Days became weeks, weeks turned into months, and months stretched on until they were years. I’d been living here, with Jasper, for just over three years when my peaceful life was shaken to the core once again. Jazz and I had fallen into a steady pattern of life. I kept my job with Ric, as a true waitress working on the books rather than for under the table cash like before. Jasper continued to work for the same man, a man I had only met a few times and never had been able to trust or like. No longer being as naïve as before, I knew my brother at least worked for criminals, and that he could even be one himself by now. I knew he no longer dropped off messages or packages, no longer was able to claim anonymity or lack of knowledge. If I have an inkling of what he’s really doing, I am certain that he knows exactly what’s he involved with. I couldn’t let the fear of him being injured or arrested rule my life, though both fears did sneak up on me quite often. Ric helped out a lot; he had come up on a similar ladder, still had acquaintances in the business, and still did some fringe deals with his old employers. He assured me that the men Jasper worked for knew what they were doing and that my brother had a good head on his shoulders. I trusted Jazz, he is the only family I have left, I have to trust him; but I didn’t trust his employers, couldn’t bring myself to even try. Jasper made it a point to never involve me in his work; if he was called on after regular hours, he would apologize and go take care of it. Usually this wasn’t a problem; he and I basically worked opposite shifts, at least on most nights. Most of his work happened during normal business hours, when the sun is up and decent people are trying to make a living; my work is just the opposite. I don’t even go in until the sun goes down, when the respectable people are finished with work and looking to have some fun; that’s when my job kicks in. Even though I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of catering to the white collar crowd for the rest of my life, but for now this seems to be working for me. On my nights off Jasper and I try to hang out and spend some time together. Sometimes we go catch a movie, or check out some random club; other nights it’s just dinner, but whatever we do, we have a good time.
It was one of those nights off when the foundation of life began to crumble. Jazz and I had just finished sampling the menu of a new restaurant that had opened a couple blocks away from our apartment. It was a nice place, a mixture of italian and greek cuisine served with just enough of the ‘old country’ charm that can only be found in a family run place. The chef, well ‘Mama’ as they call her, was a little heavy handed with the garlic, but otherwise the food was delicious. Jasper was paying the bill while I waited outside on the sidewalk enjoying the crisp evening air. Just as my older brother came to join me on the sidewalk, with every intention of continuing our evening, a man I’d never seen before came rushing up to him. He was young, not young enough to be safely home at this time of night, but young enough to still have an aura of innocence about him. His hands reached out to clutch the lapels of my brother’s jacket. The young man was out of breath and his eyes were wild with fear and urgency. “Jazz, where the hell have you been? Jinto’s been calling your place all night. Something’s come up, you need to go take care of…” And that’s when he finally noticed me standing there, right beside Jasper with no intentions of walking away just yet. His wide eyes scan me quickly then dismiss me just as fast; he must have figured I was this week’s floozy. “Look man, can we discuss this in private? You know how Jinto feels about mixing broads and business.” While Jasper stood there looking uncomfortable, scratching the back of his neck like he does when he’s anxious, I took it upon myself to speak up. “Why don’t I just go on home now? It’s obvious that you’re being called back into work and since Jinto doesn’t like to mix broads with business, I guess that means I’ve already heard too much. I’ll see you at home whenever you come stumbling back in.” I felt bad for a moment, mainly when the color drained from my brother’s face; but I was upset and I felt that I had every right to be. I didn’t mind that Jazz had to work, I understood the demands in his line of work; what irritated me was the way that the other guy dismissed me immediately, not to mention the fact that he was just outright rude to me. I turned to walk away, okay so I was really stomping away, but Jasper’s voice stopped me mid-huff. “Wait, Trin, don’t go yet.” Turning around, I found pleasure in watching as his buddy blanched before my eyes. “What are you doing? Are you insane?” He hissed urgently to my brother. Jazz wasn’t paying attention; he was focused on me, his only family. “You know work is important so I know that’s not what you’re upset about.” I hated that he knew me so well. “You’re pissed because of the way Kai treated you.” Again that flash of hate that he could read me so easily. “Duh.” Yes, that’s all I had to say. Turning to this Kai person, Jazz made our formal introduction. “Kai, this is my sister Trinity. Trin, this is Kai, an associate of mine. Now please forgive me, dear sister, but it seems as if I’m being called into work. I trust that you can see yourself safely home?” I nodded to assure him that I could, adding in a smile to silently thank him for not only defending my honor but for asserting my place in his life. I left the men to their discussion, pretending to head towards home, but that wasn’t where I was going. I planned on following them tonight; I felt the time was right for me to know exactly who my brother was to these people.
Following them was a mistake; I know that now, but in the moment I believed it was my only option. Jasper would tell me what he does for these people, but I knew that entire conversation would cause him nothing but pain. This was my way to know more about Jazz without him hurting because I know. Kai led my brother to a dark storefront a few blocks away from the restaurant. I knew the business; it was a small bakery where I would sometimes stop for fresh breads. The older couple who owned the place were nice and friendly people. I couldn’t imagine them being involved in anything like what Jasper did for a living. Their son was another story; he was a few years older than me but he seemed like the ambitious type. I could see him making some deal with the men Jazz answered to, using his parents business as collateral to further his own ambition. When the door closed behind my brother and his associate I waited until I could see the interior of the store light up and then fall dark again. Like there was a back room door opened to admit the two men before being closed to regain the privacy. I considered turning around; going back home where I could pretend that nothing was going on. I had come too far to turn around now. The front door was unlocked so I slipped inside the empty sales area, pausing to ease it closed behind me. I could hear voices coming from the kitchen; Jasper, Kai, and at least two other men I couldn’t identify. One could have been the ambitious son, but I couldn’t be entirely sure. It sounded like they were just talking; none of the voices was raised or upset yet, but I couldn’t make out exactly what was being said. Slipping behind the display counter, I found a place to hide beside the door. From there I would catch more of the conversation. The conversation I never should have heard. As far as I could tell they were discussing money, payments that had not been made.
Finding out my brother works as a debt collector wasn’t upsetting at all, even if he collects money owed to criminals. What was upsetting was the sudden change in the atmosphere on the other side of the kitchen door. One moment they were just talking and the next I could hear one man screaming in pain and another yelling in anger; neither of which were Jasper. Before I could make a dash for the door, the rapid blasts of gunfire echoed through the building. I froze where I was crouched behind the counter; it was probably a good thing that I was because the owners’ son and his companion came bursting through the kitchen door and rushed out onto the brightly lit sidewalk. Since the kitchen door was left open I had a clear view inside. The scene my eyes fell upon took my breath away. Jasper was lying on the floor; his katana had carelessly landed a few feet away; next to the discarded blade was Kai, lifeless and staring up at me with cold, empty eyes. The heavy pit of dread in my stomach told me they were both dead. I couldn’t process, all I could do was stand there and stare. While I was caught in the horror of the moment, a ragged cough came from my brother. Jasper was still alive. I had to get him help, but how? You can’t just call an ambulance to come pick up a criminal gunshot victim in the kitchen of a bakery at which he was doing a shakedown. Kneeling by Jazz, fighting to keep the tears at bay, I try to staunch the flow of blood spilling from his wounds. He’d been shot at least three times, probably more but those were the ones I could easily see. “Jasper, what should I do? You need a doctor, should I call an ambulance?” My brother tried to smile; I guess he liked seeing me so worried about him, but then he shook his head and groaned. “No, no doctors. Call Jinto, tell him about Kai and me, tell him where we are.” Call Jinto. He wants me to call the man who is responsible for this mess? Then again, he was the only man who could help right now so I didn’t really have a choice, did I? There was a phone mounted on the wall beside the door so I grabbed it and looked back to Jasper to get the number. The handset slipped in my bloodied hands but I eventually got the number dialed and waited for Jinto to answer.
He was abrupt in his greeting; a man of few words I assumed. I told him who I was and what had happened then listened to him curse for a moment. “Wipe down everything you and your brother touched, get him out the back door into the alley and then get rid of all his blood. Transport will be in the alley in fifteen minutes.” It was a good thing the line went dead after that; before I could tell him exactly what I thought about the orders he’d barked to me. This morning I was protected from this life of crime and cover up, now only a few short hours later I was being ordered to not only drag my brother’s bleeding body to the back alley but to clean up any of his blood at the scene along with our fingerprints. Since I didn’t have time to argue I got right to work. The only place Jasper’s blood was smeared in copious amounts was on the phone; what had been transferred by my hands. After washing my hands in the sink, I grabbed two clean rags. One I kept dry and began wiping everything we’d touched; the other I doused with bleach and started to clean up the blood. I had to move Jasper before I could finish the clean up, but how the hell was I going to move my older brother who outweighed me by a good eighty pounds? I handed the katana to Jazz and moved behind him. While carrying orders to customers all night long had built up some impressive upper body strength for a girl my size, the body of a twenty-two year old man was a lot heavier than a loaded tray. I could barely drag him a couple feet before the sweat was breaking out along my hairline. At this rate it would take longer than fifteen minutes to get him to the back door. Meanwhile, Jasper’s breath was steadily becoming more ragged and his eyes were starting to glaze over. Time was running out. I had to do this, I couldn’t lose him too. He was all I had left.
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