Can No One Shoot Straight? Ch. 03

The war between the family and the gangs has been going on for a couple of months now, and I could not be any happier! I still meet with the family occasionally to keep up the charade. Like now, the family called on outside help, and the hierarchy sent an investigator to see if it was profitable enough for them to intercede.

We were waiting to pick him up at the airport. The family sent my sister along to represent the family's interests. He was easy to spot, he held his nose a touch higher than anyone else's, and his attitude made you feel like he didn't want anyone touching him as he might pick up some disease. I was glad this trip would be over soon!

I put him in the back of the limo with my sister and got in front with the driver, who coughed lightly, and rolled his eyes as we pulled away from the curb. After a few minutes, the intercom perked up with his voice saying, "If it is not beyond your mental capacity to find a decent restaurant to dine, because he was not eating the slop they served on the plane."

I felt a cold feeling descend upon me, and I started giving the driver directions to a warehouse I had built to help house the mechanics when they were there servicing all the machinery I had bought during the storm. When we got there, I opened the bay doors so the limo could pull inside the empty warehouse and stop. The driver got out and went into the control room, turning on all the lights so everything could be seen clearly.

I opened the rear door and announced, "You have reached the final destination on this ride" I smiled brightly, "Please exit the car and stand silently til the council addresses you!", and just as I suspected, the fucker came out already running his mouth. Just as he paused to breathe, I put my 9MM in his mouth and pulled the trigger. I then totally unloaded the weapon and threw the bullets into different areas in the warehouse.

"Step on out, Mary, I haven't seen you for so long. I really have missed you, you know." Her head slowly came up on the other side of the limo, asking how I knew her real name. "O please, your real name would be, Bitch, Sadist, Whore. Should I keep going? I would ask your little groupies, but they don't 'Hang Around' here anymore. I think I feel slighted about that."

"You did that! We thought... and then you came to us giving us clues to the gangs doing it!" I was already taking off my jacket and shirt. I would say that my smile got bigger, but I don't think it could. "You even told us where to hit them to make it hurt!" I started laughing, "It was you messing with our funds, wasn't it!"

I had just finished spraying a coat of oil on my skin from a spray bottle. "Guilty as charged! I played your wanna-be ass like a molester does with a piece of candy to a little girl, and you were so greedy you never asked where it came from. You just wanted more. Do you want to see what that got your friends? I signaled the driver, who started the video shot of her friends hanging around screaming while the animals fed. "I remember growing up, you always said you could whip my ass, but dad wouldn't let you, well little sister, daddy isn't around to protect you now!"

I could see her completing the puzzle in her mind, and could not believe what the picture showed her. It was impossible!

She screamed... MICHAEL!!

"Took you long enough, Bitch! I always thought karma was more female, but now I see she's more unisex." My open backhand caught her across the face. Her body spun, reaching for her weapon, and came back empty. "Not there, is it? don't you remember we were just at an airport, and we put our weapons in the safe in the front passenger floorboard? You forgot to get yours back because you concentrated on your greed!"

She tried rising and using her weight to counterbalance mine to grab ahold of my arm while kicking out at my supporting leg. Her hand slipped off my arm due to the oil, and I wound up grabbing her leg, used her foot to roll her body on her side, and then stomped down hard on the inner thigh that was flat on the ground. "That was your 'freebie' sis. The way you talked, you were all that and a bag of chips, but from here, your 'chips' seem to be a little stale!

She started using techniques that favored that leg more often than not. I could see the swelling working on her femoral artery, restricting blood flow. That's when I started attacking her good leg more, wearing it down. Then, when she over-extended her punch, I kicked her bad leg, and she collapsed. I then flipped her over and stomped on her good leg in the same manner. A minute later, I had her head in my hands, one on the chin and the other at the back. I whispered in her ear... "Tell the devil to start using the big waiting room because more are coming!" A sharp twist to the right, and it was over.

"How the hell am I supposed to know where she is?" I yelled from my hospital bed at her father, "All I know is I agreed to be there to ensure everything went smoothly, so Eric and I stopped by to get my limo that's all blacked out and be on our way. The next thing I know, I wake up here, and they won't tell me a thing about how Eric is doing!" I took a sip of water and went on, "So now you can't find her, and your theory is that we beat ourselves up bad enough to be in the hospital, and then afterward we did something to her? Get the fuck out of here, you fucking assholes, now! The nurse finally came running in and told everyone to leave.

Three days later, Eric and I were released, so we met at a place called 'Stubbies' for a sandwich and a pint. I let him know how much I appreciated him taking one for the team, and he just told me that I hired him when no one else would, and on his second day, I moved his entire family to a much better part of town, saying that I needed him more accessible to me. So he felt that it was the least he could do. He finished his pint and started to leave when I reminded him of his newspaper. Handing it to him folded up, he said he didn't have a paper, and I chuckled and told him I saw him bring it in.

He reached for it, and I didn't let go right away, whispering that memory was the first thing to go to a father with two kids in college. I heard he had found a girl with whom he was in love, and I also heard that the lady had a slightly autistic daughter who needed a special college to go to. So his boy Charles and her daughter must go to college and give the new parents a break to be together. So don't drop the paper as I winked. He felt the paper, and his eyes got bigger. He thanked me again and walked out.

I finished my meal and then ensured that 'Barney Miller' hadn't lost me yet, but for some reason 'Barney Miller' picked up a 'Barney Fife'. Now, I hated playing 'follow the leader' when I was a kid, and my outlook hadn't changed. So, off to the docks on a nearby river selling the catch of the day we went, and within two minutes, I lost them both. When I saw my chance, I came up from under the dock and snatched 'Barney Fife' off the dock and down into the sand.

"Jack carrots like rabbits!, I mean Jack rabbits like carrots, JACK RABBITS LIKE CARROTS!" The kid was maybe 19, I put my hand over his mouth, and with my other hand, I put a finger to my lips. He shook his head, and I removed my hand from his mouth. Kid, you have no business in this. I almost killed you! WTF would make you a messenger?

"I'm getting married and could use the $1,000 he paid me," he said.

"OK, kid, you got a point there. What does he want now?" I asked.

"He said 'Time was running out for Santa," at least the kid stopped shaking.

I snatched him further back under the dock as 'Barney Miller' was standing right above us looking, and then moved on.

I got close to the kid's face and whispered, "You tell 'Santa' that his fat ass doesn't go down the chimney until I say it does!" Then I stuffed some money into his shirt pocket, "That's for your bachelor party because you're too young to get married!"

I saw a friend I knew and started talking to her as we came back up on the dock. I made sure he saw me adjusting my clothing, giving him the impression we had just been intimate. I made a few purchases and then headed to the apt I have in the back of my office to think. I put everything away set the security system and told my staff I was turning in for the night, I've been running full bore getting everything ready... I was spent.

Early the next day, a lovely-looking tart was knocking on the door with a message from the family, saying the usual B.S. about how it was a misunderstanding, and they didn't want it to affect our friendship, and how they were overly concerned about their missing daughter, blah-blah-blah. About 15 seconds into her pitch, the only thought in my head was, is it too early to start drinking...? Then, she perked my interest when she told me they wanted to set up a meeting so we can smooth things over.

I had a 'Magnavox' moment...' The mouth kicks in before the brain turns on, kind of thing'. "And they don't have phones where they're at...? How interesting!" I waved my hand at her momentarily, "Look, just tell them if they can't talk to me, then just fuck it all, alright?

"I can't," she said

"Oh yes, you can, You got here. Just follow your feet back, and tell them." I said

"I can't," she replied again.

"So what's the big fucking deal about why you won't tell them what I said?" I started getting irate!

"I'm your gift from them. if I go back, they kill me," she said simply

"O.K., That's a BIG fucking problem!" I replied. Just then, my phone showed a new text message from Mother, telling me to enjoy my gift as she had been well-trained. We'll talk soon.

Well, so much for finishing a hot breakfast!

"Well, the only thing that could save this day so far would be a Chinese massage," I whispered to myself as I turned to the bedroom to finish dressing, and then I heard the most blessed response I ever heard...

"Do you just like the pressure points, or do you enjoy the walking as well?"...(I almost came) "They taught me more than just sexual techniques to please a man"

I told the guard who brought her up to stop by my secretary and have Mickey and his brother come up here, and then take her to get whatever she needs and then bring her back here.

(If you've never had someone give you a full body massage, then have your back walked on by someone who knows how to do it right. You've never really lived before!)

I asked her what name we should use to call her by, and she chose "Ariel". So I told Ariel she was now the head of the new 'stress relief' department. I just started up, and her employment was to be based upon the massage she gives me now. She blinked when I said 'employment', and I shrugged my shoulders, telling her I don't do the 'slave' thing all that well, but if she turns out to be as good as she says, then she would be 'on call' status.

It took her two days to proclaim she was done as she just shook her head at me, asking how did I functioned before. She told me she had never seen a body so misaligned before that could still move. She could almost swear she had to break apart old breaks that had healed together when they should have been separate.

I slept through the third day and woke up on the morning of the fourth day. My muscles were screaming, and I couldn't fully extend my arms or legs without hurting more.

I looked over and saw Mickey propped up in the corner, asleep on a chair. I didn't see Ariel sleeping on the floor next to my bed, and when my feet touched her, she screamed out in her sleep and sat bolt upright. Then, realizing what was happening, she stopped me from pitching forward off the bed and kicked Mickey to wake him up to help. My muscles had drawn together so badly that I was bent like an old man on half-extended legs as they walked me to the shower and turned it on as hot as I could stand it.

She grabbed a hold of my shirt and ripped it down and off my body, and my briefs soon followed. She removed hers as well, and then using a liquid body wash, she started using her body against mine, pushing and pulling this way and that. My joints started popping as they relieved the built-up pressure, "Whatever comes up in your mouth, you need to spit it down the drain, understand?" Just as I was nodding my head 'yes,' I felt like I was going to throw up, and out came 'coffee grounds and a bunch of dark liquid. She also told me to let her know when I needed to use the toilet right away

The going back and forth between shower and toilet was working my muscles into shape instead of cramping, making my body move and loosen up. When it was all over, Ariel explained that the 'coffee grounds' were old blood that had become toxic in my system, and the dark liquid was the toxin itself leaving my body. I asked her about the toilet, and she just said you really don't want to know.

I spoke with Diana and her friends at home, and everything was fine. They had a small problem, but they got it solved, and nothing since. I asked about the dogs, and they told me they enjoyed lying down with everyone watching movies at night and how they really like popcorn. (So much for guard dogs.) I gave her my love and ended the call.

The next morning, I was up early and was full of new energy. I was in the middle of checking up on everyone and was sitting at Mama's shop with a beautiful young lady who now demanded a large glass of chocolate milk with her jellies. Sam looked at me, letting me know that I needed to be around more often as her mom and dad had cut back on her allowance, and she couldn't afford jellies like she used to. I asked her if that was all I was to her, her 'Jelly fix'. And she said no because there was chocolate milk now as well.

Just as she seemed to be able to stop laughing, I heard tires squealing as my gaze rose up to the street behind her to catch a car jumping the curb chasing a man across the park heading this way. I saw who the driver was, but my eyes locked on my brother hanging out the window, firing an automatic weapon at the man. I knew the door to the shop was too far away, and picnic tables don't afford much protection. So I grabbed Sam, and spun her around, shielding her body with mine, just as I felt the sting of 2 rounds in my lower back.

The car my brother was in pulled back on the cross street and sped off down the road. Mama came out to check on us and saw the damage that I could not see. It seems that the first round that hit me got stopped by a plate from an older surgery, but the second round had passed through me, striking Sam in the back and exiting out her chest. She was dead before she knew it.

I laid her down gently on the table and then walked into the shop and grabbed two spatulas that were in the grease, cauterized both entry and exit, and then made a bandage of a table cloth. Mama's son helped me pull it tight and tie it off. I was on my phone wanting to know my brother's location and was told he was headed east going out of town, but they didn't know why he would go so far out. I did and ended the call.

I pulled over into the truck stop, parked way in back in between two trailers, walked the dirt bike down the ramp to the ground, put my AR-10 across my back, and rode off into the surrounding hills. Thirty-five minutes later, I stood on the bluff overlooking Uncle Tom's cabin, You see, Uncle Tom's sandwich is missing the cheese, if you will. So everyone knows he really enjoys playing gangster, but he can't connect the dots, as it were.

I worked out my plan. My mind had no distractions and only one focus, My Brother. I wanted him to suffer so much that I had to keep fighting myself not to put a round through his head. He had to pay for Sam!

Then my texting started to fuck with his mind. He was called 'little willy' by the girls he used due to his shortcomings in the male endowment dept. So I used it.

"Well, 'little willy,' you can't run this time! I wonder how many friends you have...?" and then my weapon's report sounded, "Not as many as you think"

"Well, 'little willy', seeing as how you no longer have a driver, I guess you really don't need a car," and after two incendiary rounds hit the gas tank, it erupted rather brilliantly!

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?" showed up on my burner phone

I waited until he was looking at Uncle Tom before I put a round through the window, and then entered through his left ear and exited out the other side, and Uncle Tom dropped like a stone.

"Kinda looks like you're toxic to other people, Willy!"

My brother finally got the idea to start shutting off the lights so I couldn't see in from the outside, and it would have served him better if I wasn't already inside the house now. I could hear him stumbling around the house as he went to the dining room. Just as his hand reached around the wall, feeling for the light switch, I pulled out my boot knife and pinned his hand to the wall, then pulling the rest of his body into the room, I put him down with a right cross.

I had my 9mm pressed tightly against his forehead and was shaking from the battle going on inside me. I wanted to squeeze the trigger, but the other side was telling me it was too quick. So I thought about 'Crime and Punishment,' but my last thought was of Sam and how she didn't deserve to suffer like that.

My backhand snapped my brother's head back, and then he started spitting blood as he came around. He first realized that he was zip-striped to a chair in the middle of the kitchen. The second thing he learned was there was a set of wires connected to his toes and a heavier wire attached to his manhood.

"I got tired of waiting for your ass to come around, Willy!" I pulled a chair around to face him, "You crossed a line today, didn't you, you fucking asshole!"

"Fuck you, it was just a kid, a piece of shit that doesn't mean nothing to nobody!" he spat at me. And before I could stop it, my left fist snapped out, breaking his nose.

"That 'KID' meant something to me, to her family, to her friends, to everyone she fucking met! I got up, flipped the light switch on, and watched as my brother's body convulsed and his muscles seized. I slowly walked over to the fridge got a beer, opened it, and took a drink before I flipped the switch off and my brother's body slumped into the chair. He was covered with sweat and was also breathing really heavy. "My friend was an angel, and you killed her!" I went to flip the switch again, and I saw him cringe.

I stopped my hand inches from the switch, "Perhaps some of the blame could belong to your father and your upbringing." I look deep into his eyes, "You acted the same when you got caught running girls, and guns in addition to the drugs! You couldn't man up and pinned it all on me"

"Michael..."

"I've hooked you up to the 110 for now, but when the timer goes off, the 220 will kick in, and it will be fireworks from hell then, I bet ya!... guess which wire is the 220volt one. Be sure to say hello to your sister for me! I walked over to the doorway, then paused to look at him one last time...

"Her name was Samantha..." Then I flipped the switch on my way out the door.

I started feeling weak on the drive back to town, so I slipped my hand inside my jacket and saw I was bleeding pretty severely, if the amount of blood on my hand was any indication. I made it as far as Mama's and remembered putting the truck in park and nothing afterward. They said they saw me pull in but didn't get out, so they opened the door to see what was up, and I just fell out of the truck.

As I came around, I already knew where I was from the sounds, so I just focused on opening my eyes. Mama was sleeping in a recliner along the wall, and a woman I didn't know was sleeping in two chairs facing each other. But for some reason, I couldn't move my right side, which concerned me because I got shot on my left side. I then slowly became aware of weights across my legs and shoulders.