Joshua Graham - Terminus

But on the phone that afternoon, Lito had sounded so different. None of that put-on machismo, but instead, the gentleness he’d shown when they were kids—she the shy sister, he the protective brother. Memories of those happier days stuck to her mind like tiny barbs, no matter how many times she reminded herself that he and the entire Guzman family were dangerous strangers who’d lied to her, all her life. Nevertheless, the more she thought about her brother getting killed, the worse she felt.

No matter what happened when she was just a baby, Lito had always been her big brother.

A good one, most of the time.

“This seat taken?”

Without thinking, she stood and threw her arms around him.

“Lito!”

“It’s so good to see you, Maria.”

She held him close and didn’t want to let go.

“We’re making a scene,” he said, smiling wide. “Let’s sit down.”

She nodded and sank into her seat, Lito to her left.

“Maria, before you say anything, I want to tell you something.”

He reached over and held her hand like he used to when they were little and the wicked witch showed her ugly green face in The Wizard of Oz.

“Alfonso did make some threats against me, but the bottom line? He was using you and was eventually going to hurt you, even kill you.”

The sincerity in his eyes was absolute. She believed him.

“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“You were both so secretive—I only found out that day.” He gave her a poignant look. “And if I had talked to you, would you have listened? By the time I found out, there was no choice. He had to be stopped right there and then.”

He was probably right. Part of the reason she never told him about dating Alfonso was because she knew what he would say. But she could see it herself every time they went out, the way Alfonso’s eyes wandered to any girl that passed by. He hadn’t loved her. If she were to be completely honest with herself—which she was right now—she’d have to admit that she hadn’t really loved Alfonso either. She was more in love with the idea of being in love, the idea of showing Lito he wasn’t the boss of her.

“I have something else to tell you, Maria.”

“What is it?”

He’d never had the slightest difficulty speaking his mind, but now he seemed worried.

The audience broke into applause as the band finished another song. Lito took his time to answer, Maria’s anxiety increasing by the second.

“Something much deeper, much worse,” he said finally. “I need to tell you now because after tonight I might not get another chance.”

With great difficulty, he went on to make his confession. It took a while for him to get to the point where he confessed that she’d been raised by the very family responsible for killing her parents. But somehow he made their taking her sound like an act of mercy and love rather than treachery.

“Can you ever forgive me?” he said.

She took his hand gently.

“Lito, I already know.”

“You do? How?”

“I met my grandfather, Juan Suarez. He told me everything—about my parents, about how you killed Alfonso because he was going to reveal the secret to me.”

“It was more than that, Maria. Alfonso was going to hurt you. And he and the Hernandezes were going to join forces with the Suarezes. If that happened—”

She held up her finger.

“Oh no, I just remembered something.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. “Give me a second, please?”

She sent a text message to Joey Hernandez.

Calling it off.

I will still pay you.

Do not come anywhere near. OK?

She expected an immediate reply.

But when none came, she panicked. Until now she’d assumed she was in charge of this plan. But what if she were just a part of Joey’s plan?

She got up. “We have to go, Lito.”

“What’s wrong?” he stood and followed her.

“Please, trust me. We’ve got to get out of here before it’s too late.”

As they edged sideways toward the aisle, Maria saw a pair of men at the far end of the bleachers talking into walkie-talkies. They could not have been security guards, not if they were who she thought they were.

“Over there, by the exit,” she said. “See those guys?”

“They don’t look like the religious type.” He gripped her arm.

The men started walking in their direction.

“They’ve seen us,” she said. “Hurry!”

AT THE EDGE OF THE STADIUM Nick detected an all too familiar pair of imposing figures—Johann and Serena, both of whom had foregone leather and now looked like Secret Service bodyguards. Their presence made one thing clear: Lena was near. Which might have meant they were looking for him, too.

With Hope so close by, though, he had to know what Lena was up to. And besides, being seen with the likes of Johann and Serena had its advantages. No one would mess with him if they were near. He might even be able to convince Lena to help him get inside. One last favor, for old time’s sake.

A strong hand grasped his shoulder. He noticed a slight flash of light behind him, then spun around. Blocking his view of just about everything, Johann glared down at him.

“Be still. Listen carefully. You need to know what’s happening.”

“What—”

“Trust me,” Johann said, bending down to whisper. “Impersonate Lena, then talk to Serena.” He vanished.

Craning his neck, Nick saw Serena turn in their direction. He wasn’t predisposed to trust Johann, but his plan made sense. Cloaking himself in a construct to resemble Lena just as Serena stepped over, Nick scanned the area.

“Where is he?”

“Who?” Nick’s disguised voice leapt an octave.

“Johann,” Serena said.

“Doing what I asked.”

Serena glanced left, right, then signaled to someone in the distance.

“I thought I saw Nikolai,” she said.

“And you just stood there?”

Serena narrowed her eyes to lethal slits.

“You said not to kill him until I told you first.”

“That’s right. Good job.” A torrent of disturbing thoughts flooded Nick’s mind. You need to know what’s happening , Johann had said. “We’ll deal with him later, give me an update.”

Just then the two other large men who had met with Lena that night joined them.

“Dan, Gunther—status?” Serena said.

“Sniper’s in place, Hernandez’s and Suarez’s people are armed and posted at every exit.”

“Nukes are set to detonate in ten minutes and twenty seconds. No one’s leaving here alive tonight.”

Nick’s innards twisted into knots, his mouth went bitter dry.

“Excellent,” he said, struggling to imitate Lena’s coldness. “And how do I deactivate them?”

All three spoke at once, but the voice he heard was Gunther’s.

“We just spent all this time arming them, why—”

“Are you challenging me?” The sound of Lena’s threatening voice coming out of him was disturbing. “I need to know that you’ve set everything correctly. It’s conceivable that the timing might change. Now, review the protocols for disarming!”

“Retina scan.” Dan came over to Nick and pointed at what he perceived as Lena’s right eye. “The only way to arm or disarm the nukes is to have your retina scanned for the first device, Serena’s for the second.”

“Are they in the correct locations?”

“Sublevels C and B, as ordered,” Dan said. “Koslupov’s…hanging out down there in B.”

Gunther snorted. “Not that anyone will find him before it’s all turned to ash.”

Hope.