Jamel and Connor were deep in their lovemaking when their doorbell rang twice, then someone banged on it repeatedly. Connor stopped moving and they looked at each other as the banging continued.
"Who the fuck... It's almost midnight," Connor said in annoyance.
"I don't know," Jamel said as Connor rolled off him and began to put on clothes. Jamel did the same. They went downstairs together but Connor got to the door first and opened it. Freddie had been leaning on the door and practically fell into his uncle's arms.
"Freddie!? What's wrong!?" Connor cried.
But Freddie could barely speak and his legs were wobbly from biking too fast. Connor pulled him into the living room and Jamel closed the door behind him. "Fred, you're scaring me, bud. What happened?"
"I got into a fight with my dad," he mumbled.
"What do you mean you got into a fight with your dad?" Jamel asked.
But Connor knew.
Connor lifted up his nephew's baseball cap and took one look at his face. His mouth opened slightly. He looked at Jamel whose face mimicked his in horror. Connor pulled his nephew into his chest for a hug and Freddie did not resist. Instead he held onto his uncle tight and began to cry. Connor's face turned to stone in anger.
"Shit," Jamel said quietly.
Ethan had warned them months ago that he suspected that Freddie was receiving harsh corporal punishment at the hands of his father. But this was beyond physical discipline. And Jamel knew he had to stop Connor from doing something drastic.
~~~~~~
"He did WHAT!?" Ethan exclaimed as he walked back into the apartment from dropping the girls off at the bus stop.
Jack looked up from his computer. He had just signed into work as a therapeutic intake coordinator, where he worked part time doing initial assessments over videoconference. He couldn't hear the other side of the conversation but Ethan's shock caught his attention.
"Yea," Jamel was saying into the phone. "His eye looks really bad and he has other bruising. Connor is keeping him home today, and we'll probably have him throughout spring break next week too."
"I knew it," Ethan said sadly, as he put the mail on the table and sat next to Jack. "The way he handled him that night I dropped him off had all my senses go up. So what are you going to do?"
"Well after I convinced Connor not to kill his brother last night, we called Chantel, Kimberly's mom, who gave us some good advice: to take pictures and let his parents know that the next time Fred shows up at our house with bruises we're going right to the police. I'm hoping Connor sticks to the plan, but he's really upset. After we got Fred settled and to sleep, I had to literally pull his gun out of his hands."
"Why don't you just go to the cops now? Or social services?" Ethan asked.
"I want to, trust me. But Connor keeps saying 'no, it's family business.' I reminded him that I am family, that I love Freddie too and I don't want to see him hurt either. So Chantel's advice is the compromise. That and we're keeping Freddie with us for a little while." Mel sighed. "This is going to be a fucking mess."
"Sounds like it already is," Ethan said. He looked at Jack who was still looking at him in confusion. He said to Jamel, "Since Connor is out of the office today, I'll stop by The Residence later on and check in. Keep Connor out of trouble, Mel."
"I'm gonna try, man. But to be honest, I'm pissed off too. So I may need you and Jack to keep us both out of trouble this time."
"I hear you. I'll let Jack know what's going on." Ethan hung up the phone and looked at Jack's still confused face. He told him what he learned.
"Freddie biked it over to their house in the middle of the night after his father hit him multiple times. He's staying over there for a few weeks until they figure out how to handle it. Jamel said they have a plan, but Connor is pissed, understandably. So he's trying to keep him calm and not go off on his brother. Handle it the legal way, you know?"
But Jack didn't hear much beyond Ethan's first line. "So Matty's abusing Freddie? The same way that their father abused him and Connor?"
Ethan nodded. "Sounds like it. Mel said he had to stop Connor from paying Matty a visit last night with his gun. He's worried about him, worried that-"
But Ethan stopped talking as he watched Jack slowly sit back in his chair and stare at his computer. He knew Jack was deep in thought and he did not like the look on his face. He had seen it before.
"Jack?" he said his name cautiously. Jack did not respond. "Shit!" Ethan moved his chair right up to him and turned Jack's face by his chin. Jack's face was stone and his eyes were as dark as green glass. "No, Jack. No."
"No... what?" he said quietly.
Ethan squinted his eye at Jack. "No you cannot do what you're thinking of doing. No."
Jack shook his head out of Ethan's grasp. "Matty is a fucking monster. Someone needs to put that dog down."
Ethan turned his face again and looked him in the eyes. "And it can't be you. That's way too close to home. You cannot touch one hair on Matty's head."
Jack turned his whole body to Ethan. "Do you know how much I wish I knew what was going on when we were teens? If I knew that Connor was being beaten back then, I would have done something about it."
Ethan gave him a skeptical look. "You were 16-years-old, not exactly the skilled avenger you are now."
"Maybe not then, but after Connor went into the Marines? If I had known back then, he would have come home to his father's funeral," Jack said seriously.
"Jesus fucking Christ," Ethan said back. "You need me to say it? NO! You cannot kill your best friend's brother. Your son's best friend's father. You can't do it. NO! I'm putting my foot down about this!"
Jack stared back but did not respond, so Ethan decided to distract him.
"Besides, we have our own family business to attend to." He rummaged through the mail and handed Jack a thick manila envelope from Greenwich Family Court. Jack's attention turned to their current issue.
"Shit," Jack murmured.
"Right. The court hearing is in three weeks, so we have to get prepared. My lawyer connected us with Cindy Margoles in her office who specializes in family law. So I need you to focus on this, not that."
Jack sighed. He opened up the documents and began reviewing them. "Set up a meeting with Cindy tomorrow so we can put together a plan of action."
"Got it. And you-" He leaned into Jack again. "Leave Matty to Connor. If anyone gets to give Matty what's coming to him, it's Connor. Promise me, Jack. Don't touch one hair on his head. Promise me."
Jack sighed. "Okay." He turned back to his computer. "I'll check on Connor this week and convince him not to do what I want him to do. And hope he doesn't listen to me at all."
Ethan smiled. "That's the spirit!"
~~~~~~
Jack knocked on The Starling Residence glass leasing door to get Connor's attention. Connor was playing music loudly and busy imputing data on the office computer when he looked up.
Hey," he yelled happily. He turned down the music and got up to open the door. "What's up?"
