Strong

Chapter 5

POV Ace/Bear

There was silence after Pres finished reading the letter. No one spoke. No one moved. We barely even breathed. Then Joker doubled over in hysterical laughter. It was jarring to say the least and we all jumped at his reaction.

"What the fuck is so funny?" Shooter demanded as his face grew red and angry.

I noticed that all the women slipped out the door. They were right to. They didn't need to be a part of our business and they would also be in danger of any one of our wrath if they said or did the wrong then right now. None of us could be held accountable for our actions in a moment like this.

"I can't believe they did it!" Joker wheezed out between his chuckles.

Shooter punched him in the jaw faster than I could see and Joker's head snapped to the right. His laughter stopped in and instant and he stared at his older brother as I shifted nervously. Shooter was a hot head and violent but Joker was insane. A fight between them would be bloody and deadly.

"STOP!" Pres commanded as Joker stepped towards Shooter.

Joker paused and looked at his Father.

"Your Brother is right. This isn't funny." Pres spat at his second son who sent him an eerie smile with blood running down his chin and mouth.

"Oh, I disagree dear father. I think its fucking hilarious." Joker paused and looked around at each of us.

"What isn't funny is the way you and your VP treated your own flesh and blood. You treated them like slaves. Ordering them and commanding them. Never having a conversation with them. Never making sure that they were alright. Most of the time you didn't even know if they had eaten. Neglect isn't funny." Joker spat back as he stepped towards his father.

"Neither are brothers that don't know anything about their sisters. Sisters all of us claim to love and cherish. Especially after losing our grandmothers, aunts, and mothers. We only had the two of them left and what did we do? We locked them away, claiming to keep them safe. We ignored them. We bossed them around and made them do whatever we wanted. We treated them worse than dogs. At least owners usually praise and cuddle dogs. " He continued as he looked at Viper, Shooter and me.

"You were no better!" Viper snarled at him and Joker nodded.

"You're right. I neglected them too. I ignored them just as much as the rest of us. I am just as guilty... of course, I'm not one of their twin brothers. I'm also not trying to claim them and stating that I am in love with them and want to spend my life with them." he replied and I stiffened.

"I do love my sister and I am in love with Petal. They are my world." I argued since if felt personally attacked.

Joker laughed again.

"Your world? YOUR WORLD!!?? REALLY?" he yelled as he stepped up to my face.

"Okay, then. What's your sisters favorite food? What's Petal's favorite music?" he asked me and I froze as I looked at the floor in shame.

"Nothing? Let's try something easier. What grade are they in?" he mocked me.

I looked up at him in surprise.

"They're seniors." I yelled back and he chuckled yet again.

"Nah. You don't even know that. None of you know that." he shook his head and walked out as the rest of us stared after him in confusion.

Shooter chased after him and grabbed his arm to stop in the hall as we all followed.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Shooter demanded but Joker just shook his head again.

"Never mind. The ladies are right. There is no saving or changing y'all. I'm not gonna bother. I only stayed around this crap shack to make sure that my Sister was safe. Now that she's gone, I'm out. I'm going nomad." He wrenched his arm away and ducked into his room.

A second later, he came out with a couple of bags. He had obviously planned to leave long before this.

"What are you doing? You can't leave now! We have to find the girls!" his Dad yelled at him as we followed him down the stairs towards the front door.

"Nope. I know that I'm a shitty brother and I know that Petal will do better without me. That's why I always kept my distance from her. Something snapped in me after Mom and Grandma died. I'm crazy but I would never want to seriously harm my baby sister. I was trying to protect her from myself but I still love her. I watched over though. You know what I realized soon though?" he stopped at the door to look at us again.

"What?" Viper asked.

"She doesn't need us. Neither of them do. All we do is bring them down. They are too good for us and I think that deep down we all know it. That's why we ordered them around. That's why we kept them at arm's length. That's why we treated them like they were less than us. Just looking at them showed us what real strength is and we all know that deep down we are weak." he half smirked and shook his head.

He then looked up at nearby camera. He grinned as he stared right at it.

"Petal, Margo, I'm proud of you both. Don't come back and don't stop. I love you, sis. Take care of yourselves and each other. I'm so sorry I couldn't be the brother you deserved. I love you." he said and then he turned and walked out.

A moment later, we all heard his bike roar to life and pull away.

Just then, Dad and Pres flew into a rage. They started destroying everything they could get their hands on. Shooter joined in the carnage a moment later. I looked over a Viper who was fighting back tears with a livid face. He met my eyes and I knew that my face mirrored the guilt I saw in his.

"We will get them back!" he vowed and I nodded but I wasn't so sure.

Viper started spitting out commands to our tech guys and I did the same to some members that were good at tracking. Hearing us, made our fathers and Shooter stop.

"We will find them tonight and they will never leave us again." Shooter spat as he and the rest started planning.

We seemed to always underestimate those girls.