And When The Walls Come Down

Personal Relationships

Andrés and Martin were arguing again, and Sergio was growing increasingly uncomfortable by the minute. We were sitting outside in the garden, where I was happily pretending I didn't hear the chaos the two men were creating inside the monastery walls. It was amusing watching the way Sergio would fidget in his seat, trying to gather the courage to inquire as to what they were fighting about, before he'd seemingly lose his nerve and continue his silence.

The sound of glass breaking finally pushed him to ask, "What's going on between them?"

I closed my book gently, leveling him with a sly look, "You mean Andrés didn't tell you?" I was toying with him, but oh he just made it too easy sometimes. For being such a smart man, Sergio didn't notice much of the world around him, it was endearing really, if not a little frustrating.

Sergio's lips twitched in annoyance. "If he had, I wouldn't be bothering you for an answer."

I smirked coyly, taking a sip of my drink, letting the suspense build before I finally told him, "He wants to include Tatiana in the plan."

///

The pizza smelled like a greasy mess, but at this point, anything was better than the sandwiches they'd given us earlier. I knew what I'd be doing as soon as we got out of here, hitting the nearest restaurant and getting some real food in me.

Nairobi and Tokyo were standing over us, keeping guard, with their guns hanging loosely by their sides, and everyone else was sitting down, trying their best to not make eye contact with any of our kidnappers. From the corner of my eye I saw movement, and I turned slowly, making sure to keep Tokyo in my peripheral view. Rio was limping down the stairs, and it dawned on me just why Berlin had been in such a good mood when he'd come back from his little chat with him earlier.

Well, I can't say the boy didn't deserve it, after all, it wasn't just his life on the line now, but all of ours as well. Any mistake made by him could lead to our downfall, if not our death.

Having finally reached our floor, Rio doubled over, leaning against the wall as he struggled to catch his breath. From where I was sitting I could make out the bruises that decorated the side of his face, and blood was beginning to trail down his temple. Tokyo walked over to him as though in a trance, her steps even and measured, and she appeared to smile as she took in his broken appearance, lifting his shirt before she walked away from him slowly, and suddenly, she took out her gun, approaching the camera in the corner and shooting it.

The hostages screamed, covering their heads with their arms as Nairobi dropped the pizzas, running over to see what had happened. Tokyo was a woman on a mission, running up the stairs with Nairobi hot on her heels, yelling at her to stop, and I knew with sudden certainty, that whatever followed this, it wouldn't be the end of it.

Tokyo did not strike me as the type to let something go, she'd come to figure out just who gave the order to have Rio punished sooner than later. Berlin would have to be careful around her. Not that he couldn't handle her of course, but the fact of the matter was that she was unpredictable, and she was unpredictable because she was in love, something that only made her all the more dangerous.

This was exactly the reason Sergio had said no personal relationships. I wondered then, if that was the reason why neither Tatiana nor Martin were here with us.

But that brought up the question, why was I?

///

The two gunshots rang loud, and we exchanged worried glances between us, though the others were probably worried about their own safety, whereas I was worried about Berlin's.