In the end, Benjamin found himself before the door of Ishmael’s hospital room. However, Benjamin had to take a moment before going to directly confront the poor boy. Seeing him badly burned and still missing most of his arms felt uncomfortable for the older man. It would be hypocritical to say he felt empathy for him. Nonetheless, the closeness of his experience with his own was something that tore at him. 

“Sorry to bother you.”

To his surprise, Ishmael stared at him for a full minute without saying anything. Benjamin was not sure what to make of it, until the younger boy burst into tears. “Oh… Oh! I… did not expect…”

Benjamin handed him a tissue.

“I can come back later if you do not feel like it.”

“That’s… not it. I just… I feel embarrassed right now.”

“Why’s that?”

Ishmael stayed silent for a moment before taking a breath and meeting Benjamin’s gaze. It was full of sorrow and admiration. “I’ve always been a fan of yours. Ever since I was 4.”

“I see.”

Internally Benjamin was happy for two very opposite reasons. On the one hand he loved being appreciated, on the other this would make his goal much easier to achieve. Strange that Austin never mentioned this trait to him… maybe they weren’t that close?

Ishmael turned his face to look at the ceiling, but Benjamin could catch a blush overtaking his face. “I did not expect to be visited by my idol at my lowest point.”

“Life is full of surprises.”

It was quite awkward, he was self-aware enough to know that.

This did manage to get a laugh out of the injured man. “Right? Maybe this day isn’t so bad after all.” Despite his words, Benjamin could see that he was trying his hardest to hide his body shaking.

The older man offered him a comforting hand. The Mage let himself be vulnerable. No words were exchanged between them during his first fit of despair, but it didn’t take a genius to understand just how traumatic this experience had been for the young Saint. “I don’t know… I don’t know what to do now,” he cried, “I shouldn’t have cheated… I know… I know this but… what if… what if she comes back with more people?”

“She won’t.” Benjamin replied calmly. He was going into the riskiest part of his plan, but he knew those hospital rooms by heart. There were no cameras or microphones. “I promise.”

Ishmael stopped crying and looked at him, confused. “What are you…?”

Benjamin pulled out the plastic envelope with Ishmael’s annular fingers inside. “Listen, I do not know what went on between you two, but I ended up encountering your exe last night. She attacked me with a firearm and I had no choice but to defend myself. Unfortunately, she perished.”

“Oh god.” choked Ishmael. The fact he could believe him this easily, made Benjamin realize that either he trusted him much more than he let on, or that this woman had been subjecting him to one particular form of hell. “These are… mine.”

“Indeed. When I heard about your story, I immediately understood what was going on so I decided to bring them back to you.” 

Ishmael looked at him, thankful for his service, which Benjamin used to get closer to him. “This is between you and me, as I did not report the fact she had this in her possession. I thought you might want to hide this fact from others, or be the one to decide when to share this with others, since it is a traumatic event for you.”

Ishmael found himself crying again. “Thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s nothing.” It really was nothing. “I’m just doing my job.”

“If you need anything, when I’m fully healed, give me a call. I’ll be glad to help you!” 

Right, Benjamin thought to himself, this kid is highly valued for his unique power and his mastery over it, he’ll get access to A-rank or even S-rank healers to fully heal. Only the psychological pain will remain while his body will be as good as new.

I’m glad Oscar and Ingrid botched the operation that badly.

Externally, Benjamin did not let any of his dark thoughts cloud his act or judgment. He simply ruffled the hair of Ishmael. “I’ll be sure to call you, boy. I’ll be sure to call you.” And he never backed down on his promises.

In the end, they spent one hour or two together.

Ishmael later testified that Benjamin Hosmer was the kindest Saint he had ever encountered, and that he was glad to have spent a private moment with such a legend.

The press ate this story up and Benjamin’s reputation was as high as ever.

How lucky for that boy, he had met his idol who helped him out of the kindness of his heart.

How lucky for that boy, to be born an A-rank Mage.

Benjamin was utilitarian to the extreme.

An A-rank Mage as an ally was much more valuable than an unstable civilian.

This entire last operation was done for this specifically.

To solve a problem his group had created for an ally, some cash, and good press.

For someone that claimed to value his freedom above all, that swore to never bow down against this oppressive system that was too harsh on handicapped people, and who claimed to give mediocre Saints and civilians a voice and an opportunity to get revenge on the wealthy and powerful that wronged them...

...In the end, Benjamin Hosmer was just another self-serving scumbag with useful pawns.

Once she found herself in the police station, Bonnie Estrella Soules had the opportunity to look through the bars and see the news flash on the station’s main television. It did not take her long to realize who the man who bested her was. “How heartless,” she laughed, “and he dares to lecture me.” 

Sadly, she had no one to share her amusement with.

The day passed as she enjoyed the irony on her own up until the night came. She could barely see what wasn’t in front of the station’s TV. Logically, it had already been turned off so she should have gone to sleep right now.

However, the excitement over being caught and Hosmer’s behavior were too stimulating for her messed up brain. So, she distracted herself as best she could. Walked around, some push-ups, even hitting the metal bars while yelling gibberish…

The station felt really empty at night, uh?

She swore there should have been a guard or two to reprimand her behavior…

That’s when her thoughts were interrupted by the door of the main hallways opening.

“Woah, you truly surrendered?”

The voice sounded young but Bonnie couldn’t remember where she heard it. The darkness made it impossible for her to see who it was.

“Yeah? What’s it to you?”

“I’m just impressed!”

“By my sudden virtue?”

The figure pulled out his phone. A conversation was visible between…

“Benjamin and-?!”

“Pops Hosmer really knows how to appease criminals, doesn’t he?”

“Wait, but why-?!”

“Be thankful we’re preventing you from getting Death Row.”

The sound of a toy gun resonated in the dead of the night but the wound Bonnie felt in her forehead was much too real. She fell to the ground in a single shot, some kind of breeze drilling the bullet into her head.

“And now, off to meet the Craftsmen!”

The next morning, nobody reported the missing Bonnie Estrella Soules. Nobody cared. Benjamin included. He was simply content with the knowledge she was about to serve her purpose in his scheme.

Through all of this tragedy, nothing really changed in Houston besides the fact the Crew now had enough money to pay their rent. They decided to take a day off and go out to eat to celebrate the completion of their contract…

And they got stuck in traffic.

Well, they still lived in Houston after all.

Statistics for today: 1 mortally injured and jailed woman (she’ll walk it off), 1 traumatized man, and 20 gang members removed from the town.