Thanks for adding MA to your reading list! Enjoy! (This is one of the last chapters so recommend starting at the beginning if you wanna read...or not, it's up to you!)

Author's note: Hi! I've had a very busy last few weeks and been feeling sick for some of it as well as other stuff so here's the last few chapters!

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"We're here."

"Is this place it? Do you own an apartment here or something?", Alexander asked as Tomas got out of the car and shut the door.

"My place is probably crawling with cops right now. Thanks for dropping me off at this address."

"I feel like you should stay with me and Lauren right now..."

"Those other former mafia members might be after me ,so I have to lay low for a while. You're probably the first person they would expect me to go to, so watch your back as well," Tomas warned.

"Brother, I know it's a lot to process, but don't do anything foolish while I'm gone. I'll be back to pick you up in the morning. I hope whomever you're meeting now can really help." Alexander sped off after he delivered that line and Tomas then gazed at the luxurious apartment building standing before him.

Only one person he knew could afford this and unfortunately, Tomas was on shaky ground with him as it was.

Uncle Bern's bachelor pad in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan looked exactly as he expected it to be-an upscale high-rise with a view facing Central Park. The reason he even knew it existed had to with the tendency of Frank, the assistant head of accounting, to have a hangover and still come to work to get a paycheck. Being hungover, he would assign Tomas to complete tax forms, and one day, he noticed that there was a certain property whose address was smack dab in the middle of Manhattan and not listed as company property, but rent still paid for by corporate money.

He connected the dots that day, and as a result, he ended up coming to this place and touching the buzzer, only to hear Uncle Bern's gruff voice.

"It's 1 am in the morning. Somebody better have a good excuse for waking me up from slumber."

"Hello, Uncle Bern."

The silence seemed to stretch on and on until the buzzer sounded, and the door let him in.

"What d'ya want nephew?"

"I thought you called me your employee all the time," Tomas snarled.

"Oh please. Drop the charade. Nobody's around to hear it. I'm serious though-why are you here in the middle of the night? And why didn't you call first?"

"Your ex-goons paid me a visit again."

"And?"

"They tried to murder me to keep quiet at the hospital, but I defended myself and they left.", Tomas explained, leaving out the part of him killing the two Ukrainians. He still wasn't sure if he could trust his uncle to not have him committed if he learned about that particular fact.

"So the cops got 'em I venture?", Uncle Bern strolled around and yawned to signify his displeasure with the way the conversation was going.

"And you're not at all concerned with this, are you?"

"Your business. Your problems," he answered back.

"My what? I did my job that you told me to do, by the way, and then they take it out on me, and it's my fault? Are you nuts?", Tomas yelled.

"Sheesh. Could you keep it down? I think you might have given me a headache. Give me a minute."

Uncle Bern headed into the kitchen, retrieved cups and ice to pour himself a drink and then place the cold cup against his forehead.

"Where were we? Right, you got these incompetent goons on your tail and I'm supposed to help you. Is that correct?"

"She died protecting me!", he shrieked.

"I thought you were a gentleman...wait, did my ice just melt? That was fast," Tomas observed that Uncle Bern seemed a bit puzzled at that fact, but shrugged and continued to sip his whiskey while Tomas looked on, shocked this man was so calm about all of this.

Tomas cleared his throat and said, "You promised you would help me and my wife get protection."

"The man I spoke with on the phone tonight sounded like someone I could deal with. What I see before me is a twit who got his wife killed and his butt handed to him."

"I can't believe we're family," Tomas whispered.

"Hmm. I am a man of my word though. You'll get protection. I'll take care of those fools as long as...you come and work for me again."

"What? That was not part of the..."

"My rules, remember? You asked for a favor from your uncle and you're going to get it in return for a certain something."

"I already have a job, thank you very much."

"And what happens if I tell your employer that your references are forged, and you worked with an ex-convict as a boss?"

"How do you...You wouldn't," Tomas stated.

"See I keep track on all my assets, especially people who helped get rid of vermin like that for me.", The Master placed his cup on the table and then turned to face him directly.

"I'll tell the police what you did and testify as a witness if you don't help me.", Tomas threatened.

The Master started repeating a phrase over and over again, "You will obey my every whim."

A certain pull seemed to emanate towards Tomas and he felt somewhat dizzy. He sat down, feeling light-headed, and noticed a light coming from his uncle's jacket pocket.

"What's that in your jacket?"

"You will obey my every whim."

Rushing towards him, he startled Uncle Bern and had the chance to take the object of the pocket.

It was a green amulet that pulsed with a surreal glow.

"Were you trying to hypnotize me?"

Uncle Bern's eyes bulged, clearly revealing the answer.

"Where did you get this?", Tomas asked.

"I like to collect artifacts of power...Why did I just say that?", his uncle bended over and tried not to look at the glow, but the glass coffee table provided quite a reflection of the bright amulet.

"This amulet can make you tell the truth, right?", Tomas inquired, curious at to how it worked.

"Among another things....like making people obey your commands."

"How long have you been using this?", Tomas said as he realized how lethal this amulet could be in the wrong hands.

"I only use it when people like you don't obey at first. Intimidation and fear are the best weapons for obedience that I learned from my Nazi days," The Master responded with his eyes looking straight ahead, zoned out of the real world.

Obviously, the amulet worked, so the question was how Tomas would use it.

"Are you winning your trial case in the courtroom?"

"No. The government wants to indict and convict me of terrorism."

"Well, you are a Nazi, so it isn't very surprising that they would want to do that."

At that moment, Tomas realized he would never be free of The Master's influence unless his uncle died or forgot about him. After all, he had evaded capture for years and been imprisoned before. What's to say he wouldn't get out of jail with some senator's help or something?

Would brainwashing be ethical in this situation?

"Forget who you are. Flee and go to Argentina.", Tomas commanded.

"What?" By this point, Uncle Bern was fighting the power of the amulet and was actively resisting.

"Listen to me, you are not to remember who you are and fly off to Argentina, understood?"

Suddenly, Uncle Bern's face scrunched up in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I am your friend," he lied.

"What?", he cried.

"You have been accused of murder." It was the truth, somewhat.

"What?", he screamed.

"Go to Argentina. It's your only hope. Argentina, Argentina."

"My suitcase...", the man formerly known as The Master said as he searched for his belongings, packed up his suitcase and promptly left the apartment, leaving an apathetic Tomas behind him.

Then, Tomas remembered who he was and freaked out for the second time that night when he realized what he had just done.

"Did I just go past the point of no return? Am I a bad guy now? What if he remembers and goes after me? I must make sure he goes to Argentina and...Am I crazy? The cops will think I have something to do with this..."

While he was hyperventilating, the doorbell rang and he heard a voice on the other sound of the intercom.

"Master, it's us- the Lombardi brothers. We figured out who the spy was and think we have a chance at getting a mistrial. Those government agents done messed up."

For the first time in his life, Tomas silently cussed.

Oh, if his Oma were to hear him now. She'd be shocked at how low her Mockingbird had stooped to.

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Author's note: This is the song that represents what he feels like after all this...yeah.

https://youtu.be/Jl6oJTB4TpA