Page 5 of Benga's Rise
At the light, two are leaning on an old TV repair shop. I can see three more at an alleyway just past. There is a lot of activity on the street, but it looks young. Hoodies covering their heads make it hard to tell age. They could be midgets that are cold, but I doubt it.
Cort pulls right up to the sentinels and one smiles. His buddy elbows him in the stomach hard enough that we see it on the little kid’s face. He’s too fucking young to be out here.
“They ain’t cruzin’ or buyin’,” the punk says. He goes to turn and Cort has him up in the air by the front of his shirt. It reminds me of Hade and the midget chihuahuas.
I’m off my bike standing at his side quickly. I notice Beacon and Brothers pulling in behind the other Enforcer team at the kids in the alleyway. The little kid looks scared so I pull him to the side. “Why aren’t you in school?” I get a shrug. “What’s going to happen here is we’ll stop the gang activity and keep Brothers close.”
A look of relief crosses his face telling me he’s not here willingly. “You aren’t afraid of bikers, but you’re afraid of kids?”
He’s nervous so I keep his arm and turn him, walking a couple of steps further. “You ain’t hurting kids. I used to live in town, you keep us safe,” he says, with a trembling lip like he’s trying to convince one of us. Fuck.
I flip my piece off and ask, “Why’d you move away?”
He shrugs, trying for anit doesn’t matterlook. “My old man left, we lost the house and moved here.”
“Where’s your mom working?”
Now he looks scared. I turn him so he can see the kid Cort is talking to with waterworks showing. When he looks back, he’s ready to talk. “Mercy. She’s an intake supervisor. If she leaves again, she’ll get fired. Don’t call her, mister.”
Reaching down, I pull my phone, get to notes and start asking questions. The kid doesn’t hold back, surprising me. I bet he was at the women’s movement.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m fucking pissed. His father is a dick that was hosed and stepped out when the mother refused to move and threatened to call Phoenix on him. No help with money for his kid and she lost the house. She’s got a good job, Brinks’ words replay, it’s just not enough. There’s another from town here and he had one a grade ahead of him when he went to school. It strikes me as too many.
I call Banks. “I’m at town C. Three in the neighborhood came from our town. It seems too coincidental.”
“I’ll check it out, VP. We had a bunch of Masons and Brothers from out of state move in, so people moving out would fit. I never thought about them leaving.”
“Got a mom working as a supervisor in the hospital. Seems like a good job, but she couldn’t swing it and ended up here.”
“Fuck. I’ll look now.”
“Thanks, Brother.” I swipe him off as Beacon walks our way. “Brother,” I say so he’ll talk without dragging it out.
He juts his chin toward the kid. “VP, I’ll take him to the others, they’re eating breakfast around the corner.”
Leo smiles again. “Thanks.” He’s a cute kid when he’s not selling drugs or standing sentinel.
Beacon takes him by the shoulder after pushing the hood back. “If you see our face, we see yours.”
Leo doesn’t seem to care and smiles up at him. Fuck. He’s too young to be learning shit from a gang. I walk back to Cort and Brinks.
“Pussy has them muling and selling out here every day. If they go to school, kids are waiting to beat them when they get out.” Brinks is giving what I got.
Cort is pissed. I stand at his side so my shoulder is against his. With a deep breath, he lets some anger out. “Hade getting us location?”
Brinks nods. “Yeah, Boss. A kid had a plate and make of his car. No one knows where he lives. Security has some of these kids scared of the others, they aren’t here willingly.”
Cort’s whole body freezes. He’d say rage is running through him. I believe it. I’ve seen it enough and I know what he can do if he doesn’t relax, so I lean my shoulder on his a little harder. “I got that and three from our town are here. We pick up the dick and dismantle his little play. They are too young for it to be more than new and the Sheriff doesn’t have anything more than four months old for them.”
Brinks watches as Cort slowly releases his breath. “Yeah, Hade?”
I flip my piece back on. “Boss, I have two As on it. This pussy is manager of some office up there. Worked at HP until it closed. Lives in a big house near the village. Banks is pulling shit with more As and Web is up in HR with As in the server room. I don’t have anyone to get me more right now.”
“You got an address for the office?”
“On your board. I can keep the second Enforcer team with you or send Security. I don’t have feeds to, or in the office.”
Cort turns and strides to his bike, we have a new mission. If I said he was predictable, he’d be pissed, so I just smile and follow. “No, keep everyone here. Blowback without Enforcers puts the kids and Security at risk. This dickass isn’t expecting us and I doubt he’s got fucking sentinels in his building. Send a cleanup truck when we get there.”
