Pick up a mop and go clean the latrines, kid, this range isn't for street trash, the range master sneered, shoving fifteen-year-old Malik Holloway away from the custom training rifle.
The smoke from my last shot still hung in the air, a faint haze under the bright range lights. Gus Gaines, who everyone called Grizz, had just started to lean closer, his eyes fixed on the silver-and-onyx lion pendant against my chest.
He opened his mouth to speak.
Before he could, a shadow fell over us. The scent of expensive cologne and polished leather filled the space.
“What in the world is going on here, Grizz?” Uncle Marcus Holloway’s voice was sharp, cutting through the low hum of the ventilation system.
I turned slowly. Marcus stood a few yards away, his suit jacket unbuttoned, revealing a crisp white shirt. He wasn’t smiling. His gaze locked onto the pendant.
“Just a little demonstration, Marcus,” Grizz said, his voice flat. He didn’t turn around fully, keeping his body partially between me and my uncle.
Marcus stepped forward, his eyes narrowed on me. “Malik. Give me that.” He extended a hand, palm up, towards the pendant.
I instinctively recoiled a step, my fingers pressing against the cool metal beneath my shirt.
“This belonged to my father,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Your father was a complicated man,” Marcus sneered, taking another step. “He was discharged, Malik. Disgraced. That thing you’re wearing is a forgery, a cheap knock-off of something stolen.”
His words hit me like a physical blow. Grizz’s hand shot out, gently but firmly blocking Marcus’s path.
“Range protocol, sir,” Grizz said, his voice low and steady. “No physical altercations on the live firing line.”
Marcus’s face tightened, a vein throbbing in his temple. He glared at Grizz, then back at me.
“Aaron Holloway didn’t die a hero, Malik,” Marcus hissed, ignoring Grizz’s warning. “He died a failure, caught up in his own twisted fantasies. That unit Grizz thinks he remembers? Pure fiction. Fabricated discharge papers, son. All of it.”
My blood ran cold. My father, a failure? This was a lie.
“You’re lying,” I said, my voice cracking.
“Am I?” Marcus’s laugh was a dry, humorless sound. He leaned in, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper that still carried in the silent range. “You know nothing about the real Aaron. The range master here,” he gestured dismissively at Darius, who was now watching intently from a distance, “can tell you all about ‘street trash’ with delusions of grandeur.”
My grip on the pendant tightened, the silver lion biting into my skin.
“Your father was spiraling, Malik,” Marcus continued, his voice dripping with false concern. “Asking questions about him now, digging into things you don’t understand… it will destroy what little reputation the Holloway name has left in this city.”
He paused, letting his words hang in the air like poison.
“Give me the pendant,” he repeated, his hand still outstretched. “It’s a fake. It belongs here, in the lost and found. I’ll make sure it goes where it should.”
Grizz, however, stood his ground. He didn’t speak, but his posture was a solid wall between Marcus and me.
Marcus let out a frustrated sigh, pulling his hand back. He shot a final, hard look at me, a silent promise of future trouble.
“We’ll talk about this later, Malik,” he said, his voice laced with a thinly veiled threat. He turned on his heel, his expensive shoes squeaking slightly on the polished concrete, and walked away without another word, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken warnings. I looked at Grizz, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“He’s wrong, isn’t he, Grizz?” I asked, desperation creeping into my voice. “My father wasn’t disgraced.”
Grizz just shook his head slowly, his eyes distant. “It’s more complicated than that, Malik. Much more.” He glanced nervously in the direction Marcus had disappeared. “You should go home. Be careful what you say to anyone.”
He didn’t explain. He just looked at the pendant, then at me, a deep concern etched on his face. The range now felt like a cage, and I was the one trapped inside.
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