The Fire -1-

-S1, Ep1: Chapter 1-

-Chapter 1: The Liquor Store-

For most people, this afternoon was a normal part of the day.

But not for Benny's World of Liquor.

Not for Pete Bottoms.

Right now, he was being threatened by two notorious criminals.

The Gecko Brothers.

And what Pete wouldn't give to see a familiar face come to his rescue.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.

After being interrogated by the two paranoid brother because of a ranger showing up in the store and using the bathroom, the front door opened, causing everyone's attention to be drawn to the door.

Panting was heard as boots hit the wooden floor.

The two hidden brothers peaked out from behind the shelves and saw a hooded figure enter the store, along with a big black dog.

Pete smiled at the sight of the figure and their dog.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite customers." He said.

"It's good to see you, Pete." The person replied, their voice behind so soft that the brothers could barely hear it.

"So, what can I do for you today?" He asked, trying not to sound nervous, remembering that the two criminals were not far behind the person in front of him.

"The usual, please." The person answered as they pulled money out of their leather jacket pocket. Pete reached down underneath the counter and grabbed a bottle of Cinnamon Fireball Whiskey.

"How's your dad doin'?" He asked. "He enjoyin' retirement?"

"Well, it doesn't get him out of the house much, but at least he's at home more." The person answered.

"Hey, and that's what matters, right?" Pete asked, causing the person to smile underneath their hood, preventing the brothers from seeing the person's face.

As Richie, the younger Gecko brother, leaned a little more forward, trying to get a clue as to who the person was, the board underneath his nice shoes squeaked a bit.

Suddenly, the big black dog's head snapped over in the brothers' direction.

"F*ck." Richie cursed.

"What?" Seth, the older Gecko brother, asked.

"The dog." Richie answered. "It's coming over."

"Shit." Seth cursed in annoyance. The two brothers grabbed both of their hostages and pulled them to hide behind the shelves with them as the dog slowly started stalking towards them.

The dog sniffed the air, getting a scent of the older brother's cologne. Its lips curled back, and the dog growled as it stalked more towards Seth's direction.

Seth gripped his gun tighter, feeling the dog getting closer.

The dog made its way up and stopped right behind Seth's hiding spot, knowing that the man was right there. It growled deeper, causing Richie to start aiming his gun at the dog's head, ready to take out the animal if necessary.

Seth could feel the dog's breath on his neck as Richie quietly cocked his gun. Seth clenched his eyes shut, ready for the animal to attack. The dog took one step closer—

"Grim."

The dog stopped and turned its head to the hooded person, knowing it had been called. The dog glanced back at Seth's hiding spot before running up to the person.

Seth sighed in relief as Richie lowered his gun back down.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and the Ranger came back out.

"I'll be on my way." Ranger Earl said, walking over to the two people and the dog. The dog happily barked at the ranger, causing the ranger to smile and pat the dog's head.

"You didn't make a mess in there, did you?" Pete asked as he rung up the other customer's whiskey bottle. "Cause I ain't got no time to clean up a crime scene."

"I left you a few clues." Earl said as he grabbed his paid-for item off the counter. "Uh...are you sure you didn't see anybody today? Cause I just found a—"

"Jesus!" Pete shouted as the dog turned and barked behind the sheriff and its owner.

Suddenly, a gunshot and a scream went off causing the dog to tackle its owner to the ground for protection. Richie stood there with a gun in his hand as the ranger fell to the ground.

"Whoa!" Seth shouted, coming over to his brother. "Hey, hey!"

"Texas Ranger!" Another voice shouted from outside, and then Seth and the other Ranger started shooting at each other. Richie stared down at Earl as the dog's barking canceled out the other white noise. The dog's owner grabbed onto the dog's collar and held onto the dog as a safety blanket.

"What the hell did you do?!" Seth asked after pushing a shelf of magazines in front of the door, to prevent the other ranger from entering.

"He said Crime Scene." Richie answer, his gun still pointed in the direction of Pete.

"It's a figure of speech!" Pete yelled in annoyance. Richie pulled the trigger again, causing another scream to cry out as Pete fell to the ground behind the counter.

"Stop!" Seth yelled as he ran over to his brother, with the dog still barking at the two of them. "What are you doing?!" He quickly pushed Richie's gun down. More gunshots went off after the two brothers noticed the other ranger got right next to the main entrance. The dog barked more and growled at the brothers.

"Texas Ranger!" The ranger outside, Freddie, yelled. "Surrender and nobody gets hurt!"

"Afraid somebody's already hurt, Sheriff." Seth replied as he reloaded his pistol. "Your partner's on the floor." Freddie looked in and saw Earl on the floor, but he also noticed someone else. He couldn't see their face, due to it being blocked by their hood, but he could tell that they were shaking and holding onto their dog for dear life. "That's you in about 5 seconds, you don't put your weapon down."

"I don't think so." Freddie said, as the dog barked a few more times while Seth told Richie to move.

"Let me ask you a question." Seth said. "You got a wife and kids? People that love you that are gonna hate seeing you all stitched together like a sock puppet in the local morgue? Then why don't you put that weapon down and come on out from behind there, Hero. Cause us, we ain't got anything to lose. You...You got everything to lose." Richie looked at Seth and held up one finger after seeing the ranger's car outside. "So why don't we try this again, Ranger?" Seth came out and pointed his gun in the direction of the ranger again. "Put down your gun, let us go, and we'll call it a day."

"It's gonna be a long day." Freddie said, holding his gun closer to his body.