“Hey dude whatcha doing?” Justin asked curiously
while he sat on the edge of Josh’s desk.
“Uh…
working?” he offered, gazing at his little brother. Justin snickered at his
comment.
“Justin
why are you here?” Josh asked putting down his pen and focusing his full
attention on his brother.
“Um
no reason” Justin avoided eye contact and Josh eyed him carefully.
“Yeah
right”
“Okay,
okay,” Justin said giving in, he did come here for a reason and Josh saw right
through him, till his annoyance.
“Can
I borrow some money? I kinda spend my rent money last week and the guy ain’t
happy” Justin said with a mischievous smile. Justin lived a few blocks away in
a three-story house, which was reserved for the students that went to the
city’s college. When their parents moved to Europe they thought it would do him
good to be on his own and he was learning. He just needed his big brother’s
help at some times but Justin figured that was what big brothers were for.
Josh
laughed at his little brother, it was typical; he probably spent the money on
some new shoes or jacket he couldn’t afford.
“Sure,
how much?”
“200”
he said scrunching up his face, waiting for his brother’s reaction.
“I
thought you said it was only for rent?”
“Yeah
that and my fridge is kinda empty” Justin said scratching the back of his head
while he looked down at the floor.
“Dude!”
Josh snickered.
“No
lecture alright! Just gimme the money” he said, stopping Josh from giving him a
lecture but there was also a playful tone in Justin’s voice, not wanting to
anger his big brother. Josh was protective of his brother, he’d always been but
when their parents moved away it had only gotten worse, that was if you’d ask
Justin. Although it might have gotten worse, to be honest, Justin liked having
a big brother who could get him out of trouble every now and then. They both
knew he needed it and Josh was happy to help although Justin could drive him
nuts that didn’t mean he loved him less.
“I
wasn’t going to. Hey how about lunch? My treat”
“Sure!
My class isn’t for another hour”
“Alright”
“I’ll
pay you back though”
“Sure
kid” Josh smiled as he grabbed his jacket and they walked outside.
“I
will alright” Justin protested.
“Okay,
no rush though”
“Whoa,
who are you and what did you do to my brother?” Justin asked while he stopped
walking abruptly.
“What
are you talking about?”
“No
rush? You always want it back within a week!”
Josh
smiled bitterly before sobering; shrugging nonchalantly, at least he hoped that
it looked nonchalant.
“You
sure you’re not sick or anything?” he mocked.
“Yes!”
he laughed.
“My
brother is more important than money” he smiled but he meant it more than
Justin would ever know.
***
“Where
were you?” Dan asked angrily.
The
moment he got back from lunch some guy he’d never seen before had asked if he
could talk to him in his office. He’d followed the man, thinking about the
possibilities; what could be wrong? Why would this guy want to talk to me?
The moment he’d stepped inside the man’s so called office he knew why; Dan was
waiting for him and he wasn’t alone; two men he’d seen at Dan’s house had
joined him and his gut told him that he was in trouble. He felt like he got
called to the principal’s office, only this could be much worse he realized.
“Where
were you?!” Dan hissed, he repeated his question since he’d gotten no answer,
infuriating him even more.
“I
went out to have lunch” Josh said, his eyebrows knitted in confusion, he didn’t
understand what the problem was.
“I
said you shouldn’t try anything, it’s my company”
“I
know but…” Josh said shaking his head while he held out his hands, still
confused.
“Were
you by yourself?” Dan asked.
“No”
“Then
who were you with?”
“What
would that matter?” Josh asked while his shoulders rose.
“I
would answer the question if I were you” Dan said in a warning tone of voice.
Josh
sighed, “I was with Justin”
“What
did you tell him?”
“What
is this?! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Josh exclaimed his question while he
twirled around looking at the men surrounding him.
“What
did you tell him?!” Dan asked fiercer this time.
“I
didn’t tell him anything! We just talked”
Geez
this looked like an interrogation he thought but he didn’t
know that it in fact was an interrogation. Dan wanted to know if he could trust
Josh, trust him to not go to the police and keep their secret agreement.
“About
what?”
“That’s
none of your business!” Josh said, not wanting to tell them about their
conversation, it really wasn’t any of their business.
One
guy stepped forward and grabbed Josh’s arms, he linked his own arms through
them and pulled them firmly behind his back. Josh’s arms were suddenly forced
behind his back with a guy holding onto them for dear life, effectively pinning
him to his chest. Josh squirmed in his grip as he watched how Dan slowly approached
him. He grabbed Josh’s lower jaw and forced him to look at him.
“I’m
going to ask you this again and if you know what’s good for you and your little
brother you’ll answer me properly” Dan warned pressing his fingers harshly in
Josh’s jaw. Josh twisted his head in attempt to get Dan to loosen his grip but
Dan didn’t let him go.
Josh
nodded with a painful expression on his face and Dan released his jaw till
Josh’s relieve.
“Now
start talking, what did you talk about” Dan asked while he took a step back.
Josh tried to free his arms but the guy behind him held onto them tightly.
“Okay,
we talked about his classes and um…. how school was going and work…” Josh said
squirming once in a while.
“Why
do I get the feeling you’re lying to me?”
“I’m
not lying” Josh said painfully shutting his eyes while he tried once again to
free his arms.
“Did
you tell him about our deal, Josh?”
“No,
I didn’t” Josh said through gritted teeth, the pressure on his arms was getting
very painful.
“Maybe
we should ask Justin what you talked about… he’ll tell us,” Dan said with a
hint of amusement in his voice.
“With
a gun against his head” Dan finished.
“No!”
Josh exclaimed wildly. A gun? No!
“Dan
please, I told you the truth…” Josh pleaded in pain while closing his eyes once
again,
“We
just talked about unimportant things, please….” Josh pleaded, opening his eyes
to stare directly at Dan.
“Don’t
hurt him please, I didn’t tell him anything I swear” He then dropped his head,
his chin making contact with his chest as a silent tear fell from his eyes. A
silent tear from pain and fear. This was serious.
Dan
could hardly hold his smile off of his face, he’d succeeded in frightening him,
something he could use to keep forcing him to stay with his sister.
“Okay”
Dan spoke and the hands around Josh’s arms fell away in an instant. Josh
stumbled slightly forward gazing up at Dan.
“Go
back to work” Dan instructed. Josh stared confused, not really taking in the
words that were being said.
“Is
there something else you want to tell me Josh?” Dan taunted when Josh didn’t
move after his clear instruction. Josh’s eyes finally focused.
He
shook his head slowly, “N...no”
“Then
get back to work!”
“Y...
yes sir” Josh stumbled, Dan was after all his boss. He slowly turned, still not
having all his thoughts in a row and walked outside, getting back to his desk.
He sat down, let his head drop into his hands and breathed in and out slowly,
regaining his composure.
***
Josh
was slowly walking home after work, it was only a short distance away. He let
the scene from a few hours prior enter his mind. Dan had really scared him
today, they’d seized and questioned him as if he were a criminal. He really
hadn’t expected this when he’d invited Justin to have lunch together.
How
could they have a problem with him having lunch with his brother?
How
could they think they controlled something as simple as that?
He’d
thought about it almost the entire afternoon and hadn’t been able to get much
work done as he understood now how this worked exactly. Dan set the rules and
he was simply there to obey, if not; he risked his safety not to mention the
safety of his brother. He knew now that this was serious. This was not a
misunderstanding, far from it and the hope he’d had that they would simply say ‘We’re
sorry it was a mistake you’re free to go’ had pretty much disappeared.
They
weren’t going to let him go.
After
what had happened to him that afternoon he wanted out. This was getting out of
hand, the hope that Dan and Louisa would see their mistake was beginning to
fade and he realized how deep he was in. He was wrecking his brain as to come
up with a plan so they would leave Justin and him alone. He was going round in
circles with his options because there weren’t many.
He
considered going to the police, they’d help him but what if he got caught?
He
shook the feeling and kept walking, then as if fate was trying to tell him
something he ended up in front of the local police station. His steps slowed
down for a moment, debating the choice once again; go in or keep on walking? He
forced his feet to start walking, taking the steps two at a time; he needed to
report this, he needed help and he hoped the police could help him.
***
“Sir
can I help you?” an officer asked Josh who seemed to be distracted, seemed to be
lost.
“Huh?”
Josh asked. his head snapped up.
“Can
I help you?”
“Um…
yeah… I … um” Josh stumbled over his words. What am I going to say?
“What’s
your name sir?”
“Um…
Josh. Josh Chasez” he answered not really knowing why the man had to know.
“Ah,
Mr. Chasez follow me, an inspector will be with you in a few minutes”
Josh
looked him over suspiciously; he shoved his hands in his pockets but followed
the man nevertheless, thinking he would get help. The man guided him to the
back rooms.
“Have
a seat Mr. Chasez” the man said gesturing toward a chair in what looked exactly
like an interrogation room he had seen many times on TV. The officer held the
door open and Josh slowly walked in nervously looking back at the officer to
see if he would follow but he didn’t.
“I’ll
go get one of my colleagues, I’ll be right back” the man said before he closed
the door. Josh never heard the click after the door closed, he was too nervous.
Impatiently and nervously he paced the small room. He glanced at his watch, 5
minutes, this is taking far too long. Where are they? Weren’t they supposed
to come in a few minutes? Josh was starting to panic.
Today
Dan had really made it clear to him that he was serious and Josh had had
enough. The interrogation had been the last straw and he knew that this was
going way too far. He needed to stop this before it would really get out of
hand. The police could help him, he hoped, if someone would just come and talk
to him.
Another
five minutes later still no one had come to see him, he had paced the small
room endlessly. Something was wrong! He grew suspicious, suddenly a
thought popped in his head. He eyed the door, reaching it in two steps pulling
on the doorknob but it didn’t budge.
It’s
just stuck try again he reassured himself. He furiously pulled
at the doorknob but still no movement. The thought confirmed: he was locked in!
Frantically he tried again to open the door not wanting to believe it but he
gave up soon, it really was true. He hung his head defeated and walked towards
the chair the man had offered when he brought him here, he was too busy pacing
around to sit but now he slowly sat down.
What
was going on?
Why
would an officer lock me in?
He
dropped his head in his hands and shut his eyes doing the only thing he could
do; wait for someone to come and get him.
“Well
hello Josh” a familiar voice startled him. Josh’s head whipped around to stare
in the direction of the voice.
“What
are you doing here?” Josh asked angrily.
“I
can better ask you that Josh!” Dan growled. Josh hung his head, not answering
the question but Dan didn’t settle for that. He quickly walked towards the
young man slumped in the chair, grasping his chin painfully.
“Didn’t
I tell you NOT to go to the police?”
Josh
nodded the best way he could with Dan still holding his chin in an iron grip,
he looked up at Dan with fear in his clear blue eyes.
“I
thought you would know what was best for you…. for Justin”
Josh’s
eyes widened. He knew he had risked his safety as well as Justin’s to come here
but had taken the chance. He had to try to get them out of this situation but
his plan had failed and now he or even Justin would be punished for the action.
He had wanted to keep them both safe by going to the police but in fact he had
done the exact opposite.
“Huh?!”
Dan challenged. Josh gasped as he tried to twist his chin out of Dan’s painful
grip.
“I’m
sorry” he offered meeting Dan’s angry gaze.
“Yeah
you will be damn sorry!” Dan spat out before finally releasing Josh’s chin.
Josh rubbed the painful spot as he watched Dan carefully. Dan took a step back
motioning the man he brought with him, which Josh hadn’t spotted before, over
to Josh. The man, Matt who went with Dan everywhere and was his right hand,
grabbed Josh by his arm, painfully pulling him out of his chair. Josh yelped in
surprise earning him a hard smack on the head.
“If
you know what’s good for you, you will not say another word” Matt warned.
Josh
nodded slightly looking back over his shoulder at Dan while Matt pulled him
outside the interrogation room to the awaiting car. Dan stayed behind paying
the man for the tip before joining Josh and Matt on the backseat of the car, he
had this whole town in his pocket, he’d left a picture of Josh at the local
police station instructing them to notify him when the young man in the picture
would report to the police station, not forgetting to mention the reward that
was attached to the tip and it had paid off.
“Alright,
Darren, home” Dan instructed the driver while Josh looked back at the police
station. Angry the officers didn’t help him when it was their job, instead they
betrayed him and that could have unpleasant consequences for Josh and maybe
even Justin.
