“Old man, you talking to me?” One of the thugs
shoved my dad to the ground. “Watch your
mouth.”
I kicked him. “Touch my dad again and see what happens.”
Then everything went black. Two of them
grabbed me from behind, slamming me into the
wall.
The hospital erupted in chaos. Security guards
arrived, pulling us apart. I gasped for breath,
adrenaline coursing through me. I wanted to
tear them apart.
Brittany’s dad straightened his collar, sneered.
“My daughter’s top of her class. Your
daughter’s nothing. We beat her up, so what?
The law will do what it does, we’ll pay what we
have to. Even if she goes to juvie, I can make
that disappear overnight. You’re not getting a
dime out of me. Suicide? Good riddance.”
The principal stood there, watching, his face
cold. He turned and walked away.
Lily woke up.
She reached out, gently touched my lip. It was bleeding, I hadn’t noticed.
“Brother,” she whispered, tears in her eyes. “Am I causing you trouble?”
I squeezed her hand. “You’re never trouble.”
“Brother, don’t fight anymore. I… I can quit
school…”
“Lily,” I said, “if we have to constantly give way to bad people, then we’re pushing good people
off a cliff. I will get justice for you. We are not
the ones who should be hiding.”
“But Brother, they…”
<
“Do you trust me?”
Lily looked at me, nodded fiercely. She always
had.
“Pinky swear,” I said. “Pinky swears are
unbreakable.”
A plan, cold and sharp, formed in my mind. I
shivered with excitement.
I’d never broken a pinky swear to Lily. Never
would.
Later, after Lily fell asleep, I called my
roommate, Alex. He was rich, the only one I
could think of who could help.
“What’s up, old man?”
I swallowed the urge to curse him out. “I need
to borrow some money.”
“Sure, how much?”
“Three hundred thousand.”
“What?!” His voice shot up. “You get caught
with a hooker or something?”
“This is serious, Alex. I need it. I’ll pay you
back.”
“It’s not about the money.” He paused. “Give
me your address.”
I told him. He grunted and hung up. My heart
sank. Alex was a crucial part of my plan. I’d
never doubted our friendship.
The worry lasted until the next morning.
Alex, in a suit and sunglasses, stood on my
doorstep, looking ridiculously smug.
“Domn duda Vou ruchod homo to ant your 200
<
“Damn, dude. You rushed home to get your ass
kicked?” He surveyed my bruised and battered
face. “Seriously, did you get caught with
someone’s wife?”
He could never resist a jab.
I told him what happened.
His face darkened as I spoke.
“You should’ve called me! I would’ve come with
you! I’d have ripped their heads off!”
I waved him off. “Never mind that. Did you bring the money?”
“In the car.” He led me to a sleek black SUV.
Two huge guys sat inside. “I had a feeling
something was up. Borrowed a couple of guys from my dad’s security team. Ex–cage fighters, check out the muscles!” He grinned. “Pretty
solid, right?”
<
“Beyond solid.”
“Those the two?” Alex pointed through the car
window at two girls walking down the street.
I recognized Brittany’s sidekicks. I nodded.
“Alright, boys, showtime.”
The two giants hopped out, holding flyers. They
approached the girls with practiced smiles.
“Grand opening sale! Latest iPhone, only
ninety–nine bucks with student ID. Ladies,
interested?”
The girls hesitated.
“We’re also doing a free raffle inside. Come try
your luck!”
That did it. The promise of free stuff was too
tempting. They followed eagerly.
We led them through a maze of backstreets
and alleys. They entered a storefront. The metal gate slammed down behind them.
I sat in the center of the room, a smile
spreading across my face as their expressions
shifted from excitement to terror.
“What is this? What are you doing?!”
“What am I doing?” I pulled out a butcher knife,
the polished blade flashing in the dim light.
“What do you think I’m doing?”
They backed away, until they hit the wall,
trapped.
“You kill us, you’ll go to jail!” one of them shrieked. “You’ll go to jail!”
I shrugged. “One for two. Seems like a fair
trade.”
<
“You…!” The realization that I was serious hit
them. They screamed.
“Help! Someone! Help!!”
I let them scream.
After about three minutes, their voices hoarse,
their hope gone, they broke.
“Don’t kill me! Brittany made us do it! We
didn’t want to hurt Lily! She said she’d get us if
we didn’t! Please, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
They knelt at my feet, clutching my legs. I
kicked them away.
“Save it for the devil.”
I raised the knife.
Clang!
<
11:08
The blade slammed into the wall, sending
sparks flying.
A pungent smell filled the air.
They’d wet themselves.
Alex strolled out from the back room, yawning
theatrically.
“What’s all the racket, Jake? What are you
doing?” He saw the knife in my hand. “Whoa,
you going to whack them?”
I glared at him. “Stay out of this.”
He grabbed the knife from my hand. “We
agreed, we’re keeping them alive, remember?”
He nudged the whimpering girls with his foot.
“Hey, you guys minors?”
They saw a flicker of hope in his eyes and
<
nodded frantically.
“Yes, sir! We’re minors!”
Alex smiled. “Good. Minors‘ organs fetch a
better price.”
