S2/04. Old habits die hard

4.4 Diana Foster
Summer 1998, SMU Clinic bus station, San Myshuno

Diana squeaked and her heart skipped at least one beat.

"Dude... this is getting old," said Ben, rather unimpressed.

It was Martin, once again, standing right in front of them. He exuded pure confidence.

But why? 

Diana was sure he'd been afraid of Ben. Until today, at least.

And if he was already afraid when Ben's wrist was injured, shouldn't he be even more intimidated now, when it at least looked as if it were healed again? Ben didn't need to wear a cast anymore, though he still had to take it slow. But Martin couldn't know that!

Diana's eyes darted between the two men. Ben was a good head taller than Martin, and significantly better in shape, though he wasn't bulky nor pumped up. However, it could only deceive the clueless. His sleeveless shirt revealed the lean, firm muscles of a hard laborer and active athlete.

Martin, on the other hand... was that the beginning of a dad bod that Diana could spot?

He should be scared, not confident! Did he lose his mind?

Unless –

Diana froze.

Oh God! Had he got a gun?! He used to say that only cowards used guns, but who knew if he still thought that way? If he was desperate enough...

Martin cackled as if he was the one that had the upper hand.

"You thought you'd seen the last of me, huh?" 

He addressed only Ben, as if Diana wasn't even there.

"I'm gonna wipe that smug look off your face in a minute. Or better said..."

He dramatically snapped his fingers, and the faint sound of footsteps rose around them. "We will," he finished.

In an instant, he was surrounded by five more men, posing in a half-circle around him. All with fierce faces and ready to fight.

So that was his plan! At least there were no guns, but Diana's heart still dropped.

The tables had turned; Martin did have the upper hand now.

Six against two??  She could barely count herself, though. She hadn't fought since leaving San Myshuno, and since her pregnancy not even exercised at all! Not counting the occasional jog when she was late, which happened more often than she liked.

"Do you think he practiced this?" Ben hissed at her in disbelief.

Diana stared at him.

He seemed a little surprised, but otherwise completely unfazed.

Wasn't he at least a little concerned?

Impossible, that anyone could keep up with six at the same time! Except – was Ben secretly some crazy prodigy fighter, or what? Like Karate kid?

"Now your mouth's not that big anymore, is it?" Martin sneered, drawing back her attention.

She looked at the men around him, gauging their strength. At least half of them were huge, to say at least. But surprisingly, their attitude had changed in a minute since they'd appeared. None of them showed the same confidence and determination as their leader in the center. Instead, they exchanged confused glances, whispering between them and shifting uncomfortably in their position.

"Oy! The fuck y'all doing here?" Ben asked and her eyes jumped back at him. He'd raised his hand for a small wave. "Sam? Joey? And Rocky? How's the baby, by the way? And Yan, the hell you are doing here? Weren't you grounded?"

The men around Martin mumbled barely audible phrases, such as "Hi, Ben," and "Thanks, fine. How are you?"

Diana's jaw wasn't the only one that dropped.

Martin's eyes darted around between his goons, but he quickly decided to ignore the unexpected intermezzo and stick to his original plan, apparently. "Come on guys, we got work to do here," he said almost cheerfully and clapped his hands.

But he was the only one who went forward. 

He stopped and growled in frustration. Then, he inhaled deeply and screamed, "Move!"

The men flinched, but didn't follow him.

"That's my pal, dude," said one of them, and pointed towards Ben. "I'm not gonna fight my pal. No bitch is worth it."

"Yeah," said another and shrugged. "Maybe just drop it. She's not even that pretty."

Hello?!

She was standing right there, too!

"Are you fuckin' kidding me?!" Martin exploded. "I. Am. Not! Just droppin' it!" It was as if Diana could see the small vein pulsing on his forehead, even from this distance. She'd seen it often enough before when he got mad. And even though his angry refusal to give her up scared her, it also consoled her hurt pride at the same time. Why couldn't it be a nice guy, for a change, that wanted her as much as he did?

"You stupid fucks! Where's your loyalty when you have to pay it, huh?" he barked.

The men didn't reply, and continued their awkward dance around him.

"Dude," said a third man. "That's a friend of Salim. I've seen him around."

Martin's already white face turned even paler at the mention of the name, though he kept a stiff upper lip. "So what?" he snapped.

"I'm not gonna mess with Salim, dude," said the third man. A few quiet seconds passed, then he turned around and left. His departure prompted more movement within the group.

Another thug mumbled something, then followed him down the street.

The man who'd called Ben his pal went over to him and Diana, and shook his hand. "Man, I thought you'd sworn to stop looking for trouble when Juny was born," Ben greeted him. "Who'll take care of your girls when someone finally takes you off the street, hm, Rocky?"

"Not gonna happen," Rocky shrugged and his big mouth widened into a broad, crooked-toothy grin. Diana believed him in an instant. 

Good God! He was a good head taller than Ben, who was already quite tall himself, and at least twice as wide. Diana shuddered when she thought about what could have happened if he hadn't liked Ben more than Martin, apparently.

"Give my regards to Salim," he  said, patting Ben on the shoulder. Then he passed beyond them and left.

"Shit I'll do," Ben squinted, "don't challenge your luck. Think of Juny!" The last words he yelled after Rocky, who was already shrinking in the distance.

"Sorry, didn't know it was about you two," a somewhat familiar voice muttered next to Diana.

"Yancey!" She cried out in surprise. Now that he was closer, she recognized the man – barely so, Yancey just'd turned eighteen a week ago – as a regular at the Thursday evening dinners.

Ben turned towards him and gave him a very disappointed-parent-type glance, including the obligatory crossed arms. But before anyone could say a word, Martin's voice cut between.

"You're fuckin' kiddin' me, aren't ya?!" 

Eventually, he stood alone there. The other two men had left, too. 

Martin's vein was probably about to pop. He slowly walked backwards, wary and angry eyes shooting daggers at them.

"That's not the last you've seen of me!" he screamed. "I don't give a fuck who your buddy is, fuckface. A wolf is a wolf, and we're not scared of shit!  And definitely not of a fuckin' poser like Salim!"

Ben watched him with raised eyebrows, more curious than impressed.

Yancey, on the other hand, squirmed around between awe and agony.

As soon as Martin was out of sight, Yancey shot out, "Do you really know Salim?"

Ben shrugged, an amused glint sparkling in his eyes. "We went to school together. We met occasionally, but we don't really hang much anymore. Don't tell Martin that, though. Or Joey," he smirked.

Yancey's eyes became even bigger after Ben's confirmation.

"Who's this Salim, anyway?" Diana asked, slowly fed up with being ignored and ignorant. It seemed like a lot had changed in the few years that she hadn't been in San Myshuno.

"Dude! You don't know?" Yancey cried out. "He popped up one day, out of nowhere, and suddenly he's like, at the top of the game. No one messes with Salim."

Just then, the bus arrived.

They took a seat together at the back of the bus, with Yancey sitting opposite Ben and Diana. Yancey shot awestruck glances at Ben, which he tried unsuccessfully to hide. Ben watched him briefly, a mischievous smirk playing around the corners of his mouth. Then, abruptly, he turned dead serious.

"Yan, what the fuck?" he asked. "Why were you there? Do I have to tell your sister?"

The younger man rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Joey said, a friend of his needs help teaching a crook a lesson. I thought it was about business! I didn't know he was petty about a girl, and I sure as hell didn't know it was about the two of you."

"Seriously, Yan, six against one, and you don't even know what it's about?" Ben scolded the younger man. "You don't find that a problem?"

Yancey pulled a face, but didn't talk back.

Suddenly he jerked up, as if something hit him.

"Wait. Dude!" He stared at Diana. "Is that the guy who keeps pestering you?"

Diana shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Yeah, that's him." She swallowed the lump in her throat that formed when she thought about her last encounter with him. It had been just a few days ago.

Yancey leaned back and a wide smile spread over his face. "Well... wanna bet he's history now? After this flop of his, no one will take him seriously anymore. Come on! Ricky literally threw it right in his face that he's on your side. And no one messes with Salim fuckin' Benali, for starters." He shot a triumphant glance towards Ben.

Ben didn't smile, though. "Guys like him don't give up; you know that very well. They only become more dangerous when pushed into a corner. He needs to be stopped for good, before anything serious happens."

A chilling shiver ran down Diana's spine.

Not because it was guaranteed that Martin would get back at them sooner rather than later; it was the cold determination that ran in Ben's voice. His eyes' usual warm hazel color had turned ice green. The ice wrapped around her like a crisp blanket, a promise of safety and protection. 

He'd really take care of her, would he?

Yancey had caught it too. He stared at Ben, flabbergasted. "You mean- you wanna go and beat him up, first? Well... we might have a chance, I guess?"

Finally, Ben smiled, too. But barely, and it didn't reach his eyes.

"And getting involved in their stupid gang wars? No fucking way. This has already cost me enough." He pointed at his left wrist.

Diana's initial faith that he'd rescue her from Martin's obsession evaporated instantly. He wasn't even willing to fight for her sake! It stung, but she immediately scolded herself for getting her hopes up too high again. For a "not even that pretty" girl, didn't she expect too much? He'd already been a really good friend. Not more, not less – and she'd probably never find more than that, anyway.

She'd just been spoilt too much, having two brothers who'd never faltered to get their knuckles bloody for her. It tugged at her heartstrings, when she thought of her family. She missed them so much! Even though she'd made many new, supportive friends here in San Myshuno, no one could ever replace Frank and Leroy by her side.

"What else can you do, then? Sit and wait it out? Call the police?" Yancey squinted doubtfully.

 

"They'll only do something when it's too late," Diana mumbled bitterly. "If."

But Ben's eyes lit up with attention. "She's right," he confirmed. "They won't help if she goes for harassment, stalking, or whatever. But that doesn't have to be the reason."

Diana was confused.

On Yancey's face dawned something like understanding, though, which confused her even more.

What was there to be excited about?

"Do you know anything, Yan?" Ben asked.

The younger man squirmed around a bit.

"Okay, fine," he finally broke out. "Joey said that Martin's up to some shit. If they catch him- I mean, the police; they would take him off the street for a while. Although, Joey could-"

At last, the penny dropped for Diana, too. 

If it worked, the plan wasn't stupid at all! Martin couldn't harm her if he sat in prison. And she'd bet her life that he had enough shit on him to be put away for a good, long time.

Ben waited patiently for Yancey to say more, but the younger man had stopped talking. It seemed as if he was fighting with himself over what was worse: snitching on a buddy who trusted him, or letting an unpredictable loose cannon walk around freely.

Indeed, that was a dilemma. Honestly, Diana could feel for him, and she started feeling guilty. She didn't want to be the person who expected someone else to abandon their principles. There must be another solution.

"You don't have to-" she started, but Ben silenced her by softly squeezing her hand. 

"That bastard needs to be off the streets," he said calmly, yet very firmly. "This is the safest and quickest way. You and Joey are both smart enough not to get caught up in his shit, aren't you?"

He smiled, but the slight provocation wasn't lost on Yancey.

For a while the younger man had only eyes for his shoes.

"I'll handle it," he finally piped up, determined not to disappoint his older friend. "I'm not going to throw Joey under the bus, though."