Past Forgotten
Matthew Ryan Fischer
It took tremendous effort not to storm out. Declan was a surprise.
Declan was a lie. His father was a liar. Both Declan and Ace continued to talk,
but Seven didn’t register it at first. All he could think about was that his
life had been a lie and his father was the one who made it happen.
“Why?”
“That is a long story.”
“Then tell me.”
Declan and Ace were reticent. Ace suggested they talk in private
later. Declan wanted the information about the gangs and potential infighting.
“What about my mother?”
“Killed. I never lied about her.”
“How can I believe that?”
“I know this is hard. Please believe me son. Your uncle left the
Dragons. His life was in danger. I helped him escape.”
“And he became a police officer?”
“I spent years undercover. My knowledge bought my freedom, my
protection.”
Seven thought about the USB and the files on the families. Was
that the sort of knowledge that he traded? Was he the leak? If so, had he killed
Nine and did he have further plans? Seven loved his father but was hurt and
angry and knew nothing of Declan.
“You sell your former family and friends. You’re a rat.”
“I had one target, one goal. If I told the police anything, it was
only on those that truly deserved it.”
“You’re both fools. I’m a fool for standing here as long as I
have. I’ll be killed. Or arrested and then killed in prison.”
Seven headed for the door.
“Son…?”
“You never should have told me.”
“Son, please. I beg you. Please. You reached out to the police.
You had something important to share. You’re violating your family, your position.
It must be important. Come back. Tell him. You don’t have to talk about family
or the past. Use him, use me, protect and preserve the future you want. You can
hate us both later. But right now, finish whatever it was you came to do.”
Seven collected himself. He knew there was an ounce of truth to
his father’s words. Some things were more important than his bitter anger. The
city would be in flames soon and if he did nothing now then it would be just as
bad as if he lit one of the matches. He didn’t want to be reasonable in the
moment, but he had to be.
Seven walked back into the dojo. He could hold his tongue for now.
Somethings were more important than his wounded pride.
After they were done, hours later, after Declan had left, Seven
told his father he was in no mood for further conversation. He would want answers
later, but for now he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Then Seven went down
the street and hid to watch what happened next. He expected Declan to return,
but instead his father left his dojo for the night. Seven followed.
No comments:
Post a Comment