Kinship

Chapter 1

"What a catch, man. I was hoping to give it a spin before they took it apart, though. Tony never lets me ride the cars," said Drew, an edge of sadness in his voice like the car was a pet of his that was being put down in front of his very eyes.

Jason couldn't help the chuckle escape him, picturing the Jaguar wrapped around a lamp post with Drew standing next to it with a few cuts and bruises and an innocent, playful smile on his face that spoke something along the lines of oops.

"I think there'd be little left of the thing if they let you drive it, Drew. You do have a way with cars."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason turned from the window and walked over to one of the two empty chairs facing the desk, a large leather desk chair sat opposite like a throne left empty. He felt Drew's shrewd eyes on the back of his head as he did so, but this wasn't what sent the slight tingle down the base of his neck. Tony, a tall and slender man with jet black hair and a thin beard that ran along the contour of his jaw would have usually filled the office chair, sitting in it with his leg over the other and the tips of his fingers pressed lightly together. But Tony had been missing for two weeks now, without even a trace of where he went.

Tony ran the chop shop and was one of the founding members of The Bruisers, which was the name of the gang they all worked for. It made Jason uneasy to think of how someone as high up in the pecking order could disappear without even a whisper of what had happened to him. At first, all eyes turned to The Saints, the warring gang up in the north districts of the city who had a personal vendetta against most members of The Bruisers, but they had profusely denied their involvement.

Maybe Tony had just had enough of the gang life. Jason certainly couldn't blame him for it. It was hard living with yourself knowing that you were a criminal and that your earnings were dirty money, stained with oil, gun powder and blood. Yeah, Tony's hands were dirty. Dirtier than most that worked the numerous cars in the chop shop, and everyone here was always covered head to toe in oil grease and charred metal. Jason had a suspicion this was the case. Tony was the toughest son-of-a-gun to ever walk in the shop, ruling with an iron fist around here that made people think twice before sneaking a spare part in their pocket or stealing some cash out of the safe.

Jason respected him, and it was that very respect that turned to ice in the pit of his stomach as he ran through possible fates the man had encountered on his exploits around the city. The area was dangerous, Jason knew that more than anyone. He used to be a delivery boy a couple of years ago, fresh from dropping out of high school at the tender age of 15 with nothing more than a wallet full of pizza coupons and a naïve bounce to his step. He thought the world was his playground. Who needed school? School was for those who wanted to read their life away. Not Jason. No, he wanted to travel and see everything before ever thinking about settling down somewhere.

How wrong he was. It was his biggest regret leaving school. Not because he felt like he had missed out on some secret knowledge that only teachers knew, but because of how sick his mother had gotten in the short space of leaving and getting his delivery job. First it was a cough, light and throaty that would start whenever she did anything frivolous, like climbing the stairs to their suburban flat or walking to the grocery store. Then it got worse, her cough turning more course and bloody, quickly becoming bedridden with how weak she became.

After that came the diagnosis. Chest cancer. Even now the doctor's words rang in his head like the tolling of a rancid bell, already sounding like the chimes of a funeral, an edge of finality to the voice in his head. Becoming a delivery boy kept them barely on their feet. It had seemed like a twist of fate when he had encountered Tony one evening whilst Jason rode his bike along the sidewalk of the city center. Jason didn't even notice the black car with the tinted windows in front of him until his bike rode headlong into the passenger door, sending Jason over the handlebars and onto the bonnet.