Ray cocked his head and stared at them.“Is he bringing anyone with him?”
Ace nodded.“Yeah, he said he’s bringing the Council with him.Does it matter who he’s bringing?”
Ray paled then nodded slowly.“Yeah, it matters.If he’s bringing the Council with him, then they will judge me.They will condemn me to death for breaking Gypsy rules, and they will finish me off.”He scoffed.“All under the rules, you know?They will be able to say they killed me under our own laws.Either way, I’ll still be dead and your Shay won’t get his pat on the back.”
Ace narrowed his eyes and snapped, “The hell you say.No one can just come here and kill anyone.Sorry, but there are US laws against that kind of thing.You need to be judged and sentenced by US law.Then we use lethal injection usually.So, no.This is not your supposed Council’s arena here, man.”
Ray snorted.“Oh, I’ll be judged all right, by the Council and by Gypsy law, not your laws.You can’t stop it and I think after all these years I’ll be grateful for the knife in my heart.At least it will be over quick and I won’t suffer too long.”
Ace looked at his brothers and then back at Ray.“We aren’t going to let that happen, you deserve to go to jail at the very least.”
Ray looked up at him and shook his head.“You don’t understand, they will claim your laws don’t have priority here, they will claim that Gypsy laws extend over me because I was born under Gypsy law.They will demand whatever evidence you have to prove my guilt then they will use that against me in their own courts.Then they will condemn me under traditional laws the Gypsy’s recognize and I’ll be dead before Shay even gets here.”
“And if Shay gets here first?”Jack wanted to know.
Ray shrugged.“It won’t matter, not to the Council.I am still under their laws as a member of my tribe.I earned that status when I reached my majority.”
“Nah, this is America man,” Deuce argued.“They and you are delusional as fuck.They have no jurisdiction here.”
“He’s right.”Ace nodded.“People can’t just come to America and bring their laws then carry out sentences.That’s preposterous.Are you an idiot?Or are they idiots?I think so.Sorry, asshole but this isn’t Europe.Here, you will stand before a judge and I want to watch them slam that iron door behind you and throw away the fucking key.”
Ray shook his head.“You don’t understand something here.If the Council condemns me it won’t matter where I go.Even if Shay does take me in, I’ll still be dead by their judgements, not Shay’s, not the courts.They will find a way to stick that blade into my heart no matter what prison I’m sent to.I’ll just be alive for a while longer that’s all.”His expression changed and he grew insolent.“But I’ll be damned if I go down alone.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”Deuce wanted to know.
Ray just smiled and straightened his shoulders.“You’ll find out when the time is right but not until then.I have my own secrets and I’m entitled to them.”
Ace narrowed his eyes and glared at him then shook his head.He got the feeling that things around the farm were going to heat up quickly and not so quietly.It all depended on who got here first.He hoped it would be Shay.Cause if not, they might have to go to war with this supposed Council.Then he thought about what Ray just said.“Wait a minute here, you said you became a member after you reached your majority, was that according to your tribe’s laws?”
Ray nodded.“Yeah, that’s when you get marked and become a full member.”
Ace smiled.“Charli never went through that ceremony.She never got her mark, so you all can’t really call her a full member.”
Ray froze then began shaking his head.“You’re a clever one aren’t you?While that’s true enough, she’s still Michael’s daughter and everyone knows that.Jullian would have signed her papers when she turned seven and she’s still in the family.”
“Except she isn’t a real member of the tribe,” Jack argued.“As she doesn’t carry your mark.She didn’t grow up under anyone in the family either.Ben raised her from the age of five when you losers left her behind.”
Ray shook his head.“But they sent support.They’ll have records of payments.”
“And thanks to you, she never got that money,” Ace retorted.“You kept it for your damned self.So, they can use those records to show what a piece of shit you are but that's about it.You and your family fucked up this plan years ago.”He shrugged.“But either way Ray, that is not your worry.You have bigger holes you are being tossed into.As far as we can see...You are a dead man walking.”
Ray gritted his teeth but he didn’t say another word.
Ace gave Deuce, Joker and Jack a nod as he was about to leave the garage.
Ray broke his silence and asked, “Will you tell my brother something when he gets here?”
Ace paused then turned to tip his head at him.“I’m listening.”
Ray snarled the threat, “You tell Jullian I’m not going down alone.He’ll know what that’s all about.”He smiled coldly and he snickered.“Yeah, tell him that and we’ll see how this turns out.The truth will come out before long and that’s going to blow your minds when it happens.”
Ace stared at Ray.“I doubt that.He was in on it right?”He nodded.“We already wondered about that, asswipe.”
Joker nodded.“Yeah, none of you seem to be honest men.”
“Or decent men,” Ace added.
“Especially you,” Jack added.“What a stinky piece of crap you are.Lack of honor, a freaking liar and a killer.Sneaking up on your niece to murder her.”He shook his head in disgust.
