3: One

One

Several Days Earlier - Bon Air, A Few Miles Southwest of Richmond

 

“It’s kind of a fucked-up idea.”

Three well-dressed men and a young woman wearing a Virginia Commonwealth University hoodie congregated at a dining room table in a large home decorated with old Oriental decorations and south Asian paintings.

“I know, I know, but I think this could work out for us.”

“For you guys? I’m no part of it,” the young woman responded.

“Look Sophia, we can’t go in there and just befriend him, he’ll know who we are.”

“So I’m supposed to f**k him??” Sophia replied harshly.

“F**k no!” the man replied. “Look, like it or not, your brothers are part of the Saigon Boys, and you’re my sister. We need a job done, and unless we befriend some white people, you’re the most reliable person we could find.”

“Well you better learn some lacrosse because I’m not losing my dignity over some rich white boy.”

“Sophia,” the man said, trying to reason with his sister.

“Ducky, I’m not doing it!” Sophia yelled. “Go find someone else,” she said, leaving the table and storming upstairs. The man quickly rose out of his seat.

“Sophia!” He exclaimed. “F**k.”

“Better go after her, Ducky,” one of the men said in a sing-song voice before chuckling.

“It’s Long Neck,” he replied angrily. “Now do the f*****g dishes while I talk to your little sister.”

Long Neck ran upstairs to his sister’s room. He tried turning the knob and upon failing, knocked on the door.

“Sophia!”

“Go away!” Long Neck’s sister replied.

“Sophia, please just let me talk to you. It’s not gonna be like what you think, I promise!”

“Ducky, I don’t care, leave me alone!”

“Sophia, please,” Long Neck pleaded.

A long pause ensued. Sophia eventually obliged and opened the door.

“Why do you need me to get involved with your gang stuff?”

“It’s not like that, I promise, hear me out.”

Sophia became curious. “What are you trying to accomplish?”

“I’m trying to get his father’s attention.”

“How?”

“Unfortunately it requires some flirting here and there.”

“Here and there,” Sophie replied in a curious tone. “And where Is ‘here and there’?”

“He’s having a party at UVA’s Delta house this Friday.”

“F**k no,” Sophie replied immediately.

“Sophie --”

“Ducky, how do you expect me to feel in a house with a bunch of guys I don’t know?”

“Look, you can bring some of your friends.”

“I’m not putting my friends at risk,” Sophie began, standing up, raising her voice. “How the hell can you make me do this?”

“Sophie, I know. I know. I don’t want to do this, but his dad knows what our gang looks like,” Long Neck replied, guiding Sophie back to her seat. “They know what our girls look like. We can’t send them in there, and we can’t trust anyone else with this s**t. If this works, they’ll know you could hook them up with security without any risk involved. If anything, you may have to act friendly to him for a week. That’s it.”

“So you want me to flirt with him, go out with him, and during one of these dates, we somehow find ourselves in a drive-by that I call you to rescue us from?”

“That’s the plan so far,” Long Neck said, visibly insecure.

“Ducky, that’s a really stupid, fucked up plan,” Sophie stated.

“Sophie, you have to know, boys are stupid.”

“I can clearly see that,” Sophie replied to Long Neck’s annoyance.

“But I’m the Lieutenant of the Saigon Boys. I’ve been in this for a long f*****g time. I’ve been making plans for a long f*****g time, and I’ve earned the trust of your brothers, our gang, and Ben Tre. People came at us with all they had and fell because I was there to guide them. You’ve heard of all the s**t happening in Richmond, but your brothers are still here because we’re smarter than the rest.”

Sophie’s face began to relax.

“And even if my plan were to fall apart,” Long Neck continued, “you know these white boys can’t resist a young Asian woman coming onto them.”

“Oh my f*****g god,” Sophie exhaled, standing up, visibly disgusted.

“The most you’ll have to do is kiss him, I promise.”

“I don’t want to do that!”

“Just for one week! And he’s not ugly, he’s just a rich a*****e. Goddamn, I know you’re not a f*****g lesbian.”

Sophie paced around the room, shaking her head. “What am I getting out of it?” she sternly asked.

“Hmm?” Long Neck replied in Scooby-Doo fashion.

“So this guy’s gonna tongue-f**k my throat and I’m not getting s**t out of it?” Sophie yelled.

“Sophie, look, I’ll f*****g buy you anything you want if you help me out this one time.”

“Anything?” Sophie asked.

“Guaranteed,” her brother replied.

“I want an apartment.”

“F**k no,” Long Neck replied. “You’re safe under our supervision.”

“Safe? Living with gang members?” Sophie replied in disbelief.

“We’re your brothers, you know that being alone isn’t wise.”

“I’m tired of being around you guys. I’m tired of not being able to bring my friends over.”

“Who the hell’s keeping you from your friends?”

“Nobody, but I’m really f*****g uncomfortable with you guys flirting with them.”

“Sean’s just friendly, is all.”

“Sean punched Jake in the face last time he was here!”

“The prick was walking around the f*****g house with his shoes on!”

“Jake’s white, he's used to that!”

“Okay, look,” Long Neck said, calming down. “F**k it, we’ll get you an apartment. But you have to live with one of our girls.”

“No,” Sophie said.

“F**k,” Long Neck replied, taking his time to think. “You still have that 9 millimeter?”

“Umm,” Sophie replied, wandering her eyes around her room.

“Goddamn it, okay, you can have your own apartment,” Long Neck conceded.

“Yes!” Sophie exclaimed, smiling and clapping her hands together.

“But you have to find your gun and re-train with it. I’ll have Sean teach you.”

“Okay, no problem,” Sophie agreed, holding out her hand before innocently saying “Deal?”

Long Neck stared at her, annoyed, until her smile convinced his mouth to do the same.

“Deal,” he replied, shaking her hand as the murderous gang lieutenant conceded to his baby sister’s demands.

“So when do we start?”