Chapter Text
May 1st 2020
Fezco should have known the moment Custer walked in the damn house, acting all cagey and shit, insisting that they needed to talk about everything. He was just trying to get out the house, roses at the ready to be at the opening night of Lexi’s play. Tonight he was hoping to finally get a chance to kiss her, to make her his girl for real, but his chances of getting out the damn door became slimmer and slimmer when the dealer on his couch wouldn’t shut the fuck up.
“Bro, the fucking cops found Mouse’s body.”
He’s gotta give it to Faye though, girl is quick on her toes for an addict, dropping a glass to get his attention and pressing her finger to those over injected lips of hers in a silent plea to stay quiet and stay chill. Too bad I’m not the one she should be worried about, he thinks with no little worry while glancing at his brother.
Fezco lets out a reluctant sigh as he drops his head back onto the wall behind him, takes a moment to mourn the loss of a thing he didn’t even have, silently asks God to make Lexi not hate him completely - because he’s not entirely sure how he’s getting out of this one.
“Did you hear what I said?” the rat whines from his grandma's couch.
He don’t even have a chance to answer before Faye jumps in again. “I thought you told me that Laurie killed Mouse? Right? Laurie?”
“I never said that. What are you talking about?”
Trying to muster as much causality as he can despite the tense situation, he leans against the wall, hand clutched around the bouquet of roses for Lexi while the couple argues. Faye drops names and details like a fucking pro, loud enough that there’s no way the cops on the other end of Custer’s phone aint hearing this shit. He catches the motion of Ash’s hand out of the corner of his eye, notices the kid's itchy fingers before he even has a chance to wrap them around the blade. Fez attempts to catch his brother's eye subtly, not drawing too much attention to himself as Faye continues to ramble on to an increasingly flustered Custer.
Fez had always known his baby brother had some shit going on up in that head of his— ‘course he did with his ma being cracked out on some shit bad enough that she traded her baby to a dealer for a hit of whatever Marie had been willing to give her. He hadn’t thought much about it until Rue, that Ash was probably in withdrawal those first few weeks he was with them - crying and shit all damn day - but after watching the kid kill a man in cold blood he wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised. Something was off in his head.
All it takes is a twitch of his brother's hand and Fezco has launched himself over the couch quicker than any man in a suit had the right to. He sees Ash get that look in his eye, the same one he had when he snapped and killed Mouse, and he knows what the kid wants to do before Ash himself has made the decision. He can’t let this happen, not again.
“Fuck no, man!” he yells, tackling the kid to the ground and grappling the knife from his hand. “Keep it cool, Ash.”
Custer turns his attention back to them. “The fuck?”
He’s still wrestling his baby brother to the ground when Faye rushes out of the kitchen and dives at her boyfriend, those long-ass nails scratching at any bit of skin she can get. As she pushes him to the coffee table, more accusations are flying from her lips while she takes out her rage on Custer.
In the few months the girl has been staying with them, they haven’t talked much about any of her shit - she didn’t want to offer up much and Fezco was not interested in pushing her for more than she’s been willing to share. But he knows now.
“You fucking pimped me out you motherfucker! You told me you loved me and then you fucking sold me to anyone willing to pay an extra fifty bucks because the money was good!” she yells as she pounds her fists into the other man's chest, shocking the shit out of Fez. He knew Custer was a bad dude - most dealers are, even him - but selling your girl ain’t right. Selling any girl ain’t right.
Ash tries to use this to his advantage, and takes a lunge for the knife that Fez had successfully knocked out of his hand. “I think the fuck not,” he growls at his little brother before he pining him more fully, the thirteen year old who has seen far too much squirming to be released.
As much as it pains him to do it, he cold-cocks the kid, knocking him out so he can drag Faye off Custer. He’s got his arms wrapped around the blonde, who's still kicking and screaming, when the SWAT team knocks his front door down - again.
One thing his grandma had taught him at a young age was how to deal with law enforcement. Always be polite and do what you’re asked. The best offense is a good defense and all that. But when the officers yell to put their hands up and Faye is still wildin’ against his hold on her, he thinks it’s best if he doesn’t let her go yet.
“I said get your fucking hands up!” some SWAT bastard screams from the hall, and Fez knows without looking that a gun is on him.
“Ion know ‘bout that officer. Don’t want her to kill ‘im before you get a chance to talk, yeah?” he calls out slow and clear.
The sound of several rushing pairs of boots is almost music to his ears as he shoves Faye at the first officer to grab at her, putting his hands up and behind his head in an act of compliance. The feds are reading them their rights as they continue scoping out the place.
“What happened to the kid?” the officer next to him grunts with a nod of his head to Ash’s prone form.
Fezco makes eye contact with Faye who gives him the slightest of nods. Homegirl really seems ready to back up anything he’s ‘bout to say. If he had more time to he might ponder on when her loyalties switched from Custer to him, but the house is streaming with feds and time ain’t something he really got. He decides he might as well go for the truth - sorta.
“Had to tackle him. Knocked him out when he wouldn’t stay down. Faye been staying wit us for a while now, he sorta protective o’er her. Real mad when he heard that motherfucker been selling her ‘round.”
“He’s lying!” Custer rages from his bonds across the room.
Fezco snickers as the officer places the cuffs on him. “Nah man. Kid was taught to respect women. Raised by a strong ass one. You just mad your bitch ass ‘bout to get locked up for traffickin’ or whatever.”
Another officer sweeps down into the living room, checks Ash’s vitals to confirm the kids just been knocked out. Fezco watches as the man calls for medical, thinks he ain’t never been more thankful that Lexi wasn’t here with them - something that had been happening more often these past few weeks.
“Anyone else in here that we should know about son?”
Fez nods and points his head down the hall to his grandma’s room. “My grandma had a stroke several years back. I take care of her mostly. Nurse comes a couple times a week to check in.”
“And the kid?”
“I became his legal guardian at 18 when my grams got worse. Got papers n’ shit in one of the safes,” he tells the officer. It’s not quite the truth, but his lawyer knew hella people and the forgeries were good as legit.
“Weapons?”
“Gun safe. All registered to me or my grams.”
“Names?”
Fezco drops his head and sighs. He hasn’t used his government name in years except for guardian papers for Ash, shit’s cursed from his scumbag pops.
“Anne Marie O’Neill and Francesco Paul Giudice IV. Ion’t use that though. Known as Fezco O’Neill.”