The Chains — Chapter 6 — Just the Two of Us Standing
A promise between brothers before the fight: at the end, only the two of them standing.
Kim doesn't like telling stories. So Jack tells it with him.
— So, Kim? — Jack said low. — How many you think are in here?
— I counted eighteen. But there's two floors up top. Gotta be a lot more.
— And there's an entrance to a basement over in the corner. I saw it.
— Then there's a hell of a crowd. The fifty I guessed outside is the minimum.
Jack gave me that holy shit, Kim face.
— What the hell did we get into this time, huh?
I didn't answer.
— You're gonna owe me, man.
— Jack, you know. If I have to, I'll die for you.
— No. Dead, you're worth nothing to me. You're gonna live for me, goddamn it. You're gonna owe me your life.
I smiled at him. A real smile. Not something I do much.
— Okay. Thank you so much for being here with me, man.
— Thank you my ass. You don't have to thank me for shit. We're brothers. If I'm not here, I'm wrong. My place is by your side. If we gotta die, we die together.
I smiled again. Twisted my wrists. Cracked my neck.
Jack saw it and got serious.
— Bro, for real. I'm not gonna joke around. I'm going serious from the start. You got any problem with these guys going to the hospital? With it being no coming back for some of them?
I looked right at him.
— I said it real clear outside. If we went in, at the end only the two of us would be standing. That's the law. Nobody else stays standing in this shithole. Just the two of us. Period.
JACK
Notice, he'd said outside that only he was gonna be standing, but fine, go on.