Family Ties

Posted on Fri Jun 5th, 2020 @ 3:38am by Alden Loxley & James Thomson
Edited on on Mon Jun 8th, 2020 @ 10:47am

Mission: Fortune & Glory
Location: Erin's, Little Phoenix, Ezra
Timeline: June 2517

Alden had been back on his home planet for a day already, but he didn't want to put off the trip any longer than that. James had sounded - he wasn't exactly sure - mixed emotions and a certain keenness to be off-world. The eldest Loxley son could understand that need for freedom, he just needed to look his cousin in the eyes when he asked him why.

His old childhood mare, Magic, was no longer up for a trek of this distance so Alden had borrowed her son, an eight-year-old paint horse who was excited for the journey. They'd both been up since the crack of dawn, and they strolled lazily into Little Phoenix for about midday. Alden tied Monty's rein over the rail outside his cousin's saloon and looked up at the sign. 'Erin's'. It had been a while, for sure, but it still brought back all the memories.

"Hey! James!" He called out as he walked inside. "Where are ya?"

A modest affair, Erin's had enough seating for 30, but rarely ever hit half of that. The venture hadn't made Erin Thomson rich, but it had provided enough for her little family to survive. Today the mood was reserved with patrons chattering amongst themselves quietly, a handful of which cast nervous glances towards the young man perched at the far end of the bar.

Recent events were still fresh in the minds of the community and despite being grateful for his help, it was clear they each felt apprehensive being in his presence. The man in question paid them no notice, in fact before Alden's arrival other than his interaction's with the similarly looking woman running the bar, he'd paid little notice to anything at all.

Upon hearing his name he turned to face his cousin. "Here," he called out with a raised arm before pushing away from the bar to get to his feet.

"Don't screw this up!" The barkeep, his James' older sister Lauren whispered before moving off to serve a customer. She'd let the boys have their chat before exchanging pleasantries.

The big grin Alden reserved for family remained muted as the answer to his question resounded across the enclosed space, and in particular, as he noted Lauren distance herself from her brother. Interesting.

That plus the tension in the air raised the hairs on the back of his neck but didn't stall his confident stride across the space between him and his younger cousin.

"Yeah," Alden said, a light frown creasing his brow, one hand resting naturally against specifically the front of his holster rather than the Model B held within in. "I see ya." His gaze tracked overtly towards Lauren as he made a point to note this oddly separate greeting. "Private conversation?" He suggested rather than asked as his eyes searched James' own.

James looked to his sister for a moment with a questioning glance that mirrored Alden's. After a little nod from Lauren, James lifted the bar hatch and made his way behind it. "Sure follow me," he said to Alden before walking a few paces towards then through the door to the Saloon's store.

A small room that contained several racks of alcohol, mostly beer and whisky but a dusty bottle of shimmer wine occupied the rack closest to the small table James headed towards. As he passed the rack he grabbed a bottle of whisky and two tin cups which he placed onto the table, taking the time to blow out the dust that lightly covered the cups. After placing them before both of the two chairs that surrounded the table.

"Take a seat, cousin" James quipped, pulling one out for Alden before taking the other himself. He prepared both of them a drink before saying any more. "Sorry we're not meeting under better circumstances, but thank you for coming," he added, raising his cup to toast their reunion.

He followed James quietly, casting a last look over his shoulder towards his elder cousin as he ducked behind the bar. Lauren said nothing, and Alden held his own counsel until he sat down at the table and regarded the tin cup of whisky. A seriousness held in those dark blue eyes as Alden raised said cup and he held off drinking for a second or two in order to ask. "You're family," he said. "Circumstances don't stop me answering your call." A deep frown furrowed his brow though as he knocked back the shot of whisky and levelled his gaze at James.

"What do you need?" Alden asked, directly.

"I want to join your crew," James announced deadpan as he let the now empty cup in his hand drop lightly onto the tab. Despite his stoic expression the anxiety he felt internally was expressed in his eyes. "I screwed up, again, at least according to the family. Niska sent some goons, I dealt with said goons, now everyone is treating me like I'm dangerous" James admitted with a sigh, his expression slipping for a moment. He quietly poured himself another drink and topped Alden's up.

"I heard about the goons, yeah," Alden noted quietly. He didn't yet address that first desire of his cousin's. And yes, he was concerned on the danger front. This, as far as the family was concerned, was strike two. He sat back and let the younger man talk.

"Thing is, I think they have a point," James admitted. He may have gone beyond what was necessary for his retribution but at the time his singular focus had been to shut down the danger to Little Phoenix, and Erin's. Two of the five had barely gotten away, the other three wouldn't be enforced for anyone again. In those moments he felt the steps he had taken were essential to send a message to Niska that James wasn't for playing any games.

The message had been received and James had been rewarded with a debt to Niska he had to pay off in order to stay in his good graces. Indefinite and probably going to backfire, but at least Lauren was safe for now. "It's not like it's the first time I've lashed out like this. I may have had provocation this time, but I've lashed out for less in the past".

"I don't know how, but I need to be better. I don't want to spend my adult life an outcast from the family. You're my best bet," James revealed, finally leaning back to his chair and throwing a probing glance Alden's way as he waited for a response.

"They may have a point, yeah," Alden said, simply. "You killed three of them, cuz. Hell, I'm amazed Niska let you live at all." He narrowed his eyes and regarded James with a penetrating stare, seriousness personified now. There had to have been some comeback from that event. Something bad. Yet here was James with all his fingers and toes and everything.

Alden had been 18 when Niska had reached out his evil grasp and forced him into his employ. James had only been 16 when his call had come through. They'd both escaped that servitude in their own ways, they both harboured some secrets from that time, but James' past held more skeletons, or at least more deliberately created ones. Some very recent indeed, as Alden had learned on his way back home to Ezra.

"My crew?" Alden raised an eyebrow at that request. "Seriously?" Then he looked down at his whiskey and sighed. He knew, just knew, that he'd take the kid up on this.

Better that James was in plain sight and away from the family, better that he was somewhere with someone who could keep an eye on him. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea. He wasn't going to say yes right away though.

"What did Niska take?" Alden asked. "He hurt you? Lauren?"

"Nothing, he sent some low-level goons. Probably working for their next fix" James shrugged, he didn't feel sorry for what came next, but he did regret the look it drew from his family every time he told them. "He wanted me, I cut ties months ago and figured it was time to get back to the family. All that good stuff. Niska didn't like it, wanted me back under his thumb and sent his minions. I let two survive with nothing more than a few broken bones and bruises, but the others had to die. Niska needed to know that any attempt on Erin's or little Phoenix was gonna be snubbed out" He rose from his seat and paced about for a bit.

"Thing is, everyone is safer if I ain't here. He's not going to be happy and I'm hoping that if I leave Ezra he'll be more interested in keeping tabs on me than he will Little Phoenix. Lauren's worked hard to build the bar back up, can't have it coming down because of my life choices. She'd never let me hear the end of it" He was grinning, but it didn't quite meet his eyes.

Alden rubbed his fingers on his chin as James spoke, then rested a hand against his forehead and sighed. Little Phoenix was small, lawless like most of the towns on Ezra due to the distinct and overbearing presence of Niska's space station and overall dominion. But while James had clearly survived killing a couple of minions without ending up in a cell, Niska hadn't murdered him either. That didn't exactly bode well.

"Nothing, huh?" Alden asked. "Niska just let this slide, on account of your previous good service?" He shook his head. "I don't buy that, James."

His cousin was correct though - everyone would be safer if James wasn't here. Well, almost everyone.

"This ain't funny," Alden said, and he wasn't smiling when James adopted that humourless grin. "Lauren's at risk, my mum and sister are at risk. And now I'm gonna have to look after your dumbass hide." He swore a string of Chinese curses and slammed a palm down on the table in frustration. "Niska doesn't get unhappy, James, he gets downright torturey and murderous. So yeah, we're agreed. Planet's safer without you."

There was more to it than that, of course, but Alden doubted there was any point in pushing his cousin. And bargaining with Niska was a swift road to an early grave.

"Why would it be funny? I'm having to leave Lauren alone even though me leaving only increases her safety, it doesn't make it definitive" James admitted finally letting some of his true emotions through to the surface. "Not to mention the fact he killed my mother - it's why I joined him at first you know. 16 year old me planned on rising through the ranks and assassinating him. That would get me back in the family's good books I thought" he carried on refilling his drink and knocking it back quickly.

"Then I realised I was good at what he wanted to do and sometimes I enjoyed it. Thought that made me a bad person until he wanted me to do something truly bad and I came home. He came after me, I eliminated the threat. Now he knows I won't go down without a scrap he's decided he'd rather remove me from Ezra and in return, he'll leave Erin's alone" he finished explaining looking tired.

"I just want to be done so I accepted, he might go back on his word, but if I stick true to mine I'll know I've done the right thing... something like what you would do" he added with a weak smile.

Alden listened to James talk, admit his mistakes from the past and come to terms with the harsh reality of the present. He was going to need to leave his sister alone, yes, but then James was currently part of the problem.

"Sixteen-year-old you was young and dumb," Alden pointed out. "And yes, James," he said tersely, "I'm well aware of what Niska did, and trust me if there'd been any way that I could have saved you or Aunt Erin, I would have." He'd been working to Niska back then too, smuggling for the tyrant after Jericho Loxley had died in the man's service. "We both know killing Niska isn't a way out, even if it was possible. Someone'll always take over. I'd be lying if Drake and I hadn't talked about it," Alden admitted, "but we never actually tried. That'd only bring more trouble down on our family."

A heavy sigh and Alden exhaled in a rush of tension. The past wasn't gonna help them, he needed them both to focus on the future.

"Look," Alden said, his gaze locked with his younger cousin's own. "We're family, and I'll always do whatever I can to help you, James. So, yes, you can come with me, run security on my crew. But I catch you working for Niska without telling me," those blue eyes steeled somewhat. "We're gonna have more than words. Deal?"

"Whatever you say, cuz" James said beaming. The first good news he'd had since the raid James was more than pleased that Alden had said yes. All he had to do now was keep a low profile and be discreet and things would be fine. He made short work of filling the pairs cup with another drink.

"Thank you, cousin," he said genuinely with a tip of his cup in a toast before knocking the liquid back.

Alden sighed softly and shook his head, but he was genuinely happy to see that brightness in James' eyes. Gave him hope that the younger man's future might not be as personally traumatic. Or at least if it was, he'd be in good company. Still, in the moment, this decision felt like a decent one and that was what really mattered. Keeping family safe, one way or another.

"To happier times," said Alden, and he raised his own glass and emptied the contents down his throat. "And to behaving ourselves," he added with an impish grin.

Yeah, well... Could happen, right?