I felt Devin slapping me on the arm trying to wake me but I wasn't ready I felt like I hadn't slept in a month. He slapped me again. This time he slapped the part of my arm that I had landed on, reviving the pain. 

"Stoop" I murmured under my breath.

"Wake up, I have food," he said before tossing a paper bag in my lap. I rubbed my eyes trying to get them to adjust to the morning light. My arm now had a dull throbbing pain. 

I realized we had slept in the car. The sun was gleaming brilliantly onto my face and I pulled down the car visor to shield me from it. A small rectangular card fell onto my lap. It was a student ID for a girl named Alicia. I felt a twinge of guilt, knowing that we'd taken her car, more guilt flooded in when I thought about all the other things we've done, just for Dahlia. But it's worth it. 

We were in an empty Belly Bus parking lot. I hadn't eaten here in a very long time. We rarely splurged on anything fancy like a two-dollar burger. 

"Sheesh did you sleep at all?" I asked Devin, noticing that his eyes had a slight redness to them. 

"No," he said simply. I opened the bag and pulled out one of the wrapped burgers.

"I think this one's for you," I said handing him the burger with the name Simone and a number written on it.

"Who's Simone?" I teased while I pulled out my plain wrapped burger.

"I guess the cashier," he said, and the corner of his lip quirked as if he was about to smile.

"Wow, she must really like frowsy, puffy-eyed guys," I teased again.

"First off fuck you. Second, even looking like this girls still want a piece," he said raising an eyebrow. As far as I knew Devin hadn't had a 'girlfriend' in forever. I never really thought about it, that he might've quelled his frustration with a quickie with Simone. It would have been impeccable timing.

"No, you didn't"

"Nah, just kidding. She was kind of cute though but I didn't, maybe after we find Dahlia and I take a shower."

The conversation descended into silence at the mention of our sister's name. We sat there in the car for a while and devoured our burgers. They were packed with delicious fat, just like the fries that came with it. 

"So I was thinking," Devin started to say.

"This mission that this man is sending us on, I shouldn't do it. At least it would be the last resort," he continued.

"Or we find another way because going after Juno who's already looking for us will definitely get us killed," I added matter-of-factly.

"I know but if it's the only answer, you need to know, I will do it," he said.
My heart sank to the pits of my stomach.

"And at what cost? 'cause if you do get the shot at Juno, Gills will come after us and we probably won't live to see Dahlia again," my face warmed as I spoke. I never want him to go down that path.

"Before you get all heated about killing the son of a bitch who has beaten our sister many times before, I did say that's the last resort."

"So what's the plan then?" I asked, pushing those fears aside.

"We go to Marcus' house, see what we can find out."

"What if he's home?" I asked, "We don't want him to know that we know remember?"

"Then we play desperate saying we need his help or some shit like that," he said starting up the engine. I grabbed his hand to stop him from switching gears.

"I think we should clean up a little and not look so suspect when we go out on the road"

"Yea you're right. Maybe they'll have a bathroom," he agreed.

Walking into the restaurant there was no one in the dining area except the cashier.

She stood up straight when she saw Devin walk in behind me. I rolled my eyes at her not so subtle attempt at trying to get my brother's attention.

"Do you have a bathroom?" he asked. And she visibly took a deep breath and twirled her dark hair around her stubby finger.

"Um yeah, just down that way around the corner," she said with a broad smile, that showed crooked teeth. "Do you want me to show you where it is?" She offered, as she leaned over to expose even more of her busty cleavage. If she leaned over any further, the buttons on her grey uniform would fly off.

"That's fine," he said before walking towards where the bathrooms should be. I followed behind him.

The heavy stench of bleach slapped me when we entered and burned my nose.  But at least it was freshly cleaned. 

We cleaned up the best we could with water and liquid bathroom soap. Unfortunately, we couldn't change into anything, as our clothes were left at the warehouse.

Walking out, we saw that a few people had come in ordering food, and another lady was seated and staring out the glass window.

The cashier, Simone, even while taking some guy's order still found time to stop and stare at Devin while we walked out. Devin simply nodded at her and walked out.

~~~~

Marcus didn't live far from the area we were in. So in a matter of minutes, we were parked across from his house, watching his mother tend to her array of flowers in her front garden.

She blissfully fondled them without a care in the world.

The neighbourhood seemed peaceful enough. People were walking, sitting out on their porches.

If this was where Marcus grew up, he must have had a decent childhood. Our lives were similar to this before our parents died.

We didn't live in the suburbs like this; our house was much smaller and looked older. I think it belonged to our grandfather. It was also well removed from the city centre.

It was home. I had a few friends that would come over sometimes and we'd play cheap video games from the corner shop in Devin and I's room. I didn't know where those friends were now. We quickly became the kids who lost their parents. Most of them didn't know how to deal with it, so they just avoided me. Plus it didn't help that we were being moved around so much.

I remember, Dahlia would be in her room on the phone, our mother would be cleaning somewhere in the house and our father would be out, working.

"How do we do this?" I asked unsure of how we'd break-in when his mother was right there.

I thought no one would be home and it would be as simple as picking the locks.

"Do I distract her while you go around the side or something?"

"No we aren't breaking in," he said before opening the car door.

"Come on."

"What are you doing?" I asked before clambering out of the vehicle and running across the street to catch up to Devin.

"Mrs Nicholson?" Devin called from behind.

She was bent over and jumped up when she heard her name. When she turned to face us, her chalk-white hair whipped across her face. She brushed it away gently with a wrinkled finger.

"Oh goodness you scared me," she chirped and brushed the dirt off her apron. As we walked across her flourishing green lawns, I noticed a dark, purplish bruise at her temple.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned about this lady who we only met once a few months ago.

"Oh yes, I am fine. Do I know you?" she said as if she was finally looking at who she was talking to.

"Yes," Devin answered. "We are Devin and Darius Vicker, Dahlia's brothers."

"Oh how is Dahlia, I haven't seen her for a while, is she doing okay?" she asked concerned.

"Is Marcus around?" Devin asked, not bothering to answer her question.

"Oh no, I haven't seen that boy since those men came to visit."

"Men? What men?" I asked stepping up beside Devin.

He put his hand on my shoulder indicating that I should let him handle this.

"Mrs Nicholson, we were wondering if we could talk inside. It's about Dahlia and Marcus. We think they might be in trouble."

~~~~

"Here have some water," Mrs Nicholson offered us. She had graciously invited us into her home, eager to find out about her son. 

The house looked new on the outside but the inside boasted dated furniture and wooden wall cladding, traces of camphor ball floated in the air. That made the room feel small and cosy. We sat on a bulky green and red floral couch in the living room.

"What do you mean Marcus is in trouble?" she asked concerned.

"We haven't seen Dahlia for a while and Marcus, he isn't answering his phone. We're afraid something might've happened to them," Devin lied.

"When was the last time you saw Marcus?" He asked.

"Just about a week ago, he came over here, it was a regular Sunday evening. We sat on the porch and drank some tea. Then-"

She trailed off and her eyes became distant as if remembering horrifying events from the previous week.

"Mrs Nicholson," I spoke up, "you said some men came."

"Yes, big men, in black cars. They drove up. Marcus forced me inside the house. I told him, no, then the men came and pushed me in. They hit me." Tears started to stream down her wrinkled face.

"The men, do you know what they wanted or what they looked like?" Devin pursued.

"I remember one man, he wore a suit, all-black suit. Older man in shades, he spoke so sophisticatedly, but he's not a kind man," she said holding her head down.

"What happened?" I pressed.

"He held a knife to my throat, made Marcus promise to do something."

"Do what?" I continued. Devin twitched slightly next to me and his knee butted against mine. I think he was trying to get me to back down. But I wasn't going to. 

"I do not know. He promised to do whatever, then the men released me and left. I asked him what it was and begged him to stay out of trouble. He only apologized and said he would do anything to keep me safe."

"Can you give us any reason why he'd be involved with these men?" I pressed. 

"I don't know. But I do hope he's ok. I pray for him every day." She said laying a hand over her chest.

"He's going to need a lot more than prayer," Devin mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Mrs Nicholson asked.

"Nothing" I interjected. 

"Thank you for your time. If Marcus comes home, give us a call will you?" Devin said handing her a piece of paper with a number on it.

She placed it securely in her bosom. We set the full glass of water that neither of us drank on the wooden coffee table before us and proceeded to leave. She escorted us to the door.

"I just remembered, one of the men, said the man in the glasses name out loud, it was but a whisper but these old ears still pick up some of these things."

"What did you hear?" Devin asked

"It sounded like Mick or Jick?"

"Bick?" I said quietly

"Yes, that's it! I hope it helps," she said before closing the door behind us as we descended the porch.