And the Red Brotherhood grew by taking advantage of that weakness. They proved to be an easy and quick source of income for those who were cold-blooded. They gave the chance to those who would like to leave the streets to have food and shelter. But the price they charged was too high. The hatred they incited was too heavy. And my father was the one who gave rise to all this.That's why I didn't regret wishing for his years behind bars. He deserved, more than anyone, to pay for all that. And the worst part was knowing that even those who only allied themselves with that dark side of the force, would still have to pay with convictions for the crimes against other people's lives. Even if they hadn't done it for pleasure. They would still have to account to the government. And I knew they wouldn't be ruthless. The more time passed to make sure that the Brotherhood would never rise again, the more people's hatred increased.There were rare times when I forgot all that and looked up to appr
"And my visit is just to talk to you, Penelope," said Caleb. I arched an eyebrow. If he had asked the reasons, he would have noticed how trembling my voice sounded. "I heard, behind my daughters, that you've been having problems with the media in general. I'm issuing a restraining order so that none of them approach you. By the end of today, they will be banned, or they will have to bear a very attractive fine if they dare to break the law.”I avoided laughing. Lately I found the efforts of people in trying to bring me some happiness very funny. I never imagined that someday Caleb Johnson would be visiting me to give good news. That's why I limited myself to opening a smile of thanks. So I went into the clinic and sat in the waiting chairs. The clinic's television was off, but the vet helpers who supported my mother seemed to be having trouble dealing with a dog that barked stridently in the back. The noise was so much that she had to leave Caleb and me alone, while running to meet he
"I imagine," Caleb said with a cold giggle. He didn't fool me. I knew the reason he was there should be different. Even if he didn't know when I would arrive, maybe he considered my mother to call me after receiving that blessed box. And it was even more evident that he was not there for good news when he moved on the bench, sitting on his side to observe me completely. “We want you to help us with something important, Penelope. We want you to collaborate with us.”"Who wants it? "I deleted it, even though it's not a mystery at all."The police," Caleb said in a rhythmic voice. There was no longer that tone that forced the friendly and the familiar, he just took the trouble to be there to make that proposal. It was difficult to contain the laughter by the sudden notion that my intuition had not yet failed. "We are investigating the Red Brotherhood, but we are turning in circles. Those people are dangerous and trained. They disappear like a cloud of smoke from one hour to the next. We
And it didn't seem fair; neither to help the police nor to help the Brotherhood. Both sides seemed to want to pretend that revenge was some kind of justice. The police resented the fact that the Brotherhood made them fools for a long time. And the Brotherhood hated the police killing their leader "despite being Suzane with their own hands. Not at the end of the day, I would be just another piece on that tragedy board. I didn't want to be used that way. Many things were at stake. I still had a lot to lose.If I agreed to work for one side, I would be signing a sentence on behalf of my friends, my family, and any future I could long for. I couldn't carry a bigger weight on my shoulders. I was already carrying too many things. Too long luggage. All I didn't need was some more sacrifice on my back. The police had done very well without me, and the Brotherhood could manage with the various members who were in the line of succession to command. The best I could do was keep myself away."I'm
Overall, I've always put up with Beatrice very well. She was nice to look at too. Blonde, green eyes, a beautiful mouth. He always said what he thought, no matter how ridiculous it was, and he didn't care much about pleasing others. Not to mention that she had the habit of throwing a lot of hints at me, as if she really had an attraction to other women, although I knew very well that she was the kind that hit on and ran. I never corresponded, but just by looking, anyone would say that Beatrice was too fresh to deal with the intensity of an intimate relationship with someone of the same sex."And what do you know about Colton and me? "I questioned by lowering my eyes, poking my own slice of lemon in the long cup. Beatrice giggled softly, and I snorted. "Everyone insists on saying that Colton and I have something, when we have never been seen in public showing any affection. He only took care of me when I had my problems. And that's all.”"So why do you get so nervous when talking about
"All of them are "I giggled with a giggle. "But why do you say that?”“About my family?”“Yes.”"Oh, my parents are crazy, divorced and who travel the world to try to find love. My brothers disappeared from sight. We don't spend Christmases together and we don't even know who to call if we need any organ donation.”This time, I had a spontaneous laugh. Beatrice gestured with her shoulders."Anyway, I think I'm feeling envious to see how the Johnson sisters can make a simple dinner in a cute television commercial about perfect couples.”I watched her with a narrow of my eyes, she had just diverted her attention from the back of the restaurant, where the tables closest to the classical band were located."Why are you talking for sure? "I asked."Because I'm seeing them right there," said Beatrice with a suggestive lift from the cup. "She really just seems to fit in with her family, and, my gosh... What a beautiful girl. I'm sure they will have beautiful children.”I got cold. I refused
There was a moment when just being touched didn't seem enough, and she started touching me too. My dress was a little harder to convey some sensitivity to my body, so she had to drag one of the straps to the side, revealing a cute red lace bra. With fingers still trembling and one of her hands in her mouth, Mikaela slid two fingers inside my bra, easily holding a nipple. Her touch wasn't so precise, but it gave me pleasure anyway. The situation gave me more pleasure than anything else. Because to do that with a man things would have to be much more discreet, but with another woman... Not to mention the smell of Mikaela, which was a sweet and intoxicating fragrance, and that her perfume filled me completely.She began to gasp in interrupted breaths, following the rhythm of my fingers and my mouth on her breasts. I felt her fingers curling gently, she trying to get away from the feeling of free fall against pleasure, while her body totally surrendered to the touches. It was better than
"I'm not hurt, Penelope. I know you prefer women. I know I have no chance of being more than the nanny who took care of you for months "he said, and I opened my mouth to say that it wasn't fair for him to throw that in my face when I didn't even ask for help, but he gestured with one hand, dismissing my answer. "I'm not hurt, I'm upset because you've been a selfish and dirty person. How can it affect Mikaela in this way? Make her wonder if she really should give some consolation to her sick grandmother, or embark on this crazy relationship with you? That's not fair to her head.”"Who said I want a relationship with Mikaela? "I retorted, because I couldn't think of other weapons. Colton just watched me coldly. I had a laugh that I would like it to sound like innocence. “Oh, Colton, spare me. Even you've been giving hope to the poor thing.”“Me? But we never had anything, Penelope!”"Is it really?”"Of course... Oh, no. This little game doesn't work for me, Penelope "he said suddenly, f
The nightclub was crowded that night.It wasn't difficult for that to happen, though. Everyone knew that that place was only filled with regulars by the numerous illicit activities that occurred between the parts illuminated only by the lights that flashed from time to time with colored kaleidoscopes. All the regulars ended their night with good debts in their pockets, enriching the owner of the place, who almost never mingled with those who used their establishment to hide their atrocities for money from the police and the rest of the world.That night, however, the owner of the establishment had left his room on the upper floor of the nightclub, and had taken the trouble to join two other men as arrogant and unnecessary in appearance as this first. All of them were being pampered by the women who worked at the nightclub, because the men allowed there were only the security guards and those who prepared the drinks.Women of all colors and ages walked back and forth in a few clothes.
"I would never sanctify my brother," I guaranteed in a cold tone, although I smiled. "I never told you exactly who Jonathan was, did I? “Osman shook his head, so I sighed. "Jonathan has always been very temperamental. Complicated to deal with. He never introduced us to girlfriends. At least, as far as I can remember. Then he came up dating Suzane Johnson, and at the time of dating, he was aggressive and abusive. He almost killed her, and when he couldn't, he made everyone go against her. The few who supported her made my father and brother pay. But those people had no idea that they ran an entire country. So, even when my brother was presumed dead, and even when my father lost his fortune, they continued to have power over each of us.”"We knew about Suzane Johnson," Osman confessed, watching the sun set on the horizon. "But we didn't know what she could have represented in Saltuk's life. As far as we understood, he was only connected to a woman from his past, and we all knew that he
"When that happens, and if it happens, I'll be ready "I spoke in a tone of triumph, opening a smile without showing my teeth. Aslan's hatred flashed in his eyes and he looked at me as if he were really looking into the eyes of a venomous snake. "You can come after me, because I will always be waiting for you or anyone from the Red Brotherhood. I don't need the police on my way, Aslan. I don't need to work for someone specific, I can take care of myself. I'm more than you think. I became something much bigger that night when you decided to take one of the best people in my life. That night, you determined that I would be your worst enemy. And here I am. I'm not a God. I'm not a ruler. I'm not a person who rose from the dead, as my brother claimed to be. I'm just the one who ended up with a Brotherhood that survived for decades. I am the one who goes after each one of you to condemn you. You will remember my name. You will know what I became that night. And when the day comes, you will
The little boy gave a wide smile, nodding with energy. I walked away from your house, feeling the looks of those poor and desperate people. Watching the children walking freely on dirty puddles and the countless elderly people who sneaked through the open doors of their wooden houses to see that group of foreigners marching away. An entire population that was hidden by the tyrants and dictators who thought they were the owners of their lives.At that moment I really understood my purpose to stay alive.The Red Brotherhood was like the barracks in which I was staying with the American army. The place was located in an open and isolated area, with no houses around, no factories or any impression that people could easily access. In fact, it was necessary for a small boat to travel through the waters of the river that crossed the city to reach that islet on which the barracks remained erected. While the boat in which Osman and I were cleared the waters of that river, with small droplets r
My brother got involved in it because of his thirst for revenge. He made Suzane and I get involved up to the neck in that whole story. I judged and condemned him for being part of a terrorist mafia. I never noticed that I did that to other people myself. And I had just repeated the story by dragging that family to the same bottom of the pit where I was. Not all the excuses in the world would be enough to explain what I was putting them in.“What does your necklace mean? "Asked the little boy named Can. I took a look down. Lately I only remembered the pendant when I imagined that the police would be aware of each of my steps by the little tracker they arrested there. I almost didn't remember that I got it exactly on the last night of Mikaela Johnson's life. I divated for so long that the little boy even thought I wouldn't answer anymore. "I don't want to sound uneducate. I thought you knew about altın yılan's tale.”"The tale of what? "I questioned in a low voice. The boy's father was
The little boy translated, and at this point one of the young people on the couch became more rigid, as if the mention of the police aroused some peculiar kind of interest among them. Perhaps the word in its translation was something that demonstrated authority, and not a specific position. And that they could be understanding that people of a very special and powerful nature could have taken me to their country. The chance for them to think that I could be something worse than the Brotherhood was very great. I took a deep breath to avoid stuttering when I needed to talk again. The little boy finished translating and was silent. It was the lady closest to the arm of the couch who said a few words to him."They want to know what our people need," said the little boy, so he interrupted, because his grandmother kept talking and pointing to the space on the roof. Would they really be so bothered just because I fell? I wonder if they didn't understand that for that, I would have to have a
"Do you think you can reach the next window? "Murmured Osman, his voice sounding no more than a warm breeze against the cold wind. I nodded, but I hesitated. “Great. Remember the training on the climbing wall. Imagine that you are still using the safety equipment. Imagine that there is a mattress down there, waiting for the moment when you will fall. Everything will be fine, Penelope. Just jump. I'll be here if something goes wrong. I promise to pull you.”“Miss Maxwell? "He called Aslan once again, with a note of laughter in his voice. He knocked on the door, with such a slow movement that I knew very well that he was having fun with the situation. Of course he loved that game. I had learned from my father and my brother. The only one who seemed less aware of how to play like that was myself. "I need to say that it doesn't matter where you are. We'll be there. Everyone in this city respects us. Everyone knows that the Brotherhood rewards its allies and torments its enemies. Even if y
"I had to learn everything again after my accident," I said in a low voice. "I had to learn to breathe, walk, talk, and move. So that must have been why the training with the police was better to do. I'm still learning, but the difference is huge. I really feel like a person prepared for any situation. From an extreme cold to an endless race. Even though I have to depend on the firecracker for almost everything, I'm still better than I was in basic activities. Not to mention that my reflexes are much better now. So he was right. It's easier to learn everything when you've forgotten how to do it. That must be why they considered my brother as a God. It was not because he came back from the dead, but because he reached a level of lethality that no one alive has achieved. But I did it. And I think that's exactly what they expected me to do.”"Perhaps, but in relation to the children and his brother, it's all true," Osman said, nodding absent-mindedly. He let out another heavy sigh. "Ther
The arrogance of the leader name of the Brotherhood would be his downfall. He never thought that the police would appear, even more so in large quantities. He never thought that a simple auction "which always took place on days of the week known to people" would cause the police to invade the place. Of course, it would not take long for his sources to inform him of what happened, but, by then, hopefully we would have released the kidnapped children. Aslan had no chance. And worst of all, he left his soldiers and friends, or brothers as they were called, alone. He didn't set up an escort outside to see if they would be okay. He didn't send people to watch the sales and make sure nothing went wrong. He left the people who trusted him the most without any protection. And the strangest thing about all this is that they still remained faithful to that rotten Brotherhood.The police easily surrendered the members of the Brotherhood in that hall, and managed to arrest all the rich who were w