the basement
pairing: hint of fangs fogarty x mackenzie petite warnings: swearing, mentions of character death word count: 1,272 author’s note: for the southside archive discord’s daily prompt ‘basement’
The situation with the Whyte Wyrm’s basement starts off pretty much like every other situation that occurs in Serpent territory: a warning. It’s a few days after the fourth of July, tensions are high from an influx of new recruits warming up for initiations and from whatever drama from the Northside’s golden boy drowning in the river that manages to seep over town lines.
Staying out of the basement comes as a royal decree from the Serpent King himself. It’s made loud and clear that no one under any circumstances is allowed into the bar’s basement, save for the King himself, Tall Boy, and Hog Eye. No one bats an eye at his demand, most choosing to just go about their business. That’s the thing about the Serpents, they don’t question shit. Every single person in that bar knows there’s always going to be something downright despicable going on, whether it be drug runs, rumbles with rival gangs, or even something heavier. And if the King deems you not needed to get involved, you didn’t get involved.
Mackenzie Petite, however, hasn’t fully pledged herself to the gang just yet and whether it’s for that or her own stubborn curiosity, she finds herself questioning everything surrounding the basement. She knows whatever’s happening down there is wildly illegal or else it would be made public knowledge to the gang. Her father’s been acting shiftier than usual and he’s rarely at home, which would normally be a win but it only makes her more suspicious.
And there’s also the fact that she knows the basement invitation extends to one other person besides FP, her father, and Hog Eye. She has it on good authority that Joaquin’s been seen hovering around the basement, in and out when he thinks people aren’t watching.
Most seem to just silently chalk it up to the older teen possibly being taken under FP’s wing, early grooming for the next king since FP’s own flesh and blood probably won’t ever step foot near the gang. But Mack knows that’s not the case. She knows that just as it’s likely she’ll become the future king’s right hand in place of her father some day down the road, she knows that FP’s been eyeing Sweet Pea for that potential stepping stone to Serpent royalty once he’s finished running the trials.
And so, she wonders what Joaquin’s doing mixed up with whatever Jones and her dad are cooking up down there. The older boy’s been acting skittish for days, bags under his eyes and looking like he’s prepared for the cops to kick in the doors at any given moment.
She knows one thing. Whatever’s down there is big.
Mack spends her nights eyeing the basement door, getting warning looks from Hog Eye when she offers to grab him the extra whiskey he needs from downstairs for the fifth time in an hour. She eyes her father with calculated wonder, making note of everything.
“Mind your goddamn business, Mackenzie,” her father will say. “It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.”
She thinks she’s onto something. Her best friend, Fangs, thinks she’s turning into a conspiracy nut.
“It’s just suspicious,” she groans to him one night, tucked into a dark corner of the bar.
They’re not full Serpents yet, but they’re prospects and so no one bats an eye as they steal away at a table with some drinks. Toni’s off at the counter, learning to mix drinks under Hog Eye’s watchful gaze. Sweet Pea’s off somewhere either memorizing the laws for later that night or raising hell. Maybe both? Probably both.
Fangs, bless his heart, tries to look somewhat supportive, although he fails at holding back a laugh. “Kenz, babe, it’s a gang. We do gang shit, your dad does gang shit, Jones does gang shit. The fact that we can’t go into a bar basement doesn’t really make the top ten of suspicious things that could happen around here.”
She ignores the way her heart misses a step at babe, before taking an angry sip of her Coke. She does a lot of things angrily these days. “Oh fuck that. There’s something happening down there. Whatever it is we should know about. They’re doing it here, they’re doing it with our gangs symbol on their skin and on their backs, this involves all of us. Don’t you think we should have an idea of shit going on in case it goes south?”
Fangs sighs. “Maybe they’re trying to make sure we have plausible deniability or something if it did go south?”
“Keller and McCoy have had it out for all of us for years,” Mack scoffs. There’s a frown on her face that only seems to deepen as she continues. “Plausible deniability doesn’t mean shit once you’re on the wrong side of the tracks. I for one want to know what my ass could potentially be thrown to the wolves for. And besides, my dad’s involved — that means something to me.”
“So what do you want to do about it?” Fangs asks after a moment, realizing Mack’s not going to let this go.
She wears a devilish grin, one that makes her eyes glint in the bars dim lighting and it makes Fangs gulp, knowing whatever she’s thinking probably isn’t something he’s going to want to be involved with. “I say we pull some Scooby Doo gang shit and get to the bottom of it.”
“Let me get this straight. You want me to help you sleuth around whatever’s happening in the basement?” She nods. Fangs cringes. “You’re going to piss off your dad.”
“And?”
“Do you have a death wish or something, Kenzie?”
“I’m not afraid of my dad, Fogarty.”
“Well, I fucking am.”
Mack lets out a laugh. Squeezing his shoulder affectionately, she gives him a smile that she seems to reserve only for him. “Don’t worry, Fangsy, I’ll protect you from the big scary biker man.”
If Fangs blushes at the way she looks up at him through her lashes, the low lighting makes sure that she doesn’t notice.
They spend the next twenty minutes plotting, but it turns out to all be for nothing. The bar clears out ten, heading down to Sunnyside for Sweet Pea’s initiation. FP and Joaquin aren’t present as Sweet Pea flies through the Gauntlet with ease. No one questions it except for Mack and it’s only the look that Fangs shoots her that stops her from bringing it up. Mack watches on with a frown as her father calls the shots. It’s not the first time he’s ushered in a new Serpent instead of Jones, but with everything that’s going on, it just doesn’t add up.
And the next day? The basement ban is lifted and suddenly everything seems to go back to normal.
Months later, Mackenzie will see the news. She’ll see the breaking story of how the body of the rich Northsider who was proclaimed dead at the beginning of July was found. The same preppy, entitled, rich asshole she knows that she remembers seeing around the Wyrm, looking for a few quick jobs for quick cash as a runner. She’ll hear the details that he didn’t drown on Independence Day, like everyone had presumed when they only found his sister on the riverbank, but had died days later from a bullet.
She’ll see the news. It’ll sink in and it’ll add up. Mack’s a smart girl, always has been. And she’ll look at her father. He’ll look back at her, his expression saying nothing and far too much all at the same time.