S1, E3 | Prodigal Son

Rain coming down harder than it has all day, Matt emerges from his vehicle, slamming his door shut with eyes firmly cemented upon the hidden entry. Not bothering to hold an umbrella over his head, Matt lets the rain fall from his head as he reaches outwards, his hand placed upon a door handle disguised as a tipped over metal pipe, entering a room bathed in harsh light, the door slamming shut behind him.

“Why the fuck did Stucky just show up at the clinic, Danny!?” Matt shouts, a confused man looking towards Matt in confusion, his eyes squinting as the question is uttered. “Huh?” Danny replies, the short reaction doing nothing to quell Matt’s anger, his soaked leather shoe pressing against a cheap wooden table before shoving it back, the legs scraping against the floor towards the other side of the room.

“You heard me, Danny” Matt replies, squatting down in front of his friend, hands folded as he repeats himself slowly, “why did Gilcrest’s new kid just show up at the clinic threatening to start shit all over again?” Lips parting, Danny shakes his head as his hands are held up in surrender, refusing to pull punches with the man opposite him. “I have no idea, Matt” Danny replies, watching his friend’s head sink, “I haven’t heard anything from Gilcrest’s guys since the ship job.”

Huffing, Matt simmers, Danny looking on, not wanting to say anything stupid, but desperately wishing for words of reassurance to be jogged to mind. “I have no idea why Gillcrest would be coming after us” Danny explains, his eyes looking around the room, mirroring his thoughts, bouncing from one side to the other, “I have no idea how any of them would even know who you are.”

A wave of anger rushing over him, Matt grabs a plastic cup stood upon the floor into his hands, quickly chucking it at the wall, its pieces flying throughout the room as it obliterates upon contact. “I am not going to let a spineless pig’s druggie son expose everything I’ve worked on for the last few years because ‘you don’t know how he found out’, Danny” Matt replies, his frame now towering over Danny, the man waiting for Matt to conclude, “we’ve come too far to fall now.”

Shaking his head, Danny visually disapproves of the notion, pushing himself out of his seat to equal his frame with that of the other man, his voice softening as he speaks. “We’re too big to fail now… This isn’t like it was when we first started out” Danny replies, watching Matt walk away from him, pressing his hands against the opposite wall with his head hung.

“No one is too big to fail, Danny” Matt replies, his teeth clenched, head racing with a million different thoughts, the stress noticeable on his face until it disappears in an instant. “All it takes for a tower to fall is one brick in the wrong place coming loose” Matt explains, taking in a deep breath as he stares towards the sky, his body turning towards Danny before he concludes his thought, “we’re responsible for overseeing infrastructure on this tower twenty-four seven.”

“I know, boss” Danny replies, his statement of assurance being questioned by Matt. “Do you, Danny?” Matt asks, his back pressing against the wall as he folds his arms, expression souring, “because until a minute ago, you thought we were invincible.” Standing by his statement, Danny doubles down, staring Matt in the eyes and speaking clearly. “Of course we’re invincible” Danny replies, a smile appearing through the corner of his mouth, “no one’s better with infrastructure than us.”

Pleased with the certainty in the man’s response, Matt’s fleeting moment of accomplishment sours as he falls back to earth. “We have been thus far… But it seems like a crack’s formed somewhere in the place” Matt replies, his eyes directed towards the floor, arms still folded as he removes himself from the wall. “I need you to figure out where that crack in our tower is, Danny” Matt explains, slowly approaching his friend and placing a hand on his shoulder, “then I need you to plug it.”

With a nod, Danny silently walks away, returning to the dark interior of the club, leaving Matt behind, the stuffy room leaving very little to find comfort in. Anger coming over once more, this time with nothing to inspire him to keep his composure. Turning around, Matt takes the cheap table into his hands and lifts his knee into the air, pressing his kneecap through the center and shattering the piece of furniture in two, splintered wood falling upon the floor to the sound of a yell.

= Kings of Cambridge is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and his entity of Pacer1 from the start of Season 1 onwards =

“I never hide it, it just doesn’t come up a lot” Brook replies, one arm leant against a book case, Matt pacing on the opposite side of the room, walking from one side to the other, then back to his original place before repeating the process. “I’m not much of a religious person… I’ve got my beliefs of what’s moral and immoral, but that’s about it” Matt explains, stopping in the middle of the room with his head turned towards the girl, “but I know Satanism doesn’t go over well with the parents.”

Her breathy laughter noticeable, Brook stares off towards the window as the conversation changes, Matt redirecting the discourse to a more deep-rooted aspect of the conversation. “What about your parents?” Matt asks, Brook’s pleased expression gradually shifting as the relationship is called into question, “do you think they care about you enough to not kick you out if you were to tell them?”

Shaking her head, Brook glides her finger through her hair, making sure to pull the loose strands behind her ears. “My mom wouldn’t like it, but my dad wouldn’t care that much” Brook replies, Matt patiently hearing the girl out before interjecting. “I’ve explained what satanism actually is, and they kind of get it, but they also kind of don’t” Brook explains, pulling her head back against the wall as she stares out at the sun-soaked city in the distance.

“But they wouldn’t kick me out if they found out I wasn’t on the same line as them religiously” Brook replies, pausing for a moment, thinking to herself before blurting out, “at least dad wouldn’t.” With a nod, Matt squints his eyes, folding his hands behind his back as he leans against the wall, directly opposite Brook. “Tell me more about your dad” Matt replies, watching Brook’s eyes peer into the corner of her eyelids towards him, “what’s he like?”

“He’s fine” Brook replies without issue, stopping her response there, much to Matt’s intrigue. “He’s… fine?” Matt replies, head leaning towards his shoulder, the girl already noticing his lack of satisfaction with her answer. “What makes him… fine?” Matt asks, stepping away from the wall, pulling the new chair from behind his desk and taking a seat in it, eyes kept steadily on the young woman.

“He’s not as overbearing as my mother” Brook replies, watching Matt’s large frame lean back in his seat, arms draped over each armrest, waiting for her to finish her response. “My mother’s ashamed of me… So I don’t think she’d really be surprised at anything I’d have to say anymore” Brook responds, pushing her head to the side momentarily, forcing the strands of hair falling over her face away, “my dad isn’t as… well… my dad isn’t my mom.”

Nodding, Matt puckers his lips as he leans forward, hands folded atop his table as his chin presses against the knuckles on his thumb. “So your mom is overbearing and your dad is your dad” Matt recaps, a smile coming over his face as his eyes deviate away from the girl, only returning when he’s ready to resume his line of dialogue, “and from that answer, you’d think I was asking about your mom.”

With a laugh, Matt notices the change in the young woman’s demeanor, a more reserved side being shown from the typically sturdy youth. “Everything okay?” Matt asks, the posture of the young woman changing upon the verbalization of the question, her brave face returning as if it never left. “Yeah, I’m totally fine” Brook replies, tucking her hands into her pockets as her eyes flutter from one side of the room to the other, weighing her thoughts.

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His boots tapping upon the linoleum floors, Danny walks into a car rental facility as if he owned the place, eyes set on the figures at the front counter. “Hey, Levi!” Danny shouts, removing one hand from his pocket, lifting it into the air with his fingers spread, greeting the uniformed man. “I’m sorry, sweetheart… Can you give us a second?” Danny asks a random civilian, moving the woman out of the way without her response, his question having been more of a demand.

“Danny, I’m on the clock” Levi replies, the green shirt over his dark skin making him stand out amongst a majority-white workforce, his conversation only helping add to such status. “I don’t care, we got issues at the top” Danny replies, watching Levi’s expression shift, confliction coming over his face like he’d just seen the after effects of war. “The king’s got eyes on him?” Levi replies, voice lowered to a hush, such a tone mimicked in that of Danny’s.

“No, the king doesn’t have eyes on him” Danny replies, walking around the counter without approval, taking Levi’s shirt into the palm of his hand, “the king’s got eyes out on all of us.” Noticing this picture, the manager removes himself from his desk, calling out to the sweatshirt-covered man leading his employee into the backrooms. “Hey, you can’t be back here!” the manager shouts, watching the middle finger lift towards him courtesy of Danny’s right hand.

“You don’t think it was me, do you?” Levi asks, pushed into a dark room with only one poorly-lit lightbulb above, Danny slamming the door shut behind them. “I don’t know who it is, I’m looking in every direction I can” Danny replies, Levi’s composure restoring itself, his intentions fully set on clearing his own name. “I’ve got a wife and three kids, Dan… The king pays me too much to keep my mouth shut!” Levi replies, his head shaking as he explains himself.

“I don’t know enough about how your brain works to know whether or not you’re telling me the truth” Danny replies, hands placed on his hips. “What do you mean ‘the truth’?” Levi asks, his arms thrown to each side of his body, “I’ve invited you to every single one of their birthday parties!”

“Not the fucking the family, you nimrod! The loyalty!” Danny shouts, rolling his eyes as he reminds Levi of his cover. “You work a rental job when you’re paid six figures just to keep up appearances!” Danny furthers, “it may be dedication to the cover, but it isn’t exactly necessary. I don’t know what you do or don’t want to do!”

“Well you can bet every buck that you’ve got that I don’t want my family getting put in no crosshairs, Dan!” Levi shouts, watching Danny’s shoulders drop, slight defeat coming over him. “What if they already were and this was your only way out?” Danny asks, watching Levi’s attitude shift, no offense or defense in his demeanor, only an impossible question raised to him.

“Then I’d do what I had to” Levi replies, his voice confident, no lack of certainty in his tone upon answering. “The cops are going to be here any minute!” the manager shouts as he opens the door, Danny’s back still turned towards him as he’s given his ultimatum. “Leave right now or you’ll be taken away in handcuffs!” the manager shouts, the timer having run out on his interrogation.

Without a word, Danny backs away, walking through the down and leaving the way he came in, Levi watching him walk off from afar, every step taken being caught by the family man’s eye.

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“Packing it up for the night?” Darlene is asked, the voice calling for her originating from the doorway of her office. “Good evening, Perry” Darlene says with a cold shoulder, the formerly employed man rolling his eyes at the lack of enthusiasm in his response, “how’s the new job suiting you?”

With a sigh, Perry lowers his hand from the doorframe and tucks his knuckles into his pockets, watching the woman prepare her bags to leave as he continues the conversation. “They value me greatly there and it feels accomplishing” Perry replies, Darlene’s demeanor not changed one bit, her head nodding as she returns a simple reply. “That sounds great, Perry” the woman calls back zipping up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder on her way back towards the door.

Flicking off the light switch, Darlene emerges through the entrance, walking past the man without acknowledging him, a gesture which reads Perry the stance she has on him without confusion. “Darlene, everyone moves on in their career” Perry calls out, putting his second plan into action upon the original, more friendly introduction’s failing. “They certainly do, and I wish you nothing but the best in yours” Darlene replies, continuing to keep her eyes fixated on the exit ahead of her.

“Why are you taking this so personally?” Perry asks, continuing to walk beside the woman, each step taking them closer to the exit, that only destination that matters in Darlene’s eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Perry… I just wish to go home for the night” Darlene replies, still not looking towards the man beside her. Suddenly, the woman begins to walk alone, Perry having pulled back, stood in the middle of the hallway as the woman continues walking.

“You’re no longer employed in this office, you should probably leave the building before someone calls the police” Darlene quips, her hand pressing against the doorknob, allowing her to be embraced by the crisp, nighttime air. “Why are you such an entitled ass?” Perry shouts, the woman having already left the building, his feet still stood where they stopped as the door slowly begins to slide shut.

Each new inch bringing a further look of anticipation, Perry keeps his eye on the moonlit night as the crack that it peers through grows smaller and smaller, shrinking with each new distance the door closes. “Come on” Perry whispers to himself, the crack continuing to shorten until an umbrella pierces the open space, keeping the door from shutting completely as a hand pushes the metal frame open.

“Entitled? Is that the one word you’re able to shrink me down to? Entitled?” Darlene quips, a confident Perry standing by his statement. “You consider yourself accomplished, as you rightfully should, for having gotten this far in your career” Perry explains, taking one step forward with his finger raised towards the woman’s face, “but there’s a respect you think you’re owed that you just fall flat on deserving.”

Lips puckered, Darlene only opens her mouth to address the man’s stance, speaking slowly to ensure the man heeds to her warning. “Get your finger out of my face and keep it away for the rest of your life, or else, I will cut it off and toss it into the fast food joint’s chili bowl down the street” Darlene says, Perry’s confidence falling as quickly as his hand does.

“I’ve done more than anyone I’ve ever met with a lot less than they had” Darlene explains, her own finger now lifting towards Perry’s face, his partial confidence being gently tucked into the grave. “I’ve fought more, pushed through more, and outright been more than you ever would… And that includes whatever goals you have your heart set on accomplishing, it will still be nothing in comparison” Darlene replies, Perry’s head pulled back, “so watch where you walk before you start stumbling.”

Nostrils flaring, Darlene turns around, returning the umbrella to her bag before pushing the door in, returning to the night as the door slowly shuts, not a peep coming from the man inside the second time around.

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“You wanted to see me?” a young voice calls out from afar, prompting Danny and his small group of bodyguards to raise their attention. “Stay right there” Danny calls out, watching Stucky stop when told, an equally small group of protection stopping behind him as Danny pulls a bag from inside a small duster plane. Walking into the center of the room, Danny tosses the duffle bag of cash into the middle of the old hanger they meet within, his hand aimed towards it.

“There’s half a million bucks in that bag, kid… Take it and stay the fuck away from the Kings” Danny exclaims, watching Stucky slowly break away from his group, walking up to the bag. Unzipping the top, Stucky peers inside, a smile coming over his face, initially bringing ease over Danny until the younger man clarifies his expression. “You think I’m in this for money?” Stucky replies, glaring at Danny as he pulls the straps into his hands, tossing the cash back to its owner.

His expression souring, Danny watches the bag topple across the ground until it falls to his feet, his head slowly lifting towards Stucky, a scowl draped across his face. “Didn’t your boy tell you what I wanted?” Stucky asks, Danny’s grimace keeping hold until being forced apart, his jaw forcing itself apart in order to speak. “He said you were a pain in the ass and needed to be dealt with” Danny replies, the hysterical response from Stucky standing out.

“The way you phrase it makes it sound like he wants me dead!” Stucky shouts, hood halfway over his head, bags under his eyes from yet another drug-fueled sleepless night bathed in light. “Keep pushing his buttons and he just might” Danny responds, Stucky continuing to laugh as every other man in the room remains silent and stubbornly present in the moment, “that is if he hasn’t already.”

Hunched over in laughter, Stucky pushes himself back to his feet, allowing one arm to fall to his side as the other breaks through the air, pointing a finger in Danny’s direction. “You’re a funny guy” Stucky exclaims, an unamused smile coming from the face of Matt’s right hand man. With a shrug, Stucky sniffles a few times before continuing the conversation, correcting Danny’s assumption upon the first chance he gets.

“I told your boy the same thing I’m gonna tell you right now” Stucky replies, hands tucked away in his back pockets, shoulders protruding as he leans ever so slightly forward. “It’s not over, but it can be” Stucky calls out, watching Danny’s head lift as the words leave his mouth, already having assumed the worst in Stucky’s intentions. “My folks have completely lost it… There’s no empire for them to run” Stucky explains, a smile breaking through his lips, “it’s my turn to… take my inheritance.”

Sucking on his teeth, Danny tucks his hands in his own back pockets, head turned towards a portion of his group. “You want us to kill your parents… That’s what I’m taking away from this conversation” Danny replies, continuing to make his point as Stucky fails to hold his grin back, “you’re willing to set yourself up to fight for control of the trade you can’t even keep your own hands off of? What gives you the idea that any of your goons will take that graciously?”

Doing a little dance, Stucky turns his back towards Danny, giving the nod towards one of his men in the back of the hanger, an unnamed man being dragged into the middle of the hanger by his ankles, hands and feet bound by rope. “This is my pop’s handler” Stucky exclaims, pulling a gun from the waistband of his pants, Danny and his crew standing back in anticipation for what comes next.

“This man changed my diapers when I was a baby... Raised me when my parents never would, or at least, never could” Stucky explains, kneeling before the gagged man, eyes of desperation staring back at the entitled druggie with fleeting hope. “This man was my provider when my father couldn’t provide for himself… My guidance when my mother lost her way” Stucky explains, pressing his forehead against the restrained man beside him with a wide smile.

“He taught me everything I know, and he never gave up on me” Stucky explains, closing his eyes as the man beside him begins to squirm, failing to escape. “I asked him ‘if it came down to me or my father, whose side would you choose’?” Stucky explains, pleading groans coming from the near-elderly man as Danny’s crew continues to watch, “he said, ‘my loyalty lies with the man that has stayed loyal to me.”

Peeling his eyelids apart, Stucky looks back at Danny, pulling his head away from the man beneath him as he stands to his feet, the smile across his face remaining through every moment a word doesn’t leave his mouth. Without a word, Stucky laughs at the man’s desperate pleas to help, not a singular coherent word leaving the rag between his teeth, the cries just as understandable regardless.

Without hesitation, Stucky takes the gun and places it against the elderly man’s head, firing once at point-blank range, the suffering pleas ending in a mere moment, Stucky’s father-figure dropping lifelessly to the ground. “He wasn’t willing to abide by me… So he must be disposed of” Stucky explains, lifting the gun to his lips and blowing on the barrel, the weapon returning to his waistband immediately thereafter, “anyone that doesn’t abide by me will fall at my hand.”

With a nod, Danny reaches down for the money-filled duffle bag and tosses it back into the cropduster, his attention being left upon Stucky. “Let’s say we do this… We get the job done and all goes according to plan… Exactly as you’d wish for it to be” Danny explains, cutting the distance between the two men in half, “we’d be holding up our end of the bargain… What would your end look like?”

An uncomfortable nod resonating from the psychopathic head-figure ahead of him, Danny watches Stucky close his end of the space between them, coming within inches of his person as Stucky pleas his half. “There may be a lot that you folks have accomplished, but there’s still that one big pot of gold you’re looking for at the end of the rainbow” Stucky replies, both hands folded behind his back as his face comes within inches of Danny’s, “I guess that makes me your leprechaun!”

Expression shifting, Danny squints at the younger man in confusion, only one word leaving his lips, “Cambridge?” With another sadistic laugh, Stucky’s drug-fueled words are slurred as he runs through both sides of the deal, his ramblings just barely coherent enough to pick up on. “I’ve heard of these kings fighting for thrones that don’t belong to them for years… I never understood it until now” Stucky explains, his voice lowering to a whisper, “this can be your kingdom.”

“So, we give you the right to inherit your kingdom… And you deliver us Cambridge? Full and undivided… Straight up… all of Cambridge?” Danny asks, watching Stucky’s hands uncouple, both hands thrown out by his sides as his grin returns. “I’m in a rather giving mood right now, if I do say so myself!” Stucky replies, patting both sides of Danny’s chest as he steps away, walking backwards to return to his group.

“Go ahead and let the big guy know to contact me when he’s made up his mind!” Stucky shouts, the first to exit the barn, his crew quick to follow his lead, leaving the table behind.

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“You look like shit” Candy calls out to a customer sat at the bar, street clothes draped over her frame as she approaches the counter. “Thanks, that’s a wonderful introduction” the man replies, lifting a glass to his lips as Candy takes a seat beside him. “You’re drinking at a club, you didn’t come here for pleasantries, you came here for tits” Candy remarks, a chuckle emanating from the man mid-sip.

“If only you knew how wrong you were” the man replies, a nod coming from the woman’s head, her hand extending to graciously accept her drink. “I’m Candy” the woman exclaims, holding her hand out towards the man for a handshake, a gesture which the gentleman refuses to return, keeping one hand tucked beneath his arm, the other with its fingers wrapped around his glass.

“Matt” the man replies, finally meeting the woman Danny’s been hung up over in recent days. “So what brings you down here, Matt?” Candy asks, looking at the topless women just a few feet over her shoulder. “I’m in for business reasons” Mat replies, eyes scanning the assortment of liquor propped up on the shelves just ahead, “...and drinking reasons.”

“I see” the woman replies, taking notice of the man’s appearance, embracing the oddities within it. “Not one for conversation?” Candy asks, watching the man glare at her without emotion, a cold look appearing on his face, not out of hatred or appreciation, but out of nothing at all. “I don’t speak with the work for reasons of my own” Matt replies, keeping the facade up as fully as he can muster, “it’s nothing about you… just a standard I give myself.”

“A standard?” Candy replies, taking disrespect in the man’s phrasing, “so you’ve got standards that put you on a place higher than me?” Turning towards the woman with the glass in his hand, Matt attempts to speak before quieting himself down, considering his potential responses before changing his original answer. “Yes, I do” Matt replies, taking the woman’s disrespect and turning it into something real, downing the rest of his drink and ending the conversation.

“Well, have fun up there” Candy replies, stepping out of her seat as Matt slides a few hundred dollar bills across the counter, her eyes having been taken by the man’s hand. “I will, thank you so much” Matt replies, his fingers extended without him realizing, a golden ring on his thumb with a lion’s head in the center of a crown illuminated in the spotlight. Her lips slightly parted, Candy watches Matt grab at his jacket before walking away without a fuss.

Out of the corner of his eye, the bartender gives Candy a look, quietly telling her to go about her business without a question. At a loss for words, Candy keeps her cool, putting up a pretty face and tossing her bag over her shoulder, nodding to the bartender before approaching the exit, having become privy to information she’s not sure she should have.

== Kings of Cambridge ==