Terrence's murder will have a catastrophic effect on the lives of many within the coming months, including my very own. His death will impact those close to him, those who were acquainted with him, and somehow… even those who have never met the guy, like myself. We will all feel the weight of his tragic passing in time… we just don't know it. We were all unaware of what lies ahead, and why should we have been? I never met the guy a day in my life, and neither did majority of the others. We were just unfortunate to be at the wrong place at the wrong time; that statement is true for most of us who were caught in the middle. Not everyone could say the same… not everyone could declare their innocence.
Norfolk, Winter 1999
"You know for a fact it was him," Mike says with a stern tone amidst a smoke-filled room with another peer.
It has been nearly two months since Terrence was shot dead, and the time passed hasn't been too kind for Mike Briggs. The agony of losing his younger brother haunts him every second that goes by. The grief he feels acts as a ticking time bomb on the verge of exploding, and this statement is not hyperbolic. The obsessive nature of Mike in figuring out who's responsible for his brother's death borders that of insanity. No one is safe from his sudden bouts of irritation, the frightening temper often associated with it; a scary sight to behold. All of Mike's affiliates could have easily described him as generally a moody person before his brother's death, but there was always a grounded reason behind his rage.
Despite having a scary demeanor about him, the eldest Briggs was typically good at controlling his outbursts; at least there was a time and place for it to put it simply. Since Terrence's passing, Mike has lost control of his emotions almost entirely. Despite the negative drawbacks of his recent behavior, the obsession over the issue of who killed his brother has potentially yielded some results. In fact, the information he's about to receive from his colleague sitting among him is quite possibly a massive update. A mixture of weed smoke and cigarettes fills the air as the two begin to discuss the topic at hand.
The main informant is a tall and skinny dark-skinned individual named, Craig Thompson. He's a long-time friend of Mike that has functioned as a ride or die for him since before their teenage years. The multiple scars that riddle Craig's body indicates a violent past; one he doesn't regret. He's Mike's main guy in all his dirty dealings, essentially operating as the brains to everything. Despite being quite savvy in business operations, he has never been academically smart in the classical sense. It would not matter much to him, for all the knowledge he cared about was learned in the streets; this being the main reason he dropped out of school. He is a no-nonsense kind of guy that doesn't tolerate disrespect or trivial topics, not even a little. He's one of the few men that Mike genuinely respects on a level that it shows, and this is huge since Briggs is desiring submission with every engagement from others.
After a little more chatting, the two will conclusively end the talk because of the whereabouts of the person they seek are still unknown. Until this individual is spotted, there is not much they can do. After hanging out for a few more hours, Mike will eventually make his way back to his apartment to sleep off the buzz he currently possesses. Upon entering his place, he will be greeted by the sight of Alton sleeping on his couch. Once Mike moved out of his parent's home, Alton would soon follow him a few months later. It would be a pity acceptance from Mike with taking his brother in, especially since Alton's trajectory in life has been on a downslide since the accident. With this knowledge fueling the empathetic tendencies, and the strong loyalty to family driving his every decision; Mike feels he has no choice.
Yet, the short period of time his brother has been there hasn't been the easiest situation, for the main reason would be the limited space. Being in a one bed apartment with an individual who is far from being mentally well has taken a toll on him. The privacy dilemma is especially challenging, with Alton residing in the living room, subsequently the largest space in the apartment. Lacking any form of a social life, the youngest child never seems to leave the place for long stretches. Moreover, he's also immensely disorganized with his occasionally phases of leaving the place trashed. Mike is not the cleanest person himself, but there's a level of filth that will drive him to tidy up. His threshold is often eclipsed by his baby brother's persistent squalor, which often leads to lecture talks or more so outburst of frustrated anger.
Yet, Mike's annoyance towards his brother goes beyond their living situation; it's much deeper. His irritation borders on the level of suspicion in truth. Although he's naturally a paranoid person, it's usually within the realm of reason. In his field of work however… you kind of have to be. Yet, the apprehension he has towards Alton doesn't exactly fall into the confines of his usual distrust. It's not even because his brother is a psychotic murderer; not primarily at least. He doesn't fear him in the slightest, for majority of his inner circle are or have been known to be killers at some point. Even Mike has a body count to his name, so his brother being a killer in itself doesn't faze him. The way Alton went about his killings is also not an issue. The eldest Briggs has associates eager to murder, willing to mangle and shred to degrees where his brother feels like child's play. No, the crux of his suspicion stems from what appears to be a coincidence, but a rather peculiar one.
A rare occurrence of Alton disappearing for a few days will coincide with the time frame of Terrence's murder. There's never been an alibi to verify his whereabouts. Alton himself has never said where he was or what he was doing during this time; the only explanation given was he never left the city. Despite this coincidence, Mike does have some doubts about his brother being involved. One reason being is that Alton has lost a lot of strength and muscle over the years. Not that he thinks this definitively excludes him as the perpetrator, because his brother did die by gunshots after all. Alton could have easily subdued both of his brothers at peak form, but now he can barely maintain his balance when bumped accidently. Mike can also confirm his brother doesn't possess a firearm, or at least he has determined there's none on him in the apartment. Mike's theory in all of this is there had to have been two people involved in Terrence's murder.
With this belief, it almost certainly rules out his brother… almost. Since Alton's mental decline, he's lost majority of his friendships, and it's not known if he has any current ones outside of family. It's not to say he couldn't have obtained a partner to help take down his brother, but Mike seriously doubts it.
Sound: Door knock
Upon hearing the knock, Mike will immediately turn around to open the door with haste, with a degree of eagerness as if he were expecting someone. Once the front door is pulled open, he will be greeted by a nice looking teenage black boy, extremely attractive, and with long black dreads named, Tyrell Langston. This seventeen-year-old boy is Mike and Alton's cousin from the Park Place area originally, but he's recently relocated to Virginia Beach with his family. He has one earring in his right ear, an extra-large Michael Westbrook jersey, some blue baggy jeans around the waist, and a pair of yellow Timberland boots to round up his fashion sense.
He was once a knuckle head groomed under the guidance of Mike himself, but now he's a promising kid with a bright future ahead of him. Due to his excellent grades and academic prowess over the past few years, Mike deemed his younger cousin too special to head down the same roads as himself. He decided not that long ago to step back from Tyrell, and he even commissioned him to continue along the better path, somewhat. This decision has been reinforced by driving his cousin home before doing activities deemed corruptible, and by shielding him from old associates he once did dirt with. It wouldn't take Tyrell long to get the hints, and he would recognize the switch in his cousin's behavior immediately.
With this pushback in place, he leaned into making something out of himself. Tyrell has never let anything slow him down from this new track, not since fully setting his feet on it. At the kid's current high school of First Colonial High in Virginia Beach, Tyrell is an honors student that is mostly recognized for his gifts in computer science. Trying out a computer for the first time ever changed his trajectory in life. It would be playing a game his freshman year named 'Oregon Trail' that would change him from a prison track to a curious learner almost immediately. Curiosity took the boy from one textbook to the next, until he found himself greatly understanding how PCs work. His efforts have landed him many scholarships across the country, but there's truly one university he is willing to accept. Old Dominion is not the best option given to him, but his reasons for choosing this college deals with the aim of staying close.
ODU has been a topic of discussion with his cousin Mike in the past, and so Tyrell assumes his presence has been requested for something along these lines. In fact, the only time his cousin reaches out is for this reason or something similar in scope. Even still, he has never been asked to come to his cousin's apartment, but it's usually a check-in phone call. Mike only stated he has a few questions that needed cleared up, and so his cousin is under the presumption they're school related. With his high school graduation nearing, he's under the belief Mike is preparing a surprise of some sort. However, Mike reaching out to his cousin has nothing to do with his schooling. He is on a mission to find his brother's killer, and he feels his cousin is the key to getting to the person he's looking for.
It has been a while since he's last seen Tyrell, and it will be a warm welcome on his front porch for that reason. After these two hug it out and shoot the breeze for a moment, Mike will then welcome his cousin inside the apartment. Upon entering, Tyrell will be greeted by the sight of Alton in a tonic like state on the couch; the visual startles him for a moment. Nevertheless, an excited greeting from Tyrell will commence after shaking off his surprise, but this warm greeting is met with silence, and it's met with a failure of acknowledgement. Over time Alton has developed a strange phobia of group settings, and it usually leaves him in a paralyzed state. It's something those around him have gotten conditioned to, but it's all new information for Tyrell. It has been a few years since he's seen his troubled cousin, and so the awkward stand about in wait of a reply is associated to this. It'll be a tug on the jersey from Mike that will get him out of this limbo state. A startled head-turn to face his big cousin surprises him, as it indicates the depths of commitment he had for a reply that was never going to come.
"Forget about him," Mike says dismissively while guiding Tyrell to his room,
"He get like that."
Once Mike gets his cousin inside his room, he'll immediately invite him to get comfortable for the conversation about to happen. The young man will oblige to this kind gesture with a squat on his cousin's bed, while simultaneously inquiring with,
"So, what's up cuz?"
"You seen ya lil homie around," Mike will ask in a nonchalant manner, while busying himself with straighten items on a nearby shelf.
"Who we talking about," Tyrell will ask inquisitively.
"Booger," Mike replies with a little surprise in his voice that his cousin was not aware of who he was speaking of,
"I need to get up with him about some things, but nobody's seen him."
It takes Tyrell a second to process who his cousin is referring to, but it will only click moments later once he registers the nickname to the person of interest. This is because Mike is the only person that calls this individual 'Booger', and the name is not used in a positive way. The name springs from when this person was a kid, he used to pick his nose publicly. Mike started calling this individual Booger in a teasing manner, and the name was never really appreciated. Not realizing this much, Tyrell will ask out of curiosity,
"Why do you call him, Booger?"
"Have you seen him or not," Mike will ask again somewhat forcefully, while completely dismisses his cousin's inquiry.
"No… no I haven't seen or heard from him in months," Tyrell says with some defense in his voice, while realizing his cousin is pressing him for answers,
"He's been laying low since that house party incident a while back; he could be anywhere at this point."
After saying this much, Tyrell manages to calm from his startled nature, knowing that his cousin is serious about gathering information. However, he finds it quite odd for Mike to be so pressed about finding Booger, for this has never happened. Booger has a reputation in the streets that's unsavory in nature, so it doesn't seem that out of place for his cousin to seek him out. The prevailing assumption is business related matters, but it's not lost on Tyrell to the fact these two historically don't cross paths. In fact, Booger often goes out of his way to avoid Mike for a multitude of reasons. He also knows his cousin doesn't particularly like his friend, so the whole conversation raises suspicion about the motives behind it all. Nevertheless, Tyrell dares not question any further on the matter, but would instead take the stance of compliance to speed up the uncomfortable conversation.
"So, you haven't seen the homie in a while," Mike says with a degree of disappointment.
"I'm out in Virginia Beach most days, so no," Tyrell states, following a shrug of the shoulders out of uncertainty,
"If I see him though, I'll let him know you want to holla at him."
"Yeah, let me know if you see him," Mike states casually,
"I got some important stuff to talk about."
Tyrell nods in accordance with his cousin's last words, and this will be followed by Mike opening the room door for them to exit. After a little small talk in the hallway, the two will start to make their way to the front door. Tyrell will dap up his cousin with the reassurance that he'll keep his eyes open for Booger. After this, He will once again attempt to acknowledge his cousin Alton with a goodbye, but the outcome will be the same as the first, a cold emotionless stare into the wall. Tyrell finds himself still unable to comprehend the current state of his cousin, for his memories of Alton are of a young man who was full of life and promise. He now finds himself looking at a person who's merely a shell of their former self, a visual too surreal to observe.
After a brief period of awkward silence awaiting a reply, Tyrell will ultimately give up on his farewell. After this, he will then look at his eldest cousin that dawns a demeanor of embarrassment, and this expression alone does enough to stave back any comment on the moment. A simple nod will be given by Tyrell before exiting the apartment, and it'll be immediate respite given to him upon stepping away from it all. It was an exchange that raised more questions than answers for him. He currently finds himself not being that interested in knowing what he doesn't, for such information appears to have darker connotations than anything else. He'll choose to stay out of the situation with a simple phrase, 'Ignorance is bliss'.