Uncivil War.

 “Uncivil War.” 

    I slowly thumbed through the contact list on my phone, trying to find Robert’s number.  I wasn’t honestly sure if it was still on my phone.  Jeff was patiently waiting for me to respond to his question.  Eventually he broke the silence and asked me, “Did you delete his contact information?”  There was a pause when I had determined that Robert Klien was the number that remained in my phone, and Robert Daniels I was unsure of.  “I don’t think it is here under my contacts, bro.” Jeff paused another minute and added, “Maybe you blocked him.  Try checking your blocked numbers list.”  A moment later I continued to thumb through the blocked numbers list and confirmed to Jeff that the number that was blocked and deleted as Robert’s.  I sat back in my desk chair and tried to recall why I even blocked Robert in the first place.  While my mind drew a blank, I didn’t have the energy to spend trying to figure it out.  Whatever it was, I am sure that Robert deserved it. 

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    Several months ago, during the Fall of 2017, a phone call took place between Robert Daniels and William Googan that resulted in the blocking of Robert by William.  The conversation regarded a football game that the two friends were watching simultaneously while speaking during a commercial break.  While the advertisement played, William seemed enamored by the superior throwing power of Patrick Mahomes and replayed his own glory days during high school football that both men were on.  Robert made an innocent comment about how he was so sorry when he saw William get that severe injury where his left meniscus was torn.  William saw the comment as incredibly rude and insensitive.  He thought that Robert was lording the fact that William was never going to play serious college football like he wanted over him.  To Robert, the comment was an expression of sorrow for his friend’s loss.  To William, it was a jab at him that was just the result of Robert’s jealousy that he made Quarterback.  The conversation seemed to end politely enough to anyone who might have been listening, but the result was far more complex.  William blocked and deleted the contact information of Robert.  Robert thought nothing was wrong and was taken aback when their usual football game talk was abandoned seemingly out of nowhere a few days later. 

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    I saw it was getting late after I hung up the phone with William.  I had to get into work early tomorrow morning and I didn’t have time to waste on this stupid drama between those two idiots.  Frankly, I think they should have just gotten their frustration out and not let the friendship erode.  It worries me that people seem to be tearing apart years of good times and bonding over what seems like nothing.  I wanted to be the first one to get them both in a room and tell them how stupid they are.  What really gets me upset is how angry Robert gets when the topic of anything William related comes up.  Still...I have the most unfortunate task of confirming the block situation with Robert which I was not looking forward to. 

    It gets me so angry that I want to just push them both away, but I am not a total asshole, and I don’t think like these two.  I was just thinking about how my friendship with Scott was like an unbreakable bond that was forged by what started as a bar fight.  Scott and I have only been friends for 6 months now, but we really get along.  I don’t think anything would get us to get like that, and I think I am better than upsetting Scott like that.  Or anyone for that matter.  I was just feeling superior when I remembered that I had a similar issue with Dan. I was lost in regret with the whole Dan fiasco when my phone rang and it was Robert calling.  I decided to ignore the call for now and let it go to voicemail. 

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    It was in the second week of March 2020 that there was an eruption between the good friends Jeff and Dan. The two close friends were engaged in a spirited debate over the political climate.  Dan was convinced that Jeff had an unfair opinion of President Biden’s handling of the economy and bail reform issues.  Dan frequently tried to steer his friend to his more Democratic viewpoints and argue that bail reform disproportionately affects minorities.  Jeff staunchly believed that there is no saving some people and that letting criminals go free is a danger to society as a whole.  This constantly raging debate began several months before the 2020 election and continued to grow more rancorous during the months afterward.  Jeff believed that President Trump truly speaks for the American people and that only wealthy liberals who don’t have the trouble of living in the same neighborhoods with these people were out of touch.   

    There was a final meeting at Dan’s house where they began their usual political debate during dinner.  Dan made several biting remarks disguised at criticizing the intelligence of supporters of President Trump.  Dan tried to shrug off the comments because they always ended up with Dan accusing Jeff of being overly sensitive and that the comments weren’t directed at him.  Jeff became increasingly irritated as the two discussed matters, which further prompted the indirect insults.  The intensity of the conversation was making Sarah and Dan’s children upset with the volatile behavior.  The conversation ended with Jeff picking up his plate of meatloaf that Sarah made and hurling it against the wall.  Thomas, Dan’s 4-year-old son, became inconsolable and cried during the outburst and continued to do so throughout the night.  Stacy, Dan’s 9-year-old daughter, just watched in silence praying that it would just be over and that Jeff would leave.  Thomas and Jeff always got along so famously that it was a shock to everyone.  Jeff eventually calmed down after throwing the place, realizing his error, and walked out of the house wordlessly and drove away.  Dan vowed to end the friendship, and Jeff intended never to drive back over to that house again.  The two never blocked one another, even on social media, but that might have made matters worse.  Politically charged articles being plastered on another’s social media pages became an online battleground for the two now-enemies.   

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    I was kind of surprised when Jeff didn’t pick up my phone call.  I looked at the time and saw it was only 10:30. I can’t imagine that Jeff would be sleeping at this hour.  It filled me up with a bitterness I couldn’t begin to understand.  It is like this with people these days.  They just ignore whatever that don’t have time to work out.  It was only going to take a couple of seconds to fill me in on what happened with William.  William clearly does not want anything to do with me but didn’t have the courage to tell me that it was over.  I guess he thinks I would have made a huge scene and made his perfect life slightly less so.   The real thing that drives me crazy is the fact that there was no good reason why he turned on me!  It was just like one day things were completely fine and the next he hated my guts.  I just don’t understand what was causing my friendships to disintegrate.  Well, I guess Dan is busy with family life. 

    The whole incident with Jeff and Dan surprised the hell out of me when I heard it, since Jeff was usually pretty levelheaded.  That is why I refuse to get involved in politics.  I swear that it can make bitter enemies of people who would otherwise be friends.  So, between what went on with Jeff not calling and William most likely blocking me; I can tell that friendship just seems to be an outdated concept that is eroding around me.  What is more than that, is that I have noticed that people in general have been thinking or saying nasty things about one another.  It is almost as if someone turned on a switch that made everyone hate everyone else.  I think that it really accelerated around 2018, but I have no real clue.  At least Jeff and Scott seem to be having fun.  It is great to have another addition to our little group. 

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    What Robert did not know about Scott Tanner, like most of the group members in this clique, was that Scott had a dark secret.  Scott was deeply hooked on prescription pain medications, and it was tearing him apart from the inside.  In May 2016, Scott hurt himself while getting out of a taxi while intoxicated.   He slipped and twisted his ankle and damaged the bone and ligament without realizing it.  Since he was intoxicated, he slept on the injury in an awkward way which exacerbated the injury.  When Scott went to his physician, the physician told Scott that surgery was extremely expensive and that his insurance would not cover it.  The insurance company recommended that the injury was not “essential for walking or essential job functions.”  Given that there was no way to fix the underlying issue, Scott had to soldier on with the pain.  Unfortunately for Scott, this was during the opioid epidemic, and his doctor was afraid to prescribe him any severe medications.  His doctor insisted that Ibuprofen and Yoga were the answers.  An injury this severe was far beyond such measures.  That doctor continued to prescribe the medications to his older and more reliable patients.  People like Scott were just simply out of luck. 

    Scott was friends with a man from downtown named Daryl.  Daryl sympathized with Scott’s story and went on a long rant about insurance companies and doctors that were merely afraid of losing their licenses.   Daryl offered to act on behalf of Scott.  This is when a long and very expensive relationship between Scott and Daryl took place whereby the two friends met up in a fast-food restaurant to make their monthly deals.  What Scott did not know, and would have been most offended by, was the fact that the person selling the medications to Daryl was a patient of the same doctor that refused the medication to Scott.  Daryl took a tidy sum in markup to make the exchanges worth his while.  All the while, he made snarky and incendiary comments about the ethical violations of doctors and the police state.  Detective Rodger Collins, in the local narcotics division, was more than a little interested in the goings-on of the narcotic pyramid that was forming. 

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    I walked away from the usual burger joint with a fat wad of cash in my pocket as usual.  It was a wonderful sunny day, and the warm sunny summer of 2020 was the ultimate time to party.  As I walked over to my white pickup truck, I noticed someone that looked like he was looking right at me from his sedan.  He had sunglasses on and a brimmed hat.  Something about just getting a sight of the man creeped me the hell out.  He held up a newspaper just a half a second later.  Was I just paranoid?  I just get this way every time I make a decent deal in this area.  It is a really nice neighborhood and all.  Before getting in the car, I spat on the parking lot pavement, hating the fact that some people lived so well while others lived like shit.  Like me, for instance.  

    I drove home slowly, trying to be careful not to stir up any attention.  The area was heavily policed, and I was carrying a decent stash.  Was that the black sedan that I saw before following me?  No, it couldn’t be.  I left that restaurant like 10 minutes ago, and I never saw a car tailing me.  I had to be fine.  It was just nerves.  I always thought it was silly that I had to come out to another county to make deals with Scott.  He was so paranoid about his new friends seeing him with me.  It was like, duh bro!  Just play it off like we are just random friends.  There is no need to get all nervous that your friends will find out that you are taking legitimate medications.  Oh well, that is how these rich folks are. So afraid of one finding out about the others’ dirty laundry.   

    I was just getting lost in another inner rant when I got home to my apartment.  I stayed in the truck for just a few moments to be sure that no cars were sneaking up behind me.  It took me a minute to be sure that I was in the clear.  Since things were looking on the up and up, I felt more comfortable strolling into my place.  I really hoped that Jennifer made something for dinner.  I know I am old fashioned, but I really like the idea of my girl making me something to eat when I get home from business.  She was pretty good about stuff like that, but lately something was off.  I just got the impression that she was out with Rick again.  Something about that guy didn’t seem right to me.  He said that he was gay, but I didn’t believe them.  I just had to catch them in the act, and I was sure that things would be revealed.   

    I walked into the apartment and saw that the lights were off.  I turned them on and looked around for Jennifer, hoping that she was at least laying down and taking a nap.  I couldn’t find her in any room.  After a moment of searching, I sighed and crept over to the refrigerator for a snack.  That is when I noticed a note stuck to the fridge.  It read, “Out with Rick, hope you had a good time doing your thing!  See you in a couple of hours. Love, Jennifer.”  I tore the note of the fridge and curled my fist into a ball.  I am not happy right now.  Not happy at all. 

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    Daryl did have some reason to be concerned with the rendezvous between his paramour and Rick.  The two were not lovers, as Rick was indeed a gay friend.  However, Jennifer and Rick had been talking about the growing abuse that was coming from Daryl.  At first, he would get angry and yell at her when she went out with her friends.  She sometimes found herself really afraid of him.  Her girlfriends would often make offhanded remarks to him about relationships that were abusive, which only added fuel to the fire.  Her friends frequently tried to get her to end the relationship with Daryl before things got out of hand.  What they did not know was that Jennifer was also involved in a drug addiction of her own.  She and Daryl had a proclivity for using his sale of opioids for cocaine addiction. 

    Jennifer in the winter of 2019, made friends with Rick, and they were getting along famously.  At first Richard thought the whole thing was innocent enough, but he meant keeping an eye on the whole situation.  He began to doubt Ricks sexual orientation and began to question Jennifer about the whole thing.  Rick and Jennifer liked to get together and talk and do cocaine and gossip about people all over the neighborhood.  Rick was something of a local legend at the local gay bar scene.  Rick and Jennifer would become inebriated and put on impromptu fashion shows.  The two friends had a wonderful time dressing up, taking photos, and of course, getting high.   

    During the last time the two gathered on this sunny day in 2020, they were having a more serious discussion after only one outfit was tried on.  Jennifer confided in Rick that she was receiving even more abuse than usual.  Daryl had hit her really hard in the stomach and legs.  Daryl made an effort to conceal the blows such that no one would discover his abuse very easily.  The two were fighting over the Rick visits during their argument and when Jennifer suggested that maybe Daryl was more interested in Rick than he was letting on, he flew into frenzy.  Jennifer wasn’t only visiting Rick that day; she was hiding from Daryl.  

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    I didn’t even bother gulping any of the soda that I bought at the burger joint.  I was getting that good at taking these pills.  Maybe a little too good.  As I started driving toward my friend Jim’s poker game, I saw that Robert had texted me.  Looks like he wanted to hang out.  This guy is amazing. Let me tell you.  He doesn’t play any games, and he doesn’t try to make me feel like he cares when he doesn’t.  Robert cares, he is just that good of a guy.  I almost swerved into a light post when driving, answering the text.  I really should be more careful.  I was going to go over to his house instead of Jim’s poker game.     

    I had to get away from Jim and his weekly poker nights. Normally the guys rib each other and have a good laugh at each other once and a while, but something was really off these days.  It is like the usual joking around is just getting hateful.  Some of things Jim and Dan say really bug me.  It isn’t that they say things about me that I can’t handle; it is just that they say it like they want to hurt each other.  Someone always gets really angry when the game ends the way they didn’t want it to, and everyone is more on edge about losing money.  I just had to get away from there.  Robert was like a refuge from all the mounting hate.  Things really turned around the end of 2019.  I wish I had even a clue why. 

    I made my way over toward Robert’s house and things got a bit fuzzy as I was driving.  A car horn beeped behind me at the stop light.  I must have nodded off.  Maybe I took too many pills.  I waved to the other driver and continued my way over to his place.  I almost veered into the oncoming lane of traffic a moment later, when my eyes popped open again and I quickly avoided any collision.  This was not looking good.  It would only be a few more minutes before I got to Robert’s house.  Just keep driving and everything will be... 

    Oh God, I rear ended another car.  My eyes popped open and the driver from the red compact was getting out of their car.  It was a somewhat chubby man, with a shaved head and sweatpants.  He was holding his neck like he was hurt or at least faking an injury.  I didn’t even put my car in the park and things went black, when it kept rolling into the man’s car.  It made me jump back awake when the second small bump woke me up.  “What the hell is wrong with you!”  The man screamed at me like he wanted to hit me.  He was somewhere between cradling his neck and trying to intimidate me.  It would have been a funny scene if it wasn’t so damn serious.  I am in so much trouble. 

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    Thankfully, no one was hurt from the incident with the automobile accident, but the consequences would be severe indeed.  Scott was questioned at the scene of the accident where he nodded off in front of police Officer Ronald Kozinski.  The officer soon took the man into custody and had him sent to a hospital for a blood test.  The blood test confirmed a high dosage of opioids in his system at the time of the accident.  Scott’s attorney was able to get Scott’s sentence dropped to house arrest and treatment in a drug rehabilitation program.  Unfortunately for Scott, his misdeed was put up in several local news feeds.  Scott’s secret was just discovered by Robert. 

    Robert was so ashamed and appalled by his newest friend's behavior that he decided to block him and remove all communications with him.  He thought having such an influence and connection with this person would have a dangerous impact on his reputation.  Robert did to Scott what William did to him.  Without a conscious realization of the hypocrisy of his actions, Robert proved himself no better.  The trouble was some kind of inability for there to be a dialogue between people.  Scott was also quickly shunned by the guys over at the poker games with Jim.  Scott had himself and his family left. 

    With no real friends to connect with, he became both irritated and overbearing to his family.  Since they became his only source of social connection, it put a strain on the relationship between him and his parents and sister.  Scott would have to face house arrest alone, with nothing but his landscaping job and his thoughts to keep him company.  Scott would find himself talking to himself more to fill the void.  He could just imagine the things his friends and family were saying about him, and he was quickly yelling in a room by himself.  The neighbors feared that they were living next to a madman.  

    Daryl, meanwhile, discovered Rick’s apartment by finding him on a social media site that revealed its location through pictures.  It was disturbingly easy for the unstable man to find his way to where his girlfriend and Rick were.  Rick parked his white pickup truck with the rust holes near the bottom of the cab.  He took a deep exhale and climbed the stairs to the apartment.  He went around to where he could see a back entrance on the porch and made his way over there.  Since Rick and Jennifer were just smoking and the door was open.  Rick made his unexpected entrance. 

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    Rick was in the other room changing when I heard what sounded like feet stomping through the back door.  I could just see around the corner where Rick’s door was a little bit open.  A few seconds later I heard Daryl’s voice booming, “What are you doing with my woman!?  You must think you are real fucking slick!”  Then Daryl pushed a shirtless Rick against the hallway wall and threw a nasty punch at Rick’s face.  I started to scream for him to stop, but I stopped myself.  Instead, I dialed 911.  I ran into the bathroom and locked the door, waiting for the phone to answer. 

    While that was happening, I could hear what sounded like Rick begging Daryl to stop, and I began to cry.  This was so messed up; Daryl really went too far this time.  I gave the woman on the phone my information, address, and told her what was going on.  I basically said that my maniac boyfriend was attacking my gay friend.  I can barely remember what was said because I could still hear the sounds of struggle going on outside the bathroom.  Then there were a few minutes where everything went quiet, and I wasn’t sure what happened.  I tried to hold back sobs so Daryl wouldn’t try to get me out.  Then I saw the knob turn and tried to open the door. 

    Daryl put on a suddenly nice sounding voice, “listen baby, I am sorry, we can work this out.  There is nothing you did with him that I can’t forgive if you are honest with me.” I didn’t make a sound.  I was so freaked out.  Daryl suddenly sounded a bit more impatient, “why don’t you open up so we can go home. I really want to get out of here.”  I tried to hold back the sobs, but they came, and I began crying so loudly that he knew I wasn’t going to open up.  Daryl knows how I get when I am like this.  “Listen...babe, I am starting to get really pissed off.”  The way that Daryl said, “babe” really annoyed me.  I yelled through the door, “What you did was totally fucked up!”  There was a moment of silence then Daryl’s voice changed again.  “You know what? Fuck this. I am getting out of here.  Have fun with your new boyfriend.”  

    I must have waited in that bathroom for 10 minutes listening for the sounds of Daryl in case he was still nearby.  I finally worked up the courage to leave the bathroom, and I walked over to where Rick was.  He was lying on the ground.  I tried to check to see if he was okay, but I think he was unconscious.  There was a bunch of blood, and his face was completely swollen.  “Oh, what am I going to do?!”  I must have cried while holding Rick on the ground there.  I could hear him wheezing like he must have had a broken rib or something.  I almost passed out myself when I heard loud knocking at the door.  “Police Department, open up!”  I quickly got up and rushed to the door.  I was not looking forward to reliving the whole mess. 

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    Waiting in his car right at Daryl’s house was detective Rodger Collins, and he was working with the regular police unit due to the assault charges that the suspect was just accused of.  The detective waited as Officer Ramirez and Officer Smith drove up to Daryl Hammond’s front door.  Once Ramirez had Mr. Hammond in custody, and placed him in the cruiser, he let Smith know that a search warrant was ordered to check the premises for narcotics.  There were a few items that the search was expected to turn up. 

    It took about an hour for the officers to search through the apartment to turn up a large bag of cocaine under the sink, and another smaller bag of prescription pain medications inside a lamp that came apart in the bedroom.  Unfortunately for Jennifer, the search found her culpable as an accessory to Daryl’s dealing operation.  While questioned, she gave up information about her boyfriend, herself, and Scott in exchange for a lesser sentence.  She spoke to a public defender who got her let off with misdemeanor probation.  She also was sent to counseling for the abusive relationship that she was in. The judge appeared to show her some leniency because she was in a terrifying situation. 

    While all this transpired, Rodger Daniels and William Googan met up by chance in a crowded shopping mall.  William attempted to avoid Rodger by turning his head away and hiding his face with his hand.  Rodger saw the clumsy attempt at hiding his identity for what it was and loudly called out an insult in the mall that drew the attention of all the shoppers.  William despised being the center of attention like that and froze in place when eyes began to turn on the two men.  Rodger continued to approach William, inflamed by the fact that he was being ignored.  Hostile words were exchanged.  As the insults and language grew coarser and disturbing, William began countering with insults of his own.  It was only a matter of a minute before the two men were exchanging blows to one another.  It was a brutal fight that left both men injured.  William had a black eye and a severely broken nose, and Rodger had a dislocated jaw, and a mild concussion when his head was slammed against an ornate marble fountain. 

Judge Francis O’Connell had a miserable week ruling on the cases between Daryl’s beating of Rick, which was ruled a hate crime.  While beating Rick, Daryle made a number of homophobic statements to the nearly dying Rick, despite claiming that it was due to a cheating situation. Not to mention the public brawl between Rodger and William. There were children who might have gotten hurt had their parents not gotten them out of harm's way. Detective Collins sighed as he gave his statement to the court regarding the narcotic sale going on in that downtown apartment and blamed the whole mess on people losing themselves to their addictions.  He had seen this kind of thing so many times in his line of work.  It wore down on him some nights, and it felt like the only escape was a nice bourbon and a cheap cigar.  It wasn’t healthy, but everything was out to kill you, or so he believed.  

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The air in the garage seems so musty this time of year, but it didn’t bother me when I was in this kind of mood.  The knife sailed across the room in perfect rhythm and landed square in the forehead of a photograph of Jeff’s face.  If that Trump loving bastard came anywhere near me or my family, this knife would be hitting flesh instead of sheetrock. I pulled the knife out of the wall with a grunt and grim determination.  The news that William and Robert beat each other senselessly and were going to jail set me off further.  It was like insanity was being served up, and everyone was looking to get a full plate.  Not me.  I have a family and I don’t play those kinds of games. Why is this shit happening?  Like, is there some kind of shit being put in the water supply? 

I spent hours looking at countless internet forums for more information about outbreaks of violence, fighting, and general discord.  It seemed like any information related to the topic of increased aggression disappeared around 2017.  It was like there was some kind of blackout, maybe?  I had no idea and researching things that didn’t pertain to East Asian art history was out of my realm of experience.  I ran my fingers through my hair and washed off the knife a moment later.  I tucked the photo of Jeff under a few boxes of lawncare supplies.  I didn’t want Sarah to see this picture with a bunch of stab holes in it.  She would probably think I am nuts, let alone what the kids might think.  I started walking back into the house and up to the bedroom when I heard Sarah on the phone.  Who was she talking to?  Probably her friend Becky or someone like that. I didn’t have to worry about anything like that.  Right? 

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Thomas watched the mall security camera footage of the brawl that took place extremely carefully.  He wanted to be certain to pause it at the right moment.  After a few attempts of looping it, he got what he wanted, a clear image of the faces of the two men locked in combat.  Yes, it was the eyes.  Something about the eyes that told some kind of story that he thought people did not want to hear.  Thomas did not think they were ready for what they were dealing with.  The next coming years will be the most difficult.  After looking at the footage a few more times, Thomas thumbed through some court documents about the resulting decisions regarding Daryl and Jennifer. Stimulants and painkillers are made a bad situation worse.  Thomas scratched the back of his heavily balded head and stroked the long stringy grey hair combed over in places.  His black suit itched him, and he would be glad to be done with the thing. 

Thomas sighed and hoisted a glass chalice of brandy up to his mouth and sipped slowly.  He then took a Tupperware that he brought from home and pulled out a few bits of meat that he saved from the night before.  “I was going to order Chinese, but I guess that you weren’t interested in having any.”  A voice came up from behind him and sounded disappointed that Thomas had decided to bring food from home.  “I am terribly sorry, but I am quite preferential in my choice of food.”  Thomas grinned up at the doctor who was an older man dressed in a lab coat.  The man seemed to shudder when Thomas bared his teeth.  It looked like Thomas scared the older man to death.  “Well, I have a few things to do here, afterward I am going to be headed off to Connecticut.”  There was a moment when Thomas tapped his scraggly chin, turned slightly and said, “Don’t be long now.  We have much work to do, Dr. Felter.”