Deal

Looking in the rear-view mirror I could see her sat there, wearing an obnoxious deer in headlights look.

“Seriously Lauren why the fuck are you here?” I asked her bluntly. She got into the car in an almost catatonic state, Mason driving off before I could even get her out. Given how pissy Mason gets whenever someone talks while he’s driving I just decided to leave it alone. Reckoned that she just bled or threw up on another ugly dress of hers and needed a lift to get a replacement or something. But no. She stayed with us all the way to the meeting point. She was in it now. She was involved.

“This… I mean we’re all involved, I thought, I thought I was supposed to be here.” I turned around in my seat to face her head on. She shied away from me as I did so, which was a good sign. It often meant that she knew she was in the wrong but was too sheepish to admit it.

“We don’t fucking need you alright? Especially if you’re going to be all fucking jittery and skittish like you are now.” A shuddering, long breath came from her thereafter. Seemed that she didn’t really want to come, but felt the need to try and impress me. A pointless endeavour, and one that I hoped she’d come to learn from.

“Fuck off Fisher.” I snapped my vision back to Mason, who despite calling me out like that was still facing ahead with his unwavering gaze. “It won’t hurt to have her here. In fact…” he turned around to face me. “I’d rather she had the gun.” I reeled back from him and my hands instinctively went to my jacket pocket where the gun was nestled.

“The fuck did you just say?”

“Give her the gun.” I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. That gun had always been a source of ire for all of us, but I thought that at last we’d put that behind us. I thought that finally Mason respected and trusted me to hold onto it. Yet here we are on the cusp of the biggest deal we’d ever attempted, and he wanted to give the gun over to Lauren? No matter which way I looked at it, it didn’t make any goddamn sense. A sentiment that Lauren seemed to share.

“I don’t want it.” she called out to us in a panicked tone. I spun back around to face her, pulled out the gun and cradled it to me.

“Good, because you’re not fucking getting it!” The engine died away, and the not too subtle sound of an engine devouring itself abruptly turned to silence. I turned back to Mason and saw him put the keys into his own jacket pocket, all whilst still looking straight ahead with those stone-cold eyes of his.

“Fisher, give her the fuckin’ gun.”

That was an order.

From him.

To me.

He gave me an order.

In a lifeless tone, like it didn’t even matter.

He sat there, bold as fucking brass, and told me to hand the gun, our only form of protection, over to a mewling, little, girl.

I sat up straight and took in a deep breath before addressing him. I could hear Lauren shaking in the back, but I paid her no mind and stared straight ahead at the unmoving Mason. Making sure to put emphasis on every, single, word. I needed to make sure he understood.

“I’m… not… giving her… the… fucking… gun. Go fuck yourself Mason.” Lauren let out a pathetic whimper, but nothing else could be heard. He didn’t move. I didn’t move. He clearly didn’t know how to react to my defiance. Then he swung at me. His mallet like fist came screaming towards me. I scrambled backwards and pointed the gun straight at his face.

“Get the fuck away!” I yelled instinctively, much like me aiming the gun at him. Despite my best efforts my heart was pounding at that moment, lying there in a heap on a mangled car-seat, pointing a gun at my best friend who just tried to take a swing at me. But his fist was suspended in mid-air, and not where I was previously sat. Mason had one eyebrow raised to me, and an odd smile on his face. Whenever he smiled, it was unnerving. He had the kind of face that seemed as though it wasn’t designed for smiling. As if by doing so he went against all laws of nature. He pulled his fist back to his side and leaned back in his seat, but this time looking directly at me, though his gaze was broken for the briefest of moments as he looked behind me, before resuming his unwavering stare. As my heartbeat settled, I turned back to see what he was looking at and found Lauren hyperventilating and staring at the gun still clutched in my hand, still pointed at Mason. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes, and she’d drawn her knees up to her chest so tightly, as if she thought it could shield her from what could’ve been. I lowered the gun slowly, my vision constantly snapping between the two of them. I needed to show them both that I was still in control here.

My finger never left the trigger.

Once the gun was lowered enough to the point where Mason was no longer in its line of fire, he addressed me.

“That’s why Lauren should have the gun.” That smile was less bold than it was before, but it was still there. He clearly thought he had ground to stand on here. I still failed to see it.

“What the fuck do you mean?” I asked, through gritted teeth.

“Because you’re an even more twitchy bastard when you’ve got that fuckin’ thing.” My grip on the gun loosened slightly, but I grasped it tightly again as soon as it started to slip from my hands.

“Oh, and you think she’ll be better!?” He heaved himself around to look at Lauren. I didn’t follow him. I made sure my vision was always on him. After a brief pause and another hint of a smile, he turned back around to face me.

“I don’t know, but I’d rather take a gamble on that than have you shoot my fuckin’ kneecaps out because a bird looked at you funny. These people aren’t exactly friendly, they’re going to probably have a bit of fun at our expense, and we need to deal with that. I know right now that you won’t be able to, but we can apologise for calling them colourful names, or even breaking a nose. We can’t apologise for blowing somebody’s fuckin’ brains out yeah? You’re too dangerous to have that thing. So.” He extended his massive hand towards me, slowly, palm pointed upwards. “Give me the gun.”

I didn’t move an inch.

My grip on the gun never loosened.

 “Fisher I’m only going to ask you one more time.” That was a threat. It was obvious. But it was one that he might not have been able to follow through with. If I had to do this thing on my own, I would’ve. If I had to make my grip on that gun even tighter to make sure nothing went wrong, I would’ve. But the way he was looking at me, the way he was leaning towards me expectedly with his arm still outstretched, patiently waiting for me to comply. Every part of me wanted to prove him wrong, and make sure he’d never question me again.
The gun let out a muffled thud as I dropped it into his hand.

“I’m getting that back once this is all done.” I promised him.

“Sure you are.” He lightly tossed it into the air, catching it by the barrel and handing it towards Lauren. “Here.” I looked at the rear-view mirror and saw that even though she was less on edge than before, she still looked as though a loud noise would send her into cardiac arrest.

“Mason, seriously I can’t…” I steeled myself to make sure she submits, but Mason cut me off before I could begin.

“Lauren we’re probably not even going to need it, I just need you to keep a hold of it. Besides I’ve shown you what you need to do if the worst happens right?” This time I spun myself around to face her. I couldn’t for the life of me remember when the hell he showed her anything, let alone how to manage a gun.

“… yeah… yeah, okay.” He lightly nudged her and once again gave her that unnerving smile.

“You good?” A deep breath from her followed.

“… yeah, I’m good.”

“Oh I’m fucking fine too by the way, going in there with no fucking gun!” I yelled, unable to contain myself any longer. Masons door swung open as he hauled himself outside, as Lauren followed suit, clambering out from behind his seat.

“…shut the fuck up Fisher.”