Uncle Eddie's Final Case
Seth sped down the road, night fully taking over. My eyes staid ahead, Santanico's past words still hanging in my mind.
"You okay?" Seth asked from the driver's seat. I didn't answer, causing Seth to glance over at me and the road a few times, "Katherine-"
"I'm fine," I said, my eyes finally looking down at my hands.
A sigh left Seth as he slowed down. "What the hell happened back there?" Seth asked, clearly upset.
"I pushed her buttons and caught her in a lie," I said, tugging on my jean jacket.
Seth looked over at me, clearly confused by my words, "What lie?"
"That she'll actually wait for us," I said, looking over at him. "Seth, she's ready to jump ship and do this on her own. Richie might be able to hold her back for now, but I can't promise that'll last."
Nodding, Seth said, "Yeah, I know. Which is why we're skipping this job."
My head quickly turned towards Seth, shock written on my face, "What? Seth, don't do this because of her."
"This isn't just about her," Seth said, looking over at me. My voice ran silent while my mouth opened slightly. When Seth looked back towards the road, nothing more was said.
Seth was the one in charge, he was the one making the final decision on whether we staid or went. He wanted my impute, but he knew the second he walked into the bathroom and saw Santanico holding me by my neck, that this wasn't ours anymore.
We both headed back to Uncle Eddie's, tired from the long day. By the next morning, when Seth told Eddie that it wouldn't work, you could bet we wouldn't be able to sleep there for a while again.
"What the fuck you mean, it won't play?" Eddie practically yelled as he looked at Seth who sat next to him at the table. I leaned on the counter, holding a cup of coffee in my hands as I listened.
"I'm telling you, it won't play," Seth said again.
Eddie looked at Seth with a stern face, "It won't play, or you won't play with your brother?" Seth sighed, looking down at his hands. "Thought you guys were supposed to eat about it. What, do I gotta sit you two punks down again and talk about family values?"
Seth tried to reason with his uncle. "Eddie, we cannot work with him and that psycho girlfriend of his. For Chris' sake, she attacked Katherine."
Raising an eyebrow and gesturing over to me, Eddie responded with, "So what? Katherine is very capable of taking care of herself."
I nodded, "Thank you." Although I knew Seth was just trying to protect me, he was keeping me away from them. Away from this case. And away from death.
Returning his attention to Seth, Eddie came back to the subject at hand. "All that money is sitting there waiting for us and you're just going to throw it out the door because of a girl?"
Seth sat his hand on the table roughly, "Listen to me. It's not. These people that you're tryin' to rob, they're not just some banditos from down South. Okay? They're degenerate killers."
"Yeah, well, they ain't never met Eddie Cruickshank," Eddie says with a laugh. Seth sighs and stands, starting to pace as Eddie sighed, "Come on."
There was a moment of silence as Seth continued to pace. He suddenly stopped and sat his hands on the back of the chair in front of him. "When's the last time you pulled down a job?"
Eddie looked at Seth confused, "What the hell has that got to do with anything?"
"Things are different now."
"Different how?" Eddie asked, glancing over at me. When he saw I wasn't going to answer, he turned back to Seth. "Is there something you're tryin' to tell me?"
Seth sighed, looking at the ground for a second as he talked with his hand, "I'm trying to help you."
Raising an eyebrow at Seth, he couldn't believe his words, "Help me?"
"You been on the sidelines too long. It's time to hang up your wingtips," Seth said, clearly upset by his own words. He knew he needed his uncle to stop this hunt for this case. Otherwise, he would get hurt and Seth would blame it on himself.
Uncle Eddie looks pissed, looking back over to me. My eyes moved down, looking in sympathy at the ground. That seemed to start the pissed off action of Eddie throwing the paper in a case, "Jesus Christ. Family. Who needs it?" He shoved the case in a drawer, locking it. "I'll go get myself a real crew. Somebody with balls."
Seth sighs as Eddie storms out of the room.
My eyes look at Seth who looks guilty and upset at the ground. "You were just trying to help him," I said, hoping my words would calm him some.
Nodding, Seth looks up at me, "Yeah. Only now it seems I've dug him in deeper."
I was silent, my hope that Seth was wrong while my brain said that he wasn't. Eddie seemed to be a stubborn man, one that when his mind was planned to do something, he'd do it with little to no help. Let's just hope this isn't one of those cases.
Seth eyed the drawer that Eddie just threw the case in, his mind seeming to be lost somewhere. He tapped his fingers on the chair for a second before pushing himself away. He walked over to me, putting his hands on my arms. "I need you to do something for me. Leave, meet me at the diner down the road, and I'll meet you there in a little bit."
Confusion sat on my face, "What are you going to do?"
"Something stupid, probable," Seth said with a sigh.
I nodded, giving him my answer before watching him leave the room. There was a minute where my brain raced to figure out what Seth was thinking. When a few ideas came to mind but nothing stood out, I grabbed the car keys and headed to the diner like Seth asked.
After finding a booth and ordering some food, I decided to make a call. Pulling out my phone, I dialed the all too familiar number and held it to my ear. It rang and rang before going to voicemail, causing a sigh to leave my lips.
"Hey Kate. It's Katherine. I, I was just checking in, seeing how you were doing. I've been sending you some money, I hope you're getting it. If you get the chance, call me back. Hope you're doing good. Love you."
Hanging up the phone, I looked down and sighed at it before shoving it into my pocket.
I ate my food, finishing it just as Seth walked in. "Come on, we got to go," Seth said, motioning for me to follow him. Throwing some money down, I got up and climbed into Seth's stolen car. We headed off, arriving at an abandoned warehouse a few blocks down.
"What are we doing here?" I asked Seth as he parked the car outside.
"You're staying in the car," Seth says, grabbing his stake shooting gun.
I eyed his action, confused, "Seth-" he cut me off.
"Stay in the car, Katherine," he half-yelled, half-ordered as he climbs out of the car. He slams the car door shut, making me curse under my breath as I watch him walk into the building.
My elbow sits on the window, sighing as I stared out it. What was the point of grabbing me if all I'm going to do is sit in the car? I waited, my eyes tracing over the warehouse in front of me.
When the sound of a car pulling up was heard, I turned, catching Richie and Eddie climbing out of the car. They head inside, both looking angry.
"Shit," I cursed before pushing my door open. I followed them inside, meeting a scene that looked like Seth pointing his stake gun at Santanico and Richie and Eddie shocked.
"What the hell's this?" Eddie asked as the door closed behind me, no one seeming to notice I'm there.
"Are you kidding me? I will fucking kill you!" Richie yelled, pushing the gun out of Seth's hand before punching him. Just like that, a fight started to break out, both boys seeming to equally match the other.
I stood next to Eddie, making him look over at me before rushing towards the boys. "Hey, guys. Hey!" Eddie began to yell, trying to push the two boys apart, "Goddamn it! Knock it off! Get over there! Get over there!"
Seth and Richie were split apart, Eddie in between them. His anger rose in his tone as he looked at both boys. "First one to move, I swear to God I'll knock you on your ass. You guys are unbelievable, you know that? I've been lookin' for a job like this for years. And you two punks show up outta nowhere and run roughshod all over it with all this "get outta my sandbox" bullshit? You know what you're like? You're like those lab rats. You know, the lab rats that push the button for the candy, they just keep pushin' again and again. They don't give a shit about anybody or anything!"
A laugh that clearly wasn't joyful left Eddie's lips. "This job is my swan song, my masterpiece. And once I pull this off, I can sit around in my soft pants and watch my stories, think about that perfect caper that we, that we pulled off." His attention turned to Seth, "So Seth, you either stand behind me, or you get the hell out of my way." He then looked at Richie who looked at the ground. "And Richard, you either tell me right now what's got your brother so riled up, or I end this goddamn thing right now!"
Santanico spoke up near them, gesturing her words towards Richie, "Tell him." Richie looked at Santanico surprised, but shook his head as an answer. She looked annoyed, "Tell him, or I'll show him."
"Show him what?" Eddie asked, looking between all of us.
Richie looked at Seth who gestured for him to talk. "She's a, a... What she means is that she's not a-"
Suddenly, the door busted open, causing me to jump and quickly turn around. The Spanish man from the market walked in, aiming his gun at Santanico. My mouth dropped, my feet slowly backing away at the sight of this guy.
"Say goodbye, Reina! You're goin' home!" The Spanish guy yelled before pulling the trigger. The bullets hit her stomach, toppling her backwards. Then the Spanish guy turned to all of us, releasing his bullets at us.
Richie grabs Eddie and yanks him to the ground while Seth quickly runs and grabs me. We both duck behind one of the old cars, bullets bouncing off of it. As some get close, I can't help but let out a few yelps and duck lower behind the car. Seth keeps a hand on me, keeping me low as he tries to look around.
When the sound of screeching is hears, the bullets stop and everyone peeks up. Santanico has turned into a Culebra and jumps on the Spanish man, attacking him. She soon finds herself caught in his grasp by her neck, causing her to struggle in the air. Richie runs to help, only meeting the same fate as her.
My eyes look around, noticing the Spanish man's gun on the ground. I shoot past Seth who tries to grab me only to fail. I swipe up his gun, cocking it before shooting the Spanish man in the stomach. He yells, dropping Santanico and Richie.
In that moment, Eddie comes running out with a yell, jumping onto the Spanish man's back. His legs gave out from under him, slowly burning up as they become to ash. Before his body could completely be taken over by fire and ash. The man threw Eddie off of him, causing him to fly backwards and into a pole, piercing near his chest.
My mouth drops in shock, dropping the gun and running over to Eddie. Seth and Richie are right behind me, both of them kneeling in front of their uncle in a panic.
"Hang on, Eddie, we're gonna... we're gonna get you help," Seth said.
"Hey, Eddie, don't move. Just look at me, man," Richie said, trying to distract his uncle from the pain.
Eddie winces, looking up at Seth. "Maybe I should've listened to you, Seth, and done it the way you said."
Seth smiles, shaking his head, "Come on, don't talk like that."
I rub his arm, making him slightly turn his head towards me. "We're gonna get you help. Just hang in there."
"He was right. This world ain't the same no more," Eddie says. A laugh left his lips weakly, trying his best to find some sort of comedy in the middle of all of this. "I don't even know what that was. I thought I could handle anything you two punks throw at me. But I, I can't dance on this dance floor no more. You were right, Seth. Time for me to hang up my wingtips."
Seth begins to sob, shaking his head, "No."
Eddie weakly lifts up his hand a little, gesturing towards me. "And Seth, take care of this one. Don't let her slip away." Seth smiled and nodded, whispering a word out. "You two knuckleheads, you gotta promise me; you gotta take care of each other."
Richie and Seth nod in response, both of them watch their uncle as he struggles to breathe. Just like that, his last breath was taken, leaving him softly as his eyes closed and his body fell limp.
Silence pierced the room, both boys sharing their own tears in the matter while I couldn't help but do the same. Everything we worked so hard to keep away still seemed to find its way on the doorsteps of our loved ones, claiming them as their own.
There wasn't anything more to do except bury him and say a few words. All of us changed our clothes and met back at the warehouse, putting Eddie in a wooden coffin.
Seth poured and past out shots to all of us, doing this exactly how Uncle Eddie would have wanted.
"To Eddie Cruickshank," Seth said, raising his drink.
"Uncle Eddie," Richie said, raising his glass as well.
"Rest in peace," I said, raising my glass.
Santanico rose her glass as well, saying nothing about the matter. All of us nodding, downing the glasses and setting them on the side of the coffin.
Bumping Richie's arm, Seth nodded, "Richard, say something.
Richie eyed his brother, his eyes pulling together, "What do you want me to say?"
Seth shrugged, clearly not having an idea, just needing someone to speak and break the silence. To honor their uncle. "I don't know. Something, anything."
Nothing was said, making the silence more unbearable. My breath held as I spoke, my eyes never leaving the dead man in the coffin. "Eddie was a strong man. In the short time that I knew him, he made his points clear and didn't hold a word back. It takes a real man to do that kind of stuff. And Eddie was no short of that."
Seth's eyes staid on me as I spoke, looking grateful. But even in that gratefulness, the pain could still be seen. But also courage. His hand pulled me to his side.
"You know, from the moment he took us in, all I ever cared about was making sure he didn't regret it. Man, did I screw that up. I should've been straight with him. I should've stood by him. And we should've remembered the code that he taught us, 'cause without that code, we'd be long gone right now."
"Amen," Everyone said, nodding in agreement.
When Seth's words spoke up again, it was filled with strength and determination. "Which is why we're gonna do this job. For Uncle Eddie. We're gonna trick and kill the son of a bitch who did this. And then we're gonna rob him blind."
And that was the plan.
Sad chapter, I thought of not killing Uncle Eddie off, but then it wouldn't work with the show. Still hope you enjoyed.
Let me know what you want to see more or less of in this book! Comment and I'll update quicker!