The team has left with the handcuffed refugees, Electra got all the points, and now we are in her living room, recovering after the last hours of fighting.
Tears left the Magnum there, in the living room. It's raining outside and the hole in the wall is so wide that we have nothing to cover it with, except the truck itself. So it stayed there.
Tears has bandaged my right forearm where I got a glancing blow by a bullet. Nothing of consequence. He's in far worse conditions.
- And what happened to your nose? - Electra asks Tears, leaning in slightly to touch his nose full of clotted blood. Tears pulls away grunting.
- I used it to break someone's fist. -
She raises an eyebrow and pours more disinfectant on a cotton ball. She then puts it on Tears' nose, and he swears. - Cut it out, it's not even broken, - she scolds him.
- Well, try not to break it then, it's the only one I have. -
- You're so big and strong and you complain about the disinfectant like a baby.-
- That's alcohol! -
- I only have this at home, but I also have a couple of matches if you don't shut up! -
I feel like a child caught in between his arguing parents. I clear my throat and try to sum up the situation. - So, what do we do now? -
Tears looks in front of him for a moment: he's thinking. - We wait for the deposit from the Confederation, then YOU make me a wire transfer, – he points at me, – and we fix the house up. That's all for now, and I think that it's better if we stay here tonight. Mesis? -
She shrugs. - You can stay here for as long as you want, but only if Shelv doesn't piss me off because the rookie is here with me. -
Tears snorts. - He already busted my balls with that story and I told him to go fuck himself. The best I can do is send the princess to sleep under a bridge. -
- Why do I always have to pay the consequences around here? - All the problems begin and end with me these days.
Tears snorts again. - You are an Ally, and so is Mesis. You're not supposed to be in her range of action. But now that you're assigned to me, you're covering another kind of work. So I'd say there's no problem at all. -
- You owe me an explanation, Tears, - I tell him.
He shrugs, rises and stretches. - Everything in due time. Now I'm dead tired and it's the middle of night. -
****
Cold.
Heat.
He's cuddled up to my side, hugging tightly to me. We are laying on the ground under a box. I sleep and I don't sleep. On and off. With one eye open and ears stretched and alert. I have to look after him.
Although it's often the other way around.
A corner of the box is lifted. A cold gust of wind. The familiar face of that pain in the ass who's been haunting us for months.
Who's been helping us for months.
- Tears, he has a high fever. This time I'm not asking, you're both coming to live with me. And that's that. -
His long blue braid rests on me while he's picking up my feverish brother. It's the first time I let someone touch him.
A soft bed. Warm milk in the morning. Clean clothes and the safety of regular meals.
Simple things that we've never had.
My brother looking up. Me doing the same in sync. Him jumping from one building to another with extreme agility. People screaming in the streets.
He sees us. He inhales.
At home later. - You are old enough to know. -
Sin and I training. He's looking at us not knowing whether to be happy or not.
He looks at us again. He's looking at me. The blood.
Sin running out to call the doctor.
It's raining.
He smiles at me, and it's the last thing he does.
Promise.
Pain.
Blood on my brother's hands.
That blank look. That strange smile that has never left after he tasted blood.
Nakiri's cold stare. Ice gray eyes. Me running over the roofs. The elf chasing me. My brother piercing him from side to side.
Nakiri again, in front of me. I have changed and years have gone by for both of us.
- Why did you let them catch you? No one could have done it if you hadn't wanted to. -
Pain again. Guilt.
My brother in my arms. Covered in his own blood. Terror in his eyes.
I'm holding his hand. I'm talking to him slowly. Me again, taking care of him.
The slow recovery. A hint of a smile. Words again.
Electra.
Sin distant, lost in his head. I don't understand him anymore, or maybe I don't want to, because I'm afraid of what he thinks.
The rain, that bridge.
A kiss.
I shoot in the air and I'm alone.
A stab in the stomach.
On my stomach.
I realize I was sleeping only when I wake up.
I open my eyes and the first thing I see is Zendaru over me, sitting on me and looking pissed.
- You have three seconds to process an adequate and extensive answer to these three questions, - and I count on my fingers. - One, why are you sitting on top of me. Two, why are you in my bed. And three, why are you wearing one of my shirts. -
****
I think about it. - Answer number one, this is not your bed but Electra's. -
He takes a look around, raises an eyebrow, realizes where he is and does not reply.
- Answer number two, this is your shirt? Electra gave it to me because I didn't have a change of clothes. And I must add that I had to sleep on a very uncomfortable couch because you two where having sex like bunnies here. -
He slightly nods, raising both eyebrows. Evidently my first two answers were acceptable.
- Answer number three, I sat on you in order to cut out your escape routes and forcing you to answer me. - He snorts. - This time I want to know all the details about Sin and your personal feud, without you dodging me and leaving me. - He doesn't even let me finish the sentence. He sits up, takes me by the collar of my t-shirt and throws me on the other side of the bed.
By the time I put myself back together and I take the hair off my face, he's already up and stretching.
My eyebrow twitches. - Of course, you could always throw me off of you. I hadn't thought about that. -
I get a grip.
Tears, in a vest and old sweatpants, disappears in the bathroom and closes the door. I stand at the door and hear the water running. - Tears, damn it, I can't fight against someone if I don't know what he wants! He talked about rules, what are these rules? And those messages he's leaving you, what do they say? Is he really your brother? Twin brother? You don't look alike at all! - I wait. No answer.
- Tears, damn it! - He comes out and ignores me. I follow him again in the bedroom. - Put yourself in my shoes! -
- Actually you are the one wearing my stuff. -
- You are stalling. -
- Please, keep talking. I'm sure it'd be fascinating if I were listening to you. - He takes off his vest and throws it on the bed, then he collects his clothes scattered around the room.
I remain stunned while staring at his back. He notices it and throws me a dirty look. - What is it? Have you discovered your gay nature? -
I slightly point to his back. - H... how... how many people have you killed? - He turns and checks his own back in the closet mirror. From one shoulder blade to the other one, starting from his atlas and finishing underneath the waistband of his pants, there is a huge tattoo made of the marks which the Confederation uses to keep our score.
There are so many of them that it's impossible to tell where one mark ends and another begins. They overlap in order to form thick, black lines, which all together form the huge drawing of a winged dragon. The membranous wings are on the shoulder blades, its neck is arched forward and it runs down his spine. Finally its feline eyes study you from just below the kidney line.
- Hum, they had given me about 23,000 points, so I guess they represent 23,000 refugees. But I can't tell you how many I killed, because these represent only 10 years of work and I've got at least 13 under my belt. -
- It's... It's... It's impossible... 23,000 points in ten years? - I can hardly believe it.
He grins. - Call me death machine. -
- Right, quick-fire bullshit machine. -
- Say, how many do you think we nailed yesterday?
- Sure, but there were two of us! Alone it's impossible. -
- I remind you that I always had a partner. - Meanwhile he's getting dressed, and I sit cross-legged on the bed.
- Yeah, you've mentioned it, and I'm guessing that your colleague was none other than your brother, even though I don't understand how the Confederation allowed it: allies must remain separated and have no contact with each other. How did you get them to let you two work together? -
- Easy enough: together we are perfect in combat. We understand each other without speaking. - He looks at me with a raised eyebrow. - He never put two fingers in my eyes in front of the refugees. -
- Huh. - I nod as my eyebrow twitches.
- Not to mention that he's psychologically unstable, he's always been, and coming here has made him worse. The only way to keep him calm without repeatedly massacring people was to make him work by my side. I'm the only one who can calm him down. -
- Yeah, well, my bulletproof vest does not agree with you. -
- That was the unexpected variable that neither of us could foresee, the so-called "flaw in the law" -
I point at him. - Well, you'll have to explain me this one. - Meanwhile, I get off the bed and follow him into the kitchen, where Electra is peacefully spreading a whole jar of jam on a burnt toast.
Tears snorts. - One of our rules is that we must work together, him and me, and that's it. Neither of us can get another partner. So when you were assigned to me he really got pissed. -
- Why, excuse me, he has an entire platoon of refugees by his side! -
- Yes, but they don't fight with him, they fight for him. If I'd hire an entire army it would be fine, but I can't get any other partner but him. -
- What an hysterical drama queen. -
- I'd say you just got his full profile. However you managed to break two rules at once. -
- And tell me, what's the second rule? - I cross my arms.
- No one can live in our house but the two of us. -
- That house belongs to the two of you? -
- I'd say it's mine since he left. -
- And you brought me there even knowing that he'd get pissed twice as much? -
- What was I to do? Keep you tied up in the yard on a leash? -
- What the fuck... - I cover my face with one of my hands, I try to calm down while sitting at the table. Tears fiddles with the coffee pot.
- Okay. So he's now trying to rub me out because I'm your partner and I live with you. Damn it, were you two married or something? -
I hear him breath in and scratch his temple. - No, you're seeing too much into this. We lived together for twenty years and he has a distorted idea of relationships between brothers. Let's put it this way, - he takes a couple of cups from the cupboard as if it were his own house, he knows really well where food and supplies are in this kitchen. - We never had anyone else in our lives but ourselves, so he developed a morbid relationship with me. -
- Look who's talking, - murmurs Electra at my side. I glance at her.
- Mesis... - Tears casually scolds her while putting the bowl of sugar on the table.
- Okay, okay, okay. Since you're in an explaining mood for once, give me a recap: you're brothers right? -
- Right. -
- Twin brothers? -
- You still don't believe me? Yes, I already told you! -
- But you two don't look alike! -
- For fuck's sake! Put some muscles on him, raise him about 6 inches, get that fucking hair dye and the white contact lenses off. Wipe out that fucking eyeliner and ta da! - And he spreads his arms.
Electra nods. - It 's true. At the beginning it was funny to see them together, it was like looking at Tears' female version. -
Tears bursts out laughing, I smile too. - Explain. -
- Well, - says Electra, - before the little brothers bickered, Sin had a similar haircut as Tears, no contact lenses or dyed hair and, if he put on too much makeup, Tears would be sure to wash his face up by using the car sponge. So yes, I can assure you they are twins. -
The coffee pot is percolating and Tears takes it from the fire.
- So why did you two fight? - I ask.
Electra pretends to be invisible and Tears freezes while holding the pot, with his back turned.
Then he comes to me and pours me some coffee. - This is not a piece of information that you need to know. - He then pours the coffee for himself. - But when we fought we had practically concluded our point collection, we were missing only one point and he refused to collect it, rebelling against the Confederation. - He sits and looks at me. - My last point, then, became to capture him. -
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