I can't Hurt You - Marcus Lopez Arguello

63

After school we all met up at the comic book shop. Every time we had a meeting outside of King's, which was almost every time, it was there. We stopped meeting up at King's in fear that people would find out what we did. In fear that they'd know everything from us killing Chico to being threatened by a serial killer. Besides, we were all from different crowds. We weren't supposed to be all buddy-buddy with each other.

We were all gathered around the front desk now, a mixture of anxiety and fear in the pits of our stomachs. Saya placed a stack of black and white printed pictures on it, pictures that looked like they'd been taken recently. All of us hesitantly separated the pile and saw the vulgar scenes on the pieces of paper. It was what looked like Shabnam's house that was turned into Chester's hideout. Guess we know where Saya went last night.

"Jesus. Is that Shabnam's dad?" Marcus asked as he inspected a photo.

"His mom could be in there as well." Maria jumped to conclusions.

"All the more reason we have to do this now." Billy said.

"Shabnam's house is rigged with traps. Chester has seven to eight people inside helping him." Saya explained.

"You're sure he has Chico?" Maria asked for her own reassurance.

"We wouldn't be doing this if he didn't, princess." I said rudely.

"Besides, it's no bluff, he knows everything. He has to be getting information from someone inside of King's." Saya said.

"Shabnam's parents." Marcus suggested.

"Does this mean I finally get permission to bash that dork's head in?" I asked.

"No." Everyone said in unison.

"Jeez, tough crowd." I muttered before we all went back to talking about the problem at hand again.

"There's another problem. El Diablo. If this animal sends him Chico's head, if he finds out it was me-" Maria started to freak out once again before she was cut off by Marcus.

"We're gonna need some serious firepower. Guns, explosives." Marcus said.

"Y'all must be out yo' damn minds." Willie finally spoke up before opening the door and leaving the shop.

We all looked at each other in confusion before Marcus went out after him.

"We need a plan." I sighed after the door closed after my boyfriend.

"No shit." Petra said morbidly.

"Thanks for the help, Sherlock." I said sarcastically.

She flicked me off before we all went back to looking down at the photos put in front of us like we were trying to piece together some sort of puzzle.

"Why don't we just go in there guns blazing?" Lex suggested.

"Do you wanna get yourself killed?" Maria asked in her thick accent.

"Best option we've got." Lex replied.

"Yeah, no." Saya denied him.

"We need Marcus and Willie to help us out. Let's just wait for them." I said.

"Good luck with that." Billy scoffed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Billy hesitated before he spoke his next sentence.

"Its just... Willie's, you know... a pacifist. I mean seriously, I bet you money he'strying to pussy out right now." Billy clarified.

"Listen, I know he's a pacifist but he's also our friend." I chuckled at Billy's statement like what he was insinuating was the stupidest thing in the world, except it was reality.

"Our friend who puts his morals before his friends." Billy finished.

"Bullshit." I said before looking around at the others.

Everyone stayed quiet and looked down at the photos or around at the shop. They seemed to stare at anything and everything but me.

"Right?" I asked trying to her then to agree with me.

"Yeah, for sure." Saya dismissed the topic, but clearly siding with Billy as did everyone else.

We all looked back down at the photos in front of us and went back to making plans in our heads waiting for Marcus, Willie, or hopefully both to come back.

Within a couple minutes Marcus opened the door making us all look at him. No Willie came in after him before the door closed. Marcus looked at us with a frustrated look.

"Willie's out?" Billy asked knowing he was right before and loving it.

Marcus looked down and walked towards us slowly. He was disappointed in himself and Willie. We needed all the help we could get and that asshole bailed on us.

"Okay, we can figure this out. Come on." I urged everyone.

"Okay, the backyard and all the doors are booby-trapped, the windows are reinforced but if we get some C-4-" Saya suggested before Billy cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, they sell that at Costco, right? Next to the big bags of popcorn." Billy asked sarcastically.

"There's only one person here who can get it." Marcus said.

"Great, who?" Maria asked as she looked around at all of us.

"Well, he said he can get it. Weather he will is the real question." Lex spoke up arrogantly.

"Come on, Lex." I urged him.

"It's a pass. A hard pass." Lex denied us.

"If we don't stop Chester and get Chico's head, the cartel-" Marcus explained before Petra cut him off.

"The cartel will kill her and the serial killer will kill you. Everyone will die. We get it." Petra finished.

"So why won't you help?" Billy asked.

"Help the loony bird who almost castrated me?" Lex said almost like he was insulted.

"The hillbillies? The cartel?" Petra reminded us.

"It's bloody Spring Break next week. I've got a plane ticket and a pint with my name on it." Lex said sternly.

"We need you. Please." Saya pleaded.

Lex sat down on the seat behind the front desk and looked at the floor thinking about it for a bit.

"This is the guy who cut up Marcus?" Petra asked.

"No. Stop letting this madness into your head, Petra. Go ruin someone else's holiday. Shoo." Lex said.

"All right. Emma you were right. He's all bark. I thought he wanted to change the world with a bullet." Marcus tried to get a rise out of Lex.

"More a figure of speech, mate." Lex said.

"Right, so it's all talk." I clarified.

"You talk a lot about the good that you wanna do with what you've been taught here... someday." Billy went along with our instigating.

"There is no one who deserves a bullet more than that monster we're about to face. If you are as good as you say you are, put your money where your loud fuckin' mouth is. Help us." Marcus urged.

Lex looked back down at the floor shaking his head and fiddling with his fingers. Marcus let out a sigh of frustration as I rolled my eyes.

He was the king of destruction and now that we needed him he wanted to be all goody-goody?

Lex looked over at Petra who gave him a pleading look, from there on he was done for.

"I know a bloke." Lex finally gave up and spit it out.

Guess we're blowing up some hillbillies.