Tucson, Arizona - August 8th, 2023 0828 hours
Zeke
Zeke’s oldest brother, Greg, pressed the heavy forty five caliber pistol into his hands as they walked briskly toward the CVS where they saw the armed group going. Beside him, Earl, his next oldest brother was carrying a Mini-14 off to his left and nodding his head as Greg spoke.
“Look, we saw them go in almost a half hour ago. We need to get in there, get whatever they are currently absconding with.”
He turned, pointing a dirty finger at both of them, “We absolutely need to get the amphetamines and pain killers. That shit is going to be gooooold.”
“Gold, brother, gold.” Earl agreed, ever a man of few words.
They stopped by a tall sign shaded by several trees. Greg grabbed Zeke by the back of his neck and pressed their foreheads together. “This is what you do, you walk through the front door like you own the fucking place, then cap the first asshole you see. If you spot those jackholes with the guns, shoot them too. You can do this.”
Greg released him and Earl put a hand on his shoulder, “You can.”
Zeke wasn’t like his brothers who’d both done stints in prison for various crimes related to drugs and assault. He knew their worst crimes had never been prosecuted. He knew they weren’t good people on any level, but they were his brothers, and he wanted nothing more than their approval. Even though he was largely timid and bookish. He nodded his head, then he and his brothers crossed the parking lot and took up positions on either side of the smashed out door.
“It’s all you, brother.” Greg whispered as Zeke brought up the rear, the feeling of the heavy weapon unfamiliar in his hands.
With a final nod from Earl he stepped up to the door with the sun at his back. When he looked in he saw a short fat man shaking hands with one of the guys his brothers wanted taken out so he quickly raised the pistol in one hand, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. For a moment the world exploded with the sound of his gun, then it was silent as the echoing sound of his weapon deafened him.
Through the ringing in his ears he faintly heard people crying out in terror or pain. He opened his eyes to see the fat man staring at him with a look of disbelief plastered across his face and three angry red spots growing on his stomach where Zeke had shot him. He witnessed one of the girls drop to the ground behind him before realizing he could no longer see the man he was supposed to shoot.
He took a half step forward shouting back to his brothers, “I GOT HIM! I THINK I GOT HIM!”
His brothers began to move in when a fusillade of fire echoed from further back in the store. At first he thought it was from his brothers until something hit him in the shoulder forcing him back two steps. He spun as another round struck him near the same spot. He didn’t have time to register the pain as the next round punched through the back of his head to topple him face first onto the sidewalk.
August 8th, 2023 0831 hours
Earl
“ZEKE!” Earl screamed when his brother’s head snapped forward smacking the sidewalk only a few feet away. He leaned around the pillar he’d taken cover behind and returned fire as rapidly as he could, firing blindly due to the tears flooding his eyes.
He and his brother Greg had done this many times before. Go in shooting, everyone cowers in fear, they get what they want. Never before had he come across someone equally armed and willing to take life. Now his youngest brother was lying face first on the sidewalk, brains and blood pouring from a gaping wound in his head. Judging by the volume of fire coming out of the store he considered that he might be joining his brother at some point in the very near future.
“CALM THE FUCK DOWN, EARL! WATCH YOUR AMMO!” Greg yelled at him.
Earl flinched when he heard the bolt slam back on his last shot indicating the weapon was empty. He thumbed the magazine release with practiced ease, then reached into his pocket to snap another magazine in place. Releasing the bolt to chamber the top round, he realized the shooting had stopped. He took a chance to peek around his cover only to flinch back as a round struck the plaster above his head.
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“SHIT!”
Earl shifted to his left and attempted to get another look through the darkened interior of the store entrance and was rewarded for his effort by another couple rounds whizzing past his head so close he had to check if he hadn’t actually been hit.
“DAMN IT, GREG! THAT BASTARD’S GOT ME PINNED!”
He looked over his shoulder as his brother dove back behind his own pillar chased by a spray of plaster. When the dust settled from that single round a head sized chunk was missing from the structure his older brother hid behind.
“THAT’S THE ASSHOLE WITH THE SHOTGUN!”
Earl nodded, understanding he was facing the man with the sweet looking AR he’d eyed earlier as his group had made their way to the store. All thoughts about getting that weapon from the man were lost as he realized they’d bitten off more than they could chew, all he wanted to do now was survive the encounter.
“EARL! TAKE MY SPOT! KEEP THEM BUSY! I’M GOING TO TRY THE BACK DOOR!” Greg yelled before blindly firing around his cover. Earl followed his brother's lead and dumped five to six rounds into the blackness of the building. The sound of the shotgun firing twice blasted more chunks from the pillar where his brother was already running for the far corner of the building.
Earl jumped up, fired a few more rounds, then dashed to where his brother had last been. His heart raced as he believed he’d make the transition without getting hit when he felt a tug on his hip. He spiraled to the ground tossing his rifle away just as the shotgun sounded to his left and half a dozen 9mm pellets took him square in the gut just before he collapsed to the ground.
He rolled to his side, whingeing in pain. When he looked up he could see the guy with the shotgun leaning out the door. They briefly made eye contact, then the shotgun guy called back into the store, “Guy with the rifle is down, I don’t see the other guy.” Then Earl’s world faded to black.
August 8th, 2023 0832 hours
Greg
Greg was simmering with rage. He had never had someone return the violence he inflicted upon them, other than the cops, of course. But, that was expected. Seeing his brother go down almost as soon as he stepped through the door colored his vision red. While always one to be ruled by his emotions, he wasn’t stupid. He knew there was no way they were going in through the front door.
“EARL! TAKE MY SPOT! KEEP THEM BUSY! I’M GOING TO TRY THE BACK DOOR!” He fired off a few more rounds before nodding to his brother who was already on his feet preparing to move. Then he dashed off while ducking as another shotgun blast gouged more holes in the plaster pillar he was hiding behind. He dashed around the corner as the sound of rapid fire gunshots slowed.
When he reached the back corner of the building all gunfire upfront had halted. He listened for a moment to get control of his emotions, “Damn it, Earl, if you’s dead Momma’s gonna kill me.”
A half a minute later he found the back door. He didn’t think anything of it being slightly ajar, instead he just reached out slowly pulling on the handle. Holding his pistol up in a ready position he tried to peer into the gloomy darkness where the door led. Just to be safe he held back for another second before swinging the door wide and slamming his back against the wall, expecting to be shot the moment he opened it.
He stood, staring down the sights of his pistol, paranoia beginning to take control of his senses. He shook his head to clear his thoughts then slowly creeped through the door into the dark back hall taking the utmost in caution. He didn’t see anyone, but he could hear the moans of a woman deeper within the store and the hushed whispers of others trying to comfort her. Someone was crying further in and to his right. He suspected that the two shooters had taken up position on either side of the hallway exit.
“Is my brother still alive?” He called out from the back of the hall.
He could hear argued whispers from deeper within the building before a woman with a thick hispanic accent responded, “One is, for now.”
He ran a hand across his face, wiping the sweat from his eyes. It was already getting hot outside, and since they were in the midst of the monsoon season it was unbearably humid. He was finding himself quickly losing control of his emotions as he tried to think of a way to get everything he wanted. He pushed past the manager’s office door, then the woman called out to him again.
“You can leave. Grab your remaining brother and leave.”
Greg considered her offer as he creeped past the women’s room door. He knew he couldn’t accept it. The only way his Momma wouldn’t kill him outright was if he came back with something valuable. Especially after the death of his youngest brother, and possibly his middle brother.
“Can’t do it. You throw down your weapons an’ loot, I’ll consider letting you leave alive.”
Greg had just made it to the end of the hall when pain like fire burst through his chest. He heard the gunfire behind him as he pitched forward, collapsing onto his hands and knees. The sound of his blood slowly pumping out of his body deafened him to the sound of footsteps approaching.
A pair of black boots entered his narrow field of vision, causing him to look up in confusion. The last thing he would see is the barrel of a pistol pointed at his forehead before a bright flash ended his violent life.