A Powerless World | Book 1 | Escape The Breakdown

by Hunt, Jack

  “Yeah, I…” It looked as if shock was taking hold.

  Luke wailed, rolling around.

  “Shut the hell up,” Jessie said, cracking Luke hard in the face with his boot.

  He blacked out.

  Luke came to with a splash of ice-cold water to the face. With it came a startling degree of pain and harsh reality. Instinctively he tried to bring his hand up to touch his ear but his wrists were bound to a chair. He jiggled in the seat but his ankles were restrained too. Before him stood Alby and Jessie. Alby leaned forward and placed both of his hands on top of Luke’s. “Good evening,” he said, tossing his words back at him. “Welcome back.”

  He immediately thrust his forehead against Luke’s nose, busting it wide open. The pain was excruciating. His world flashed. For a moment the agony took over from the searing heat he felt on the right side of his face. Jessie leaned against the kitchen sink, arms folded, observing quietly.

  “Stupid, are we?” Alby continued. “Stupid is thinking you can’t be seen up the far end of the street. I know every shadow, every silhouette. I might be old but I have perfect eyesight.”

  “C’mon man. We weren’t going to do anything.”

  “You mean you weren’t. Pussies like you let others do the dirty work because you don’t have the stomach for it. Not me. I’m a hands-on man. I must say, Lenny, is going to eat well after this.” He turned and walked over to the table and picked up one of the carving knives that Edgar had laid out. Luke looked at his dead brothers, still in the same place. Grief, rage, it all came welling to the surface.

  “You assholes. You won’t get away with this!”

  “Now which one should I use?” Alby stared at the knives.

  “Hold that thought, Uncle,” Jessie said, pushing away from the table. “Before you get started, let me answer his question.” He crossed the room and stood before Luke. “You wanted to know what Nina said to me. Right?” He smiled at him. “I’m going to be a daddy. That’s right. Nina is pregnant with my child.”

  Color washed from Luke’s face.

  “What a turn of events, huh?” Jessie crouched down. “Imagine that. Twice in the span of ten years. Except this time, Luke, we’re going to do it right. You won’t interfere, nor will your pops. It was him who killed my father, wasn’t it?”

  Luke was speechless, still trying to process that someone from his family had got involved with the Rikers. His thoughts switched to Skye, to that event, that fateful night. He wished he could have gone back and done things differently but it was too late. Just as it was too late now.

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I expect my father said the same thing,” Jessie said.

  “Please. I’ll leave town. I won’t come back.”

  “Oh, you won’t be coming back. That’s for sure.”

  Jessie snorted and looked back at his uncle who was eager to get going with those knives. Out of fear, Luke lost control of his bladder and felt warm urine run down his leg. Jessie noticed but didn’t laugh. “I pity you, Luke. I really pity you. Nina is right, this baby is going to change everything. And there isn’t a damn thing you, your family or your father can do about it. I’m going to marry her. Make an honest woman out of her. Bring her into the fold. Create more babies. Make her a part of the family. Our family. That kid will never know you. He will never know the Strickland name. I promise you that.”

  Jessie collected his gun from the counter, holstered it, and then headed for the back door. “You want a hand getting rid of the bodies?” he asked.

  Alby shook his head as he ran a knife over a sharpener. “No, Lenny will help with that. Won’t you, boy?” His dog was already lapping up Edgar’s blood.

  “Please. Jessie. Please! Nina wouldn’t want this.”

  It was his last hope. An attempt to appeal to the one person who seemed to matter to him. It had to count for something.

  Without missing a beat, Jessie said, “Nina won’t know. No one will.”

  His cries were muffled as Alby took a rag and jammed it into his mouth so forcefully he broke a tooth. One of the last things he saw was Jessie glance at him as he headed out. Alby circled behind him and got really close to whisper in his good ear, “This is for Bruce. This is for all of us!”

  He felt the blade dig into his throat at the lower corner of his ear, his head tilted back sharply, he took in the sight of a yellowed smoky ceiling before the end came.

  TWENTY-THREE

  COLBY

  Los Angeles

  “Honest to God, man, I will bust a cap in your ass and send you heaven bound if you don’t back away from the window!” Blinded by the glare of the flashlight, Colby kept a forearm in front of his face as he backed up. He still hadn’t seen the person, but by the sound of his voice, he was young, no older than a teenager. “That’s it. Keep going.” The kid got closer to the window. “Move it, chump. Faster!”

  “Just be cool, man,” Colby said.

  “Be cool? BE COOL!?”

  “Look, we’re sorry to bother you,” Alicia said.

  “What the…? Who the hell is out there with you?” he asked, darting to the side of the window to get a look at Alicia who was out of view. Kane barked a few times and pulled at his leash, eager to get in the house. “Oh, shit! You better get that dog on a leash.”

  Colby frowned. “He is on a leash.”

  “Yeah, well, he better be. If he bites me, I will sue your ass.”

  Colby chuckled.

  “Find something amusing, do you?”

  “He won’t touch you.”

  “Damn right he won’t!” There was a pause as he shone the light on Alicia. She squinted and lifted a hand. “Damn girl… you are fine!”

  Colby exchanged a glance with Alicia.

  “Too bad. Listen up! I don’t know what ghetto you two fools crawled out from, but the party is over — it’s time to go home. Now you go on, scuttle, get the hell out of here. You damn fools woke me up!”

  “You were sleeping?” Colby asked.

  A chuckle came back. “Fool, what else would I be doing at midnight?”

  The flashlight lowered long enough that he was able to get a better look at him.

  Just beyond the window was a black kid with thin dreadlocks, he was slightly on the larger size not in height but in width. Colby had guessed right, he was a teenager, wearing torn blue jeans, a Jamaican colored T-shirt, and a black and gray hoodie. At a rough guess, he was no older than seventeen.

  “Your parents around?” Colby asked.

  “My parents? Do I look like I need babysitting?”

  “Well I don’t imagine you own all of this,” Colby said, surveying the property.

  “Oh, I see how it is. You think because I’m young and black, I can’t have nice things. Right? That I should be living in the hood. Smoking weed with my brothers. Dealing dope on the corners. Is that right?”

  “What?” Colby asked, confused. “No.”

  He made a tsk sound. “I’ll have you know I made my first million at the ripe age of thirteen. That’s right, asshole, when you were sucking your momma’s titties, I was banking cold hard cash.”

  Colby raised an eyebrow. Was this kid for real?

  “You see this…” He leaned forward and shone his flashlight on an oversized, thick gold necklace with a spinning diamond plaque. “Four million. Custom made. Gucci. You feel me, bruh? They don’t make this kind of shit for just anybody.”

  Colby decided to play into this. Anyone else would have closed the window by now, maybe even opened fire on them. There was something very odd about him. “I guess not. You must be a big deal.”

  “You bet your ass I am.” His gaze bounced to Alicia.

  “Though, you do seem kind of young to afford this. How did you make your fortune?”

  “Bruh! Does this look like a game show? Twenty questions? Get the hell out of here!”

  He stabbed a handgun their way. The light of the moon reflected off polished steel.

 
“Okay, all right,” Colby said, turning and moving toward Alicia but keeping him in his peripheral vision. “We just needed a place to bed down for a few hours. That’s all.”

  “That’s all? Uh-huh? And you saw the over-sized pool house but figured, fuck that, let’s super-size this bitch? Am I right?”

  Colby couldn’t hold in his laughter any longer. He chuckled.

  “I’m glad I amuse you. Now take that furry bastard and head out the way you came. And that dog better not have shit on my lawn.”

  “You got it, brother.”

  “Brother? Oh because I’m black, now I’m your brother.”

  “Geesh, what is your deal? We’re going.”

  “Damn right you are.”

  The kid shimmied down the window and Colby watched him disappear inside. The glow of the flashlight faded. They had made their way to the side of the house when Colby stopped, glass crushed below his feet. Alicia continued for a few more steps, then cast a glance back. “What are you doing?”

  He pointed down at the glass and then pointed up at a window that was broken.

  “So it’s broken? Look around you, everything’s broken.”

  Colby smiled. “You buy his story?”

  “Doesn’t matter, he has a gun and a chip on his shoulder. Forget it, we’ll find another place.”

  He lifted a finger. “Stay here.”

  “Colby. Hey, no,” Alicia whispered. He told her to wait while he hopped up onto an air conditioner unit. He pulled himself up onto the garage roof and made his way over to a dormer window that was completely shattered. There were large shards inside the bathroom. Carefully, Colby climbed in, making sure to remain as silent as possible.

  Although he didn’t think the kid was a threat, he couldn’t take any chances. He held a Glock by his side as he wandered out of the bathroom and slowly made his way into the bowels of the house.

  He could hear low singing echoing as he went down a winding staircase to the lower level. He passed by several framed photos on the wall. Even though it was dark, he could make out that the family was white, upper-class, Harvard types. There was no orphan black kid.

  It didn’t take long to find him. He was in the living room, laid back in a La-Z-Boy armchair, feet up, with a bowl of chips, a beer off to the side. Under the glow of several candles, he was flipping through a Playboy magazine. He lifted the magazine and turned it sideways. “Oh baby, come to Leo!”

  As quiet as a ghost, footsteps muffled by the thick carpeting, Colby crept up behind the chair. He lifted the gun. Just as the kid was undoing his belt buckle, Colby placed the barrel against his skull.

  The kid froze and immediately began babbling. “Take whatever you like. Don’t shoot. I’m too young to die. I don’t want to become a statistic.”

  “I’m afraid Miss December will have to wait.”

  A pause followed.

  “White boy?”

  “Bingo.”

  Colby leaned over and took the handgun he’d set beside the table and placed it in the back of his waistband. “Get up slowly.”

  “Oh man, you are in deep shit now. Breaking and entering, armed assault, felony upon felony. You’re looking at going away for a long time, and believe me, the brothers inside would love to get their hands on your creamy ass.”

  “Then I guess you’ll be joining me because you broke in.”

  The kid got up and Colby shoved him over toward the couch. “Sit down.”

  “Broke in? Why would I break into my house?”

  “Yeah, just keep on flapping those gums.”

  He backed away and went over to the front door and opened it while keeping the gun trained on the kid. “Alicia! Around the front.”

  Colby moved back into the room, both hands on the gun, a bead on the kid’s chest. The kid was a bag of nerves, his eyes darting for the door. Alicia entered with Kane who covered the plush carpet in muddy dog prints.

  “Oh c’mon, man, I just got the carpets cleaned this week.”

  “Enough. The gig is up, kid. I know you don’t live here. What’s your name?”

  “Leo. Leo Idris.”

  “Id, what?”

  “Idris. Idiot! Like the actor, except I’m better looking,” he said, running a hand around his chin with a smirk as he eyed Alicia. He waved her in. “Damn girl, step into the light, so Leo can get a better look at you.”

  “Hey, moron,” Colby said, jabbing two fingers at him then pointing to his own eyes. “This way. Focus. So you want to tell me what you’re doing here?”

  “Probably the same thing you’re doing. Getting off the damn streets. It’s like night of the living dead out there. I figured I would hole up in here, bed down for the night, and get my funk on,” he said, pointing to the Playboy. “Which by the way, thanks for ruining the mood.” He took hold of his jacket and straightened it out and leaned forward in the chair. Alicia strolled into the living room, bringing Kane with her. Kane let out a low growl and Leo shifted in his seat. “Do you mind?”

  “Oh, he doesn’t mind,” Colby said. “Nor do we. That’s why we’re staying here at least for a few hours.”

  “Fine. I’ll leave you to it!” He got up to go and Colby shoved him back down.

  “I don’t think so. You go when we do. Can’t have you bringing back the brothers. Now, can I?”

  Leo stabbed a finger at him. “Holding me hostage. That’s another felony.”

  Colby shook his head and looked around. He whistled to Kane and the dog left Alicia’s side and strolled over to him. “Watch the moron,” he said. The dog growled as he turned and got close to Leo.

  Leo spread out his hands. “Man. C’mon!”

  “So what have they got in the way of food in here?”

  His eyes bounced between them. “An entire pantry. The place is stocked. Greedy, rich bastards!”

  Alicia took a seat across from Leo while Colby wandered out to the kitchen to take a look. His stomach was grumbling and he was super thirsty. He opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, twisted the cap off, and downed half of it without stopping. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand before turning on a flashlight and opening cupboards. He pulled out a pack of chips, some beef jerky, and found some bread. “You want something to eat, Alicia?”

  “What have we got?”

  “A sandwich, beef jerky, you name it, they got it…” He began reeling off one item after another. Leo was right. The home was loaded with food which made him wonder where the owners were. Maybe on vacation?

  “I’ll take anything,” she replied.

  “And I’ll have some pastrami,” Leo said.

  “You’ll shut the hell up,” Colby replied with a smirk on his face.

  He made himself a peanut butter sandwich. Colby returned with his arms full of food and dumped it on the coffee table so Alicia could help herself. Taking a huge bite from his sandwich, Colby sank into a leather chair and stared at Leo who hadn’t moved a muscle. His eyes darted over. “So kid, where you from?”

  “Compton.”

  “That’s quite the distance.” It was at least forty-five minutes away by car, south L.A. “What are you doing up this end of town?” He took a swig of beer and set it on the table beside him. It felt good to relax if just for a few minutes.

  “Ringing in the new year. Which reminds me,” he pointed to the clock, “I’ve missed it because of you two fools.” He glanced at Kane. “Three.” Kane growled. It was ten past midnight. A new day but with the same problem. “When the lights went out, my car broke down a few miles from here. Figured I would walk back until the streets turned into a mosh pit. What about you two? You dating or something?”

  Alicia laughed and looked at Colby. “The farthest thing from it,” she replied.

  “Good. Maybe we can get acquainted later.” He raised his eyebrows a few times.

  Colby downed the rest of his beer and told Alicia if she wanted to get some shut-eye it was probably best to do it now and he would keep an eye on lover boy. She wandered ou
t of the room and up the stairs. “I think I’ll join her,” Leo said. “You know, make sure she’s tucked in.”

  “I think not.” Colby finished his food, and then took out a pack of cigarettes. He leaned back, studying Leo. “So now how about you tell me the real truth.”

  “About what?”

  “What you were doing up here.”

  “I just told you, man. Rich folks have the best fireworks display.”

  “So you and some buddies, and a girlfriend came up here?”

  Leo hesitated for a second before replying. “No. Just me.”

  “And family?”

  Leo met his gaze. “You know, I’d really like a beer too. You mind?”

  “A little young to be drinking.”

  “What are you, my mother?”

  Colby laughed. He saw the way he dodged the question. The look in his eye. Colby got up and retrieved a beer from the fridge. He cracked it open and handed it over. Leo took a few swigs.

  “So what part of Compton?” Colby asked, taking his seat again.

  “Uh. You know — west.”

  “What neighborhood?”

  “What?”

  “The neighborhood.”

  “Does it matter? What are you, a cop?”

  “I used to be.”

  Leo turned the bottle in his hand. “Explains a lot. So what are you now?”

  He eyed him and mused. “I’m not really sure.”

  Leo laughed and shook his head. “You know anything about this blackout?”

  “It’s an EMP. We came from downtown. The power is out everywhere. Chances are it’s the same across the country.”

  “An EMP? What is that?”

  “Bad news. It means a whole lot of looting and break-ins will be happening over the next couple of months.”

  “Months? You think this is going to last?” Leo asked, his eyes widening.

  “I don’t think. I know,” Colby said, getting up. “That’s why I’m getting out of the city and I would strongly suggest you do the same.” He crossed the room and looked at a framed photo of the family. A mother and father, two kids. It was very clichéd. All smiles. Had their wealth been earned or handed down? It didn’t matter now. The event had leveled the playing field. Those who had everything would become targets for those who had nothing. Locked doors wouldn’t keep them out.