Finally With You {manxman}

Capitolo Quindici.

I took two big strides between General Carlton and I, determined to rip that smug ass grin off of his face as I swung my arm with a tremendous force and I released it and it aimed forward, headed straight for his dumb ass face. My fist landed with a thud on his left cheek, my fist colliding as several cracks pierced the air in a rough sensation, adrenaline rushing through my veins in a moment of anger as ripples of fat cascaded backward towards his ears. "Fuck you, Andre!" I growled as his body slammed against the brick wall of the stage.

I heard many gasps coming from the audience but all I saw was his blood on my hands. I stormed over to him, where he was groaning in pain, rubbing his head. I had the urge to kick him in his face but I was not going to jail over someone as pathetic as he. Instead, I reached and gripped the collar of his uniform, snatching him up to meet me face to face, blood dripping out of his nose. "What is he doing?" Someone in the crowd asked. "He just assaulted a general!"

But I did not give a single shit.

I glared down at Andre with all the hate I could form inside of me. "You walk around here promoting equality for everyone no matter what the circumstances but deep down, you're a hypocritical sack of shit!" I hovered over him, yelling with all the venomous anger I could muster up. "You leave your son in the most important time, the time that he needed you most!" I snarled, shaking his collar. "You forced your god damn child to walk away from your family because he was gay! What kind of shit is that?!?" I yelled, feeling the blood rushing to my face. He stared up at me, eyes widened and mouth agape. "You think you're better than everyone so you sneer and turn up your fucking head at the sight of us." I chuckled humorlessly, staring at him, feeling my anger slowly dissipate at the sight of his pathetic stature. "God, I actually thought all of those rumors were just because they wanted to be you!" I shook my head, disgust recoiling in my tone. "They were really true, no matter how much I looked up to you." I let out a harsh sigh. "Fuck that." I smacked his collar back, making him land against the wall, sputtering.

"I refuse to work under someone like you." I snatched my badge and my medal off of my belt hook, throwing it at him. "I quit," I stated and everyone gasped. "Someone like you does not deserve to be the general of Fort Hamilton." I sent him one last hate-filled look before I turned my back on him. I was giving up my dream of being the General here, but I refuse to work under someone who thinks my son should be discriminated against, someone who thinks that their son deserves no love.

No, I will not.

I ignored the many stares from the lieutenant-generals as they held their mouths open, phones out. I kept my eyes on the man in front of me, Isaiah Carlton. He stood, clenching his fist as a tear left his eye. His bottom lip was covered by his teeth as he focused his vision on me. I didn't know what he was thinking but I didn't regret my decision. "Isaiah?" I called out, rubbing my hand. "You okay?" I raised a brow. "...Should you be asking me that question?" He whispered, reaching out for me. His hands were twitching like he wanted to pull me into a hug but I knew if he did, he wouldn't let me go. "Why did you quit your job, James?!" He looked at me with panic in those hazel eyes and I smiled.

"I'm not going to work for someone who makes you feel like you're less than who you are." I smirked, brushing past him to exit. Jesse stood in the doorway, shock evident on his face. As I walked outside into the fresh air, I felt like a weight had just been lifted, like I could finally breathe. I know I should be questioning myself on why I punched a higher up impulsively like that. Call it instinct, but when Isaiah shed that tear, I was ready to kill. 

"James?" I turned my head to look at Isaiah next to me, who had a scorned expression etched on his face. "Yes?" I asked, wondering what he wanted. It was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Why did you leave that morning? I mean, mierda, I fucked you so good and well, you passed out midway through the third round, so tell me," He fixed his hard gaze on me, piercing through my soul like knives. "Why did you leave?" My eyes widened and I snapped my head away, trying to avoid his strong gaze. "....I uh..." I couldn't figure out the words to say because saying it would mean that it was true and I didn't want to be the one.

I didn't want to be the one who realized first.

"Does it have something to do with a donna named Xiomara?" Isaiah questioned softly and I cursed myself, wondering where he heard that name from. "Where did you hear that?" I snapped back and he sighed. "When I read about you, the first time I met you, I learned that your late wife Xiomara was killed three years ago." He stated, a breeze whipping past us. I clicked my teeth, feeling my heartburn at the remembrance. "That's true and all, but don't think that she is the reason." I refused to look at him, fearing that he could see into my soul through my eyes. 

"I thought she was the reason for the way that I felt, but it turns out," My voice dropped to a whisper as our steps slowed. "It was because of you, Isaiah." I finished, knowing that he heard me. I felt something entangling itself with my hand and I looked down to see that my hand was in his.

I turned my head to look at him and as his mouth opened to speak in protest, all of a sudden, something large and white dropped from the air, landing with a loud crash. Glass from the container exploded everywhere as time stood still. I stared at the small explosion of fire, hands grabbing around my waist and yanking me back before the glass had a chance to sink itself into my skin. I fell back against Isaiah's chest, like the moment was in slow motion. It felt like I had been blown off of my feet. The burning smell of flesh and the crisp scent of fire invaded my nostrils as my eyes clouded over.

I coughed violently, the smoke entering my lungs. "Stai bene, mio caro?!" I heard Isaiah's frantic voice in my ear and my heart lurched at the sound of concern in his voice. "I'm fine," I stated, throwing my hand up. "No need to worry." He held me in his arms as we stared at the container that from the sky, smoke clearing away. "That was thrown intentionally." I looked up to see two buildings side by side. "It had to been from the top floor or the roof for it to make a large explosion like that." I began to calculate and take mental notes. "These buildings are connected to Fort Hamilton, so it is someone from inside the military. I would need to figure out how I could get the time card for everyone when today was the day everyone had off." I muttered to myself.

I went to get up but Isaiah held a tight grip on me. "I'm just going to see what it is." His hazel eyes glazed over in slight fear but nevertheless, he let go. I crept over, covering my mouth and fanning away the excess smoke as I came upon what looked to be something wrapped heavily in sheets and glass. Curiosity got the best of me as I pulled out my pocket knife, cutting at the strings. Suggesting by the decomposing smell of death, I knew it was a body. "Ah, cazzo!" I heard Isaiah's deep voice before I saw him.

This was the body of Emmanuel Nava. He was a third ranking lieutenant general. "You know him?" I asked Isaiah and he placed a hand on my shoulder, meaning that he did. I scanned the body, looking for more clues and things that could help figure out who was behind this. The person is a woman of a higher rank than these victims, someone who has access to tools like guns and more, someone who's easily able to think outside of the box, someone who has a connection to La Cosa Nostra. There weren't many of these women here at Fort Hamilton. I narrowed my eyes, inhaling the air.

There was an underlying sweet scent but I couldn't figure out what it was or who it belonged to. "Hey," I muttered softly. "There's a piece of paper attached." I motioned for Isaiah to come closer as I yanked the paper open, a gruesome note written in what looked like blood.

The next body will be the last- n.h