S1, E4 | Brother

“The little shit’s actually serious” Danny explains, one of a select few bodies surrounding Matt in the comfort of the therapist’s lofty estate, “he wants the empire to himself, nothing more, nothing less.” Clearing his throat, Matt claps his hands together, sliding his palms back and forth, “this is the strangest method of ‘flying the nest’ that I’ve ever seen” Matt replies, standing from his chair and approaching his fish tank.

“Should I start getting ready for ‘dope hunting’ sir?” Brutus asks, Matt looking over his shoulder, gravelly voice becoming present with each swig of scotch he takes down. “No, Brutus… Not yet, at least” Matt replies, extending his arm towards a bottle of fish food neatly placed amidst a table full of prescription pill bottles. “If he wants us doing anything, he’s gotta prove he’s good for his word” Matt explains, popping the bottle cap up and sprinkling the water with flakes.

“His mom and pop aren’t exactly known for keeping their end of a deal” Matt explains, head drifting over his shoulder again, flakes no longer falling from the bottle, “let’s make sure that apple fell far from the tree.” Limited on options, Danny weighs the openings they could have, a thought coming over his mind. “Why doesn’t he just stage a coup if he’s serious?” Danny asks, Matt’s head drifting towards his direction, “if he wanted the empire so bad, why not take it himself?”

“Supplies” a man in the back quickly replies, gaining the attention of all in attendance, “if he stages a coup against his own parents, everyone his cartel does business with will fear his ability to lead.” With a laugh, Matt takes his attention to the back of the room, arms held by his side. “We’re glad to have you back, Tyrell!” Matt exclaims, a wide grin from one ear to the other greeting the longtime associate, “go ahead and say it one more time, my dear friend!”

“If he does the deed himself, every runner, supplier and connection he has will fear they could fall to the same fate as his folks” Tyrell explains once more, “if we do it, his status as ‘heir to the throne’ is only questioned by a rather-heavy drug addiction.” Head nodding, Matt continues to look at Tyrell as Danny comes to a similar conclusion.

“He’s giving us the territory so our rep isn’t damaged by taking out those on the other side” Danny explains, earning Matt’s focus once more, “even if we look bad, we’re the only crew to work for in town.” His smile not having faded, Matt lifts his face towards the sky and mutters loud enough to himself for the rest of the crew around him to hear, “I got myself lucky with these guys.”

“That still leaves one problem” Danny admits, his eyes falling upon a map at the very back of the room, multiple different colors shading every inch of land pictured. “Where is he setting up next and how is it going to come back to bite us?” Danny asks the group, Matt’s eyes falling upon the image. “Good question, Danny” Matt replies, swiftly spinning around, the smile again having failed to fall from his face, “grab a crew and find that out for me.”

= 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 come unarmed” Stucky exclaims, both hands lifted into the air, arms bent at the elbows, a small fleet of armed henchmen approaching him cautiously. “Thanks for coming” Danny replies, walking away from the open engine panel of his small cropduster with a towel in hand, wiping the grease from his palms as he nears a table. Cleared, Stucky walks further into the hanger, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table to Danny, the cringe-worthy smile on his face never fading.

“Did you call me here looking to make a deal?” Stucky asks, his dominant hand placed upon the back of a metal chair, Danny already having taken his own seat, “because my terms aren’t changing.” Lifting one hand from the table, Danny gestures for Stucky to take a seat, the man doing as instructed with a chuckle, allowing Danny to begin their conversation.

“There’s no re-negotiating here, Stuck… We’ll gladly whack your parents” Danny replies, the statement his words put out holding no care for life, “we just want to make sure you can’t go back on your word.” With a nod, Stucky admits to the man that he had assumed this to be a subject to bring up, both hands lifted into the air in a gesture of surrender, “I’m not my parents… I keep my word to anyone I offer it to, Mr. Danny.”

“Okay, kid” Danny replies, leaning forward with his hands folded atop the table, “give me some reason to believe what spills from your mouth.” Unable to hold back his amusement, Stucky applauds the phrasing of Danny’s suggestion, reaching for his bag and unzipping the closest pocket. “I have to give it to you, Mr. Danny… You’re good at your job” Stucky replies, an unenthused ‘thank you’ being used to respond to Stucky’s approval, Danny’s eyes watching a folded map emerge from the bag.

Turning the map upside down, Stucky presents a map of the southern states, boundary lines drawn in specific places, circles and other markings adorning the paper. “It’s complicated for a reason, but be lucky I knew enough to be as vague as I was… You actually get to see it first-hand now” Stucky explains, a single finger pointing towards the most spacious part of the area.

“This is Macon… Georgia” Stucky explains, a marker-drawn circle surrounding the entire length of the city’s borders, “this is where I’ll be taking the head of my operations to.” Reading the map carefully, Danny watches the paper slowly fold back upon itself, Stucky not willing to allow Danny to read any further than he allows him to. “I’m going to take over the South, so you can have everything up here” Stucky explains, “I may be a druggie, but I’m a wizard when I need to put together a plan.”

Unable to downplay the man’s well-planned efforts as suggested by the mapping, Danny leans back in his seat, arms folded, eyes reading Stucky for everything he’s worth. “How certain are you in this plan?” Danny inquires, watching Stucky’s head tilt, a silent request for more specifics, “your mother and father did so much just to get their empire up and running… How certain are you that you’ll be able to do everything they did and more?”

Either because of chills or his latest fix winding down, Stucky begins to shake violently, slowly coming to a stop within moments, the smile never leaving his face for a second, eyes as bloodshot as they always are. “That’s not really much of your concern now, is it?” Stucky asks, watching Danny match the addict’s smile, arms still folded upon each other. “No” Danny replies, a satisfied shake of his head, “no, it is not.”

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“Come in!” Darlene calls out upon a set of knocks, Matt emerging from the other side of her door. “Are you in need of assistance?” Darlene asks, Matt’s face sporting confusion, his head tilting to one side as if to ask for clarification. “I don’t believe so” Matt replies, a nod coming over the woman that signs his paychecks. “Good, save it until after my lunch” Darlene replies, her feet resting upon a second chair as her attention is given fully to the program running on her television.

“I was just going to ask what the whole incident between you and that guy was the other night” Matt replies, Darlene’s teeth stopping, the food in her mouth remaining unchewed as she reaches for the remote. “How much of it did you see?” Darlene asks, looking down at her lunch as the television powers off, fork imbedding itself into crunchy lettuce as Matt answers.

“How much did I see?” Matt asks, purposefully putting emphasis on the ‘see’ portion, “all of it” he answers. Her chewing getting slower, Darlene asks another question. “And how much of it did you hear?” Darlene asks, adding emphasis to ‘hear’, to which Matt responds, “all of it.” With a nod, Darlene continues to stare at her salad as she replies to Matt, refusing to pull her attention away from her food for the moment despite obviously losing her appetite.

“He was the guy that quit last week” Darlene replies, stabbing at her meal with the plastic fork, “he was the reason for why I chose to hire you.” Taking a seat on the opposite side of the woman’s desk, Matt continues the conversation, his employer continuing to refuse him eye contact. “You seemed flustered” Matt explains, his response instantly prompting Darlene to freeze, the fork hanging in mid-air, the only thing moving being her chest, expanding to allow her to breath.

“Are you oka-” Matt begins, cut off mid-sentence by Darlene, the woman answering not with anger, but rather the subtly she had been answering with through the duration of their conversation. “He was keeping me from a doctor’s appointment” Darlene replies, keeping the information she offers brief and vague, a cold shoulder being given to the man intentionally.

“A doctor’s appointment in the middle of the night?” Matt asks, watching Darlene put the bowl down upon her desk, eyes finally making contact with those of Matt, her expression appearing very unsatisfied. “Are you trying to interrogate me?” Darlene asks, defensive, treating Matt as if he were a nosy family member she was tired of interacting with, “what does anything about my conversation with Perry have to do with you?”

With a deep breath, Matt hangs his head with his hands folded, a brief smile flashed towards the woman. “I’m sorry for prying” Matt responds, leaving the chair and heading for the exit, the only thing stopping him from leaving being a declaration from Darlene. “Wait!” the woman calls out, her words carrying both a want for him to stay and a disdain for the dialogue’s continuation, “come back.”

Doing as asked, Matt returns to the chair, Darlene swallowing the remaining food in her mouth before returning the container to the mini-fridge beside her desk. “My sister is a doctor and she keeps her office partially open for me whenever I need a checkup” Darlene explains, turning her chair towards the man on the other side of her desk as she continues, “I was going in for a follow up.”

Squinting, Matt looks on at the woman with confusion. “Why did you need a follow-up? What was wrong the first time?” Matt asks, the woman’s face refusing to change on principle, not willing to hold back information that’s asked for, always determined to remain as open of a book as she can manage to be. “They found a lump on my breast and they thought could have been cancerous” Darlene replies, her eyes aimlessly gazing around the room, “I’m just waiting on the results.”

“Wait, wait… You could have cancer?” Matt replies, a shrug being the only physical response the woman can comfortably give. “You could have cancer, too… It’s just a matter of whether or not they find any indication” Darlene replies, “the only difference between you and I is that they found an indication with me. That’s all.”

Strong and massively stubborn, Darlene continues to prop up her facade, a gesture which appears harder to see through than it does in most others, but still partially fragmented to Matt’s view. “You’re scared” Matt replies, Darlene’s eyes reading him up and down, impressed at his conclusion. “You’re damn right I’m scared” Darlene replies, slumped back in her chair with her arms leant over the armrests, “but I’m not gonna run off and cry about it… There’s nothing I can do but hope.”

Head hung, Darlene cracks a smile, playfully picking on the man. “You starting to care about my well-being, Matthew?” Darlene asks, the man looking up, a slightly visible amusement on his face. “I do, Darlenety” Matt replies, the woman’s head pulling further back in her chair than she would have thought possible. “That’s not my full name” Darlene replies, Matt picking himself up from the chair as he responds, “I know.”

Returning to the door, Matt intends to leave before stopping in the doorway, turning back to call for Darlene once more. “Let me know if you need anything from me” Matt replies, a subtle nod coming from the woman across the room. “I need you to get back to work, Matthew” Darlene replies, an agreement coming in the form of Matt’s closing of the door behind him.

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Feet propped up on a wooden chair, Danny feels his knees jerk to the direction of a hefty hand, Tyrell shoving his feet to the floor before taking a seat next to him, his own feet occupying the spot. “How’ve you been, D?” Tyrell asks, a depressed-looking Danny slumped in the couch responding with an unamused wave of his hand. “Same old shit, different fucking day my friend” Danny replies, his head turning towards the newly-returned man, “how was Cuba?”

“It was a good place to avoid capture” Tyrell replies, handing his fellow table member a cold beer, “the grocery stores depressed me the fuck out, though.” Lifting his bottle into the air, Danny takes agreement with the statement before taking a sip. “I see you own a strip club now” Tyrell explains, looking around the establishment, “now is the part where I ask how the fuck that happened.”

“I slept with a real estate agent” Danny replies, earning a curious look from the man, who tilts his head to the side and looks at him awkwardly, “she wasn’t very keen on deals having happy endings.” With a chuckle, Tyrell downs a good portion of his drink, pulling one hand over the back of his head, eyes taken by the sight of a half-naked woman dancing a good twenty feet away from them.

“How’d it go?” Tyrell asks, watching Danny curiously glance off to the side at him, “after your folks died?” Amused, Danny raises the bottle to his lips, not a word leaving his mouth until he’s down the entire bottle. “Almost got sloppy on that heist you’ve probably heard so much about by now” Danny replies, tossing his bottle to a random spot on the floor, “but it’s pretty much been a crapshoot since then… Tensions on both sides, each pulling me in a direction my body can’t handle.”

Pushing his head against the back of the couch, Tyrell brushes off an offer from one of the women. “Fuck off, pretty mama… Come back in a bit” Tyrell exclaims, waving the woman off as he keeps his attention on Danny. “You mean that literally or figuratively?” Tyrell asks, watching Danny pull his shirt up, revealing the scar from surgery he’d had done following the job. “I mean that both ways” Danny replies, dropping his shirt, “I don’t got a clue about what comes next.”

“Speaking of which, I’ve heard through the grapevine that Matt’s planning on going back” Tyrell replies, an amused smile coming over Danny’s face. “Of course that’d be his fucking plan” Danny mutters to himself, both hands pulling behind his head, acting as a pillow, “he blew up a tanker carrying half a metric shit-load of powder, why the fuck wouldn’t he go back for the rest?”

Leaning back in his seat, Tyrell inquires about the wound Danny had sustained, looking for clarification. “Well, we got aboard the ship the day after it docked, unloaded all that we could and were supposed to dive off the edge and into the water...” Danny replies, watching Tyrell silently ask for more, “...I missed the water.”

A grimace peering through his teeth as they clench, Tyrell looks back at Danny, a sudden intrigue coming over him. “Was it Matt?” Tyrell asks, watching Danny glance back at him, the wounded veteran showing his physical exhaustion. “He saw me floating there in the water… He said I was face down, but I was out like a light” Danny replies, looking off into space as he continues, “so he jumped back into the water and pulled me to the boat before the bombs went off.”

Wide-eyed, Tyrell sinks back into his seat, staring off at the depths of the building, lifting his bottle back to his lips. “This crew is so strong, even the head of the table says ‘no brother left behind’” Tyrell exclaims, shaking his head in disbelief, “tickle me fuckin’ pink.” Staring off at the strobe lights, Danny mutters to himself beneath his breath, words kept from catching Tyrell’s ears. “Yup” Danny whispers to himself, “no brother left behind.”

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“Why did you get into psychology?” Brook asks, leant against the wall as Matt remains sat at his desk, the man taking genuine interest in her question. “I like helping people that exist in dark places” Matt replies, choosing his words very carefully, “it’s really fulfilling to help them find something brighter to hold onto.”

“Have you ever seen what those dark places look like?” Brook asks, watching the smile spread across the man’s face. “Yes, I have” Matt replies, Brook’s posture changing, her interest in the man’s experience visually obvious. “What was it like for you?” Brook asks, Matt’s expression beginning to change with the reflection of his past, his refusal to mince words with his past experiences proving to be something Brook holds respect for him because of.

“My parents were users… There wasn’t a day that went by where they didn’t have someone coming over to the house to exchange money for their fix” Matt explains, “that dark place was a very lonely experience.” Head bowing, Brook asks another question, perhaps taking more intrigue in his answers to this one than the one she had just asked. “How did you get out?” Brook wonders aloud, watching Matt’s nose flare with amusement, “how did you get out of that place?”

“That’s a good question… I didn’t” Matt replies, watching Brook’s expression change into one of confusion, “in a way, I sort of turned that dark place into something brighter.”

“By figuring out that you wanted to help others?” Brook asks, Matt’s reflection dying down upon the rising of that question, his expression shifting into one of uncertainty. “Yeah, something like that” Matt replies, attempting to ask a further question until his attention is taken by a knock at the door. “Enter!” Matt calls out, watching Darlene peer her head through the opening, the woman offering a quick apology for interfering with their session.

“Is there any chance you can give me a ride after work?” Darlene asks, Matt hiding an oncoming smile well, however, he is unable to keep his face from lighting up with satisfaction. “Of course” Matt replies, watching Darlene nod towards him before shutting the door behind herself, Brook cutting the momentary silence between them to point out her findings.

“You like her, don’t you?” Brook asks, catching Matt off guard, the man not having expected such a question to be asked. “She’s a kind person that I didn’t give enough credit to at first” Matt replies, noticing the unconvinced look on Brook’s face. “I meant in the romantic way” Brook replies, the surprise on Matt’s face intriguing her, the awkward situation being laughed off by the man, who refuses such a notion.

“I’m gay, there’s no interest in that way” Matt replies, Brook’s face still stiffened, as unconvinced now as she was just prior, “but as a person, she’s a lot more likeable than I had originally thought she would be.” Rubbing his hands together as he looks through different folders upon his desk, Matt calls out to the young girl beside his desk, “where did we leave off?”

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“Hey, Levi!” Danny calls out, returning to the rental store he had just recently been kicked out of days prior, keeping his distance by meeting with his fellow tablemate off of the premises. “Look, Danny… I’ve already told you… I ain’t the mole!” Levi shouts back, Danny cutting the man short by putting his arm around his neck, leading him away from his car and further down the road.

“I’m not here accusing you again, I’m merely here with an offer” Danny replies, watching the perplexity spread across the man’s face in real time. “I find your offers to be rather bipolar, Danny” Levi replies, “it’s either something really, really good… Or it’s something really, really bad.” Laughing off the man’s gesture, Danny removes his sunglasses and carries them in the same hand draped over Levi’s neck, assuring the man that this one will be something worthy of consideration.

“Alright, let me hear it” Levi replies, Danny patting the man on the side of the face as he continues walking, appearing as casually arrogant as he can muster. Ducking into an alleyway, Danny checks each direction he walks down before tapping his knuckle against the rear-entry of a burger shop, waiting patiently for a man inside to answer. “Is this Levi?” Danny is asked by the unnamed doorkeeper, only responding with a silent wink.

Moving to the side, the man allows Danny and Levi entry, the fumes of chemicals pressing together blasting them in the face the moment they walk inside. “What the fuck is that smell!?” Levi calls out, “are you fuckers making a nuclear reactor or something!?” Handing the man a pair of goggles, Danny pulls a pair of his own over his eyes, departing from Levi and standing in front of a massive set of stations, all of which swarming with workers.

“Welcome to where the magic happens, rental boy!” Danny calls out, arms extended in grandeur, turning his body towards the stations to see the room filling with smoke, a sight he takes joy in. “This is one of the many places the table crafts it’s goods” Danny explains, talking slightly louder than usual, battling for audible supremacy with a rather loud pressing machine.

“In order for these guys to make products, they need the ingredients we supply them with” Danny explains, “now, they’re well off for the next few months… But at some point, they’re going to need more to work with.” Having lost track of where the conversation is supposed to be heading, Levi asks for clarification from the man responsible for leading him there.

“How does any of this work into an offer for me?” Levi asks, Danny’s teeth appearing from behind his lips, the menacing grin appearing as so when accompanied with the massive set of goggles over his face. “Every so often, the table makes a big push to get a whole fuckload of these ‘ingredients’ all at once” Danny explains, approaching Levi and placing his hands upon each of his shoulders, “these runs are done with very small crews and pay very good money.”

Nodding, Levi concludes Danny’s offer on his behalf, attempting to beat him to the punch. “So you’re offering me a place in the next crew?” Levi asks, a silent nod preceding Danny’s further explanation. “I don’t understand the need you have to work at that rental place, and I don’t really need to” Danny explains, glancing back at the tables of stations behind him for a kick of pleasure, “but what it comes down to is this… If you accept my offer, you and your family will be set for life.”

Pondering over his decision, Levi looks towards the ground until ordered to look back at Danny, the man doing what he can to convince the rental worker. “Your job as a father and as a husband is to give them the best life possible… All at whatever cost” Danny explains, taking another look back at the stations set up behind him, “if working three or four days out of the year is that cost… It’s a pretty fucking good cost.”

Considering his options, Levi keeps his eyes glued to Danny, the right hand man of the table asking for the final verdict. “What’s it going to be, Levi?” Danny asks, allowing one hand to fall to his side, fingers crossed on the lowered hand as the opposite rests upon Levi’s shoulder.

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“You ready to go?” Matt calls out, Darlene throwing her jacket over her shoulders as she reaches for her bag. Silently leaving her office, Darlene walks beside Matt as they head for the exit, a conversation remaining unstarted until they leave the building, Matt speaking the first word. “Did your car break down or something?” Matt asks, the woman surprisingly replying otherwise. “My car’s perfectly fine” Darlene responds, earning a look of bewilderment from Matt.

“Why did you need a ride?” Matt asks, Darlene looking back at him with widened eyes, challenging his stance from earlier in the day. “Because my appointment is to get the test results” Darlene replies, stopping at the bottom of the stairs upon reaching the final step, “I don’t want to hear them alone.” With a nod, Matt silently continues to walk, only for his progress to be halted upon Darlene calling out his name.

“Who was that guy you were talking to here the other night?” Darlene asks, watching Matt stammer over his words. “Oh, that guy? His name was Stucky… I mean, Chris… People just call him Stucky apparently” Matt replies, his answer not being a lie, though, it does feel so regardless. “And what did this ‘Stucky’ want, exactly?” Darlene asks, nothing more than a shrug coming from the man.

“He’s an addict… I couldn’t make heads or tails of half of what he was saying” Matt replies, watching Darlene nod as she catches up with him. “There’s a group session that the clinic is putting on for children of addicts tomorrow night” Darlene explains, raising information Matt was already privy to once more, “you should go.”

“Yeah, okay” Matt says sarcastically, finally reaching his car, the lack of enthusiasm in his voice challenged by Darlene. “I’m serious, Matt” Darlene calls back, opening her door as Matt’s fingers rest upon the handle, “you should go” the woman calls back as she takes her seat. Looking off into the distance, Matt rolls his eyes and shakes his head, intending to enter the vehicle before noticing something that strikes worry in him.

Wrapping his fingers around his knuckles, Matt yanks off his golden ring, quickly tucking it back into his pocket as he sinks into his seat, slamming the door shut behind himself. “You good there, tiger?” Darlene asks, curious as to the violent nature of his entry, a question that prompts Matt to cool himself off. “Just… I just pulled too hard” Matt replies, laughing off the situation as he turns the key in the ignition.

Backing out of his spot, Matt exits the parking lot and drives down the street, passing a row of cars parked along the sidewalk, one of which remaining occupied. Reaching for her notepad, Candy jots down the name of the building, model of car, and a description of the second passenger she saw Matt with. Pleased with her findings, Candy turns on her headlights and leaves her spot, driving in the opposite direction of the man she’s now grown to be very enamored with.

== Kings of Cambridge ==