Forget You

New Year's Eve

I did as Devan said and met him in the kitchen for breakfast with the other four boys, who were giving me skeptical looks. I ignored their expressions and got myself something to eat. After eating, we all went to the city to begin the search.

"Most of the searching is at night," Devan told me. "That's when they're drunk and get into fights."

"So then you can see how badly they fight while they are drunk," I said.

"So we can see how well they fight even when they are drunk."

"So you just wait around until a fight starts?"

"No, often times we start it with someone who we think looks good. Do you do anything like that with Marcus?"

"Sometimes we do that. We'll go wandering and if we see someone we like, we'll see what they can do, and then go from there. But we do it year-round, not just on a specific day. Our newest member, well, from June, was picked by me actually."

"Who was he?"

"His name is Jonah. He's only a bit older than me and I saw him boxing in a gym and he looked tough."

"Just 'cause he looked good doesn't mean he was any good."

"I went in and talked to him a bit and challenged him to box against people who were bigger than him and he was impressive. I then asked him about joining the gang and he was all in."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was surprised too. But he told me that he had wanted to find some kind of job where he could be recognized for his ability."

We walked along the street, and into a bar that wasn't too busy. We sat at the bar and were greeted by the bartender.

"The usual?" He asked Devan.

"Not today. It's New Year's," Devan said.

"Oh yeah." The bartender nodded.

"Is there anyone that I should watch for?"

"Only one bloke that I saw. A young man, though a bit older than you, so he is within the age limit. I think his name's Tobey. He's on the short side and he's got a short temper to match, but he's tough. He'll be in later tonight."

"Alright, thanks Nigel."

We stood up and left.

"So are we just going to go in and out of bars all day asking if they know anyone good?" I asked.

"No, that would be boring," Devan said. "We are going to walk around so that people know we're out. Especially with the five of us out and separated, they know what we're doing."

"So people also know when to hide from you."

He gave me a curious look. "I never thought of that."

"Seriously?"

He shook his head.

"Wow." I rolled my eyes. "No wonder it was so easy to find Troy."

Suddenly Devan pushed me against the wall of the building we were walking past.

Before he could say anything, I said, "Don't even start! All I've heard is how much you despised your father and how you didn't want to do this. You can't go defending him all of a sudden."

Devan glared at me, but still held me there.

"I'm not going to defend him," He said. "But I don't like when you talk about him that way."

"Maybe you don't despise him as much as you say."

"Oh, believe me, I do. He hated me. He only dealt with me because he needed a successor. He didn't care one bit about me besides that."