Five Of Us

Chapter 9

                                                                          Chapter 9
                                                                     Is The End Near?

September 11, 2012
The Block
Martin’s Apartments
9:46 AM

The day was nice and sunny, with a brisk wind. Some kids didn't go to school for fear of another apartment attack. Jacob was back in town, treading in dangerous waters. Will, Terrence, and Richard headed to school together. There were too many police in the area to make a move on Will. The gang was told to lay low until their missing member was returned. They also didn't have enough people to handle another defeat. Luckily, Will could walk the streets without sending a clone, but kept his ring handy just in case of an attack. School started typically the same, except Jacob had some new clothes on—real nice and expensive, but not too flashy. Some rumors were murmured to Jacob about Marquis looking for him. Jacob just shrugged them off and headed to class. Jacob was anxious to go home and see his sister and moms.
He didn't go straight home after dropping Chip off. He just needed a quick shower and clothes for class. He even opened a gym membership, just to use the showers and have a locker to place his passport in case he got arrested. He didn't even carry the card, just had a couple of hundreds on him.
Marcus was in class thinking about his parents, how his father wouldn’t be able to see him at his first game. Richard was in class thinking of a plan to get some answers out of Mr. Johnson about the location of his mother. Terrence was too excited to care about anything. He was too happy to see “starting captain” on the roster sheet.
In the lunchroom, things were normal. The kids who came to school were still shaken up about what happened the other day. Jacob didn't even stay for lunch. He bought a girl he liked some lunch and bought himself a soda, then left once he was done. Jacob left the school grounds and headed home. A car passed by, with the backseat window rolled down.
"Well, look at who showed their face around here."
"Hey, Marquis, I heard you was looking for me."
The car stopped, and Marquis got out. “Yeah, man, I gotta holla at you, so I suggest you hop in the ride or get sprayed," he said while holding a handgun.
"Okay, man, no need to shoot up the place."
Jacob got in the car first, then Marquis. The tinted window rolled back up.
"How may I help you today?"
Marquis turned his head and punched Jacob in the face. He grabbed Jacob by the neck and put the gun in his mouth. Jacob was struggling to get up.
"Don't move! Don’t move! Now first off, I know you had something to do with me getting locked up for that car bullshit, and second, my brother is still missing, and I heard you was the last man with him. Where he at, or you a dead man."
Marquis pulled the gun out of Jacob’s mouth so he could speak.
"I don't know what you talking about. Me and your brother went out to party and talk business. That's it."
"Lying motherfucker!” Marquis cocked the gun. “Tell me what happened to him!"
Jacob thought about his options. Marquis didn’t look like he was in the mood to play games.
"Dominicans got him. He wanted to expand in that building the Dominicans have. When we got out the club, they was following us. We was both drunk and didn't pay it no mind. When we got to the train station, they let them things ring, you know what I'm saying?"
Marquis let Jacob sit up.
"Did they kill him?"
"I don't know. Your brother was letting off some shots, but I ran. I wasn't packing. All I know is when I got close to the tunnel, I didn't hear anything."
Marquis didn't say anything; just nodded his head repeatedly in a fast motion.
"He said that's our building. Peace treaty was over when Ryan went in. Get out."
Jacob opened the door, got out of the car, slammed it shut.
The car sped off. Jacob started to walked back home. The hit to his face didn't hurt as much, but he did have a little mark on his face.
Jacob finally got to his doorstep. When he walked in, he saw Brandon on the floor, beaten to a pulp. Jacob ran over to see if he was still alive. Jacob lifted Brandon's head, and he coughed a little and took a deep breath.
"What happened to you?"
"I'm sorry, man, they took them."
"Who took who? My moms? Brandi? Where are they?" Jacob said, with a firm grip.
"A deal went bad, Jacob. Some guys got them in a warehouse near the pier. They know I tried to take thirty thousand from them."
"Who?"
"The Kriminals."
"That wild gang with the knife going through a K?"
"Yea, they knew I used to run with Ryan, so they just put it together that my cousin was the one who took the money."
"Damn! Can you get up?"
Brandon got up slowly while holding his side. "Yeah, give me a second."
"Which warehouse near the pier?"
"On Knots and Ribbon Street."
Jacob headed out the door.
"Whoa, wait up. I'm coming with you. We’ll take my car. "
They headed out of the apartment, then into the car. Brandon drove. They didn't speak on the way there. Brandon's ribs were still hurting. Jacob just had rage in his heart; he wanted to kill Brandon right there in the car.
They finally arrived at the entrance of the warehouse. Brandon pulled over.
"Okay, they should be in that building over there. You see the flag?"
The building had the actual Kriminals logo flag mounted on the top.
"Yeah, I see it. So how much they want?"
"The thirty thousand I stole, plus twenty per person."
"Stay here. I'm gonna check it out."
Jacob walked out of the car and headed inside the area. The warehouse his family was held captive in was at the end near the water. Jacob walked in to an area where he couldn't be seen to put on his ring. Once he put it on, he went invisible. He got on top of one of the warehouse’s roofs and leaped over each one until he got to the end. The warehouse where his family was held had a broken skylight. Jacob saw them both tied up to chairs, untouched. The gang was having a meeting of at least thirty members. All of the members there were speaking Spanish. Jacob couldn't understand a thing they were saying. His display screen had loading lines on it.
"Unknown language downloaded. Would you like translation?"
"Yes, translate," Jacob said.
The leader was talking. "We have a traitor in our midst. This man didn't have the balls to respect the orders at hand, so he turned his back on his family."
Two Kriminals dragged another man inside the warehouse on his knees. He was all beaten up and wearing a jailhouse jumpsuit. He was placed in front of the leader. Brandi and Jacob's moms were in the corner, tied to their chairs. Both of them were watching with their eyes wide open. The leader pulled out a machete and walked over to him.
"You see, men, I understand if you die in battle, or even retreat when things aren't in your favor, but to rat? Tsk Tsk. To rat is unacceptable."
He raised the machete over his head and stopped before he struck the betrayer. The man was shaking in fear for his life.
"You, you do it. He’s the one that ratted on you, correct?"
The man in question nodded his head and walked over to the leader. The leader passed him the machete and moved away.
"Get your justice!"
The man looked around, then raised the machete and hit the snitch so many times, he cut his arm off, and almost his head. The body dropped like dead weight. The man held the machete in his hand until the leader took it away from him. The leader wiped the blood off his blade onto the executioner’s shirt. The leader then walked over to Brandi. Jacob’s mother screamed through her mouth gag. Brandi was just crying. The leader spoke to them in English.
"Good, good. Now, if the man that stole from me don't return with his payment by midnight tonight, you’ll be next,” he said while pointing the machete at them.
Jacob wanted to jump down and kill all of them, but he was severely outnumbered and outgunned. The leader walked away from them and put the machete down. Some men left to go dump the body. Jacob dropped down near Brandi, undetected and without sound.
"Don't worry, sis, that man won't hurt you. I’ll be back for you soon. Love you."
Jacob jumped back up and hopped over to the main entrance. He took his ring off and hopped back in the car.
"I’ll come back tonight as soon as it gets dark. First, let's hit a Grand Plaza Bank."