The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

The guy looked at Po Sin, coming out the service exit at the back of the hotel, pushing a hand truck stacked with rotting cardboard boxes.

– Uncle, who the fuck is this?

Po Sin pointed.

– Let go his finger, Dingbang.

He let go of my finger and turned.

– Man, Uncle, don't call me that. Told you my handle's Bang. Just Bang.

Po Sin lifted the mask from his face, flicking a couple roaches from the exposed skin.

– OK, Just Bang.

– No. Just. Bang. Not Just Bang. Man.

Po Sin looked at me.

– Just Bang Man. It's like he's asking for trouble.

I laughed.

Bang turned.

– What you laughing at, shitbag? Lying in a pile of shit. What's so fucking funny about that?

Po Sin came over and offered his hand to me, looking at Bang.

– Go home, Nephew.

– What the fuck, man. I'm here. I'm ready to work.

Po Sin gave my arm a tug and it almost came clear of its socket as he hauled me up.

– Job started three hours ago.

– Told you I was gonna be late.

– No you didn't.

– I did. I called Aunt Lei and she said she'd tell you.

– No you didn't. And don't bring your aunt into it.

Po Sin pointed at the bags scattered at our feet and looked at me.

– Get these in the bin and change into a Tyvek with no shit on it, Web.

Bang pointed at me.

– Who the fuck is he?

Po Sin put a hand on his shoulder and turned him toward the end of the alley.

– He's the guy who got here on time this morning.

Bang stood his ground.

– Bullshit, man. That's bullshit. This is my job.

Po Sin leaned slightly, putting his weight behind his hand, and moved Bang off his ground and down the alley.

– That was your job, until you didn't spend last night at the shop like you were supposed to. That was your job until the van got plastered with paint because no one was there keeping an eye on things.

– I was in court yesterday. I told you. I had a violation. Fucking cop pulled me over because I'm Asian. Total profiling.

– He give you a DUI because you're Asian?

– Fuck does that matter? That's not the point. He had no reason to pull me over in the first place. I was driving fine. He wasn't profiling for Asians, he never would have known I had an open container. And that's not the fucking point anyway. I had court. I told you I had court.

Po Sin propelled him farther down the alley.

– You didn't tell me.

– I did! I did! I called! And after court I had to go explain it to my mom and she got upset and didn't want me to drive because she didn't understand that it was OK, that I hadn't been suspended and I called to tell you I couldn't be at the shop, man.

– No you didn't.

Bang dug in his heels and shrugged off his uncle's hand.

– Fuck your hand off me anyway. I do all the shit work! All of it! You, that fucking round-eye Gabe, you never pull your weight. Not that anyone could pull your weight.

– Nephew.

– No, fuck you! Fuck you and this shit job. I fucking quit! See how long that scrawny fucker lasts doing the heavy lifting for you. See how long he lasts when there's trouble. Fuck you and fuck your fucking wife who can't take a fucking phone message and.

Whoever else was meant to be fucked had their name deleted by Po Sin's hand wrapping around his nephew's throat and shoving him into the graffitied brick wall of the hotel.

Po Sin held him there. Bang turned red.

I took a couple steps.

– Po Sin.

He looked at me. Looked at his nephew. And let go.

Bang slumped, gagged and wheezed. Po Sin put a hand on his chest.

– Dingbang? I. Dingbang.

Bang knocked the hand away.

– Don't call me that!

He pushed from the wall and ran to the end of the alley.

– Gonna pay for touching me, man! No one touches Bang!

He took a step, stopped, and pointed at me.

– You too, shitbag, you're dead!

And he rounded the corner of the alley and was gone.

Po Sin stood there for a second, turned and walked toward me.

– Sorry. He's my nephew. But. He.

– He's a dick, Po Sin.

He pulled the end of his moustache.

– Well. Yes. Like father like son. Nothing like working with family to bring out the best in a man.

– Or to make him want to strangle them.

He smiled.

– Don't know about you, but some of my family, I don't need to be anywhere near them to want to strangle ‘em.

– I find it helps that my mom lives out of state.

– Never had a problem with my mother. My dad I could have throttled a couple times.

– My dad spends all his time in a bar out in Santa Monica. That far west, may as well be another state. He's safe from me.

– Yeah, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

– I didn't say that.

He started for the service entrance.

– My mother and father are both permanently out of reach. And my brother. Well. We're out of touch. Last thing I need at this point is less family.

He stopped and stared at the end of the alley where Bang had disappeared.

I bent and picked up a shitbag and tossed it in the bin.

– He was asking for it, Po Sin.

He kept looking down the alley.

– He's a boy I'm a man.

He turned his head to me.

– A man should be able to retain his composure.

I looked at the shit at my feet.

He made for the entrance.

– It's about lunch. Finish up with that and we'll go grab a bite.