Making Bank

Interrogation

"You killed someone, didn't you?" Clarence asks the very moment he sees Alex.

"I didn't mean to, it was an accident. He wanted me to come with him, or he'd reveal the location of our crew to all of the other Pacifists," Alex replies. "How did you know, anyways?"

"You've still got some of his blood sprinkled on your jacket. That might stain the leather."

"That's not important right now. Lamar told me that we need thirty 9mm handguns, ASAP. Here's the money for it."

"Thirty? What does Mr. Houston need thirty guns for?"

"We're creating a crew. We're calling ourselves the 'Martyrs.'"

"Well I'll get on it first thing in the morning. Why don't you stay the night here? I'll text Lamar so that he knows you're safe. Get some rest, Mr. Winslow. You deserve it."

"Okay, I will. Thank you, Clarence." Alex enters Clarence's house and passes out on the couch within seconds.

Alex wakes up early in the morning. Clarence is still asleep, his bedroom door left open and his snoring audible from across the house. Alex leaves towards home, leaving Clarence's house quiet enough to not wake him.

He nears the location where the incident last night occurred. Caution tape surrounds the exact spot it all went down, and an ambulance drives off with the man's corpse in the back. The police on the scene do little more than sit there with their thumbs up their asses. The police in Peace City do little to prevent gang violence, and when it inevitably happens, they ignore it. They brush it out of sight, like a rogue ice cube being kicked under a fridge.

Alex arrives home to find some new friends have arrived.

Naomi sits next to Fiona, her drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend. Fiona stands just as tall as Naomi (which isn't saying much) and has dark, auburn hair. Her tanned, white skin is barely covered, despite the chilly temperature. Fiona doesn't see Alex enter, as her and Naomi are too focused on seeing who can get their tongue furthest down the other's throat.

Lamar is with his adopted brother, Blake Houston. Blake stands six and a half feet tall, as opposed to Lamar's five foot eleven, and is built like a tank. His tight shirt has no room to breathe against his dark, toned skin. His head is shaved bare, just like his brother's. Blake makes brief eye contact with Alex, but quickly averts his attention back to the tied up Pacifist.

The last new notable crew member is a German Shepard. Her collar says her name is Charlie. Charlie growls and barks at Alex when he walks in, but quickly calms down when she realizes he is not a threat.

Alex makes his way towards the Pacifist captive. "Hey, Lamar," he says while watching the Pacifist struggle to move."
"Do we have a basement?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty spacious cellar. You can get to it through the kitchen," Lamar respond, pointing towards the kitchen. Blake lifts the captive onto his shoulder. The Pacifist's yelling is muffled by the duct tape placed over his mouth.

Blake turns the basement light on. The room is dimly lit by a bare bulb. He finds a metal folding chair up against a wall and places it near the center of the room, where the light is brightest. He knocks the captive out with a blow to the side of his head, unties him, sets him on the chair, and, despite his meaty fingers, expertly ties him to the chair. He rips the tape off of his mouth, and backhands him hard enough to nearly tip the chair on its side. The Pacifist wakes up, looks around, and begins to yell for help.

"Shut the fuck up," Blake delivered. His voice is deep, dark, and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up with every syllable he speaks. He has a very prominent British accent. "What is your name?"

"Fuck off!" The Pacifist spits in his face.

"I didn't want to hurt you, lad, but you've left me with no choice," Blake says as he wipes the spit from his face. He back hands the Pacifist hard enough to knock him over along with the chair hes sat on. Blake kicks him several times in the stomach while he's down, and finishes this beating with a stomp to the head. He lifts the Pacifist back up, pats his shoulder, and spits directly into his eye. "What is your name?"

"Why would I tell you?" The Pacifist asks.

"Dude, just tell him. We've got all day," Alex adds.

"You're just going to kill me anyways, so why don't you just do it now and get it over with?"

"There's no fun in that, now is there. Now please, don't tell me your name. There's nothing I'd love more than to beat the shit out of a little piss-pot like you," Blake says as a smile comes across his face.

"Fine, my," the Pacifist's answer is cut short by a violent cough, spraying drops of blood on Blake's white shirt. The Pacifist looks into Blake's eyes and says,  "My name is Juno."

"Juno? Juno Ying?" Alex pulls a balaclava off of the Pacifist's head. The face revealed is that of a thin Korean man. "No fucking way."

"Wait, are you-"

"Alexander Winslow. You always called me Xander back in high school," Alex says in a melancholy tone. 

"Xander... Holy shit."

"Blake, we can't kill this guy. I know him."

"Well we can't let him walk out of here, that'd be bloody suicide," Blake suggests. 

"I swear I won't tell anyone, in fact, I'll join you. I could even be like a double agent or some shit," Juno says.

"Ultimately it's Lamar's choice. Keep an eye on him, Alex, I'll be right back." As Blake leaves, Juno turns towards Alex.

"You've got to let me out of here, please. They're going to kill me if you don't," Juno pleads.

"Why did you kill those people? I don't think you're the same Juno I knew in high school," Alex says.

"Look, Xander, I'll explain later, but please, you've got to get me out of here. I'll make it worth your while, I promise." The floor above them creaks with movement. "Lamar and Blake will be back down here in any moment, please, at least untie me. I'm not going to try anything I pro-"

"Juno fucking Ying," Lamar says as he slowly steps down the stairs. "Begging for your life, I see?"

"No, in fact, Xander here was going to let me out," Juno says confidently.

Alex looks at him in shock. "I never said-"

"Is that true, Alex?" Lamar asks.

"No. I never agreed to that," Alex says.

"Will the fact that you know this dude be an issue?"

"No."

"Good." Lamar pulls out his handgun and aims it at Juno's head.

"No! Don't!" Alex leaps for Lamar's gun and attempts to wrestle it out of his hands. The gun fires in the middle of the fight, and Lamar falls to the ground and yells in pain. Blood rushes from a hole in his leg.

"Bollocks. Stay here, and keep Juno down here. I'm going to get Lamar fixed up. We're talking about this when we get back," Blake says. He puts Lamar over his shoulder and rushes him out of the base. Alex looks at Juno, who is already staring at Alex.

"You owe me," Alex says. Juno nods, but remains speechless.