Into the Fray: Ch. 2

Ch.2

I wake up to the smell of hot cakes and fresh maple syrup. I blink slowly as the soft blanket of sleep slowly falls away. Sunlight is spilling into the window that I am leaning against. I bolt upright unsure of where I am. The quick movement irritates my ribs and I let out a hiss of pain. I am strapped in the back seat of a car. There is a blue blanket over me and a duffel bag to my right.

“Max? You okay back there?” a gentle female voice says.

I look up to see Lisa looking at me from the rear-view mirror. She cocks one eyebrow at me.

“Yeah…I’m fine,” I say slowly leaning back ahead the headrest. “Where are we?”

“We are almost to the border.”

Suddenly my stomach lets out an angry gurgle.

Lisa smiled. “Hungry?”

She hands me a plate of warm hot cakes and a small bottle of syrup. I nod grateful and dig in immediately. There is nothing better than buttermilk flaky pastries and the sweet gooey syrup to seal the void of hunger. Though I want to down them as fast as possible I eat slow aware of my sore ribs. As if reading my thoughts, Marcus pipes up.

“How’s the pain, Max?” he asks twisting around in his seat to face me.

I swallow. “It’s manageable for now.”

“Good, but Lisa wants to give you another dose at our next stop.”

“Okay.” I say and then go back to my munching.

I listen as they go over the plan once we reach the rendezvous sight. I have no idea where it is just that it’s in South Dakota somewhere. Now you may be wondering why we would be moving to a whole different state just to avoid some cops. Well, that would-be Devin for you. As the leader of the gang, he was in charge and that meant deciding where we stay and where we go in order to complete our “missions” as he likes to call them. I roll my eyes. Missions…yeah right…because we are totally an undercover covert government team. Not. A street gang will always be a street gang no matter how you dress it. We will always be running from the law in some sense or another. Though we have some members of our team with special skills, I don’t see us upgrading to anything special soon.

My thoughts drift to the first time I met Devin. It was about three years ago. I was 11 years old and wandering around the streets of California in a daze. I had accidentally walked into his territory and some of his boys found me. They had just lost several of their members in an “accident” whatever that meant, and were looking for some new blood. I apparently fit the bill. I was a scrawny boy, still am to this day. When they dragged me in to see him, he thought I was some sort of joke. I remember him walking around me poking me with a stick like I was some animal up for auction. After circling me like I was his prey, he bent down to my level and looked me in the eyes. I can still remember the sickening stench of alcohol on his breath. His gaze raked across me and his eyes narrowed dangerously. I thought I was about to be sentenced to my death. Then he smiled and said, “you’re in.” At that moment, I wasn’t sure whether to be extremely happy or absolutely terrified. In all honesty, I don’t know why he picked me. If it was because they needed replacements and were that desperate or if it was my age or something else. At the time, I had no experience with gang life, but I was willing to learn.

The first year was rough and I had to learn to survive or get left behind. It was that first year that I met Lisa and Marcus. They immediately gravitated toward me and showed me how things were run. Devin lived alone and since they had no immediate room for an 11 year, he let me stay with him. I was grateful for a bed, food, and supplies, but I quickly learned it would come with a price.

Devin was a strict man and a violent one. You did things his way or not at all. A square shouldered man of pure muscle and viciousness, one learned quickly to respect him. He wasn’t one for tons of tattoos or piercings, but he had a thing for scars. His face had a particularly nasty one that went from his left eye across his check and down the side of his neck. The skin was raised and darker around that area suggesting it was a fairly old one that had gotten sunburned over and over. No one knows how he got it and he refuses to tell anyone of his backstory.

In the beginning, I was assigned to purely simple tasks such as getting tools and supplies for the others while they did their work. I previously knew how to pick pocket, and smuggle things under the radar of adults. Lisa taught me how to pick locks several different ways including how to get out of handcuffs while strapped to the back of a chair. She said one day it may save your life whether your captured by the authorities or someone else. At that age, it was hard for me to sit still so I often ran around the compound in an attempt to exert some of my energy. Eventually, I met Stephen who talked to Devin about giving me self-defense lessons. He approved and every day for one to two hours I learned how to not only defend myself but also to attack. Devin had strict rules that we could never fight amongst ourselves and if we had no other option, then we were to take it outside. For a gang, we weren’t a family, but we knew we had each other’s backs.

That was until one of our own decided to try and snuff us out for good. His back-stabbing betrayal affected all of us. Devin was never the same after that. He took it more personal than anyone else because the man had apparently been one of the original members. Devin became more cruel and harsher than ever. The week after the event the man cussed every other word that came out of his mouth. A darker side of him emerged and to this day it has remained.

After the day’s mission, he would resort to drinking until he didn’t know what end was up. It was at that time that I would take the brunt of his anger, beating me till I was senseless. Sometimes I would sleep outside on the cold hard ground outside of our living quarters too shaken to go anywhere near the man. I enjoyed the outdoors, the cool night breezes of California that would drift across my warm skin. In the beginning, I ran away until Marcus or Lisa would find me and convince me to come back, not that I had any other choice. I doubt I would have survived on my own at that age. So much for the land of opportunity.

I sigh pulling away from the past. A lot has happened in three years. Much has changed, but some things still remain the same. I am no longer an errand boy, but one that scouts ahead prepping the way for the rest of the men. I make sure the coast is clear and free of authorities or any other unwanted attention. Devin has also used my age to get into places he and the others can’t. I am often the eyes and ears of the operation. Half the time I don’t know what exactly Devin has going down, but it’s bad enough for the local authorities and government to come after us. When we have an assignment, we all find a place to settle down that is in the immediate area of one another though not together. I once asked Devin why and he looked at me like I had just grown another head. I merely nodded and slipped out of the room. I eventually learned why we do the things we do, but I resorted to not asking Devin any more questions unless it was absolutely necessary.

Over the years, we lost members and gained new ones. I am still the youngest of the group, but they treat me like one of their own. Many think I am just an immature brat, and I can be at times, but when push comes to shove, I know how to pull my own weight. I know everyone is counting on me to get my job done and I have surprised them more than once at what I am capable of.

I glance out the window wondering why the car was slowing when I see the toll up ahead. We pass through quickly and continue on. I finish my breakfast and throw away the plate. It was now about mid-morning. We should be at the rendezvous sight by that evening. About fifteen minutes after we crossed into South Dakota, we stop at a small gas station. Marcus goes to fill the tank and Lisa and I get out to stretch. She gives me another round of pain pills and checks my bandages. Satisfied that I won’t break in two, she goes inside to grab some supplies. Before we take off again Lisa calls Devin to check in and get an update.

I wander over to the truck and lean against it. It was days like this that I just wanted to jump into a pool and relax on a beach. I close my eyes to the warm sun hitting my skin. I hear Marcus finish with the gas and cross over to my side.

“Max.” I open my eyes to see a fist coming straight for my face. Instinctively, I duck and twist to my right. I pop up gritting my teeth against my screaming ribs. I take a step away from him and his flying fist.

“Dude, what the heck?” I sputter out quite taken aback.

Marcus’s face is emotionless. He strikes out at me again, but this time I grab his wrist as it goes past and swing out a leg till he drops to his knees. I then twist around until I have him in a headlock.

“Are you done?” I growl into his ear. He nods and I release him. As soon as he feels my grip slipping, he slashes out with his elbow hitting my side and before I have the time to register, he spins and is on his feet. I cry out in pain, but all that comes out is a strangled gurgle. In seconds, his hand is on my throat and I feel my head hit the siding of the truck. I can still breathe so I know he doesn’t mean to harm me, but his grip remains firm. He stares at me with hardened eyes. I glare back at him just as fiercely. He lets me hang there for a few more seconds before letting go. I bend over coughing and draw in a ragged breath.

“Did you really have elbow me that hard?” I ask weakly leaning against the truck.

“No, but I want you to be prepared. You must never let your guard down, no matter how injured you are.”

I let out a strained laugh. “You think I don’t know that?”

“You could have fooled me.”

I glare at him before another coughing spasm gets me. I see Lisa run over to us out of the corner of my eye.

“Marcus, what did you do to him?” she sounded angry.

“A short test session.”

I hear a stinging slap that makes me flinch.

“He’s fourteen and already trying to heal from another beating. I don’t need you adding to his injuries.” I feel Lisa’s hand rubbing my back. “You okay, Max?”

I nod. “Yeah, just give me a moment.” I slowly stand up feeling like I got my breath back.

“I can’t leave either of you two alone for one second, can I? How hard did he hit you?”

“More like jab,” I reply with a slight groan. “But, I’ll be fine really. Lisa, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not Max. We need you to be fully functional and I will not allow my brother to stop that. I don’t care what his reasons are.”

“Lisa, the kid needs to learn—” Marcus began.

Lisa whirls around her face darkened with anger. “I said I don’t care. He has plenty of time to learn and if you won’t respect that, then you will have a serious problem. We can’t do our jobs if one of our most reliable members is down and out because you want to teach him a lesson on how to overcome pain. I will not allow it. Do you understand me?”

Marcus nods slowly. “Yes, I understand.”

“Good, now both of you get in the truck. I just called Devin and he said that we have a serious problem and need to get to the rendezvous sight ASAP.”

She shot one last glare at Marcus, who was still rubbing his reddened cheek, before stalking off to the driver’s seat.