Thinking of Iago, he was sure his brother was doing the job that Othello could not do at the moment, which was protecting the boss, their adopted father, while trying not to go ballistic on whoever ambushed them. The only clan that knew where they were meeting was Falcon. But Othello didn’t want to think the Falcons had anything to do with the ambush. He just hoped Iago didn’t act before he thought things through. Right now, their father needed a level-headed thinker. Iago was a fucking hothead. He’d been that way since they were children. He and Iago had been thick as thieves since they were kids and met inthe group home where he had been placed after the death of his parents.
The memory of his parents' deaths was fragmented, like a shattered mirror, but a few images remained vivid. Even after becoming an adult, hiring a private investigator, and seeing their pictures, he still couldn’t capture a memory of them. But he knew his father was a low-level member of a crime organization that had long since been taken out of the game. So, he was destined to be a part of a crime syndicate. He often wondered if he’d made his father proud that he followed in his footsteps. From the reports, the accident had nothing to do with what his father did for a living.
He was eight years old, sitting in the back seat of his parents’ car; they were driving back from getting ice cream, a dessert Othello could not enjoy to this day because it brought back the pain of his parents’ deaths. They had done something fun, like going to an amusement park or the playground, but Othello couldn’t remember. He recalled the sound of rain pattering against the windows, his mother humming along to a song on the radio, and then the sudden, violent impact followed by darkness and silence. When he woke up, everything in his little life had changed. He was in a hospital bed, surrounded by strangers. His parents were nowhere to be seen. He had asked for his mother and father, and the strangers, who he later found out were child services, told him they were watching over him.
What kind of shit is that to tell a kid who just lost his parents?
He got a few scrapes and sore muscles from the accident, but that was it. Since no one told him how his parents died when he was a kid, when he got older, Othello did his research and found out they were hit by a drunk driver who tried to run away from the scene but was hit and killed by another car. Unfortunatelyfor Othello, his parents had no other living relatives, so he became a ward of the state. He was instantly placed in the Willow-Brook group home, receiving millions in donations from wealthy people who wanted to make it look like they were contributing to something good in society.
Willow-Brook was well-equipped and maintained and surrounded by many trees, making it look like it was in the middle of a forest, or that’s what he looked like to Othello when he was a kid. It wasn’t posh, but it also wasn’t rundown where they had to scramble for food and clothing even though they slept two or three to a room and wore hand-me-downs. It was livable, and he didn’t have to be afraid, even if some of the kids thought it was haunted. As an adult, he now knew it was an old mansion given to the owners of Willow-Brook, where he’d met Iago, who was the same age as him.
Iago had arrived a few months before Othello. Iago’s parents had died in a fire that had started in their home while they were sleeping. Firefighters had been able to rescue Iago, but not his parents. Iago and Othello instantly bonded, forming a friendship that stood the test of time. Including Iago and Othello, there were twelve children altogether, considering there was a rotation of kids coming in and getting adopted. Even with enough staff on hand, twenty-four-seven, Ms. Mooney expected them to help with the younger ones and do their daily chores.
Othello had been at the group home for two days before anyone spoke to him. He had never been one of those kids who rushed to make friends. The first person who spoke to him was Iago. Othello was sitting on the swing in the backyard, thinking and missing his parents, when Iago walked over to him.
“Hey, want to go somewhere really cool?” Iago whispered, looking around to see if anyone was watching them.“I haven’tshown it to the other kids, because I don’t want to tell Ms. Mooney.”
Othello looked at Iago skeptically, who had dark hair and eyes, before nodding. Hopping off the swing, he followed Iago to a small, hidden corner of the expansive backyard. Lifting one of the loose boards on the fence, Iago squeezed through it and motioned for Othello to follow. For a second, Othello wouldn’t do so because he remembered the rules that they were not allowed to leave the property without one of the staff members.
He had never gone against an adult’s word before, but he was bored and curious about where the other kid wanted to take him, so he squeezed his body through the fence. Iago took off running the second he was through, and Othello was right behind him. He wasn’t sure how far they ran, but he could see signs of Willow-Brook if he glanced back. When they finally stopped, it was in front of a lake, and he had to admit it was freaking cool. Seconds later, there was a splash. Turning to the sound, he saw Iago splashing around in the water shirtless.
“Come on,” Iago shouted. “Stop standing around.”He went back to playing in the lake.
Not thinking about anything, he’d stripped down to his undies and followed Iago, who laughed and played for hours, forgetting about the time and everyone else. They had snuck back into the home without being caught, but it had only lasted a few more times until the staff found out about their escape route. They got in trouble, and he got grounded for the first time in his life.
After the staff fixed the broken fence, they found other ways to get into trouble. They were inseparable, from sneaking into the kitchen to steal cookies to playing pranks on the other kids. Whatever Iago wanted to do, Othello followed, since he wastaller and seemed bigger. Until one day, Othello grew just as tall as Iago, becoming his equal. But Iago was still the one who came up with most of their plans. The weird thing was when they got into trouble, it always seemed like Othello was the one who got the pats on the back, while Iago received the stern looks.
“Why do they seem to like you more?” Iago once asked, with a hint of sadness in his voice. “You do the same stuff I do, but I’m the one that gets into trouble.”
Othello shrugged. “I don’t know.” He smiled. “Maybe it’s because I look more innocent, and you always look guilty. Learn to hide your facial expressions better.”
“Yeah, right,” he huffed. “If only they knew you’re the one who always drags me into things.”
“Only once,” Othello defended.
“Twice,” Iago said, then started laughing when Othello tackled him.
As they grew, their friendship grew tighter, and they started telling people they were brothers. Not many questioned them, even though he and Iago looked nothing alike, but Othello saw the looks they got whenever they said it. He could understand their confusion since Othello was a brown-skinned kid with a thick, curly afro that he learned to wear in twists or braids as he got older. He had a mix of Arabic, Spanish, and African features. Iago's olive complexion showed his Italian heritage, with wavy hair reaching his shirt collar.
They saw themselves as brothers in every way that mattered, sharing dreams, fears, joys, and sorrows. Each year, Iago talked about the death of his parents and how not having his parents in his life was affecting him. Othello recalled missing his parents,but over time he forgot them. One of their dreams was to leave Willow-Brook once they were old enough. Their chances of getting adopted were nil since they were no longer the cute and adorable babies that most people wanted. They were mischievous preteen boys who had other interests. It didn’t matter that they got good grades. They still liked to get into shit they shouldn’t have. As pretty as Willow-Brook was on the outside, on the inside, Ms. Mooney would constantly shake her head and tell them they’d be in jail before they turned eighteen.
Looking back, Othello couldn’t blame her for saying shit like that. They had stopped playing silly pranks on the kids or the staff in the group home and turned their activities to outside, where they became headaches to teachers and people in the neighborhood. But truly, no one ever bothered lecturing them anymore because it seemed like things went in one ear and out the other. They became the local bullies. Since they thought Iago was the more vocal of the two and tended to rough the kids up, it was believed Othello was the leader. But the truth was there wasn’t a leader or follower. They worked together, scamming and beating up kids, even adults, who might come at them the wrong way. But it didn’t mean they didn’t go out to find their own trouble.
As time passed, their petty crimes grew into pickpocketing little miscreants, perfecting the craft so well that they never got caught—except for that one time. The corner of Othello’s lips curled into a smile as the day came to him when they met Don Alessandro Romano. At the time, they had no clue the man was the head of a criminal organization or the role he would later play in their lives. They’d heard talk of gang activity in certain neighborhoods since the group home staff had discouraged them from going there. That was the only time they listened since both had decided they weren’t ready to play with the bigboys yet and had to work on their street cred, and they figured instead of just beating and scamming people, they needed to do something more daring. That was when they spotted their guy.
Othello and Iago were crouched behind a parked car on a bustling city street, looking for an easy mark. That was when Othello spotted the well-dressed man striding confidently down the sidewalk. He could tell the man had money, from his suit and the gleaming gold watch on his wrist, not to mention he had the latest, most expensive cellphone that had just come out on the market. They perfected the plan they’d used a few times as they watched the guy.
“Okay, he’s really distracted on the phone,” Othello whispered. “Let’s do it now before he gets to where there’s not a lot of people. I’ll distract him, and you go for his wallet. I’m sure he has a lot of money on him.”
Iago didn’t need any more prompting, and they split up, pretending to go in different directions. Othello kept his eyes on the mark as he got to the crowded pedestrian crossing, which was perfect for putting their plan into action. Othello weaved his way through the throng of people. When he got close, Othello accidentally collided with the man who had his back facing him.
“What the fuck?” the man exclaimed in rightful anger as he steadied himself, swirled around. “Watch where fuck you’re going,” he said in a much harsher tone.
Othello groaned, dramatically falling on his ass, which was not part of the plan. Forgetting about his pain for now, he raised his gaze and looked up at the guy who seemed much taller and much scarier up close and in person. For a second, he wondered if he had chosen the wrong man to steal from, especially from the intense look in his eyes.
His heart pounded so loud in his chest that he felt as if he was going to have a heart attack at a young age. His fingers twitched, wanting to clutch his chest, but he held himself back. He was so scared that he almost forgot to breathe, and the real purpose of bumping into the guy, until he saw Iago approaching them. He thought about giving Iago the signal to abort the mission, but he couldn’t remember what they’d come up with. Out of everything they did, this was the first time he was scared as hell. But he also knew that even if he told Iago to back off, his brother wouldn’t listen to him. And although he didn’t want to stay in the man’s presence for much longer, he did what he could to keep the guy’s eyes on him.
“I…I…I’m...I’m sorry,” Othello stuttered and apologized profusely. He pulled on his energy, pushing his fear away. He stood, holding on to the man’s jacket, which only angered him more, but it was the perfect distraction for Iago to make his move.
