1
NICU
The echo of his screams against the impenetrable gray stone walls was like white noise to my ears. The musky, thick stench of old and new blood had clung to the walls like a second skin, making my lip curl in disgust. My younger brother truly enjoyed his work and got excited by it, but for me, it was just a necessary byproduct of the job, even if it was a bit messy for my taste. I was so used to it that I scrolled through emails from the shell company I created to cover up some of our seedier activities. It took more brain power to handle regular, average citizen employees than the thugs I commanded.
“P-p-please. I t-t-told y-o-u-you ev-v-everything.”
Standing next to the solid steel dungeon door in my Armani suit, I made sure not to touch anything inside this cesspool. My youngest brother had cared little for cleanliness. Flicking my gaze up, I saw my blood-drenched brother smiling wide with a crimson hammer in his hand. Even under the fluorescent lighting, his bright green eyes shone with mirth, and his body vibrated excitedly. A loud clunk sounded as he dropped the hammer onto his metal tray of tools, causing the man hanging in front of him to flinch.
Cezar tilted his head to the side, dirty blonde hair fell, barely covering his eyes as he whispered to himself. “Lies. Lies, Cal says. What a naughty, naughty doggie. Always his tail wagging, but as soon as the food settled, he wags it for the busy bees as well.”
He cackled up into the sky, laughing so loud it was hard to take your eyes off him, but that's when he was the deadliest. Not a second later, a knife sliced right through the victim's thigh. His screams turned blood-curdling, and Cezar’s eyes turned into slits. “They tell me you have more thinking to do. Tick tok. Do you want to think without your cock?”
His eyes met mine, widening for a second like he realized I was here before his whole body straightened. He smiled wide, blood dripping off him like he was swimming, and I frowned.He better not try it. His arms went wide, taking steps towards me as his voice called out in surprise. “Big brother! Who knew you would grace me with a visit.”
Narrowing my eyes on him, I warned him, “If you try to hug me with that filth all over you, I’ll knock you out and leave you down here.”
Cezar’s smile widened, even though he stopped his advancement, knowing I meant every word I said. He giggled out, “It wouldn’t be the first time….” He jumped to the side of me and laid his face against the dirty stone wall. “But this place loves me. I would sleep like a pretty little kitten,” he settled his forehead against the wall, whispering to the wall, “You love me don't you, my cold hard love,” caressing the grooves in the wall like they were lovers.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.Patience. I told myself I needed to have patience with my psychotic brother. Reminding myself it was beyond his control, but a part of me scoffed at it when he smiled so widely as he gutted the man.
It's because you failed him as a big brother.Taking a shaky breath, a flashback to that night came forward. The bone-chilled air, the loud pop-pops of the gun, the creak of the shipping container closing. Pushing those thoughts away, I reminded myself I was just a kid when it happened; how could I have known this would be his outcome?
Shoving my hand through my hair, I shoved those unhelpful thoughts aside, and I faced him, making my voice deep and firm. “Cezar, did you get anything?”
He didn’t look at me; his eyes were still closed against the wall. “Nothing you’re looking for… but Nan said he’ll break soon; he just needs time to think.”
It used to be hard for me to take him seriously when he talked about the voices in his head, but I had to admit that the percentage of times they were wrong was low, which made it hard not to believe them. I was about to ask him whenshethought this man would break since I had a meeting in a few hours, but my phone rang.
Cezar immediately stood straight, his eyes glued to my pocket like it had a monster in it. Taking it out, I glanced at the caller ID, and my insides clenched. “You shouldn’t ignore the monster when he calls,” he whispered, his voice holding an eerie tone, void of any feelings. “He only gets hungrier…” he stopped for a second, pulled out his knife, and started sharpening it, whistling some upbeat song. He was right, though, like always, it was our monster calling.
Sliding my thumb across the screen, I gripped the phone, bringing it up to my ear, “Father.”
“Why did it take you so long to pick up?” Mashing my teeth together, I waited for the rest. “I didn't raise you to be an imbecile, right? Slow? Dimwitted? No, not my fucking son!” Closing my eyes and tightening my jaw, my blood ran cold. There I was again, a boy standing in front of his desk, being torn apart from the inside out, absorbing all his hate and vile words. It was okay as long as I was the one between him and them. That was my role in this life.
A cry erupted from the other side of the room, bringing me out of my head and back to the present. Looking to the side, I saw my brother standing over the man in chains. His whole body was shaking, like he was barely keeping himself in check, before he looked at me over his shoulder, giving me a nod before he hit him again.
“Oh, you're with your brother.” I could almost hear my father massaging his temples at the thought of dealing with Cezar. Father always sent him away on another mission instead of dealing with him, but he never wanted to be accountable for making him this way.
Nodding to Cezar in thanks, I focused on my Father. “Cezar is interrogating the snitch before I head into the meeting with the Vipers to negotiate the deal.” This was a deal I’d been personally working on for months. A new pipeline for military-grade vehicles, diversifying our portfolio. It had the potential to make us millions.
“Send Garo. I need you and your brothers to come to me immediately.”
Garo. My whole body seized up.Send fucking Garo?!That two-bit thug that doesn't know the difference between a show of force and all-out war? My veins surged with magma, thawing out the ice mask I'd built over the years. I’d worked hard for months to get this meeting, to make sure we would come out on top, and even put pressure on the right leaders to make them bow down to us, and now he wants me to send Garo!
It took all my strength to keep my voice level. This was not the time to freak out and get him even more mad, not when this deal was almost complete. “If I cou-”
His booming voice took over the speakers. “Get your brothers and come here now! That’s an order!” The phone went dead, leaving a thick silence in its wake, and I could almost feel his rage through the line.
The muscles in my neck twitched as I gritted my teeth. Everything inside me screamed to tear everything down, to pull the whole world apart, and to let it all crumble underneath my feet. Then I looked at my brother, his eyes shifting around like he didn't know what to do or say. Lost.
I took a deep breath and reminded myself why I couldn’t tear it down. Why did I have to be a good son? Thisis your role, Nicu. You’re the oldest. The next in line.I was expected to keep it together… for them. For everyone.
Grabbing the handle of the dungeon door, I forced myself to take a breath. “Let’s go. We need to get Ion.”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Cezar hesitate, his foot shifting toward me before returning to where he stood. “Cal doesn't like this, but Nan says we need to go.”
I turned to face him, shoving down the side of me that hated myself for my next words, for taking this moment to manipulate my brother.Was I just as sickening as Father?No. I did this for my brothers, and my Father cared for no one but himself. “And what does M say?”
