A Lost Cause

The story revolves around a family of four people- A dead mother, A retiring FBI agent father, a son who is on drugs, and a daughter who by day is a lawyer, but at night runs a large drug chain in Delaware. The story is told from the perspective of the fa

 

A Lost Cause

 

I was sitting alone in a dark room of an apartment building that should have been torn down years ago. She was dead. I had taken a shot of heroine and my memory was very short at that time. It was running around in circles from the days before when my girlfriend had left me, and that same morning when I was told officially to never speak to my family again. I was a lost cause. I spent all of my time wondering when the moment would be when my life was taken, that the Lord decided to take them first. The cause was inconclusive at the moment, but I knew what had happened. My sister and I still kept contact with each other throughout the years. She was a businesswoman by day, sure, but by night she was mixed in with just as much trouble as I was. She gambled. She smoked pot. She drank until her brains were ready to leak out of her ears from all of the drunken confusion. My parents never knew.

Today did not go so well for me, and neither did the day before, or the day before that. My life is running down the drain quicker than anything else. The walls in my room are covered in words that I sometimes wonder why I even bothered writing. Blood reeks inside of my mind. All of the confusion that I have brought could have been cancelled out with the fact that my father was a true work of American citizenship. He was a retiring F.B.I. agent. He spent years bringing down crooked people like myself. All along, he never knew that one of his top catches was his own son and daughter. We ran away from him by giving ourselves bogus fake identities. We never knew that the end of the road consisted in a shot to the head. He never saw this coming either.

 

                             August 13, 2009: The streets are filled with crooked cops and homeless freaks that rob people blind as they pass by. Othello Carter is the head F.B.I. agent running a case that leads to the head of a major drug smuggling operation. He sits in the front passenger seat of a van, as the driver pulls into a local diner parking lot.

“You coming in, Othello?”

“No, I’ll wait here. I’ve got some paperwork.” He reached down for his bag. Othello was clearly nearing the end of his years as a lead agent in the force. His scraggly gray beard was hinting toward that assumption. His partner, James Daniels, walked into the diner for a cup of coffee and a doughnut. The sky seemed to look especially dreary this day. Othello seemed to notice as the cars were passing by, the distinct difference in shape and color. It was not long after his wife’s passing. She had cancer in her breasts for over seven years. She was a soldier in his eyes, now serving in God’s army.

The rosary that hung from the rearview mirror sat in her honor. She had carried it with her every day of her last seven years. Othello never believed in Jesus. He always cringed over the thought of actually going into another life after death. It wasn’t possible. The idea of his wife being saved in another life never occurred to him until he faced her death right in his own eyes. At that moment, Jesus was in his life. James came back with two bear claws and 2 decaf coffees.

“Here you go, pal. I gotcha a claw too. Figured you were hungry.”

“Thanks, James. I got the address right here in my binder. I guess we’re set whenever the rest of the crew decides to come join the party.” Othello reached across to grab his coffee. He had no interest in the bear claw, as he let James eat both. They were on their way to the address of an alleged drug lord. This was the end of it for Othello. He smelled the sweet sense of going out with one last hoorah. Nothing was going to bring down his spirits.

                  August 12, 2009:When I wake up in the morning, I address all of the essentials that a woman needs to pertain to. My hair is done up fancy, my face is clear, and my clothes usually consist of some type of skirt or blouse. I am the head of a major law firm in Rhode Island. My family is so proud of me. I keep things in order, and help bring down all of the local criminals and threats to our very personal community. Everything seems so perfect, by day.

            By night, the demons inside of me come out to play. The perfect vision of a successful woman has completely run away from me. It is almost as if I turn into some kind of werewolf or different person by nightfall. The tables that people gamble on are watched over by me. I am responsible for the pitiful souls that give away their entire lives in a single night of playing craps or twenty-one. I feel no remorse for anyone. I am the one who sells the demonic drugs that capture the lives of so many young souls. People call me a monster, but they don’t even know who I am. They never know who is truly responsibe for the accidental deaths and the loss of fortune. The name is sugar coated in a pile of white ashes. I’ve never been proud, but always wondered what daddy would say.

           

“Selena. What do we do with the extra cocaine?” Her minions were like best friends. She never treated them badly, because they were always so successful.

“We’ll keep it. After this shipment runs through, we’re going to want to celebrate right?” Her voice was never completely sure, but Selena knew how good the money was. She was unstoppable. The town was too small. It was in her hands.

            “How is Levi, your brother? He never comes around anymore.” Selena’s head packager, Laura, always had an interest in Levi. She was tall, tan, and had great physical features. She was probably a good catch for almost anyone that did not care about a personality. “Is he ok? He never returns my calls.”

            “He’s fine. Leave him alone, Laura.” Selena was very protective over her brother. They stuck together because the rest of the family looked so far down on Levi for his drug practices. They never knew about Selena’s night job. She was hiding it all too well.

            Another voice cries out to Selena from the back of the warehouse. “We’re all set to go, boss.”

            “Excellent.” Selena motions to the crew, as they prepare to ship out the trucks. Most of them work in the firm with her. It’s a commingled partnership. Selena runs it all. The plans are always to get rich and never tell anyone how. Her employees don’t even know how much money they are making. She gives them a set salary, robbing them blind for their dirty work. Selena runs this town.

 

August 11, 2009: He sat alone in his chair, kicking back

A fresh beer, dipping his hand into the fresh bowl of bugles. He takes them and puts each of them onto his fingers, separately, pretending to be some type of creature with claws. The drugs have really set in at this point, searching the room, finding only the animals that appear to crawl on the walls and the make believe cartoon characters having a normal conversation right in front of him. The television is not even on. His radio is turned off. Perhaps being alone with nothing but drugs has officially set off Levi Carter. His family doesn’t want him anymore, and his girlfriend officially told him that he was a waste of time. If the sky ever looked like it was falling, this was the day. The phone inside of his pocket rings. He picks up, completely unaware of his surroundings as he knocks over his precious bowl of bugle claws. “Yeah?’ he says this with such fake force.

            “It’s Selena. Laura said you didn’t show up today.”

            “Yeah, I was busy. Next time.” He knows that she is onto him.

            “We’re a bag short, Levi. Is it all gone?”

            “Pretty much. Now what? You want me to work it off or something?” His attitude appeared obvious over the phone.

            “Come in tomorrow. We need to talk.” She hangs up the phone. Levi knew that Selena was a conniving woman. He was the only one in the family that knew her dark ways. He knew that she was taking a smooth sailing all the way through her career, and would never see what it was like to be poor. She cheated the system every day. She treated her brother well, and he knew it. She never took into account the fact that her father was not quite out of the force. He was working his biggest case yet.

           

August 13, 2009: The dashboard was covered in maps,

paperwork, and coffee stains. James always drove the F.B.I. van, because Othello suffered from bad eyesight after a short stint in the war that left him partially blind. They were best friends for twenty years. Othello was James’ best man in his wedding, and James was right by Othello’s side after his wife passed away. They made a good team, but time was just bearing down their solid careers. While James steered, Othello tried to make out the directions, always adding in his slight commentary on the world’s affairs.

            “So how is Selena, Othello? Any big cases this week for her?”

            “I don’t know actually. I haven’t talked to her in a couple days. She’s always working hard, even after hours. She’s a good girl, you know?” He smiled, thinking about his precious daughter. The thought of anything less than perfect never crossed his mind.

            “And Levi? Is he any better?” James knew that talking about Levi was something that Othello never wanted to do. Othello stared out the window, not knowing what to say to James.

            “He never learns, James. He never learns.” The sky began to show signs of a storm. The rain began to drip slowly down the side of his window. James knew that it was a subject he shouldn’t have touched, but Othello did not have much family nowadays after his wife passed. Selena was always too busy to even say hello. Levi could have been all that he had, but he gave up on him and told him to never come back. He was dead to them.

            “He needs a guide, Othello. He needs hope. Why don’t you show him the right way?” He knew that his words were going to be of no significance to Othello. Levi was a lost cause. He never knew the meanings of life beyond a bottle or his drugs. Othello knew all along that he was alone. He was proud of Selena, and disappointed in Levi. He hadn’t spoken to either in a number of weeks, but was too proud to admit otherwise to James.

            “You don’t know Levi the way that I do, James. You only know the little boy that used to play ball in the backyard and roll around in the sandbox. He’s not that little kid anymore. Somewhere along the line, he’s been corrupted. Something changed him. Someone got into his head. There’s no hope for he and I, now.” He buried his head into the map. He knew the whole time where they were going. The map was simply a mask, or some type of hiding place from seeing James face to face, having him recognize that Othello was scared and confused. The place that they were traveling to had no glass in its window spaces. It was concocted by wooden planks and boards and had a legitimately bad odor inside of it. Othello crept inside slowly, with James following behind him. The house seemed abandoned, at first.

 

August 12, 2009: Levi is going to pay, this time.

He stole a bag, without telling anyone that he was even going to “borrow” it. Sometimes I wish that we weren’t blood related, because he really insults my reputation. My father called while I was out last night. He isn’t doing so well, with his emotions and all. He always thinks I am going to come back. Since he moved out of state, I haven’t had much concern for taking care of him. He’s retiring soon. I always told him to, plus it makes it easier on my night job, not having to worry about running into each other by some odd chances. As I walked into the warehouse tonight, something became very odd to me. Laura approached me in a peculiar fashion. She seemed afraid to speak to me.

            “Levi took more. A couple bags, we’re not sure exactly.” She was worried.

            “Are you sure it was him? This is important, Laura. We’re losing money.”

            “Yeah…yeah, it was him.” She walked away, twiddling her fingers nervously. I needed to take care of him, for good. The business itself was slowly losing profits. Levi knew too much about what he was doing and took advantage. I called him, to talk.

            “Levi, give me the stuff. You don’t have that kind of money.” I tried not to impede any harm upon my own brother.

            “No, Selena. You owe me this.” Levi began crying. “She walked out on me, I don’t know what to do anymore. She never knew, she never knew about us…this night thing.” His voice was growing hard to understand. He was choking over his words.

            “Hold on, Levi. What do you mean? Did you tell anyone? Did you?” I grew impatient with him. He was old enough to know by now that these things needed to be kept under our own minds, but when he took the drugs…anything was possible. He didn’t speak. He was afraid. I knew that he was.

            “Alright, alright! I think I told her. I don’t know, Selena. She got mad and left. She said she didn’t want any of it in our relationship. Do you think she was gonna go to the cops? I can’t go away, not now.” He needed his bigger sister, to take care of things for him.

            “No, no. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.” I hung up the phone.

            “No, wait. Selena! I’m sorry! ” The other line was vacant.

            That night, agent Carter received a very important, anonymous phone call. This call would change his career. It fixated the rest of his life.

            “This is agent Carter.” His voice was somewhat raspy after being awakened by the call.

            “Go to the house on the corner of seventeenth and Miller. The leader works from there.”

            “Leader? What are you talking about?” Carter was confused, but was slowly catching onto the voice’s lead.

            “The drug lord; in that house anytime after eight. Don’t go before, you won’t find anything at all. Trust me, I know.”

            “Who is this?”

            “A lost cause.” The caller hung up the phone. Othello looked over to James. His face was a combination of white and excitement.

            “What is it, Othello?” James knew that the words on the other end of the phone were significant. He was anxious to hear about the call.

            “Get your coat, James. Our careers are about to end.”

            “Well gee, when you put it like that Othello…” He waited for a response.

            “Grab your coat. We got em.” He didn’t even finish his coffee. His gun was already in its holster. He knew that this was his last big shot.

            “Oh, shoot! Ok, hold on, get the keys!” They ran for the door. They had a journey to embark upon.

 

August 13, 2009: Selena took care of the girl.

She was found this morning in the end of an alley, buried under useless trash. Her face was bruised and swollen. She had no knife wounds inside of her, but some slash marks. She was innocent, but the deal needed to be done tonight without any distractions. The warehouse was only a house. She had chosen a place where no one would think to go.

            Othello and James approached the building slowly. The time was approximately 8:52 P.M. They had help on the way, but the general consensus was to wait outside until Othello and James gave the signal.

            “There’s no one here. Should we check the basement?” James was nervous. His knees were shaking.He didn’t want to blow it; he wanted to make a name for himself.

            “Not without help. Do you hear that?” He turned his head toward the staircase. “The Rolling Stones? Someone is here. Give them the call.” James reached to his side for his radio. He’d left it in the van. His face went blank. This was his last mission, and he was already blowing it.

            “I left it in the van. Now what?” He was afraid to tell Othello. He knew how much this case meant to both of them. Othello glared slightly at James, but quickly gained his composure. He did not want to say or do anything foolish.

            “We’ll go on without them. We can.” He was nervous, but he felt some sense of courage beating inside of his heart. The rosary that his wife had always carried was now latched safely around his neck. He felt no fear, for the Lord was with him. “Let’s go up the stairs.” They took their first step.

 

            Levi is pacing. The room that he sits in is only protected from the foam and plaster that leaks from within. He knew about the deal. Selena was trying to hide it from him. He never found out about the incident in the alley. She wouldn’t speak to him. He was losing everything in his life. He thought that he could make some type of amends. He knew that when he woke up in the morning, his status would forever be changed. One success would turn into a failure. He couldn’t bear to wait for the dawning of a new success in the family. He took his final dose of drugs for the evening, and passed out quietly on his torn couch.

 

            Selena left the warehouse around eight. She went to the house where they meet and decided to make a cup of coffee and listen to some Rolling Stones. The ceiling was leaking and she knew it. She was making a great amount of money, but had no desire to fix up her hideout. She sat in her chair, listening to the sweet sounds of Mick Jagger. She was alone, she thought. The door appeared to have crept open slowly. She was not alone in that house after all. She grabbed the 9-millimeter gun that was sitting irrelevantly on the coffee table next to her.

            “Levi? Is that you? Where are you?” She tried to act as calm as possible, not knowing if she was hearing things or being pin pointed. “I knew you’d find this place, eventually.” She knew that if she died she had a bundle of money waiting to be split. “Levi?” There was no answer. She turned the music off. Below, Othello and James were creeping quietly up the stairs. A figure appeared behind Selena. There were no screams, just one gunshot. Complete silence followed, as the smoke began to rise from the gun facing the back of Selena’s head. She dropped instantly to the ground. A pile of dark blood seeped endlessly from behind her head. She died immediately. The unknown figure ran to the window and maneuvered their way down the stairs connected to the walls outside of the building. The drug lord was dead.

            Othello and James rushed upstairs, with their routinely used F.B.I. phrase.

 

“Freeze! F.B.I.!” Othello rushed to the gun on the ground. James walked over to the body.

 

            “We’ve got a shooting victim, here Othello. It looks like a shot right to the back of the head. They probably died immediately.” James flipped the body over. “Oh, Jesus. Othello…it’s Selena.” Othello dropped the gun. His face sunk in disbelief.

 

            “It can’t be. It can’t be! Why is she here?! Oh, God, Selena! Why?! Oh, Christ.” He wept emphatically. James tried to comfort him, but the tears and sweat poured down Othello’s face repetitively. Othello felt like he had lost everything he ever had.

 

            “We’ll find out who did this, Othello. We will.” James did not know how to comfort Othello anymore. He had been through so much. James picked up the gun, and placed it into a bag. “We’ll finger print this, Othello. I’m going to call it in.” James got up. Othello was in complete disbelief.

 

            “Oh, Selena.”  Othello continued to cry, holding Selena in his arms.

 

August 14, 2009: Othello never went home.

He stayed on the couch of the house that Selena died in, trying to find out what had gone wrong, more importantly why she was there. He kept the number of the anonymous caller inside his coat pocket. He picked up the phone in the house and dialed.

 

            “Hello?” The voice on the other line was somewhat raspy. Othello had returned the favor by waking them up.

            “Who is this? I need to know. Why did you send me to this place?” Othello inched his way into getting any piece of information out of this person.

            “You needed to know. You needed to go out with a bang.” His voice sounded sickly encouraging. He was still waking up.

 

            “How did you know? And why did you say that you were lost?” Othello remembered the end of the first call. The caller classified himself as a lost cause.

            “Because, dad.” Othello dropped the phone to his chest. He couldn’t believe it.

            “Levi? Why? Why did you turn on your sister?”

            “You didn’t know? You honestly didn’t know that she was smuggling drugs?” Othello was confused. He still did not know why she was in that house.

            “No. Why was she there? She’s dead, Levi. Your sister is dead.” Levi began to helplessly cry.

            “Dead? What? No, you were only supposed to catch her. I was supposed to become the better child. You weren’t supposed to kill her! No!”

 

            “Kill her; my own daughter? You got to be outta your damn mind, Levi.” Othello’s tears began to build up yet again.

 

            “Then who did?” Levi was greatly concerned. Over the other end of the phone, he could hear the echoing of a gunshot. Othello had been shot. “Dad? Dad?!” There was no answer. Behind his father in that house stood a figure, yet again. From out of the shadows they appeared. It was Laura. She hung up the phone and walked quietly down the stairs. She took the money out of the nook in the kitchen, first. She couldn’t have the drugs in the relationship, but the money was grand. She didn’t want Levi, either.

           

Today, my family abandoned me. Laura is out there. She knows that I am still alive. She will find me. She will kill me. I am a lost cause.

 

 

                              The End

Author's Note

Some issues with writing in past and present tense- I'll get that resolved!

Reviews

[Caitlin.]

Yeah, I noticed the past and present tenses changing repeating =p.
Apart from that, this is a VERY good story! I loved the introduction the best, and how you made the reader read on to find out more. "What was the dead body?" "What was this story about?" It was great =).