Dockingboys

Chapter Seventeen

The four of them hunkered down in a motel near the West Docks for the night. Billy and Akuma had said they wanted no part of this and went to go live with their parents in the meantime, while Rusty and Toland went back to the West Docks for the same reason. Mack was up and pacing, while Xavier was tending to Pitts' wound. Declan was trying to make sense of everything. Pitts' assumption that Rake's killer was the same as Jaxon's made sense to Declan, but he just couldn't figure out who it could've been. He had know idea whatsoever of the criminal world or whatnot.

One thing that made sense to him was that Eli was definitely working for him or her because he told everyone to stay away from the shipyard the night Rake died, which meant he didn't want any witnesses. But the thing that was bothering him was how come the three criminals had been planning Jaxon's death one day, and then the next, he dies? They said they wanted to kill Jaxon at the so-called "meeting" of theirs, but Jaxon died the day after their planning, so it couldn't have been them. Or maybe they switched plans? It was all too much for Declan to think about, and he stopped to sleep. But then a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Why are there bullet holes on the side of the container?" he asked the three criminals.

"When I was extracting it from the train, someone started shooting at me. I didn't think anything of it until Pitts found out that Jaxon tipped us off to the police, and I guess it was someone Jaxon sent," Mack replied. "Mind you, they're dead now, right, Pitts?"

Pitts laughed at the memory. "Ha! We crashed into their truck so hard they went flyin'! I don't think they're dead, 'cause, well, all we did was crash into their truck. Maybe a few injuries, a broken arm, nothing more. But it was fun!"

"Ok, what about the shooter on the roof? Is he after you guys or after the container?"

Xavier shrugged. "Well, I'm pretty sure he's after the container, because he shot at us three, and he also killed Jaxon. Rake? I'm not so sure. Maybe he just wants revenge for something."

Declan nodded. "Alright, thanks for clearing that up."

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, why are you staying with us? You could go back to the West Docks," Xavier said. "I mean, this all started because of us, so why do you wanna be in the middle of it?"

"Because...well, I'm faithful to my word. Mack gave me instructions, and I plan on following them."

"Wow, you sure are noble," Pitts said in a mildly sarcastic tone. "Back in the olden days, when you were noble and you said 'I'll fight for my country', you usually end up dead."

Declan rolled his eyes. "Anyway, what do you guys plan on doing next? And why not just go to the West Docks and stay there?"

"I was thinking we could stay here for a few nights, just to be on the safe side. Our shooter obviously knows that place, and he knows you, since you're the brother of Irene Graham, and who doesn't know her? He'd obviously guess that we would go there and search the place. So I thought we could stay here. You never know if the guy who opened fire on us might decide to come after us," Xavier said.

Declan frowned. "Us? He's only going after you guys. I'm just a dockingboy. You're not saying he was aiming at me, are you?"

"Well, he wasn't aiming at me, that's for sure," Pitts said. "A skilled shooter like him wouldn't miss my head for my damn arm. Speaking of which, it still hurts. Goddamn snipers."

Mack shook his head. "How's that possible? He must've been aiming for you, Pitts. Why would he shoot Declan? He doesn't know that I gave him instructions, not that it would make any difference."