CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ATLAS

Once the protocol was activated and Benicio was forced to go into hiding, the game changed. We were one step ahead, and we were prepared for everything. Inside a door you could only see or find if you were looking for it. There was a panic room. It only opened once protocol started, and it only shut when Benicio was inside.

It was roughly the size of a standard bedroom, there was a single bed, cupboards, and a wall of monitors. It was also soundproofed to keep noise from getting in, and sound from getting out. This truly was a hell of his own creation.

The door shut as he entered, sweating through his shirt. He rested against the wall, placing his cane on a hook. He swiped a hand across his wet face and through his balding scalp. He hadn't realized the two of us sat on his bed, fully masked like we were street performers frozen in time.

"Wow," I let out in a whisper, startling him. "You came right to us, didn't you?"

Flinching, he fumbled for his cane as he dropped to the floor.

"Here," Jasiel said, leaping across the room to him. "Let me get that for you." He pulled the cane, whacking the end against the floor to reveal the knife. "Wow. Dangerous. Thankfully I got it before you hurt yourself." He pointed the end of the knife at him, but that wasn't what we'd agreed on.

"Mine," I said. "Remember."

He stepped away, sighing.

"Jasiel?" Benicio grumbled. "But you're—you're supposed to be—"

I pulled my mask away. "And me," I said. "Surprise. I'm not dead."

He pushed himself further against the wall, his hand searching the wall for the release. "What—no you—no, no—but you—"

"If you're looking for the handle, let's remember who helped get this installed," I said, approaching him. "Now, this could've gone so much better, for you that is." I pulled my gun out of the holster. "The release handle isn't on the door you came in through. The release is over there." I nodded to the key and button beside the monitors. "Remember?"

"Atlas," he said, clutching his chest. "I treated you like a son. I'd never done anything to hurt you."

"You might have never done anything before you gave me that ultimatum," I said, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him back to his feet. "And you're not going to have some cardiac event before I get the chance to kill you."

"Atlas, you know there's no way out of this game," he said. "You'd be hunted by every assassin. I was telling you that. I tried to let you know you had to keep a job to keep them off your back."

I stuck the gun at the side of his head, letting the metal tickle at his temple. "You don't think I know that?" I asked, rhetorically. "People have always wanted to kill me. Few have got a shot at me. But you knew our agreement was temporary. Don't forget who helped you build your business. I—I helped you."

Jasiel kept himself busy, and a distraction as he dragged the knife through the bedding and mattress, pulling out all the stuffing.

"And I paid you," he said. "I fulfilled our end of the agreement. You agreed to protect me. You agreed to make sure my name was the only name when people were looking to do business."

Pulling the gun away, I smiled at him. "And I did that," I said. "You threatened me. I don't respond well to threats, Benicio."

"You killed my son." He spat as he spoke.

"Your son's death was a warning," I said, turning my back on him. "You forced our hand. You could've let us go. And I'd have been happy to protect me and Jasiel for as long as it took. But you did me a favor. People think I'm dead."

Jasiel stopped what he was doing to stare at me. There was stuffing all over the place. He smiled, collecting the white stuffing and pretending to have a thick Santa Claus type beard. He was what I was doing all of this for. I was doing it all to give him the life he deserved.

"Aren't you going to tell him?" he asked before falling to his knees in a coughing fit. "He deserves to know."

"Tell him?" I asked.

"Me?" Jasiel said, wiping at his face. "Tell me what?"

I shook my head as Benicio looked at me, a devilish glare and glint on his face. He knew exactly what he was doing. And if I didn't already know his imminent death was coming, I would've been willing to extend the pain.

"The entire reason you ended up with Atlas in the first place," Benicio said before coughing once more.

"It's not true," I said, but I didn't know what Benicio was about to tell him. "Baby. Don't listen to him."

"No," Jasiel said. "I want to know. Tell me what you mean." He gave Benicio a tap with his bare foot. "Come on. He's told me everything, so let me know what you think he's been keeping a secret from me."

Benicio smiled. He was going out with a bang and trying to take my relationship with Jasiel down with him. "Atlas was told to kill you," he said, pushing himself on his knees. "You have no idea, do you?" Through coughing, he laughed. "Your father—your father is my brother. He wanted you dead."

"My father?" he asked, taking a hold of my hand. He squeezed it tight. "My mom ran away from him before I was born. He was a horrible man."

He continued to chuckle and wheeze from the ground. "My brother. He ran things from Colombia. I ran things from here," he said. "It's no accident the two of you met."

"Is it true?" he asked quietly, staring at me with his big bug eyes. "You were going to kill me?"

"Not for a second," I said. "When I met you, when I saw you, I knew I'd never harm a hair on your body. And I told him as much."

"Did he?" Jasiel gave Benicio another kick. "Did he tell you that?"

He wasn't going to take my side, not when he knew there was a bullet in the chamber with his name on.

"I did," I said. "That's what matters. You know he has two brothers, and you've only met one."

"Sal," he said. "There's you, Sal, and—and—"

"Andres," Benicio said. "Your father."

Jasiel's hand shook in mine. "That's—that's his name. But his last name is different."

"Coronado is the chosen name," he said. "You know—" he began, wheezing. "Why we never let anyone hurt you in prison, why we made sure you were brought back to us without hurting you, because you are family. You're blood, Jasiel."

"That's not why he wanted you," I said. "You wanted him because you thought he knew the plan."

His large eyes looked wet, like he was about to cry. I'd never seen him really, emotionally cry before. And I didn't want to see it now or know that it was potentially me that was the cause for those tears. "You both lied to me."

"I didn't want to upset you," I told him. "I never wanted to hurt you. Not now, not ever."

"Where's Andres?" he asked.

Benicio snickered. "That man is more of a ghost than either of you," he said. "Just kill me if you're going to kill me. We'll rise again. This city needs us."

"No, they don't," I said. "This city needs cleansing. And my baby is going to give them just that." I gestured for him to take Benicio's life. It didn't feel right now that I took it, especially since he'd been told that he was his uncle.

He shook his head. "I don't believe you ever would've tried to hurt me," he said. "Because there's no way you would've made it out alive." He smiled at me as I reached to his face and wiped away the stray tears on his cheek. "Our crazies are too compatible for either of us to take the other out."

"You're right baby," I said, aiming my gun at Benicio's head. "I've only ever tried to protect you, you know that, right?"

He nodded. "After this, can we go get slushies? All this murder has really dried my throat." He stuck his tongue out. "See."

I stuck my tongue out to touch his, and as we went to kiss, I pressed the trigger and shot Benicio, square in the center of his forehead. I unloaded a second, and a third in quick succession. Usually, I didn't care for shooting a body once it was already dead, but in this case, I would make the exception.

We continued to kiss as the emotion of the moment wrapped us up together.

"I'm sorry I never told you," I told him. "But only because I've been searching for him myself. I've never liked anything he tried to get me to do, or what he means. I wanted to offer his head up inside a box."

Jasiel cried. "I don't even know what he looks like," he said, letting out a laugh. "You could've put anyone's head in a box and told me it was him. But I'm glad I know about this now. And I was also keeping a secret too."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he nodded and sniffled. "I wasn't a virgin when we met."

"What?" I asked, faking a gasp. "But I checked."

"I'm just really good at faking it," he snickered. "Anyway, are we ready to blow this place up?"

"You two finished?" Midas asked through the comms. "The sooner the better. The last thing we want to hear is you two fucking."

The fucking wasn't going to happen here, mostly because Jasiel had destroyed the bed and mattress.

"We're ready," I said.

"Everyone is out. Benicio Jr. and Jesus are knocked out," Trojan's voice came through.

"Want to go kill them?" I asked him, taking a tight hold of his hand. "We're almost free now."

"Almost free," he repeated back. "I'm ready."