Page 12 of Fury
Early days
Gabe, four years later
“Fuck.” The word gained extra syllables as he growled it into the darkness of the alley. He hadn’t seen the blow that had finally taken him down. Gabe pushed against the ground, trying to get his feet underneath him. One arm buckled, sending him sprawling into the slimy grime along the edges of the cobblestone and he shouted with the pain, cheek pressed to the chill of the bricks underneath him.
“Stay down.” Gabe froze at the command in that voice. The speaker had utmost certainty that he would be obeyed. He believed his words would be taken as gospel, and it sounded so much like Gabe’s old man, he couldn’t suppress a shudder that rolled through him.
Not my daddy.That was all the reminder he needed, and Gabe gathered himself for another attempt. “Fuck.” He paused, got one knee on the ground and shoved again, staggering as he gained his feet. “You.”
“Boy.” Now the voice sounded faintly amused but pleased, like Gabe had done something unexpected and rare. “Takes some balls to climb your ass back up after the beatdown you just took. Should stop while you’re ahead. Stay down. Just fuckin’ quit.”
Reaching back with one arm, Gabe tried to find the wall he knew had to be there, praying it wasn’t far and that his legs would hold him up until he found the support. “I don’t.” He stumbled, and the movement woke a deeper pain.Fuck. “Quit.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” A different voice, this from beside him, and Gabe felt a shoulder shoved under his arm. “He’s done, Shooter. Paid his dues.”
Gabe’s eyes had squeezed shut against the pain which seemed to be coming at him from all directions, swamping him like a metal johnboat in a sudden storm. Wave after wave, doing their damnedest to take him down. Flinging his head back, he forced his eyes open as he stiffened his legs, leaning on his unexpected supporter.
“Whatcha think, Gabe? Think you’ve paid your dues? Think you’re ready to join the big boys?”Shooter. Now that Gabe had a name, he recognized the voice, one he’d spoken to over the phone several times in the past month. Gabe had been trying to extricate his group from the larger chapter in Louisville, and the man had repeatedly put him off, claiming multiple excuses that never seemed to hold water. Rumor had it he wasn’t Diamante at all, but Outrider. Rumor was wrong.
Can’t complain when you’re the beggar, he thought. “Pretty clear—” He paused to breathe, wrapping an arm around his gut and grunting as the pain in his ribs hit him. “I’m sittin’ out on the porch.” Hissing in reaction to a movement from the man beside him, he grunted again. “For the duration.”
“Tellin’ you, he’s done, Shooter. You leave him alive, we are assured of his loyalty.” The voice had a faintly Mexican accent, a way of rolling the letters that sounded exotic.
“Fuck you, Chismoso. He ain’t done until I say he’s done.”
Chismoso. Diamante from Juarez. If he were here, then crazy Lalo won’t be far be—
Something hit Gabe’s calf, sweeping his legs out from under him as his knees crumpled. He went down hard, unable to break his fall, arms instinctively going to protect his already damaged ribs. Another voice, this one gleeful as it shouted, “Again!”
Blow after blow stripped his senses, each sharp pain pushing him deeper under until there was just a noisy blackness all around.
“Tabby and Jonny, sittin’ in a tree.” The shouted rhyme came from a multitude of throats, the gaggle of boys on the schoolyard gravitating towards the ring of bodies already formed around a small girl huddled on the ground. Her too-big pants with ground-in stains from being pushed to the grass had pulled to gape at her waist, her shirt had rucked up and Gabe could see the livid bruise on her back.Goddamn Daddy to hell.
He pushed through the circle, shoving until he went to his knees beside her, reaching out and pulling her into his arms. Her tears wetting his chest, he glared up at the faces laughing down, their words and laughter trailing off as his anger made itself known. Silence descended, and the bell rang, the long rope pulled by the favored first grader calling everyone back to class.
She pushed against him, hands fluttering like butterflies as she tried to escape without touching his skin. A moment later he heard her utter a word and understood, hating that he did, hating even more that she did. “Unclean.”
“Don’t care about that, Tabbycat. I got you.” He pushed to his feet, pulling her up alongside him and walked her to the side door of the schoolhouse. Calling the teacher over, Gabe explained, and they escaped together.
He got Tabby to talking, and she finally gave up the names of the boys who’d started hazing her. The next day was Saturday, and Gabe knew where the boys would be. He forced himself out of bed early to do chores so he could be at the fishing hole before they arrived.
At supper that night, he caught Tabby staring at his hands, knuckles scuffed and bruised from the lesson he’d delivered. When he finally got her to look at his face, he winked, and she ducked her head. But before she had, he’d seen the tiny smile.Work my fingers to the bone to see that.
After a time, even the noisy blackness receded.
***
“Fuck, boss. You took a beatin’.”
Gabe shifted on his back, sliding to one side a few inches, twisting his neck so he could see the speaker. His side was one throbbing mass of pain so he rolled slightly, finding his flanks and low back were just as bad.Gonna piss blood.
“Jesus.”
He tried forcing one eye open, making it into a bare squint. The blood, sweat, and fluids had dried and caked the upper and lower lashes together, so he could only open it a fraction of an inch. A round face hovered close, the man’s features swimming in and out of focus while Gabe concentrated on maintaining that fraction of an inch long enough to see who it was. The voice was familiar, but nothing made sense right now.
Probably cuz my head hurts so fuckin’ bad.
“Can you sit up?”
