“I can have both,” I say.
He almost laughs.
“Then prove it. Show me you aren’t weak.”
I smile and I know it doesn’t look human. I don’t hesitate. I drive the blade into his ribs, exactly where he taught me.
His breath leaves him in a shuddering gasp. His eyes lock onto mine. No fear. No pleading.
Just something dark and proud.
“There,” he whispers faintly. “That’s my boy.”
I twist the knife. His body jerks once, then stills.
The light drains from his eyes slowly. He collapses fully against the floor as I withdraw the blade.
Blood coats my hands.
The air smells heavy and metallic. I stand over him, chest rising and falling steadily as a realization washes over me.
I am my father’s son.
I wipe the blade clean on Hartford’s jacket and pick up my gun.
When I step out of the briefing room, the hallway is silent. The captains look at me once.
At the blood.
They don’t ask questions.
“Clean it,” I say.
I take the stairs two at a time. The building feels different now. Quieter. Like it knows something irreversible just happened.
Hartford’s blood is drying on my sleeve. My knuckles ache. The cut on my bicep throbs in time with my pulse, warm and sticky beneath torn fabric. I don’t bother cleaning myself up.
There are more important things.
The corridor to the holding cells is dimly lit, concrete walls swallowing sound. Two guards straighten when they see me. Their eyes flick to the blood. Then away.
“Open it,” I say.
They don’t ask which one. The door buzzes and unlocks.
“Wait outside,” I add.
They hesitate only a second before retreating down the hall. For the first time in years, my hands feel unsteady. I push through the final security door and step into the holding area.
“Elias?” My voice echoes faintly off cement.
He looks up from the narrow cot. His brown hair is disheveled. His skin is pale, sharper than usual. There are dark hollows beneath his eyes I don’t remember ever being there before. Three trays of food sit untouched near the bars.
He hasn’t eaten.
Something inside my chest twists hard. I cross to the cell and unlock it myself. The door swings open with a metallic groan.
For a moment, neither of us moves.
