Chapter 26 #2
I seethe, "That was a map of the future. And if we don't intercept, we're all dead."
He stays silent.
I bark, "They aren't getting to my wife's eggs, Sean!"
His jaw clenches. His eyes cut toward the window as though he can physically see the Underworld moving through the streets. He finally pins a frustrated expression on me. "They're all involved."
"No shit."
"It's too large. We're fucked."
"Those are all semantics. The system is rotted beyond repair. It needs to be destroyed," I point out.
Sean leans against the wall. "You don't take down an empire, Brax. You maneuver around it. You cut off the pieces, try to devour it, and leave the structure intact. That's how you stay alive."
"No. You burn it to the ground."
He shoots me a warning glare. "You're talking about a death wish."
"Maybe. But it's the only thing that guarantees my wife won't end up on a slab having her eggs pulled out of her body every month until she's forty and they decide she's too old to breed."
Sean's color drains from his face.
I sarcastically grit, "I thought I was the only one feeling ill."
Sean's stare turns more lethal. "Of course not. And we don't know what's in the other files, either. You think I want Zara in danger? Or our twins?"
"That's why we have to take them out," I insist.
"You think I don't wake up every night wondering if the next message from the Underworld will demand one of them as tribute?" he snaps.
"Then you know I'm right."
His voice drops; a growl brews underneath. "It's impossible to slash the throat of a beast. We find the traitors and take them out one by one."
I step closer, fire rising inside me. "And the next traitors? And the next? And then the ones after that?"
He doesn't speak.
I point out, "You know how this works. Every time you fix one thing, three more erupt. You can't repair a house built on burial grounds. You have to destroy it all."
"You think blowing it up won't kill innocent people?"
"I think leaving it alive guarantees that it will."
He rubs his temples. "You're not listening."
"I'm listening. And the next full moon my wife is on the fertility black market!" I hurl.
He sighs, scrubbing his hand over his face.
I point at him. "Accept the truth. Your father built this thing, hoping to create order. He dreamed of unity. He died before he understood what his actions created."
His expression fractures, the sadness and anger cracking just enough to reveal something raw underneath.
I lower my voice, asking, "Do you really think your father wanted all this?"
It detonates the space between us. He pushes off the wall, pacing so hard the floor nearly shakes. He snaps, "For all I know, he did want this fucked-up world. Maybe he wanted masks, rituals, and punishments. Maybe he wanted power above everything."
"What's going on?" a soft voice says behind us.
We both turn.
Zara stands in the doorway. Her eyes rim with worry. "Loop me in. What are you arguing about?"
Sean tenses, and I step forward.
"The entire system is broken. Utopia doesn't exist now and never will.
It's rotten to the marrow. They plan to harvest Valentina's eggs every month until she's 40 then kill her.
We have no idea what they're planning for the rest of us.
We didn't get into those files yet. But they're trying to orchestrate all of our executions.
And it won't stop at the six of us. It'll eventually include the twins. "
Zara's color drains down her face. She puts a hand on her stomach. She swallows hard and pins her gaze on her husband. "Sean?"
He stares at her with an equally pale expression, grinding his molars.
I step closer. "We saw our faces on an execution directive. Yours. Sean's. Kirill's. Fiona's. Valentina's. Mine."
Her eyes go glassy with a quiet terror that hits me harder than any threat on a screen. She accuses, "You kept this from me?"
Sean closes the distance between them in two strides and wraps an arm around her waist. "I'm sorry. I just learned about it and didn't want you to worry."
She presses her palm harder against her stomach, like she's anchoring herself. "Didn't want me to worry? Sean, you'd better tell me everything right now."
I speak before he can, rattling off every warning the Underworld shoved in our faces, along with the inconsistencies that prove these aren't just rogue factions. They're part of the backbone of the entire operation.
She listens without interrupting. By the time I finish, she looks between the two of us with steady, haunted clarity. She states, "So you want to destroy it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Zara! This is a slippery slope! We could all end up dead, including the babies!" Sean frets.
"We're dying if we don't!" I argue.
Zara glances between us, then lifts her chin toward Sean. "You think you can fix it from the inside?"
"Yes."
"How?" She arches her eyebrows.
Tense silence forms.
"You can't. You know you can't. You'll always be hunting and dodging. We all will," I insist.
He pins his green eyes on me. "I don't know any other way."
Zara softly asks, "Do you think this is what your father envisioned?"
He casts a pained expression on her. Defeat fills his voice. "No. Unless he was a sick bastard instead of who I knew him to be."
Silence stretches through the room.
Zara's voice softens even further. "Then why are you still trying to save something that doesn't deserve to exist?"
"I'm not trying to save it. I'm trying to keep us alive."
"There's only one way. Brax is right," she affirms.
Sean's jaw flexes, like he's chewing through twenty years of inherited duty.
She adds, "Let's talk to Kirill. He's the only one who knew your father well enough to speak on his intentions."
He swallows hard. "What if this is what my father wanted?"
A chill runs down my spine.
Zara steps forward and puts her hand on his cheek. "Is this what you want for our children?"
He shakes his head. "No."
"Then you have your answer."
He inhales deeply, then slowly nods.
She pins her gaze on me. "We need to speak to Kirill, Fiona, and Valentina. If we're going to do this, the six of us all need to be on the same page."
"Zara—"
"What, Sean?" She spins, eyes narrowing.
He drags a hand down his face. "This could backfire. The chances of it blowing up in our faces are higher than success."
Zara crosses her arms. "There's no other option."
My pulse bangs between my ears.
He finally agrees. "Okay. But if we do this, there's no going back. And we don't know what Fiona and Kirill will say."
"They almost got beheaded," I remind him.
He drops a bomb. "What about your wife?"
"What about her?" I defensively ask.
"Is she going to agree to this? She's obsessed with her seat," he points out.
My gut flips. I assert, "Was obsessed."
"So she's not loyal to the Underworld anymore?" he challenges.
Tension mounts.
I affirm, "She'll be on board. They're trying to take her out too. Plus, once she finds out about their sick baby operation, she isn't going to have any loyalty left."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes," I say through gritted teeth.
Zara interjects, "Brax is right. There's no way Valentina is going to agree to being a baby machine. I'll call Fiona. We can meet tonight."
I stand straighter, with the truth hardening inside me like tempered steel.
I didn't crack open the Underworld's system to steal their secrets.
I cracked it open so I can burn it to the ground. And now there's no choice but to do it.
"There's one more issue we have to address," I say and pick up the phone. I dial Liam.
Sean and Zara stare at me in question.
It rings twice. He answers, "Brax."
"I need you to come to Sean's penthouse. Immediately."
Sean's head jerks back.
"I'm busy and you don't give me orders," Liam snarls.
"This isn't a request. It's the most important thing you'll ever do," I insist.
The line turns quiet.
I add, "Bring your guns with you if you don't trust me. But get here soon." I hang up before he can ask any further questions.
"What are you doing?" Sean demands.
"We can't do this if we're on grave duty. And the only place that's safe for us to talk to him is here," I claim, knowing that the previous month, Sean built walls around his office that won't allow any spy devices to work. It’s a safety net, and Kirill did the same to his entire penthouse.
"I'm going to check on the babies," Zara mumbles and leaves the room.
Sean and I both pace for a half hour until Liam finally shows up.
"This better be good," he booms, entering the room.
"Shut the door," Sean orders.
He slams it and steps forward. He points at us. "You two better start talking."
"We can't stay on graveyard duty," I start.
Liam's green eyes flare hot. He sneers, "This is what you called me here for?"
"Just listen," Sean says.
Liam's gaze narrows. He crosses his arms. His jaw twitches.
I step closer and lower my voice, even though the room is safe. "We are involved in something."
"No shit," he barks.
"We can't tell you everything right now."
"Jesus Christ, you two! I'm getting sick of this dog and pony show!" he roars.
I hold up my hand. "Just shut up a minute so you can understand what's happening!"
"You'd better watch your mouth," he warns.
I take a deep breath.
Sean interjects in a calmer tone. "Liam, please sit down."
He turns his scowl on him.
Sean points to his seat. "Sit here." Then he takes the chair across the desk and taps the one next to him. "Sit, Brax."
I obey, and Liam reluctantly does too. His glare intensifies.
I start, "What we're about to tell you can't leave this room. Not now, maybe ever. Understand?"
He leans closer. "Keep talking."
Sean informs, "The world my dad created is bigger than anything you'd ever imagined, and has representation from every crime family. Governments know about it and royalty bows to it."
Liam doesn't move.
I put my elbows on the desk. "We're taking it down. All we can tell you right now is we can't be on the graveyard shift. Relieve us of all duties, and when this is over, we'll take whatever punishment you want to give us. But if we don't do this, everything is at risk, including the clan."
He breathes through his nose.
Sean adds, "You have to trust us."
He scoffs. "I'm supposed to trust you right now?"
"Yeah. We're O'Malleys. If you didn't, deep down, still know that we wouldn't be sitting here. We'd already be in our graves," I claim.
A moment passes, then he asserts, "I need to know more."
"Sorry. This is all we can say right now," Sean reiterates.
Liam grinds his molars.
Sean rises. He goes to a picture, moves it, and a safe appears. "I'm going to write down the code. Memorize it. If anything happens to us, everything you want to know will be inside."
Liam's chest lifts high. He releases it and rises. "Fine. Give me the code."
Sean goes to his desk and writes it. He hands it to him.
Liam studies it.
"Have it memorized?" Sean asks.
"Yes."
Sean grabs the paper, goes to his fireplace, and lights it on fire. The edges curl and incinerate. Then he hits buttons on the safe. He directs Liam, "Put your palm on it."
Liam walks over and presses his hand on the screen.
It beeps several times, flashes red, then green, then blue. It pops open.
Before Liam can see anything, Sean shuts it. He reiterates, "Only if they take us out. Promise me?"
Liam nods. "Okay. I'll give you some leeway. You have my word." He spins, and his eyes dart between us. He finally orders, "Make sure you do whatever it is you need to do. I don't want to have to open this." He gives us a final look and then walks out.