Back and forth, he paced, only the sound of crunching gravel under his leather boots. The Park was quiet, still asleep with the occasional clang of a horse rattling a gate in turnout, demanding to come in for breakfast. The misplaced cowboy stopped, looking up to see where he might hear a truck engine running but maybe it was distant traffic. He rubbed his tired eyes again. He hadn’t slept but a couple of short hours on the plane ride and grabbed a few more in the seat of his truck. He couldn’t stay still. His heart hummed in his chest at a steady “stressed” pace.
As soon as Tequila told him Bart…Fang… was being kept here, oldest brother of the Brannon clan: Brody Brannon, he couldn’t just stay at the ranch where he belonged. Not after Tequila started pressing with questions over Fang’s past. His scar. Her accusations. None of it was “Lil’ Bub’s” fault. He was just a kid then. He was still a kid now. How long had it been? Brody never imagined he’d ever see him again after he left. Kids were irrational. They through tantrums. But they always came back after they cooled off. Fang never did cool off. But he wasn’t going to let his sister paint the picture wrong. She didn’t know the full story either. There were lies in the family that ran deeper than she’d ever know.
Durant mulled over what Fang had said in his dazed stupor the night before after getting tranquallized for his own good. That he had a red number to his name. A kill. For all that he knew it was, if it was true, Fang's first - and only - red number. Nothing ever recorded or reported so no way to confirm if he really meant it or if it was a drug-induced fantasy; a lie his mind created in the moment of the subject.
A kid did not deserve any of that of experience. And the fact Fang, when little, might have been pushed so hard into the corner it had left him no other option than to do something so drastic. Just the thought of it made Durant mad. Very mad. Perhaps one of the reasons why he at some point stopped taking the call from Brody Brannon. He had said he would see him in the morning. Not sooner. The cameras showed, however, that Brody didn't quite take the hint. The Texan guest kept the pacing up, but at least it gave the guard on night watch something to actually keep an eye on.
He observed Brody for a few good minutes before he made his presence known, walking up behind him, silently as always. The other man had paced outside his truck in a way that reminded Durant about those old times when fathers had to wait outside the delivery rooms.
“What can I do for you this morning, Mr. Brannon?” He gestured for them to go somewhere more private: a small office of sorts, usually a place where visitors from the park were taken whenever there was a problem. He didn't beat around the bush either. “Fang has behaved well, or as well as can be expected...there was a misunderstanding yesterday, but he is back with me now. He is fine and resting. As I told Mrs. Darcy...it's too soon for any kind of interaction with relatives. She shouldn't have told you just yet. Mrs. Darcy, herself, is a slight exception considering. But it is all on Fang's conditions. His choice. Don't know if she told you, he is very sick, sir, and before he has learned to control that sickness, I don't want him worked up over this visit or anything else, not if I have anything to say.”
Durant pushed a copy of Fangs ‘staff photo’ across the table. “In case you and your family wish to have a more recent photo.” Brody looked like he might recognize Fang being sick because Tequila had kind of explained it crudely over the phone. But he looked more confused that it was something Fang had to learn to control. Brody Brannon wore his thoughts outwardly, his big bushy brows knitted tightly with concern. It wasn't until he slid the photo closer to look at him that his brows softened. “Oh, Bub…” he whispered, having no trouble recognizing Fang despite physical changes and superficial changes. He knew his baby brother when he saw him. He didn't need Durant to tell him all his struggles; he could tell just in the photo alone. He pulled it closer, frowning more and more, seeing how life had been so unkind. He looked so tired and ran over. Even so, he still listened.
Durant pushed over some of the photos Fang had taken as a ‘photographer’. Only the good ones. Before he used it as an excuse to get closer to the mansion and found out about Tequila being there and the secret Durant kept from him. “For a time he had some fun playing around with a camera, but he has a hard time keeping focus. He expects failure, and he expects people to fail him, so he heads for failure first, just to save himself, I think. He is trying though, and that is what matters. He does his chores, he has done those tasks well without too much attitude and with no real remarks to report. He is getting paid accordingly. He cleans his room and does his own washing.” Durant shifted in his seat. It was like a teacher conference. “I haven't given up on a kid yet, Mr. Brannon, but it's a hard road to travel. Especially from the horrible destination he came from. I've lost far too many with the same kind of background along the way before. Rest assured though Mr. Brannon, I'm not giving up on your brother, not until there is nothing more anyone can do.”
Brody kept his head tipped down, never looking away from the picture as his lip quivered. He fought well and hard to remain the stoic man he looked like he should be but seeing the other photos and hearing that he thought he was a failure broke the man's defenses. He cleared his throat to cover up a sob and sniff. He pulled the photographs closer, knowing he'd never understand it as it was meant to be seen. He wasn't in the slightest the artsy type but it was something Fang saw through his own eyes and Brody wanted to have that closer if he wasn't going to be able to see him.
Durant leaned forward slightly. “I know some of Fang's past.” He took out the folder with his findings and pushed it towards Brody before flipping it open. “But...it seems Fang has been right here and there.” A strained moment of silence before he continued, “Why was he almost like an unwanted secret? Treated like a sort of problem? I know you were a kid then too, Mr. Brannon but still, you were old enough to remember what else happened. Know things Fang might not know. The more I know…” Durant trailed off for just a beat. “I'm just trying to understand what he has gone through so I can help him. I can't ‘fix’ him because he is not a problem to ‘fix’. What I can do is help him work and deal with his past as much as I'm able, and hopefully he will one day have a tomorrow that won't torment him to pieces.”
PICKS UP FROM DeviantArt
Brody finally leaned back in his chair, looking up to the ceiling while tears streaked down his cheeks. He sniffed and started wiping them away. “Sorry,” he apologized for his emotional demeanor. “It's just so good to know he's somewhere safe. Finally. I always feared the worst…” He took the time to collect himself, understanding what he had just said and what Durant had before him might not look so convincing. .
“Bub-” he stopped himself. Seemed the whole family tripped over using his chosen name. “Fang didn't ask for what he got dealt. That boy is no failure.” He wiped his wet eyes one more time before committing to what he told Durant he could provide. “Everyone failed him as leaders, brothers, parents, society. We failed him and we didn't take responsibility for our actions while we turned away from Fang's actions in response.”
“I was a grown-ass man, married when things started to fall apart. I should have done more. I was stupid.” He went on to explain the living situation that Tequila had already informed Durant of. How he came to be and why he lived with their Aunt and Uncle. That all lined up the same, nothing new. Not until he started with how everything came to totally destruct.
“Somethin’ you oughta know ‘bout Jo was he had a mouth on him and he had very rigorous morals. He didn't back down from somethin’ he thought wasn't right. It got him into a lot of fights. A lot like Guthrie, really. Only Jo couldn't always back it up in a fight. But he was not a hateful man. He never hit a woman, he never hit a child. Never.” Brody made stern eye contact to make that point clear. “My sister will have told you a very different story but that ain't the truth. That's what was decided we'd tell my brothers and her. Jo and Em loved Fang with everything they had. They raised that boy just like a boy should be raised.”
Why there were even more family-wide secrets and lies? Perhaps the Brannons and Darcys had that in common. “As I was sayin’, Jo had a mouth on him. And he mouthed off to our gracious neighbors, the Polks. Might remember them bein’ the ones causin’ some grief here lately on the ranch. ‘Nother big family in the area. But they ain't well to do, wealthy, or healthy. They are convicts, criminals, woman beaters, child abusers, scum. Not all of ‘em, ‘course. But they ain't a family you'd want anything to do with. As I've been told, this was before Fang was born, one of them Polks was threatening my Mama. Jo didn't take kindly to that. Jo was standin’ up for her and things escalated into a fight. I was there to help break it up but Polks don't take kindly to one of their own gettin’ run up on even if he deserved an ass whoopin’.”
Brody went quiet for a moment, looking down at Fang's photo again. “Now, I…” he looked up again and suddenly what was a conference felt like an interrogation where Brody was being detained for questioning. “What I want to tell you next. It needs to stay in this room, sir. I beg you. There's good reason all this- this ugly vat of sin, ain't none of it been reported. And it was all to protect my lil’ Bub here,” he patted Fang's picture. “But it can't leave this room, sir. My family is at your mercy and I'm trustin’ you to take care of them like yer takin’ care of Fang now. Tequila's one of y'all over here. You need to keep her safe from all this and keep her boy, Miss Georgie, and William in mind.”
Brody locked up for quite some time, really making sure Durant would hold onto this secret, whatever it was. He was taking a giant leap of faith that if this man could take in Fang, in such a horrible state and truly care that he was looked after, then maybe he'd understand why everything around him came crashing down in all the wrong ways. “I'm trustin’ you.”
“The Polks left well ‘nough alone for the most part after the fight with Jo. We all thought it blew over. Jo and Em had Fang, were raisin’ him just fine. Now, only Ma, Pa, and my brother Guth know anything ‘bout this. The others were too young. We didn't want them to be scared or worry somethin’ was gonna happen to them. But Em and Fang went missin’ out of the blue. He woulda been ‘bout three or four, I reckon.”
“Nobody, not the police, no one had any clue where they coulda just went away to. Days, weeks, months, years. Nothin’. Jo wasn't right no more. It ruined him. He stopped comin’ ‘round the house. Drank too much all the time. Ruined the man. He didn't wanna scare the kids and my kin. He was mad somethin’ fierce. Ain't never seen a man so ready to come undone and commit an act against God. You could see it in his eyes, I swear it to you. Meanwhile, my kin knew nothin’ of it. Mama had to tell ‘em somethin’ so they all jus’ thought they were havin’ some marriage problems. They still didn't know Em and Fang had gone missin’. We tried to keep it all away from them, really hopin’ they would turn up somewhere. Maybe Em just up and left him with Fang. That's where the whole…divorce cover came from. ‘Nother lie. This-” he tapped on the divorce certicificate, “Forged.” He gestured to the witness, “Wade Ashley. Friend of our family. Clerk,” he tapped the next name. “Paid off. Filed.” He tapped another name on the sheet. “Generous donation to the church.” Brody only let that settle in for a short moment. All that furniture and goodwill donated… it all went so far back to this moment. Brody broke the tension with another bomb, “Jo was long dead before this was written up.”
“That's what I came here to really clear up. When Tequila told me Fang was talkin’ ‘bout a killin’ and she was talkin’ ‘bout the scar on his neck, I knew I had to get here as fast as I could. I guess I'm old school in that I prefer face to face when it's somethin’ like this.” He looked up, making eye contact again. “My brother ain't a killer. He don't have that in him. I swear that on God's bible, sir.”
“Jo knew where Em and Fang had gone. He always did. He jus’ couldn't prove it. He knew the Polks did somethin’ to them. It drove him sick with madness. And after years of no one doin’ nothin’, he did what he felt he had to.” Brody closed his eyes and shook his head, dejected he even had to share this whole tragedy. “He went after the Polks, one by one. The man was sick. When Buck, Guth, and I got to him, he had already shot and killed two Polks. He wasn't done neither. But… he was right. Fang was there. They had ‘em there the whole time. Like a fuc-” Brody took a breath and relaxed his clenched hands. “Like a fuckin’ dog. Livin’ in trash and-” Brody fought back the lump in his throat, looking up to keep the tears in his eyes.
“God, sorry,” Brody recomposed himself once more as best he could but it all weighed so heavy on his heart and soul, remembering the squallor the kids were kept in. It wasn't just Fang. Dirty, beat up kids in a dirt yard with piles of scrap metal, junked cars, and weeds to call home. All surrounded by a tall fence patched together with tin. “I think Jo knew he wasn't gettin’ outta there with Fang. I think that's why he told Buck where he was goin’, knowin’ we'd go after him. It turned into a full shoot out. Kids were runnin’, everyone screamin’ or yellin’. We all had to take cover to let it settle a bit.”
“He almost got to lil’ Bub…” he said softly like he hoped in another world somewhere he had gotten to him in time. “But he was dead. Shot down just outside of a shed they had ran to for cover. We couldn't get to him. Didn't matter. He was dead. Anyone could tell that.” Brody stopped again for a spell, letting the weight of the tragedy press his shoulders down.
“We could hear Fang inside cryin’. We didn't know it at the time but that's when he got hit with a stray. That's where the scar came from. We jus’ thought he was scared and rightfully so… we couldn't just walk over and pick him up. We still had Polks wantin’ to skin our asses. Buck started negotiatin’ and saved our hides. He had a little history with Jeb, the head of the Polks. They got to talkin’. I thought they were gonna kill Pops too. Told him not to go inside and they'd have a talk. Fuckin’ crazy old man. Still can't believe… but… he came back out and got Fang. Had to step over Jo’s shot up corpse and pick up that little boy.”
“I won't forget Fang kicked and screamed about it. They told him us Brannons were the devil comin’ to drag him to Hell… just… digustin’ what they told that child. Buck was on a knee tryin’ to talk to lil’ Bub, tryin’ to calm him down and explain what happened. And I never seen kids turn on their own like they did. They started throwing beer bottles at lil’ Bub and Pops. I ain't never seen nothin’ like that. From screamin’ and cryin’ in a shootout to hurlin’ glass at a child just like themselves.” Brody rubbed his eyes, wishing he didn't have to see that in his mind again. This is where Fang had been for years. In that trash heap wasteland void of a loving embrace.
“And here's what Buck told us on the way back. The deal he made or all three of us woulda got our brains blown out that day. We ain't allowed to report none of this to the police. Our kin killed their kin. Their kin killed our kin. Jeb and Buck both agreed the killin’ had to stop. We could have Fang back. Said it was in exchange for Em. Buck called their bluff, sayin’ he knew where her body was. None of us, not even Buck, knew if she was dead. ‘Pparently so. To this day, we don't have a damn clue what they did to her. Fang ain't spoke none ‘bout her. If they treat children like dogs… I jus’ hope God gave her the mercy she deserved…”
“Then, ‘course…” Brody gestured to everything laid out on the table. “Everything jus’ kept gettin’ worse at home with us. I don’t think he ever really trusted us after they got to his head like that. I'm sure Tequila told you ‘bout the fight he had with Brandy the day he left. He was actin’ jus’ like those babies. Turnin’ against each other, turnin’ against Mama… I don't think neither one of them wanted it to go like that. The Polks had poisoned him and Brandy, well, I love my Mama with all my heart. She just wasn't the antidote for that boy. None of us were. And I… regret that day more than any other day of my life. I shouldn't have let him walk away. I truly thought he just needed some space. He'd come back. I could talk to him more. He needed someone that could understand the things he must have seen and none of us could. To him "family” is just another word for sufferin’. And we let it become that.”
“We had to keep the others away from it all. Other than Guth and I, the others think Jo and Em got divorced and gave Fang back. Mama… she didn't want her kids knowin’ their uncle was a murderer and their aunt was probably tortured to death in their own backyard. She didn't want them to go poking their noses at the Polks and getting wrapped up with them. Not again. She'd rather her brother have a shameful lie to his sacrifice than see any of her children suffer his fate. We didn't wanna lose more family like that ever again. That's the real reason our farm's a little more locked down than everyone else ‘round us.”
Brody patted a hand on the table, looking up to Durant. “I ain't never gave up on Lil’ Bub neither. He's a survivor. But I… I understand why he's havin’ a hard time… he shoulda never had any of that happen to him… I… I'd really be at your mercy if you'd let me see him. Even if just from a distance. I figure this may be my last chance for a very long time if you take anything I explained to the law. I'd understand if you did. Guth and Buck don't know that's why I'm here. They think I'm visitin’ Tequila and her boy. Otherwise, they woulda stopped me. But I wasn't gonna let Fang take any more blame that everyone else keeps puttin’ on his shoulders. It was always all of our faults. Never his, sir. I don't know how you were able to find him but I am truly, truly grateful you took him in.”
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