The Shotgun Rule

Jeff points at George and Hector.

– Jesus, Geezer.

– Close the door. Lock the door.

Jeff shakes his head.

– No. I. No way, man.

Geezer squints.

– What?

– No way, man. I’m.

He points.

– Those are kids, man. Kids. I mean, to hell with them being Bob’s kids. They’re kids period. You can’t.

Geezer nods.

– Jeff, close the door, man. Yeah, they’re kids. You think I did this shit to them? You’ve seen my place. Who loves kids? Who loves kids? I love kids. This shit? Who else is in the room, Jeff?

He points at Fernando.

– You see who else is in the room and, seeing him in here, you assume, you make the assumption that I would do this?

– Man, don’t.

– Wait. You wait. I’ve been accused, of hurting kids I’ve been accused. What other…the word? Shit. The word when you have no other choice, it’s the only path you have?

– Recourse?

Geezer scratches his calf with the grabber.

– That’s it. Recourse. Being accused, I have no recourse but to defend myself. Fernando, close the door, will you.

Fernando takes a step toward the door, toward Jeff.

Jeff shows him the ten inch crescent wrench he took from the Harley’s tool kit.

– Stay over there, Fernando.

Fernando stays put.

– Don’t want to be waving a wrench at me, Loller, not unless you got a gun in your other hand.

– I ain’t a kid, man. I was ski

– Hey, makes two of us.

– Just stay over there.

– Whatever you say, pendejo.

– Yeah, fuck your mother.

Geezer grunts.

– Jeff.

– Don’t talk, Geezer. Seriously, man. I mean, all the respect in the world, but just, you know, shut up.

– Jeff.

– No, I mean it. Telling these kids ’bout that shit. Beating on kids. That’s fucked up. So just can it. I don’t want to hear.

– Kids! Kids! Kids! We were barely older than they are. Being a kid matters what kind of shit you get up to? And these kids are just the tip of the iceberg.

– They’re thieves, Geezer! They’re punkass thieves. They. You know, I’m not a, whatever, a scientist or something, but I figured out what you’re thinking. And there’s no one moving in on you, you paranoid son of a bitch. Man, Amy Whelan isn’t ru

– Jeff, my man, you think you know what you’re talking about, but you don’t. Alright, you don’t know shit about the deal, I believe that, you’ve never had a clue. But you expect me to think it’s coincidence? My lab gets busted? Just as I’m trying to set up a new lab, increase the profitability of the venture here, have a little something on the side that Oakland doesn’t know about, just as I’m doing that, some kids stumble in and screw things up? Oh, and hey, the kids just happen to be Amy Whelan’s nephews? Just happen to be Bob Whelan’s kids? I’m go

Jeff hefts the wrench.

– I don’t know the word, man. Just shut the fuck up before I forget myself and put this through your fat face.

Geezer shrugs and draws an invisible zipper closed across his lips.

Jeff sees Ramon.

– Fucking A.

He looks at Fernando.

– Your brother looks like hell, man.

– No shit.

– Yeah. Well. Go lay down on the floor on your face or I’ll bust your teeth out.

Fernando lies down on his face.

Jeff crosses to the boys.

– I am sorry about this, Geezer. Seriously, I will make it up to you. But you know, after you cool off, I think you’re go

He squats in front of George and Hector.

– Hey, George. You OK, man? Hector, you look like, man, you look like the Hunchback, man. No, no, I didn’t mean that, you’re OK. Go

He looks over his shoulder.

– Fuck, Geezer. Kids.

Geezer keeps his lips zipped.

– Jeff.

He looks at George.

– What’s up, man, ready to split? Where’s your bro? Where’s Paul? Let’s get you guys out of here. Know who’s go

– Jeff.

– I ever tell you, me and your dad, I ever tell you the time we went toe to toe with those Angels? The real deal. Angels from the Oakland chapter, out here making trouble. Me and your pop, we came out of it looking a hell of a lot worse than you do. Those Angels though, when we were done with them, they made us look pretty.

Geezer unzips it.

– Right, tell them another one. Like you had anything to do with what those Angels looked like when that went down. Kids, listen to me, this guy, he threw a couple punches, got knocked down and stayed down.

– Fuck you, Geez.

– You, George, your old man, he wrecked those cocksuckers. Had this baseball bat he used to carry with him, the handle sawed off, wrapped in tape, had nails driven through the head of it, galvanized. Know why he used galvanized nails?

Jeff stuffs the wrench in his boot top and takes each boy by the hand.

– Shut it, Geezer.

Geezer laughs.

– Said he used galvanized nails so the blood wouldn’t rust them.

He coughs, chokes, laughs again.

– No shit, kids, that night, he laid the law down on those Angels. Ever see a guy try to talk when he’s got nail holes in his cheek? Blood just sprays all over. Fu

Jeff squeezes George’s arm.

– Don’t listen to him, he’s full of shit.

– Hey, hey, I’m just finishing the story you started. If you’d been up to finishing it, I’d have kept my mouth shut. Like Bob, if he’d been up to finishing what he started that day, none of us would be here, yeah? These spics wouldn’t be anywhere near this business if Bob had taken the bull by the horns. His kids never would have crossed paths with the Arroyos, right? And me and you, shit, we’d be working together. Working with Bob. Kids, your dad had done the right thing and stood behind the message he sent that night, if he’d gone over the hill to Oakland and finished the job on their ground, you wouldn’t need to be ripping off my crank, you’d have it ru

Jeff lets go of the boys’ arms, takes hold of the wrench again and rises.

– Shut up! It’s past! It’s over! No one else thinks about it anymore but you.