The pickup truck with a camper top lumbered slowly down the street. The three occupants of the truck were too busy looking at the scenery to be worried about the cars behind them despite the fact that Los Angeles drivers are not known for having much patience. The drivers behind them first tried honking their horns to get them to move faster and then passed them despite the dangers involved. Most of the drivers gave them a one-finger salute although a few looked like they wanted to make it a little more physical than that.
By any definition known to man, this was an ugly neighborhood. Half of the buildings had bars on the windows while the other half of the buildings didn't have windows. The whole place looked tired and rundown. Every building needed its' façade refinished. The windows needed washing. The sidewalks needed to be swept. Like a hundred year old woman it was in dire need of a face-lift. Even with one it would never look new again.
Staring at a building that was boarded up, Donny said, "What a shithole."
"I've seen outhouses better than this place," Dan said.
Joe stared at a woman walking down the street. She was a very large woman wearing an outfit that was a little small for her build. He stuck his head out the window and looked back at her after they had passed her by.
Disgusted, he said, "A woman that big shouldn't be wearing anything that tight. I could see every roll of fat on her."
"She's somebody's love object," Donny said with a grin.
"Boy, you are sick," Joe said.
"I can't believe that Sonny actually took a job in this place," Dan said. "He should have just asked us for a little more money."
"The only businesses around here are bars, beer stores, pawn shops, check cashing places, and strip joints," Joe said taking a quick inventory of the signs around them. "I haven't seen anything that looks like a grocery store."
"You missed the bail bond joints and the law offices," Dan said as they passed a bail bond place.
Joe said, "There's a massage parlor. I'd bet good money that no one has ever gotten a massage there."
"It doesn't look to me like anyone around here actually eats food. Judging by the people I've seen, I would have to say that they drink their meals," Donny said.
In fact, he had a seen a few folks that were drinking their meals.
"I can't imagine living in a place like this," Dan said. This was so different from the wide-open spaces that he called home, that it could have been a completely different planet.
"Even the trees are ugly. No wonder they drink," Donny said while staring at a tree that was stunted from a lack of water and care. There was a scar on the tree trunk that suggested someone had once hit it with a car.
"I don't see how they can even walk around here considering all of the broken bottles and trash that is all over the place," Joe said after watching a guy finish a soda and toss the can into the street. "It is a pig sty here. Don't they have any pride?"
Dan said, "The people who live here don't own anything. They can't take pride in something they don't own. The owners don't live here, so they don't care how it looks. All they care about is the rent. The end result, is what you see around us."
"That makes sense in a twisted kind of way," Joe said. He stuck his head out the window and looked at the building they were driving past. All of the windows in it were broken, and the door was propped open. He could see people sprawled out on the floor, but couldn't tell what they were doing. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.
"What in the hell is that guy doing?" Donny asked pointing at a guy who was staggering around the centerline of the street. The man was acting like he was going to jump in front of cars whenever they passed him. The whole time he was doing that he was talking to some woman who was standing on the sidewalk.
Dan answered, "He's forcing us to admit he exists. If we hit him, he's going to sue us for everything we own. He knows that we have to drive around him with care. This is as much recognition as he is ever going to get in his whole life."
"That's pitiful," Donny said wondering what kind of world it was that required a person to be a nuisance in order to be recognized as existing.
"Sure is," Joe said while Dan drove around the man.
When the traffic light started to change, Dan slowed down and stopped while other cars shot past. It seemed as if an eternity passed before other cars stopped. They hadn't been sitting at the light for more than fifteen seconds when a man stuck his head inside the window of the truck.
With breath that could kill a skunk at five paces, he said, "Give me a dollar."
Without missing a beat, Dan pulled out a handgun, cocking it in the process, and put the business end of it to the guy's forehead.
Dan said, "Run."
"Shit!" the man shouted taking off across the intersection. A car had to swerve to avoid hitting him.
"Subtle," Joe said watching the action.
Donny said, "Real subtle."
"He had a knife," Dan said releasing the hammer. He put the handgun back in the holster under the dash.
"I guess we look like tourists," Joe said.
Donny shook his head in disgust.
Getting angrier about his brother working in that part of town, he said, "I can't believe that Sonny drove down here to work."
"You don't think much of your little brother's survival skills, do you?" Dan asked looking over at the younger man.
"I don't know. He spent so much time on that computer of his that I have to be concerned about him. I used to have to drag him out of the house by his ears to get him to do his chores," Donny said. It used to bother him that Sonny actually preferred doing things on his computer to going fishing.
The traffic light changed and Dan drove on. Once he was through the intersection, he said, "You forget that he bought that computer with money that he made off the furs he got on his trap line."
"Sonny is a country boy in heart and by birth. He's been hunting and fishing since he was a little ankle biter," Joe said.
"I know," Donny said.
Joe said, "I remember when you two were just little kids. Your dad, Dan and I, would go bird hunting. You and your brother would be our bird dogs. You'd chase down whatever we shot. I don't think either of you ever lost a bird that we brought down."
Dan said, "We taught both of you boys everything we know about surviving. Either of you could get dropped in the middle of nowhere with nothing, and come out having gained ten pounds."
Joe said, "Your Dad would have taught you the same things we taught you if he hadn't been killed."
"He was our little brother and knew everything we know. Hell, our Dad taught him just like he taught us," Dan said.
It had been a horrible day when that drunk driver had killed his brother when he was down in Oklahoma competing in that rodeo. Dan swiped a hand across his mouth to help get control over his emotions. Some things hurt even after years had passed.
"Don't ever forget that Sonny is a Daniels," Joe said.
Dan said, "He knows how to take care of himself. Sonny probably would have been killed by those robbers if he wasn't a fighter."
Donny said, "I know. It is just that he's my little brother and I can't help but worry about him. He's just so different from me."
"He just doesn't like being a rancher," Joe said. "He marches to a different drummer than you. You got to respect him for that."
"I do ... I guess," Donny said.
He spotted to a bag lady pushing a grocery cart loaded with junk. From the way her mouth was moving, it was obvious that she was talking to herself continuously.
Pointing at the woman, he said, "Look at that woman. I bet she doesn't have a home. Someone should be taking care of her."
"This is not like back home where folks help each other," Joe said. "We're in the big city, now. Everyone is a stranger, and no one is a neighbor."
Donny spotted a teenager with his hair cut in a Mohawk and piercings covering his face. He was wearing ripped blue jeans and a leather coat despite the heat.
He said, "Look at that punk kid over there. He looks like trouble."
"He's just a dumb kid trying to look tough. We haven't seen anything yet. So far, all we've seen is the scum that floats on the surface of the water. We haven't seen the barracudas or the sharks yet," Dan said.
"Oh, joy," Donny said sarcastically.
They drove two blocks down the street in relative silence. Each man was looking at things that had caught their eye. Joe said, "Speak of the devil. I think we've spotted our first pimp."
A wildly dressed man was getting out of the black luxury sedan and talking to two nearly undressed women. Taking in the whole scene, Dan said, "I think you're right. Of course, I'd consider that a parasite rather than a predator."
Joe pointed to a building up one block and asked, "Is that the place?"
"Looks like it to me," Dan said. The street signs at the intersection suggested that they were within a block of their destination and the sign along the street had the correct name of the store.
After running a hand into his boot, Joe said, "Dan and I should go in and talk to whoever is in there. Donny should stay out in the truck and make sure that nothing walks off."
"What about Sonny's truck?" Donny asked. He felt that they should at least check it out before doing anything else.
"We'll see about that after we've gone in the store," Joe said.
Pulling into the parking lot of the store, Dan said, "Besides, according to Sonny the keys to the truck are in the store. We'll get the keys. Joe can check out the truck, while I have a few words with that Pepper fellow who runs the place."
Dan and Joe sauntered into the convenience store like they owned it, while Donny watched them go. A few minutes later a man who was an obvious member of a gang, as evidenced by the tattoos bearing the name of a nationally known gang on his arms, walked out of the store. Donny watched the man walk off down the street as if he didn't have a care in the world.
Inside the store, Joe and Dan watched the gang member walk past them. From what they knew about how gangs staked out territories and kept other gangs out, it was a sure bet that the two men who had shot Sonny, were members of the same gang as the man in the store.
Dan put a hand on Joe's arm and said, "Later."
"I am not that stupid," Joe said rolling his eyes.
"I didn't say you were," Dan said.
Joe said, "You sure as hell implied it."
"I didn't imply nothing. Besides, he's gone," Dan said looking back at the door.
"Let's see if you can find this Pepper fellow," Joe said.
He stepped back a bit so that he could watch the door.
Dan walked over to the counter and said, "Howdy. I'm Dan Daniels. My nephew, Sonny Daniels, works here."
"He's not here. I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but he was shot the other night," the man behind the counter said.
"I know that. I just came from the hospital," Dan said.
He examined the man behind the counter thinking that he looked weak; it was almost as if he had never done a day's physical labor before.
He asked, "Are you Pepper?"
"That's me."
Dan said, "Sonny said that he left his keys, cell phone, and truck, here. He wanted me to pick them up for him."
Pepper reached under the counter and pulled out a set of keys and a cell phone. He handed them over to Dan while saying, "The truck is parked out back. Last I checked no one had touched it."
"Good," Dan said. He tossed the keys over to Joe and said, "Bring the truck around to the front of the store. I'll be out in a minute or two."
"Sure thing," Joe said. He noticed that Dan had moved to where he could cover the door.
Dan watched Joe walk out the door before he said, "I was curious about a little thing concerning the incident where my nephew was shot."
"What?" Pepper asked. He had thought that Sonny was country, but the man standing at the counter looked like the definition of a cowboy. He frowned when the man lit up a cigarette right there in the store. He had images of the Marlboro man smoking a cigarette while riding his horse out on the range.
After exhaling, Dan said, "Sonny said he pulled out a handgun from under the counter. When he pulled the trigger though, it didn't go 'boom'."
"I know," Pepper said. He stared at the cigarette wondering if he should tell the man to put it out.
"Can I see the handgun?" Dan asked pointing at Pepper with his cigarette.
Pepper said, "The police took it for evidence."
"Well, can you tell me why it didn't fire?"
"I had a guy take the firing pin out," Pepper answered with a satisfied smile.
Incredulous, Dan stared at Pepper, wondering if the man was all there.
He asked, "Why on earth would you do something like that?"
"I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I figured if I waved the gun around, that it would scare any robbers away," Pepper said.
"Are you the dumbest human being in the world?" Dan asked.
"Don't talk to me like that," Pepper said.
Dan said, "Don't you know that if you draw down on a man, that you better be ready to kill him? He's expecting you to kill him, and is going to do everything he can to keep from getting killed."
"People are afraid of guns and run away when they see one," Pepper said in a lame attempt to defend his position.
Dan snorted as if he were talking to a moron.
"I can guarantee you that even if I was buck naked with nothing but my dick in my hand that if you were to pull a gun on me that I'd be all over your ass trying to kill you. If your gun went 'click' when you pulled the trigger, I would take it away from you and beat you with it until you were dead."
"No you wouldn't," Pepper said while taking a step back. Despite his words to the contrary, he had a feeling that is exactly what Dan would do.
"Yes, I would. That gang member who just left here would do the same thing," Dan said in disgust.
"Well, they're criminals," Pepper said. "I wouldn't pull a gun on one of them. That whole gang would show up here to kill me."
"Did you tell Sonny that the gun didn't work?" Dan asked knowing the answer to his question.
"I didn't think I needed to," Pepper said. "Everyone knows that you don't fight a gang member. If they come in here, and want everything in the cash register, you just give it to them."
"Not in my world. You come into my place and try to take my money the only way you're leaving is feet first and horizontal," Dan said.
He couldn't imagine just standing around while someone carried off his hard earned money. It didn't matter to him if it was spending money or money on the hoof.
"That kind of attitude is what got Sonny shot," Pepper said feeling like he was proving his point.
"He wouldn't have been shot if he had known the gun didn't work. He would have gone after them with his knife," Dan said. In one smooth motion he drew his knife and had it open before Pepper even realized what he had done.
"He'd have been killed," Pepper said wide-eyed.
He knew that the surveillance tape had showed Sonny pulling out a knife and leaping over the counter.
Folding his knife and putting it back, Dan said, "I can guarantee you one thing ... at least one of those bastards would have been dead. I raised Sonny well enough to know that."
"You're crazy," Pepper said.
"I'm not crazy. I'm here to see that justice is done. Those two boys that robbed this place, and shot Sonny, are going to jail," Dan said.
Pepper said, "The police are smart enough to leave the boys alone until they can catch them for some small thing that won't rile up the gang."
"The police had better hurry. If they don't arrest those two, soon, I'll catch them all by myself. Then I'll take them to the police station," Dan said.
Pepper pointed to the door and said, "Get out of here before someone overhears you talking. I'm not going to let you turn this store into the Wild West."
"No. You're just going to let the gang turn your store into their cash cow," Dan said.
Pepper said, "Look, I'm trying to let you know how things work around here. You don't talk about going against the gang. If Dingo or Taco find out you're talking about dragging them into jail, they'll kill you and Sonny. They might even send a couple of guys after you, to let them prove they've got what it takes to be in the gang."
"You know the names of the two guys that shot Sonny?" Dan asked incredulously.
There was no way that the two guys should be walking around free if people knew exactly who did the crime.
"Everyone knows who shot Sonny. Everyone knows why he was shot," Pepper said. "Sonny should have just handed over the money."
"It wasn't Sonny's money to hand over," Dan said.
Disgusted, he turned and walked out of the place.
Dan went over to the truck where Joe was waiting.
On reaching it, he said, "I just met the stupidest man in the world."
Joe looked around at the surroundings. He felt that anyone with a bit of common sense wouldn't stay in that neighborhood.
He said, "I've got a feeling this whole town is loaded with stupid people."
Deciding it was time for them to get to a place where they could talk, Dan said, "Follow me to the Wally Mart. We'll camp there for the next few nights."
"Sure thing," Joe said.
Dan got into his truck and handed the cell phone over to Donny.
He said, "Check out the photographs on that thing."
"Sure thing," Donny said while opening the cell phone. It was a little more complex than the one he had, but that didn't cause him more than a moment of delay in figuring it out. They didn't get cell phone service out where they lived, but all of them had 'pay as you go' phones for use when they traveled away from home.
After fiddling with the GPS system for a minute, Dan pulled out of the parking lot.
He said, "When we get to the Wally Mart you go in and see if there isn't a way to print out a copy of the pictures of the gang members who shot Sonny. Pick up a disposable phone, while you're there."
"Why?"
"We have to tell the police where they are, and let them deal with it. If the police don't do something, then we'll haul them down to the station ourselves," Dan said.
"It would be easier to shoot them," Donny said.
Dan smiled and then added, "Only if the shit hits the fan. When that happens, then we can start shooting."
"That sounds like a good way to get killed. There's nothing stupider than giving them the first shot," Donny said shaking his head.
"Not if we are smart in how we do it," Dan said.
He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Smelling the smoke, Donny said, "Damn. I forgot to ask you to buy a can of Skoal while you were in the store."
Dan said, "I wouldn't have needed to buy it. According to the jerk in there, all I would have needed to do was tell him to give me a can free of charge. Apparently here, if you're tough and mean enough, people give you things."
"That's a hell of a way to run a business," Donny said shaking his head.