Trapped with a Way Out

by Jeffery Martinez

  "June."

  William watched Vincent as the boy looked out the window, waiting for the buildings to stop moving past it. "You don't say much, do you? You're pretty quiet."

  The car stopped and Vincent undid his seat buckle and pushed open the door, hurriedly, almost hitting an old woman walking near the curb of the sidewalk. The old lady squawked in alarm, swinging her beaded, white purse to reclaim her balance. Vincent caught a hold of it, along with her arm, to steady the woman. The wizened eyes widened and the old woman gasped, jerking away weakly.

  "No! Don't take my purse! I need to buy gifts for my grandchildren, you beast! Oh! Help! Help!" Vincent cursed and let go of the old woman so that she, in her confusion, tripped over her own feet and fell down, still calling for help. William was hanging outside her window, unable to open the door because the old lady was collapsed in front of it. She waved her arms, trying to fix the misunderstanding as people were drawn in by the commotion.

  "No! No! He's not stealing your purse! Ah! Please! Quiet…!"

  Vincent was backing away, surrounded by glares as grown men and fearless women approached. Rodriguez appeared and was helping the old woman to her feet, also trying to calm her. Once she was on her feet and fit to listen, Vincent had taken refuge on the other side of the car, closest to the street. A few cars honked at him to get out of the way, some giving him a few curses or a lovely hand gesture, making use of their prominent middle fingers.

  "He didn't mean to scare you." Rodriguez ensured the woman, aware of the group that was watching them. "He didn't want you to fall…right Vincent?" He turned back and it took him a moment, and another honk from a car, to find Vincent. The boy was watching all of the people warily, glowering back at a few. Rodriguez didn't agree with this so he ordered Vincent to get away from the street. Vincent moved to the trunk and stopped there, reluctant to get his stuff out now that he had such a large audience. When he took the cart and kept his hood up instead of accepting offers like this, he blended in easily with the crowds…and nothing like this ever happened. The boy chewed on his lip and looked down at the rain stained car.

  Little by little, the crowd was moving on, but a few gifted Vincent with a few sharp remarks.

  "Get some respect punk." Or "The least you could've done was help her up." And "Kids just have no common sense anymore. Jesus Christ, what a look that boy gave us too!" "Damned freak."

  When they were gone, Rodriguez opened the trunk and Vincent pulled out a few things without looking to see what they were and he went into the shop, asked the guy to watch his stuff because he had a lot more outside, and went back to the trunk. Rodriguez started to help and William joined in, though Vincent frowned at her when she dropped a book. "Don't drop stuff in front of the guy…he'll mark down the price if you do that."

  William' eyes grew as Vincent passed by her to make another trip, and when she went into the shop, she stared at the shop keeper until he grinned at her suggestively. The girl squeaked and ran off to join the boys again, coming back in with nothing in her hands as Vincent carried in the last stack of books. The front counter was covered in his uncle's least favorite possessions. Vincent kept his eyes from them and instead watched the man behind the counter, his glare glinting dangerously to tell the man that he would not stand to be ripped off, though Vincent knew that this was going to end up happening anyway. He turned to the first blonde he saw, found that it was William, and then turned to the other one. "Thanks Rodriguez…that's it…" Go now! His eyes screamed, but Rodriguez didn't pay them any mind, interested in what was going to happen next. Vincent cleared his throat. "Goodbye Rodriguez."

  "I want to watch."

  William chirped in when Rodriguez said this. "Me too. This is interesting." She leaned over the counter to look at the odd trinkets and books. The man smiled as the pink cloth tightened about her chest.

  He lifted up a book with an air of expertise, and then sighed dramatically and passed Vincent a practiced compassionate look. "I'm sorry kid, but I can't offer much for such well used books. The binding is wearing, already…see?" Instead of showing this to Vincent, he leaned forward to push it near the blue eyes. William looked closely at the binding and saw that it was worn and scuffed a little. Was this the one she had dropped?

  "Oh, sorry! My fault!" She took the book and used her sweater to rub off the scuff marks, fading them. "I dropped this one on the way in. The rest are still good, right?" She handed the book back to the man as the boys watched his eyes glint over a little. He seemed to like the girl's sweater a lot. Rodriguez growled, about to say something, but Vincent pulled him back, analyzing the two. His eyes realized that there were two very significant sources of exploitation hidden beneath the girl's innocent, pink sweater. They ought to make the price go up.

  Thank God for magic pink sweaters.

  William continued to worry over the trinkets, remarking on how cute some were, polishing them with her sweater when she found dust on them. When she asked how much it would sell for, the man would puff up and complement her before naming a price Vincent had only dreamed off in the past. "Ten dollars for that pretty little trinket. Sparkles like your eyes, girly."

  Vincent hid a smile at the mouth watering price, and he went forward to snatch up the deal when William began to speak. If he got ten bucks for a few more trinkets…he'd be set for months.

  William smiled, then worked her mouth into a pout. "Only ten dollars? I would have thought it was a lot more. My mom has some stuff like this at home and they were…hm…about…in the fifties. One was a hundred, now that I think about it."

  Vincent froze by the counter, in a dumb stupor as he looked at the girl and then the little figurine. His uncle must have swiped this from a pretty well-to-do place… To the shop keeper, William' chest had suddenly lost its charm and he coughed and then turned on Vincent, irked to find the boy in such a state of hope and disbelief. The man's head jerked towards the girl and her brother. "Al…what's up with these guys? The girl's not yours…way out of your league." He sneered and plucked up a book. "Get rid of them before I do, Al."

  Vincent's mouth twitched and he lost the thrill he had just experienced, turning to tell Rodriguez to go with a dimmed, tacit look. William, flustered by the rude remarks and the unfamiliar reference, had to be dragged from the shop by Rodriguez, who understood that they had only made things worse for Vincent now, as the shop keeper grunted out ridiculously low prices. The figurine was in his hand as green eyes watched from the door.

  "This is crap, Al." He shook his head and moved the glass angel figurine through the air carelessly "Crap. Maybe… twenty-five. That's decent."

  Vincent's eyes grew a little and he caught his breath before he could speak. "Twenty-five dollars?"

  The man jolted, and gaped at Vincent. His face puckered in a look of disdain, as if Vincent has spat on his shirt. "No! What…what…? Where did you get such garbage into your head, Al? It's that girl! Christ!" He glowered at the door where Rodriguez's eyes were watching from the car. He glared at the teen, then looked at Vincent. "Twenty-five cents! Jesus! This is something a mom might pick up on the side for her whiney brat! Jesus!" He set the angel down and moved on to the next stack of books. "Ninety-five. Ninety. I'll be generous, cuz it's Christmas, and give you this ratty one for thirty." The man paused and jabbed a book in Vincent's direction. "Cents, Al. I gotta make a living here too, you know. No one else is going to give you more for this stolen shit."

  "I told you…it's my uncle's stuff." Vincent spoke, eyes straining to remain calm and confident as the man jeered and laughed at him, flipping open a cover to look at a neatly scrawled name, one that had nothing to do with Walter. He slammed the cover closed.

  "Al. You're uncle was a bastard! He was a regular dirty thief!"

  "He isn't and has never been a regular thief, Greg. Don't talk bad about him… and don't use past tense. He's not dead."

  The man grumbled, sifting through the objects. "Yet."

  Vincent's eyes widened, shaking w
ith untamed fury as they swirled with a sudden storm of animosity. His hand shot out, claimed the angel figurine from the counter, and threatened to throw it on the ground, to shatter it into a million pieces as he lifted it wildly above his head. The man gasped before he could stop himself, and the pale hand froze as a sparking glare went to him. "You're a fucking thief, Greg, and I know it as well as you do!" He put the figurine in the pouch of his sweatshirt, but sold the rest of his uncle's stuff for the price that Greg gave them. All of the other shops assumed that the stuff was stolen and refused to pay one cent, or even the gum stuck to the bottom of their shoes, for it. Well..it was probably stolen... But he wasn't the one who had done the stealing.

  When Vincent left the shop, Rodriguez and William were gone. "Good." He muttered before throwing himself into the Christmas crowds.

  He snuck up into his room and stashed away most of the money before leaving to go find the little man to pay him for the previous month's rent as well as part of this month's. The man complained, and Vincent took the heat, allowing it to die down. He knew that his room was actually a large storage area, a janitor closet…or a laundry room that had never been completed. Vincent wasn't sure, he had only heard rumors…but what was sure of, was that there wouldn't be many other bidders that would want to pay the money he was putting out to stay in it. Soon the man cooled down and Vincent was able to return to his room. In a few hours he expected the power switch on his heater and the tap for the sink to be in working order, so he settled down to wrap himself up and nap, buried under the comforter, coughing once in a while as he dozed.

  He looked forward to his Cup Noodles.

  Rodriguez was in less of a shopping mood than he had been in before, so he could barely endure the time his sister spent buying gifts. Luckily it was a short shopping trip. He stored the three gifts he had bought in the back seat while his sister got in the passenger side, having finished piling her gifts into the trunk. Rodriguez was still turned around when she buckled her seat belt, so her blue eyes peeked at the back seats as well.

  They both stared at the baby great white in the bottle. William blinked and looked at her brother. "He gave it to you."

  Rodriguez didn't say anything, but he turned around and put his keys in the ignition. William reached for the bottle and brought it to her lap before they left the parking garage. She played with it curiously, her face reflected in the glass. "Kinda cute, I guess."

  Rodriguez grunted a 'that's nice', and was quiet. William lost interest in the fish and watched her brother instead. Finally, his patience gave out and he snapped at her to stop staring at him.

  "Is Vincent your friend from school, Andy-Alex?"

  "Don't call me that." Rodriguez kept his eyes on the road, watching the traffic. "Yeah…he's a friend of mine from school."

  William focused on the shark again. "Is he poor or something, Alex?"

  "Obviously." He growled.

  "Aw." She played with the shark, making it turn in the bottle. "That's sad. He was a nice boy."

  The green eyes froze on the bumper before them, and Rodriguez took too long to move at a stop sign so other cars honked at him. He hurried forward after missing his turn to go the first time. The two siblings were quiet as they continued on their way.

  William blinked, gazing out the window when she saw that they had made a wrong turn. She told Rodriguez this.

  "No. We're going to see Vincent."

  William gazed at her brother's face, seeing how much it had changed from the drooling, chubby cheeked baby face it had once been. She watched the buildings and people as they drove, not commenting on the sudden change of plans.

  When they pulled up to the right location, William was looking around while Rodriguez got of the car. Her eyes found a familiar figure heading for the stairs and she got out to get a better view of the boy. "I found Vincent…over there." Rodriguez followed the finger that showed him where Vincent was, at the bottom of the stairs. He rounded the back of his car, passing his sister to move to a tree situated in front of the stairs, yet far enough away that Vincent would not notice him there. William came to his side, easily hiding behind him. "I'm too old for hide and seek, Alex. What's…?" Rodriguez shushed her and pointed at the figure that had just reached the walkway on the side of the building. They watched Vincent as he passed out of sight, cut off by the angle the two were watching from. When they heard a door close, Rodriguez led the way as they cautiously went to the stairs and ascended them.

  Then they were lost. They still did not know which door was Vincent's and when they knocked on one a voice threatened to 'knock' their 'lights out' if they 'tried that shit again', so the siblings hesitated. Finally they resorted to asking random people if they knew which number Vincent's room was. No one knew, though a few promised to tell if William did them a favor. Rodriguez easily scared these individuals away, and their search continued. Then, the little man from before emerged and Rodriguez saw him just as William caught his attention to ask him about Vincent. The man looked her over with a deepening frown.

  "Vincent?" He thought, finding the name familiar for some reason. Rodriguez's appearance helped him remember, and he sneered at the tall jock. "Oh! You again, I see. Here for Street-shit?"

  "What?" William gasped, drawing the man's eyes to her again.

  "Hey sweetie, so how bad you want to find 'Vincent'? Eh? Why ya wanna find him anyway?"

  Flustered, William frowned at the man and her hands formed fists. "Are you going to tell us? …And if you look down one more time I'm going to have to hit you."

  The man sniggered and put his hands in his pockets. "Guess ya don't wanna find him. Fine by me." He strolled away, ignoring William when she yelled after him.

  With a sigh, the girl traveled back to the stairs and walked up them. Rodriguez stood beside her as they readied to knock on all of the doors to demand to know where Vincent's room was. But a set of steps coming up the stairs behind them made the two turn and watch as a man appeared. He stopped and watched them as well, taking in their well kept clothes and the girl's modesty. He crossed his arms, still on the stairs, when he saw that they were going to talk to him.

  "Do you know which room Vincent is in? Do you live here…on this floor?" William asked, a bit timid now that she saw that this man, who was only a few years older than her, was rather large and mean looking. The man glanced at Rodriguez and then kept his eyes on William.

  "Vincent?" He asked. The girl nodded, her cheeks coloring a little as she pushed down her apprehension, which was building as she looked at the dark eyes.

  "Vincent, Vincentimir…we heard someone call him Al… Last name…Ramos?"

  The man's demeanor changed abruptly, his eyes growing and then easing as he realized who they were referring to. "First?" He offered, waiting for their response.

  William stared, wrinkling her forehead at the name, but Rodriguez stepped forward, uneasy now about this new character. "Yeah…First. Do you know where his room is?" William watched her brother and then the man as they looked at one another. She slunk closer to her younger sibling, hiding in his shadow.

  "You come here to fight him?" The man asked. Rodriguez paused, then shook his head.

  "I'm a friend."

  "Oh? Really…" Eyes roamed over the two again, doubting the claim. "Alright… What'd the punk steal from you? Or was it W.C.D. who done it?"

  Rodriguez hid his disturbance and shook his head. "I don't know who W.C.D. is, and Vincent hasn't stolen anything from me. I want the information, that's it. Maybe I'll talk to him, nothing else."

  The man sighed, scratching the back of his head, thick fingers running through his short hair. "Walter C.D. is his uncle. But fine…I'll show you where he lives." He walked up the last two stairs, making Rodriguez wince when he saw that the man wearing a dark blue jacket that was only partially zipped and didn't cover most of his black shirt, was actually taller than him….and he was built like a tank. A tank, for God's sake. He moved passed them in a lumbering kind of step, ak
in to the giants of fairy tales. Fe Fi Fo Fum….ran through Rodriguez's mind as he followed the man down the walkway to an unnumbered door. A large hand pounded on the door, not in a hostile manner, but in one that was made acceptable and to be expected because of the man's size. "Yo Max, you in there?"

  Rodriguez and William were quiet, keeping some distance from the man as he referred to the skinny teen by this name. Max…Rodriguez might have heard of it at some other time…along with the name First. For some reason, they were surprised when the dark head of messy hair poked out of the door and looked up at the man. Vincent didn't notice Rodriguez or William down the hall. "Yeah." He aimed to close the door again, but the big man scowled and grabbed it with a vice-like grip. Vincent didn't seem to realize their difference in size and weight as he smirked up at the giant. He leaned on the seized door as if it was a wall. "Am I in trouble for something, Jack-bean?"

  "Shut up, Max. Call me Jake like you're supposed to." The man sighed out of habit, already used to the name.

  Vincent nodded. "Okay Jack-bean." He grinned as his eyes finally left the giant to go to the people he could sense down the hall. Once his eyes saw Rodriguez, all humor fell from the boy's face. Vincent leaped into the room and then went back to yank and pull on the door, unable to budge it. "Close the door, Jake! Close it before they get in!" He tugged, succeeding in installing the fear of breaking the door into his mind. "Damn you! CLOSE IT!"

  Jake smiled as the scrawny teen worked himself into a coughing fit as he fought in vain. "They said they were you're friends, Max. Why are you hiding from them? You don't hide." Vincent left the doorway and tried to push instead of pull the door close.

  "Just close the God damned door, Jake! Close it now before I kick your ass!"

  A deep, throaty chuckle came from the giant as he laughed at the absurd threat. The man let go of the door and it slammed shut. Vincent also smacked his head against it and sank to his knees, cursing furiously. He punched a tree-trunk leg to get revenge. "I'm going to get you one of these days, Jack-bean."