IDRIS

Idris places a cigar in his mouth and has one of his men light it up for him. He sits there on a wooden chair with eyes closed, simply basking in the smell of the tobacco. It calms his mind - brings him peace far greater than any other drug. And when he releases the smoke, it doubles down on that tranquility. This truly is bliss.

"Do you know what your son did, Mr. Roth?"

The middle aged man can't speak. His hands have been tied to the back, and he's even been made to kneel in front of Idris as though he were subhuman. The prison they're in once used to be a wine cellar, which was then stripped of all the alcohol and turned into a torture chamber for men like Mr. Roth's son. It sits under the Verdonni estate, and though he wasn't there for its construction, Idris finds it the perfect play house.

The man in front of Idris now suffers from cigar burns all around his hands. But despite the torture, he weeps for no one else but his son who has been made to hang upside-down from the ceiling.

"Did you know he joined the mafia?" Idris asks.

The man releases a muffled cry. "Please let my son go."

Idris sighs. This is not the first he's heard of such request. He takes in more smoke, allows it simmer, then releases it into the air. "Hey, Theo! Wake up. I know you're not dead."

Theo twitches a few seconds later. The only piece of clothing left on him is his underwear, which Idris thinks is being more than charitable. His body has been marred deeply by the instruments of torture, so ruthlessly gruesome that even his father had failed to recognize him at first. A purple eye, busted lip, charred skin, lacerations of the utmost grisly degree, and the rest of his body painted in thick, gooey blood.

Theo can't even move much from where he's been hung, but he still shifts his one last working eye towards Idris regardless. There are consequences otherwise.

"Tell your father here what you did."

Theo gathers his last remaining strength for this quest. "I aided . . . in numerous murders, and laundered money . . ."

"Speak up for me, Theo." Idris tells him. "And tell your father why he's here this afternoon."

"I lost . . . the money entrusted to me to keep . . ."

"And what does that make you?"

"An . . . incompetent son of a bitch."

Now Mr. Roth dismantles. This is the part Idris loves most. The sense of betrayal and despondency. "Theo . . ." Mr. Roth begins, tears welling up. "Your mother would be so disappointed in you."

"You're absolutely right, Mr. Roth." Says Idris. "His mother would disown him." He even shakes his head like he's the one who has been disappointed - which, in a way, he has, since there's a bag full of money missing. A bag full of money that belongs to him.

"Anyway, let's wrap this up." Idris claps his hands twice, which serves as a command for his men to untie Theo. He falls to the concrete floor with a blunt thud, but makes no effort to move despite his freedom. He's too delibated from the torture they put him through.

"Theo!" Mr. Roth calls.

"Papa . . ." Theo whimpers, trying his best to crawl over to his father. But he doesn't make it very far. His strength fails him.

Mr. Roth turns to Idris with very frightened eyes. "I beg you. Please spare my son. I'll do anything, I beg you!"

But Idris is too busy loading his silver pistol. "Hey, Theo. You alive?"

No response.

Idris slides the gun's magazine shut. "Three, two-"

Theo nods his head.

"Great. Now, look at me."

Theo does as told.

"Now, look at your father."

But as soon as he does, Idris pulls the trigger. The bullet pierces through Mr. Roth, creating a gruesome hole in his forehead for everyone present to see. A silence too thick fills the room, and now Theo is left picking up the pieces all by himself. Then he begins sobbing. He can't stop himself. He's just lost his last remaining family to circumstances he himself created.

As if that has anything to do with Idris. He points his gun towards Theo and fires, then gestures at his men to clean up the mess.

His job here is done. He exits the cellar and makes it to his car where Croff already is waiting for him. Now it's time for the next affair. "Take me to her."

Croff starts the car. "Right away."

~《¤》~

JOSI

"Why do they look like that?"

"Like what?"

Bradley squints. "Like you."

Josi frowns and tries connecting the dots between the fish in the tank and her facial features. "They look nothing like me." She says with a nudge to Bradley's ribcage.

This makes him laugh. He throws an arm around her shoulder and gives her a kiss on her forehead. The aquarium makes it feel like they're the only ones there at the moment, which is why the couple chose that exact day and time to visit. There are families and groups of friends and the occasional staff that roam the place for support. But to Josi and Bradley, it feels empty.

"Hey," Josi taps Bradley on his shoulder. "That's you."

Bradley looks at the sea form and frowns. The Hammerhead looks him back as if Josi's comment struck a chord. It seems to almost gauge Bradley the way one would their competitor. Except Bradley doesn't think much of the shark. He steps back from the tank and shakes his head.

"I'm just a big joke to you, huh."

Josi laughs. "You started it."

Bradley watches her laugh until a smile forms. The aquarium date was his idea, because he wanted Josi's mind off that awry encounter with Idris. She'd told him it wasn't necessary, but Bradley never listens. And although this is something he's expressed numerous times, one of his favorite things about Josi is her laugh. There are lists of things he would do to see her laugh.

Bradley hugs Josi close, the world unbeknownst to them both. "Never stop laughing."

Josi leans her head against his chest. "You sound creepy when you say it like that."

Bradley clasps her cheeks and brings her face up for him to see, then with a soft smile, tells her, "Never stop laughing."

Josi returns the smile with a nod. She studies his face, absorbing as many familiar details as she can. She picks up on his jet black hair, as well as the birthmark seated above his eyebrow, and finally circles back to his brown eyes that match his skin tone.

"If there's anyone that should never stop laughing, it's you." She pokes the dimple on his left cheek.

Bradley grins and gives her a kiss, and then another on her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Josi says with a smile too wide. She remains there in his arms, feeling more safe now than ever, very certain that feelings this deep will never again happen. They say there's a person out there for every person, and while it may take years to find them, the bond is irrefutable. Josi seems to have found her person a bit earlier than most.

The sound of Josi's phone ringing pulls her away from that serene bubble. She excuses herself and only answers the call once she's found a spot suitable to do so.

"Josita?" Mia says through the phone. "How are you feeling?"

"Way better. I'm just trying my best to forget."

Mia breathes a sigh of relief. "Listen, I'm so sorry we brought you there."

"No, it's not you guys' fault. That bastard just happened to be there, that's all."

"He sounds like a dick."

"He is a dick." Josi sighs. "I hope I never see that piece of shit again."

To this, Mia chuckles. The conversation meets its end minutes later, and Josi leaves the phone call with a new sense of purpose. She will bury Idris Night Verdonni like he never existed, because people like him are not fond of good memories. And if those same memories serve her right, he'd seemed almost too calm and had even let her walk off easy. But it matters little now. What's done is done. She has a date to attend to.

"Josita Cade."

Somewhere not too far off, a light flickers, as if to welcome the new visitor. Josi knows whose voice it is. She goes still - almost like an opossum - then with heavy breaths, slowly turns and finds the nightmare behind her.

Idris is all smiles when he sees her. Much like their last encounter he's in business casual attire, except there's a vest this time around. He has his sleeves rolled up with a cigar which he smokes leisurely from, though he gives it minimal attention. Because Josi is right in front of him.

Idris stands in front of Josi with a height that makes her feel insignificant both physically and figuratively. "Who was the piece of shit bastard you were talking about?"

Josi swallows down needles. "It was just . . . my coworker."

Idris doesn't care for her answer. He looks over to a preoccupied Bradley who is currently too busy trying to capture the water tank on camera. "Is that your boyfriend?"

Josi follows his gaze to Bradley, then looks back to Idris only to find him still occupied with her boyfriend. The uneasiness is suffocating when it drowns her. She gulps down what she can of her saliva and gives a slight nod in response to his question. "How did you find me?"

"Is that really so surprising?"

Now the question seems foolish. The man in question is Idris Night Verdonni. He probably tracked her down from some security footages, and now her chances of never seeing him again have been scotched. She begins to wonder what else Idris knows about her, because it's no secret that she's now completely out in the open.

Josi lets out another nervous breath, her palms sticky with sweat. "What do you want?"

"Hand me your phone."

". . . what?"

Idris gives her a look that lets her know her reluctance isn't appreciated. She has to bring her eyes down to the floor just to avoid his gaze, to evade the hostile glare currently directed at her.

As instructed, Josi hands her phone over to Idris who fiddles with it for a little while. He silently chuckles a couple times all while scrolling through, and only decides to hand the phone back when he's done breaching her privacy.

"I saved my number." He looks her in the eye. "And for the sake of us both, do not delete it."

Josi looks down to see his contact and finds a smiley face next to his name. A smiley face. He knows what he's doing. He knows he's getting to her, and he's high off the fact that she can't do a single thing. How excruciatingly vexing.

"You'd better head back." Says Idris, after he's puffed another smoke into the air. "You don't want to keep Bradley waiting." Then he drops his cigar to the floor and takes his leave. Josi notices for the first time the tattoo on his nape. A crescent moon inked in black.

Josi doesn't move until Idris is out of sight, as if doing so will upset him. She turns to see Bradley who is still very much consumed by the marine ecosystem, and whose determination to videotape the tanks has not dwindled. This is all it takes to calm her down. But with that peace comes worry. Worry, because the future has never once looked so dreadful.

____________________________________

Everyone pray for Josi.