“Wow. This place has gone down hill,” Emily said. “Last time I was here it was so nice and cozy.”
“It’s Mindy and Rita,” Lily replied with a shake of her head. “They don’t respect anything or anyone. I didn’t realize they were hurting Ms. Helen, or I would have asked for help sooner. I just thought she didn’t believe me and was letting them do whatever they wanted. I should have paid closer attention.”
Emily pulled out her phone and started typing as we walked.
Sasha draped an arm across Lily’s shoulders. “This is not your fault. Nobody expects people to pick on the elderly. It takes a special kind of asshole to do something like that. Don’t worry, this nightmare ends today.”
The house was even bigger than it looked from the outside. I wondered how one old lady took care of it all. No wonder Ms. Helen looked so exhausted. The idea of her being disrespected and attacked after everything she’d done for homeless women made my blood boil.
As we approached the far end of the hall, Lily hung back and pointed at a door, mouthing the words, “In there.”
Naomi knocked while Sasha took up position beside her.
“Go away, you old bat, or we’ll give you some more,” someone said from inside the room.
Clearly we were in the right place. Sasha was right, it did take a special kind of asshole to pick on an old person, and it was time karma came a calling on these little shits.
Instead of knocking a second time, Naomi turned the doorknob and shoved open the door.
“What the fuck?” someone shouted. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you better get your ass out of our room.”
“Mindy and Rita, I assume?” Naomi asked.
“Who wants to know?”
Naomi snarled. “The eviction team. Now, get your shit and get out before we toss you out.”
“Oh, you think so, huh? Evict this, bitch.”
Sasha drew her gun as she moved in beside Naomi. “Put the knife down,” she said, her voice heavy with authority. “And the pipe.”
Leaving Emily and Lily in the hall, I eased into the room behind the others and took in the scene. The space was surprisingly clean with a set of bunk beds and about a half dozen backpacks and bags lining the wall by the closet doors. Two girls were sitting on the floor in front of the beds. One was rolling a glass pipe over a lighter with an open backpack in front of her, and the other was pointing a switchblade at Sasha.
“No,” the switchblade wielder said. “This is our room. Actually, this is our whole fucking house, and you’re not welcome. Get out.” Neither of them seemed fazed by the pistol in Sasha’s hand, or her authoritative cop voice.
“All right. Looks like we’re doing things the hard way,” Naomi said with a grin. “Good.”
“Whatever,” the redhead replied. The pipe in her hands started to smoke and she put it to her lips and breathed in deeply. Once she’d taken all she could, she breathed out slowly and extinguished the flame.
“Meth heads,” Sasha said with a groan as she holstered her gun. “Why is it always meth heads? Come on, you two, let’s go.”
They just stared at us. The one with the pipe coughed out a puff before starting up her lighter again. “Yeah, we’re not goin’ anywhere.”
“We’ve already called the cops,” Emily said, joining us. “They’ll be here any minute.”
“Sure you did,” the knife wielder replied, standing. “Helen called you in, and that old cunt won’t throw us out. And, if she knows what’s good for her, she won’t press no charges either. I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re not gonna shoot us. That bitch already put her gun away.” She gestured at Sasha. “Probably isn’t even a real piece. Get out of here before I cut you up and make the old lady cook you for the rest of the girls.”
I had no idea what was going on, but I’d heard about enough of this shit. These were two ungrateful little bitches who needed a good ass-whipping, and I knew exactly how to do that. Channeling my take-no-shit mother, I slid past Naomi and Sasha to face the entitled little freeloaders. “All right, listen. This is what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna apologize to these women for disrespecting them, and then you’re gonna go down and apologize to that sweet lady downstairs who took you in when you had no place else to go. Then you’re gonna go sit on the grass and wait for the cops to show up so they can take you downtown and book you for theft, assault, destruction of personal property, and anything else we can throw at you, because this bullshit ends now.”
“Fuck you!” The girl with the switchblade shouted. “Who the fuck do you think you are? My mom? I don’t listen to that bitch, and I’m sure as hell not listening to you.”
Holding the knife like it was some kind of hunting spear that she was about to throw, she lunged at me.
Using my prosthetic arm to block, I countered with my right hand, landing a punch square in her stomach. I knocked the wind out of her, but fueled by drugs, she ignored the pain and came at me again. This time, she swiped her hand back and forth like an idiot. Dropping low, I swept her feet out from under her. She fell on her bony little ass with a resounding thud. Recovering way too quickly, she sliced at my leg with her switchblade. Jumping back, I kicked her just below the chin like my dad had taught me. Her head snapped back and she was finally down for the count.
Her half-baked friend regarded her fallen comrade before finally setting the pipe down and giving us her undivided attention. “I’m sorry.”
Stocks
