[d20 Modern] Gangs of Texas [PG-17] IC

[Keia]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:15pm

Malcolm shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. "Parents," he replied as if that answered everything. Malcolm looked in the frig for anything else, and ended up with a half a bottle of Gatorade. Better than nothing, plus if I drank beer, momma would know in a second, Malcolm thought.

Malcolm took a quick pull straight from the oversized bottle, then turned to Rosa. He flipped a chair around hanging his arms over the back of the chair and leaning in - evoking a memory of earlier in the afternoon.

"So what's with Jose, Rosa? Anything I can do to help?" Malcolm asked, one eye on the front door of the tenement.

 

[KitanaVorr]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:15pm

Rosa finished her beer. "Can I have another?" she asked and then proceeded to help herself. He could see that she was very nervous. When she fufilled her need, she sat down, playing with the can in her lap with her long red fingernails.

"Jose's into something, Malcolm. I don't know what," she told him, speaking about her brother, one of the locos and a friend of Juan's, her abusive boyfriend. "Both him and Juan. I heard them talking about it after class. They were gonna hit some claws tonight...I'm so afraid, Malcolm! That Jose's gonna get hurt...I don't know what to do...and lately...they been getting alot of money in."

She touched the side of her face where the black eye still was. "I saw a whole sh-t load of cash in a shoebox yesterday...that's when Juan...he got mad."

OOC: MALCOLM

 

[Keia]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:15pm

Malcolm nodded his head as Rosa talked. He unconsciously clenched his fists at the thought of someone hitting Rosa.

Jeffrey had a ton of money, too. . . I wonder if someone is paying both sides and having them attack each other, Malcolm thought. Nahhh, that's stupid. Nobody would want gang violence increased. Malcolm shook the stupid idea out of his head.

"There was definitely something building, you could feel it at school today," Malcolm added. "I wonder why this is happening now. I mean, Christmas is just a few days away. Does Juan or Jose have a lot of bug spray? I heard it mentioned a couple of times at school today and I thought it might be some new gang thing."

"Rosa," Malcolm started, "Jose is going to do what he wants. The best you can do is tell him that you don't approve of what he's doing with his life and try to put pressure on his stronger than the gang does. Unless, you have an idea."

 

[Velenne]

T-Bull's Mom's House
Fifth Ward
6:30pm

Big Mama hadn't changed a bit since last Carlos had seen her. He thought he might have even recognized the earrings. Same smile, same speech about him being too small, same overly-eager hug. He tried not to wince when she squeezed him a little too tightly and caught his shoulder wrong, but still gave her back the biggest one-armed hug he could muster.

The southern cooking was making him salivate already. He could picture the cream corn, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and white gravy, cornbread, and some heavily sweetened ice tea to wash it all down. Nothing like what his own mama used to make, but delicious all the same (in a coronary thrombosis sort of way). He could already feel his arteries clogging up and his blood having to shove its way past - 'Heads up! Comin through here! Outta the way!'. But oh would taste like heaven ...

He follows where he's lead until he gets a look at T-Bull.

 

[KitanaVorr]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:15pm

"Bug spray?" Rosa looked confused for a moment, and then thoughtful. "I don't know...I see bug spray all the time. We got mosquitos in Houston, don't we?"

At Malcolm's mention of Jose, her face fell slightly. "I know...I know...but I don't know what to do. He don't listen to me, not a word. Not to mama either. I was hoping you could help me."

OOC: MALCOLM

 

[KitanaVorr]

T-Bull's Mom's House
Fifth Ward
6:30pm

From the kitchen a slim young woman stepped out. Dark-skinned, intricately braided hair, sparkling eyes and a warm smile. That could only be T-Bull's younger sister, Kia. It had been years since you last saw her...and that last time she had been a scrawny little kid with two big front teeth and a firm hand on the battered piano that T-Bull's mom got from someone she cleaned house for.

"Hey!" Kia called out, wiping her hands on the apron as the two men entered the living room. "T-Bull is upstairs doing who the hell knows what. Momma said that Jess left something behind this morning."

OOC: CARLOS, MIKE

 

[Keia]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:15pm

"Honestly, Rosa, I wish I had a magic voice that said 'Stay out of gangs, stay of out trouble, go get frisky or something' and people would listen - but they don't. I'll check around quiet-like and see if there's any ideas. Also, if I get the chance, I'll talk with Jose - see if I can talk any sense into him. Do you have a another number that I can get ahold of you incase I come up with something - or should I just call the house?" Malcolm asked.

Rosa was a very smart girl, great to talk to. Malcolm had a blast working with her on their school project - especially when he thought it would be difficult at first. Malcolm wanted to help, he was just hesitant since he was so successful with Jeffrey.

 

[KitanaVorr]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:20pm

Rosa shook her head. "No, I ain't got no other number...I guess you can always call Louisa. I'm usually over there at her place." She grabbed a pad of paper by the telephone and started to scribble the numbers down for him. "Or at Marias...or Jenny's...," rattling off her friends one by one. By the time she was done, Malcolm had the phone numbers of about six girls in his class.

Shivering, she rubbed her arms with her hands. "I don't know...I keep gettin' a feeling ya know? My mom...she says I got a thing for this...I know somebody is gonna die horribly tonight in the Fifth...I just know it."

OOC: MALCOLM

 

[Keia]

Malcolm's Tenement Building
Fifth Ward
6:20pm

...I keep gettin' a feeling ya know? My mom...she says I got a thing for this...I know somebody is gonna die horribly tonight in the Fifth...I just know it."

Wow, Malcolm thought, how do you respond to something like that? Ask her to get her head examined? Nah, Rosa never seemed crazy. Do I ask where or for other details? Not just die, 'die horribly.' Crap.

Malcolm nodded his head - unable to respond to Rosa's comment at first. Then, after a pause, "Any feeling where in 5th Ward? If it's close by, I could call some friends and up the neighborhood watch for tonight."

 

[Velenne]

T-Bull's Mom's House
Fifth Ward
6:30pm

Carlos' jaw drops at the sight of Kia. Quashing initial thoughts that would only lead to a severe beating at the hands of his old friend, he manages the smile of a man who's trying to suppress such thoughts but is failing miserably.

Carlos simply points upstairs, smiling and nodding dumbly, and grabs Mike by a shoulder. As he heads that way, it's a few steps before he can break his gaze away from the girl whose hair he had once smeared with bubblegum. Easy there stud, that one's labeled 'jailbait' for at least another year or two...


OOC: Alisha Keys...mmm.......that's so not fair...