The streets are empty tonight as I push myself along them. Flashing lights scald my vision, most likely more of my guys getting arrested for crimes they didn't commit.
Bang.
One second, I'm fully upright, gliding down the street. The next, I'm face-down on the concrete.
Sirens scream from around the corner, and I panic for a second, thinking they're coming for me. Then, I stand up and mentally slap myself. When did I get so stupid?
Shut up, you idiot! You haven't done anything . . . this time.
But, I've done things before. We all have. Anyone in the human race has done at least one bad thing at some point in their lives. If they haven't, they're not human.
Well, what right do I have to judge someone's humanity? And why are there police sirens in my district? My guys have been with me all night, until just now, and they can't have needed the police to correct their wrongs this quickly.
No matter what their reason is, I can't let the police find me. They know who I am, of course. Radames Olivier Fiyero: son, brother, friend, but most importantly the leader of Malo, a sort of street gang-type thing in our neighborhood - or should I say my neighborhood? I run this district.
Well, almost all of it. There's one line I don't dare cross: the territory of Valentina Solamente. She may be a girl, but that girl has some serious fight in her. The last time we crossed paths . . . let's just say it didn't end well.
Wait a second. I'm actually in her space at the moment. This is not going to be good.
"Radames?" A voice asks, coming from somewhere behind me.
I whip around, me eyes clashing with those of the young woman that stands there, dressed completely in black except for the silver Donne Del Cuore logo imprinted on her shirt and the dark tan of her skin.
"Valentina. So, we meet again, do we?"
"It seems that way. Rada, what are you doing here? You know it isn't smart. If my family found out, you'd be dead!"
I look at her, not knowing how to say what I need to.
"Vale, I had to come. To see you, of course. I needed to make sure you were okay."
She takes my hand, and hers is shockingly cold. Or maybe I just wasn't expecting the feeling of another human touch. Its empty, in a way, you know? We can't let too much feeling pass between us; if we did, it would be detrimental to both sides.
She kicks me suddenly, and a wave of pain rushes through my shin.
"I'm always okay, idiot. You should know that by now."
I flash a smile, trying to satiate her.
"Ah, Vale, always my little firecracker. Now, tell me. What's happening in the city? Why are the police everywhere tonight?"
She shifts, rather uncomfortably, and her expression looks rather pained.
"Rada, I don't know. I honestly can't tell you for sure, but I heard that Marcos had something to do with it. The girls say that he's escaped, and that he's armed."
Marcos is my older brother. Well, he was. He's been in jail for the last five years on a murder charge, guilty, of course. My brother stabbed and killed two men five years ago, when he was only fifteen. He's twenty now, just turned, but he's supposed to have a life sentence - two, for that matter. You can't just kill people and get away with it. Real life isn't like the movies; criminals are apprehended, and sometimes even put to death. Such is the reality of the world we live in, and those who do not accept it will fail to live longer than they must.
So, Marcos has escaped prison? Good for him, I suppose. I wouldn't last a month in one of those places, especially not in solitary like him. I'm too sociable, I guess. I am, quite possibly, the more refined version of Marcos. You know, like how Ender was the perfect combination? He had all of Peter's tenacity, but some of Valentine's compassion in him as well. Marcos and Valentina have made me such a person - a deadly, cold-blooded killer that actually understands the human heart.
There are footsteps from around the corner now. I turn, and I see a tall figure running towards us, carrying what looks to be a gun.
They suddenly slow, skidding to a stop before the two of us.
"Radames? I'm home, brother. Do you not recognize me?" The figure spits, and he seems angry. "I have been waiting to see you for some time now, to tell you that I broke out. Are you not happy to see me?"
I turn to him, looking up and down and realizing how much he has changed in the past five years. He truly looks like a man now, with shadows clinging to his cheekbones and dark circles under his eyes.
"Marcos, its been too long. You know I do not wish to see you after what you have done to us. Leave us and don't come back here," I fire back, looking away from him and back towards Vale.
That's when I hear the ear-splitting bang and my body collapses. Vale runs to me, but I can't understand what she's saying.
However, the last thing I do hear is this:
"It should have been you, Radames. You always knew exactly how to play our little games, didn't you? Yes, and almost too well. You gave me the idea, you know? The plan behind my magnum opus. If I get you out of the way, I can run Malo - me, and no one else. And that's why I had to kill you. Now, I know you can't say anything, but I do hope you understand."