Andy and Samantha Ch. 02

He drove over to the small, shabby residential district behind the warehouse block and quickly pulled into a driveway. He knocked on the door, wondering if Hector even lived here anymore. Hector answered the door, wearing nothing but threadbare jeans.

"Andy? Fuck dude, I thought you were gone." Hector said looking like he usually did; confused.

I am gone. But I need something. Remember the gun I sold you?"

"Yeah, I still got it. That thing is bad ass." Hector said with a slightly dopey grin.

"I need to buy it back. I got three hundred in my pocket." Andy said, patting his leg.

"You only sold it for two. I'll sell it for that. I still kind of think of it as your gun." Hector said, walking over to the cracked desk next to his recliner. He pulled open the bottom drawer and brought out the gun in question. Andy felt like he was in a time warp of some kind. There was his old show pistol, a replica Remington 1858 .44, fitted for cartridges instead of the cap and ball of the original. A nasty hand cannon that had always been a favorite of him and his old buddies to fire out past the mill. They had blown old radios and TVs apart with it on numerous occasions. It was a large, mean looking pistol that always made Andy feel like an Old West outlaw. Aside from the heavy damage it inflicted it was also accurate. Andy handed Hector the three hundred over Hector's protests as he slipped the gun into his coat pocket.

"Take the money Hec. And remember, I'm gone." Andy said before leaving. He stowed the gun in his glove box and went to the old gun shop and grabbed shells before heading to the apartment. He saw the door was cracked open and heard shouting when he killed the truck's engine. He quickly jammed the pistol in his waistband and wrapped his fist around the roll of quarters.

Andy kicked to door wide open and strode in, seeing the two big guys. They had Sam pinned to the wall between them. She was crying and holding her hands out, palms to them like a traffic cop. The bruisers weren't touching her, just shouting that they wanted to know where Andy was.

"Right here shit heels." Andy growled, grabbing the one on the left by the shoulder and spinning him around into his loaded fist. The guy couldn't be older than twenty, but he was built like a brick shithouse. Andy felt a thick pair of pops under his fist and knew from experience that it signaled two teeth busting out of their sockets. The other guy didn't hesitate. He turned and tackled Andy, almost dragging him off his feet. Andy stayed upright, barely, and gave the guy three hard hammer blows to his kidneys with the loaded fist, his left hand seeking and finding the thick nerve that ran up the armpit. When his fingers sank in the guy's grip on Andy's waist loosened enough for Andy to pull free and find himself standing over the now kneeling man. Andy wasted no time, simply gave him four hard punches to his kidneys, two for each. The guy yelled and dropped to the floor in pain. Andy dealt him a heavy kick to the side of his head, taking all the fight out of him. Andy grabbed the man by his belt and collar and trundled him out the door, tossing him face first at the bumper of his truck with a loud THONK. Andy turned to the other guy, just now getting to his feet shakily. Andy darted over and sank his loaded fist deep into the guy's stomach, low, just at the button on his pants. They guy woofed out all his air in a miserable, retching breath. Andy dragged him to his feet and threw him out the door as well. He stood over the two guys and pulled out the pistol, leveling the barrel at their faces.

"You ever come here or near her again and I'll turn your heads into canoes. Do you understand?" He said, his voice hard and flat. No rage, no excitement, just a declaration of facts.

The men nodded and stumbled over to their car and sped away. Andy rushed to the living room and began checking Sam, asking if she was hurt. She was crying loudly and shaking badly, but seemed okay.

"Oh god, Sam. I'm so sorry; I didn't think he would send someone so soon. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" He rambled, running his hands down her arms and shoulders, looking for signs of injury.

"No. They said they just wanted you. That TJ wanted you. That you owed him a lot of money and that it was time to collect. They said they would hurt you. They said they would hurt me if I didn't tell them where you were." She sobbed, clinging tightly to Andy. He was relieved that she was alright but enraged that she had been scared so badly and threatened by TJ's cheap goons. Andy felt hatred and rage wash over him like it had so many times in the past. His sister. They had threatened his sister. Not just his kid sister but his lover. He had to put a stop to this. Hard.

When Sam had calmed a bit Andy fixed her a cup of coffee and sat her on the couch. He set the pistol and quarters on the table and sat next to her, holding her close.

"Is this what it was like back then for you?" She asked through her slowing tears.

"Kind of. I was rarely sober when fights happened though. I feel like I'm slow as shit. That second guy shouldn't have been able to get his hands on me." Andy said dully, feeling the slight crash of the end of his adrenaline rush. Sam thought about how Andy had fought. He was quick as a rattlesnake as far as she had seen. If he used to be faster, god help those he tangled with. She couldn't even imagine how formidable he might have been when hopped up on coke or meth. She was suddenly a little scared of her brother. She knew he was a rough and tumble guy, able to hold his own and ignore the pain afterwards, but she now saw just how dangerous he was when shit went down. She thought about the blank hate in his face as he thrashed the goons. His lightning quick attacks and how well he controlled the fight with a few simply hits. She shuddered and curled up closer to him, feeling safer than ever in the arms of someone so fierce. She had always worshipped her big brother, and loved him as more than a brother since she was a young teen, and now she felt like his arms were the safest place in the world. Like having Conan the Barbarian for a bodyguard. She was scared a little at the knowledge that he had the propensity for such violence in him, just under the surface, but overjoyed at the fact that he would use it to protect her without hesitation.

"Sam, I'm so sorry that my past put you in danger. I'll never forgive myself for my history threatening you. Maybe you should stay with mom and dad while I sort this out." He said, tears trying to form in his eyes. At that suggestion she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and chest, holding tight and crying all over again.

"No no no! Don't you even suggest that I leave! Don't you dare! I'm not going anywhere, the only way you can keep me safe is if you're with me to protect me. Now stop talking about us splitting up." She said, sobbing into his chest.

"Okay, you'll stay with me. But I may have to do things like I used to for a little while to fix this, okay? I'll be careful, but I'm not as good as I used to be. I may get dinged up a little." Andy said, stroking her hair and rubbing her back.

"Be as careful as you can. I don't want to see you sewing yourself up, okay?" She said, calming down again.

"I can't promise that, but I can try. I don't want this to get any more violent than it already is. I just want my past to go away. I have to go see TJ now, Sam. I'll be back soon, I promise." He said starting to stand up. Sam rose with him and kept her death grip on him.

"I'm going with you. I won't sit here and wait for you, not knowing if you are coming back." She said, looking up to eyes.

"Sam, this is no fucking around. I don't know what all TJ might do, but it will probably be more than talking if he sent two bruisers after me. I'm not about to take you anywhere near that." He said firmly, shocked that she would want to go with him into an instance of his old life.

"And if TJ sends more assholes while you're away? If I just tell them you are on your way to TJ's will they just leave? Will they?" She asked, determined to stay with him.

"I... I guess you may have a point there. But you are not going in with me. You are going to wait in the truck.

"Okay." She said, not intending to wait in the truck in the least, but agreeing so that he would take her.

Andy rolled out the cylinder of the big revolver, checking to see of it was loaded. It was empty, so he set it aside. He took out six of the hollow point slugs he had bought and loaded them. He knew it was impractical in a fight against semiautomatics. Reloading it was a time consuming, pain in the ass effort that would leave him more than vulnerable, but when firing it was an intimidating presence. Loud as shit, a low heavy thud with every round fired and the high damage it caused made it seem a lot more vicious than it actually was. It would get people to duck for cover with a single shot. That was the effect he counted on when he needed to fire it.

With the gun loaded he stuck it in his waist band where it had used to sit during most of his bigger drug deals. He dropped the quarters and a dozen extra shells in his pocket and stood for a moment, thinking. How best to go about this? How would he have done it before? He soon realized that in stopping to consider the safest course of action he was already doing things differently than he used to. He smiled a bit and put it out of his mind.

Andy and Sam went to the truck and climbed in. No skipping today from Sam, just a fast, normal walk. Andy knew that this was a situation that was serious enough that she wouldn't be skipping, but he still missed the innocent air it gave her when she did. They climbed in, Andy putting the gun on the floorboard under his seat. He drove out to the small neighborhood behind the commercial district on the west side of town and made his way to TJ's.

He pulled into the long driveway on the side of the lawn and parked behind the tricked out Camaro that sat in front of the garage. It appeared that TJ had indeed grown his business while Andy was away. Andy grabbed the gun and slipped it into his waistband before he got out. Sam got out as well. Andy immediately went around to talk to her in a low tone after seeing the two guys sitting on the porch.

"What are you doing? I said you're waiting in the truck." Andy said.

"No. Not with those guys sitting there. What happens when you go inside? What will they do?" She asked back. Sam didn't want things to go bad, didn't want there to be violence, but also wanted to see her brother in action again if it did. Her attraction to bad boys like Andy made it difficult to stay away from this kind of situation that seemed like it could go bad fast. "The only way you can protect em is if you are with me." She finished, staring into his eyes intensely. Andy was silent a moment as he thought. He figured she would be in more danger with him than in the truck, but also knew she had a point about leaving her alone at a place like this. Torn between options he finally relented and nodded.

"Alright. But at the first sign of shit going south you get out of there and take off. Just hop in the truck and get the hell out of here. Go get the cops or something. Okay?" He said, not quite daring to believe what he was agreeing to. Sam nodded quickly and then looked past Andy, her eyes getting wide.

Andy turned and saw that TJ had come out, and he had brought a few friends with him. TJ stood on the lawn barefoot, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He had a large chrome plated pistol jammed in his waist band. The three guys standing around him were frowning and looking a little tense. Two held pistols in their hands, the third had a short shotgun with pistol grips. TJ was smiling broadly until Andy pulled out his own pistol and held it down by his leg.

"You don't wanna bring that thing out when I got you outgunned. How you doin' Andy? I hear you gone straight." TJ said, sniffling as he did. He was very pale, very wiry, and had deep, dark bags under his eyes. Sampling too much of his product again it appeared.

"I'm not gonna stand here with your asshole enforcers holding guns without holding one as well. You look like shit TJ. Need to lay off the candy again." Andy said, watching them closely. So far it seemed that they didn't really expect trouble, but were there just for show. He knew that could change in an instant though.

"Nah, I feel fine. So I wanted to talk to you."

"That's what I hear. I really don't like you sending a couple pieces of shit over to my place to threaten my sister." Andy said, his voice cold and hard.

"They weren't supposed to. They were just supposed to see if you were there to talk, and if you weren't then leave. It looks like you punished them already for disobeying me, so thanks for that." TJ said, and Andy knew he was lying.

TJ saw that Andy was armed when he turned around to face them. He even recognized the handle of the gun. That fucking cannon. TJ had his .357 automatic in his waistband, but knew that Andy's pistol was much more powerful. But being outgunned certainly made up for it. He really didn't think that Andy would get crazy with his little sister right there with him. TJ had to admit, she was looking good, if a bit skinny. He could see why Vic was attracted to her. TJ's main concern was that Andy owed him money. The fact that Andy was here and armed was not a good sign. TJ knew that Andy was a wily foe to challenge from long experience, and did not want this to go bad. He had no intention of going against someone as hard as Andy used to be. He spoke easily, not trying to threaten, but not sending away his back up either, knowing that Andy was perfectly capable of doing terrible things to people to make a problem go away. In many ways he was far more brutal than TJ himself, more capable of a higher level of violence and subterfuge alike. A wily foe indeed.

"Sure, they were just stopping by to drop off a post-it note and say good day. Right. And you got a bridge to sell me as well, don't you?" Andy said, his face set and even.

"Andy, man, you got me wrong. I just want my money. That's all." TJ soothed, smiling wide.

"You got your shit back. Hector went with you to get the bags. I know you got the weed and the coke back. So I don't owe you anything. Me and Vic didn't parcel any out or use any of those bags, so I know it was all there. So what the fuck would I owe you?" Andy said, not liking how this was going. He could hear Sam behind him, fidgeting from foot to foot like she had to go to the bathroom.

"No, man, no. You see, you bought that shit from me. You bought it on Seller's Faith, like you usually did. You owe me nine hundred grand on the coke, around five hundred grand for the weed. I want my money." TJ said, his greasy smile a little wider.

"Andy! How the fuck could you afford that? What were you thinking?" Sam shouted before immediately blushing, realizing that this may not be the best time to ask about his budgetary concerns from his drug running days.

"He couldn't, little honey. That's what Seller's Faith is. I gave it to him, so he could sell it, and use the money from the sell to pay me for the product. Now, Andy never paid. Just dropped the shit and ran. Same with Vic. It's why he's working for me now, to pay back what he owes. Since it was the both of you guys, the debt is split. Seven hundred grand from each."

"You got your shit back. You got the weed and the coke. So it's repaid, you didn't get the money, you got 1.4 worth of weed and coke. Same thing." Andy said slowly. He was getting angrier and angrier. Skinny, coked out TJ, the dealer that had gotten Andy into street corner level selling was now standing here looking like he thought he was some kind of Scarface hustler. Andy decided that he wasn't going to go soft on this tin can dealer.

"No, Andy. Not the same. I gave you something to sell. It wasn't given back to me or paid for. I fished that shit out of a culver and crawled around under trains for an hour to get it. Instead of getting paid or my shit returned I had to go and find it before somebody else did. As far as I am concerned, you and Vic bought it, and then lost it. The end. You still need to pay for it. I just happened to find a nice surprise after you lost what you bought. So how do you want to do this?" TJ said, almost chuckling. Andy was wide eyed in anger and shock. Was this piss ant serious?

"You have to be absolutely shitting me. Are you for fucking real? You may be able to pull this shit on Vic but you have to know that this won't work on me. You have to know that I am the last person on this fucking planet you want to try to extort. Do you really want me to come after you? Because I will. You can get all the linebacker looking motherfuckers in the world to stand around you with guns, but it won't stop me. I'll tear your little playground drug ring apart. I'll tear YOU apart. Now be honest. Do you really want to push this? To push me?" Andy said. When he asked the last question, Andy cocked back the hammer on his pistol. The sound was very loud in the quiet day.

TJ considered a moment, wondering again if this was wise. Andy was only one man, just a guy, but a guy that was not to be trifled with. TJ knew that. He was a bit more protected these days, yeah, but Andy could go off like Rambo if he wanted to. TJ had been taught a lot about homemade explosives and booby traps by Andy when they used to party together. Andy thought it was all hilarious and good times. TJ knew that what Andy considered a fun week could really amount to guerrilla warfare. Couple that with Andy's cunning and tenacity, and you wound up with a man capable of surviving in the underworld very easily despite an amazing lack of sobriety. Now that he was clean and his thoughts were clear, TJ thought he may be even more dangerous. Perhaps it was best to just settle for Vic as a manservant. Perhaps it was safest.

"I tell you what. You just go ahead and leave, no animosity, no hostilities, and maybe down the road we try to talk this out again. You're obviously to wound up from my boys going off reservation to think this through. I'll talk to you later." With that TJ started back up to the house, his guards in tow.

"Fuck no. We leave, and you stay the fuck away from us. You don't come after me at any point in the future. If you or anyone you know ever comes near Sam again I will personally dissect each and every one of you by hand. You get me TJ? This is our last interaction. Like, fucking, ever." Andy almost shouted his hand tightening on the pistol, the barrel lifting a little.

TJ looked back, saw the gun move, and realized that he was not in control of this conversation, no matter how many men he had. He thought clearly for the first time in weeks when through his mind ran 'this is not worth the risk. he can and will do everything he says.' TJ just nodded and went back into the house, frowning and pissed. He didn't like to be refuted.

Andy lowered the hammer on his pistol and turned to the truck, motioning Sam to get in. After driving in silence for a few minutes Andy spoke up in a low voice.

"I'm so sorry it came to this. I don't want to fight with anyone. I don't want this kind of trouble falling to you. I don't know how to make this up to you, Sam." He said, fighting to keep from crying.

Sam scooted across the bench seat and wrapped her arms around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. She was shaking a bit in her knees and hands, but she was smiling a little too, and more than turned on. She had watched her brother, her man, stare down four armed men with just a pistol and make them retreat back into their own house with acceptance of his terms. She knew that she would always see her protector as that hard, brave man.