Four Brothers
May. 25th, 2009 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veiledndarknessTitle: Another Life 13/?
Author: veiledndarkness
Rating: R
Pairing: None
Summary: You can change your name, but you can't change who you are.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no harm intended, no profit made.
Four Brothers/Death Sentence Cross-over
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
XX
Billy slipped in and out of consciousness, his dreams a blur of pain, of dark and hurt, god, everything hurt. He moaned and turned over, new fire ripping up his back. Large, roughened hands moved him, lifted him. He cried out, spasms of pain racking his body.
He heard whispers above him, felt cool wetness on his forehead and the sting of a needle pushing into his arm. He whimpered, sinking back under, deep into necessary oblivion.
X
He ran, ran until his legs were screaming, until his chest ached and throbbed. Jack leaned against a lamppost, panting heavily. “Shit,” he whispered. He dug the map out of his pocket and unfolded it, squinting in the dim light.
Jack studied it closely, memorizing the area he’d already covered. “An’ Bobby said I didn’t need geography, Billy,” he laughed a little. “Guess he was wrong for once.”
He re-folded the map and stuffed it in his jeans pocket. The worst part was having no real sense of where Billy might be, if Bones had crossed the city limits. He sighed. Finding Billy wasn’t gonna be easy, he thought grimly.
Jack stared up the street, rubbing his forehead. A car rolled past him, slowing until it stopped a few feet away. Jack held still as the window slid down with a hum. He tilted his chin up and crossed his arms, defiant and insolent. He was the very picture of a Mercer boy.
“You lost, little boy?” a thickly accented voice asked him from within the car.
“No sir, just goin’ home,” Jack drawled.
Amused eyes appeared out of the darkness. “You live in the factories, huh?”
"No." Jack shifted on the balls of his feet, ready to run if he had to.
"You know what happens to little boys who stay out too late at night, no?"
Jack sneered at him. "Perverts like you get them?"
The man chuckled. "Lippy, I like it. C'mere an' I'll give you something."
"No."
The man leaned further out, his pock marked skin gleaming a horrid white in the moonlight. "Least let me give you a ride. It's awful late out."
"Man, if you think I'm stupid enough to get in your car..." Jack shook his head.
"Suit ya self but it's a long time till morning yet, you're gonna be real cold walkin' about."
"I'll survive," Jack uncrossed his arms and walked up the street, the man shouting after him.
"You lookin' for someone?"
Jack shrugged and kept going. "Maybe, maybe not, not really your business, is it?"
"'Nother chicken hawk like you, maybe that who you lookin' for?" the car followed along side Jack, the man's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Fuck you!" Jack spat at him, "Knew you were a perv. I can smell assholes like you from miles away."
The man let out a dirty chuckle. "Ahh, but I know where chicken hawks and baby twinks like to hide late at night. You can find them hidin' in the factories, ain't that right?"
Jack's heart skipped a beat. He looked up ahead, spotting darkened building after building that littered the surrounding area. "Yeah..."
"Sure you won't change ya mind an' come for a ride?" the man coaxed. "You got a real pretty mouth, them long legs, you could make a cool mint with someone like me."
Jack flipped him off and started running, new hope surging. Factories, abandoned ones could be used as warehouses, he laughed silently. That was something Billy had casually mentioned once. Bones used old warehouses to manufacture his drugs.
Jack ran faster, a smile lighting up his face.
X
"Billy, c'mon, wake up," Eddie patted Billy's pale cheeks with the back of his hand. "C'mon kid, wake up," he hissed, shaking the unresponsive boy. "Damn it..."
Eddie scooped him up, cradling him to his large chest. Billy's head lolled to the side, his chest hitching with weak breaths. He let out a whimper, his eyes half open.
"Bones, damn it, he's gonna OD!" Eddie shouted over his shoulder. "No more morphine!"
"The fuck do you think y' are t' tell me his dose, huh?" Bones glared at him.
Eddie paced a few lengths, carrying Billy with him. "He needs a fuckin' doc or somethin'. Beatin's fucked him up wit' the dose."
Bones waved one hand. He sat in front of a briefcase, wrapping up cases of bullets. "He's fine. Never been a problem 'fore all this. Stop babyin' 'im."
"He's gonna fuckin' OD!" Eddie snapped, "All this for nothin' if the kid dies, Bones."
"He had it comin'. He dies, then he wasn't cut out for this life. I ain't even sure I wanna retrain 'im. He cries too damn much. Gotta break that shit outta 'im now 'fore he ends up some fuckin' pansy, bendin' an' takin' it offa some rival."
Eddie spat on the floor, disgusted. Billy shifted in his arms. He cried out, his voice ragged and uneven. "E-Eddie," Billy opened his eyes sluggishly. "Do it...I can't...jus' end this."
"Shut up!" Eddie whispered. He looked back to Bones and then paced another length. "I can't an' I won't. Don't ya fuckin' ask me that, damn it, Billy!"
Billy closed his eyes, silent, miserable tears rolling down his cheeks. He turned, pressing his face to Eddie's jacket. "Hurts...Eddie...need a dose."
"Not yet," he grunted, "Too soon since the last."
"Please," Billy gripped his jacket with bloodstained hands. "Half one, somethin'?" he pleaded.
Eddie crouched down and cupped Billy's cheek with his long fingers. "Can't, you gonna OD if I do."
Billy moaned and turned away. "I hate you, y' the same as him. Y' don't care, I know y' don't." He pushed at Eddie, gasping as he dropped to the cold cement floor. He curled up in a ball and tucked his head down, shaking.
"Billy..." Eddie chanced another look over to Bones, who was ignoring them. "Billy, don't be like that." He slipped his jacket off and draped it around the boy, hating the guilt Billy gave him. "Sleep now. We're goin' ahead in the mornin'."
"Eddie!" Bones growled. "Never mind him, we got shit to bag n' sell."
Billy shivered again. He burrowed into the heavy coat, grateful for the meager warmth it gave him.
X
The building looked like all the others, dark and eerie. Jack breathed out, nervous as all hell. The fences around the rows of factories were bent in many places, some with holes, some completely trampled down. He jogged along the sidewalk to the first building, tugging the hood of Bobby's old sweatshirt up to protect his ears from the snappy cold air.
He peered inside one of the cracked glass windows, his breath fogging up the pane. He wiped at it with his sleeve impatiently. Nothing looked new inside, he was sure of that. No footprints in the dust or signs of cleaning. He moved on to the next building hurriedly.
Jack made his way through the grounds, his chest aching worse than before. He leaned against a metal pole, catching his breath. One building stood off to the side, not too far from the road. Jack stared at it, crossing his arms as he did so.
His ear twitched, the sound of a rumbling car engine catching his attention. Jack ducked back behind the large pole, gripping the metal for support. A wide car ambled past him, its engine a dull roar as it passed.
Jack gasped. The giant! He was in the car with that other man...Bones. Jack crouched down, hugging his knees. "Please don't let them see me, please don't let them see me," he whispered, desperately afraid. "Oh god..."
The car continued on, the two inside bickering loudly. Jack poked his head up after the car reached the far gates and disappeared around the bend. He moved fast, running blindly to the building. He tugged on the front door, groaning when the door refused to open.
"Motherfuck!" he swore, kicking at it.
Jack hobbled around the corner of the building, testing each door he came across. The doors were strong, heavy metal and seemingly melded shut. He swore under his breath, colorful words that would have made Bobby proud to hear.
He stared up at the building, and in a fit of rage, grabbed the first chunk of concrete from the ground. He hefted it up and whipped it at the glass window as hard as he could.
"Bastards!" he shouted, whipping another one. "Goddamn cowards!"
The glass shattered, falling to the frozen ground. Jack reached for another chunk when he heard the sound, that familiar sound, breathy and frightened, the one he could hear through the walls late at night if he listened hard enough...
"Billy," he whispered. "Billy!" He smashed the glass window closest to him, knocking the pieces from the frame. Jack covered his hands with the fabric of the sweater and hefted himself up, tumbling through the empty window pane.
"Ow..." Jack landed in a heap, his long legs cut up from the remaining shards on the frame. He looked to his jeans and sighed. "Ma's gonna kill me for that..."
A quiet sniffle echoed in the mostly empty warehouse. Jack got to his feet, panting. "Billy!" he called. "Where are you?"
"If I'm dreamin', then for once it's good," Billy mumbled, the words drifting on the cool wind.
Jack turned, looking to the back of the warehouse. There, on the floor and off to one side was a crumpled spot of darkness on the dusty floor. Jack's heart beat pounded in his ears. "Billy..." he breathed. He crossed the floor in a blur and dropped to his knees beside him. "Billy, are you ok?" he lifted the jacket off and stifled a sob. "Oh Jesus..."
Billy lifted his head a little, staring up at Jack with dazed eyes. "Am I dreamin' still...Gotta be dreamin'...s' the meds that fuck ya up..." he raised one blood splattered hand and rubbed at his eyes.
"N-No, I'm here...I came to get you, bring you back home," Jack explained. He nearly gagged when Billy tried to sit up, his back a horrid mix of blood and bruises, his shirt hanging in strips from his shoulders.
"Home..." Billy sighed, "Can't go home no more. Ain't m' home no more. I ain't no Mercer. Just another fuckin' punk Darley," he leaned against Jack, clinging to him.
"You, you shut up," Jack willed his voice to stay calm. "You're comin' home with me, Ma's scared half to death an' I know Bobby's probably out lookin' for us both." He lifted Billy as much as he could, the older boy outweighing him by a good twenty pounds. "Can you walk?"
Billy stood up and shuffled a little, groaning as he did so. "Fuck it hurts," he wheezed. He stumbled over to a backpack on the floor and dug through it, cursing when there were no drugs to be found. He grabbed at the jacket on the floor and yanked out the bottle from the inner pocket. He unscrewed the lid, wincing. With a shudder, he downed a big gulp of the amber liquid inside.
Jack watched, appalled and intrigued. "What was that?" he whispered.
"Whisky," Billy muttered. He wiped his mouth with his hand, "Numbs ya. C'mon, I need y' shoulder."
He nodded and hurried over. "Here," he said, tugging the sweatshirt off. "Put this on, it's freezin' out there."
Billy shivered and yanked the well worn fabric on. He sniffed it, tears in his eyes. "Smells like Bobby," he mumbled.
Jack smiled a little. "Yeah, I know. It used to be his. I took it cause it makes me feel better when I got it on. You wear it."
"Jackie...Y’re gonna freeze without it."
Jack shook his head. "I'm fine; I still got my own sweater on. You...your shirt's all torn up."
Billy tugged the sweater further down his chest, the soft fabric warming him. He let out a small sound and leaned on Jack, putting his arm around his shoulders, letting him guide the pair of them over to the front door.
"How long will Bones and the giant be gone?" Jack asked, tugging the heavy door open.
"The giant...Oh! Y' mean Eddie?" Billy chuffed out a winded laugh. "Giant...yeah I guess he sure looks like one. I figure they'll be gone a few hours. Gives us a head start t' find a payphone or somethin'."
Jack nodded. He struggled to hold Billy upright, but Billy was deadweight on him. “S’ ok, we’re not that far from the roads, we can hitch. You ever hitch before?” he rambled.
Billy slumped against him more. “Yeah…Got t’ Detroit by hitchin’,” he stumbled over the next step, nearly falling. He looked up at the inky black sky, the tiny white stars so far away. “Jackie…why’d y’ come for me?”
“Cause you’re my brother,” Jack hefted him up again. “Can’t let them take you like that.”
Billy sucked in a shaky breath. “Brothers…”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “We’re brothers,” he said, his voice sure and firm. “Mercer boys never back down, an’ we got each other’s backs, no matter what.”
“But…”
Jack stopped long enough to look up at Billy. “But nothin’,” he said, hugging him gingerly.
“Bones….he’ll come for me again.”
Jack smiled. “Bobby’s gonna find him, don’t you worry. C’mon, let’s get home, huh?”
XX
Author: veiledndarkness
Rating: R
Pairing: None
Summary: You can change your name, but you can't change who you are.
Disclaimer: Not mine, no harm intended, no profit made.
Four Brothers/Death Sentence Cross-over
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
XX
Billy slipped in and out of consciousness, his dreams a blur of pain, of dark and hurt, god, everything hurt. He moaned and turned over, new fire ripping up his back. Large, roughened hands moved him, lifted him. He cried out, spasms of pain racking his body.
He heard whispers above him, felt cool wetness on his forehead and the sting of a needle pushing into his arm. He whimpered, sinking back under, deep into necessary oblivion.
X
He ran, ran until his legs were screaming, until his chest ached and throbbed. Jack leaned against a lamppost, panting heavily. “Shit,” he whispered. He dug the map out of his pocket and unfolded it, squinting in the dim light.
Jack studied it closely, memorizing the area he’d already covered. “An’ Bobby said I didn’t need geography, Billy,” he laughed a little. “Guess he was wrong for once.”
He re-folded the map and stuffed it in his jeans pocket. The worst part was having no real sense of where Billy might be, if Bones had crossed the city limits. He sighed. Finding Billy wasn’t gonna be easy, he thought grimly.
Jack stared up the street, rubbing his forehead. A car rolled past him, slowing until it stopped a few feet away. Jack held still as the window slid down with a hum. He tilted his chin up and crossed his arms, defiant and insolent. He was the very picture of a Mercer boy.
“You lost, little boy?” a thickly accented voice asked him from within the car.
“No sir, just goin’ home,” Jack drawled.
Amused eyes appeared out of the darkness. “You live in the factories, huh?”
"No." Jack shifted on the balls of his feet, ready to run if he had to.
"You know what happens to little boys who stay out too late at night, no?"
Jack sneered at him. "Perverts like you get them?"
The man chuckled. "Lippy, I like it. C'mere an' I'll give you something."
"No."
The man leaned further out, his pock marked skin gleaming a horrid white in the moonlight. "Least let me give you a ride. It's awful late out."
"Man, if you think I'm stupid enough to get in your car..." Jack shook his head.
"Suit ya self but it's a long time till morning yet, you're gonna be real cold walkin' about."
"I'll survive," Jack uncrossed his arms and walked up the street, the man shouting after him.
"You lookin' for someone?"
Jack shrugged and kept going. "Maybe, maybe not, not really your business, is it?"
"'Nother chicken hawk like you, maybe that who you lookin' for?" the car followed along side Jack, the man's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"Fuck you!" Jack spat at him, "Knew you were a perv. I can smell assholes like you from miles away."
The man let out a dirty chuckle. "Ahh, but I know where chicken hawks and baby twinks like to hide late at night. You can find them hidin' in the factories, ain't that right?"
Jack's heart skipped a beat. He looked up ahead, spotting darkened building after building that littered the surrounding area. "Yeah..."
"Sure you won't change ya mind an' come for a ride?" the man coaxed. "You got a real pretty mouth, them long legs, you could make a cool mint with someone like me."
Jack flipped him off and started running, new hope surging. Factories, abandoned ones could be used as warehouses, he laughed silently. That was something Billy had casually mentioned once. Bones used old warehouses to manufacture his drugs.
Jack ran faster, a smile lighting up his face.
X
"Billy, c'mon, wake up," Eddie patted Billy's pale cheeks with the back of his hand. "C'mon kid, wake up," he hissed, shaking the unresponsive boy. "Damn it..."
Eddie scooped him up, cradling him to his large chest. Billy's head lolled to the side, his chest hitching with weak breaths. He let out a whimper, his eyes half open.
"Bones, damn it, he's gonna OD!" Eddie shouted over his shoulder. "No more morphine!"
"The fuck do you think y' are t' tell me his dose, huh?" Bones glared at him.
Eddie paced a few lengths, carrying Billy with him. "He needs a fuckin' doc or somethin'. Beatin's fucked him up wit' the dose."
Bones waved one hand. He sat in front of a briefcase, wrapping up cases of bullets. "He's fine. Never been a problem 'fore all this. Stop babyin' 'im."
"He's gonna fuckin' OD!" Eddie snapped, "All this for nothin' if the kid dies, Bones."
"He had it comin'. He dies, then he wasn't cut out for this life. I ain't even sure I wanna retrain 'im. He cries too damn much. Gotta break that shit outta 'im now 'fore he ends up some fuckin' pansy, bendin' an' takin' it offa some rival."
Eddie spat on the floor, disgusted. Billy shifted in his arms. He cried out, his voice ragged and uneven. "E-Eddie," Billy opened his eyes sluggishly. "Do it...I can't...jus' end this."
"Shut up!" Eddie whispered. He looked back to Bones and then paced another length. "I can't an' I won't. Don't ya fuckin' ask me that, damn it, Billy!"
Billy closed his eyes, silent, miserable tears rolling down his cheeks. He turned, pressing his face to Eddie's jacket. "Hurts...Eddie...need a dose."
"Not yet," he grunted, "Too soon since the last."
"Please," Billy gripped his jacket with bloodstained hands. "Half one, somethin'?" he pleaded.
Eddie crouched down and cupped Billy's cheek with his long fingers. "Can't, you gonna OD if I do."
Billy moaned and turned away. "I hate you, y' the same as him. Y' don't care, I know y' don't." He pushed at Eddie, gasping as he dropped to the cold cement floor. He curled up in a ball and tucked his head down, shaking.
"Billy..." Eddie chanced another look over to Bones, who was ignoring them. "Billy, don't be like that." He slipped his jacket off and draped it around the boy, hating the guilt Billy gave him. "Sleep now. We're goin' ahead in the mornin'."
"Eddie!" Bones growled. "Never mind him, we got shit to bag n' sell."
Billy shivered again. He burrowed into the heavy coat, grateful for the meager warmth it gave him.
X
The building looked like all the others, dark and eerie. Jack breathed out, nervous as all hell. The fences around the rows of factories were bent in many places, some with holes, some completely trampled down. He jogged along the sidewalk to the first building, tugging the hood of Bobby's old sweatshirt up to protect his ears from the snappy cold air.
He peered inside one of the cracked glass windows, his breath fogging up the pane. He wiped at it with his sleeve impatiently. Nothing looked new inside, he was sure of that. No footprints in the dust or signs of cleaning. He moved on to the next building hurriedly.
Jack made his way through the grounds, his chest aching worse than before. He leaned against a metal pole, catching his breath. One building stood off to the side, not too far from the road. Jack stared at it, crossing his arms as he did so.
His ear twitched, the sound of a rumbling car engine catching his attention. Jack ducked back behind the large pole, gripping the metal for support. A wide car ambled past him, its engine a dull roar as it passed.
Jack gasped. The giant! He was in the car with that other man...Bones. Jack crouched down, hugging his knees. "Please don't let them see me, please don't let them see me," he whispered, desperately afraid. "Oh god..."
The car continued on, the two inside bickering loudly. Jack poked his head up after the car reached the far gates and disappeared around the bend. He moved fast, running blindly to the building. He tugged on the front door, groaning when the door refused to open.
"Motherfuck!" he swore, kicking at it.
Jack hobbled around the corner of the building, testing each door he came across. The doors were strong, heavy metal and seemingly melded shut. He swore under his breath, colorful words that would have made Bobby proud to hear.
He stared up at the building, and in a fit of rage, grabbed the first chunk of concrete from the ground. He hefted it up and whipped it at the glass window as hard as he could.
"Bastards!" he shouted, whipping another one. "Goddamn cowards!"
The glass shattered, falling to the frozen ground. Jack reached for another chunk when he heard the sound, that familiar sound, breathy and frightened, the one he could hear through the walls late at night if he listened hard enough...
"Billy," he whispered. "Billy!" He smashed the glass window closest to him, knocking the pieces from the frame. Jack covered his hands with the fabric of the sweater and hefted himself up, tumbling through the empty window pane.
"Ow..." Jack landed in a heap, his long legs cut up from the remaining shards on the frame. He looked to his jeans and sighed. "Ma's gonna kill me for that..."
A quiet sniffle echoed in the mostly empty warehouse. Jack got to his feet, panting. "Billy!" he called. "Where are you?"
"If I'm dreamin', then for once it's good," Billy mumbled, the words drifting on the cool wind.
Jack turned, looking to the back of the warehouse. There, on the floor and off to one side was a crumpled spot of darkness on the dusty floor. Jack's heart beat pounded in his ears. "Billy..." he breathed. He crossed the floor in a blur and dropped to his knees beside him. "Billy, are you ok?" he lifted the jacket off and stifled a sob. "Oh Jesus..."
Billy lifted his head a little, staring up at Jack with dazed eyes. "Am I dreamin' still...Gotta be dreamin'...s' the meds that fuck ya up..." he raised one blood splattered hand and rubbed at his eyes.
"N-No, I'm here...I came to get you, bring you back home," Jack explained. He nearly gagged when Billy tried to sit up, his back a horrid mix of blood and bruises, his shirt hanging in strips from his shoulders.
"Home..." Billy sighed, "Can't go home no more. Ain't m' home no more. I ain't no Mercer. Just another fuckin' punk Darley," he leaned against Jack, clinging to him.
"You, you shut up," Jack willed his voice to stay calm. "You're comin' home with me, Ma's scared half to death an' I know Bobby's probably out lookin' for us both." He lifted Billy as much as he could, the older boy outweighing him by a good twenty pounds. "Can you walk?"
Billy stood up and shuffled a little, groaning as he did so. "Fuck it hurts," he wheezed. He stumbled over to a backpack on the floor and dug through it, cursing when there were no drugs to be found. He grabbed at the jacket on the floor and yanked out the bottle from the inner pocket. He unscrewed the lid, wincing. With a shudder, he downed a big gulp of the amber liquid inside.
Jack watched, appalled and intrigued. "What was that?" he whispered.
"Whisky," Billy muttered. He wiped his mouth with his hand, "Numbs ya. C'mon, I need y' shoulder."
He nodded and hurried over. "Here," he said, tugging the sweatshirt off. "Put this on, it's freezin' out there."
Billy shivered and yanked the well worn fabric on. He sniffed it, tears in his eyes. "Smells like Bobby," he mumbled.
Jack smiled a little. "Yeah, I know. It used to be his. I took it cause it makes me feel better when I got it on. You wear it."
"Jackie...Y’re gonna freeze without it."
Jack shook his head. "I'm fine; I still got my own sweater on. You...your shirt's all torn up."
Billy tugged the sweater further down his chest, the soft fabric warming him. He let out a small sound and leaned on Jack, putting his arm around his shoulders, letting him guide the pair of them over to the front door.
"How long will Bones and the giant be gone?" Jack asked, tugging the heavy door open.
"The giant...Oh! Y' mean Eddie?" Billy chuffed out a winded laugh. "Giant...yeah I guess he sure looks like one. I figure they'll be gone a few hours. Gives us a head start t' find a payphone or somethin'."
Jack nodded. He struggled to hold Billy upright, but Billy was deadweight on him. “S’ ok, we’re not that far from the roads, we can hitch. You ever hitch before?” he rambled.
Billy slumped against him more. “Yeah…Got t’ Detroit by hitchin’,” he stumbled over the next step, nearly falling. He looked up at the inky black sky, the tiny white stars so far away. “Jackie…why’d y’ come for me?”
“Cause you’re my brother,” Jack hefted him up again. “Can’t let them take you like that.”
Billy sucked in a shaky breath. “Brothers…”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “We’re brothers,” he said, his voice sure and firm. “Mercer boys never back down, an’ we got each other’s backs, no matter what.”
“But…”
Jack stopped long enough to look up at Billy. “But nothin’,” he said, hugging him gingerly.
“Bones….he’ll come for me again.”
Jack smiled. “Bobby’s gonna find him, don’t you worry. C’mon, let’s get home, huh?”
XX
