One week later
It's a partly cloudy day in the Park Place region, and chilling on a corner in this particular region with a few of his friends is Mike Briggs. Another typical day is in store for him, which entails a little hustling, a little chilling; nothing unusual. A game of craps is played off to the side while everyone shoots the breeze and talk trash in jest. Yet, Mike is the only man who is left alone from all the shenanigans of his peers, as he stands alone with a demeanor that screams, 'I'm in charge'.
Briggs is not one to take kindly to trivial banter directed at him, and the others are quite aware of this by now. It is like walking on eggshells for the others, but they manage to every day without fail. The main reason being is that Mike is their boss… sort of. With that said, it makes his current power stance not entirely an ego trip. Majority of the guys that surrounds him are petty drug dealers, and it just so happens he's their main supplier. These guys are the ones that push out the product, and Mike makes a percentage off all of what they sell. This keeps Briggs from having to do street level dealing, and it allows him to focus on other things; finding his brother's killer is the main example.
It's been about a few hours of posting up before Mike is approached by Craig. There's a sense of urgency about his arrival that gets everyone's attention, stopping even the crap game itself. The beeline to Mike reveals his friend's demeanor the closer he approaches, and it'll seem to him that Craig is a bringer of good news. The anticipation is written all over Craig's face, his pace quickens the more he thinks on the news, and this too will affect Mike's mood in the process. His somewhat sulky nature of late is suddenly brighten by the assumption something positive is coming. The dap up is crisp once they've come together, even to point it surprises them in the process. Yet, Craig will not allow much time for his appreciation of such to settle; he'll get straight to the point.
"Yo, I hear Booger is back in town," Craig says almost in a whisper, discreet in manner, yet casually as if the concern is not there.
Mike's eyes will light up from eagerness upon hearing this news, and a desire for distance becomes the objective. Once enough separation is deemed satisfactory, Briggs will rub his hands together in an act that mentally pumps himself up, while also replying with,
"Where at?"
"Staying out of sight, but what is certain is his homie, Dee; he's visiting his moms," Craig says assuredly,
"You know Booger is gonna go there eventually."
Mike nods at the information he receives, and the two will decide the best approach is to stake out Dee's location to get to Booger. Yet, before they're able to reach this conclusion, a civil disagreement will take place regarding Dee himself. Both guys are not convinced Booger was alone during Terrence's murder, and so they will assume Dee was an accomplice. They'll settle on the fact Booger was the trigger man, and so he'll be the prime target; Dee is an added bonus if he's killed in the process. Despite the initial reservation, Craig will agree to go along with Mike's plan, and so it'll be determined to meet back up in an hour.
During this intermediate period, Mike will go back home to prepare for the potential avenging of his brother's death. He will enter his bedroom and pull out the solid black shotgun concealed underneath his bed. After this, he will then open his top dresser drawer and pull out a case of shotgun shells, along with a Glock 9mm. Once the man has reloaded his handgun, he will then take a seat on his bed to gather his thoughts. Even though he's been in this position many times, the feeling of knowing you're about to kill someone always sits with him. This process has become easier for him to do, but the mental aspect of it has never fully aligned with his actions.
Despite this inner conflict he seems to have, the morality of his choices never wins out. There's always some 'Survival of the fittest' motto he'll embrace to keep motivated, something that's needed to a degree. The belief that kindness will get him killed is a strong notion, especially when he considers his line of work. He has enough examples of people's mercy costing them their lives, so the resolve to not appear weak has its partial roots from this. Once he's stilled himself enough to do what must be done, Mike will then allow himself to relax from all the pressures that tries to weigh on him. It will be doing this time when he'll become lost in his thoughts, reliving a moment that's currently on his mind, replaying continuously as if it's on repeat.
Flashback 1997
The moment in time that Mike remembers is of a past conversation he had with Terrence. It was a talk that took place at their parent's house, and the discussion was centered around Terrence's decision to move away. Despite the fact Terrence was merely moving to the next city over, his brother struggled with his desire to leave in general. As Terrence continues the packing process inside of his room, Mike will sit on his brother's bed drinking a forty ounce to cope with the situation.
"I mean… I'm just going to Virginia Beach," Terrence says with some bewilderment to his brother's reaction to his choice,
"That's not really leaving Norfolk, if you know what I mean."
"Then just stay in the city then," Mike says with a mild degree of frustration, further fueled by the liquor he consumes.
Terrence will stop what he's doing after this, a look of exasperation is evident while facing his brother, but silence resumes only because he's left speechless. This is mostly because his current plan is not a spur of the moment decision. It's been a well discussed topic amongst the family for nearly six months, and any objection to the decision has been nonexistent. Mike has never been a fan of his brother's desire from the jump, but he kept his peace until now. Part of it being he didn't think Terrence would actually go through with it. He figured it was just an idea being throwing out, but a lack of motivation will prevent it from happening.
Terrence has always been a big visionary throughout the years, something the family chalks up as part of his personality. He's seen as a big dreamer that lacks the pursuit to achieve a lot of his many aims in life. His rap career has become an example reference to this belief, being that it's somewhat on hold due to inactivity. Even though this musical pause is largely rooted in his plans to move, and even if he's expressed this countless times; it always falls on deaf ears when it pertains to family.
The second reason Mike is having problems with his brother choice, and likely the main reason logically speaking - he's staunchly family centric. The bond he has towards his immediate family is quite strong, unreasonably so in many ways, and the notion of them separating is something he's firmly against. 'Family sticks together' is the motto in his mind, never mind the opinions of others. This worldview is being challenged outright by his brother's quest for independence, and this cannot stand! At least this is how he's feeling in the moment, being that a dash of liquid courage is keeping his momentum alive.
For Terrence, leaving is not something he can view as optional; it's a necessity. There truly is no talking the man out of his choice. Yet, the sudden push back against his desire to leave from has blindsided him, especially since the persistence of Mike is becoming a bit suffocating. Seeing no other choice but to address the issue, Terrence will eventually state assuredly,
"My job is in Virginia Beach… and I want to move closer to my job. Besides, I already have a place squared away, so I'm not backing out now."
"You're being selfish, bro," Mike says in a dismissive manner towards his brother's reply,
"The family needs you right now, especially with Alton and errthing…"
"Alton," Terrence interjects with a bit of surprise in his voice, stunned by the correlation,
"How is he my problem?"
"He's all of our problem," Mike states strongly, spurred on by the tipsy nature noticeable in his speech.
His brother's reply catches Terrence off guard, for things are made clear to him regarding their youngest sibling. Keeping the terrible secret about Alton has been more than unbearable, and he's always realized Mike tends to protect his baby brother at all costs. However, it suddenly dawns on him that this same expectation is demanded by Mike to anyone who knows the secret. In truth, Terrence feels that Alton should be admitted to a mental ward, but he knows this will not be possible with Mike around. Knowing that his big brother is in full control of this situation is one of the main reasons for his departure. The last comment stated by Mike only reinforces Terrence's choice to be the correct one, and so this causes him to further stand on his decision even more.
"I can't do it anymore," Terrence replies calmly, after processing his brother's reply,
"I'm not you, Mike. I know family is priority to you, but I won't let you make me feel bad about leaving. I'm not the bad guy for leaving, and I'm sorry Alton is what he is… but I do know… me staying here won't make a difference in his life. I don't know how to help him… none of us do."
Sound: Door knock
The door knock will snap Mike out of his current thoughts, and he'll find himself back in the present day still sitting on his bed with guns in tow. After this brief realization, the young man will immediately answer his room door to find Craig standing on the other side. Craig will pat his right thigh area to indicate he's locked and loaded, and this will cause Mike to throw his weapons in a duffel bag to head out. A few minutes later, the two will jump into Craig's silver 1995 Lincoln Continental to stake out Dee's mother's house.
It'll be a silent ride for the two, which wasn't always the case. These guys had a ritual of psyching themselves up before every hit in the past, but this act slowly faded the more murders they committed. The callused heart would eventually mellow them out, and the need to get hyped ultimately morphed into casual conversations. Topics about relationships and where to eat, trivial chatter that lacks the chilling factor, these begin to drown out the deranged dialogue that once dominated a murder job. Little is said if anything these days when going to kill. It's a mutual understanding of the assignment at hand; the mere acknowledgment of 'It is what it is.'