“And the Shepards?” It was dumb to even ask. Flix had no clue why he did. It wasn’t like he could really follow that suggestion. An Onus wasn’t a title they could joke about behind a school building.
Once a member of the Brumal named an Onus, that was it. They were taking themselves off the market for life, claiming someone as their own, and announcing to the rest of the mafia that they were important and, most importantly, trustworthy.
Aneski Kendricks was not trustworthy.
“I’ll quit,” Ani replied.
“Just like that?” He didn’t buy it.
“I only joined to find out what happened to Russ,” he admitted.
“You’re their leader.” Now that the initial shock had worn off, Flix was starting to see straight again. “Bring them alongwith you on your journey to find Big Brother. He abandoned them as well.”
“I could do that if you don’t kill me, I suppose,” he hummed and considered it, eventually shaking his head. “But no thanks. I’d rather go with you.”
“What if I said those are your only options?” This needed to end. He was starting to get a headache and wish for things that should never have even been a remote possibility in the first place. “I let you go with your friends and you give me your word you won’t tell. Your life in exchange for your silence.” It was foolish, but…Flix didn’t think he could go through with it anyway. “Or, if you insist otherwise, I zap your heart. You die here, and the oncoming storm washes away any evidence that I was with you when it happened.”
Everyone at the cafeteria had seen them leave together, but no one would dare speak out against him.
“No thanks,” Aneski repeated with no hesitation whatsoever. “I like my idea better.”
“It’s not going to happen, Ani.” He hadn’t just wasted three years trying to forget about the younger man just to let him stroll in here and call the shots at the last second. No. Hell no. “If you think you can use the video to threaten me into complying, think again.”
“That wouldn’t really work, since you’re saying you’re going to kill me,” he pointed out. “I’m smarter than that. Have some faith in me, damn.”
“This is pointless and we’re getting nowhere.” Flix pinched the bridge of his nose. Fuck it. He’d go straight to Baikal and confess everything himself. If he left out the part about his parents, told Kal he’d done it all on his own, he could spare them any backfire. With any luck, hearing it come from him would soften the blow. Years of friendship between them had to account for something, right?
He should have done it sooner. There’d been more than a few occasions where he almost had even. If he’d just gotten it over with, this wouldn’t be happening.
“Forget it,” Flix said. “Just get out of here.”
Aneski pursed his lips but made no moves to leave.
“I mean it, Ani. Go.”
“Not until I get what I want.”
He groaned and rolled his eyes as the sky spit out the first few drops of rain. One splattered against his cheek and he rubbed it off frustratedly. Flix hated the rain. Hated the sticky feeling of his clothes on his skin, but more than that, hated how it felt like he was being taunted whenever it rained but didn’t storm.
When there was lightning in the sky, Flix could easily let loose.
Although, he guessed if he was planning on coming clean to Kal, that was no longer going to be an issue for him. He wouldn’t need to hide his leaching during thunderstorms or through carefully crafted “fires”.
“Fine,” he stated, just wanting to leave and get this over with now that he’d been backed into a corner. “I’ll help you find Russ, happy?”
“That’s not what I want.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“Make me your Onus, Flix.” Aneski latched onto Flix’s wrist when he went to leave himself, since it was clear now Ani had no intentions of doing so.
“Let go.”
“Tried that,” he said. “I’ve been trying, believe me. But it’s too late.”
“If this is some love confession—”
He chuckled mockingly. “Don’t worry, it isn’t.”
