Throwaway People

Little C. Gets a Gun

Hell, Casa Sombrio: 10:00 A.M.

Little C. was jonsing when he went to talk to Jose. The Guardia laughed at him at first. Little Carlos was considered Big Carlos' idiot cousin, no one took him seriously.

"Yo saber donde Gatita Sexa es." Little C. told one of them.

That got them moving. Jose's flunky Andy came out of the Casa.

"Talk to me." Andy said.

"Pay me." Little C. held out his hand palm up.

Andy grabbed the Junkie's hand and twisted Little C.'s arm behind him. With a vicious yank, Andy made the junkie scream like a girl.

"Where is Kitty?"

"Water Jim has been asking questions about her. That's all I know. I swear. Please just give me a little something, I'm hurting bad for a fix." Little C. was ready to piss himself. "He spends time with Bobbi Queen and Patty Manse. I think he's got Kitty hid so he can bang her when he wants."

"You want a fix, you go find out where Kitty is. Not rumors." Andy handed Little C. a rusty revolver. "You go talk to this Water Jim and find out what he knows. He'll talk if you have a gun pointed in his face."

Green Acres, Closed Walgreens Store: 1:12 PM

Little C. had the revolver stuck in his waist band. After his last encounter with Water Jim he was reluctant to confront Jim again. Patty wouldn't come back from downtown Lake Worth for a few hours. Little C. decided he would interrogate Bobbi first.

Bobbi had just gotten out of a car on Lake Worth Road. He went to the closed Walgreen's store. Going to the back to get his bag which held extra condoms, panties, and other hygiene related items. Bobbi hid the items only because some people stole whatever they could get or trashed things for the hell of it.

Bobbi rounded a corner to see the rusty barrel of a revolver pointed in her face. How Little C. managed to get the revolver didn't matter. He had it. Most likely found it at the bottom of the canal, considering how it looked. It might not even work.

"Here." Bobbi said, handing C. the cash from his first trick of the day.

"Yeah, tell me what Jim's been talking to you about." Little C. snatched the cash from Bobbi.

"We talked about him getting Patty off the streets." Bobbi told him. "He doesn't want her whoring anymore. I think he really has the hots for her."

"What about Kitty." Little C. demanded.

"What about her." Bobbi put on his best act of confusion. "I hear she's in Tampa or Orlando."

Little C. took the revolver barrel smacked Bobbi across the face with it. It would leave him cut and bruised. "Don't fucking lie to me, now tell me the truth." Little C. hit her again.

"Tampa, Tampa, she's in Tampa. Don't hit me again. Please."

Little C. didn't stop. Bobbi protected his face as much as he could, taking most of the blows on his forearms. Until C. got tired of hitting him. Bobbi just kept repeating that Kitty was in Tampa. C. walked away. Leaving Bobbi bleeding on the pavement. Bobbi made a call to one of his regular clients on his cell.

Lake Worth, Lost Tea Shop: 2:05 PM

Patty was playing outside when Stacey brought her phone to her. It was fully charged. There was a text with Bobbi's number on it next to the word 'Urgent'. Patty dialed up the number.

"Bobbi has been pistol whipped." It was a man's voice. "He has a number of bruises. He took two solid hits in the face. The others were defensive wounds on his arms. He's sleeping, do you need to talk to him."

"Do you know who did it."

"Somebody named Little C.. Bobbi said you needed to know, that you need to be careful. So does Water Jim. She says the kitty is out of the bag."

"I got it." Patty hung up. "I got to go. A friend of mine had a fight with a addict, now this guy has a gun and is looking for Jim. He already beat up a friend of ours, I've got to warn Jim."

"Be careful." Stacey said. "We won't be open tomorrow. You have my cell number, call me after Thanksgiving and tell me how things worked out."

"Thanks for everything. I'm sorry this spilled over up here." Patty told her.

"Don't worry about it. Shit happens."

Palm Springs, Sears Outlet: 2:30

Jim was selling water at the plazas on the corner of Military and Forest Hill. He saw Little C. hanging around. Trying to blend in. Making it obvious that he was trying to watch Jim without Jim seeing him. All Jim could do was wait until the opportunity presented itself that he could turn the tables on C. C. must have some advantage to be coming after Jim again. Such as a gun.

Jim decided on the same trick he used before. With a twist.

As Jim went around the corner of the building C. was ready for him. He drew the gun and went around the corner and found the space empty. C. looked around he at the space between the strip plaza and the closed Sunshine Flea Market. It was empty. C. walked towards what used to be the green market at the flea market. Which was now empty. There was no one inside.

C. felt the barrel of a gun on his neck. "Drop the gun, C.." C. dropped the gun.

Jim had C. move backward away from his gun. "Now, why did you come after me again?"

"Andy told me to. Said I had to kill you to set an example." Little C. told Jim.

"That gun looks like it came from the bottom of a canal." Jim put his gun in his waistband. Went over and scooped up the gun Little C. had dropped. "This gun has blood on it."

Little C. didn't dare tell Jim he used it to pistol whip Bobbi. "Yeah, I used it."

"You're an idiot." Jim smacked Little C. in the back of the head. "You are going to get you're stupid ass locked up doing that."

Jim tossed the revolver into the canal that was only ten feet away. "I did you a favor. Now you do me one, get the hell away from me and stay away. Next time I won't be so lenient."

C. ran off. He wasn't going to take Jim's warning seriously. He was humiliated. He still didn't get his revenge for the first time Jim got the better of him. Now, it was twice. Not only that Jim had thrown his gun into the canal.