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Sharpe's Crew (821 hits)

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Labels: noir

Rating: 1.75 on 26 reviews (Rate this item) (V)

Submitted by Stagger Lee (View user info) at 2006-03-01 08:34:34 EST

Part 1 - Santori: http://www.ubersite.com/m/84633

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I blow into town with Santori's blood as nothing but a memory on my hands.

It's around three in the morning when I disembark from the bus. The snow has given way to filthy slush underfoot and depressing, trickling rain above. The street is all but deserted. Two homeless men pushing a trolley full of cans idle past me, muttering to each other. Once the bus pulls away, only a single light illuminates the street. The light spilling from the diner that Sharpe and his boys frequent. That all of us frequent. O'Malley's All-Night Special.

I cross the street and push the door open. The bell rings and I flinch. I've become a nervous man since I put a bullet through Santori's brain.

Amelia, the waitress, waves and smiles. She has no idea what I've done or why I'm here. If she knew, she'd probably take a distinctly frostier approach to me. As it is, the diner smells like it always has: like home. It's all chrome and red leather, gleaming white plates and checked tablecloths. Beautiful. It stinks of bacon grease and coffee: my kind of diner.

Mr Murray, the cook, doesn't smile and doesn't wave, but gives a surly incline of the head that could almost be a nod. It's his version of three rousing cheers and the grateful thanks of the nation. I nod in return.

There are two customers that aren't in Sharpe's crew. Two guys just off the nightshift somewhere. Maybe security guards. I ignore them. They probably aren't important.

Sharpe's crew consists of four guys, including Sharpe. Sharpe, Lenson, Keeton and Bridge. Currently, Sharpe is sitting in his favourite booth and Bridge is sitting at a table in the centre of the place, trying to look like he isn't backing Sharpe up. Sharpe is waiting for me, of course.

I head for his booth, but not without passing Bridge and hissing, "It's no use trying to be inconspicuous, I know you, you fuck."

Bridge doesn't reply, but he grins a big, shit-eating grin. I always hated Bridge.

Sharpe smiles as I sit down across from him without invitation. I always liked Sharpe. He's a solid, dependable man. If you're his friend, you'll give him your children or money and never lose a second of sleep while they're in his care.

I doubt I'm his friend anymore.

"I've been expecting you," he says. Across the way, Bridge pretends to read his paper. I'm going to kill Bridge last, that's a lock. Dirty bastard.

"Naturally," I reply. "You've heard."

"Every sorry motherfucker and his dog has heard." Sharpe grins at me. "You've caused quite some commotion. You know I'm supposed to take you out, of course."

I nod. No bullshit between us.

"So," Sharpe continues, "You'd have no reason to come here. Unless you're here for me and the boys. Which, of course, you are."

I nod once more. Keeton and Lenson are absent, and this worries me. Furthermore, the fact that Sharpe is being so friendly to me is, under the circumstances, terrifying. The .45 in my pocket burns in my mind. My dirty secret. Of course, he knows I'm armed, but it still feels like a betrayal, somehow.

I want to reassure him. I want to tell him that we can still be friends. We can go on. I want to betray the memory of my dead brother and hug his murderer. But I don't. Devon and I never got along. I never loved him like you should love a brother. I didn't even like him. Then there's duty. Duty is a joyless, evil motherfucker that wants you to pay and pay and pay. If it's a duty to love your brother, then I failed, didn't I? I'm not going to fail him again.

So I say, "Fuck you, Sharpe," and I wait for the storm to break.

Sharpe sighs, and sits back in his seat. He rubs a hand over his face, and he suddenly looks old and deathly tired. I realise, suddenly, that he has at least twenty years on me. Bridge tenses and lowers his paper.

Amelia comes over with her pad. I ask for coffee. Sharpe smiles and declines service. She leaves.

"Look, what did you want from me?" he asks, and in his voice is something that I try to pretend isn't disgust. Sharpe, disgusted with me. "You kill Santori. You come here. You fucking know that it was me and my boys that sliced your brother. You didn't even like him. Would you be here if he wasn't your brother? You liked him about as much as you like Bridge. Would you pull this shit if Bridge was taken out?"

I'd looked at my brother's murder a few ways, but never exactly like that. Of course I wouldn't 'pull this shit' for Bridge, and I thought of him and my butchered brother with equal respect.

"So why," Sharpe continues, and that note of disgust that threatens to rip the shreds of my composure from my back is still in his voice, "Why bring this bullshit to me? What's this in aid of?"

I say, without thinking, "Duty." It's an empty answer and I know it.

Sharpe laughs. It's a harsh, cawing sound that calls to mind crows lined up along telephone wires down the Interstate. "Duty? Do my ears deceive me? Say it ain't so. Say you ain't throwing your life away for an excuse that thin."

I sit there, stunned. Hearing it from Sharpe is so much more compelling than Santori. Somehow, I thought he'd understand why I had to do this. Instead, he's throwing the same line Santori did. Is it true? Is my reason - or excuse - for vengeance so weak that even my friends think I've lost my mind?

I had no reply, so Sharpe continued once more. "I'll tell you a little something about duty. Duty is what I performed when I cut your brother. Duty is doing what you're obligated to do. Devon's duty was to the organisation, just like yours and mine. He didn't do his duty, so he paid in another way." He leans across the table and I realise he's looking directly into my eyes for the first time. "You had no duty to a brother you didn't love and who didn't love you."

"But..." For the first time since learning of Devon's death, I'm at a loss for words. I've been stripped of my clarity of purpose. "He was my brother." My voice is weak and unconvincing, even to me. "Doesn't that count for something?" I realise that I'm fucking pleading with the man that I was supposed to be here to kill. Right now though, I can't help it and I sicken myself.

"It's an accident of birth. It doesn't count for jack unless he did. And he didn't. Surely you can admit that."

"I admit nothing," I say, trying to recover some of the drive that brought me here. It's a pretty miserable attempt.

Sharpe knows how miserable it was. He sits back again, and sighs. "All this talk is moot anyway. You splattered what passed for Santori's mind all over his own office. You're out of options to back out."

"I could leave." I probably won't, though. I might pass Sharpe over, but I still want more. Besides, they'd come for me, of course. That's a given.

Sharpe snorts. "You won't leave." He waves a hand. "You never changed your mind in your life. Certainly not since you joined us."

This is true. It's what I built my reputation on. No compromise, no backing down.

Amelia brings coffee. I thank her. She leaves again.

"Well, you asked the question first," I say, "So allow me. What do you want me to do? Forget the whole thing? As you pointed out, I've gone to far for that. Santori got what he fucking deserved in any case."

"Santori deserved it, I deserved it, you deserve it. What else do people like us deserve?" Sharpe is exasperated now. "Fuck it. You're beyond help anyway."

I'm speechless again. I try to think of a meaningful, justifiable answer, but I draw a blank. I try my coffee. It's perfect, of course.

Sharpe stands. Bridge folds his paper and follows suit.

"You can still get the fuck out of here," Sharpe says. "This is my final word on the matter."

"You killed my brother," I say, and for a wonder, there are tears not quite shed in my eyes. Funny, that.

"I helped." Sharpe's voice is somewhat softened. "I didn't let Bridge touch him, if that helps."

Of course that doesn't help. I need to hate Bridge much more than I need to hate Sharpe. I need to forgive Sharpe so desperately that it's like an ache. I need Bridge to be the villain in all this. Goddammit, I need some sort of reason or someone to blame. But the cold, piss-in-your-face truth is that my brother was an idiot who got himself killed.

And I'm the idiot avenging the brother that I barely had.

Sharpe goes on. "We were friends, weren't we? I like to think we were."

I nod my assent. I don't have any words left.

Sharpe points at the door. "Once we walk out of here, we're not anymore." He's set his face deliberately harsh now. "Do you understand that?"

I don't need to answer. He sees that I know.

"Good," he says. It's the second last thing he ever says to me. Sharpe and Bridge exit O'Malley's, leaving me alone with my doubt and guilt.

I nurse my coffee for about two minutes. The (maybe) security guards pay their bill and leave. I consider my next course of action. I haven't come up with anything meaningful when the lights in the diner suddenly cut. I hear Mr Murray curse from the kitchen.

Then a searchlight shines through the window, throwing stark white light and equally stark black shadows across the tables and walls. Amelia screams from the counter.

I hit the floor and fumble for my gun, wondering what the fuck I'm supposed to do now.

User Reviews

Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2007-05-03 16:36:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2

No Comment

Submitted by Beano312003 (user info) at 2006-06-25 07:45:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2

Cool, but I can't help thinking that he'd never have been allowed to live from the minute he arrived and announced his intentions.

Submitted by darko (user info) at 2006-06-21 02:16:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2

I don't like you, but Orgasmatron does.

Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-05-11 08:25:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2

Submitted by Amorphous (user info) at 2006-03-01 09:50:54 (#)
Ranking: 2

Derp derp

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My alter reviewed you before I did!

Alters are always going to be something you have to deal with, it doesn't bother me too much anymore, but it used to when I was starting out.

Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-03-09 19:58:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

"Stagger Lee shot Trent_Z,
he shot that poor boy so bad. . ."

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-07 21:16:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

Submitted by trent_nz (user info) at 2006-03-07 20:43:07 (#)
Ranking: -2

gay-fag

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Retaliatory chuckle-wit.

Submitted by trent_nz (user info) at 2006-03-07 20:43:07 EST (#)
Ranking: -2

gay-fag

Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-03-07 09:38:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

phenominal.

Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2006-03-05 03:37:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

Still reading, questions later.

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-04 03:10:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

Submitted by charminglybeef (user info) at 2006-03-04 02:51:59 (#)
Ranking: 2

Yeah, that rocked. Hard to say what exactly made me enjoy this so much more... There's an element of realism to the main character's conflict that shone through in this post. In the first piece, it seemed tired and comic-like, and while it continues true to the first, the dialogue and imagery in this post added some much-needed depth.

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I was a lot happier with this one than the last, especially the main character.

Submitted by charminglybeef (user info) at 2006-03-04 02:51:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

Yeah, that rocked. Hard to say what exactly made me enjoy this so much more... There's an element of realism to the main character's conflict that shone through in this post. In the first piece, it seemed tired and comic-like, and while it continues true to the first, the dialogue and imagery in this post added some much-needed depth.

Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-03-03 13:30:08 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

You're a very good writer and a welcome addition to the site.

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-02 23:26:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-03-02 22:58:29 (#)
Ranking: 2

you are one of my new favorite posters, btw.

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Hey, thanks. You're one of the posters that made me want to contribute to this site.

Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-03-02 22:58:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

you are one of my new favorite posters, btw.

Submitted by secret_of_nimh (user info) at 2006-03-01 23:34:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

Nice style.

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-01 20:48:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

Submitted by G-prime (user info) at 2006-03-01 20:33:36 (#)
Ranking: 2

Tellin' ya, man, Sharpe's Rifles is da shit.

Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-03-01 11:40:03 (#)
Ranking: 2

I particularly enjoyed Sharpe's Waterloo and Sharpe's Gold.

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I'll have to watch them now, won't I?

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Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2006-03-01 09:40:04 (#)
Ranking: 2

He said "Mr Motherfucker, you know who I am"
The barkeeper said, "No, and I don't give a good goddamn"
To Stagger Lee

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"Well bartender, it's a-plain to see,
I'm the bad motherfucker called Stagger Lee
MR Stagger Lee!"

Submitted by G-prime (user info) at 2006-03-01 20:33:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

Tellin' ya, man, Sharpe's Rifles is da shit.

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-01 19:34:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-03-01 10:35:00 (#)
Ranking: 2

http://www.ubersite.com/m/83305

Look what I have to put up with. Chelsea are gonna put us out of the FA Cup this round too. Bah.

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Chin up. At least Peter "Gangly Bastard" Crouch didn't put you out.

Also, if Borough can beat them, surely you can? You're not worse than Borough. And with Souness gone, you hopefully never will be.

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-01 19:30:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-03-01 11:40:03 (#)
Ranking: 2

I particularly enjoyed Sharpe's Waterloo and Sharpe's Gold.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120111/

Also, this was pretty kick ass too.

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Oh, son of a bitch. That's what red was on about before. I've never heard of these movies.

Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-03-01 15:58:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

No Comment

Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2006-03-01 11:40:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

I particularly enjoyed Sharpe's Waterloo and Sharpe's Gold.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120111/

Also, this was pretty kick ass too.

Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-03-01 10:35:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

http://www.ubersite.com/m/83305

Look what I have to put up with. Chelsea are gonna put us out of the FA Cup this round too. Bah.

Submitted by Amorphous (user info) at 2006-03-01 09:50:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

Derp derp

Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2006-03-01 09:40:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

He said "Mr Motherfucker, you know who I am"
The barkeeper said, "No, and I don't give a good goddamn"
To Stagger Lee

Awesome name, kickass story - I can't enough of these roughly sketched, blood and vengeance, bad motherfucker type comic book stories. I love them.

Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-03-01 08:52:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 0

It's safe to assume the main character has no wife.
And that I sure as hell wasn't picture Sharpe or Bridge as Sean Bean. Wow.

On a completely unrelated topic, I can't believe I have to care about the Carling Cup. I never had to before. Fucking Chelsea.

Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-03-01 08:47:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 2

Excellent - except now I am thinking about Sean Bean. Beany would have gutted you like a pig when you walked through the door - then shagged your wife.