Chapter 28 Who's the boss?

Chapter 28 Who's the boss?
FIN

I step away from the door and walk really fast until I'm out of sight. I had come to check up on Nikolai when I overheard them, and it all just made sense.

His first love.

I stand still for exactly three seconds before I keep walking.

The radio crackles in my ear and I focus on that instead.

“Sector three is clear.”

“Copy,” I reply. “Double-check the West Wing. No shortcuts.”

“Yes sir.”

I step outside and turn off my radio, it feels like I've been hit with a punch of reality and the dots in my head are all connecting.

I remember the young girl from about twenty years ago, but I forgot all about her. Back then she was always somewhere in the background and Nikolai never admitted his feelings.

I never paid enough attention. We were always too busy surviving, learning how to kill before we learned to spell. Too busy learning how to hold guns before anything else.

And when the war hit us, Nick's father decided to burn everyone he perceived to be a traitor. A decision that was greatly influenced by paranoia. I never saw or heard of her again.

“Good evening sir,” a soldier greets me in the hallway.

“What's the status?” I ask.

“All clear.”

“Keep it that way.”

I keep walking.

A thought creeps in and I try to ignore it, but it just keeps getting louder until I can't push it away anymore.

He didn't tell me.

Not once.

Ever since she stepped into this place, Nickolai has been off, and he has come to me with a number of things but never that.

Despite everything said and done, Nikolai and I were always brothers. We told each other everything and I don't know if I have the right to feel betrayed by this or not.

We grew up in this together. We learned together. Bled together. There was never a time I thought he would keep things from me.

At least, that’s what I used to believe.

I walk past the east corridor and glance at the guards on duty. Everything is in place. I correct a formation with a quick gesture and keep moving.

I try to keep my mind busy by engaging in small duties but my mind doesn’t listen.

It isn’t just about her. That’s what I realize.

It never is.

There have been other things.

Decisions he made without telling me. Meetings I only heard about after they happened. Deals he finalized and informed me of later. Risks he took alone.

Each time, I told myself it was nothing, that he was probably just protecting me. That he didn’t want to worry me. That he had his reasons.

And maybe he did.

But standing here now, it feels different.

Like I’m slowly being pushed to the outside. Maybe he thinks I'm not as good as him in certain areas. Or that I'm not strong enough to handle certain things, despite years of proving myself.

I stop near the balcony and look down at the compound.

This place exists because of both of us, because we built it, because we survived things that should have killed us.

So why does it feel like he’s been building walls, and I’m standing on the wrong side of them?

I lean against the railing and exhale slowly. Maybe I'm reading too much into it and just overthinking the entire thing. He's allowed to keep things to himself… I guess.

I push the thoughts to the back of my mind and focus on work.

There’s always work. After the attack, it just never ends.

I just enter the surveillance room when one of the guards rushes in.

“Sir, we picked someone up near the east fence.”

I look up. “Inside or outside?”

“Inside.”

That gets my attention, and I'm immediately alert and ready for whatever comes.

“Bring him to holding,” I say. “I’ll be there.”

The man is already tied to a chair when I arrive.

Late twenties I think. Scruffy. Blood on his lip, they'd already roughed him up because he definitely didn't come here without a fight, or at least an attempt at it. He doesn't look like he can throw a punch to save his life.

Not one of ours. Definitely not.

Two guards stand behind him, ready to do whatever I instruct.

“Who are you?” I ask.

Silence.

“I’ll ask again,” I say calmly. “Who sent you?”

He lifts his head slowly. “I want to see Nikolai,” he says.

I frown. “You’re talking to me.”

“I want Nikolai,” he repeats firmly.

“You don’t get to make demands here.”

“I won’t say anything unless he’s here, so don't waste your time.

I circle him slowly.

“You broke into my territory,” I say. “You got caught. You’re tied to a chair. And you think you’re in a position to negotiate?”

He doesn't show any sign of fear.

“I need to see him,” he mutters.

“Why?”

He shakes his head.

I nod to the guards to step outside and they leave.

I pull up a chair and sit in front of him.

“Listen carefully,” I say. “You can talk to me now, or you can talk after I’m done with you. Either way, you will talk.”

He looks away. “I want Nikolai.”

My patience thins.I grab his chin and force him to look at me.

“You’re in my building, you talk to me!”

He looks me dead in the eye, “I want to talk to your boss.”

The statement angers me more than it should, my grip tightens.

“What the fuck did you just say?”

Before he can answer, the door opens.

Nikolai walks in with a gun in his hand, we lock eyes for a second before he pulls the trigger, hitting the hostage at the side of his head and instantly killing him.

The sound is deafening in the small room as the man’s head jerks back and blood splatters the wall.

I stare at the body for a moment, then at Nikolai who is walking towards me.

“What the hell was that?” he demands, putting his gun back in his holster.

“That sounds like a question I should be asking you.”

“Why are you questioning an intruder without first consulting me?” He yells.

I bite back my sarcastic reply.

“I had it under control,” I reply. “He was about to talk.”

“You don’t decide that.”

“He was a stranger in our territory,” I snap. “I could handle it.”

He looks at me, and his eyes are hard with an anger I can't quite understand.

“Don’t do it again, Fin. It's a warning.”

“So what now, I have no rights to do anything without your permission?” The question goes way beyond what just happened and I don't know if he caught that, but his reply solidifies something inside of me.

“You don't have the right to do anything I do not permit you to do. You must have forgotten your place.”

He walks away and silence fills the room. I know the guards are out there listening.

I clench my jaw.

I remain standing there, staring at the body and the blood.

Why did Nikolai kill him without asking him anything? He didn't hesitate or ask questions.

That isn’t normal.

And for the first time in years, I wonder...

What else has Nikolai been hiding from me? What else does he think is not MY PLACE to know?