Se connecter๐ธ๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐
โโ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐น ๐ด๐น๐ฟ. ๐ณ๐บ๐พ๐ป๐ด๐ฟ๐ฌ๐ท ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ {๐๐๐๐}โ 6:45๐ป๐ธโโ The air is corroded with the smell of antiseptic, and the rhythmic beep of hearts monitor from different rooms. On the private floor, her voice was heard, silk-wrapped steel. โYou think silence is loyalty. But to likes of Brain box, loyalty is just a tombstone waiting for one's nameโ She paces slowly, voice laced with careful precision. Still, no answer. She leans forward slightly, trying to pierce through that unshakable calm. It has been the case for over thirty minutes since she arrived. Grinch wasn't bulging. His kind of silence was making her sweat, despite her years of experience. She exhales, and her voice softensโnot from care, but from manipulation. This is where she plants the quest. โLet me help you file the report. Attempted murder. Yes, and I'm sure it isn't a slap on the wristโeven in your world. Itโs cleaner than betrayal, isnโt it?โ GRINCH didn't look at her. Eyes glued on the ceiling, as he lay hooked to an IV drip. His armโs bandaged, skin slightly bruised and grayish under the light. Breanna took another sharp breath, almost meditative. His stillness was dominant. Alert. Calculatingโa true consigliere, stoic even on a hospital bed. โTell me Grinch... how does it feelโknowing you were just a shield? Collateralโ she began again . โThat's bad, whenever the king feels threatenedโฆ he sacrifices the knight, and you still call it loyalty?โ. Grinchโs eyes flick to her, just for a second. Not enough to give ground. Just enough to remind her heโs listening. She immediately switched her tone, softer now. Calculated. โYou're not a soldier, Grinch. You're the mind. The spineโthe pillar of Brain box, but loyalty's only as good as the man you're bleeding for.โ Breanna moves more closer, her boots clicking like a metronome counting down something inevitable. โTell me all I need to know. Let me do what you wonโt. Or hellโletโs file it clean, your loyalty isn't vested on. Iโve seen the look in your eyes, Grinch.โ โYouโre just waiting for a reason to stop, and here I amโasking you to form an allyโ. She studies his face and steps back, watching for the flickerโjust a twitch. Grinchโs eyes donโt move, but his jaw tightens. She caught it. She made to move in with the next blow, but he flipped her entire argument on its head, and hit her with a rhetorical question. His voice was a deep, gravelled baritone that slices through the air like a blade. โTell me, detectiveโฆWhen did loyalty start sounding like weakness to people like you?โ Breanna freezes, caught off-guard not by the questionโbut the timing. It was a strategistโs reply. Measured. Threatening without even raising its voice A long silence follows. The kind that eats pride. His gaze all the while pinning her in place, cold and regal. Slowly he finally turns his head, speaking with a slow fire. โIf your own badge ordered a hit on you... won't you still be wearing it?โ Breanna straightens, jaw tight. She opens her mouth, then closes it. That was no rhetorical jab. That was a mirror slammed in front of her face. One she didnโt expect from a man on painkillers and an IV drip. Grinch turns his head back to the ceiling, closing his eyes again. As if her presence no longer demands attention. On a second thought, he hits her with another face-slapping blow, that lands with absolute finality, โLoyalty isnโt blindness. Itโs choosing not to seeโฆbecause you trust that person enough to lead youโ Breanna tilts her head slightly, then smirksโjust a twitch of her lips. Impressed. Irritated. Intrigue. โI know all that Grinch.โ Breanna stated in a persuasive tone. โBut bear it in mind, you donโt have to die for a man who already decided how to bury youโTo Brain box... you are just a vault. A shield. And whenever he feels unsafe, he will use you as his human bullet proofโ There was a long silence between them. The IV drip clicking for a while, until Grinch lets out an exhalation. โI was never a shield, but if being a human bulletproof is what it takes to keep Brain Box alive. Then I'm up for itโ Breanna's face tightens, her brow archingโequal parts impressed and challenged. She came in thinking he was bleedingโvulnerable. But thereโs nothing fragile about the man on the bed. She steps back slowly, saying nothing in response. Because thereโs nothing left to say that wonโt bounce off that wall of granite resolve. Crouching right by the posterior of his bed, she picked her blazer, seeing herself out. And Grinch? He closes his eyes againโcalm, loyal, and untouched. The door hisses shut behind her, and she storms down the corridor with unfinished war in her spine. As she turns, just at the corner of the corridor, she nearly collides with ANTONIO, just arriving. Dressed in a tailored black coat, collar raised, hands in pocketsโshoes silent on the polished floor. His presence is wolf-like: elegant, dangerous, composed. Their eyes locked mid-step. A full second passes. Neither moves. He just stood with an effortless calmness, but eyed her like a smudge on a white wallโsharp like a blade mid-draw. โFunny timing.โ Breanna broke the silence. โIsnโt itโHope you are done?โ He asked in a flat tone. He doesnโt need to ask what she was doing in the Private ward. He knows. They both do. โNot really,โ Breanna replied with a quiet smirk. โOhโthat's badโ his face lit up with smile, thin. Deadly. โI will take it from hereโ. Breanna steps slightly to the side, enough for him to passโbut not without a lingering pause. A silent warning rests on her brow, and her voice dropsโlow and cutting. โI'm curious Brain box, was that a warning shot or a message?โ โDepends on who's listening.โ He replied flatly. Striding toward her, with one finger raised in a mock farewell. โMrs Stewart? You are standing on my wayโ Breanna flashed another stare at him. Then she brushes past him, shoulder grazing his coatโnot out of aggression, but to remind him, sheโs not afraid of ghosts in silk suits, nor the new him. He watches her go for a moment, then finally pushes open the door to Grinchโs room. Stepping inside, he closes the door gently. Grinch inhaled sharply, bracing his resolve for the confrontation he knew that was going to happen. โWhat does she want?โ Blade asked in a low and casual tone. Grinch doesnโt speak for a beat. Then, without turningโ โSame thing everyone wants when they smell a weak line. A confession.โ โAnd?โ Blade smirked, moving closer, his footsteps deliberate. He stops at the foot of the bed, gaze resting on his Consigliere. โAnd what did you tell her?โ Grinch lifted his head now. Slowly. Eyes razor-sharp despite the weakness in his body. โShe asked a lot of thingsโso I told her what she needed to hear.โ Antonio says nothing. No reaction. His breathing composedโeyes still fixed on Grinch, calculating his countenance. The long, heavy silence stretches. Then he slowly moves closer, his voice dippingโlike someone checking if the spine they cracked still holds. โSo thatโs what this is?โ He smiled faintly. โWhat did she offer you in returnโprotection?โ Grinch studies Antonio's calm exterior, jaw ticking once. The tension between them is thickโbut beneath it, was that dangerous bond only men like them understand, loyalty that bleeds, but doesnโt break. โยฟY por quรฉ estรกs tan curious de escucharlo? {And why are you so curious to hear it?}โ Grinch's voice was rough with pain, but heavy with intent. โTrade your blood for words? You're gonna start asking questions too?โ Antonio queried. He nods onceโsilent, respectful. โGo aheadโbring your questionsโ With precision, he steps toward the nightstand by the bed, his shadow swallowing the light momentarily. โNoโโ Grinch countered. โJust oneโI have only one questionโ.๐๐๐๐ข๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ Not lingering a second, John pivoted to bolt, but Antonio caught him by the arm and yanked him back. โIf you plan to come for me,โ Antonio said calmly, breath grazing his cheek, โmake sure I donโt survive it.โJohn jerked against his grip, panic flashing hot and wild. โLet go of me. Bastard.โA low chuckle answered him. โOh, I will. Manโ He fisted a palm and struck John hard across the face.The two grappled, bone meeting boneโ John fell flat on the stony ground, tumbling over.The underboss unleashed his demon potentials, he grabbed John by the shirt dragging him on the floor.The next five minutes had John's nerves and skin recording the brutal trauma he was subjected to.โPlease โ don't kill meโ, he coughs and grasps at empty space with blood soaked eyes. โItโs past that, my friend,โ Antonio scowled, voice stripped of mercy as he picked up his blade. John made one last desperate attempt of crawling away but he caught up with him, dragging him back
๐๐๐๐ข๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌยฐยฐยฐLizaโs pull was instinctiveโmaternal, insistence.It cracked Antonioโs resolve in a way bullets never had.He followed her into the hut and sat.She fussed with his collar, fingers gentle and reverent. Surprisingly he didn't resist once. Instead he loosened his tie, unbuttoned his shirt once, shrugging it off and she inspected the faint scar along his ribs. He stiffened as she reached to apply a paste, but Maya nudged her and smothered a grin.โMother! I think the bus is hereโ Her head snapped up. She glanced outside, then back at Antonio. Her attention fractured.โRun along,โ she said finally. โIโll come shortly.โWith that awareness, Maya maneuvers through the door. Antonio studied her as she lingered, her fingers tracing the paste along the faint ridge of his old woundโ Distracted.โSomething wrong?โ he growled.She startled, smiled faintly. โNothingโ just that my Willow is outside.โโYour son?โ his voice dipped an octave and she nodded. โI will
๐๐๐๐ข๐'๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌยฐยฐยฐAt around six Breanna coordinates John's extraction with Sophia alone in her office. โJohn is still en route,โ Sophia said, removing the phone from her ear.โDon't you think his arrival is taking too long?" Breanna asked, looking at the wall clock hanging on her office wall.Sophia senses a shift in her instinct but she dismisses it as nerves. โSombra Azul is so remote that getting a Bus is hardโ"Ohโ then we do not engage until he enters the pre-ceremony chamber.โ Breanna expressed.โYesโ Ma'amโ Sophia replied and went back to rehearsing the conversation lines with John.Breanna had composed and given them to her because her cases were yet to be returned to her since she completed her suspension. ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฅ โ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฏ๐A sacred, once-a-year Sombra Azul's native ceremony aimed at ushering in a new season.Little bonfires burned in disciplined rows before each hutโlow, steady flames fed with resin and bone-dry wood. Impatient
๐๐๐๐ข๐'๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌยฐยฐยฐ Antonio cracked a blow against his jaw with the kind of force meant to silence, not warn.The room turned hollow. No one breathed.Grinch staggered a step, and his reflex muscles relieved its grip on Antonio's lapel.โYou were never appointed to lecture or question me,โ Antonio said quietly. โRemember your place.โThe latter wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth, exhaled hard through his teeth. โDe todas las razones para perder el filoโฆ escoges a una mujer. {Of all the reasons to lose your edgeโฆ you choose a woman}โA slow, wrenching guilt washed over Antonio but it was already late. Grinch exhaled through his teeth as though heโd been counting the seconds, โSombra Azul Sundance Eve is tomorrow. John is coming back.โโAnd you waited this long to say it?โ Antonio demanded.Grinch didnโt react. โBreannaโs people already caught scent and Sheโll tear through your walls with his informationโ Without waiting to be dismissed, he turned and
๐๐๐๐ข๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌยฐยฐยฐNevenaโs fingers tightened on her purse, his voice didnโt break the silence โ it cut through it,She cast him a glanceโฆ then looked away without answering.Antonio's let the silence stretch, studying her countenance.โI donโt wish to coerce you into a decision,โ he continued at last, tone deceptively composed. โJust that my countrymen areโฆ considerably hospitable, moreover Junior needs you.โโWhat about you?โ she shot back, quicker, sharper than she intended.The question ignited a shift in the air or maybe his countenance.But before she could read his expressionโโWeโre here,โ he said abruptly, pulling the wheel into a neat, calculated stop.The car hadnโt even settled before a chauffeur approached. They alighted and Antonio tossed him the keys without looking.He turned to Nevena and extended his arm, she slid her hand into it automatically.His other hand lifted her gown as he guided her inside โ so she wouldnโt trip, a silent, possessive courtesy.
๐๐๐๐ข๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌยฐยฐยฐโWhat is this?โBreanna's agitated voice cut through her office.Sophia flinched, retreating a step away from her presence. โMaโam โ I'm โโBreanna flung the folder and a rain of scattered A4 sheets fluttered to the floorSophia could only watch her two-weeksโ effort crumble at her feet.โWhat came over you, Sophia? I leave for two weeks and everything goes haywire.โโI did my best,โ the aide breathed, voice taut. โIโm sorry if I didnโt meet your expectations.โโExpectations?โ Breanna tried to laugh, but it came out brittle. She bit down on her lip instead, eyes wide.โAny information on John Minnelli?โโYes,โ Sophia replied, voice strained but steady. โTomorrowโs the eve of the Sombra Azul Sundance Ritual. He never misses it.โโThatโs more of a reliefโ Breanna exhaled and reclined elegantly. โTell dispatch to prepare a welcoming convoy. Things are about to get interesting.โโYes, Maโam.โWithout lingering, she turned and exited.โ--When Nevena scrunche







