Boots, in a box, and in Teilo’s case, they came with fancy silver buckles and chains that Teilo couldn’t stop stroking. He almost didn’t want to wear them because they were so pretty, and he kept glancing down at them during the plane trip. Nico’s boots were a lot sturdier than his, in basic black and no buckles, which Teilo understood… but the silver toecaps on his were gorgeous.
“My brother should have sent a car,” Ben advised, once the plane landed. He’d been quiet on the trip, which had been worrying, especially when he kept reading things on his phone.
Ben explained Todd had sent him a heap of information relating to the Paraguay assassin program. He’d promised he would share that with Teilo and Nico too, and he hadn’t. So it had to be council business that was putting a furrow in Ben’s usually smooth brow.
Ben was wearing a suit a similar color to the gray of Teilo’s pants. As they stepped off the plane, Teilo worried Ben would get struck down with heatstroke as the moist clammy air swirled around them, but Ben didn’t even seem to notice.
Teilo noticed, though. The heat, the smells, the vegetation. It was all so familiar, and he stiffened instinctively, his eyes scanning the area for threats. It helped that Nico was just as wary beside him, watching everything as they strode across the tarmac to a large SUV that was waiting for them.
“Make the driver go away,” Teilo said as they got closer. “Ben, you can drive, right? I don’t like the look of him. Make the driver go away. You drive us.”
Ben stopped and turned to face him. Teilo monitored the driver, who was leaning against the hood of the car. “The driver will be one of Kylo’s men. What possible reason can I have for telling him he’s not needed? How will he even get back to the office? I can’t ditch him.”
“Ditch him?” Teilo didn’t understand the term. “He doesn’t need to go in a ditch. It doesn’t matter where he goes, but we’re not getting in that vehicle if he’s driving it.” Teilo didn’t have to look at Nico. He knew his cage brother would agree.
Stepping closer, Ben lowered his voice. “Teilo, mate, I realize coming back here is going to trigger some negative things for you, but this is part of getting along with others. The driver was sent by my brother to drive us back to where Kylo works.”
“He’s taken out a device like yours,” Nico muttered. “A cell phone and he’s talking to someone.”
“Probably Kylo,” Ben laughed. “He’s probably calling my brother to find out why we’re standing out here in the middle of the tarmac in the midday heat like lunatics instead of getting in the vehicle.”
“My senses are telling me not to get in the car when that man is driving.” Teilo folded his arms across his chest.
“I won’t, either.” Nico mirrored him.
Ben looked at them, glanced over at the driver, and then back again. “I’ll call Kylo, all right? The cell phone has a speaker, so you can hear him tell you that’s his driver waiting for us and he’s perfectly safe.” Slowly, as if he was worried Teilo was going to jump him, he reached into his jacket pocket and took out his cell phone. Holding it up, he tapped on the screen, and Teilo could hear a ringing sound.
Moments later, the ringing stopped, and they could hear a voice Teilo remembered. “My gods, baby bro, have you arrived already? So sorry. I haven’t had a chance to organize a driver yet…” Nico took off sprinting towards the SUV, “I’ll hop in the car now and come and get you.”
“Don’t bother, we have a vehicle.” Teilo said loudly, pointing at the screen, and then slicing his finger across his neck area, indicating for Ben to stop the call, which he did with another tap.
“How did you know?” Ben was half-turned, his face pale, watching as Nico took down the waiting driver. “How did youknow?”
Teilo looked down at the shiny silver on the pointed toe of his boots. “I just do. No one ever believes me except Nico, but if I know, I know.”
“Fuck, I’m so sorry.” Ben stepped into his personal space, and Teilo pulled him into a hug. “I’m so sorry if you thought I doubted you for a moment.”
You did doubt me.Although Teilo wasn’t the type to hold a grudge over something like that. Ben would learn, just as they were learning about him. He watched Nico do what he did best—taking care of their problem.
~/~/~/~
Nico
“Do you know who I am?” Nico snarled, taking the running man to the ground. Nico holding his neck and his life in his hands.
“No, no.” The man was shaking his head, trying to move side to side. “I was just told to come here and drive you.”
“Drive us where?” Out of the corner of his eye, Nico could see Teilo was hugging Ben close, making sure the older councilor couldn’t see what he was doing. He could feel his cage brother’s eyes on him and was proud he could finally do something to protect him. “Where were you going to take us?”
“Out there?” The man tried to point towards the edge of the jungle. “They told me to just keep driving till I had to stop.”
“Who told you?”
The man’s eyes widened, the whites of them bloodshot.
“Who?” Picking the man up by his neck, Nico slammed his head back down onto the tarmac. “Who? Damn you.”
“You’ll have to kill me. I’ll never say.” The man pressed his chubby lips together as if daring Nico to pry them open and force him to speak.
