Tallahassee was once considered the best state to visit in Florida. After all, it was the capital, known for its warm sunny climate, rolling hills, and wide variety of art galleries that had no shortage of tourists pouring in week after week. Unfortunately, those days were long gone now, and it was all thanks to the rise of one gang in particular; a heinous group that called themselves Taitanzu.
Nobody knew where exactly they came from, but back then ...five years ago, nobody would have imagined they'd have grown to be as large or as dangerous as they were now. Jazzlyn could remember it vividly. All the news and radio stations laughed and called them nothing but your regular run-of-the-mill thugs. " Highschool Delinquents" they called them. She too was one of the many who laughed and dismissed them, thinking of the group as naught but a band of wannabes who had gotten high off of A Clockwork Orange.
But now everything was different. The city perpetually smelled like smoke and gasoline. Even in the earliest hours of the morning, when the streets were at their most quiet, the unmistakable stench hung in the air, interlaced with the occasional shouting in the distance and cigarette smoke. Jazzlyn had grown accustomed to it. She, like everyone else left in this town, simply had no choice. For those trapped under the tyrannical rule of Taitanzu and their associates, there was only the option of growing used to the narrow alleys, crumbling buildings and endless fighting that seemed to cage them in.
She stood by the window, watching the faint flicker of neon signs that never seemed to go off. Her breath fogged the cracked glass as she pressed her forehead against it, trying her best to ignore the shouting coming from her brother's room which was right next to her's. A common occurrence, her elder brother, Levi was arguing again, the thin walls of their home doing very little to prevent every word he said from being heard. Territory, power, survival. The same old record. She was so used to hearing these things through the walls that she was honestly surprised she wasn't considered a formal member of his gang by now.
She shook her head, a faint smile on her face as she stared out the window. Levi would never even consider it.
For as long as she could remember, she was little more than a shadow that tagged along with him. She was only meant to be seen and not heard. She was with him when they both had nothing, and watched his rise from a pathetic street brat with nothing to the leader of a small gang trying to get a piece of the city for themselves. "I'm doing this all for you. I'm doing it to keep us safe" he always said, claiming that it'll be his gift to her other than the rundown apartment they'd been living in since they were little kids. Jazzlyn had always believed in him. He didn't have a reason to lie to her did he? They were siblings. Siblings love each other more than anything in the world. Those were words she'd love to trust in, but now as she stood there listening to all that was being said, doubt seeped into her mind.
"You're giving her to them? THEM???" The voice from the next room was familiar and heavy with disbelief. She was certain she'd heard it before.
There was a pause and what sounded like laughter, followed by Levi's low response. "It's our only option."
Jazzlyn's heart skipped a beat. Or several. Her fingers gripped the edge of the windowsill so tightly that her knuckles started whitening almost instantly. She had overheard enough conversations and gang business over the years to know when things were about to take a turn —and usually not for the better. Taitanzu wasn't the type of gang that did business with people as lowly and inconsequential as Levi. Taitanzu was known as the strongest of the strong. If Levis's gang, Purgatory, was a great white shark, then Taitanzu was a megalodon. They were the kings of this concrete jungle that she called her home...and what happened when kings made these kinds of deals with the common folk?
They swallowed them whole.
"Jazzlyn!" Levi's voice tore through her thoughts, violently snapping her back into the moment.
An almost overpowering feeling of impending doom befell her as she turned from the window, her chest tightening as she stepped into the dim light of the main room. Levi stood by the doorway, his entire body stiff and his face firm with a look members of his gang had dubbed his "Grim Determination". It was a look she recognized all too well. Anytime he was about to do something that caused her unimaginable heartache, that face was a telltale sign.
Standing by her brother's side were two men. One was a guy she didn't know—a fair skinned, slender figure wearing a jacket that was clearly two sizes too big for him. His eyes glinted with something Jazzlyn didn't like—happiness? Hunger? Or something worse. It was hard to tell. The other person was a member of Purgatory, Vince, whom she recalled seeing repeatedly during her brother's rise to gang leader. She never interacted much with him, but they were on somewhat amicable terms.
Levi forced a smile, but it didn't quite reach the rest of his face. His eyes especially seemed distant, like he wished to be in any moment except now. "We need to talk."
Jazzlyn hesitated, glancing at the stranger, then back at her brother. Her heart rate was getting quicker by the second. "What's going on?"
The slender man's faint smile made her shiver, and Levi's smile faded entirely. He took a deep breath before staring her dead in the eye, his voice shaky—a rare sign of hesitation. "It's a good deal, Lina. For both of us."
She felt a lump rise in her throat, but quickly pushed it back down. Before she could even open her mouth to speak, he took a step towards her, grabbing her by the shoulders.
"We're aligning with Taitanzu. They need something from me, and I need their protection. We'll be safe, out of reach of the Jacksonville Reapers and anyone else who thinks they can come after us."
Jazzlyn frowned. "What does that have to do with me?"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Levi's eyes darted to the floor and stayed there for a couple of moments, the tension in the air growing thicker by the second till it was unbearable. He looked back up at her, guilt briefly crossing his face despite his best attempts to hide it. "They want you… as collateral."
Her blood ran cold.
"What?"
Her voice came out quieter than she intended, a weak whisper that could barely be heard despite the deafening quietness of the room. Several questions hammered in her mind, tossing and turning around like a tornado, but she managed to gather herself enough to ask again. "What are you talking about?"
"They need assurance" her brother responded quickly, as if saying it fast enough would make it easier to swallow. Easier to forgive. "It's just for a while, until things settle down. You'll be safe.. I swear"
Jazzlyn's heart pounded so loud and so hard she was certain the men could hear it. The walls of the room suddenly felt too close and at the same time, too far. It was like a dream. A very had fever dream. It had to be. "You're selling me off to them?"
"It's not like that." Levi's face hardened, his words getting firmer, angrier. "This is for us, for Purgatory. You don't have any idea what it's like out in those streets. If I don't do this…if I don't take this step. I'm sorry to say it but we'll be done. Finished. Every single one of us."
"You didn't ask…you didn't say anything…" her voice was getting smaller and smaller as it trembled with disbelief. "You didn't even tell me."
Levi stepped closer to her, lowering his face to be level with hers as he pulled her body nearer to his. "I'm doing this to protect you Jazz! You're...safer with them than anywhere else right now. You'll see this was all a good thing in the end! Just…just look on the bright side!"
Jazzlyn freed herself of her brother's grip, taking several steps back till she was up against the wall. She felt physically weak and her breath was getting more shallow by the second. Her mind was a spinning, tumbling mess. "Safe". The word repeated itself over and over in her ears. How could she ever be safe when she was in the clutches of Taitanzu, a gang known for their vicious tactics, vice grip on everything that happened in the city whether it was underground or above, and terrifying members who struck fear in the hearts of policemen? She wasn't safe…she wasn't safe at all. She couldn't even fathom the fact that her brother could say such a thing.
The slim man watched her reaction with amusement, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. He didn't say anything, but his presence alone and the feelings she got from being near him were enough to make her sick to her stomach.
"I can't," she muttered, shaking her head slowly. "Levi, I can't do this."
"I'm sorry, but you have no say. Neither of us do.." Levi muttered quietly, his voice as unflappable as the figurative cage she had just been locked in.
For a long moment, they stood in silence, the weight of her own brother's decision pressing down on her like a heavy blanket...made of metal. Admittedly, all she wanted to do right now was scream at the top of her lungs and keep screaming till the ears of everyone around her bled. She wanted to fight, to shout, to do something—but the crippling fear and anxiety that ruled over her very being had chained her to the spot. She was always the one in the background, a side character in her own life. She let Levi, and anyone else with the barest measure of power over her make any and all decisions for her regardless of how she felt. She had no voice of her own. She was the one who stayed quiet. It was her role.
It hurt to admit it to herself, but that was most likely the reason why he had chosen her to be his sacrifice. He knew she wouldn't fight. Anyone else who knew her would have done the same thing.
The smiling man finally straightened up, his grin growing even wider as he turned to walk out of the door. "We should go. The other execs are waiting already"
It was too late. Far too late.
Jazzlyn's heart sank as the realization hit her like a speeding truck. The deal was already made. She was already theirs. They were just being merciful by telling her and allowing her to keep her dignity by walking into their headquarters instead of being dragged in on a chain.
As she stepped out into the cold morning air, the city felt different—darker, more sinister than ever before. And for the first time in her life, she fully pondered a question she had forced herself not to think about before.
She wondered if she'd ever be able to find her way out of the shadows her brother had just cast her into.