MC: Callahan (19 page)

“Uncle Danny is waiting for you out front. I’ll take him into the bathroom and get him dressed.”

I look at Diego. “Can little Ben help you dress so we can get out of here?” He looks scared but nods. I put him down, handing the chain over and watch him walk away holding little Ben’s hand. He’s got bruises on him and red welts on his ass.

I turn toward the door, ready to kill the motherfucker. “I’ll get the chain off. You’ve got a couple of minutes,” Bob says from behind me. I throw him chin.

As soon as I see the bastard I slam my cast into his face. “Bruises and red welts on his ass!” I hit him again. “Naked, chained to the fuckin’ floor!” My cast finds his kidney. “Selling him to the highest fuckin’ bidder!” I throw an uppercut, laying him out. I stand over him, waiting for him to get up.

“He’s out, Brother. We have clean up coming. They’ll transport him to the yard. We got some Brothers that called a shot,” Danny says on the side of me.

I go back in. Bob has Diego on the table. He’s rubbing his ankle. I pick him up and walk out. Cloud is waiting by Danny. I didn’t even see him while I hit the motherfucker. He touches Diego’s head and smiles. “Glad we found you, Little Brother.” Diego looks at me and smiles his little lopsided smile.

He signs, ‘Daddy got me.’

Danny laughs. “He did, Diego, he’s always got your back.” My boy nods and lays his head on my shoulder.

“Call Nancy.”

He smiles. “Already did.”

I throw him chin and walk us to the chopper. “We’re going home in style, Diego. We get to ride in the chopper.” He laughs, bringing tears to my eyes. Fuckin’ kids. I blink them back and get us in. Diego grabs the other boy’s hand but let’s Jake check him out. Little Ben tells him where he is marked. I’m pissed all over again and want to hit the bastard one more time. He wraps his ankle and puts some stuff on the welts, then lifts him up to me. Cloud closes the door and moves to the front. Little Ben sits in front with Cloud and I sit by the boy. Diego seems happy to see him, so I want him close.

At Security Brothers are waiting for us. Everyone touches Diego, telling him they’re glad to see him. We go in and Pres takes him from me, giving him a hug. “Little Brother, we’ve been looking everywhere for you. Never leave your Security. No matter what, you stay with your Brothers. Yeah?” Diego nods, looking nervous. “Good.” He smiles. “You glad to be home?”

Diego signs, ‘Yes, Momma, want me home.’ I laugh. Pres hands him back to me.

“You better get home then. Momma was worried. She won’t be happy until she sees her boy is okay.” Diego waves bye to him, making everyone laugh.

I take my boy out and see Jake by an SUV. “I’m your ride.” We get in and he starts driving. “I brought the stuff to recast your hand.”

I look at the cast. Shit. I didn’t even notice it was broken. “Thanks. Where’s the other boy?”

“Rich took him into the meeting room.” He looks at me, smiling. “I know you won’t let him out of your sight unless he was with your old lady so the best shot I have at getting it done is at your house.”

I laugh. “You’re right.” We pull to the gate and HS welcomes Diego back, then opens the gate. Everyone is at the house waiting. Someone must have called them.

Nancy opens my door and hugs us both. “Thank God,” she whispers. Diego holds onto her neck. She steps back for me to get out and I hug them both. Everyone surrounds us.

I tell her Jake’s got to put a new cast on. She looks at it, then me. “I’ll tell you later. We’ll be in the kitchen.” She pulls me down to kiss me, then she thanks me. I give her a squeeze and walk to the house. Jake is on the porch with his bag, watching everyone put a hand on Diego. “Doesn’t end any better than this, Brother.” I nod and walk in the house.

I have a new cast and mostly everyone left. Little Ben and Darren are with the kids on the grass. Me, Nancy, Jake, CJ, and Cloud are watching the kids. A Prospect, Balls, pulls in and brings bags of food up to the porch. Cloud and Jake help me set the food out buffet style along the counter. I get plates and shit set up and call the kids in.

When they stand I see Diego hug little Ben then Darren. He holds Jeremy’s hand coming up to the porch. “He won’t leave again, Uncle Tiny,” little Ben says. Diego shakes his head no. I smile, throwing chin and tell them to go eat. When the kids go in little Ben looks at Cloud. “Pres needs me at his house with Jeremy when he’s done eating. The other boy is over there.”

“Go in and eat or head over to Pres. I’ll bring Jeremy when he’s done,” Cloud tells him.

“I’d like to see they’re okay. Billy and Christian are still a little off.” I hold the door open for him and Darren to go in. He’s a good President, making sure they’re all okay.

When they’re in Cloud looks at me. “He’s going to make a good president.”

“He already is.”

*  *  *

Tiny drags me away from the boys’ room. I go, but I’m so damn nervous. I haven’t let him out of my sight. I even waited outside the door when he took a shower. Ricky said little Ben told him he had to keep Diego from showering with the other boys. It’s a good thing too. Ricky didn’t want to touch him to put the cream on his behind. I wrapped his ankle and turned him to apply the cream. That’s when I saw the bruises on his back and arms. I didn’t let him see my tears, but I’ve been holding them back all damn night. Going down the hall they finally fall. He was beaten by a grown man. He’s so damn small. I let out a sob and my knees buckle. Tiny turns and catches me. Lifting me, he goes down the stairs and right out the front door. I lose it, crying into his chest. He holds my head on him and lets me cry. When I calm I ask him to explain it. He tells me everything that happened and I cry some more. My poor boy must have been so scared.

Tiny

I slide out of bed and dress quietly. Nancy didn’t fall asleep until early this morning. Even sleeping she tossed and turned, crying on and off. When I walk out the door I turn toward the boys’ room. I hear them talking but it sounds funny. At the door I stop and hold my breath. Billy is touching Diego’s back so gently. He’s crying. José has a shirt in his hand. They must have been helping him dress. I go in and pick Billy up. “José, can you help him finish?” He looks up at me and I see he’s fighting tears. I go to the door and call Ricky. He comes in with Sheila. Shit.

“Ricky, help Diego and take him down. I need to talk to them.”

He nods but Diego signs, ‘No, I tell.’ I’m not sure what to do. Maybe he needs to get it out.

“Okay, let’s get you covered and you can tell them.” He nods. Ricky helps him get his shirt on. He must be sore; he’s not lifting his arms much. I sit on the floor and José climbs on my lap with Billy. Sheila leans on my arm. She’s crying too. Christ. Ricky sits by Diego.

He takes a deep breath and starts. ‘Boy played and said man wanted me, mad I lose money. I go man mad, hurt me back head, put rope, then...’ He looks at me, pointing to his ankle bandage.

“Chain.”

He nods. ‘Daddy got me. We fly home. Momma want me home. No more mad man, no more hurt. Momma want me home.’

“We all want you home, Diego, you’re our brother. We all want you,” Sheila says to him. Jason brings her tissues.

Ricky hugs him. “We all love you and were scared when you were gone. It hurts us to see you got hurt. That’s why they cry. You’re ours now. No more leaving with strangers. You stay with your brothers.”

Diego sits and signs, ‘Brothers, I stay home.’

Ricky laughs, giving him a chuck on his chin. “Yeah, you dweeb, it nurses when everyone’s always crying because they miss you. You stay home.”

Diego laughs. Then we all do. I hug Billy and José. “You good now?” Everyone’s good.

Ricky takes them down while I check on Sandy. Sheila follows me but stops me in the hall. “He didn’t get...hurt by a man again, did he?”

I hug her. “No, not that way, just the bruises.”

“Thank God.” She steps back and takes a breath. “I’ll get Sandy down.” I nod and go down with the boys. I love getting my girl up. She always has a smile and hug for me, but I think Sheila needs a minute and maybe the smile and hug this morning.

I get breakfast done. The kids are doing clean up when someone knocks on the door. I check the time. Not even eight. Who the hell knocks before eight? I’m preparing for bad news when I hit the alarm. It’s Danny smiling. He’s got the boy with him. Diego hugs him signing, ‘I home.’

Danny laughs. “You are home, Diego. My friend seemed nervous this morning. I thought if he saw you he’d feel better.”

Diego takes his hand and brings him to the kitchen. We follow, he signs, ‘brothers’ and points to the kids. They all stop and look at the boy. Ricky moves closer to them, but the boy moves away, so he stops. Diego goes to him and hugs him, then turns to the boy and signs, ‘Brothers, I ours dweeb.’ He spells out, making us all laugh.

Ricky hugs him. “That’s right, little Brother, you’re
our
dweeb.”

The kids gather around the boy. Jason shows him how to fist bump and they all trade bumps. Sandy hugs him and Sheila asks his name. He looks at Danny.

“We don’t know right now. We think he said Chin. We have someone coming today to help us figure all that out,” Danny tells them.

“We can call him friend for now,” Jason says.

“Perfect,” Nancy says from the stairs. She walks toward us. I’m Nancy. It’s nice to meet you, friend.” She smiles and gives him a hug.

He looks at Danny. “Kate.” His voice sounds funny, the ‘a’ sounding like it comes from the back of his throat.

“Nancy, she’s like Kate, she’s a mom,” he tells him.

Diego signs, ‘Momma ours, Kate yours.’ We all just look at him then Danny.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on. We need to find his family. They’ll be happy to have him home. It’s been six years.”

Sheila starts crying and Ricky pulls her away from the kids. He grabs a box of tissues and hands them to her, looking at me for help. I go over and hug her while she cries. The kids take the boy into the living room to play Legos. Nancy takes Sheila upstairs. “I’m surprised you brought him over. Alex and Ally didn’t calm him?”

“He kept looking out the window, saying boy. Diego is the only boy he would know. He shies away from the bigger boys, just like he did with Ricky. He wouldn’t go near Cloud but has no problem with me or Ben. He even went looking for Ben this morning. I figured the best way to settle him is to let him see that Diego is fine.”

We sit at the table with coffee. Nancy comes in with a coffee and sits on the side of me. “Thank you for helping get Diego back, Danny.” He throws chin. “I was so scared, I didn’t want to leave him in the room last night.”

“Did he sleep okay?” he asks me.

“Yeah, I checked on him three or four times,” I tell him.

The boy comes to Danny and moves his arm so he can sit on his lap. “You ready to go, friend?”

“Go,” the boy says.

Danny stands with the boy in his arms and puts his cup in the sink. “Thanks for letting him hang with the Little Brothers.”

I open the door for him. Nancy gives the boy a kiss. “Bye, friend, I hope to see you later.” The boy waves. Danny throws chin.

“I’m going to work from the house today. I’ve got a couple of hours to get in then I’ll take them out for a while.”

“Everyone is keeping the kids home. Security is an issue the old ladies are taking up with Ben. We have three incidents where boys were hurt and Security was guarding them.” She looks unsure.

“I agree with you. So does VP. The problem is that there isn’t enough HS to cover family Security.”

She looks relieved. “Maybe we should keep the kids right here on the compound. Prospects are always around and Security hasn’t lost anyone from here. It’s always when they’re away from here.”

“I’ll talk to VP.” I kiss her and go to the office at the back of the house. After two hours my paperwork is caught up and I have two Prospects coming to help watch the kids. Walking down the hall, I hear the kids playing in the yard. When I go out I see some of Cloud’s and Danny’s kids with Hawk, running around. Little Ben and Jessie are sitting under the tree, talking to Ricky. Sheila and Joey are pushing Sandy and Jacob on the swings. Ally is braiding Brenna’s hair at the picnic table. Elizabeth is watching. I don’t see Nancy.

I sit on the deck and watch. Alex and Victor are practicing Martial arts with Jason, Diego, and José. Devan is climbing a tree where Jeremy and Aaron are sitting on a branch with their legs dangling. Darren walks through the yard from Cloud’s with Brantley and Taylor following. They go right over to little Ben and sit, making a circle. Ricky laughs at something Darren signs. Jessie looks pissed. I wonder what they’re up to. They get into a series discussion then stand. Little Ben looks my way and walks toward me. “We’ve got some work to do, Uncle Tiny. I’ll have Jessie, Darren, Taylor, and Brantley with me.”

“Where’s Nancy?”

“She went to the shop for a couple of hours. She’s meeting the old ladies and Pres for a late lunch. I told her I’d keep an eye on them, but we need to get down to the Club. You got them?” He looks so grown up when he’s serious.

“Yeah, I’m taking them swimming. Prospects should be here soon.”

He nods. “Evelyn is sending lunch from the Sub Shop. Kate set it up before she left. It shouldn’t take us too long. We’ll meet you at the beach. Millie’s got the babies. My dad has HS over there. Pres and Kate have ‘friend’ with them,” he says. They were watching the kids. They’re plenty old enough. I don’t know why I’m surprised.

“I got them go do what you have to do,” I tell him. He throws chin and walks with the others through the trees. I get up and find a ball we can use for kickball. We play until lunch shows. Christian takes the Little Brothers their lunch and meets us at the road. I get a head count and tell the Prospects, Chet, and Chase who we have and where the others are. Once we hit the beach Jeremy and Jacob are running. Chase empties his pockets, throws his stuff down and chases after them, making me and Chet laugh. He turns and throws us the bird, then catches up to them in the water, heading toward the raft.

I have Diego keep his shirt on, getting funny looks from the kids. The older ones play in the water with the prospects and Chet. I’m making a sand castle with the little ones and Diego when Danny comes down. “Got a delivery coming. They’ll be setting up down the beach and floating pieces over.”

“What is it?” I look down the beach and see men and machines where VP’s old house used to be.

“A floating dock with slides and shit. I need to get back. Bull is over there. He’ll keep them straight then stay with the kids on the dock. It will give you extra eyes.” He turns and walks back to the house.

“All righty then,” I say to myself. Floating dock with slides and shit. Victor and Devan run down the beach toward all the activity. Chet catches and stops them. More kids go over to watch. A Prospect pulls a pop up and brings them shade to sit and watch. I keep the little ones busy with our castle until a boat pulls part of the dock over to the raft. Chase gets the boys back to the beach and they stand by us and watch.

“This is going to be awesome,” he says, looking at the boys. I laugh. He’s like a big kid. I tell a Prospect to get some blankets from the bin by the deck and we set up a place for the little ones to take a nap. With dry clothes they lie down in the gazebo without a problem. I leave a Prospect with them and walk to the older kids, watching the pieces be set up. The slide is being blown up right in the water. There’s regular slide, but it’s mounted to a wooden dock that’s being pulled by the boat. The Brothers are crazy, but it’s a cool kind of crazy.

Bull comes over to us. “The rest is going to the town beach. They said to give them another thirty minutes to anchor everything down then you can let the kids loose.” The kids cheer jumping around, making a damn racket.

I look at Chet. “Can you run to my house and get some Popsicles for them?”

“Yeah, I need some help, though. Christian, why don’t you give me a hand?” He starts walking up the beach toward Danny’s. He’s Christian’s guard. He won’t leave him. I’m glad he takes it seriously. Nothing like regular Security.

With Popsicles in them and new sunscreen on them, they’re sitting on the beach, waiting for the go from the guys in the boats. They pull one last wooden dock over and we all laugh. It’s got a dog house mounted on it. Christian thinks this is the coolest thing ever. A boat comes to the shore and a little guy gets out. Chet and Chase are standing in front of the kids. When he gets closer I put my hand up and walk to him with Bull. He stops and nods. “The dog can’t go on the floating docks because of the blow up pieces. He’s got his own raft that he can watch from. I never saw a dog need a raft, but it’s what we were told to do.” I nod.

“He’s a service dog,” Bull tells the guy.

“That makes a little more sense. The dog can’t go on the rafts, though.”

“He won’t,” I tell him.

“The town’s pieces should be done in an hour or so. We dropped the wooden docks on the other side of the fence already. Let Mr. Knight know the guys appreciated the tip.” He smiles. I guess it was a big tip.

Wait. “Mr. Knight?” I thought Danny did this.

“Yeah, Ben Knight,” he says, looking at me weird. Bull laughs.

“Fuckin’ kids,” I say, smiling. “Thanks, I’ll tell him.” He gets back to his boat and motors away.

I look at the Brothers. They’re all smiling. “They bought the town a water park.” The kids cheer. “Go play, you’re giving me a headache.”

Everyone splashes through the water and out to the new toys. Christian and Chet get Hawk set on his raft and swim to the others. I tell Racks, my other Prospect, to go play lifeguard. Bull and I sit under a pop up, watching the kids run wild. I’m glad the slides point into the center. It makes watching them easy for Racks. Little Ben, Darren, Jessie, Ricky, Brantley, and Taylor come running down the beach and right out to the rafts, causing a new flurry of activity out on the water. My little ones are waking up, so I get them taken care of with the bathroom and Popsicles. The Prospect helps me get them out on the rafts. I play for a while then sit under the blow up canopy and just watch, thinking these kids are going to sleep good tonight.

VP, Danny, and Bob come out with a cooler and hand me a beer. I throw chin and take a much needed drink. “Guy told me to thank Mr. Knight for the tip.”

Danny laughs.

VP looks at me, not knowing what I’m talking about. Danny hits his arm. “The other Mr. Knight.”

I watch his face and laugh at the emotions he’s running through. “Fuckin’ kids.”

He gets up and starts playing with the kids, then they all do. The Brothers are having as much fun as the kids; it’s good to see them relax for a while.

Pres comes out with the boy. He has his shirt on too. Once they get on the dock the boy runs to Diego and José. Pres sits by me and grabs a beer from the cooler. “Did you get his name?”