everyone comes running inside to support me. Why did this have to happen? Who are these fucking monsters? I want to murder them and bash their heads repeatedly on the concrete till everything inside them spills out. They are monsters. MONSTERS!
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