"Why me? You are the oldest of the two of us, you should be the one to choose!"
"Yes but I'm familiar with making decisions and taking responsibility for them. You on the other hand are not. I was made aware of the fact that you got suspended a couple of weeks ago for bullying. Some of your schoolmates even say that you threaten them using your Secret Service escort. And each time that happens, you try putting the blame to someone or something else entirely. You never took responsibility for anything in your entire life and that needs to change now."
"Who do you think you are! You have no right to judge me!"
"For someone who disliked being judged, you surely like to judge everyone around you based on nothing other than appearance. I'm going to be brutally frank here, you are not someone good but you have the unique occasion to become one right now Alexander. Are you going to put yourself in danger to save innocent people, their only crime being living in the wrong neighborhood or are you going to save your skin and the consequences be damned for the others?" Nathaniel asked, making intense eye contact with Alexander.
Forced to turn his head away under the intensity of that stare, Alexander's attention focused on the people walking in the street. There was a pair of elderly people walking arms in arms, a woman in her twenties talking on her phone and a few kids around ten who were playing under the surveillance of forty something men.
Noticing what Alexander was looking at, Nathaniel added in a soft voice.
"Yes, you have the power to save all of these people Alexander."
"I can't choose! I'm a coward! I want to save them but I don't want to die either! I can't choose, I'm not courageous like you are!"
"Courage doesn't mean not being afraid or cowardly, you know Alexander. Courage is being scared shitless but still finding in yourself the strength of mind to do the right thing. If you are not scared, it's not courage but folly or outright stupidity."
Firming his mind, Alexander nodded once resolutely.
"I want to help them, what do you have in mind?"
"Follow me." Nathaniel said with a smile, glad that he had made the right choice.
Crossing the street with Alexander in tow, Nathaniel walks in the direction of the elderly couple.
"Alexander, just follow my lead, do not say who you are and don't appear to be surprised by what I'm going to say, alright?"
"Okay." Alexander nodded just before they arrived in front of the couple.
Seeing two youth walking to them, the reaction of the two elderly was guarded to say the least. They knew very well where they were leaving even if it was not like that when they took their house half a century ago and they were too stubborn to leave the neighborhood where they lived almost their entire life. Their guarded expression did not last long however when Nathaniel wiped something from his pocket.
"Hell, I'm sorry to disturb you but I'm agent Sanchez of the FBI." Nathaniel said, wiping a badge in front of them and showing it to them, Alexander trying hard not to twitch seeing the badge.
Surprised to hear that considering the youthful appearance of the person showing the badge, the couple exchange a glance before the man chooses to answer.
"What can we do for you, agent?"
"I need your help. I'm here with my little brother Alex and I believe there is going to be a fight between gangs in the next few minutes. Can I trust you to keep an eye on my little brother with you the time I investigate?"
"Oh! Yes, of course! It will be no problem at all." The woman said with a caring expression on her face.
"Thank you, stay with them Alex and please don't stay on the street, go there. I will meet you here once I'm done." Nathaniel said, showing them the wall leading to another street.
Doing just that, Nathaniel leaves once they are not endangered anymore and starts walking in the direction of the three cars he spotted earlier. Taking his phone out and firing up one of the games that was pre installed on it. Turning his phone lightly on the side, Nathaniel walked by three cars in question, seemingly not looking in their direction at all, his eyes focused on his phone.
Seeing someone walking near their cars, a few gang members looked at Nathaniel attentively, relaxing after realizing that it was only a youth playing a game on his phone and not paying attention to them. Forgetting him entirely, they focus their attention back to the bodega, waiting for the last patrol in the area to move away before attacking.
Walking by and going in the direction of the man who was taking care of the children playing in the street. He had counted eleven gangsters in total, three in the first car and four in the two others. He could not determine what they had in terms of weapons but he estimated they had only a handgun and maybe a couple of automatic weapons.
Using the badge of the Secret Service he asked for the President the night before, Nathaniel passed for a FBI agent again, he warned the men about what was about to happen. Understanding the danger very well, the men quickly usher the children inside of his house. It was only when the last children got inside the house that Nathaniel heard a number of car doors open.
Looking back behind him, he could see eight people getting out of the cars and starting to walk in the direction of the bodega. Two had M4, one an AK47, and another having a shotgun. The rest have only a handgun on their person.
"Call 911 and don't leave the house until the cops are here." Nathaniel ordered.
"What are you going to do?." The man asked, worried about Nathaniel going against ten of gang members alone.
"I'm going to have fun." He smiles brightly before walking in the direction of the bodega.