Can't Stop This Bullet Baby

"Finish him."

 

The words echo inside of seventeen-year old Nolan North's head as he approaches his target, an older man, probably middle-aged, lying crumpled in a heap. Small scrapes and bruises are littered all over any exposed flesh, a black eye and a torn lip on his face. After nearly three days of chasing, Nolan had managed to corner the fucking bastard in one of the old storehouses on the outskirts of town.

 His target spits out out blood along with a broken tooth and leers. "You think you're so fucking tough, don't you brat? Relying on your precious Daddy's influence? Filthy Sai-" he is silenced with a well-aimed kick to his gut.

 Nolan presses his foot down, pinning the man on the floor, "Don't you dare sully the name of the Saints OR my father with your disgusting mouth. Had your fun didn't you? Attacked one of the students from my school, didn't you? And now that your luck is up you're going to try and slime up my family?" He digs the heel of his boot harder into the man's gut. "I don't think so." Removing a gun from its holster, he aims it at the man's forehead. "Shit stains like you should be purged."

He fires a shot in between the man's eyebrows and another three along his jugular for good measure. The man dies without a sound, blood steadily dripping from his wounds.

 Nolan sighs and backs away, bracing himself against the opposite wall. His father was indeed a cruel man for choosing him specifically to track this fucker down.

He fishes inside his jacket and pulls out a camera along with a small booklet. After taking a few quick shots, he opens the book and crosses out the name 'Stanley "Cranky" Doodle'. "Underage prostitution, sexual assault, trafficking drugs..." Nolan reads off the list and turns his head back towards the corpse.

 

Crunch!

 

Nolan whips around, hands clenched into fists, ready to fight the intruder.

 

"Whoa whoa! Boss! It's me!"

 

"Fuck you, Tim!" Nolan spits out through clenched teeth, his bangs obscuring his face. Tim only shrugs and points to the corpse.

"All done here, I take it?"

"No, I'm taking a fucking vacation here, what does it look like?"

Tim rubs the back of his neck, giving the young man a pitying look. "Guess we should take care of this before someone comes sniffing around." He leaves for a moment and comes back with a bag, a hacksaw and bleach. "Please go wait in the car, Nolan."

The red-haired man doesn't move, just stares at the ground. He begins shaking and then starts chuckling. "Heh...hehehehe. This is truly..." Tim can only stare at his boss like he's lost his mind. Finally, Nolan lifts his head. Tears are steadily pouring out of his eyes. "Say Tim, am I laughing? Am I crying?"

There is a long pause before Tim answers. "Both."

 

Crime scene cleaned, body disposed of in a landfill and an almost hysterical car ride later, the two are back inside the Saints mansion. Tim insists that Nolan get changed and at least get something to eat to calm him down, but Nolan refuses, instead makes a beeline towards his father's study.

 

Slamming the doors open he strides right in and plants himself on the couch in front of the coffee table. Lifting his long legs he crosses them and settles his booted feet on the surface, scowling at the man behind the desk.

"If you're back then I take that it means you took care of our problem?" Frederick "Fancy" Pants doesn't even bother to look away from the papers he's overlooking.

 "Of course I did. Why did it fucking have to be me?" Nolan removes his feet from the table and uses and arm to lean on his knee, cheek resting on his palm. "I thought I told you I don't want any part of this shit."

Fancy continues writing away, almost like he was ignoring what his son was saying. It feels like hours have passed when he finally looks up. "Who would you have suggested then, Nolan? Timothy? Yes, he probably would have made a better choice. He goes in and does what has to be done. No muss no fuss." He stands up and walks over to his liquor table and calmly pours himself a shot of whiskey. He lifts the glass and takes a small sip from it, eyeing his son over the glass's brim. "No. Perhaps Scratch would have done it."

Nolan stands up so fast he nearly topples the coffee table over, "Anything but that! She shouldn't dirty her hands for our sake!" His father grins. "...Fuck, I get it okay? I know I said I'd do it but...Dad, I did and I can't get it out of my head."

"The first kill does that to people, son. I could never forget my first hit. Some sleazebag Diamond Dog murdered one of your mother's best friends. I personally put him down." Fancy's eyes darken a bit, recalling the unpleasant memory. He sets the glass down and takes a seat next to his son. Placing a hand on Nolan's shoulder, he guides him to sit back down. "I know it's hard, but try to cope with it." With a pat to Nolan's shoulder he moves to sit behind his desk. "If you have nothing else to add, you can go now. I have business with Hoity Toity."

 Nolan sighs and stands up to leave, "Fine, just don't expect me to take on any more hits." He takes his leave and goes out into the hallway.

 "You don't have to protect me from anything, Nols." Vinyl is leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest with her legs crossed over each other.

 "Whatever, Vinyl. I'm too tired for this shit. I just want to lay down, go to school tomorrow, and try to live a-"

"-normal life. Yeah, yeah I know. You've said it so many times." She takes off her shades and sets them atop her head. "But think about it. If you take over, you can change everything." She reaches up and tussles his hair. "Everything."

 

THE NEXT DAY

 

Nolan wakes up in his bed and slowly sits up. Rubbing his eyes, he looks at the clock which reads 5:13 AM. He groans and lies back down for a moment. "It's only Saturday..."

 Sighing he decides to get up anyway, going through his meticulous morning routine. Halfway through brushing his teeth, there's a knock on his door. Spitting out the last of the toothpaste into the sink, he rinses and shuts off the water. Taking a towel, he wipes his mouth and walks towards the door and opens it.

 "Yo!" Vinyl is sitting cross-legged on his bed, giving him a small cheery wave.

 "What are you doing on my bed, Vinnie?" Nolan moves past her towards his closet and rummages around it until he pulls out a white dress shirt.

"Checking out the sights?" she offers halfheartedly. Nolan only stares at her while he pulls the shirt on and buttons it up. "Nah, I'm kidding. I was bored." She pulls a lollipop out of her jacket and unwraps it. "What are you doing anyway?"

 "Getting ready for school?"

She pauses with the candy halfway to her mouth, "Oh?" With his back turned to her, he misses her playful smirk. "So who's driving?"

"Uh..." he moves to his dresser and opens one of the drawers to pull out a purple vest. His voice is muffled as he pulls it on. "Me? You? Don't care."

 Vinyl sticks the lollipop in her mouth and nods, "Mkay. I'm driving. See you in a bit." She blows him a kiss and proceeds to leave his room via the window.

It takes him a couple of seconds to realize he never unlocked his bedroom door.

 

LATER BUT NOT MUCH LATER

 

Nolan walks out his front door, his movements akin to a robot and he makes his way down to the driveway where Vinyl is waiting, her gloved hands tapping on her steering wheel. She quickly opens the passenger door and lets him in. "Took your sweet time, hm?"

He shrugs and buckles up. "Just go." He leans his head against the window while Vinyl starts up her Mazda. She plays one of her newest mixes on the radio, but he's too distracted to appreciate any of it. It isn't long before they reach the school's parking lot.

 

And she starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" Nolan looks at her. a bang partially obscuring his face. Vinyl doesn't answer, just points out the windshield.

He quirks an eyebrow and turns to take a look for himself. The gate is closed and the parking lot that lies just behind it is devoid of any cars. "What the-?" He unbuckles and steps out of the car to take a closer look. He checks his watch. 7:02 AM. Usually the parking lot would be bustling with teenagers getting out of their cars and heading towards first period. He hurries back to the driver's side and comes upon Vinyl who is laughing so hard that she's clutching her stomach.

"Oh man! Should have seen the look *snicker* on your face!  It's Saturday, dummy! There's no...ahahaha...there's no school today!"

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?!" he's annoyed now and yanks open her door. "Get out, I'm driving us back." She takes a moment to catch her breath and nods, undoing her seat belt. And with grace only she can muster, she slides over to the passenger side, still giggling.

 

The drive back home is silent this time, until Nolan pulls back into the Saints mansion. He turns off the engine and slumps against the wheel.

Vinyl is quiet, biting her lips to keep from upsetting her friend any further. She takes a deep breath and places a warm hand on his back. "Ok, I'm sorry. It's just you were looking so..." she can't think of the word. "uhm...not you...that I wanted to cheer you up." He doesn't react. "And...at the time it seemed like a good idea. Please don't be mad at me, Nolie."

He doesn't say anything and she sighs. She opens the door and starts to get out of the car when she feels a pull on the back of her jacket. "...?" She curiously turns her head back and meets his eyes.

"I'm not mad." A soft voice, not the usual tenor she's used to hearing.

She climbs back in and hugs him. "It's ok, Nols. I'll talk with your dad, make sure you don't get anymore hitman jobs, k? And don't worry, I won't be volunteering myself to do them either. That's what my brother is for."