I give my mother a kiss on the head and she leans into it for a moment but keeps cooking. Mama doesn't usually seem so cold when I come home. I leave Mama to cooking and get back to Romeo who is concerned, very concerned. I get him into my room and close the door.
"What the hell happened with Marta," I ask since she was the one to call the most.
"Guy was here," Romeo says and I don't believe it.
"Guy? 'The' Guy? What the fuck was he doing here," I ask and Romeo shakes his head.
"I don't know but something must have happened because I've never heard him like this. He's always been nervous and defensive but earlier," Romeo sits down on my bed as I'm waiting for it," He called you out to your Mom, then Marta got involved and he just lost it."
"Alright but what set him off," I gotta ask cause this makes no sense.
"I don't know man, I only saw him drive off and your sister spent most of the time calming your mother down and trying to get you to come home," Romeo is confused but he kept it together somewhat and helped Marta out with Mama.
I leave him in my room and move down the hall to Marta's room, the light is on and I knock to get her attention. Slowly Marta opens the door and when she sees me she doesn't look happy.
"You had to push him. He's a nice person and you pushed him so hard he snapped," Marta tells me and I assume it's about Guy.
"I told everyone to back off. I should have stopped it years ago but now…," I want to finish but Marta stops me.
"Now he is coming to our home and screaming at Mama in the doorway," my little sister shakes her head at me," Worst part I can't say he was wrong."
"What happened, I honestly don't know what was done this time," I'm not bringing up history when something had to set this off.
"He said something about Imelda but I don't know how he could know her," Marta thinks out loud and I have people to meet up with.
I drag Romeo out of the house with me when I leave and head to meet the rest of the boys. Originally it was just a check up to make sure everything went smoothly but now I'm looking for answers. Everyone's at the empty lot behind Hector's house. I don't have fifteen to twenty boys like they see at school, more like forty plus and a few females who roll hard with us. I'm greeted with smiles and happy words exiting my ride and sitting on the hood everyone checks in and is cleared when I ask a simple question.
"Who did extra today," I say it and most that hear me quiet down or quiet others down.
"What do you mean Carlos," Rico, one of my runners, asks , confused for the group.
"Someone visited my home while we were out working and yelled in de mi Madre face and now my mother won't look at me so I'm asking one last time, who did extra shit today," I can hear my people talking and asking who did what when he comes forward.
"I ran into que la cabeza de mierda Guy at Dutch's shop. He saw us there and was walking out on Dutch when I stopped him and told him to give Dutch his business. He went for his wallet and your cousin thought he was gonna pull on me and she dropped his weak ass," Hector explains and laughs a little.
"So you tried to push him around then my cousin who is trying to defend you beats him up," I start when my boy adds to the nightmare.
"She pulled a knife on him and put it into his throat too, I thought he was gonna piss his pants. Then he tried calling the cops so we took his phone and gave it to Dutch. Dutch let us get out of there and sent your cousin home," Hector finishes his story and I am pissed off now.
"Leave him alone, don't do anything except keep people from fucking with him, do you remember me saying that," I ask and my people are nodding their heads.
"But the cops are gone now, back to business as usual," Hector adds and I can hear some are supporting him.
"You think the cops are why I told you to back the fuck off of Guy? I said back off, that means he comes your way you get the fuck out of it. He talks to you and you back the fuck off and let me talk to him. YOU DO NOT THREATEN HIM YOU FUCKING PENDEJOS," I'm yelling at my crew and now they remember who is in charge.
"Hector the problem is you didn't do what you, actually what all of us were ordered," Romeo adds and I let him speak for me, he's got the right idea," Carlos is in charge, we are his crew. Do we follow Carlos's orders or not?"
My crew is nodding yes and so is Hector but he's not listening, all he sees is Guy fucking with him and I'm not letting him teach a lesson. I reaffirm my policy of no contact with Guy before dismissing my crew, everyone except Hector and Romeo. Everyone is gone and now my boy Hector is answering privately.
"What makes you so scared of him," one of my oldest boys asks and I shake my head.
"It's not fear, we did more than enough to prove we were tough and instead of us being strong and protecting we're bullies. We walk around school and they don't respect us, they spit on us and I can't even ask a girl out now without her worried she's going to get beat up," I explain as Hector listens," You can't be involved in this business if you can't follow orders and keep things calm. You're not to be involved in any business unless I bring you myself. You show up unannounced and I'm removing you from the gang."
Hector wants to argue, say something in his defense but I stand up from my car hood and get in my car to drive to my second destination, dropping off Romeo at his home. My new mouthpiece is trying to step up and back me which is good but I need him to recognize he isn't in the business yet, which is why he was with Marta today instead of taking care of business. I don't head home after dropping off Romeo even though I could; I need to speak with my cousin. Imelda has always been a hot head, been like it since I can remember and now she might have just got Marta put on Bethany the Cheer-bitch's radar. She's home but my Aunt, her mom, is gone at work. She greets me at the door and we sit in the living room to talk about what happened. She didn't know who the kid, Guy, was since she'd never seen him before and she was just trying to stop a fight at her work when Guy reached behind him. She thought he had a piece and went with her standard 'put the fucker down hard' option. I explain who Guy is to her and what has been going on before telling her about Beth and the bounty. Imelda laughs a little and tells me shit will be fine. I have trouble believing her.
"I will take care of it alright; I'll talk to the kid and apologize for hitting him. It was my fault anyway," Imelda tells me and I don't think she gets the situation.
"Cuz this isn't as easy as you think it will be. The girl has connections I can't track and could get Marta at any time," I explain and she laughs.
"I know, that's why I'm going to take care of it at the source. Now get home and talk to your Mom," Imelda says ending our conversation.
Well now I have my near psychotic cousin set up to keep my baby sister from getting a beating or worse, things could be worse.
Guy: Day after New Year's Day
So my New Years was quiet mostly because I've been in a bad mood after trying to get a paint job for my new car and nearly ended up in the hospital. I'm not saying I didn't spend time with the family at a little New Year's party Mr. Delauter's firm put on. I just didn't really get into it. It's amazing the things you can find on the internet and after spending some time searching for the 'right' people I head out to get one piece of my business for today taken care of, buying a gun. Not the legal kind either, I heard someone once say 'never shoot anyone with your gun, it brings the police right to your door'. It's sound advice considering they can't find who stabbed me but the second I get attacked and I shoot someone I'm going to be in jail for seven to ten years if they know I have a gun. Everyone is doing their own thing and the rest of the family think I'm trying to get the paint on my car taken care of so my being gone will be covered for why I'm out and about part of the day. I get to a different part of town, one away from where I was nearly stabbed, the second time but a bit closer to where I was stabbed the first time. I could map the town by areas shit has happened to me in a negative way. I decide to leave my car after hitting up the bank, mine not the one the family uses for our allowances, and decide to walk to the meeting. I don't have an appointment but on Craigslist, I know it's a cliché but it's a working one, the person selling is going to be here and I am in need of something compact and automatic. I think I found the guy, some big biker with a long sleeve white shirt under his vest for a top. It looks like he's meeting with a customer right now so I hang back and wait for him to finish before making my approach.
"I don't sell to kids," the biker tells me and I straighten up.
"Not a kid, need a piece," I keep it short, short is good.
"You need to go back to school," he informs me as the other customer passes me.
"I need something to protect myself," I counter, then remember the big seller," I have cash."
"Go to a store then kid, let them get you a permit and buy one yourself legally," he informs me and I'm really confused as to why this guy won't sell to me.
I leave, he's not budging and walks back to my car confused and now I think I need to find a different person for an illegal gun purchase. I get about a block away when a car pulls up and a very angry female detective I'm familiar with rolls her window down.
"Get in the car Mr. Donnelly," she orders and now I'm confused.
"Why, I didn't do anything," I ask and she glares at me.
"You just attempted to buy an illegal firearm, either you come with me or I take you in," she informs me and now I'm fucked.