I was considering going to the bar where I’d seen Darius last night and watching him, or just giving up, packing it in and getting some needed shuteye when I saw them.
Martin and Curtis, two runaways from King’s. They were brothers, fourteen and twelve. They’d come in about a month after Park died and I knew it was because they heard about me (because of Sniff, everyone had heard about me).
They hit my caseload so I was working with them. They hadn’t told me much and didn’t spend the night at King’s hadn’t told me much and didn’t spend the night at King’s but I was hoping for a breakthrough soon.
I watched as they ran out of an al ey and down 15th Street. They were being fol owed by two dealers. I knew the dealers. They weren’t smal time. They were serious players.
My heart started thumping and I fol owed them. The kids ducked into another al ey and the dealers fol owed.
If I fol owed in Hazel, they’d see me. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad so I made a split-second decision.
Quickly, I parked on the street. I had my mace in my pocket, my stun gun and Glock on the seat. I grabbed the Glock, exited the car, left it unsecured, ran into the al ey and hoped I wouldn’t pee my pants.
By the time I got to them, Martin, the older brother, was stand up wrestling with one of them, grunting and losing.
The other one had Curtis against the wal .
Fuck.
I aimed my gun at the dealer on Curtis. “Back off!” I shouted.
His head whipped around. The other one got Martin in a headlock and twisted him around violently so he could look at me.
Their names were Clarence and Jermaine, no street names that I knew of. Clarence had Martin. Jermaine had Curtis.
I kept my gun and eye on Jermaine and channeled my internal badass mother.
“Back off,” I repeated, low.
“Holy shit!” Jermaine laughed. “It’s The Law.” He pul ed Curtis forward by his col ar and slammed him viciously into the wal and I heard Curtis’s skul crack against the brick.
Um…
I… did… not… think… so.
My eyes narrowed and my head cocked to the sight of the gun.
In a serious, pissed off voice, I said, “I’l say it one more time, let him go.”
To my surprise, he let him go. To my despair, he only did it so he could come at me.
Martin was stil struggling against the headlock, intermittently groaning and whining. His feral noises of fear were spurring me on by pissing me off even more.
Curtis was standing frozen, likely partial y dazed, partial y scared stiff.
“Watcha gonna do Law? Slash my tires? Throw a smoke bomb? Light some shit on fire on my doorstep? You’re a fuckin’ joke,” Jermaine taunted.
Excuse me, I never lit poo on fire on someone’s doorstep. That was immature.
“Go. Now,” I returned, ignoring his words. “Leave the kids alone. If you go, no one wil get hurt.”
“Fuck you, bitch,” Jermaine snarled and then came at me.
When he came at me, I switched my gun to the other hand knowing he’d get physical just to prove a point. The big man subdues the sil y woman.
Fuck him.
Right away he gave me my opening, throwing out his arm to grab me. So I took it.
When he arrived at me, I grabbed his wrist and leaned down, ducking under his arm, using my leverage, his momentum and bulk, and I twisted his arm and flipped him up and around and he landed with a sickening thud on his back.
Then without hesitation, I aimed and kicked him savagely between his legs. He let out a ferocious howl and curled into a fetal position. I put my boot to his neck and leaned my weight into it (maybe a little more weight than I needed but I told myself that I was new to this and al owed myself some leeway).
Then I lifted my head, my eyes slicing to Clarence. I switched my gun to my right hand, cupped it with my left and aimed.
“Let him go,” I ordered.
Clarence was staring at me in shock, so much so he didn’t let Martin go.
I dropped my aim and fired. The bul et hit next to his left foot. He felt the impact and jumped but he didn’t let Martin go.
I lifted my gun, aimed it at his head and cocked my own to the gun’s sight. “I said, let… him… go.” He let Martin go.
Martin ran immediately to Curtis.
I stood aiming at Clarence, my boot stil at the writhing Jermaine’s neck and I wondered what the hel I should do now.
Then Clarence’s eyes moved from their study of my gun to look over my shoulder.
“Holy fuck. It’s true,” Clarence whispered but loudly so I could hear.
Like a sixth sense, I felt rather than saw Crowe coming up behind me. Then he got up beside me and stopped, his eyes were on the man at my boot.
I guessed I was wrong about not having a tail.
God, he was good.
Then out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow move from behind Clarence. I focused and Mace arrived at the scene. He was looking at Vance. At the sight of Mace, I got over my admiration of Crowe.
This is just great, I thought with mental sarcasm.
“Did I see what I think I just saw?” Mace asked to Crowe.
“You saw it,” Crowe replied then he looked at me.