"I did love him. He said he loved me but only after he literally fucked me and tried to kill me. I'll never be able to..." She couldn't put her pain into words. I knew things with her was different then. Love wasn't a word she could use anymore. Everything we were arguing about just faded away. She told me about how despondent Nick was after the Secretary's death. It became plain that Nick and the Secretary were possibly the only people who believed our case was something to investigate and killing him, which was something I did, brought him closer to finding us. We both fucked up. We both didn't trust each other enough to tell each other everything. I think in that moment we saw each other for the first time in years. We were different. Removed from the pure anger that drove us as kids. We were adults. Adults running from our mistakes. I had a son who I may never see in person again. Cnidaria had a love for someone that she manipulated and used. He manipulated and betrayed her in return and hopefully she would never see him again. That was when my nightmares started. When I realized that Nick, who did love my sister, would do that to her. What would he do to my family?
So here I was again waking up in a cold sweat needing some hot water. I went to the kitchen. It was just after dawn. I turned the nozzle, but it wouldn't work. I was instantly alert. I grabbed one of the many pistols that I had hidden around and looked outside, there was movement. I looked towards Cnidaria's room, she was kneeling in the doorway, alert, knife out, with her eyes burning violet. I was only wearing shorts. She was only wearing her sports bra and shorts as well. I would love to put some body armor, but time wouldn't allow for that. I activated my own aura and I now saw all the body heat that was surrounding us. I motioned for her to flank as I led outside. She didn't seem to like the idea, but I knew the terrain better and she was better in close combat waiting for them to come to her seemed like the better plan. She nodded I went outside pretending to check the car. I heard three people, so I opened the back-passenger door which signaled to Ni how many people to expect. I crouched down pretending to look for something and one of the agents came up behind me.
"Don't move" His voice was hoarse.
"Surely not" I replied. I kicked out the door shocking him, and he lost his handle on the gun and I shot him in his confusion. I heard two cracks in the house and I assumed that it meant the other two agents had been delt with and sure enough they were. However, CniDaria had already left the house. I went to walk around the perimeter to deal with the several other agents I saw converging on us. To my surprise in the little time that it took me to take out that one guy. Thirteen bodies laid bruised and dead around our hideout. CniDaria emerged from around a corner with what looked like an enemy communication device. We looked at each other and I saw a red aura disappearing from her body as she relaxed. She motioned for us to go back in the house. We got dressed and left. But we were not yet alone, as soon as we were on the road I saw a tail.
"Do you see it Ty?"
"Yeah. He didn't expect those agents to make it. He probably has a dragnet around the city."
"When was the last time you allowed yourself to be seen?"
"Before we left Nicaragua last week. But Nick may have caught on to the pattern by now. How much ammo do we have?"
"Four guns. 2 clips each." I looked at her and she started to kept pumped up her power levels were rising. Prepared for whatever needed to happen next.
"Shit! We don't have much choice. I can lose the tail but we're going to have face this head-on eventually. We don't have to avoid this dragnet."
"What do you want to do?" I now kept my eyes on the road thinking of our next move. CniDaria was too ready to expose ourselves and fight straight up. The way she was now I have little doubt we would get out unscathed, but this wasn't our style. We usually were a lot more stealth than us. We must consider the future.
"We drag him out. Only chance" She didn't want to do it but the look on my face showed her it was the only choice we had. So, we lost the tail and went to the JW Panama at the edge of the city. It was exclusive. It was beautiful, right on the water. Exclusive restaurants and a rooftop pool. So, it only seemed right that we shot it up.
"HELLO EVERYONE!" I lifted up the guns and shot them up the air
"IF YOU LISTEN TO US, YOU WILL GET OUT OF HERE UNHARMED. WE WANT EVERYONE. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS HOTEL DOWN IN THIS LOBBY. NO ONE IN, NO ONE OUT." Cnidaria smirked. She seemed to enjoy the bank robbery angle. We barricaded the restaurants, the lobby, and even cleared the pool. One man tried to run through his room and out the window. Cnidaria shot him in the arm before he got beyond his door and then wrapped that arm up all while speaking perfect Spanish
"La próxima vez que mueras[1]" We rounded up everyone. I went from floor to floor while CniDaria watched the lobby. It was no small feat, but it was made easier with a gunshot victim. We allowed one person to leave by 'accident'. Had to get the bait out there somehow. We waited all day. Turned on the TVs to make sure we were surrounded by all types of law enforcement. We told the managers who only spoke basic English to refuse all calls. Until the one call came in we were waiting for.
"We have one more call."
"WE SAID NO CALLS… NO ES TELEFONO"
"He's said His name Lucius and that you want to take call."
We looked at each other. "You're all free to go."
"What? What are…"
"WHAT DID WE JUST SAY!" I fired the gun once. "GO!!! VAMOS RAPIDO!!!" They all rushed out and, in the confusion, I answered the phone
"Really Nick. Lucius?"
"How else would you have known it was me? Truly me?" I didn't have a response. "What are your demands Ty?"
"For you to hear us out"
"Are you serious?" He sounded surprised and disappointed "After everything. All the running, After all this death you want to me to just hear you out."
"What do you have to lose Nicholas? I noticed you haven't spread our faces far and wide to the public only to law enforcement. Why is that?"
"Everything Thylonius. If the public knew this manhunt was happening too many questions would be asked that I don't have the answers for." Wait huh? I thought it was just not to cause panic. Does he really anything on us? No there's been way too much man power applied to us for us not to be considered a threat. Maybe he knows that we know more than we should. If we were killed quietly then what we know dies with us. I never planned to spread the truth but we can use this.
"Well even if you do you still haven't lost as much as we have. You still have the upper hand. No weapons, meet me on the roof of the Hotel as soon as the street clears"
He seemed to think it over "Fine" I hung up the phone and headed towards the emergency staircase and CniDaria came to join me,
"What did he say Ty?"
"Upstairs. Let's Go…. Ni?" She was hesitant. "What's wrong?"
"What isn't wrong? I don't like this plan"
"Ni it's the only way. I mean that"
"It would be better to just face them head on and kill them head on. I can feel it" She looked at her hand where she harnessed a red aura mixed with violet. It danced in her palms with such finesse. The hair on my body stood up, I could feel it too. She could easily wipe out this whole city solo.
"I think I found a way to get our lives back, a way for us to go home and not have to run anymore.
We waited on the roof for an hour. The door opened and there he was. Nick had seen better days. He had lost a substantial amount of weight and he wasn't the heaviest person to begin with. He walked with a slight limp, he had heavy bags under his eyes, but other than that he just looked overworked. He was tired and hope had left his body. He was a zombie going through the motions with only the mission to follow through with. He was standing near the door on the other side of the pool from where we were standing. He wasn't the same man we always knew. This man was the broken version, a version that was riddled with guilt.
[1] Translation Spanish- The next time you die