KEITH
"... I'll tell you everything, just as Lisa told me".
I looked up, into her encouraging eyes,then nodded.
"Okay"she withdrew her hand, and I wanted to beg her not to.
"Okay,"she repeated"the Haudeclaires weren't what I'd call rich, but they were very comfortable. A family car,a decent house, nice clothes, three square meals, occasional treats, and once in a while trips to McDonald's. Percy and Lisa got to attend a good school. They were a very happy family. Their father had this overweight, good for nothing elder brother named Felix,whose wife used to be a dancer. Felix always showed up at meal times, and never left without borrowing some money from his brother. But the children loved him. He was so funny. Then one day their parents left to visit him, and never returned. He arrived the next day to announce that they died in a car crash, and to take the kids to his house. After they had been tucked into bed, Percy told Lisa that Felix was responsible for the car crash".
"How did he know?"I asked.
"Even Lisa has no idea. But she's always had deep faith in his perception. He could always tell who had stolen any missing item in his class simply by observing his classmates. He could tell when the teacher was going to give a test. He could tell when Lisa had used their mother's precious glass, which they weren't allowed to touch. He really was something else".
"He really was,"I concurred"is he, still?".
"I suppose,"she shrugged"but like I was saying, the very next day, Felix drove them to a lonely spot where he handed them over to 'some good friends' of his. Percy, of course, realized instantly that they had been sold. They were driven to the Underworld, to the residence of a Mafia lord. Lisa told me that her brother remained perfectly placid the whole time. There was a party in full swing when they arrived, and the two of them were taken to the Mafia lord,whose idea of entertainment was pretty twisted. He had a goon put a knife to Lisa's neck,then gave Percy a gun. One of the strippers on the stage was bound to a pillar, and they gave him a choice- shoot the woman or watch his sister die".
My eyes widened involuntarily. Jade's gaze had dropped to her feet.
"Even now, I can't help but feel sorry for Percy. The burden he had to bear, even though he was just a twelve year old kid. Percy valued life as a child. He never killed any household pests. He couldn't bear to see them die. He helped the mice he found in his father's traps escape. Once he let fleas feed on his right arm so as to keep them away from the dog without killing them. He treated animals like his equals, and didn't cut flowers or trample grasses if he didn't have to. Never even slapped at bugs. He was just that kind".
I chewed on that.
"What was he,a saint?"I blurted out.
"A seraph,"Jade smiled"so you can imagine the weight of the situation he found himself in. Lisa didn't make matters any better. She kept crying, calling out to him, telling him she doesn't want to die. Lisa says she doesn't know exactly what happened. Her eyes were closed, she was crying,then she heard the shot and opened her eyes just in time to see the gun drop from Percy's hands. The stripper was dead. Lisa was shocked. She had been so sure he'd never pull the trigger. The Mafia lord and his guests cheered. Then the children were locked up in a room. Percy appeared dazed the whole time. And the instant the door was shut, he wept. Lisa had never seen him shed so much tears,or look so helpless. He had a fever all night. He kept throwing up. The siblings remained locked up. They were served meals, but Percy hardly ever ate. The goons kept coming back for him. Each time they brought him back, he ended up with a respiratory issue,or in shock. Once he even attempted suicide. Lisa could see him breaking more and more each passing day, and she was powerless to change anything. Then one day,a year later, Percy walked into the room. He didn't cry or anything. And... the light in his eyes was gone".
Jade paused and took a deep breath. I watched her, even as I pondered her words.
"That was the day Lisa lost him,"she continued"after that day, he began to grow more and more distant. He became cold. Detached. A week after, he started returning covered in injuries. She believes he was sixteen when he became the Mafia's assassin. Then one day they up and sent her to this brothel. That's how we met. I think they kept Lisa here to threaten Percy. The Mafia lord paid the former madame to keep her untouched. If Percy ever messed up a mission, I suppose the punishment would be to whore his sister. They never got the chance, though. One day, there came this nasty old drug lord. Lisa,who was serving drinks, caught his eye. Even when her situation was explained to him, he still wanted her. He offered the madame more money than the Mafia lord had paid. And she, being a greedy pig, released her to him. I used Lisa's phone to give Percy a call. I couldn't think of anything else to do. In a couple of minutes, he arrived to find me waiting outside. I must say, his beauty struck me like a bolt of lightning. And there was no anxiety in his expression at all. But there was no time to stare, so I quickly told him the room number. A couple of minutes later, he and Lisa were leaving. It came out later that he had killed the drug lord. As they neared the exit, the madame rushed out to stop them, and he killed her too,shot her between the eyes. I found out days later that the Mafia lord had died, naming Percy his successor".
"And Lisa... was she...".
"Deflowered?"she cut in"no. Percy got there in time".
"Oh".
"It was a year after that Lisa joined the Mafia's hitmen. She felt that in order to save her brother from the darkness, she had to experience it first,or she would not have the right to even say she wants to save him".
There was a moment of silence,then Jade smiled ruefully.
"Lisa used to tell me stories about their childhood. About Percy, mostly. The night he snuck a drenched kitten into his bed during a rainstorm. The Saturday he spent making get well soon cards for everyone in his mum's hospital. The summer he spent doing odd jobs just so he could buy Christmas presents for two kids down the street whose parents were too poor to afford such luxury. And they weren't even remotely his friends!"she giggled softly"Jackson and Annabelle. They came to adore him after that day. But my favorite is the one about him shoving his arm between the teeth of a wolf so Lisa could escape. They had been playing in the woods when the beast showed up".
"So, what happened?".
"Lisa ran to fetch their dad, and he came with his rifle and shot the wolf dead. Percy buried it, and kept coming back to drop flowers on the grave", Jade's smile turned even more rueful"he had the kindest eyes. He had the kindest smile. I want to bring back that person he used to be".
Suddenly I wanted that too. Jade's lips curled unexpectedly into an amused smile. Can you guess what Percy's favorite color is?"she asked.
"I can try. Snow white?".
"Nope".
"Black?".
"Uh uh".
"What is it,then?".
"Pink".
"For real?!".
"Uh huh,"she took out her phone, selected a photo and pushed it across the table to me"Lisa always looked so good in pink".
I looked at the photo of Lisa, dressed in a salmon pink kimono with a sash and fan to match. She was laughing, and apparently making feeble attempts to shyly cover her face with the fan.
"She's a child"I whispered.
"Yeah,"Jade concurred"she really was sometimes".
"Can I ask you how you ended up in a brothel, Jade?"I suddenly asked.
Wait, that's not something I should be asking,is it?
Jade didn't seem to mind, though.
"Oh, that. My mom used to work here. She became pregnant with me without the slightest idea who my father was. One of her many clients, no doubt. Fear of death prevented her from having an abortion. Ironically, she died at childbirth. So I became brothel property. Naturally. They made me wait on tables till I was fifteen,then..."she shrugged,as if to say the rest is history.
"Oh"was all I could muster.
Kevin was smoking when I got back to the car. I opened the door and got in the back seat without a word.
"Took you guys long enough"he said, tossing the unfinished cigarette to the ground and extinguishing it underfoot before he got behind the wheel"worked for me, though. Boss forbade me from smoking while driving you, so at least I could get me a good smoke in peace".
I didn't reply. I was silent all through the ride, and Kevin let me be. I kept thinking about all that Jade had told me. I roused from my reverie as the car pulled up before the main building. I had just gotten out when I heard them.
Three shots,fired in quick succession.
I turned sharply to see a woman standing several feet away. She held a gun in her left hand, and her right was planted on her hip.
Black, back length dreadlocks were pulled away from her perfect ebony face into a tight, high ponytail. Her sensual body filled the grey broad strapped singlet and three quarter khaki shorts she wore, and I noticed that she kept hitting bullseye every time, despite the impressive distance between her and the target.
I thought of Annie Oakley.