“Where you goin’?”

“Downstairs. I’ve got something I need to do before going to bed.”

His mother made a pouty face and turned towards the TV. Donnie smiled to himself. She couldn’t stay mad at him and he knew it. He hurried down the stairs, excited by the new task.

With his computer open, he made a new file. He typed the name ‘Containment’ on the description line and opened it so the required material could be entered as each measurement was taken.

Donnie needed to get the drawing Billy had given him onto the computer while it was still fresh in his mind. The drawing done at the cemetery would help but he knew it was only a rough approximation.

Taking a tape measure, he stretched it the length on the basement. The measurement went into the file. Next, he stretched it crossways in the room. That measurement was entered. He multiplied the numbers together and got the available square footage in the room. He subtracted the space he needed for his desk and divided the result by 4, which gave him the size of each cell.

He smiled to himself. 4 foot by 8 foot would be the size of each one, more than enough for them to lie down. It was easy for him to envision the layout and he spent the next hour making a materials list for the project. It had to be done right and it had to be strong. Billy was counting on him.

****

The next morning, Donnie was up early getting ready for work. He had a part time job with SUMMIT CONSTRUCTION. He couldn’t work full time because he needed to be around for his mother but the extra money helped to supplement her disability check. Mostly, he was a gopher for the regular guys and the work was spotty, but he was looking forward to going this morning.

“Bye, Momma. I’ll see you later.” He kissed her forehead as he always did and rushed out the back door.

“Wait! When you comin’ home?”

He didn’t hear her; he was already at the garage getting into the van.

Donnie arrived at the job site about twenty minutes later. SUMMIT was building a condominium complex in the northeast suburb of Windcrest. He found his boss, Gary Maddox, in the construction site trailer.

“Morning, Gary.”

“Hi, Donnie. You ready to get to work?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Okay, I need you running wheelbarrows of gravel to Smitty and Dixon. They’re prepping the sidewalk from Building One to the parking lot.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Donnie left the trailer and went to find the wheelbarrow. He knew he was in for a long day, hauling gravel was hard work, but lunchtime would give him an opportunity to focus on his real mission for the day.

****

After a long hot morning, Donnie took lunch with the rest of the guys but he didn’t eat with them. Smitty saw him leaving.

“Where you goin’?”

“Gotta run an errand.”

“Better be back in an hour.”

“I will.”

Donnie got in his van and drove around the block, parking just out of sight of the construction office trailer. Leaving the van running for the air conditioning, Donnie waited for his boss to leave. Gary Maddox took lunch downtown with his girlfriend and Donnie was going to use the time his boss was gone to sneak into the site office. Gary kept a .38 caliber revolver, which he called the ‘Texas Deal Maker’, in an unlocked desk drawer.

Donnie had seen the gun dozens of times, every time Gary told his favorite story. He would pull the gun out of the drawer, show it to the latest visitor and then tell the same story.

“Some guy who worked for me said I cheated him out of a day’s pay. Of course, he was wrong but he refused to leave the job site. I got this gun and went out to talk with him.

I said, ‘This is called the Texas Deal Maker’ and I’m going to use it to make you a deal. You leave now and I won’t use it. He didn’t move so I asked him if he was married and he said “yeah, so what?” So I said, if you don’t leave now, I’m gonna have to change the name of this gun to ‘Texas Widowmaker’. He left.”

At that point, Gary would laugh like it was the first time he’d told the story.

Donnie thought it was funny the first couple times but the story had lost its charm. None the less, he knew it meant that many people knew where that gun was and that worked to his advantage.

A few minutes after he parked, Donnie watched the grey Dodge truck owned by his boss leave the construction site. He shut the van off and climbed out. Checking his watch, he stepped through a gap in the fence and came around from behind the trailer. Making sure no one had wandered near, he slipped into the office.

A blast of cool air hit him as he shut the door. Avoiding the windows, he walked over to the desk and slid the drawer open. The gun was still sitting where he expected it to be. He picked it up, opened the chamber and looked for bullets. It was loaded. He clicked the chamber shut, checked to make sure the safety was on, and stuffed it down the front of his pants.

Moving quickly back to the door, he cracked it open. The sound of tires on gravel stopped him cold. Was it his boss back early? Did Gary forget something?

Donnie could put the gun back and get it another day but he knew he might lose his nerve if there had to be a second try. He waited and the sound of a vehicle turning around started his heart beating again. When it left the lot, he stuck his head out, saw no one, and retraced his steps to the van. Once inside, he hid the gun under his seat and started the vehicle. He still had an errand to run.

****

“You’re late!”

“Am not! Got ten minutes left.”

Donnie smiled because he knew the guys liked to give him a hard time. He set his Burger King bag down and pulled out a hamburger.

“So Donnie, what was your errand?”

Donnie reached into his back pocket and pulled out new set of work gloves.

“Just needed new gloves.”

Smitty grinned at Donnie.

“Hands hurt? Must be getting soft, Donnie.”

“Not soft, just working harder than you and wearing my old gloves out.”

Donnie smiled to himself. His old gloves were fine, laying in his van, but the guys ribbing him meant no one had seen him and he’d accomplished his mission for the day. Billy will be pleased.

Chapter  3

Donnie pulled off the county road and headed down his lane. He was excited about getting the gun and looked forward to going to see Billy. His brother would be proud of him and would want to know all the details of this milestone in their plans.

Sitting, waiting like usual, was Momma. She liked to roll herself out onto the porch and wait for Donnie to come home from work. Many times she would have a glass of cold tea waiting for him and he would sit next to her as they watched the sun go down. Sometimes he would catch her dozing when he drove up, and today was one of those days. He thought about blowing the horn to wake her, but she might not think his joke was funny.

Donnie had wanted to share the plan he and Billy were involved in with their mother. On one of his late night visits with Billy, he had asked and his brother had been very clear how he felt, even angry. Donnie remembered the conversation with some sadness.  Donnie couldn’t remember a time when Billy had been angry with him when he was alive. He didn’t like Billy getting mad at him now. It didn’t happen often but it always left Donnie upset.

He stopped the van in front of the porch and climbed out. Going up the steps, he touched his mother on the shoulder.