Oh Brothers?

A shiny white-gold jet sits on the tarmac fueled and ready to be boarded. Strong arms gently pull Aksana from under Carina as Smokes simultaneously picks up the youngest Mezzasalma. The inured younger twin stirs slightly in the strong woman’s arms before settling back into a much-needed slumber.

Two hours pass before one of the twins stirs. Aksana stretches slightly, halting immediately when she realizes her sister is fast asleep, snuggled into her side. It isn’t often that Carina gets good sleep so Ana is determined to keep her asleep. As she gently rubs her eyes, ridding them of sleep, she inspects her surroundings. Obviously, they weren’t in the Navigator anymore as it was much brighter here.

The gentle hum of an engine paired with the cylindrical roof/walls confirms Aksana’s suspicions that they were indeed on a plane. It was disorienting, to say the least that she woke up on a plane going who knows which direction at an undisclosed time with no way of telling where they were.

White cabin walls brightened as the window-dimming features lifted slightly, giving the occupants more natural light to work with. The twins were seated on a loveseat-esque chair with the footrests popped out and seatbelts on so that they were secure but comfortable. They were slightly reclined with fluffy pillows and their tie blankets. A white leather seat identical to theirs was placed opposite them with a white and gold marble-textured table between them. A little vase of flowers rested in on the side closest to the wall between two windows.

Across the aisle, a long sofa of the same white leather with golden and blue accent pillows and a nice tassel blanket was tucked parallel to the plane’s wall. Carina twitched in her sleep making Aksana freeze and gently stroke her shoulder with her thumb. The younger twin settled back into her slumber as the older made note of the door at the far end of the cabin. It appeared to lead to the cockpit with a restroom on the side nearest the door. A mirrored ceiling allowed her to see the rest of the cabin behind them without waking her sister. There was a half wall with a little bar/coffee station and a mini fridge tucked into the far wall opposite a floor-to-ceiling closet with golden handles. At the end of the aisle was a door leading to who knows where.

Looking to the front of the cabin, Aksana notes a set of four individual white leather chairs surrounding two sides of a similar white-marble textured table. Only now that they’ve passed the small bout of turbulence that woke her does she notice the sounds of keys clicking. It is a bit hard to make out but a man is seated in the aisle chair facing her direction. He has a darker complexion than her, presumably tanned from days in the sun along with his genetics. It gives off a lighter olive-toned vibe. His hair is a dark, almost black, brown with hints of amber poking through. It’s shaved on the sides with a long strip on top that’s pulled back into a bun at the crest of his skull. From the ¾ topview she has, she can see that his broad shoulders are nothing to scoff at, they’re hardened from years of hard work and he looks exceedingly strong. They perfectly showcase his sleeves of tattoos that span both arms, his neck, and his hands. There seems to be one red tattoo under his right eye and his neck tattoos curl up around the back of his ears like little waves. A white, sleeveless, turtleneck fits snuggly around his defined chest and back and is paired with grey plaid slacks. The flash of something golden catches her attention in the mirror as she studies the man.

He clearly isn’t one of the people they met last night…no, this morning at the station. Aksana wonders what time it is.

On the other side of the cabin, the man with the laptop smirks quietly to himself. His little sister really thinks she is being sneaky, doesn’t she? He notices the way she quiets the youngest of their family while constantly sweeping the area for possible threats. Tattooed arms flex as he types his report, sending it to his father. The golden rolex on his wrist reads 6:57 am, meaning that it is around 1:00 pm at home, he should contact his oldest brother. A heavy sigh escapes his lungs as he reaches across the table for his gold-cased iPhone.

6:57 am

Vito: Aksana has woken, Carina still asleep. Just sent my briefing to father. On our way to Paris.

Viktor: Good, watch them.

Viktor: Paris? You’re supposed to land in Genoa.

Vito: We were supposed to land in Genoa. Now it’s Paris.

Vito: Figured we’d take the newest members of the family to visit one of the wonders of the world.

Vito: Plus Santo had a loose end to tie up real quick so he popped over there last night. Figured we’d pick him up

Vito: and the girls could get less overwhelmed if they meet us more slowly

Viktor: Damn it Vito. When are you going to grow up and tell us what you’re doing. Especially right now.

Viktor: Whatever. Be safe. I don’t care if they’re overwhelmed, they’re meeting the family as soon as you guys get back.

Viktor: Keep us posted.

Vito: *salute emoji* Rodger that colonel

Heterochromic brown and blue eyes scan the golden phone as Vito enters his Snapchat. He throws a peace sign while smirking with his toung ring on display with the caption: “Little sisters on board, ETA 5:00 PM at the airport =^.^=”.

Santo replies almost instantly with a picture of him pinching the bridge of his nose in an exaggerated show of annoyance at his brother’s antics. The golden rings on his fingers catch the light in the conference room nicely as his dark brownish-black hair flutters in a crossing breeze from an obviously open window. His caption says, “Ur an idiota V. We have no sisters.”

Santo’s chatbox pops up,

Ssantoxicity is typing…

“I’ll meet you at +82, just like last time. Fly safe little brother.”

Vito stands with an audible groan. The little bag on the table crinkles as he snatches it up before making his way over to his sisters, not caring if he wakes the youngest.

Without her headphones and being unable to reach for her pocketed phone due to her sleeping sister, Aksana’s mind whirled as she stared intently out the window. As the older sister, she was responsible for her twin’s safety, and she’d failed miserably. Rina may have been a better fighter but she should’ve never agreed to let her fight for the Jade Sisterhood. Sure, they’d needed money and protection because they couldn’t afford to keep getting jumped and it was terrifying but she was the older sister. Aksana should’ve figured something else out. Carina worked at Mooncents and did her cage matches so that the girls could save money to live on during the summer, Aksana’s measly fees for doing others’ homework and summers spent working at Mooncents couldn’t hold them over, they could barely pay the rent and utilities on their shitty apartment. Luckily, with Mint Mobile, she only had to pay around $30/month for both of their severely outdated phones. Her little sister had fought tooth and nail, sometimes literally, for the money used to buy their textbooks, school supplies, clothes, emergency fund, college funds, and any extra necessities. Along with all that, Carina ‘paid’ the Sisterhood, they were pretty much just skimming money off of her paycheck. Sisterhood fees included $5k/month for protection, $5k/month for no questions asked medical, and a $4.5k fee for the laundering services. Out of the $21,700 she earned off of fights this month, the Sisterhood took nearly $15,000 back. While the twins both worked with John and Miles, Aksana wasn’t working other than picking up Carina’s shifts when she couldn’t make them. Because basketball season is in full swing and she has her homework business, she doesn’t have time for her barista job. During the summer and breaks though, she works nearly $40hrs/week which helps the duo tremendously.

Squeaking quietly in surprise, Aksana’s head whips to see Vito plopping himself in the aisle seat across from a snoozing Carina. How had she not noticed him move? Was she really that invested in her own thoughts, she knows better?

Amusement sparkles in Vito’s heterochromatic eyes, a soft smirk playing on his lips.

“This kid is really calm for someone who’s just lost both of their parents.” Vito thinks.

“Alright, kid. Let’s get this over with. Tell me about you two, what’s your deal?”

Confusion clouds Ana’s facial expression, “...What?”

The man rolls his eyes, sighing dramatically, “Tell me about yourself and sleeping beauty there. I don’t care what, just like hobbies or something. Ya know? Like what was growing up in New York City like?”

“I don’t even know who you are, why would I tell you anything about myself or my sister? Who do you think you are?” Aksana’s voice is low, laced with not only threats, but promises. It annoys Vito. How dare this brat talk back to him.

“Well kiddo, I’m your brother, Vito, and I don’t like your fucking attitude. So, if you want to keep that petty little tongue of yours, talk.”

Vito watches as Aksana’s face twitches in an attempt to mask her anxiety. She doesn’t appear to fear him per se but he has succeeded in his goal to make her nervous. “Serves her right,” he thinks, “She has no right to speak to her older brothers that way. We need to set the ground rules now, rather than later.”

“I-uh..ok,” she won’t apologize. A strange man waltzing into her life when she wakes up on a plane after…no. She can’t think about that right now. Who knows what this guy will do if she so much as tears up.

Quickly remembering she was sitting there dumbly, Ana continues. “Uhm…I’m Aksana or uh Ana. This is Aria, well…Carina,” she hesitates, trying to think of what else to say. He’s her brother, he may have more information on them than he’s letting on. She continues with a steady breath, “I’m on my high school’s basketball team, I’m a point guard, I’ve got shoot game. Uh…let’s see…I like art, reading, coffee, and have always wanted to join the school’s dance team?”

“What’s stopped you? Didn’t mummy dearest pay your way?” The adult mocks.

“I-no. She didn’t. Not after–never mind.”

The teen clams up, no longer wanting to indulge the intimidating man sitting caddy-corner to her. His eyes try to search her gaze but she looks back out the window, turning her head completely to hint that she wants him to fuck off. He gets the hint but doesn’t acknowledge it.

Brushing over the topic for now, Vito starts the questionnaire back up, “Alright, you’re on the basketball team, is little Aria here on any teams or does she just get beat up for funsies?”

Aksana is at a total loss and it’s obvious. The girl clearly had no form of poker face, her emotions shone clear as day. The older brother knows he hit a string there, “Good,” He thinks, “She clearly has some form of guilt about the fighting. She just can’t seem to figure out what she should tell and what should stay secret. I can use that.”

“Aria is part of a cage fighting club, it’s part fun and partially about the money she gets from winning matches. She plays the violin, mother taught her, give her an instrument and she’ll attune to it faster than anyone else I’ve ever met. Oh, we both work at a cute little coffee shop too.” Her smile is full of pride as Carina snuggles deeper into her side. She really is the cutest little sister.

Vito hums, “Good good. Do either of you have any allergies? I’d rather not have an anaphylactic incident in Paris.”

“Paris? But Mr. Nix said,” Aksana’s voice is laced with confused excitement. She gets to go to Paris!? Maybe she can see the Eiffel Tower! Her eyes are bright with wonder, “He said we were going to Genoa and Genoa is in Italy right? Why are we going to France? Is it just a layover? Wait-”

A blue gummy bear hits the blonde smack dab in the middle of her forehead before falling into her stunned hands. She blinks a couple of times before giggling.

“Alright madam yaps a lot, I’ll answer your questions but sleeping beauty needs to be awake. I don’t like repeating myself,” the man’s eyes roll with mild annoyance, “now, kid, focus. Allergies. Al-er-gies. You two. Do you have any?”

Aksana hesitates, brow twitching. With a huff, she answers, “Alright alright, allergies. Let’s see…um…Carina is allergic to lavender, ginseng, nickel, dairy, matcha, and assorted skincare products. I’m allergic to nickel, oats, dairy, shellfish, and assorted skincare products. We honestly can’t figure out what ingredients are causing the reactions because there are so many of the same ones but yeah…”

“Any medical allergies? Iodine, penicillin, any of that shit?”

“Uhhh…I mean, no? I’ve never had any issues and we don’t exactly go to the hospital so…ugh I don’t know?”

Keys click as Vito texts his family chat. His oldest brother, Viktor, had requested some background information on the two girls that would be moving in with them. “Alright, what are your favorite colors, what size clothes do you wear, and what medications are you on?”

“Uh…is this an interview or something,” Vito’s harsh glare cuts Aksana off mid-sentence, “Oof…tough crowd. Erm…My favorite color is lavender but I also really like yellow. Carina likes pink and gold, oh and green, she loves plants. Uh…clothes size? I wear…well, I don’t really know? Like are you asking for dress measurements or something?”

Vito’s sigh cuts her off once more, “Alright. We’ll get you measured in Paris. We need to get your closets updated, this, “He gestures at all of her, “Simply won’t do. You’re representing the family after all. Now, focus kid.”

“Oh,” Aksana looks down, a tinge of hurt crossing her face, “Yeah…you’re probably right. Ok, so, uh medications? Yeah…We both take escitalopram and Ri-ri takes iron and calcium too. Why are we going to Paris, Mr. Nix said we were-”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up? I said I’d answer that question when that one wakes up.” Vito jabs a finger at Carina. He can’t hide his annoyed pleasure as Aksana shrinks in on herself slightly. The way she acts so timid, afraid even, just makes him feel in control. Ignoring her completely, he turns his full attention to his phone, typing furiously in his family’s chat.

There was so much to prepare before the girls got home and so little time. Santo and Vito would buy their brothers, father, and staff, as much time as they could but they would have to work hard to stall. Luckily, Father had the day off anyway, Viktor and Luciano were in a meeting with a client that should’ve been wrapping up right about now, Adrik’s shift would end in the next few hours, and Dimetre and Damyan were out of school for fall break. Obviously, his youngest brothers were unhappy with their break being imposed on by strangers but whatever father says, goes.

Cesare, the twins’ biological father, had delegated the task of designing the rooms to Vito, he’d sent the schematics over before talking to Aksana so that the family would be able to start before needing to know the color scheme.

With the girl’s favorite colors, hobbies, medication lists, and allergies sent to the others, Vito grew bored of waiting for the youngest family member to wake. Aksana turned her head, confused, as Vito slowly leaned across the gap between him and Carina. Ever so slowly, he reaches an arm out before quickly shoving the sleeping teen’s left shoulder harshly.

He was expecting the girl to wake up but was completely unprepared for her to jerk awake and attempt to throw a punch at him. Aksana on the other hand, was fully prepared for her sister’s reaction. She firmly grasps her sister’s right wrist, keeping her from hitting their intimidating brother.

As Carina’s panicked eye searches her surroundings for exits and any other information, her body throbs with pain. She clutches her injured shoulder, the same one Vito practically punched a few moments ago, in an attempt to soothe the pain that radiates down her arm. The bright light in the cabin makes her head pound in protest. With paling skin and a dark circled eye paired with the various bandages covering the left side of her face and knuckles, Carina looks pitiful. It doesn’t help her that she’s hiding her face in her big sister’s shoulder as a way to keep the light from irritating her migraine further. Every time she moves, her skull throbs, her joints ache, and her face feels like someone sliced it open and rearranged the bones, oh wait. They did. She’d just chalked it up to exhaustion last night but damn, it feels like she has a hangover after getting into a fight with a man-sized raccoon.

Carina’s eyes narrow as she turns to the asshole who just shoved her awake by fiddling with her injuries. Vito mockingly mimics her scowl.

“Pathetic.” He thinks.

“What kind of weakling are you? How the fuck did you survive this long if you’re this pathetic after a little tussle? I mean seriously, jesus christ. Figure it out,” If it was possible, his eyes would be stuck in the back of his head with how dramatically he rolls them. He fishes a bottle out of his pocket and shakes out two pills before grabbing the back of Carina’s neck, shoving the pills in her mouth, and covering her breathing holes until she swallows.

Vito’s laughter fills the cabin as his youngest sibling gags on the aftertaste. The face she makes proves that she’s just as bad at hiding her emotions as her sister.

All of the coughing and Vito’s rough handling causes a spike in Carina’s pain receptors. The youngest twin’s breath hitches slightly as tears prick her eyes. Aksana’s piercing blue gaze takes the tattooed man off guard. Realizing he went too far, and this is his little sister, who just had a damn surgery and is running on like 3 hours of sleep, he pinches his nose bridge and sighs before throwing a gummy bear at the youngest. It bounces off her stunned face as he chortles.

He offers them the bag of mixed gummy bears and jellybeans as he answers their questions. “First off, yes, Ana, we were headed to Genoa but things changed. We’ll be meeting Santo in Paris, his business finished early so we may as well stop. Plus, as I said before, you two can’t be seen wearing that hand-me-down garbage that was in your apartment. You’ll disgrace the family.

Heterochromatic eyes scan perfectly maintained cuticles. “We’ll-”

“Who the fuck is Santo? Who the fuck even are you?! We’re supposed to be going to-!!”

“DO NOT. Do NOT interrupt me you entitled little shit!” Vito cuts off Carina’s line of questions with a low shout. His once amused smirk is replaced by a menacing sneer, his canine poking out like an alpha wolf growling at a lesser one.

With a heavy exhale from his nose, Vito continues, “I am Vito, one of your older brothers, Santo is my older twin. There. Happy?” The man sighs, noticing that the youngest is sitting tensed with eyes wide, ready to spring into action should he have an outburst like that again. The sunflower blanket covering her lower half slips down slightly revealing the bruises on her legs, he’ll have to have Adrik evaluate her when they get home.

“Alright. Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was going to say that we’ll be heading to a little cafe when we land. After that, we’ll head to the Gucci store before going to Avenu des Champs-Élysées where we’ll hit up Chanel and Dior. We’ll go to the Eiffel Tower for a little photo shoot and end the night with a dinner at one of the best restaurants in Paris, Guy Savoy. We’ve paid the owners to stay open longer than usual so that we can have the whole restaurant to ourselves.”

He pauses as Carina slowly shifts to a more comfortable criss-cross-applesauce position in her chair. Aksana, having fully recovered from their brother’s….outburst, takes the opportunity to write down the information given to them. Vito grins softly as she scritches in her little purple notebook with a sparkly puffball pen. “They really are just children, they’ve just had to grow faster than they should.”

It takes him a few moments as everyone re-adjusts their positions to figure out that Aksana is writing everything down because Carina has a strained look on her face. It’s as if she is trying to commit everything to memory but keeps losing the details. “She most definitely has at minimum, a minor concussion,” he muses.

“Now, ehem…sist-…girls, there are ground rules,” The word sisters feels wrong. These two are the reason that his mom left him. Why his father turned cold? Why his older brothers had to take over the family business much faster than they should’ve? But is it really their fault? No…he shouldn’t think that way. They didn’t ask to be born. Vito claps softly, “You represent the Mezzasalma family now. You are no longer Carina and Aksana Bjorno. Honestly, you never were. You’ve always been Aksana and Carina Mezzasalma, darling daughters of Apex Security’s founder and CEO, Cesare Mezzasalma. You are to stay within Santo or my line of sight at all times unless otherwise specified. Our family is…let’s just say our family is a prime target for unsavory folks. Seriously, what paparazzi doesn’t want the money shot? You are to follow our instructions. No questions asked. Do not question our judgment, it’s for your own good, to keep you safe. If something feels wrong, you are required to tell us. You have to listen to the adults in charge. Nix will be here to keep an eye out for trouble and keep the paparazzi away. That said, you two need to make us look good. This is going to be a headliner for a while, we can’t have your…ehem…background…making us look bad. Especially with the way you present yourselves, I mean seriously, do better.”

“It’s not like we really had a choice…” Aksana mumbles. Vito, choosing to be kind this once, ignores the comment.

“You two should feel blessed, it’s not every day that dependents like you get to bask in the presence of higher beings. Honestly, just one of my rings is worth more than your lives put together.” Tossing a mixed bag of gummy bears and jellybeans to the girls, Vito strides to the TV on the opposite side of the aisle. He turns on Bluey, an Australian animated show for pre-schoolers, before heading to the fridge where he fetches a plate of apple slices with peanut butter and cheese cubes along with an apple sauce with avocado slices for Carina, and two capri sun pouches. He sets them on the table before scooping Carina up and getting her settled in the loveseat he was previously settled in, much to her chagrin.

He feels her flinch as he does this, her attempt to break free of his grasp highly unsuccessful.

“Hey. We’re not little kids! What is this?! This show is for babies! Wha-” Carina slurs, pouting, being cut off by an avocado slice being shoved into her mouth.

“Stop acting like a baby and I might think about changing the show. Now, shut up. If you really need to know, this show has good reviews from children your age that have mental health issues. And you two,” he wiggles his finger side to side between the girls, “Just lost both your parents, home, friends, jobs, schools, and every sense of normalcy you’ve ever had. You’re being relocated to a country halfway across the world to live with 8 men you’ve never met, let alone heard of in a familial sense, and you’re dealing with injuries severe enough that you had to have an emergency reconstructive surgery, all within less than 24 hours. So yes. You get to be treated like children for a little bit. I’m not going to be this nice again, so shut the fuck up and say thank you.”

“I-thank you…Vito.” Carina says. Their eyes lock for a second before he walks back to his original seat to finish his work.

~~~

With two hours left of the flight, Nix emerges from the bedroom, tousled ginger hair graces tanned cheeks as he throws a leather jacket over his sweater. Nix’s dark-wash jeans, White and red Air Jordans, and light grey turtleneck sweater compliment his physique perfectly. A gun is tucked in his waistband, hidden by the jacket, and an earpiece disguised as an airpod rests in his right ear. His signature purple and gold sunglasses rest on his still-damp mop of wavy hair. In his hands is a, full, dark brown YETI backpack. He’s about to yell to the girls when he stops abruptly in his tracks. Aksana and Carina, in their respective seats, are fast asleep while the episode of Bluey continues playing. Aksana’s hand clutches Vito’s forearm.

The tattooed man’s head snaps around at the sound of Nix’s camera shutter. The ginger can barely contain his laughter as his old friend glares as menacingly as he can. “How the hell did Vito get into this situation?” He thinks.

“Don’t fucking ask shithead. Just help me up. My ass is numb.”

Nix grabs Vito’s free forearm, hoisting him up. Thankfully, Aksana’s grip loosens enough that the men can move without waking the girls. The peace doesn’t last long, however, as the plane hits an unexpectedly rough bout of turbulence. It jolts the plane hard, forcing the men to hold onto the table behind them for support and jostling Carina out of her comfortable slumber by depositing her on the floor with a thud.

Blinding white pain erupts from her head, back, ribs, shoulder, legs, and left arm. A strong pair of arms brings her back to reality as the pain slowly subsides. Vito had grabbed her by her good arm, leaning her against the seat, off of the painful area as much as he could. Hardened eyes meet pleading ones as Carina’s breathing steadies. The fall had winded her slightly, paired with the pain, it was a little difficult to get the oxygen she very much needed.

As Nix gently wakes Aksana, Vito’s rage grows closer and closer to boiling over.

“You two, go through that door, on the right-hand side is a bathroom. Go shower and get ready for Paris. We land in an hour,” He orders, “Carina, after you shower, I’ll tend to your injuries.”

Carina’s eyes widen with dread. Vito cuts her off before she can protest, “Remember the ground rules little girl? Don’t question me.”

Carina watches out of the corner of her eye as Nix folds their blankets and puts the table back into its upright position as she follows her sister to the door on the tail side of the cabin. Inside is a white, cream, and gold room with a large, comfortable-looking bed. A small crystal chandelier is fixed to the ceiling above the bed, casting small rainbows around the room. There are four windows in total on one of the walls. A closet is fixed on one side of the door, the other side is a wall, presumably for the bathroom they’ve been sent to.

“You go shower, I’ll be here to keep watch,” Aksana gives her sister a side hug and hands her a bag of soaps from the backpack, “I’m guessing there are towels in there, I’ll pick out an outfit for you ok? Then when you’re done getting checked up on, I’ll do your hair. Ok?”

Aksana knows her sister well. Carina hates new places, especially ones with no viable exits and the vulnerability of a shower is almost too much for her. It’s comforting knowing that they have each other to lean on right now. Everything has happened so fast, they haven’t even had time to properly process what’s happened.

Carina nods, “Thanks, Ana. Um..sounds good.” It’s nothing personal, Carina just has so many thoughts in her head that she can’t figure out what to say. She disappears into the bathroom. Just like the rest of the plane, it is white, cream, and gold. It has a laminate, floor a small toilet, sink, and shower. It’s just big enough for one person to change in.

“Makes sense.” she thinks. After all, it is a private jet and heavy things take more fuel than light things.

She strips down, actively avoiding looking in the mirror. She doesn’t want to know how bad it looks, she already knows it's terrible by how she feels. The hot shower, albeit quick, soothes her aching muscles as she massages her scalp and rids herself of the iodine residue. Stepping out of the shower, she brushes her teeth, and goes potty before wrapping a towel around herself and peeking out of the door to see Aksana lounging on the bed, phone in hand.

On the bed next to her sister is an outfit consisting of; A black one-shoulder tank bodysuit with the strap end on her right shoulder, giving access to her most prominent injuries, a high-wasted denim skirt that reaches her mid-thigh while covering her butt properly, and a set of insulated tights. A soft pink belt and a pair of Prada downtown leather sneakers are laid out as well.

Aksana hums softly as she helps Carina into the bodysuit and a pair of shorts for her evaluation. Vito needs to see the bruises on her little sister’s legs before she can put on the leggings so there isn’t any point in helping her with the skirt right now anyway. After pulling Carina’s platinum hair into a tiny ponytail and securing it with bobby pins and a soft pink headband, the older twin turns her around to get a good look at her face.

It’s the first time Aksana has seen Carina’s injuries without the bandages. She knits her eyebrows slightly as she examines the black and blue bruising that creeps up her sister’s left cheek to her brow before moving down to her jaw. There are three stitches on the side of her cheekbone where Elisabetta had to cut in order to pull the bone back to where it should’ve been in the first place. On her right cheek, Carina has a small cut that appears deep enough to scar and her left shoulder looks too similar to her face for comfort. A large black and purple bruise spreads from the anterior section of flesh between her humorous and clavicle down her bi and triceps before stopping at her radial-ulnar joint.

With Aksana’s help, she slips on a warm pair of socks before making her way through the door as her twin goes to freshen up.

Nix and Viktor are seated on the opposite side of the cabin, a first aid kit open on the table and a laptop open to a Facetime call with someone. Viktor ends the call as Carina’s soft footsteps approach. She avoids eye contact, fingertips tapping against each other as she rocks on her heels in front of the two men.

Vito’s harsh stare as he surveys the superficial damage on this little girl’s body makes her muscles involuntarily tense, preparing to flee.

Reluctantly, she sits herself on the table in front of Vito as Nix wanders to the other side of the aisle to give the uncharacteristically skittish girl privacy.

“Alright gummy bear, here’s what’s going to happen,” Vito starts, holding Carina’s small hand in his large one, “I’m going to check your injuries, sanitize them, apply whatever creams or salves or stupid shit I need to, bandage your face, and do a concussion screening. When we get home, I’ll have Adrik give you a more in-depth check-up. Don’t worry, Aksana will get one too, we need to make sure any health issues are addressed. It’s bad for our image if we let you two stay unhealthy. Now, if at any time you feel uncomfortable, tell me. If you feel pain, like actual pain, tell me. We don’t quite know if you have any broken bones or sprains. I’m not doing this to scare you, make you uncomfortable, or hurt you. This is for your own good.” Vito’s eyes never leave hers as he speaks. The sincerity of his words takes her aback, “There is just no reading this guy is there?”

Carina nods with a hum of acknowledgment. The teen barely winces as steady hands poke and prod at her wounds. He smears a cool cream over the bruises while explaining that it has pain relievers and agents that decrease swelling which will help the bruise heal as well as make her more comfortable. Things get a little awkward as Vito inspects her shoulder. He helps her remove the strap of the body suit, instructing her to hold it under her right arm so that the shirt was just low enough that he could treat the bruise. It wasn’t quite on her breast, more like the top of a sweetheart neckline strapless dress would reach, but she tensed and her skin heated up against her will anyway. Vito, ever the gentleman, worked on that area as quickly as possible. Carina may have fought in rings with hundreds of spectators with little to no clothing but it was different having someone all up in her business like this. She didn’t like it one bit and longed to be done as soon as possible. At least this man, her…brother, was professional and not a creep. She’d had worse doctors before Elisabetta, she just wished it was Elisabetta taking care of her right now.

For all the trouble the Sisterhood caused the twins, they took care of them. Elisabetta, Britta, London, and Aksana were the only people she allowed this close. Technically, the Sisterhood bosses were her bosses so they could do whatever they wanted but they always looked out for the twins. They saved them. They’d never do anything to hurt them for real.

Carina could feel the callouses on Vito’s hands through his gloves as he wrapped soft white gauze around her wounded arm.

“I don’t want this arm moving too much while we’re out and about. Adrik will skin me alive if it gets worse because I let you be stupid.” The honey-glazed baritone of Vito’s voice states, answering her question before she could even ask. He helps her back into the tanktop sleeve before moving up to the eye.

He first checks her pupil dilation with a bright light before having her follow his finger with just her eyes. “You haven’t felt nauseous or vomited since the hit, correct? Any dizziness, balance issues, ringing in your ears?”

“No..um..I don’t think so? A little…no?”

“Alright…Well, kid, I’ll be taking that phone of yours. Along with the rule of no strenuous activity or solid foods because of the whole zygomatic reconstruction surgery, you get to have no screen time for, at minimum, two whole days! Yay!” Skilled fingers wrap fresh bandages over her eye.

“Alright gummy, you haven’t developed diplopia, let’s hope it stays that way. You should heal properly other than a few scars, but tell me, who did you fight for?”

“Uh…The Jade Sisterhood? It was the end-of-month fight and the um… the Kings were being extra rowdy so it brought in a ton more money? We just have this deal ok?” Icy blue eyes avoid heterochromatic ones, “I fight, they protect us…They’d never do anything to intentionally hurt me…they wouldn’t. I fight. I bring in money. Boss said they’d take care of everything as long as I keep winning.

The twenty-six-year-old’s face softens slightly when he finishes bandaging the teen up. He hands her two pills and a little bottle of water before sending her back to change fully.

“Nix. I need you to find the motherfuckers who let a sixteen-year-old girl fight in an underground cage club. Whoever this ‘boss’ is, they shouldn’t be too hard to track down. Search for two groups, the Kings, and The Jade Sisterhood. I’ve got a bone to pick with them.” Vito snarls, slamming his fist on the table. “Kids shouldn’t be involved in this shit for fucks sake! They should be dicking around with their friends, not paying for a dumpy ass apartment, and fighting every goddamn week! MOTHER FUCKER!”

If the girls hear the bang of Vito’s fist, they don’t show it when Nix softly knocks on the bedroom door.

“Aria? Ana? We’re beginning our descent in 5 minutes, you need to come sit and buckle in.”

The girls look in awe at the city below them, Nix snapping discrete photos of their cute faces. Carina flinches a little as the wheels hit the tarmac but she’s eager to be out of the plane after the seven-hour flight.

Before they step out of the plane door, onto the steps where a Rolls Royce is waiting, Nix hands both girls a jacket. Carina’s outfit is accented by a light pink, swede biker jacket. Aksana’s lavender notched-collar walker coat perfectly accents her light-wash denim skirt, white turtleneck slim-fit shirt, and matching Prada sneakers.

3:30 am

A red 2018 toyota prius pulls up to the precinct. Two figures step out, a short blonde girl with bandages on her face and knuckles and a tall woman with short blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. The woman wears sea green scrubs with little smiley faces all over them over a white turtleneck athletic shirt. She has comfortable shoes and has her badge clipped to her pocket. Her badge has a cute little smiley face holding it on an elastic string. The girl has a pale pink and white Nike gym bag slung over her right shoulder and the surgeon carries a matching backpack along with a white violin case. 

As soon as the duo makes their way through the doors, they’re ushered into a conference room full of impatient people. Carina scuffs her shoes nervously, eyes scanning the room for her sister. She halts in her tracks when she notices Aksana isn’t in the room.

A middle-aged woman introduces herself as Special Agent Clawson. Her dark skin was complimented by curly black hair pulled into a braided top knot. Clawson wore minimal mascara and neutral lipstick. She was only a few inches taller than Carina so she had to look up at the tall surgeon.

“Thank you for your cooperation Ms…”

“Vasha. Vasha Popov. It is saddening to hear about my dear friends the Bjornos. This is Carina Vilkov, where, might I ask is dear Aksana?” Elisabetta asks with an embellished accent. The two women share a stiff handshake as Agent Clawson scans Carina’s injuries. The team knew that she was involved in underground fights but no teenager should be hurt this badly and still be functioning. Noting the girl’s exhaustion and the fact that it was nearly 3:45 am and the girl probably hadn’t had more than a little nap, she made a decision.

“Carina dear, your father has sent some men to pick you and your sister up. They are three doors down, Agents Dawson and Moore will take you there. Your sister is there too.” 

The two called agents stood from their chairs at the end of the table. Dawson smiled softly at the injured girl as Moore glared daggers at ‘Vasha’. Currently, there was no probable cause to detain the ‘auntie’ as she was not one of the Jade Sisterhood’s known members and hadn’t presented an opportunity but he knew she was hiding something. Without proof though, it was futile. None of their claims would hold up in court so they would have to continue to bide their time. 

Agent Dawson took both of the girl’s bags from the two and started to slowly lead her down the hall. Dawson could tell that their charge was in pain whenever she attempted to speak so they decided to fill the silence themself.

“My name is Briar Dawson, pronouns they/them. That sourpuss over there is Zach Moore, he/him. You’re Carina Vilkov correct? Are your pronouns she/her?” They ask with a smile, assuming yes or no questions would be the easiest form of communication. Carina nods while flashing a thumbs-up. 

“Good to know,” the agent smiles, “would you like me to fill you in on what’s been going on so far or would you like your sister with you? Thumbs up for now, thumbs down for Aksana being present.”

Carina flashes a thumbs up. Aksana has probably been through a lot today, she doesn’t need to live through it again just for her sake.

“Alrighty kiddo. As your sister told you, your mother and stepfather perished this morning in a gang-related incident. Did you see the smoky haze in the city this morning? That was the warehouse that was attacked.” Dawson takes a good look at Carina, they want to make sure they don’t overwhelm the poor kid. 

“When the fire was put out, investigators determined that there was a larger threat so we, the FBI, were called in. We found out that you and your sister were in need of a transfer of guardianship so we located your father and he agreed to take the both of you in. One of your brothers was in Chicago for a business trip and just so happened to stop in the city before he flew back to Italy. We were able to get ahold of him and he agreed to take you back with him. His security team is here to take you two to the airport so that you can leave for Italy ASAP. I’m sure you're both exhausted so this may be hard to understand right now.” 

“Brovers?” Carina’s shock was written all over her face. Even though the slurred words, Moore and Dawson could tell that she had no idea that she had a brother.

Moore sighed, “Kid, this is going to come as a shock to you, but you have 7 brothers. You’ll be staying with them at your father’s estate, at least for the time being. Your sister has our numbers in case you need anything and you can always call the American Embassy, they’ll be able to help you. Your brothers range from 30 years old to 17. In order from oldest to youngest, their names are; Viktor, Adrik, Santo, Vito, Luciano, Demitre, and Damyan. Now that I think about it, you have something in common with Santo and Vito, they’re twins too. Your father's name is Cesare Mezzasalma, founder and CEO of Apex Security.” The man places a steady hand on the teen’s shoulder in a silent gesture of solidarity. 

Carina stays silent but an unspoken question lingers in the air. What?

“When you and your sister were born, there was a tragic car accident. You, Aksana, and your mother perished after a drunk driver struck the vehicle transporting you from the hospital to your family’s estate. As it turns out, your mother faked her’s and you girls’ deaths in order to flee the country with her lover, Greg Bjorno. At this moment, it appears as though your mother did this to avoid the public backlash that was predicted should she divorce your father,” Dawson hesitates, their fingers twitching as they ponder whether to say the next piece of information, “She brought you, girls, with her because it was the most convenient cover story. We have reason to believe that your mother suffered from BPD and NPD. She loved you but was very insecure and tended to be defensive to an excess. Tell me, did you and your sister live in Harlem, alone, or did you live with your parents in Tribeca?” The kindly agent looks at Carina expectantly. 

Time seems to stop as images play through Carina’s mind. Her and her sister walking home from school. Their arms locked as they chatted about the day. Aksana’s long ponytail and Carina’s ballet bun reflect bits of twilight as they walk. The pair reaches a run-down but classy building in need of a new coat of paint. 

Aksana’s lightly tanned hand turns a gold knob on a dark green door that opens to cracked tiles and exposed brick. The twins climb three flights of stairs before reaching the top floor. At the end of the hallway is a mint green door with a brass handle. The paint is chipping slightly but there are tiny flowers painted all over it. Their apartment wasn’t much but it was home. The tiny kitchen was heavily worn with peeling linoleum floors. There was a little circular table next to a window that had two chairs and a vase of hand-made paper tiger lilies and baby’s breath. The bathroom counter was small and stocked full of Aksana’s makeup and perfumes. A pastel floral shower curtain and bathmat matched the pink and purple towels that were color coded for each girl. They even found a way to hang a little abstract painting in the room to make it look slightly better. 

There was no real living room due to a lack of space and funds so the girls had two desks in the room with mismatched chairs so that they at least had somewhere to study and pile their crap. 

Through a door on the other side of the kitchen and common space was the bedroom. Straight back from the door was Aksana’s bed tucked in the corner. In the corner to the right of the door was Carina’s bed. Both girls had twin beds with storage underneath. They’d hung floating shelves all over the room except for the far wall parallel to Aksana’s bed. Carina had saved up and worked extremely hard to purchase a little projector that the girls could use to watch TV together while sitting on the older twin’s bed. The girls had opted for twin beds so that there would be room for them to have a comfortable chair tucked in the remaining corner of the room, along with a fluffy rug. On the wall opposite the door, was a tall, thin window, centered in the room. The girls had hung some sheer white curtains and fairy lights to make a light curtain that shielded them from any prying eyes on the fire escape. There were no ceiling lights in the room so they hung LED lights to frame the perimeter of the room as well as glow-in-the-dark stars in an accurate star map. A little collection of handmade clay mushrooms decorated one of the shelves above Carina’s bed and polaroids of the girls together and with their friends were arranged above Aksana’s. While there was a distinction of items based on which bed they were around, it appeared as though the items were fair game for both girls. 

Tears prick Carina’s eyes at the thought of never seeing home again. Of never seeing the home that she and Aksana had made for themselves, albeit dingy and cramped with lousy neighbors and no security. Home was home and they would never see it again. She looks up into Agent Moore’s brown eyes before holding up a number two. 

The trio finishes their journey in a comfortable silence before Moore opens a heavy metal door. Inside the room is a metal table that’s been bolted to the floor along with four metal chairs. Inside the room are four men all dressed in black. Three of them wear complete suits complete with black ties and sunglasses, even though it’s nearly 4:00 am and they’re inside. The last man wears a full three-piece suit minus the jacket and has a white tie. His sunglasses are purple-tinted. Odd.

After some back and forth with Moore and Dawson, the agents step out of the room to stand by the door. The man turns to the girls with a soft grin, “Alright girly, you ready to go? One of my teams is at your apartment as we speak to pack a few essentials for you two so that you have something when we get home. Let’s go.”

His smile falters when Carina ignores him, moving to give Aksana a side hug. The girls clearly have no intention of moving any time soon, he didn’t want to but he decided this was the only way to handle the delicate situation.

“Come with us.” The leader of the four men orders. The twins look at each other skeptically. Carina, in her bruised-up glory, steps slightly in front of her sister, hands tensed at her sides. The man raises a brow over his sunglasses, “No need to get hostile Ms. Vilkov. We are not here to hurt you, but we will be taking you with us one way or another. Now, are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?”

“Explain our options and where we’re going, and maybe. MAYBE. We’ll come with you. If you so much as touch a hair on her head, I’ll rip your face off.” Carina snarls, words slightly distorted by her injury. 

“The easy way is you come with us willingly. We will take you to Mr. Mezzasalma’s personal jet. From there we will fly to Genoa, Italy where you’ll be picked up by your brothers. They will take you home. The hard way is this; You resist, we subdue you, you wind up in Genoa, Italy, and you meet your brothers. Either way, you will be going to Italy, meeting your brothers, and coming home. Your father awaits your return.” The man stares, face neutral as if he didn't just casually describe kidnapping. 

Aksana grasps Carina’s hand, making the younger girl relax slightly. The younger twin lowers her left hand slightly with a silent exhale.

“Alright…You say we have brothers? Why aren’t they here? Why did they send a bunch of gangster wannabes instead of picking us up themselves? Also,” she fixes her confused eyes on the middle man with a white tie, “Did you say Italy?! We can’t just up and leave the country! We have..like homework!”

The group of men stifle snickers at the futile attempt at excuses. Carina looks each man up and down, assessing their threat level. Her eyes scan the group before landing on a stocky, tattooed man. He has purple-tinted sunglasses and she has definitely seen him somewhere. 

The man smirks as he watches the girl’s brow furrowed in confusion. She can’t quite place where she’s seen him but she definitely recognizes him. He steps forward with an outstretched hand, “The name is Nicholas Stone, call me Nix.”

“You…” Carina’s face scrunches further, eyes scanning his face for something to give away the reason she knows him, “You!”

“Me!” There it is. She’s figured it out.

“...Thanks. You saved my ass back there.” A pale hand reaches to run through her hair. Carina nods to Aksana while giving her hand a gentle squeeze. 

“You said Italy? How long will the flight be, if you don’t mind me asking Mr… uhm.. Nix?” Aksana’s fingers tap Carina’s hand rhythmically as she speaks up for the first time. 

The men note that, while nervous, the girls work to hide it. To the untrained eye, they would seem mostly unbothered. Nix raises his right hand to his earpiece.

“Alright kids, your brother, my boss, wants wheels up within the hour. It’ll take Nearly 40 minutes to get there, leaving us only 15 minutes of wiggle room. I’m glad you’re cautious but we do not have time for this.” Nix swishes his hands, shooing the girls toward the door. The two men standing outside the door nod to their boss and the agents as the group walks toward the building’s exit. 

Aksana drapes her arm around her sister’s shoulders. All the older twin wants right now is to talk to her sister in private. She clearly won the fight but her face is almost half covered in bandages! What the fuck happened? Who was she paired against?! Both girls are clearly stressed, hungry, and exhausted. 

Two black Lincoln Navigators pull up in front of the building. Nix opens the back door to one, helping Carina into the back row before Aksana joins her. Before he shuts the door, a man with red fingerless gloves walks up with two blankets. 

“Ah Knuckles, what’s up? You got the stuff right? Boss wants wheels up in,” Nix checks his watch, “47 minutes.”

Knuckles smiles as he reaches back to give the girls the blankets, “Yeah, I figured they may want these, it's fucking cold man. The poor kids are in shorts for fucks sake. These were on their beds, I assume they mean a lot and honestly, they’ve been through a hell of a day.” He hands a fleece tie blanket that has white music print on one side and a lilac fabric with pastel stars and basketballs to Carina. He frowns seeing her messed up face. “Damn kid, the fuck happened to you? When’s the last time you had any pain meds? Shit looks like it hurts!”

Nix slaps the 23-year-old man upside the head successfully spurring him to hand Aksana a fleece tie blanket with the same music side but a pale pink side with darker pink floral stems. The strong bro hands Nix a little bag to give to the girls on the plane, it holds gummy bears, jellybeans, deodorant, new toothbrushes and paste, a few hair ties, and their phone chargers. Nix claps Knuckles on the back before climbing into the front passenger seat. Knuckles moves to the other SUV while a pretty young man and another woman take seats in the same vehicle. Two men join SUV 1 in the row in front of the two overtired teens. 

As the Navigator starts the 40-minute journey to the airport Nix turns around to look at the girls. “Carina, Aksana, meet my friends, coworkers, and associates, Beck, Smokes, and Watchman. Beck and Watchman here were in the room with us when you were debriefed, Smokes was on the squad that went to your apartment to grab a few essentials. She was in charge of the team Knuckles was on when he got your blankets. Nice blankets by the way.”

Carina offers a little wave as Aksana greets the woman driving the SUV and the two men sitting in front of the two. 

Nix pulls out his phone to inform his boss that they’re on their way to the airport as the car falls into a comfortable silence. 

Elisabetta is the youngest of the three half sisters, with honey-blonde hair and lightly bronzed skin. She has a stern face with high cheekbones and an average frame. 

When the youngest sister enters the room, she hands Carina a small waterbottle, “Painkillers. Drink up little maus.”

Carina thanks her as she downs the mildly bitter liquid. Elisabetta’s pristine lab coat swishes as she preps the X-Ray machine and other tools needed to prep Carina for the surgery. 

“You’ve eaten in the last 12 hours?” Elisabetta side eyes the teen.

“Yes ma’am.”

“No general anathesia for you…local only.” Carina is confused by the remark.

“Why?”

“You could drown in your own vomit maus.”

“Oh.”

Carina’s words are more muffled by the facial swelling with each minute. 

Elisabeta helps the girl into a wheelchair and they make their way through a few sets of doors before she is transferred to the prep room, “I’ll see you in the room. Britta will help prep you for the procedure. You will be restrained so that you don’t move while I conduct the surgery. You will most likely feel parts of the procedure because we cannot place you under a complete general anasthesia. I’ve also opted to not use nerve blockers because you need to be able to use your face. Have you ever gotten a tooth pulled?”

Carina shakes her head.

“Well. There is a long needle that injects a local anasthetic into your gums and it numbs just that area. You will not feel pain but your face will be tingly and asleep. I need to make sure that the subconjunctival haemorrhage has not damaged your sclera and re-structure your zygomatic process so that your face doesn’t appear concave. That man hit you quite hard.”

~~

Britta and London observe as Elisabetta performs the reconstruction on their prized fighter. 

DING

DING

DING

DING

DING

DING

DING

The two bosses look down at Carina’s phone. After sharing a glance, they decide to read the messages. They’re her bosses, she can’t hide anything from them anyway.

12:50 am

Ana: How’d the fight go?

1:30 am

Ana: Aria?? 

Ana: You there?

2:01 am

Ana: They’re going to tell me what happened. I’ll keep you updated. Love you sis.

2:30 am

Ana: Oh my god…Aria. Call me.

Ana: Aria seriously, I need you. Call me ASAP

Ana: DUDE ITS IMPORTNAT

Ana: Important**

Ana: CALL ME ASAP

Britta’s nails tap her glass impatiently as she and her sister discuss whether they should call Aksana or wait for Short-Fuse to get out of surgery and call for her. Lucky for them, the doors on the opposite side of the room open to reveal Elisabetta wheeling a now bandaged and changed Carina. She looks so small and cute in the light grey oversized hoodie. It’s just large enough to be comfy to sleep in and covers most of her athletic shorts. The teen has changed into a new black halter top tank and soft-knit grey socks with burkenstocks. Elisabetta has braided her hair back into two dutch braids and her face is bandaged. A few bandages have been placed on her hands and thighs from when she hit the cage fencing. 

“Hey sweetie, how ya feeling?” Britta pops her gum as she walks over to the teen and her younger sister. Carina mumbles incoherently before giving a frustrated noise and a thumbs up. 

“First things first, your cut,” London walks over with Carina’s backpack in one hand and a wad of cash in the other, “You made $30,000 this time around. Good job kid. The fact that you took a hit that hard and not only walked away but won the fight means that you’ll be bringin in the cash for the time being. Now because we had to use our resources to fix your pretty little face, you’ll be leaving with $6,000 and leaving $18,000 here as collateral.” London pats the teen’s shoulder sympathetically.

Carina’s face contorts into confusion. She shifts with a grunt.

“Oh the other $6,000? That’s going into a little savings account for you and your sister. You don’t really think we’ll let you take all the cash and blow it on stupid things do you? You both need to go to college. It’s important. Now, for our second piece of business,” Britta scoops the girl up and moves to the leather couch. The curly haired woman settles the girl between herself and London while Elisabetta sits in an armchair opposite the couch, “Your sister has been texting you non-stop. Something important. She wants you to call her but given your…current state, we’ll call her for you right now.”

Carina nods, laying her head against London’s warm shoulder. The oldest sister dials Aksana’s number.

RING-RING

…

RING-RING

…

RING-RI-

“ARIA!? What have you been doing?!”

“Now Aksana dear, little Carina can’t talk right now but she is here, she’s listening. So are the rest of us.” London chides the older teen, “You told Carina that there was something important happening?”

“I-ehm- well…Yes. Uhm…I’m at the police station….”

The Jade Sisterhood bosses freeze, eyes narrowing at the phone in their hands. What the hell is Aksana Vilkov of all people doing at a police station?

“Explain yourself.” Elisabetta’s cold voice commands from her position leaned on the armchair. 

“I-Well, um. So I was at basketball practice and everything was going great right? Well these two random cops come in and they start talking to coach while we do drills. That’s all cool and stuff because I’ve never done anything to warrant police activity so why would the be there for me ya know? Well it turns out they were there for me. They called themselves Agents Cass and Wright. Two men. Well they’re not actually cops, they’re in the FBI.” The line goes blank for a few seconds.

“Aksana darling, is anyone listening to this conversation? You said the FBI?” Britta encourages the young, clearly frazzled and exhausted girl.

“Yes Auntie. Agent Cass and Wright are in the room, they wanted me to explain to Aria.”

“Alright darling. You said that these two strange men came to see you at your basketball practice?”

“Yes Auntie. Uhm. They came to get me and Aria and bring us down to the station because mum and Greg got into some trouble or something. Uh… as it happens, apparently Greg was involved with The Kings which got mom involved and they’ve been lying to us about their jobs this whole time and I guess there was an accident involving a chemical explosion and they’re both….”

“Dear, Were The Kings the ones who caused the explosion or were your mother and step-father involved with them?” London pulls Carina to her side as tears well in the blonde’s eyes. The teen may not have been close with her mother, may have resented her even, but she was still her mother. 

“I erm…Agent Cass says that mum and Greg were part of the Diamond Skull Syndecate and The Kings attacked them. Mum was a meth cook and Greg was a dealer. Greg manned the books?! I-I…CARINA! THEY’RE DEAD!” Aksana’s voice got increasingly hystaric as she spoke.

Both sides frowned as the twins broke into sobs. The Jade sisters could hear one of the agents telling off the other for not having the two together to share this news.

There was shuffling from the other line as Agent Cass picked up the phone, “Excuse me, Ma’am..or Ma’ams, we need to get Carina Vilkov down to the station as soon as possible so that we can start the paperwork to find their next of kin and get them home. If you could give us your address or bring her here, we’d appreciate it. 

“I’ll drop her off in thirty minutes. Goodbye.” Elisabetta hangs up the phone before striding out of the room. 

Carina’s mind goes blank as she trys and fails to process the information. Her head throbs slightly as her painkillers start to ebb. She vaguely feels London move from the couch to call a car for the girl and Elisabetta. 

“Brit, you will stay here until Elisabetta returns. Gather any intel on this attack that you can. I’m sure that if The Kings are picking a fight with those Diamond Skull sleazebags, things are about to get messy. Make sure our people know what’s up and give them their orders. Elisabetta will bring our dear niece to the police station as she is the least likely to be recognized.”

Britta pinches the bridge of her nose, “Shorty, I’m going to take all but $100 from your backpack. If you walk into that station with six grand in illegally earned bills, you’ll be questioned and, not that we don’t trust you to keep your trap shut, you could expose us. That wouldn’t be good for any parties involved.”

“Whermf yohr nn pft mfy monef?” Carina’s swollen face muffles her words.

“We’ll put it into the your emergency savings and…encourage…the teller’s silence.”

Bright green stiletto nails click in front of blue eyes. “Oi Short-fuse! You’re on in 5 minutes! Get it together!”

Britta. The fight announcer. Her ringmaster. Britta was beautiful, standing at about six feet tall with long curly black hair. The backs of her hands, arms, legs, and neck were covered in tattoos along with a few framing her face. On her back was the Jade Sisterhood’s logo, a snake with venom dripping from its fangs. One eye was a clear-cut jade stone and the other was red and slitted. Her outfit consisted of a jade colored, shiny stiletto pumps, low-waisted black leather leggings that lace up along the outer seams, and a sexy jade colored, crystal-sequined backless haltertop that showed a classy amount of cleavage. It’s not hard to tell that the woman was well-endowed and knew it. The entire outfit was tailored to help her flaunt her assets and showcase her tattoos and emerald belly button ring. The woman was frighteningly beautiful, especially with the deep red lipstick that contrasted the rest of the ensemble. The woman’s full name? Britta Rossi, aka: Moneybags; At age 36, she’s one of the most feared leaders of the Jade Sisterhood. Her favorite hobby? Making men grovel on their knees. A formidable opponent, but the one who found Carina and offered her the job. She even helped Carina hone her skills and gave her them nickname of ‘Short-Fuse’.

Britta looked at her nails, popping her gum. She reached out a strong hand to Carina, who took it gingerly. The brash woman leans down and slings her arm across the short teen’s shoulders as she leads her out toward the ring. “You know the deal shortstack, you get 10% of every fight you win. You lose, you get nothin’ for the night. And whew. Tonight’s pot is pretty. You try to back down, we’ll make your precious sister take your place.” 

No matter how many times Carina hears this spiel, it sends shivers down her spine. She won’t lose. No. She can’t lose. If she loses her and her sister will wind up on the streets, begging for change. There is no way she’ll ever ask John for help, especially not after tonight. She reaches her arm up to loosely set her hand on top of Britta’s. The two gently lock pinkies in a silent promise of shared understanding. Carina won’t lose and she’ll never back down. Not with her sister on the line. 

Britta unwinds her arm from the teen’s shoulder, standing straight before traipsing out into the ring. The crowd goes wild!

Britta grabs the bright gold microphone, getting the crowd hyped for the fights to come. 

Carina barely catches the name ‘Boom-Boom’ before the arena erupts into roars of anticipation. She steels her gaze and plasters a cocky smirk on her face before her name is called to the ring. 

“On this side, the pride of the Jade Sisterhood! Our one! Our only! SHORT-FUSE!” 

Carina strides through the curtains, sneering at impolite attendees, and jumping around with her arms raised. The more hyped the croud, the higher the bets. She’ll have two minutes before the match officially starts where people can place their final bets after seeing the competitors. 

The teen flashes a cocky grin toward her competitor, a very angry looking man. From what she’s heard on the streat about this ‘Boom-Boom’ he is about 5’10, 210 lbs of muscle, and exceedingly strong. What he possesses in strength and pure size, he lacks in brains. Allegedly, the man can’t strategize for shit and is completly stupid. Appearently he flunked out of high school at 16 and took to fighting for The Kings. Play to your strengths I guess. In order to win this, she’ll have to outsmart him. She is smaller and weaker than him but she is faster and she is smarter. Based on the hulking mass of muscles he has, she’ll be more flexible. Just don’t get hit. He could knock her out with one well-placed punch to the jaw. He could wind her with a single hit to the torso. 

Carina’s strategy? Duck, dodge, get in, get out. Do not get hit. Think of it as dodgeball with a 210 mass of sentient meat that wants to murder you. 5 rounds at 5 minutes each. She just needs to last 25 minutes in the cage with this monstrosity. She pops her hot-pink mouth guard in and shakes Boom-Boom’s hand. At Britta’s word, the fight starts.

Boom-Boom charges at Short-Fuse, fists raised. He throws a punch, she dodges. Short-Fuse ducks his next blow and attempts a triple strike combo of fists and elbow, Boom-Boom blocks. The little dance lasts 3.5 minutes before Boom-Boom trips. The man hits the mat hard, Short-Fuse is on top of him in an instant, kneeling on his back. She uses her forearm to pin his shoulders and her legs to pin his arms in an awkward angle, thoroughly keeping him from pushing himself up. 

As it turns out, a good way of immobilizing a strong-heavy set man, is getting him off balance. 

The second round ends with Short-Fuse pinned. The two are tied with 19 points each. 

Round 3 goes to Boom-Boom. He is tiring but so is his opponent. The teen can only hold her own for so long. With the score being 29-19 Boom-Boom, she will need to win the next two rounds or lose the match. 

Round 4 goes to Short-Fuse, just barely. The two are tied up once again, 29-29. Round 5 will be the determining factor. 

Round 5 gets a little rough. Both fighters are panting harshly, Boom-Boom dripping with sweat and Short-Fuse feeling the fatigue setting into her bones. 

As the round starts, Short-Fuse is caught off guard by the massive fist that comes straight into her zygomatic process. The blow sends her sprawling from the ring. Carina’s head swims as the refaries call a time out. Boom-Boom receives a 2 point deduction for committing an intentional foul against his opponent. 

A large bruise with a small laceration graces Short-Fuse’s left cheek bone. Her sclera begins flooding with red while the left side of her face swells. She is leaned against a warm body as the doctor checks her wound and assesses her risk of a concussion. Her head leans against the bare shoulder of London Wixon aka: the serpent. London is completely unbothered by the blood pouring down Carina’s face onto her white fight bra. They’ll just buy her a new one. She pulls a pink handkerchief from her pocket, dabbing at the teen’s face. Her cold gaze is counteracted by her gentle hands as she coos sweetly to the teen. 

The Jade Sisterhood appointed fight doctor smears petroleum jelly on the laceration before giving the small teen some cold water. They only have three out of their five allotted minutes before the match is forfeited and Carina must make it back into the ring unassisted, lest she be disqualified. He leaves to prep the Sisterhood’s OR for a facial reconstructive surgery, leaving his boss and her favorite fighter to get back in the ring. 

Carina relishes in the coolness of her boss’s leather pants in contrast to her burning skin. London wears soft leather leggings with a white leather cropped bodice-tube top, shiny green pointed heels, and a gold emerald-encrusted necklace. The rings on her slender fingers are cool against Carina’s smooth skin as she gently pets her arm.

“It’s time to get back in the ring, pet.” London whispers to the teen.

Carina looks up at her with her good eye before nodding. She falters slightly as she gets to her feet but she manages to stay upright. She just has to finish this round and she’ll have enough money for the month and be able to go to bed. She staggers back into the ring, swaying slightly as she stands there, ready for the round to resume. 

The bell sounds with the roar of applause from the borderline sadistic crowd of gangsters in the stadium. By some sheer luck, Boom-Boom has worn himself out almost completely. Carina just needs to place a good strike to his jaw to get him off balance one last time and pin him. 

Boom-Boom goes for a final strike only to be dodged by Carina. He wasn’t expecting her to be able to fight still and underestimated the small teen’s abilities. The large man is caught unawares when a sharp strike connects with his jaw, disorienting him. Carina throws her body into him, tackling him to the floor, and pins him with her ankles crossed at his chin, in one swift move. The man pants and struggles before giving up. 

“Round 5: Short-Fuse!” Calls the referee. 

Carina unlocks her legs, allowing Boom-Boom up. He stands quickly, sneering at her prone form. He rolls his eyes before reaching down, grabbing her bicep in one hand, and lifting her to his shoulder. She won this match fair and square, and as much as it hurt his pride, he’ll beat her next time. 

The girl is walked out of the stadium by Britta with London sipping a whisky sour from her front row seat. As soon as they’re out of sight, Britta scoops the teen up bridal style. She was clearly staggering but Britta needed to show that her little firecracker was just fine. 

The flash of short blonde hair is all that can be seen as a short figure sprints through the after-school crowd. The figure shoves harshly into a tall figure before leaving them sprawled on the concrete. The man gazes at her with rage, scrambling to his feet. He sprints after the short girl, following her to a dead-end between buildings.

Surrounded by three tall brick walls in an empty space, the girl can do nothing but stand and fight. Her breathing is ragged as the tall, suited, man stalks toward her with laterally stretched arms. His aviator sunglasses and shiny brown cowboy boots are an odd pairing for his completely denim suit.

“It kind of fits the outfit tho…Maybe add a bolo tie or a bandana and cowboy hat and we have inner-city chic meets hicksville.” She thinks.

The tall not-quite-cowboy takes a slow drag from a new cigarette before addressing her with a puff of smoke. “Now, ahm sure ya didn’t mean anything by knocking me down lil’ lady.”

He leans down slightly, “But….ah am not a man to be trifled with. And ya? Ya lack manners.”

The blonde backs up a step as the man’s tone grows darker. He is looking at her with wolfish eyes and using his body to keep her trapped in the ally. She has a few choices, she thinks. One, kick him in the balls and hope he goes down. Two, go straight for the eyes. Three, sock him directly in the jaw and hope she doesn’t kill him if he does go down. There is no way she can make it past him without him grabbing her and she can’t scale the walls, they’re too high and any objects in the ally are entirely unhelpful.

“So this is how it’s going to be,” she thinks. Her eyes dart to the man’s when she speaks, “...I apologize sir. I should’ve been more careful when I was-”

“NO! Ya do not get to apologize now! Ah am speakin’ lil’ lady. Ya disrespectful little bitch,” He snarls, “Look at how ya mucked up my suit. This costs more than yer life is worth! Now, I want some form of compensation, or are ya too stupid to figure that one out lil’ lady?”

Icy blue eyes widen and her breath hitches. Her words are caught in her throat as her mind reels with ways this could end. Thinking quickly she asks, “What do you mean by com-excuse me,” she clears her throat,” compensation…sir? I, ehem, don’t have much money.”

“Now lil’ lady, ah am a gentleman. So ah’ll let’cha off with a warning if ya empty yer backpack there an give me anything of value ya have.” The man pulls a medium-sized hunting knife from his belt. The handle is a mahogany color with silver etchings and a sharp silver blade. “If ya have nothing of value….I can just gut ya like the fish ya are and we’ll call it even. Sound like a deal?”

The blonde nods, slowly grabbing her bag from her shoulder and taking a few steps toward the man. She looks him in the eye before swinging her bag with all her might at his head, successfully knocking him down for a second time.

The cowboy man spews curses before she curb-stomps him and runs out of the ally.

Heart thudding, she brushes past two people in black outfits with generic ball caps covering their faces. One wears a bomber jacket and the other a leather one. The two stand there sharing a shocked glance before spinning on their heels, calling out her name.

As the two give chase, the girl notices the time, 4:15, she’s late. Her lungs scream for air and her muscles ache but she can’t stop running now. As the trio ducks through crowds of people, the girl starts to slow, fatigue clearly starting to take its toll.

“Just a little further” She pants lowly. She spots a densely packed crowd near an ally, but her way is blocked by an average-height man, covered in tattoos. He is stocky and muscular in build and watches her through purple-tinted sunglasses. His floppy hair moves as he steps aside for her to make her way through the ally, ‘accidentally’ blocking the two giving chase. The tattooed man smirks, pulling out his phone to make a call. His boss is going to love this.

The girl doesn’t even spare him a glance as she sprints down an ally before leaping onto a dumpster and climbing the wall, losing her pursuers.

The winded undercover cops, wheeze curses at the girl as they realize they lost her.

The girl can hear their wheezing as she catches her breath on the other side of the wall. She takes a peek at her appearance in the reflection of shop windows as she makes her way to the nearest Mooncents coffee shop. Lucky for her, the cops don’t seem to know that she recently got an after-school job as a barista. Unlucky for her, she hit that one tall person really hard, and her shoulder fricken smarts.

“That’s definitely going to bruise” She mumbles to herself.

The glass door creaks softly as she slips into the cafe. She apologizes to her boss for being late before making her way to the bathroom to change from her school uniform into a white tank top with black joggers and her beat-up old platform Converse. They’re tearing at the seams and literally falling apart but they’re comfortable and it isn’t like she can afford new shoes for work anyway. The blonde was right. Her left shoulder sports a large purple mark that is darkening by the minute. No wonder it hurt so much.

“Holy shit Carina! What’d you do, try to break down a door!?” Her coworker Miles chirps as she emerges from the back, tying her apron.

“Oh shut up Miles! You can’t break down a door with your front. I may or may not have completely shoulder-checked some dude on my way here.” Carina gives Miles a lopsided smile as she washes her hands.

“Oi Carina, I want you to cover on bar so that I can do payroll. Sound alright kiddo?” John, her boss, and owner of Mooncents asks.

Carina nods with a smile as he places a hand on her good shoulder.

“Oh and kiddo, you know that if you need any help, I’m here. I know you don’t like asking but please promise me that you will if you need to.” John says softly before disappearing to the back of the shop.

The short blonde girl’s smile falters slightly before she smoothes the purple apron and gets to making drinks. She and Miles make quips and snarky comments to each other while they work until something weird happens. Around 30 minutes before close, a tall figure sidles through the door, clad in a suit made of denim. Despite the change of dress, Carina recognizes the vibes of this man.

She motions for Miles to take the order as she keeps her head down, pretending to be busy wiping a spot on the counter.

“--well the day was going well until some ungrateful brat knocked into me and didn’t even bother to apologize. I feel like I should get some sort of compensation for that…..” The man locks his brown eyes on Carina’s bright blue. Something about him is setting off alarms in her head. She needs to run. Run. RUN.

She makes a beeline for the back of house, almost running into John, who had finally finished payroll. “Woah woah! What’s going on kiddo?! Where’s the fire!”

John takes in her fearful appearance. Carina doesn’t respond but she doesn’t have to. John squares his shoulders, removes his glasses, and steeles his eyes before walking through the door.

Carina peeks out from the swinging door to see her, former marine, boss calmly ask what was going on. His body language gave off an aura of intimidating strength. John never had to raise his voice, he simply had to look at a person in a specific way and they would back down. Not this denim-suited man though. He was not backing down in the slightest.

He started screaming incoherently at John before pulling his knife. Carina was glued to her hiding spot. Miles went to hit the guy with a broom but the man slashed at him. For just a second, Carina thought that Mr. Denim had missed, oh how wishful she was. Time felt slowed as Miles staggered back, clutching his lower left chest. His wheezing breaths were the only thing that broke the silence at that moment.

John grabbed the man’s knife-wielding arm, pulling it toward him. He lifted his other hand to the man’s hair and slammed his head repeatedly into the counter as Carina finally regained her legs.

Carina sprinted to Miles, putting pressure on his wound. She wasn’t much one for praying but she sent a quick prayer for Miles. He shouldn’t have to suffer for her actions. If she had just apologized or something….

John ties the not-quite-cowboy up with his apron before calling the police. Knowing how skittish Carina is around police, he tells her that he will be ok there and that she should take her tips and leave out the back door. While taking over holding Miles’s wound, he places a firm, fatherly, hand on her shoulder.

“This was not your fault Aria. That man needs psychiatric help. It is entirely his fault that he attacked you, and that he attacked Miles. Miles is going to be ok. You go home to your sister and have a movie night or something kiddo. I’ll take it from here.”

Carina nodded without looking up. She jogged out the back door to make her way to the Jade Dragon Night Club.

“Sorry John,” she thought, “I still have work to do.”

~~

“Oi! Short-Fuse! You don’t go on until midnight! The hell you doin’ here?” A mildly concerned voice shouts as she enters the club.

“Got off work early Marty.” Carina mumbles. She makes her way to the seat at the end of the bar. Marty sets a Monster and a shirly temple in front of her. Carina pulls her laptop out of her bag and starts doing her homework. It’s 8:45 pm, which gives her nearly three hours before she has to change and warm up for her second job. She spends the first hour working on homework before she starts to nod off.

“May as well change into my gear…” She thinks sleepily. The short blonde stands up, joints crackling. “Oi, Marty, I’m off to change!”

The barkeep raises a bottle in acknowledgment as Carina moseys on down to her dressing room to change. She says dressing room but it’s just a little storage closet with a vanity, med kit, and different Jade Sisterhood branded outfits. Tonight is cold so she grabs a white tank top with green scaled panels on the sides with well-fitting black shorts decorated with J on one side and S on the other. She slips into her green fuzzy Crocs and a green, lightly oversized, hoodie that has the Jade Sisterhood logo on the back and arms. Scarred hands throw her hair into a tiny ponytail with a green, white, and black, headband for her fly-aways.

DING

DING

DING

DING

DING

DING

Sparing one last glance in the mirror, Carina looks down at her phone. It’s a message from Aksana. That’s weird. Her sister knows that she has work after school and that tonight is one of the long nights.

9:58 pm

Ana: Dude

Ana: Don’t go home after work

Ana: Can’t talk much, but cops

Ana: At the station, something happened to Greg and Mum

Ana: Thye wont tell me til you’re here

Ana:They*

10:01 pm

Carina: Are you safe

Carina: ???

Carina: Do you need me to come get you

Carina: You’re a minor, they can’t hold you

Carina: What do you mean Greg and Mum

Carina: What happened???

Ana: I’m safe, you stay

Ana: I’ll ask her for help if anything happens

Ana: Don’t worry

Ana: Just come when you’re done, I can wait. They’re going to be waiting for you at home so don’t go there.

Ana: Come straight here but leave any ‘you know whats’ there

Ana: Nosey coppers are snooping around. Including my phone.

Ana: Fight well

Ana: Be safe, love you

10:13 pm

Carina: ten four good sister

Carina: Love you too

“An hour and 45 minutes till I’m on…ughhhh. This kind of sucks.” Carina grumbles while walking back to her seat. She finishes her homework by 11:15 then puts her head on the bar to rest her eyes and listen to inebriated people make fools of themselves. She dozes off for all of twenty minutes before being roused by the smell of fresh sweet potato fries and half a club sandwich. She can’t eat much before her fights lest she puke it up but Marty knows that she hasn’t eaten since lunch at school, if not breakfast. Carina has a terrible habit of getting engrossed in whatever task she is doing and “forgetting” to eat until it’s done. By that time though, she is so exhausted that she just won’t eat anything because it’s too much work. He can tell that she’s getting to that point so, as a good brother figure, he shall force her to eat at least a little bit.

Besides, if she doesn’t eat, she won’t fight well. If she doesn’t fight well, the sisterhood will….be unhappy. Very unhappy. Bad things happen when you anger the sisterhood.

Pale blue eyes glance at the food, then at the kindly bartender. “Thanks, Marty.”

“No problem short-fuse” he chuckles as she yawns, “You better eat then stretch youngin, your first match starts in 35 minutes. Can’t have you cramping up munchkin.”

The sandwich was delicious. Marty was the undisputed top bar chef in the entire Sisterhood territory. He had grown up cooking with his abuela and mother, even going as far as to get a culinary degree from the community college in his home city. Carina took a last swig of her monster before grabbing a bottle of water and heading to her warmup zone. She scrolled through her spotify for warmup music before starting her stretches. Thoughts of what Ana had texted lingered in the back of her mind.

Prologue:

Chapter 1: Fight or Die Well

Chapter 2: Victory or Sovenguard

Chapter 3: Bad News

Chapter 4: But We Have School?

Cesare sits at his desk, mulling over papers from the latest week’s jobs. A meeting with the Russian mafia (Bravata) leaders is scheduled for 3 months from now. He huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose, before standing abruptly and swiping everything off his desk. As he is about to throw the door to his office open, the handle clicks.

A dark-haired, average-height man, in a 3 piece suit stands in front of him with a perturbed expression. The young man scans the ornate office before gazing into Cesare’s storm-green eyes.

“Father. We need to talk…” The dark-haired man glances over his shoulder, “preferably in private.”

Cesare looks down at his son, jaw ticking, “Come in Viktor. I’m sure you have good reason to disrupt me when you know I’m busy.”

Cesare’s sharp tone and menacing glare don’t phase Viktor in the slightest. He simply steps over the mess that is his father’s office and lounges in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk.

Victor takes a calming breath as his father sits heavily, “Father. I don’t know how to put this gracefully.” He pauses.

“Aksana and Carina Mezzasalma have been located in New York City, USA. An extraction team has been sent to bring them to Genoa where Vito and Santo will meet them before driving here. Shall I have rooms prepared?”

Cesare is silent for a few moments. He is not an easily disturbed man but this. This disturbed him.

~NEW YORK CITY, NY~

3:20pm

An explosion echoes from the video on a screen. The middle-aged woman standing next to the projection pauses the video, leaving the room silent. One of her red curls brushes her umber brow. Brown eyes scan the room for a second before a grey-haired woman at the end coughs slightly.

“Agent Dowton. Care to explain what we just witnessed?” The red-haired chief fixes her gaze.

“Of course Ma’am,” Agent Dowton strides to the podium. Her cane tapping along the cheap tile floors, “As you can see, at approximately 4:37am, a warehouse in Harlem was obliterated by a massive explosion. Witnesses say the explosion was caused by a noxious chemical reaction at the warehouse. How do you ask? Well, it turns out that Mr. and Ms. Greg and Marisha Bjorno were involved with one of the local gangs, the Diamond Skull Syndicate. The DSS and The Kings have been spotted having conflicts for the last few months, we have been led to believe that The Kings targeted the warehouse in order to send the DSS a message. Dr. Bjorno was inside her lab at the time and Mr. Bjorno was in his office. While both were on opposite sides of the warehouse, the explosion was large enough that both were killed.”

A steely-eyed man at the end of the table raised his hand, “Why would the Bjorno’s be targeted by The Kings? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to go after one of the DSS’s strongholds?”

“Thank you for your interruption Agent Cass, I was getting to that,” Dowton looks at the younger man sternly before continuing, “The Bjornos were creating and selling methamphetamines to not only the DSS but The Kings and a few minor gangs in other parts of the city. One of our witnesses, a member of the Jade Sisterhood, sent a tip just four hours ago, as it turns out, the Bjornos have two daughters. You are to locate them and bring them into custody so that we may find their next of kin.”

The elder woman taps her way back to her seat before Chief Kent resumes her position at the podium.

With hands clasped behind her back, she addresses the agents gathered, “Agents Cass and Wright, you are to go to Central High School and find Aksana Vilkov, dismissed. Agents Moore and Dawson, you will intercept Carina Vilkov, aka: Short-Fuse. She may be difficult to track down if you don’t find her before she makes it to the Jade Sisterhood hideout. Our informant was less than helpful when it came to the location. If you are unable to intercept her before she gets there, you will have a second chance at 2:30 am when she returns home to her apartment in Brownsville.”

“Hold up chief! What? Is this Vilkov sister part of the sisterhood? Shouldn’t we detain her or something? And why are we calling them Vilkov? They’re the Bjorno’s kids right?” Moore stands angrily. The sisterhood has been giving them issues since his days as a cadet. There is no way he’ll just roll over and let some brat get away with the crimes she has no doubt committed.

“Cool it, Moore. Vilkov and her sister aren’t part of the sisterhood, they’re just under their protection. If you actually read the file before the meeting, you’d know that the Bjornos have two residences. One in Tribeca and one in Brooklyn. As the Bjorno’s were below the law anyway, it is assumed that their daughters live in Brooklyn while Mr. and Ms. Bjorno lived in Tribeca. Our informant did let us in on a little detail though. Carina Vilkov started cage fighting after a run-in with a different gang jumped her and her sister on their way back from school one night. Turns out she is a little firecracker and wracks in the cash for the sisterhood. In return, she gets 10% from each fight and protection from the sisterhood.” Dawson’s hand brushes through their bronze hair.

“You didn’t answer my question about the whole name thing tho…”

“Marisha’s maiden name is Vilkov. Bjorno is the girl’s stepfather you dipshit.”

Dawson receives a slap to the back of their head for that comment.

“Alright, you chatty Cathys! Hop to it! Or do you want to be out all night!” Chief Kent snaps her fingers in the duo’s faces. She rolls her golden-brown eyes as they scramble over each other to get out the door first.

Left alone in the conference room, she turns to peer at the photos on the board in front of her. Pulling out her phone to make a call to the next of kin, she sighs.