Four Brothers
Apr. 13th, 2009 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veiledndarknessTitle: Another Life 11/?
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
XX
"And then he goes an' gives me one of his cookies," Jack dried the dish in his hands thoroughly with the towel and placed it on the counter. He took the wet plate offered and began drying it as well. "I mean what the hell, right? Who does that?"
Angel shrugged. "Who knows with that kid?" He scrubbed at a blob of stuck on ketchup. "My guess is he knows violence, yeah? So he knows you can hurt 'im, guess maybe he respects you more or somethin'. Don't over think it."
Jack fidgeted with the towel. "Maybe...It's, well weird. He's weird."
"Yeah," Angel laughed a bit. "He's just as fucked up as us, Jackie-poo. If he gets rough with you, you get rough back with him."
"I don't like fighting though," Jack took the next wet plate and sighed. "I hurt him, he oughta be pissed off. I'm pissed off at myself."
"Chill a little," Angel rinsed the finally clean plate. "You gotta relax. There ain't nothin' wrong with fightin', s' long as you don't hurt someone smaller than you without a damn good reason."
Jack glanced at him. "What about...Hey, wait a second, you fight with Bobby all the time an' he's shorter than you."
Angel snickered and nodded. "Yeah, but he can hold his own. Short don't mean pussy automatically. You're gonna be taller than him soon. You're already hittin' his chin with that mop of hair."
"You think?" Jack grinned.
"Oh yeah, you've gone an' sprung up 'bout two inches since the spring. Pretty good for an almost twelve year old."
Jack stood up straight, checking to see how much further he had to go before he reached Angel's height. Angel laughed. He ruffled Jack's hair and tossed the washcloth to him.
"Finish for me? I gotta hit the courts soon."
"As always, CinderJack to the cleanup,” Jack grumbled under his breath.
"S' why we love you," Angel said, hugging him briskly. "An' you clean up so good."
"Oh shut up. Go flirt with your ghetto skanks," he dodged the hug.
Angel stared at him. "That's it, man. Bobby needs to stop tellin' you those words. Sounds wrong comin' outta you, white boy."
"Angel! Mom said you're not s'posed to call me that!"
"Could be worse, I could be callin' you Cracker Jack,” he chuckled as he walked away.
"I hate that one too!" Jack rolled his sleeves up, annoyed that once again he'd be the one to finish doing the dishes.
XX
"This the area?" Bones squinted through the car window, his arm draped along the steering wheel. He turned the corner to the next street.
"Yeah," Eddie muttered. He flicked his cigarette out the passenger side window and exhaled, letting the smoke trail around him. "Joe said he saw 'im a week ago with some old broad."
Bones slowed the car to a near crawl. He watched the kids down the street, a group of them playing street hockey. They paused long enough to see the approaching car and scattered off to the sides to let them through. He drove past them, his upper lip curled back.
"Kids, fuckin' kids everywhere. Y' never see kids playin' in our area."
Eddie nodded. "These kids ain't like them; it’s a different kinda life."
Bones drove down another side street, his eyes narrowed. "The fuck do you think Billy wants with all this shit?"
"Beats me, Boss," Eddie dug in his coat pocket, producing a pack of cigarettes. He slipped one out and lit it, inhaling deeply. "Somethin’ different, he ain't like you or me."
"He'll be better, damn it," Bones hissed. He stopped abruptly, watching a car come from the opposite direction. "He has to be."
The two of them watched as the car came closer, a beat up brown car that had seen better days. The man in the driver’s seat glanced over at them, a wariness in his eyes that caught Eddie off guard.
"Ain't he a tough one," Bones murmured.
Eddie took a long drag off the cigarette. "That face, I know him...That's Bobby Mercer, Bones."
"The fuck it is?" Bones squinted harder at the car, "Can't tell from here."
"Nah, it's him a' right. Bobby Mercer...Fuck, I remember watchin' him play. Mean right hook, cost him his career with the leagues."
Bones sat upright, one meaty hand on either side of the wheel. "Well, would ya look at what we got here," he nodded to the car. "Mercer's got himself a passenger."
Eddie watched with muted shock as the car passed them, Billy sitting in the front seat with Bobby, a wide, pleased grin on Billy's face as he gestured about something unheard to them.
“That lil’ bastard,” Bones gripped the steering wheel, furious. “I’ll fuckin’ kill him, I swear, if that kid is doin’ what I think he’s doin’ to be in that car…”
The car continued on, the two men staring after it. “Follow ‘im, Bones. Least we can see where he’s goin’.” Eddie stubbed his cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray.
Bones backed the car up and turned, following after Bobby Mercer’s car at a leisurely pace. Neither Eddie nor Bones spoke as he drove. He stayed a cautious three car lengths behind Bobby.
Bobby lead them through the town, down side streets that curved, more kids playing alongside run down homes. Eddie nodded to Bones when the car stopped ahead of them.
Billy exited the car a moment later, a backpack slung on one shoulder, the tips of his ears red. He grinned at Bobby, shaking his head. Bobby stubbed a cigarette out in the snow and bumped shoulders with Billy, his exhaled smoke trailing in the cold wind. Billy leaned against him, hero worship clear on his young face. He nodded to whatever Bobby told him and scampered up the frozen stairs to the house before them.
“You seein’ this?” Bones blinked, his eyes magnified by the thick lenses. “The fuck happened t’ my kid?”
“I say we get outta here an’ stake the place out t’ morrow,” Eddie rubbed his thumb along his chin, nodding.
XX
Billy poked the potatoes with one hand, a washcloth in the other hand. “This one’s got white shit on it.” He held out the offending potato.
“It’s not shit,” Jack snickered. “They’re called eyes. Just dig ‘em out with your fingers.”
“Eyes?” Billy wrinkled his nose. “Eyes? Those don’t look like no eyes.”
“They don’t mean eyeballs, Billy, and boys, please, watch your language,” Evelyn spun the taps on the sink. “They’re harmless. Like Jack said, scrape them out.”
Billy did so, flicking the white bits at Jack. “Heh, here, have some eyeballs…”
“Ew,” Jack flicked the bit back at him, chuckling. “I don’t want any of your eyes.”
“My eyes are amazin’, I’ll have ya know,” Billy sniffed playfully.
“You both have beautiful eyes, but you’re gonna have sore ears if you don’t hop to it with those potatoes,” Evelyn chided them. “Finish wiping them, boys.”
“Yes’m,” Billy murmured. He winked at Jack and scrubbed harder, removing the dirt and particles.
The front door banged open and cursing could be heard. Jack perked up. “Bobby’s home!” he said, jumping up. He dropped his cloth and ran for the front door.
Evelyn dried her hands. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to go. You could help him unload the groceries.”
Billy shrugged. “I dunno. Jack…he needs time wit’ him. Bobby told me that Jack gets sad if he doesn’t get any time like that. I don’t wanna hurt Jack, so…so can I help you, M…E-Evelyn…?”
She smiled and leaned over, kissing him on the forehead. “Of course,” she said. “You can use a peeler, not a knife though. I don’t want you cutting yourself.”
“Aww, Evelyn, I ain’t gonna hurt m’ self on no blades,” he took the offered peeler, basking in the affection from her.
"I know," she sat down across from him, a paring knife at her side. "But still. Sharp knives and children don't mix well."
He rolled his eyes and pulled the peeler down over the skin. "Evelyn? I...can I ask ya somethin'?"
"Of course," she nodded, deftly removing the skins from her own pile of potatoes.
Billy licked his lips, hesitating. "Do ya...do ya think my dad misses me?"
Evelyn set her knife back down. "I think...yes, I think he does miss you. I'm sure he does,” she lied carefully.
"Is it bad that I kinda don't want him to miss me? I don't wanna hafta go back," he mumbled, keeping his gaze on the potato in his hand.
"Billy, hey, look at me," she placed her hands on the table, palms up.
He looked up at her miserably. She smiled, calm and loving. "You see these hands? They'll never hurt you. You're safe with me. And I'd be very happy if you decided to stay with us."
"I...I know you won't hurt me," he whispered. "I ain't scared t' sleep alone no more. An' I feel like, like I'm allowed t' be here. Like I belong..."
"You belong. Don't ever think, for even a second that you don't belong," her face was alight, strength and love and courage alive in her eyes.
Billy smiled. When she spoke like that, he couldn't help but lean in and listen, enveloped in her reassuring hugs and loving words. "Yes'm," he grinned, winking a bit at her.
"None of that," she tsked, smiling, and picked up her paring knife again.
XX
Eddie ran his thumb along his lighter, watching the lights dim in the house, one by one. A faint bluish glow from the living room window stopped them from moving closer. The television flickered, images reflected through the glass. He flicked the lighter open, watching the flame dance before snapping it shut.
"We go now, we risk catchin' Bobby awake. We go later, less noise, easier out," he snapped the lighter open and shut it, the sound obscenely loud in the silent car.
Bones grunted. "We wait too long an' some law abidin' citizen finds us here, then we got explainin' to do an' tracks t' cover. We'll grab him now, enough waitin'."
"Yessir," Eddie slipped the lighter into his pocket. He palmed his gun, the safety still on. "What about the rest o' the family?”
Bones shrugged. "Kill 'em if they get in the way."
"Yeah..." Eddie gazed at the house, frowning. He pushed the passenger side door open and left the car, his boots crunching on the snow covered sidewalk.
Bones followed behind him, a gun tucked in his palm for safekeeping. Eddie tugged the screen door open and stepped inside the glassed in front porch. He sniffed, looking warily to the living room window. The blue glow was steady.
Eddie eyed the lock. He took a small box out of his coat pocket and opened it, a set of dull metal tools inside. He took two out, picking the lock to the house. He tucked the kit back inside his coat and pushed the door open slowly.
They crept inside the house, moving past the walls of photos and into the living room. Eddie paused in the doorway, staring at the figure on the couch.
"Bones," he whispered. "C'mere."
"Fuck...he looked taller in the games," Bones glanced at Bobby's sleeping figure before walking past him. "C'mon, kid's probably upstairs."
Eddie looked back at Bobby. The things he'd heard about Bobby Mercer...none were anything good. He was well known in various cities for the things he'd done over the years. Eddie gripped the gun tighter. Bobby would be the challenge.
Bones crept up the stairs, each one squeaking under his weight. He panted quietly; sweat beginning to gather along his hairline. He opened the first door to his left, an empty bathroom greeting him. He grunted and closed the door, moving on.
"Eddie! Get ya ass movin' huh?" he whispered. "Hurry the fuck up!"
"Comin'," Eddie murmured, walking up the stairs. He stood at the top of them, listening. "One of these'll be him."
Bones pushed another door open. A woman lay on the bed, deeply asleep. Eddie gestured to her. "Pop her?"
"Nah, not less she starts screamin'." Bones moved on, opening the next door. He smiled then, a chilling smile.
Billy was curled up on the bed, drowsing half asleep in his nest of blankets and sheets. He yawned, his nose wrinkling a little. As if by some instinct, he opened his eyes and stared at Bones, his mouth falling open.
"I..."
"Shut ya mouth," Bones snapped. "You jus' shut the fuck up right now, you lil' sack of shit. D'ya know what I've had t' do to find you? Or how many cops, fuckin' child care workers I got trackin' me down? Oh Billy boy, you fucked up large this time."
Billy froze, his blue eyes wide, petrified. "I-I...don't..."
"Get over here!"
Billy flinched. "N-No."
An ugly look crossed Bones' face. "What'd you jus' say t' me?"
"I...no, I'm here now. An'...an' she said I can stay. I don't wanna be a Darley no more!" Billy gripped his blanket, trembling despite his bravado.
"You get the fuck over here now, or I'll kill each of them, right in front of ya, you understand me?"
Billy swallowed hard, his throat aching. "No! No, fuck, please don't." He dropped the blanket and scrambled off the bed, his shoulders hunched. "Please, please don't hurt 'em, it ain't their fault, don't kill them," he begged.
Bones reached out and yanked Billy over to his side, one hand fisted in his hair. "If you ever, ever run from me again, I'll kill you. An' I'll make sure it takes fucking days for you t' die, ya understand? That clear?"
Billy nodded, tears in his eyes. Bones tugged harder on the strands of hair, unloading a vicious slap to his cheek. Billy cried out, his legs shaking. Bones shook him back and forth, slapping each cheek.
"Oh, we're jus' gettin' started, Billy. You got lots o' punishment comin'. I'm gonna carve my fuckin' name in your skin! You don't wanna be a Darley no more, huh? That's just too fuckin' bad!" With that, he threw Billy to the floor.
Billy curled up on the floor, shaking. He tucked his head to his chest and covered his ears with his hands, praying feverishly. "Bobby," he whispered, tears leaking then. "Oh god...don't let 'im take me."
Through the noise, through the sounds of a shrill scream and a horrid thud, the smoke from the guns and Billy's frantic prayers, he knew only the feel of long arms grabbing him and dragging him from the room, the familiar scent of Eddie as he was ripped from the safety of the Mercer house.
XX
Jack awoke to the sound of Evelyn's frightened cries. He shifted onto his side, his heart pounding painfully against his rib cage. Another shout echoed and he heard a voice, a horrible voice, one like Billy's but so much colder and deeper. "Billy..." he whispered.
He tugged his sheets off, untangling them from around his legs. There were more bangs, slams and another cry from Evelyn. Jack crouched next to his bed, trembling all over. He badly wanted to crawl under his bed and hide.
"Bobby...Bobby'll know what to do..." he mumbled under his breath.
Jack scurried over to the door and opened it a crack. In the darkened hallway, he could see a man, a man so tall his head seemed to brush the ceiling. Jack swallowed dryly. The man looked like a giant. He had Billy in his arms, slung over his shoulder like a limp rag. Billy's eyes were shut, his face blotchy and red, tears zigzagging down his cheeks.
Jack cringed back from the doorway. He thought he saw Angel, he could hear Bobby's enraged shouts, and worst of all, he could smell gun powder. Jack bit back a sob and crawled out of the room. There was another loud bang, one that rocked the hallway. Jack clasped his hands to his ears, his cries drowned out by the spray of bullets that riddled the walls around him.
"Get back!" Angel shouted from the other end of the hall. "Get back now, Jackie!"
He looked up numbly, watching as the giant stomped forward, one huge hand shoving Angel down. Angel crashed through the door to the bathroom, glass and wood shards raining down on him.
"No!" Jack leapt up and ran after the giant. "You can't have him!" He tackled the man's legs, kicking and punching at him. "You can't! Let him go!"
The giant looked back at him, pity clear in his eyes. "G' on back kid," he hissed. "Go! 'Fore you get y' self shot up."
"Give him back!" Jack punched him as hard as he could in the back, his knuckles screaming in pain.
The man reached down and yanked Jack up by the scruff of his neck. Without a word, he dropped him into Evelyn's room, shoving him over to the side. "Now stay down for Christ's sake!"
Jack tumbled into Evelyn, who lay on the floor, blood seeping from her temple. "Mom!" he crouched down, crying openly then. "Ma, Ma, oh god, please, not you too...Mom!"
Evelyn's eyelids fluttered at the sound of his voice. "Jack...my Jackie," she reached her hand up and grasped his cold fingers in hers. "Go to the phone by my bedside...call 911, alright, sweetheart?" she whispered, her voice thin and uneven.
Jack nodded and scrambled over to the phone, flinching at the sound of another round of bullets. He dialed the numbers, his palms slick with sweat.
"Please...help us, God help us," he said when the operator came on the line.
XX
Bones shifted from one foot to another on the staircase, his gun a steady weight in his hand. "Look here, Mercer. I jus' came for my property, I don't want no fights, so back off an' ya whole family will live."
"Property?" Bobby spat at him. "He's not property. He's your son!"
"An' a pussy at that! God knows, I've tried t' raise a kid right, t' make him like us, but all I get is this lil' pussy!" Bones gestured to Eddie, who was at the top of the stairs still. "The fuck did y' do to 'im, Mercer? He's fuckin' brainwashed!"
Bobby bared his teeth. "Showed him how good it feels to have someone give a shit about you, an' not wantin' somethin' in return," he crossed the room to Bones, a hand slipping behind his back to grasp the gun he'd had with him as he slept. "You outta try it sometime."
"I don't need no advice from the likes of you," Bones held up his gun and flicked the safety off, making a show of it. "Back down, Mercer, last warnin'."
Bobby rested his hand on his gun tucked into his waistband. "You break into my fucking house, accost my mother, attack my family an' steal back a kid that'll die in your custody, an' you think I'm gonna back down? You on fuckin' crack or somethin'?"
"He's mine; I can do whatever I damn well want with him. Now back the fuck off!"
Bobby yanked his gun out and held it up, firing it twice over Bones' shoulder. "No. Not without Billy. You ain't takin' him."
Bones growled and pointed the gun back up the stairs. "I'll shoot the kid, I swear it."
Another shot rang out, Angel firing at Eddie unseen by them. Eddie let a round of bullets fly, spraying the hallway. There was a crash above them, the sound of Angel being tossed into the bathroom through the door.
"You're gonna lose, Mercer," Bones smiled, his face flushed. "That little piece o' meat cryin' upstairs? I'll take 'im too, if ya don't back down. I wonder...does he scream real good when you' beat 'im? I bet he does. I bet he bleeds like an angel. Billy bleeds real good. He's got lots o' uses if ya know how t' handle boys like him."
With a snarl, Bobby attacked Bones, firing hard and fast as he raced towards the stairs. Bones fired back, one of the bullets narrowly missing Bobby's left ear. Bobby slammed the butt of his gun into Bones' shoulder, growling as he did so.
In a haze, Bobby felt a sudden force, a hand pushing in the middle of his back. He fell backwards, both he and Bones hitting the ground with a thud. A fist to the side of his head sent him reeling back, and as he stared up at them, he saw Billy on the tall one's shoulder.
"Billy..." he rasped, struggling to stand.
The tall one, Eddie, pushed Bones back up and opened the door. Billy sobbed weakly, his eyes open then. He looked to Bobby as he was carried out. "Bobby..." he slumped back down, his eyes closing.
"Darley! I ain't...I ain't finished with you!" Bobby shouted, pushing himself up. "Billy..." Bobby stared in disbelief, his legs giving out on him, unable to believe that he'd lost Billy.
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
XX
"And then he goes an' gives me one of his cookies," Jack dried the dish in his hands thoroughly with the towel and placed it on the counter. He took the wet plate offered and began drying it as well. "I mean what the hell, right? Who does that?"
Angel shrugged. "Who knows with that kid?" He scrubbed at a blob of stuck on ketchup. "My guess is he knows violence, yeah? So he knows you can hurt 'im, guess maybe he respects you more or somethin'. Don't over think it."
Jack fidgeted with the towel. "Maybe...It's, well weird. He's weird."
"Yeah," Angel laughed a bit. "He's just as fucked up as us, Jackie-poo. If he gets rough with you, you get rough back with him."
"I don't like fighting though," Jack took the next wet plate and sighed. "I hurt him, he oughta be pissed off. I'm pissed off at myself."
"Chill a little," Angel rinsed the finally clean plate. "You gotta relax. There ain't nothin' wrong with fightin', s' long as you don't hurt someone smaller than you without a damn good reason."
Jack glanced at him. "What about...Hey, wait a second, you fight with Bobby all the time an' he's shorter than you."
Angel snickered and nodded. "Yeah, but he can hold his own. Short don't mean pussy automatically. You're gonna be taller than him soon. You're already hittin' his chin with that mop of hair."
"You think?" Jack grinned.
"Oh yeah, you've gone an' sprung up 'bout two inches since the spring. Pretty good for an almost twelve year old."
Jack stood up straight, checking to see how much further he had to go before he reached Angel's height. Angel laughed. He ruffled Jack's hair and tossed the washcloth to him.
"Finish for me? I gotta hit the courts soon."
"As always, CinderJack to the cleanup,” Jack grumbled under his breath.
"S' why we love you," Angel said, hugging him briskly. "An' you clean up so good."
"Oh shut up. Go flirt with your ghetto skanks," he dodged the hug.
Angel stared at him. "That's it, man. Bobby needs to stop tellin' you those words. Sounds wrong comin' outta you, white boy."
"Angel! Mom said you're not s'posed to call me that!"
"Could be worse, I could be callin' you Cracker Jack,” he chuckled as he walked away.
"I hate that one too!" Jack rolled his sleeves up, annoyed that once again he'd be the one to finish doing the dishes.
XX
"This the area?" Bones squinted through the car window, his arm draped along the steering wheel. He turned the corner to the next street.
"Yeah," Eddie muttered. He flicked his cigarette out the passenger side window and exhaled, letting the smoke trail around him. "Joe said he saw 'im a week ago with some old broad."
Bones slowed the car to a near crawl. He watched the kids down the street, a group of them playing street hockey. They paused long enough to see the approaching car and scattered off to the sides to let them through. He drove past them, his upper lip curled back.
"Kids, fuckin' kids everywhere. Y' never see kids playin' in our area."
Eddie nodded. "These kids ain't like them; it’s a different kinda life."
Bones drove down another side street, his eyes narrowed. "The fuck do you think Billy wants with all this shit?"
"Beats me, Boss," Eddie dug in his coat pocket, producing a pack of cigarettes. He slipped one out and lit it, inhaling deeply. "Somethin’ different, he ain't like you or me."
"He'll be better, damn it," Bones hissed. He stopped abruptly, watching a car come from the opposite direction. "He has to be."
The two of them watched as the car came closer, a beat up brown car that had seen better days. The man in the driver’s seat glanced over at them, a wariness in his eyes that caught Eddie off guard.
"Ain't he a tough one," Bones murmured.
Eddie took a long drag off the cigarette. "That face, I know him...That's Bobby Mercer, Bones."
"The fuck it is?" Bones squinted harder at the car, "Can't tell from here."
"Nah, it's him a' right. Bobby Mercer...Fuck, I remember watchin' him play. Mean right hook, cost him his career with the leagues."
Bones sat upright, one meaty hand on either side of the wheel. "Well, would ya look at what we got here," he nodded to the car. "Mercer's got himself a passenger."
Eddie watched with muted shock as the car passed them, Billy sitting in the front seat with Bobby, a wide, pleased grin on Billy's face as he gestured about something unheard to them.
“That lil’ bastard,” Bones gripped the steering wheel, furious. “I’ll fuckin’ kill him, I swear, if that kid is doin’ what I think he’s doin’ to be in that car…”
The car continued on, the two men staring after it. “Follow ‘im, Bones. Least we can see where he’s goin’.” Eddie stubbed his cigarette out in the overflowing ashtray.
Bones backed the car up and turned, following after Bobby Mercer’s car at a leisurely pace. Neither Eddie nor Bones spoke as he drove. He stayed a cautious three car lengths behind Bobby.
Bobby lead them through the town, down side streets that curved, more kids playing alongside run down homes. Eddie nodded to Bones when the car stopped ahead of them.
Billy exited the car a moment later, a backpack slung on one shoulder, the tips of his ears red. He grinned at Bobby, shaking his head. Bobby stubbed a cigarette out in the snow and bumped shoulders with Billy, his exhaled smoke trailing in the cold wind. Billy leaned against him, hero worship clear on his young face. He nodded to whatever Bobby told him and scampered up the frozen stairs to the house before them.
“You seein’ this?” Bones blinked, his eyes magnified by the thick lenses. “The fuck happened t’ my kid?”
“I say we get outta here an’ stake the place out t’ morrow,” Eddie rubbed his thumb along his chin, nodding.
XX
Billy poked the potatoes with one hand, a washcloth in the other hand. “This one’s got white shit on it.” He held out the offending potato.
“It’s not shit,” Jack snickered. “They’re called eyes. Just dig ‘em out with your fingers.”
“Eyes?” Billy wrinkled his nose. “Eyes? Those don’t look like no eyes.”
“They don’t mean eyeballs, Billy, and boys, please, watch your language,” Evelyn spun the taps on the sink. “They’re harmless. Like Jack said, scrape them out.”
Billy did so, flicking the white bits at Jack. “Heh, here, have some eyeballs…”
“Ew,” Jack flicked the bit back at him, chuckling. “I don’t want any of your eyes.”
“My eyes are amazin’, I’ll have ya know,” Billy sniffed playfully.
“You both have beautiful eyes, but you’re gonna have sore ears if you don’t hop to it with those potatoes,” Evelyn chided them. “Finish wiping them, boys.”
“Yes’m,” Billy murmured. He winked at Jack and scrubbed harder, removing the dirt and particles.
The front door banged open and cursing could be heard. Jack perked up. “Bobby’s home!” he said, jumping up. He dropped his cloth and ran for the front door.
Evelyn dried her hands. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to go. You could help him unload the groceries.”
Billy shrugged. “I dunno. Jack…he needs time wit’ him. Bobby told me that Jack gets sad if he doesn’t get any time like that. I don’t wanna hurt Jack, so…so can I help you, M…E-Evelyn…?”
She smiled and leaned over, kissing him on the forehead. “Of course,” she said. “You can use a peeler, not a knife though. I don’t want you cutting yourself.”
“Aww, Evelyn, I ain’t gonna hurt m’ self on no blades,” he took the offered peeler, basking in the affection from her.
"I know," she sat down across from him, a paring knife at her side. "But still. Sharp knives and children don't mix well."
He rolled his eyes and pulled the peeler down over the skin. "Evelyn? I...can I ask ya somethin'?"
"Of course," she nodded, deftly removing the skins from her own pile of potatoes.
Billy licked his lips, hesitating. "Do ya...do ya think my dad misses me?"
Evelyn set her knife back down. "I think...yes, I think he does miss you. I'm sure he does,” she lied carefully.
"Is it bad that I kinda don't want him to miss me? I don't wanna hafta go back," he mumbled, keeping his gaze on the potato in his hand.
"Billy, hey, look at me," she placed her hands on the table, palms up.
He looked up at her miserably. She smiled, calm and loving. "You see these hands? They'll never hurt you. You're safe with me. And I'd be very happy if you decided to stay with us."
"I...I know you won't hurt me," he whispered. "I ain't scared t' sleep alone no more. An' I feel like, like I'm allowed t' be here. Like I belong..."
"You belong. Don't ever think, for even a second that you don't belong," her face was alight, strength and love and courage alive in her eyes.
Billy smiled. When she spoke like that, he couldn't help but lean in and listen, enveloped in her reassuring hugs and loving words. "Yes'm," he grinned, winking a bit at her.
"None of that," she tsked, smiling, and picked up her paring knife again.
XX
Eddie ran his thumb along his lighter, watching the lights dim in the house, one by one. A faint bluish glow from the living room window stopped them from moving closer. The television flickered, images reflected through the glass. He flicked the lighter open, watching the flame dance before snapping it shut.
"We go now, we risk catchin' Bobby awake. We go later, less noise, easier out," he snapped the lighter open and shut it, the sound obscenely loud in the silent car.
Bones grunted. "We wait too long an' some law abidin' citizen finds us here, then we got explainin' to do an' tracks t' cover. We'll grab him now, enough waitin'."
"Yessir," Eddie slipped the lighter into his pocket. He palmed his gun, the safety still on. "What about the rest o' the family?”
Bones shrugged. "Kill 'em if they get in the way."
"Yeah..." Eddie gazed at the house, frowning. He pushed the passenger side door open and left the car, his boots crunching on the snow covered sidewalk.
Bones followed behind him, a gun tucked in his palm for safekeeping. Eddie tugged the screen door open and stepped inside the glassed in front porch. He sniffed, looking warily to the living room window. The blue glow was steady.
Eddie eyed the lock. He took a small box out of his coat pocket and opened it, a set of dull metal tools inside. He took two out, picking the lock to the house. He tucked the kit back inside his coat and pushed the door open slowly.
They crept inside the house, moving past the walls of photos and into the living room. Eddie paused in the doorway, staring at the figure on the couch.
"Bones," he whispered. "C'mere."
"Fuck...he looked taller in the games," Bones glanced at Bobby's sleeping figure before walking past him. "C'mon, kid's probably upstairs."
Eddie looked back at Bobby. The things he'd heard about Bobby Mercer...none were anything good. He was well known in various cities for the things he'd done over the years. Eddie gripped the gun tighter. Bobby would be the challenge.
Bones crept up the stairs, each one squeaking under his weight. He panted quietly; sweat beginning to gather along his hairline. He opened the first door to his left, an empty bathroom greeting him. He grunted and closed the door, moving on.
"Eddie! Get ya ass movin' huh?" he whispered. "Hurry the fuck up!"
"Comin'," Eddie murmured, walking up the stairs. He stood at the top of them, listening. "One of these'll be him."
Bones pushed another door open. A woman lay on the bed, deeply asleep. Eddie gestured to her. "Pop her?"
"Nah, not less she starts screamin'." Bones moved on, opening the next door. He smiled then, a chilling smile.
Billy was curled up on the bed, drowsing half asleep in his nest of blankets and sheets. He yawned, his nose wrinkling a little. As if by some instinct, he opened his eyes and stared at Bones, his mouth falling open.
"I..."
"Shut ya mouth," Bones snapped. "You jus' shut the fuck up right now, you lil' sack of shit. D'ya know what I've had t' do to find you? Or how many cops, fuckin' child care workers I got trackin' me down? Oh Billy boy, you fucked up large this time."
Billy froze, his blue eyes wide, petrified. "I-I...don't..."
"Get over here!"
Billy flinched. "N-No."
An ugly look crossed Bones' face. "What'd you jus' say t' me?"
"I...no, I'm here now. An'...an' she said I can stay. I don't wanna be a Darley no more!" Billy gripped his blanket, trembling despite his bravado.
"You get the fuck over here now, or I'll kill each of them, right in front of ya, you understand me?"
Billy swallowed hard, his throat aching. "No! No, fuck, please don't." He dropped the blanket and scrambled off the bed, his shoulders hunched. "Please, please don't hurt 'em, it ain't their fault, don't kill them," he begged.
Bones reached out and yanked Billy over to his side, one hand fisted in his hair. "If you ever, ever run from me again, I'll kill you. An' I'll make sure it takes fucking days for you t' die, ya understand? That clear?"
Billy nodded, tears in his eyes. Bones tugged harder on the strands of hair, unloading a vicious slap to his cheek. Billy cried out, his legs shaking. Bones shook him back and forth, slapping each cheek.
"Oh, we're jus' gettin' started, Billy. You got lots o' punishment comin'. I'm gonna carve my fuckin' name in your skin! You don't wanna be a Darley no more, huh? That's just too fuckin' bad!" With that, he threw Billy to the floor.
Billy curled up on the floor, shaking. He tucked his head to his chest and covered his ears with his hands, praying feverishly. "Bobby," he whispered, tears leaking then. "Oh god...don't let 'im take me."
Through the noise, through the sounds of a shrill scream and a horrid thud, the smoke from the guns and Billy's frantic prayers, he knew only the feel of long arms grabbing him and dragging him from the room, the familiar scent of Eddie as he was ripped from the safety of the Mercer house.
XX
Jack awoke to the sound of Evelyn's frightened cries. He shifted onto his side, his heart pounding painfully against his rib cage. Another shout echoed and he heard a voice, a horrible voice, one like Billy's but so much colder and deeper. "Billy..." he whispered.
He tugged his sheets off, untangling them from around his legs. There were more bangs, slams and another cry from Evelyn. Jack crouched next to his bed, trembling all over. He badly wanted to crawl under his bed and hide.
"Bobby...Bobby'll know what to do..." he mumbled under his breath.
Jack scurried over to the door and opened it a crack. In the darkened hallway, he could see a man, a man so tall his head seemed to brush the ceiling. Jack swallowed dryly. The man looked like a giant. He had Billy in his arms, slung over his shoulder like a limp rag. Billy's eyes were shut, his face blotchy and red, tears zigzagging down his cheeks.
Jack cringed back from the doorway. He thought he saw Angel, he could hear Bobby's enraged shouts, and worst of all, he could smell gun powder. Jack bit back a sob and crawled out of the room. There was another loud bang, one that rocked the hallway. Jack clasped his hands to his ears, his cries drowned out by the spray of bullets that riddled the walls around him.
"Get back!" Angel shouted from the other end of the hall. "Get back now, Jackie!"
He looked up numbly, watching as the giant stomped forward, one huge hand shoving Angel down. Angel crashed through the door to the bathroom, glass and wood shards raining down on him.
"No!" Jack leapt up and ran after the giant. "You can't have him!" He tackled the man's legs, kicking and punching at him. "You can't! Let him go!"
The giant looked back at him, pity clear in his eyes. "G' on back kid," he hissed. "Go! 'Fore you get y' self shot up."
"Give him back!" Jack punched him as hard as he could in the back, his knuckles screaming in pain.
The man reached down and yanked Jack up by the scruff of his neck. Without a word, he dropped him into Evelyn's room, shoving him over to the side. "Now stay down for Christ's sake!"
Jack tumbled into Evelyn, who lay on the floor, blood seeping from her temple. "Mom!" he crouched down, crying openly then. "Ma, Ma, oh god, please, not you too...Mom!"
Evelyn's eyelids fluttered at the sound of his voice. "Jack...my Jackie," she reached her hand up and grasped his cold fingers in hers. "Go to the phone by my bedside...call 911, alright, sweetheart?" she whispered, her voice thin and uneven.
Jack nodded and scrambled over to the phone, flinching at the sound of another round of bullets. He dialed the numbers, his palms slick with sweat.
"Please...help us, God help us," he said when the operator came on the line.
XX
Bones shifted from one foot to another on the staircase, his gun a steady weight in his hand. "Look here, Mercer. I jus' came for my property, I don't want no fights, so back off an' ya whole family will live."
"Property?" Bobby spat at him. "He's not property. He's your son!"
"An' a pussy at that! God knows, I've tried t' raise a kid right, t' make him like us, but all I get is this lil' pussy!" Bones gestured to Eddie, who was at the top of the stairs still. "The fuck did y' do to 'im, Mercer? He's fuckin' brainwashed!"
Bobby bared his teeth. "Showed him how good it feels to have someone give a shit about you, an' not wantin' somethin' in return," he crossed the room to Bones, a hand slipping behind his back to grasp the gun he'd had with him as he slept. "You outta try it sometime."
"I don't need no advice from the likes of you," Bones held up his gun and flicked the safety off, making a show of it. "Back down, Mercer, last warnin'."
Bobby rested his hand on his gun tucked into his waistband. "You break into my fucking house, accost my mother, attack my family an' steal back a kid that'll die in your custody, an' you think I'm gonna back down? You on fuckin' crack or somethin'?"
"He's mine; I can do whatever I damn well want with him. Now back the fuck off!"
Bobby yanked his gun out and held it up, firing it twice over Bones' shoulder. "No. Not without Billy. You ain't takin' him."
Bones growled and pointed the gun back up the stairs. "I'll shoot the kid, I swear it."
Another shot rang out, Angel firing at Eddie unseen by them. Eddie let a round of bullets fly, spraying the hallway. There was a crash above them, the sound of Angel being tossed into the bathroom through the door.
"You're gonna lose, Mercer," Bones smiled, his face flushed. "That little piece o' meat cryin' upstairs? I'll take 'im too, if ya don't back down. I wonder...does he scream real good when you' beat 'im? I bet he does. I bet he bleeds like an angel. Billy bleeds real good. He's got lots o' uses if ya know how t' handle boys like him."
With a snarl, Bobby attacked Bones, firing hard and fast as he raced towards the stairs. Bones fired back, one of the bullets narrowly missing Bobby's left ear. Bobby slammed the butt of his gun into Bones' shoulder, growling as he did so.
In a haze, Bobby felt a sudden force, a hand pushing in the middle of his back. He fell backwards, both he and Bones hitting the ground with a thud. A fist to the side of his head sent him reeling back, and as he stared up at them, he saw Billy on the tall one's shoulder.
"Billy..." he rasped, struggling to stand.
The tall one, Eddie, pushed Bones back up and opened the door. Billy sobbed weakly, his eyes open then. He looked to Bobby as he was carried out. "Bobby..." he slumped back down, his eyes closing.
"Darley! I ain't...I ain't finished with you!" Bobby shouted, pushing himself up. "Billy..." Bobby stared in disbelief, his legs giving out on him, unable to believe that he'd lost Billy.
XX
