Family Tradition

"Where are we?" Alina asked quietly as she followed me around the city streets.

"Well, dear cousin, we're currently in Detroit."

"I know that, dipshit! But why?"

"Because we're looking for something," I said, concentrating on the buildings, trying to remember which one I needed.

"What are we looking for?"

"Remember when I went on that road trip with my friend Jack?" I asked, turning to look at her. When she nodded, I went back to looking for the right building.

"Well, as you know, Jack got into some trouble with the cops. He was in trouble back then too, I was helping him out. He showed me this place, and the guy said if I ever needed some help to come back. Said he'd never forget me. Now if only I could just remember where it is," I muttered the last part to myself, gazing across the street from us for a moment.

"What is at the place then?"

"Survival gear," I said and noticed a puzzled look cross her face as I glanced over at her.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it...there it is!" I said happily, grabbing her hand as I pulled her along the sidewalk.

"We just spent nearly half an hour walking around the fucking streets of Detroit, because you wanted to find a building that's abandoned now?!" Alina exclaimed, obviously annoyed at my antics. I rolled my eyes before kicking the second step on the porch three times. Alina jumped when there were two knocks in response. I laughed slightly as I kicked back one more time. A few seconds later the door opened slightly.

"Heyyy baby, didn't think I'd ever see you again!" I grinned at Damon as he threw the door open. "And who's this?"

"This is my cousin Alina. Can we join you in your lovely house?" I asked and he grinned, nodding his head at us.

"Come on in, you need somethin' from me?"

"We need a few things," I said, nodding as he shut the door behind us.

"Well, you know about my inventory, it's gotten better since then, obviously. How long has it been hun?"

"Five years?" He let out a low whistle.

"We had baby Jack in here for awhile. But they were getting close to figuring this place out, so he split. If he comes back I'll tell him you said hi," He said as he led us through the run down looking house, taking us to a metal door.

"Amy, I don't like this," Alina said quietly and I sighed.

"Don't worry, alright? These are good people, I promise." The look of unease didn't leave her face, but she nodded, following me into the basement.

"Holy shit," She breathed, looking around the room.

"You didn't tell her?" Damon asked with a grin.

"No, so she's gunna be shocked for awhile." He laughed as he walked over to one of the other two people in the room.

"Lyssa, you remember Amy?"

"Ohhh! Hey girl, I knew you looked familiar!" She said, jumping up to give me a hug.

"How goes it?" I asked, smiling as I hugged her back, noticing Alina just staring at the walls of the room we were in.

"It's pretty good. ATF finally let up on us," She said and I smiled.

"That's great. So we won't have any trouble gettin' some shit outta here?" I asked and noticed Alina's head snap towards me.

"We're getting guns?!"

"Yeah, why else would we be here?" I asked, noticing Damon shake his head. "No offence brah."

"None taken. So tell me what you're out to do, I can figure out what's best for ya, alright?"

"But you have a gun!"

"We need better ones. And we're going looking for our fathers. She seems to think they're into some dangerous shit, so it's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"You've gotten into some trouble already, haven't you?" Damon asked and I nodded, a smile on my face.

"Had to use that little piece of shit you gave me as a parting gift," I said and he threw his head back, laughing loudly.

"Alright, let me check what we have and I'll get back to you. You're gunna need a few each I'm assuming, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you'll be able to get ammo?"

"Of course," I said with a smile.

"Alright, just wait a few," He said as he walked into another room. Alina pulled me aside.

"What do you think you're doing?" She whispered harshly.

"Alina, you saw what happened with those guys. You can't expect that to be a one time thing. We have to be able to defend ourselves, and the little bit of martial arts we know isn't going to cut it." She sighed, dejectedly.

"Fine. But I have to warn you, I can't shoot for shit."

"That's why we're going to the shooting range after this," I said and ruffled her hair a bit, only to have my hand swatted away.

"Don't treat me like I'm 3!" I laughed as Damon reappeard in the room with two small duffel bags.

"Here we go ladies," He said happily, setting them on one of the tables.

"What do we have?" I asked and he smiled, he always got happy when someone asked him to talk about his guns.

"This one here is a Beretta 92FS. It's a 9mm and doesn't have much kick. There's a supressor on it that can be removed, which I would suggest if you plan on going to the range. People don't like seeing those things. You have two each."

"Alright, what else?" I asked and he placed the Beretta on the table, grabbing a new gun from the bag.

"Next we have the Walther P5 Compact. If you need them, there's supressors for this one too. Small, but a very good gun."

"Is that it?" Alina asked, somewhat wary.

"One more honey. Glock 17 2nd Generation . Very lovely gun. I'm sure you'll love this one, though the Beretta's seem to be a favorite," He said, smiling up at us as he placed the guns back in the bag before zipping it up.

"Thank you Damon," I said, smiling as I gave him a hug.

"Any time Amy. There's a few boxes of shells in there, I'm not sure how many you'll need. Just remember which ones they are and you'll be good when you buy."

"Alright, I'll see you if I ever need another favor."

"I'll be waiting," He said, walking with us towards the door with the bags.

"Next time though, I'm going to pay you," I said and he laughed, handing us the bags as we got to the steps.

"We'll see about that," He said, and I noticed Alina nearly drop her bag.

"See you when we see you," I said, giving him one more hug before ascending the steps back to the rundown part of the old house.

"I would definitely not have thought that was going to happen when we were looking for this place," Alina said quielty as we walked out of the house and down the street, back to the car we had waiting for us.

"I know, that's why I didn't tell you. Now, off to the range."