Eleven Graves

by Aman Gupta

  “That is strange,” said a confused Emma.

  “Why would everyone lie about something like that?” said Emma out loud. “I better check this out again.”

  “You know, I’ll come with you. Let’s first see her and find out more,” said Kate.

  They left together and visited 23rd street, just on the outskirts of Morrow, where Elina claimed they have moved in recently.

  They decided to wait in the car, as the entire neighborhood looked suspicious.

  “That’s strange, she said they moved here because there were a lot of families here. Now, all I see are men who look like drug peddlers and thieves,” said Kate.

  Suddenly, someone knocked on the side window.

  “Joey, what are you doing here?” asked Kate.

  “I could ask you the same. Why are you here?” asked Joey.

  “We are here to meet Elina,” said Emma.

  “What is she, a criminal?” asked Joey.

  “Why?” asked Kate.

  “You have no idea what this place is, do you?” asked Joey.

  “No,” said Emma.

  “Welcome to the unofficial headquarters of Sera Crime Family,” said Joey.

  “What!” said Emma.

  “I thought the chief had put a tail on Elina,” said Kate.

  “Must have called it off for more important cases,” said Joey.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you are here? Why are you tracking Sera?” asked Kate.

  “Okay, you’re supposed to know this, but we found a body in a dumpster last week. It belong to Sera’s based on the tattoo. But when the Nucleus got ransacked, we figure that they must have taken the body,” said Joey.

  “And you think that Sera knew that the body was there?” asked Kate.

  “That would make sense. They took both the bodies – the river guy and their own,” said Emma.

  “Not to mention that they do have the manpower to pull something like this,” said Joey.

  “What should we do now?” asked Kate.

  “Let’s go back to the station and discuss with the sheriff,” said Emma.

  “Okay, I’ll meet you there,” said Joey.

  “Okay,” said Kate and Emma.

  They headed back to the station and explained the scenario to Eric. The sentiment in the air resembled a high stakes game being played with a foreign enemy.

  “Where’s Joey?” asked Eric.

  “No idea. He said he’ll be right behind,” said Emma.

  “We should call him,” said Kate.

  “Ever since they hit the Tech Centre, all communication lines are down, except some essential lines till we get the infrastructure set up. Only my line is working and few others in the entire town. Vik is handling that,” said Eric.

  “Yes, he’s good at what he does,” said Emma.

  Eric and Kate looked at her, for different reasons.

  “I mean, what we should do in the meantime?” said Emma, changing her stance.

  “Let’s hope that he didn’t get into trouble with Sera’s. We don’t have the manpower or the firepower to take on an entire crime family which has their presence in 7 Free states,” said Eric.

  Eric ordered two officers to check out the place and locate Joey’s vehicle if it was in the vicinity.

  A few hours later, they confirmed that Joey’s car was parked on 23rd street, but he wasn’t in the vehicle.

  “We cannot just sit around,” said Kate, growing tired of waiting for Joey.

  “She’s right. We have to do something,” said Emma.

  Eric nodded and went to his room to make a call.

  “Get ready. We are about to ruff some feathers,” said Eric, when he returned.

  An hour passed by and a fleet of cars showed up at the precinct.

  “The lawyer of Danton Sera, the head of Sera Crime Family, is here, along with the local leader, Bruno Sera,” said an officer.

  “Seat them in the interrogation room,” said Eric.

  “Maybe we should take the lawyer to your room first,” said the officer.

  “He’s supporting a criminal and we will treat him like one,” said Kate.

  Vik saw Bruno Sera and inquired with Emma. Vik immediately left the precinct after she told him about Joey.

  “Your client has kidnapped a cop,” said Eric, as he sat down across Bruno Sera and the lawyer.

  “First, we have been here for one hour. We don’t like waiting, and secondly, do you have any proof of this?” asked the lawyer.

  Eric looked at Bruno Sera angrily and said, “He’s one of ours. Believe me, you don’t want that kind of heat on your business.”

  Bruno Sera, the 7 feet tall 350 lbs guy, was known for delivering justice via his own hands.

  “We don’t have any alive cop with us,” said Bruno.

  “What did you do to him, you asshole?” said Kate.

  “Easy, Detective. My client is well respected in the community. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that kind of heat on your department,” said the ruthless lawyer.

  “We don’t care. We want our guy back,” said Eric.

  “And why would you think that we would have your guy?” said Bruno.

  “Because he was investigating your guy’s murder,” said Kate.

  Eric was surprised that Kate knew about this.

  “Joey told me and he must have tipped off one of your guys too. That’s why you took him,” said Kate.

  “Funny name, Joey. Doesn’t cop names have to be like formal or you know more mature?” joked Bruno.

  “That’s funny, coming from a guy named after a dog,” said Eric.

  Bruno didn’t appreciate this act of defiance. He stared down Eric.

  “What? Do you think you can deliver me some Bruno justice? Isn’t that what you call it?” said Eric.

  “Go ahead, put your hand on him,” said Kate, taunting Bruno.

  “Easy, sheriff. Riling my client up so that you can make a case isn’t going to take the entire situation any further,” said the lawyer.

  “Tell your client to give back my officer within an hour, unhurt and I’ll consider not investigating his actions,” said Eric.

  “What about this body you said that my client stole?” said the lawyer.

  “What about it?” asked Eric.

  “Maybe if you could drop that investigation, your precious detective could muster the strength and make his way back here without a broken bone,” said the lawyer.

  “No deal,” said Eric, immediately. “I don’t negotiate like this. There’s been a murder and if your client is involved, he’s going to prison.”

  “Prison is like a vacation home for me, sheriff boy,” said Bruno.

  “Depends on the prison,” said Eric.

  “What do you mean?” asked the lawyer.

  “You’re not the only crime family out there, are you? Maybe we could get you transferred to one of those prisons belonging to a rival family,” said Eric.

  “You’re thinking so far out sheriff. You need to build a case and prove it. Good luck finding witnesses,” said the lawyer.

  “We can and we will,” said Kate.

  “You have 60 minutes to get me my detective, or you can add kidnapping a cop to the list of your crimes,” said Eric. “By the way, you only say you are Bruno Sera. But you aren’t a Sera, are you?”

  “I’m a Sera,” said Bruno.

  “See, I know all about you. Sera family took you in and trusted upon a responsibility on you, rather than someone from their own family. Now those are big shoes to fill. Would be a shame if they felt that you caused some unnecessary trouble for, what I am sure, is a small issue for them. Not to mention that there’s nothing keeping me from saying that you cooperated with us in taking out one of Sera’s family enforcer. Good luck, dog,” said Eric.

  Eric and Kate got up, and left the room.

  Thirty minutes later, Joey showed up at the front door. With a broken nose and bruised ribs.

  Kate ran and hugged Joey.
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br />   “Where have you been?” asked Kate.

  “One of their guys caught me, trying to sneak in,” said Joey. “That’s a good hug.”

  Kate shook her head and chuckled.

  “And they just let you go?” asked Emma.

  “Yeah,” said Joey.

  “Let’s get you patched up,” said Kate.

  Eric went to the interrogation room.

  “I see you got your detective back. So, can we go now?” asked the lawyer.

  “I did say unharmed,” said Eric.

  “Perhaps, you shouldn’t have made us wait one hour,” said the lawyer.

  Bruno and the lawyer got up and Eric let them out.

  “Be careful, next time. And we are going to investigate wherever this leads us,” said Eric.

  “You might not like what you find,” said Bruno.

  Bruno exited as Vik entered and they both shared an eye contact which Eric observed.

  Later, Joey showed up in Vik’s lab.

  “Thanks, man,” said Joey.

  “Don’t mention it,” said Vik.

  “You saved me,” said Joey.

  “Like I said. Don’t mention it ever, to anyone, okay?” said Vik.

  “Why not? When they had me, I thought I was going to die. They weren’t kidding around. They were showing all these weapons to me, these weird shaped knives and cutters, and I don’t even know what half of the things were,” said Joey.

  “What is Nitro?” asked Joey.

  “A one-time favor that we just cashed in. I’m afraid it won’t work anymore, so try to stay clear of Sera,” said Vik.

  “How do you know this Nitro?” asked Joey.

  “You’re asking the wrong questions, Joey,” said Vik.

  “Then what’s the right question?” asked Joey.

  “The right question, is whether you should be wearing black or blue jacket when you take Kate out for a dinner date, and be happy because let’s face it, you’re crazy about her,” said Vik.

  Joey chuckled and nodded. He shook Vik’s hand and left.

  “Thanks!” said Kate, as she entered Vik’s room, few seconds after Joey left.

  “I take it you listened to our conversation,” said Vik.

  “I did. Why did you do it? Few hours ago, you told me that I better watch out and now you save Joey, knowing it was a long shot that could’ve gotten you captured as well,” asked Kate.

  “I didn’t do it for you, Kate. Contrary to what you might believe about me, when the dust settles, I will not be standing on the wrong side, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be standing on the same side,” said Vik.

  “You know I care about everyone here. Especially Joey and Emma,” said Kate.

  “Me too,” said Vik.

  “I didn’t just believe what she saw in you. I always thought she was wrong to have feelings for you. I can see that I was wrong,” said Kate.

  “She’s a good person, and I’ll never hurt her. I have been caring for her longer than you think,” said Vik.

  “I don’t exactly know what that means, but I’m glad,” said Kate. “This clears you, though. Since I saw Bruno’s face and I just know he ordered the strike on Nucleus.”

  “I’m glad,” said Vik.

  Kate turned around and opened the door to leave.

  “Me too,” she said, before leaving.

  Few minutes later, Eric knocked on the glass window, and directed Vik to his room. Vik saw a sealed Whiskey bottle in his hand, and smiled. Vik went to Eric’s room where Eric had poured a drink for them. He saw Emma, Joey and Kate were already there, drinking out of shot glasses. Vik laid on the couch, while Eric was spinning around in his chair. They didn’t say anything to each other. They really didn’t need to. Vik kept his drink on the side table, but didn’t touch it again.

  “Let’s play a game,” said Emma. “Today was scary, but we got Joey back without any trouble. This calls for a celebration.”

  “Yeah, let’s,” said Kate.

  Joey and Eric laughed. Vik had closed his eyes while looking up at the ceiling.

  “Vik, you too are playing. You know that, right?” said Eric.

  “Depends on the game,” said Vik.

  “Okay, cool. What’s your favorite?” asked Emma.

  “The quiet game. Let’s play,” said Vik.

  He almost killed Emma’s enthusiasm with that statement.

  The room fell into awkward silence.

  “Sorry,” he said, around ten seconds later.

  “Ha, you lost,” said Emma. “Take a shot.”

  “I don’t drink,” said Vik.

  “Liar,” said Eric.

  Vik opened his eyes, and threw the pillow underneath his head, backwards. Eric managed to dodge.

  Everyone laughed.

  “Hey, I know one. The old classic – Never have I ever,” said Joey.

  “Okay,” said Kate and Emma.

  “I’ll start,” said Eric. “Never have I ever been high alone.”

  Emma drank first after Eric. Joey and Kate followed.

  They all looked at Vik. It’s almost as if he could feel everyone looking at him.

  “Fine,” he said. He sat up and drank from his glass.

  “Wow, really? With whom?” asked Emma.

  “Someone memorable,” said Vik.

  “Nice!” said Joey. Emma smiled.

  “I’ll go next,” said Kate. “Never had I ever been caught for a crime I committed.”

  Kate and Joey drank. Vik drank too, which surprised Emma and Eric.

  “What crime did you do?” asked Eric.

  “That’s not part of the game,” said Vik.

  “Okay, I got one,” said Emma. “Never have I ever dated, or thought about dating, a colleague.”

  No one drank. Vik did. Emma smiled, and looked at Joey. Joey shook his head with a grim look on his face. Emma realized Vik’s confessions had nothing to do with her.

  “I got one,” said Eric. “Never have I ever been to jail before.”

  Again, only Vik drank.

  “Never have I ever felt guilty after doing the right thing,” said Eric.

  Vik and Joey drank.

  Vik got up and filled his empty glass. Eric wasn’t really playing the game. He was drinking all the time, straight out of the bottle.

  “Never have I ever looked after self-interests instead of my family’s,” said Eric.

  Vik drank once again. Kate, Emma and Joey were looking at each other. The elephant in the room was too conspicuous.

  “I got one,” said Vik.

  “This should be interesting,” said Eric, condescendingly. Vik noticed Eric was too drunk, but at that moment, he didn’t care.

  “Never have I ever pursued my friend’s wife,” said Vik.

  Eric poured a drink in his glass and drank.

  “It’s getting late. I think we should go,” said Emma.

  Kate and Joey agreed.

  “Hang on. I got one more. Never have I ever killed someone,” said Eric.

  Kate drank. So did Emma.

  “Come on, Vik. You know you can’t lie in this game,” said Eric. “And everyone take a shot for each person you’ve killed.”

  Kate drank once more.

  “Come on, Vik. What’s the count, one or two or even three?” laughed Eric.

  Vik got up, and grabbed a new bottle.

  “Whoa,” said Eric. “Really?”

  Joey, Emma and Kate looked at Vik.

  “No, you’ve had too much to drink,” said Vik, few seconds later.

  Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t imagine him killing someone, let alone have a body count worth an entire bottle.

  “No, this is fun. Let’s play more,” said Eric, while Vik was walking out.

  “Okay, here’s one more. Never have I ever seen twenty kids in need of my help, and looked the other way like a coward,” said Vik.

  Eric got up and smashed his glass. Emma, Kate and Joey stood up, visibly scared. They had never seen Eric like thi
s.

  “How dare you say that to me,” yelled Eric.

  “Glass houses, Eric,” said Vik, and walked out.

  Emma and Joey picked up the broken glass from the floor, while Kate helped Eric to the couch.

  Shortly after, Eric passed out. They all left.

  Late night, Eric showed up at Vik’s home. He rang the doorbell several times, before Vik came to the door.

  “I’m sorry,” said Eric.

  “Okay. Now you can leave,” said Vik.

  “No, please, listen to me. I shouldn’t have said those things,” said Eric.

  “Why did you?” asked Vik.

  “I saw you and Bruno. I thought you used Joey’s predicament to your advantage, maybe even planned it. You know, just like old times. And these cases. I mean, I’m truly lost. Then, with the crime and the dating question thing. I snapped, I guess,” said Eric.

  “That’s it?” asked Vik.

  “Yeah, wasn’t this enough?” said Eric.

  “Congratulations, you’ve successfully tested the effects of alcohol on brain cells,” said Vik, and slammed the door shut.

  “I’m sorry,” said Eric. “You know, you said some things too.”

  Vik opened the door a minute later and said, “At least I wasn’t fishing, unlike you.”

  “Please, I could beg but I doubt I’ll be able to stand up once I’m on my knees. Come on, it’s not like you didn’t notice the red flags leading up to it. Bygones be bygones?” asked Eric.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Vik, inviting Eric inside.

  “How did you do it?” asked Eric.

  “Do what?” asked Vik.

  “Come on, don’t treat me like them. We go way back,” said Eric.

  “Once upon a time, I helped Danton Sera. I mean, Nitro helped Danton Sera. Today, I cashed that in,” said Vik.

  “Helped him how?” asked Eric.

  “Don’t worry, I did it to save lives, and we saved many,” said Vik.

  “Sounds like a poor bargain, then. You could’ve used it for anything, since this is Danton Sera who owed you,” said Eric.

  “I didn’t waste it. I got another thing,” said Vik.

  “What thing?” asked Eric.

  “You know the guy you found, Jacob?” said Vik.

  “Yeah? What about him?” asked Eric.

  “He had a piece of paper in his pocket. I have sent it to be analyzed through Sera’s resources,” said Vik.