Donny looked over at Rose who was fussing with her seatbelt, trying to get it fastened.
When he heard the click of the mechanism catching, he asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"I guess," Rose answered.
Her father and brother stood beside her window. They were leaning down to watch her and Vincent. It was one of those awkward moments when everyone stands around a car waiting for it to leave. They were there for support and didn't have much to say. The wishes to have a good trip had already been said.
Donny turned to look at Vincent in the back seat and asked, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes," Vincent said.
His voice carried the disgust he felt at having to leave.
"Let's get out of this town," Donny said starting up the car.
Rose and Vincent gave a last little wave to their father and brother, while Donny drove away. It was the middle of the morning and they were leaving late. Usually they would have left around sunrise, but Sonny and Dan had a little errand to run using the sedan before they could leave.
When they pulled out of the parking lot, Vincent said, "I hate leaving like this."
"Me too," Donny said.
"We could still turn back," Vincent said.
Rose said, "Dad needs you to take care of our place, while Dan and Joe need Donny to take care of their places. Someone has to do it."
There were so many things wrong in Los Angeles that it wasn't funny. The police knew where the suspects in the robbery were and did nothing to arrest them. Hank witnessed the gang dragging some poor woman off to be raped. At least, that is what it looked like to Hank and Calvin. The woman definitely didn't want to go off into the alley with the men. Hank had to hold Calvin back so that he wouldn't blow the surveillance.
Donny said, "They also need us here."
"You can say that again," Vincent said. He looked out the window and said, "Do you know that for four nights in a row, Dan called the police to tell them where the guys who shot Sonny were?"
"Yes," Donny said. "I also know that the police made no attempt to arrest them. I can't imagine letting someone walk around free when they committed armed robbery and attempted to murder someone. It is almost like they can't arrest them or something."
"They sure aren't the kinds of cops I grew up knowing," Vincent said.
There were some who might have considered him naïve, but he had grown up believing in law and order. Watching police, who didn't enforce the law on the lawless, had really bothered him.
"I don't know what to think any more," Donny said.
Rose was of a much more forgiving nature than either man.
She said, "The police are people too. They've got families and they've got worries. They might have a good reason to be afraid. For all we know, the gang might go after the policemen like they went after Sonny in the hospital."
"As long as the gang is around they are going to have that problem. If they take out the gang, then the problem goes away," Vincent said.
To him it was cut and dried.
"You do realize what you are talking about," Rose said looking over at her brother with concern.
Shrugging his shoulders, Vincent said, "I know. I'm talking about the wholesale killing of a hundred or so people. You two sat up on that roof and watched them train the next generation of gang members. That gang isn't going away by growing up. It's only going to grow larger."
"You can't think that way about people," Rose said with a frown.
Donny said, "I saw how you reacted to watching those girls the other night. They were fifteen and sixteen years old and being treated like property. Those guys cared about them as much as if they were inflatable dolls. You wanted all of the men dead."
"I know, but I can't help think that they can still be saved," Rose said.
Donny shook his head. He said, "They might be saved in twenty years. The problem is that they will have created replacements for their evil selves before they see the light."
Rose sighed thinking about the future of the children growing up in the area. She said, "I know. I just can't help thinking that at some time they were small innocent children who could have grown up to be anything."
"They grew up and chose to be members of a gang. I don't care whether they blame their parents or society. The fact is that they are now members of a violent gang that views itself as above the law. They are busy forcing kids into the same future," Vincent said. "They made their choices. At some point in time they need to suffer the consequences."
"I agree, completely," Donny said. "It is best if it just comes to an end all at once."
Concerned about what was going to happen now that they were gone, Rose asked, "What do you think Dad, Dan, and Joe are going to do?"
"They'll try to get those men arrested until we get home. After that, they'll take justice into their own hands," Vincent answered.
His father had told him privately that he expected things to escalate quickly into a full out war.
"That's vigilante justice," Rose said.
"If you tell the police for a week straight where the bad guys are and they do nothing, you know that nothing is ever going to get done. Someone has to do something. What if the next guy isn't as good or as lucky as Sonny? They'll be dead, a family will lose a father, and there will be one less good person left to balance the bad," Donny said.
Vincent said, "Donny's right."
Rose said, "I know, but I don't have to like it."
The three were quiet for the next two hours of the drive. Rose napped a little in the front seat while Donny drove. Vincent sat in the back looking out the window at the scenery they drove past. When they were halfway to Las Vegas, Donny pulled off the highway. He parked the car and said, "We better check on our passenger."
Rose woke up when the car had stopped. She said, "I'll get him some water."
Donny opened the trunk of the sedan. Pepper was lying there with a gag in his mouth and his hands in restraints. Donny and Rose had spent a little time in a sex shop picking out something that wouldn't be too uncomfortable for Pepper. They had found a bondage belt with leather wrist cuffs that would keep him helpless without hurting him. He was going to be living like that for the next few days.
Pepper glared up at Donny and made some noises through his gag. He was not happy about his situation. He had been in the store when Sonny had come in. The next thing he knew, he was trussed up and getting put into the trunk of the car.
Donny said, "Now now. Don't talk that way to me."
Donny and Vincent lifted Pepper out of the trunk and set him on his feet. Pepper nearly collapsed, but they held him up until he was able to stand on his own.
Donny said, "Vincent, why don't you take Rose for a little walk? I've got to talk with Pepper here and I've got a feeling that the language isn't going to be suitable for a lady's ears."
"No problem," Vincent said with a smile.
Rose handed Donny a bottle of water and said, "I guess we'll be back in a little while."
Donny watched the brother and sister walk down the dusty dirt road. Once they were out of earshot, he turned to Pepper and said, "You done fucked up, boy.
"Sonny spent a little time in the store while Dan was bundling you up for this here ride. A lot of your customers were surprised to see Sonny at work. The stories they told him were very interesting. It seems that you were telling everyone about how Dan had made threats against the gang and that the gang was going to go after Sonny. You kept talking about how stupid Sonny was to stand up to the gang when they came in to rob the store."
Pepper made some noises into his gag.
Donny held up a finger to his mouth and said, "Shush! I don't want to hear a word from you. Your mouth has gotten you into a lot of trouble. You don't want it to get you into more trouble.
"My uncle Dan wanted me to take you out here and shoot you for what you did to Sonny. Basically, we feel that you sent three men to kill him. You know how Dan feels about people who do things like that to his family. To tell the truth, I am all for the idea of shooting you out here. It sure would be easy to do."
Donny spun Pepper around slowly while saying, "Take a look around you. This might be the last thing that you ever see. How do you like the view? There's lots of desert and no people. It is real peaceful. You could spend the rest of eternity out here."
Pepper's eyes had gotten huge. He stared at his captor.
Donny said, "Joe felt that killing you was too easy. He said that you'd suffer fifteen seconds of anticipation and then 'bam' nothing. To tell the truth, I agreed with him, too. We talked about staking you out here and letting you die slowly, but that is kind of risky for us. I mean ... someone could drive by and rescue you. Where's the justice in that?"
Donny was silent for a minute letting Pepper think about it for a while. Finally, he said, "Here's the deal. You can stay here or we can take you home with us where you're going to work until Sonny gets home."
Pepper didn't look very happy with that deal. Of course, the alternative was worse.
Donny said, "Sonny could be home in a couple of days if Dingo and Taco decide to give themselves up or the police actually get around to arresting them. In that case, Sonny will come home and lay low for a year or two before going to a different school to finish college. After all, he hasn't been charged with a crime and officially he wouldn't be a fugitive from the law. You'd be home in no time at all."
Pepper kind of liked the idea of that. Donny said, "On the other hand, he could get arrested and sentenced to twenty years in jail. In that case, you'd be working your ass off for me for a long, long time. Of course, once Sonny comes home you'll be free to go home. You might not have much to go home to, but at least you'll be going home rather than spending eternity out here."
"The worst case scenario is that something bad happens to Sonny ... like he gets killed. You wouldn't like that alternative. I can guarantee you that," Donny said.
Pepper really didn't look very happy.
Donny reached up to remove the gag. The guy at the sex shop had said that a person could wear that particular style gag all day without much chance of injury. They just needed to take it off every once in a while to allow the person to rehydrate.
While he was removing the gag, he said, "When I remove the gag you can tell me if you would rather spend eternity out here or work at our place until Sonny gets home."
As soon as the gag was removed, Pepper said, "You won't get away with this."
"You're probably right. I should just kill you here. I'll probably be old and gray before anyone finds your body," Donny said.
"Don't kill me," Pepper said shaking his head.
Donny said, "So what is your choice?"
Figuring that he would rather work than die, Pepper said, "I'll work for you."
"Damn. I was hoping you'd choose the other. If you change your mind, I'll be more than happy to kill you," Donny said in a matter of fact tone of voice. He grabbed Pepper by the shirt and pulled him close. In a low voice, he said, "Don't think I wouldn't kill you in a minute if you give me even half a reason."
"I believe you," Pepper said.
He was pretty close to losing control of his bladder.
Donny tugged on the belt that was around Pepper's waist. He asked, "Do you know why we picked out that particular belt and cuffs to restrain you?"
"Not really," Pepper said. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.
"I realized that you could actually take a piss while wearing it. You've got just enough range of motion to lower your fly and pull out your dick," Donny said.
"Oh," Pepper said looking down to examine the restraint. There were short chains holding his wrists to the D rings of the cuffs and belt. The chains were welded to the D rings and weren't going to come off easily. He realized that Donny was right about being able to relieve himself.
Donny said, "I suggest that you take advantage of that little feature before I put you back in the trunk of the car."
"Here?" Pepper asked looking around.
"You've got legs. You can walk over to that cactus over there and piss on it. I'm sure the cactus would appreciate the water," Donny said shaking his head. "I don't suggest trying to run off."
Pepper made his way over to the cactus occasionally looking over his shoulder at his captor. He didn't trust that the man wouldn't put a bullet in his back.
He was nearly to the cactus when Donny called out, "Watch out for snakes."
Pepper danced backwards a couple of feet looking around wildly for snakes. He shouted, "What snakes?"
"I didn't say there were any snakes. I said to watch out for them," Donny said.
"What do I do if there is a snake?" Pepper asked in a near panic.
Thinking that God had given earthworms more sense than Pepper possessed, Donny said, "I suggest you keep your distance from it."
With a little effort, Pepper was able to relieve his bladder. He made his way back to the car feeling a little better. That didn't mean he was any happier.
Donny held out a water bottle and said, "Time for you to replace what you just lost."
"How am I supposed to drink that with my hands like this?" Pepper asked staring at the bottle.
"Good question," Donny said. He reached into the car and pulled out a box of straws. Holding one of the straws up for Pepper to see, he said, "I'll put the bottle on the hood of the car with the straw in it. You bend over and suck on the straw."
While Pepper drank his bottle of water, Donny waved to Rose and Vincent. They started walking back to the car.
Donny leaned against the car and said, "I bet you're not very happy right about now."
"You can say that again," Pepper said glaring over at Donny.
Donny said, "Actually, you and the gang are lucky that Sonny had a gun in the hospital. I can tell you that if he had been killed, that you would be wishing you were here like this instead of where you would be."
"What would you have done?" Pepper asked.
"You don't want to know," Donny said with a grim expression on his face. "Just thinking about what we would do to you is enough to give me nightmares."
It wasn't so much the words as the look on Donny's face that scared Pepper. He was convinced that he had fallen in among some homicidal killers. He sucked up some more of the water. He stood up and said, "I really didn't expect the gang to go after Sonny."
"Well, they did," Donny said.
"He should have just given them the money," Pepper said. He felt it was unfair that he was in the situation because a dumb kid from the country decided to play John Wayne.
"It wasn't his money to give away," Donny said.
"That other fellow said that. I don't get it," Pepper said staring at Donny blankly.
Donny said, "You're his boss. When you hired him, Sonny accepted that you were making him responsible for the store, the stock, and the money in the cash register. Our uncles raised us to take our responsibilities seriously. It wasn't his money. It was yours. He nearly died because he was fulfilling his responsibilities to you by protecting your money. After all of that, you screwed him over."
"I didn't mean to," Pepper said uncomfortable with how they viewed his actions.
"Well, you did," Donny said flatly. "My family doesn't take that very well."
Rose walked up to Donny and said, "I take it he decided that he'd rather work for you than to serve as fertilizer for cacti."
"That's right," Donny said.
"It is not too late for him to change his mind," Vincent said.
Rose looked at Pepper and said, "You do realize that your actions, choices and cowardliness have turned you into a slave, don't you?"
"Slave?" Pepper said realizing exactly what the deal had been. He got angry and asked, "What choice did I have? It was either I agree to be a slave or die."
Vincent leaned against the car and crossed his arms. He said, "He's got a good point. What would you have done in his position, Donny?"
Rose said, "I can answer that."
"Please do so," Donny said.
"He would have kicked the shit out of the other fellow when we were way the hell down road. Once he had the other fellow down and out, he would have taken off across the desert to take his chances on reaching the highway," Rose said.
Nodding his head in agreement, Vincent said, "That's what I would have done."
"Me too. In fact, that is what I figured was going to happen when we walked on down the road," Rose said. She took a step towards Pepper and said, "I thought this whole thing was a stupid idea, but you know what? I actually think that you might learn how to be a man as a result of this. Right now, you disgust me."
"What if he had killed me?" Pepper asked thinking these people were crazy.
Donny said, "You don't get it. There are some things that you just don't give up without fighting to the death for them. Your freedom is one of those things. My cousin died overseas so that we could be free."
"You should have been willing to die for your freedom," Rose said. She turned away in disgust and said, "Put the gag in him and throw him in the trunk."
Donny put the gag back in Pepper's mouth. He and Vincent then lifted the man into the trunk of the car. Once they were sure that he was completely inside, they shut the trunk.
Vincent said, "When I heard that he had ruined a perfectly good gun, I thought he was the dumbest man in Los Angeles. I've revised my opinion since then. I think he's the dumbest man in the world."
Adjusting the hat on his head, Donny said, "I don't know. Those girls back with the gang made the same choice. They choose to be the property of the gang. Only a slave would allow herself to be used for sex by anyone, anywhere, and at anytime, without resisting."
"Even being a prostitute is better than being a slave. At least she is trading sex for something and not giving it away to an 'owner' for nothing," Rose said.
"Maybe people have forgotten the price that freedom demands," Vincent said.
Donny said, "Maybe people don't know what it means to have freedom."
Vincent looked down at the dusty ground and said, "That's sad. That's real sad."