MC: Callahan (11 page)

I take the boys, leaving four guards with Pres. He still has the two from Security on the floor, although they didn’t see Danny and VP until they were leaving. Pres will be in the room, so I’m not too worried. He can take care of himself.

At the house I carry Jessie in and up the stairs. Ricky waits in the truck with HS from the gate. They’ve doubled up tonight. Kate is relieved. Chet is in the house with her, but she’s been anxious for Jessie to get home.

Ricky moves through the house slowly. Nancy made up the downstairs room for him, but he wants to sleep upstairs. I carry him up and lower him at the bathroom. I grab some sweats and tell him to leave the shirt off then help him into his bed. “Should’ve stayed downstairs, you won’t be able to get out or back in this bed alone,” I whisper to him.

“The boys must be scared. They need to know I’m good. After they leave for school can you come get me?” Fuckin’ kid.

“Yeah, you did good today, Ricky. You saved your Brother. This is one of the hardest things Brothers deal with. Danny once told me it’s kill or be killed for Brothers, it’s not like there are other choices. You did what you had to, you kept everyone living.” I bend and kiss his head. “I would hate for something to have happened to you and I never had the chance to tell you I loved you. You’re a special kid, you’re our special kid, and I’m proud of you.”

I see his tears. “Yeah. Thanks, Tiny, I love you guys too.” I leave before we both need tampons.

I open the door and Danny and Doc are standing there. What the fuck does he want? I wait for an explanation. “Doc came to check on Ricky. He’s been taking care of Jessie.”

I open the door wider and step back. Sally came yesterday. Ricky didn’t say much to her, but he’ll have something to say to Doc. “Where’s Sally?”

“She’s at the Women’s Center. They had an emergency,” Danny says.

“I know you don’t want to see me, but Ricky needs to be checked. He’s got broken ribs and bruised kidneys. I need to know he’s drinking enough and breathing okay.”

“He’s in the kitchen eating.” I point the way.

When Doc walks in Ricky drops his fork. “I don’t need you here, I’m fine.” He’s not into forgiveness today. I don’t blame him, so I keep my mouth shut. I can take him to the doctors if he needs it.

Danny steps closer. “Ricky, I know you’re pissed, but he just needs to check your lungs. With you being wrapped you can get pneumonia. The last thing you need is to be coughing with broken ribs. Let Doc check you out, then he’s leaving.”

He pushes on the table to stand and puts his arms out at his sides. Doc moves closer, dropping his bag on the table and pulling his stethoscope. I watch as Ricky barely answers him. He drops his stuff in the bag and lifts Ricky’s shirt. He looks at his back then unwraps his ribs. As he’s wrapping him back up, Doc tells him he’s sorry for the way he treated him and Ricky was right; he was an asshole about it. Ricky stares straight at me with his jaw clenched. He doesn’t say a word. Doc’s shoulders drop. He tells him he’s good and he’ll be by tomorrow.

“No, Sally or Amanda can check me.” He turns around and sits, finishing his lunch.

I walk behind Doc and Danny. “He needs to get over this,” Doc says. I growl.

Danny puts his hand on my shoulder. “I’ll explain on the way back and I’ll talk to Amanda. I should have thought of her first.” I nod. Doc looks at us surprised. I want to punch him right the fuck out. Danny pushes him out the door. “Tell Ricky I’m sorry, I didn’t get it.”

“Anything from VP?” I’m not sure if he knows or not.

He looks at Doc then back at me. Doc stepped down from Officer. He’s not privy to information anymore. “I’m meeting up with him in a couple of hours.” I throw him chin and watch him walk away. I close the door before Doc opens his mouth and I hit him. Fuckin’ clueless moron.

Ricky looks up when I walk in. “Danny apologizes and says he’ll talk to Amanda.”

“Thanks. I know I’m being a di—jerk, but he’s a grown freakin’ man and didn’t have the balls to say he didn’t want me. He treated me like crap then wants to make sure I’m okay?”

“I get it, Ricky, I’m not saying he’s right and you’re wrong. I’m not saying anything. I think Amanda would be better for you. She won’t piss you off.”

He smiles. The bruises on his face are getting lighter, but his eye looks worse. “She’s hot too.” He loses the smile. “Bob will kill me if I step out of line with her, though. He’s scary when he’s pissed.”

I laugh. “Remember you don’t touch what belongs to a Brother and you’ll never go wrong. Learn it now, it may save your life later on.”

He nods and clears his plate. “Can I go see little Ben today?”

“See if he’s up for visitors. Jess asked Brothers to wait until he got home.” Officers have been going up, but VP isn’t back yet and Jess is nervous. I don’t want to tell him that, though.

He nods. “He asked me to come up with Darren and Jessie. I think he wants to talk.” He looks down.

“Did you talk to the counselor Kate set up yesterday?” This is the first time he’s brought it up.

He looks everywhere but at me. “Yeah, but he doesn’t get it. He talked more about home and sh..stuff.”

“I’ll take you up with the Little Brothers, set it up.” He needs to get it out. I’ve seen enough shows to know he can’t keep this in. Dr. Phil would have a field day with these kids.

I go out the front and call Nancy, letting her know where we’ll be. She thinks it will be good for him too. I check in with Transport to make sure everything is running smoothly; it is. I love my job. Once Jess gets the pages set up, I do a couple of hours a week at the office, then the Prospects schedules and check-ins. My busiest weeks are the Brothers training weeks and they only happen every other month. It leaves me open to help when someone needs it, like today.

Ricky comes out dressed telling me they’re ready. We pick up the Little Brothers and head to the hospital with HS in front and behind us.

*  *  *

Heather is helping me empty boxes from today’s order. “It’s getting busier. It makes the day go by fast,” she says, grabbing another stack of hangers.

“Summer is coming. It’s pretty steady until the kids go back to school.”

“Are the kids going to the Kids Center for the summer?”

I look at her and think. “Yeah, it’s in CJ’s contract.” We need to decide what we’ll do for Laconia and vacation; I’ll have to ask Tiny and CJ.

The boys and Sheila have been so good with Ricky. I thought for sure there would be hard feelings because of the adoption, but they’re happy for him. Sheila is pissed at Doc and Sally, but hasn’t said anything to me since Ricky told the kids what happened. She didn’t say a word yesterday when Sally came to check on him. I didn’t either. I thanked her before she left but that was it. I wonder what today was like.

I shake my head. I need to let it go. If they had taken him, I would be hurting. There’s something about the boy that I fell in love with right from the start. He’s a good kid living a hard life and he’s doing okay, he’s smiling and happy. Soon he’ll be ours. Ben said by the end of the week. I’m glad we don’t have to go to court; he’s a damn mess right now. I was so scared then so happy he was alive; it was a roller coaster of a day. Poor Jess hasn’t been home yet. Elizabeth has been at Kate’s then CJ’s. With the compound in lockdown the kids are all at home. I’m picking up Elizabeth and Sandy from CJ’s as soon as I’m done here. I start moving a little faster with a smile. We have a slumber party planned. The boys are excited about sleeping downstairs tonight.

“That’s the last of it. I can get this priced and hung if you want to get going.” She’s such a good worker.

I break the box down and smile at her. “Yep. I’m excited for our first slumber party. I think I’m more excited than the kids.”

“Go, I got this. Will the Prospect take the deposit again?”

I didn’t think about that. “Yeah, I’ll call Tiny to make sure, although he doesn’t forget stuff like that. He was headed to the hospital to see little Ben, it may have slipped his mind.” I pull my phone and it rings in my hand. “I was just about to call you,” I say with a smile.

“Nancy, Tiny was in a fight at the hospital. They took him downstairs. Jessie, Darren and I are with little Ben. Security won’t let me out.” Ricky says with steel in his voice. He’s pissed.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I’ll call as soon as I know what’s going on. Stay with little Ben and Security, it will be okay. I need to hang up so I can call CJ, but I’m on my way.”

He takes a breath. “Okay.” He sounds so young.

“I will be there soon. I’m out the door now,” I say, running to Brink, my HS guard. “I need to get to the hospital in the city.” He shakes his head no. “Tiny is in Emergency and I need to be there, you can call it in and let them know I’m on my way or sit here and wait for instructions. I’m going.” I spin around, get to the SUV and floor it out of the lot and down toward Main. He follows.

I run through the doors and up to the nurse. “My husband was brought down from upstairs. There was a fight.” She looks at me for more, but I don’t know anything else.

“Fuck no!” I hear Tiny yell.

“I found him,” I tell her and follow his yelling. He’s pissed at someone. When I push the curtain open I’m shocked. He’s full of blood. My feet don’t move. “Nance, it looks worse than it is.” I nod and force my feet to move toward him. “How did you know?”

“Ricky has your phone, he called me. He was pissed.” My voice sounds small, funny.

He nods then winces. “He’s a good kid. He’s probably in pain. He hit one of the pussies with his cast. Useless damn Security didn’t catch the pussies going into the room.” He stops talking as the doctor puts another stitch in his head. I have no ideas what to say.

“Your husband is quite the hero, Mrs. Callahan,” the doctor says, looking up at me.

“What happened?” Again my voice sounds funny to my ears.

“I’m okay,” Tiny says, squeezing my hand.

“He stopped a knife from hitting one of the kids with his arm. Luckily nothing major was hit. He has two broken knuckles and this cut on his head. Other than that he’s fine like he said.” He shakes his head, looking at Tiny like he’s nuts.

“I need you to go up to the room with the boys. Let them know everything is okay. One of the pussies took off. The other two are somewhere in the hospital being taken care of. I’d like to know where, so I can take care of them.” He gives the doctor a look.

The doctor smiles. “They won’t be going anywhere anytime soon; they were wheeled out on stretchers with multiple broken bones. The police had them cuffed to the bed when I saw them.”

Tiny ignores him. “Take Brinks and go up to little Ben’s. I’d feel better knowing you’re safe with more than one HS guard.” I bend and kiss his cheek where there isn’t blood dripping. When I turn Brinks is standing with his arms crossed over his chest. He doesn’t look happy.

Not giving a shit, I walk by him and out to the elevator. We ride up in silence. When the doors open I see Security and police everywhere. I don’t stop and no one stops me until I get to little Ben’s room. There’s freakin’ blood all over the place in the corridor, and at the door a cop tells me I can’t go in. “My son is in there. My husband told me to come up and stay in the room with the boys because there’s still one guy running around somewhere.”

He looks at me for a couple of seconds. “Tiny is your husband?”

I nod. “Yes, Ricky is my son and little Ben is my nephew.”

Brinks steps up to us. “Pres is on his way. VP and LP1 are in the hospital.” I watch the cop.

“Fuck, Knight is here!” He moves aside, pulling his phone and I walk through.

I step around the blood and make it to Ricky, giving him a hug. I hug Darren and Jessie. Little Ben looks tired and battered. I kiss his head. “You’re all okay?”

They nod. “Tiny is getting stitches on his head. He broke some knuckles and was cut on the arm, but the doctor said it didn’t hit anything major. Steve and Danny are looking for the man that ran off; they’re here in the hospital somewhere. The two men that didn’t get away are cuffed to beds somewhere being treated.”

Ricky laughs, looking relieved and signs while he talks. “They won’t be going anywhere. Tiny broke their arms and I think one guy’s leg.” He points to the wall by the door. There’s blood everywhere and two big holes in the wall. “They probably have concussions too. He’s a ff—friggin’ maniac when he’s pissed.”

Jessie laughs. “He broke their noses too. He
was
pissed and said he was doing maximum damage like they did to us.
He was mad
.” Darren nods with a smile.

“He said you hit one with your cast. Do you need that to be checked?” I ask, not really wanting to hear about the men who were trying to hurt them. I have no sympathy for them and I don’t need the details.

He looks at the boys, then his shoulders slump. “I think I do, but it can wait.” I nod.

“How are you doing, little Ben?” I ask. He’s sitting on his bed just listening.

“Better. I think I’m going home tomorrow. I’ll be glad to get out of here.”

I nod and look back at the mess by the door. “I’m going to get someone to clean this up.”

Darren puts his hand on my arm then signs. ‘They won’t let anyone in here to clean until little Ben is moved. They won’t move him until Jess or Pres comes back. They went for showers while Tiny was here.’ I sign back, ‘Okay.’

I pull a chair away from the blood and sit. “I’m here until someone shows.” They nod.

“Dad said Ricky’s papers should come in tomorrow,” Jessie tells me.

I smile and look at Ricky. “It will be official.” He nods, smiling. “We should do something special.”

“The family day is coming up, we could do it then; all the Brothers always show for that,” little Ben says.

These kids are always happy for everyone. They’re all smiling like they won the lottery. “I’ll talk to Tiny to set it up, but we can still have a dinner or something. It’s not every day we get to add someone to our family.” I know Tiny has a new cut for him with the Club kids patch and Callahan on it. Penny has shirts for all of us and I have a leather wristband with our name for him, but it doesn’t seem like enough. It’s a special day that should be a once in a lifetime memory for him.

Danny comes in with a smile. “Heard you had some excitement.” The boys laugh, Ricky and Jessie holding their sides.

“You could call it that. Tiny is nuts, Uncle Danny. He was telling us what he was doing while he beat the snot out of those guys. He left them with their heads stuck in the wall, then another guy came in with a knife. It was crazy.”

Danny laughs. “Did he tell you about maximum damage with minimum exertion?” My mouth falls open. Seriously?

They nod. Darren signs they want to learn more about that. Danny nods. “We’ll get you scheduled with him over the summer. Anyone get hurt?”

Ricky looks down. Little Ben says yeah. “Ricky needs his arm looked at. He hit a guy across the face with his cast. I wouldn’t be surprised if he broke it again. He hit him hard.”

Danny smiles. “I’m sure Tiny could have handled them but good fuckin’ job, Little Brother, always use what you’ve got.” I’m at a loss here. I want to tell him to shut the hell up and don’t encourage them, but they need to be able to defend themselves too. Our world isn’t easy because we keep the gangs and drugs out. If anything, it’s harder than most. “I’ll take you down to get that looked at. VP has the last guy, so you’re safe here. Pres is downstairs with Tiny. He’ll be up soon.” He waits at the door for Ricky. “They’ll be moving you soon, have your stuff ready for that.” Little Ben throws him chin and slides off the bed gently.

I stand up and tell him, “I’ll get your stuff, little Ben.”

He slowly turns to look at me. “I got it. I need to move and since I can’t walk the halls, this walk will have to do.”

I sit, feeling useless. Jessie gives me a smile. “How do you like being a foster mom?”

I smile, thinking of the kids. “I love it. I can’t believe we got such good kids.”

Darren frowns and signs, ‘That’s because the other parents wouldn’t let them do anything. They learned to move when they were told to.’ This is the first time I’ve heard anyone say a bad word against them. I’m surprised but don’t say anything. Jessie slaps his arm and points to little Ben, who is signing, ‘Not a good idea, leave it alone. The kids will learn from us now. It might be better that they had it so strict.’ Darren nods to him then looks at me signing ‘sorry.’

I nod and sign, ‘Old ladies don’t do the gossip thing, so we’re not tearing each other down, but sometimes it’s hard to know what is gossip and what is cause for calling in help. It is a fine line that we all have trouble navigating.’ He nods with a smile and signs that he thinks the old ladies are cool. I smile and thank him.

Jessie helps little Ben. They have everything on the bed when Ben comes in. He hugs all of them and asks little Ben if he’s ready to move. With a nod little Ben reaches for his laptop and Ben stops him. “They’re taking the whole bed. You can just walk behind.” He puts the laptop down. “Your dad got the last guy, he’s over at Security. I’m here until he gets here, around dinner time; he’ll be staying the night.” Little Ben nods and rolls his eyes.

Orderlies come in with Tiny. He’s cleaned up and looking better than the last time I saw him. Someone gave him a clean shirt. I breathe a sigh of relief. He notices and smiles at me. “Danny is with Ricky. He needs his arm set and a new cast. Not one single complaint.” He shakes his head, smiling.

Jessie laughs. “He’s afraid you’ll throw tampons at him.” Everyone cracks up but Tiny.

Darren signs, ‘He’s Badass.’ Ben and little Ben agree, making Tiny smile proud. Men are so funny.