On the surface, Jacklyn and Andre were posted against the brick wall with officers Bennis and Rickard off on the other side. She glanced down at the sewer and chuckled.

  “Imagine she just never comes back up.”

  Andre exhaled through his nose and shook his head. “Speaking of which, did you report back to Capitol yet? Ya ’know, brat watch and all.”

  “I did a few hours ago,” she replied. “Though, you should probably send another now. You know how impatient the guy is.”

  “I hear ya.” Whipping out his phone, Andre went right to texting.

  “You know now that I think about it, maybe Alastor knew what he was doing not letting us be the leaders.”

  He stopped and looked at her.

  She put her hands up. “Hear me out. That bitch Rosa’s soooooo incompetent that we have to literally babysit her to make sure she doesn’t pull a repeat of Amesworth.”

  “…” His expression softened and went back to texting. “I guess that is sorta our jobs right now.”

  “See? Toldja!”

  Andre nodded, though his face fell, “Speaking of Amesworth, you plan on visiting your brother? He’s only gonna be held here a few more days before he’s moved to an actual prison.”

  “Fuck no,” she replied popping another stick of gum in her mouth. “Let him and his cronies be called anything under the sun; traitors, terrorists, who cares?” she side-eyed him, “So why do you?”

  “…”

  “Andre.”

  He sighed, “I’ll be real. I don’t know how it’s so easy for you to toss family aside. They really all you got at the end of the day.”

  “Ta! Easy for you to say!” she flicked a finger in his direction. “You just say that because unlike mine your folks cared.”

  “I know your parents were trash,” he said, “But you’re brother—”

  “Is even worse than them!” she interjected. “Yet here you are defending him of all people.”

  “Look, he still saved your life. If he didn’t push you out the way—”

  “Well his loss! Besides he’s privileged so he was fine anyways.” She threw her head back and groaned. “Ugh, I can’t believe you of all people would take his side!”

  He groaned, “Forget about it, alright?”

  She side eyed him. “Y’know, you’ve been real off for some time now. All docile and shit, it’s pissing me off!”

  He put his phone down, “Look, what do you want?”

  “I want the old you back.” She smirked, “A9.”

  “Hey!” he barked shooting a quick glance over his shoulder to the cops, “What did I tell you on the plane—!”

  “What did you not tell me?” she asked cocking her head. “What’s really on your mind, A9?” She squeezed her neck and pitched her voice, “Does your wittle throat still hurt?”

  “…” He turned and started to walk away, “I ain’t doing this now, ‘specially with you—”

  ‘POP!’

  He jerked back at the sudden burst of a pink bubble near his hear. Jacklyn’s laughter rang out at his side, prompting him to grab her by her collar and slam her against the wall.

  “You tryna get hurt?!” he demanded.

  “I…can’t b-breath—!” she sputtered, snorting with laughter.

  “Shut up!” he snapped, “You nasty ass bitch! Just stay outta my business!”

  “…Pfft! Andre, did you get abandoned when I wasn’t looking?”

  ‘SMASH!’

  By the time Jacklyn could react, her wide eyes were on the hole smashed through the bricks inches from her head. They then glossed back to Andre, whose eyes met hers and quickly let her go. He turned away, his hand shaking as he picked up his phone, which was now badly cracked. She immediately felt her stomach swell with regret, “Andre—”

  “Alastor, my family, none of ‘em got nothing to do with this!” he snapped, “I only asked cause Bob’s your brother at the end of the day, you hear me? I can’t change that, ever!”

  The sounds of the city and alley seemed to fade around the two. The young woman looked on at him, his face a twist of anger and surprisingly shock—even more than hers. Her body tensed at the sight, it was a face she’d tried to forget about for years.

  “…I know.” She said.

  Andre then snapped his head to the officer’s, who’d been staring at them. He glared, “What you looking at?!”

  They quickly looked away but the younger man was already halfway towards them. There was an odd look in his eye.

  “Seriously, is something funny?” he cocked his head. “Cause now I wanna know!”

  ‘What in the world’s his problem?’ Bennis thought. His hand instinctively reached for his sidearm. ‘Alright, boy, you wanna act like a thug? I’ll treat you like one!’

  Rickard could only watch as everything went down in slow motion. He saw the young man was less than six feet as Bennis’s shaky hand touched the barrel of his weapon. His palms were wet with sweat and his eyes shook, his heart pounded. Then, he took a brave breath and straightened his tie.

  “You can’t beat him!” his voice shrilled through the air. Surprisingly, the two stopped. Bennis especially was puzzled.

  “Rick?” he asked, “What’re you—”

  “You heard me!” he declared and pointed at Andre. “This man you attempt to harm his chief Charlie Bennis of the Head Police Precinct in Empire city, boasting of a proud six star record!”

  Andre just looked at him.

  “Y-yeah! Tell them Bennis!”

  “Eh? Tell ‘em what?”

  “Tell them how we bravely confronted those homeless in the park!”

  “The one’s you so scared of?” Andre asked.

  “Yes and you would be too if you saw what we saw! There were so many of them, but I remember this Black Collared man, this gray haired kid, and the—”

  Anastasia appeared behind him, her eyes almost in a trance. “Black Collared what?”

  “GAH!” the cop jumped a few feet into the air, bumping into Bennis as he helped rebalance him and turn to the short woman behind him. “Where’d you come from?! And did you find anyth—”

  “Focus,” Anastasia pinched Rickard’s chin and lowered him to her height. “Describe this ‘Black Collared’ man and gray child.”

  The man’s face blushed and began to sweat, he gulped. “You see, the night we lost Gleem we got reports of this riot in central park. Apparently there was a Blue Collared man being assaulted but when we got there there was a mob of knocked out hoodlums and an older boy who didn’t look too good and a man in a white dress shirt and black tie with him. Kinda like yours!”

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  “Black Collars are illegal to wear outside of approved government work.” Anastasia pulled him closer, “And you didn’t think to run a background check?”

  “We were in a rush! Plus it’s only a misdemeanor”

  Andre looked over, “Sounds like that matches Snow Bunny’s description.”

  Jacklyn looked over to Rickard, she seemed annoyed. “How long ago was this?”

  “It was a few days ago, three probably!”

  She snapped her gum, “Looks like we’ve got a lead.”

  Anastasia dropped him, turning to Andre, Jacklyn, and Bennis. “You three go to the Head Precinct, do full background checks on every single person involved. Officer Rickard, escort me to where the cameras were taken down.”

  “What?!” Rickard exclaimed. “That’s gonna take forever!”

  “Good,” the woman replied, “then we’ll have plenty opportunities for evidence.” Turning to her bike, she motioned for Andre and Jacklyn to follow, which they begrudgingly did. Officer Bennis snickered at them.

  “Looks like we’re all in the same boat. Being ordered around like dogs.”

  Andre opened the car door, ignoring him, but Jacklyn turned around and calmly strode back towards the man. With a grin she kicked him in the side of his knee so hard he fell over sideways, howling in pain. Standing over him, she placed her foot on his knee and leaned over.

  “Last I checked this corrupted government still benefits us and we’re still above you, little Blue.” She plucked the gum from her mouth and pressed it on his forehead, making him scream as he felt his limbs begin to shake violently before freezing and instantly becoming heavy, shriveling to the ground. She then pulled it off and stuck it back in his mouth. “To us, you’ll always be just another street cop. Don’t forget that.”

  She gave him one last kick to the stomach and disappeared into the vehicle. Officer Rickard crawled over to him.

  “Chief, you okay?”

  “Of course I’m not! It feels like I got damn sleep paralysis!”

  “Well, you still gotta escort them.”

  “I know…dammit.”

  ________________________________________________________________________

  9 Years ago

  “I tried to warn ya, man,” a younger boy told him on the school playground that day. He tossed a basketball into the hoop, “Them trailer kids nothing but trouble.”

  “It was that damn lying bus driver too!” Andre said a few feet from him catching it. He threw it to the rim. “And aren’t you always on about running up on their whole park? Like you gonna ‘conquer it’ or something?”

  The ball bounced back hard and the younger boy tensed, barley catching it. “C’mon, you already I’m always jiving! Those folk ain’t worth my left kidney. That’s why they keep us separate at recess.”

  Andre sighed and looked over at the right side of the rundown playground where the white kids played. Their side got more space and faded hopscotch while his side got the basketball hoop and a deflated ball. Peering, he got a glimpse of the messy haired girl again propped up against the old fence as a bald older kid and three others walked up to her, the bald one was taller than the rest, wearing a confederate flag on his t-shirt. The younger boy furrowed his brow, looking in Andre’s direction and landing a hoop. “Now you on the other hand…”

  “Shut it, Ty-ty!” he snapped, hurling it harder than before at him. This time, younger boy jumped to the side, letting the ball fly to the other side of the playground.

  “OW!” Someone cried.

  Ty-ty shot his head back to Andre, “Would you quit it with the temper tantrums before you get me in trouble to?!”

  “Then stop saying dumb stuff!” he said. He took a breath and shook his head, grabbing another ball and tossing it to him gently this time. “Look man I’m sorry, alright? Just seeing them kids…”

  “Is it about dad?” the younger boy asked, making another shot off the backboard.

  Andre shook his head, catching it. “Forget about it, man.”

  “Hey, it’s cool!” he said, “You was closer to him than the rest of us, always taking you to the railyard, talkin’ about ‘building this place back up’. If you think I’m jealou—”

  “It ain’t that. It’s just…” he held the ball tight, staring at the hoop. “I’ve always knew that I’d—you know—his place was always ready for me for when the time came I had to step up…” he gaze fell to the ball, feeling his grip tighten even more, “but I…I never thought that I’d never be ready for it…”

  “…Actually Andre,” Ty-ty said, “How ‘bout a quick one-on-one—?”

  “It’s just somethin’ I always thought about, that’s all,” Andre said, “Y’know dad once told me, ‘the world only turns for itself’. You get it? If I don’t move on with it, it’ll leave me.” He bounced the ball and tossed it to the hoop, “And that’s the last thing dad would want.”

  ‘Swish!’

  The ball bounced it the ground, rolling to Ty-ty and hitting his shoes. Andre glanced over, “Hey, man! You gonna grab it or…Ty-ty?”

  The younger boy sniffed, his shoulders shriveling, “Will I ever have to be ready…to take your place, Andre?”

  “What? Man look, you know that’d never—”

  “Cause I don’t know what’d I’d do,” he said, “I lied, okay? I am a little jealous. It’s easier being older ‘cause it’s like—it’s like you get used to all the bad stuff happening around.” He let out a quick breath. “I know that ain’t fair to say—”

  “Ty-ty,” Andre said, placing his hand up, “Everything’s gonna be alright.”

  He made a face. “Huh? How you know that?”

  “Cause I’m your older brother and I said so.” He replied confidently. He walked over and playfully pulled him into a headlock. “And as the younger brother, you’re supposed to believe what I say every time cause that’s our deal!”

  “Alright, alright, I’ll go back to making kidney jokes now let me go!” he laughed.

  ‘Next time, keep the sentimental stuff to yourself, Andre.’ He thought to himself, ‘There’s no reason to tell Ty-ty about it.’

  “Hey, you!” a gruff, yet youthful voice called. The two looked over to see the bald guy walking up to them along with three others at his sides, one with black hair, one with brown, and the third with blond. The bald one led the way, holding their basketball. His eyebrow-less face creased to a smirk, “Was this yours?”

  “That depends, “Andre said, stepping ahead of his brother, “You gonna pop it when I say yeah?”

  “Maybe,” he said. His hands pressed on the ball hard, his veins bulging until the ball exploded with air. He tossed it to the ground and kicked it to them. “Keep your trash on your side.” He said, turning to leave with his grinning friends.

  “I will when you keep your enhancers out of ours!” Andre shot back, “You look like a damn pig with no eyebrows.”

  The older boy stopped, he turned around, his teary eyed face twisted in anger. He stomped towards him, grabbing him by the chain around his neck. “There’s nothing wrong with my eyebrows!”

  “Yeah, cause they aren’t there!” Andre said grabbing his wrists and twisting it off. “And hands off the chain.” The other three looked shocked.

  “Hey!” the black haired boy’s shrill voice rang, “No one’s ever grabbed Bob like that! Apologize!”

  “We can do better,” the blond one said confidently. He stepped up. “How ‘bout we teach this kid what happens when he steps into the wrong neighborhood.”

  The playground grew quiet. The kids on Andre’s side stopped all they were doing to look, their bodies still yet tense. Bob’s side was the same, everyone eyeing the two at the center, ready to jump in at the slightest movement. Noticing, Bob smirked, “Looks like we got ourselves an audience!” he jabbed Andre back by the chest with his finger, “What’d you say, thug?”

  “Hey!!”

  Suddenly, a girl with long braided hair spilling from her bun with colorful beads, and wearing dark overalls ran in. She panted, her head shooting from Andre, the crowd, then to Ty-ty. “Aren’t you all gonna try and stop—!”

  “Ty-ty, Glory,” Andre said, pulling the red chain from his neck and swinging it. “You’d both better not snitch to ma about this at home.”

  “Relax!” Ty-ty waved, “You know I’d sell my left kidney before I’d rat!”

  “What?!” the girl said, “Are you two—?!”

  With a roar, Bob charged forward, throwing a punch at him, but Andre fell to the side, whipping the weapon across his face, then the back of his head. With a growl, Bob’s fists shot repeatedly at the shorter boy, faster and faster—but Andre fainted back, flicking his wrist ever so slightly and sending a small loop from his side of the chain to Bob’s, the end flicking just under his eye. Bob cried out even louder, trying to grab him, but Andre was quicker, ducking his arms into a deep crouch and jumping over him. His weapon looped around the bald boy’s neck as he landed behind him. He yanked, Bob choking. His side cheered.

  “That’s my boy, Andre!” a heavy set kid yelled, “Make him regret wearing that shirt!”

  “Yeah!” Ty-ty cheered, “That’s my older brother right there!”

  “That’s not fair!” the black haired kid cried out, “Bob’s Talent isn’t even manifested yet!”

  Bob’s blond friend growled, glaring at the chain wielding boy, reaching for his back pocket, “Ok, dread-head, let’s see your ‘Talent’ deal with real talent…”

  The brown haired one’s eyes widened, reaching for him, “Right, no—!”

  From the corner of Andre’s eye, he saw the gun being drawn up as if it were in slow motion. His gaze shot back to Ty-ty and Glory who were only a few feet behind him. He shot back and tried to let go, but the blond already pulled the trigger.

  ‘BLA—Fwoop!’

  Andre grunted, shutting his eyes. After a moment he opened them again to see a middle aged man standing between them in a green button up shirt and brown pants. His face looked bored and tired while his yardstick was smoking with a bullet mark on it. He whipped it around and smacked Right upside the head, sending him flipping to his back. He looked back at Andre, his chain in his hand, “Mr. Carmichael,” he spoke in an Indian accent, “You weren’t in class today.”

  “Rup—I mean, Mr. Singh!” Andre stammered, “There was this fake-ass samurai and—”

  “You can tell me in detention,” he said, turning his attention from him to Bob, “As for you, Mr. Wollfe, I will be telling your parents you attempted to stir the pot again.”

  “It’s not my fault!” Bob exclaimed. He pointed to Andre, “He threw his ball at us first!”

  “I don’t care who did who,” the teacher said, “There is to be no Talent usage within school walls. Especially with how quick you all turn violent.” He turned to the rest of the crowd, “Now, recess is over. Go to your last two classes.” He walked away, turning to look back in Andre’s direction, “And you two will be seeing me after that.”

  “You two?” Andre said, glancing behind him as well. He saw the messy haired girl was watching them, still chewing her gum with a small grin on her face. Before Andre react, Ty-ty slapped his back.

  “Man oh man, I should’ve bet my left kidney you’ win!” he laughed, “Then we’d be rich!”

  “That’s not funny!” Glory said, “Andre, why are you always trying to get us riled up? What if he shot you? You know how mama would react, she can’t do it again!”

  “Oh knock it off Glory!” Ty-ty shot back, “Andre had it all figured out, didn’t you bro?”

  Still looking ahead, Andre turned the other way, making his way back inside, shoulders slumped. “Tell ma I’ll be home as soon as I can.” He said.

  “Andre!” Ty-ty called to his back, “Wait!”