Vicious Minds

by J. J. McAvoy

“Yes, sir,”

  Walking up the stairs, I turned and went down the hall stopping to look at the family portrait that hung in place. I stared at my parents’ faces. One of the many questions I had for them was…did they regret it? Ever? Even if I asked, I wasn’t sure I could trust their answer. Looking away, I walked into my study, pulling off my tie and grabbing the liquor before moving to my seat and leaning back into the chair.

  Vizz.

  Vizz.

  What fucking now?

  I pulled out my phone but it wasn’t ringing.

  Vizz.

  I felt the vibration once more and then remembered, pulling out the slim red phone from my suit jacket. It was so thin and so weightless, I often forgot it was on me. Accepting the call, I put it my ear.

  “I gave you this phone so you’d call me from time to time,” her voice sounded on the other end. “When you don’t call first, I have to call, and it makes me feel needy.”

  “You shouldn’t.” I wanted to say more, but I didn’t know if my parents were watching or not yet.

  “I know you can’t say much while you’re there, who knows if your parents watching or not. Right?” She all but read my mind and just like that I could breathe again. “I found out the sex of our kid, do you want to know?”

  “Do not toy with me.” Of course I wanted to know and I couldn’t express it any other way without becoming an idiot.

  “It’s girl. Of course, I’d be the one to end the Callahan first born male tradition.”

  “Not all traditions are necessary.” I grinned and hung my head to hide it. “Where are you now?”

  “The motherland.” She laughed. “Somewhere in the Lazio reign, taking a small break. Listening to my grandfather tell his ‘in my day’ stories as my grandmother force feeds me zeppoles and struffoli.”

  “Yes, I’m very sure force needs to be used,” I joked. She laughed and it calmed me down.

  “Your daughter likes deep fried desserts, what can I say?” My daughter. There was that feeling again in my chest. “I’ll let you go back to your work, I just wanted to let you know—”

  “I’m renovating the house.”

  The was silence on her end for a brief second “You mean, you want me to renovate…to draw up plans?”

  “It is your job, isn’t it?” Mrs. Callahan was supposed to choose how the house looked and so she would.

  “Do I get one of those wife budgets?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you sound…off. Was your day really that bad? Then again, it’s Thanksgiving in the States. Be careful, we are twice as likely to kill our family members during the holidays than any other time of the year.”

  “Completely reasonable,” I said, standing and moving to my window. “I’ll call you next time.”

  “It’s all I ask,” She said softly, “Happy Thanksgiving. I love you.”

  Just like that she hung up. This was the second time she told me that then hung up without listening for a reply but then again, I couldn’t say it back. I couldn’t even tell her happy birthday, but at least I could give her a gift. I could let her build the house she wanted to be waiting for her when we got here.

  CALLIOPE - AGE 22

  Seoul, South Korea

  Monday, December 31st

  I watched the snow slowly sink towards the earth from the sky. All the lights made it impossible to the see the stars. Despite the how high I was above the ground, I could hear the voices from all those on the street below. They looked like a parade of ants.

  Ring.

  “Happy New Year,” I said into the phone when I answered.

  “There’s still five more minutes here.” His voice, as always, was calm, steady, with that natural coldness…it was comforting to hear.

  “I know, I still have five minutes too,” I replied.

  “How?” I could hear his family’s voices on the other side. What he really meant was where was I that we’d be in the same time zone.

  “Four floors down. I’m stalking you,” I whispered, laying back in the bed. “I don’t know if it’s this child messing with my mind or what but do you see what you’ve done? You’ve turned me into a stalker.”

  “Aren’t assassins stalkers by trade?”

  I snickered, rolling to my side. “True, but I’m not killing you. So there is no logical reason for this stalking.”

  “Normal people would call it missing someone.”

  “Dear God.” I grimaced. “I’ve come too far to be acting like a normal person now.”

  He laughed gently. “Stalking isn’t normal, so you are still within the scope of insanity.”

  “Thank you, that’s very sweet.” I grinned and rolled over once more. I was getting pretty fucking tired of trying to get comfortable and failing because of this stomach.

  “How did you know we’d be in Seoul?” he questioned. “Do I have a mole?”

  “You have stupid in-laws.” I replied rolling again. Apparently, I was a rolling pin now. “I’m sure your cousin Nari wanted to keep this wedding a small and private family gathering, however her new husband likes free café wi-fi and doesn’t log out of his fucking email.”

  He exhaled like he even couldn’t believe the stupidity of that man. I could almost see his shoulders drop and his eyes narrowing at him.

  “Off with his head?” I asked.

  “They just got married tonight, I can’t…besides, she’s pregnant.”

  “My condolences,” I muttered and sat up, seeing the pager light up beside me. Reaching for it, I grinned. “Are you looking for me?”

  “Whose room did you steal?”

  “Borrowed. It’s not my fault, your damn family bought out the whole fucking hotel for the night. I can’t effectively stalk if I can’t get in.”

  “Are they still alive?”

  “Yes, I haven’t lost my whole entire mind. They are your guest, and under your protection. When the sun comes up, they will wake up feeling like they have had the best sleep of their lives.”

  “Good. Now open the damn door before we miss the new year.”

  How did he know which room? I glanced down at my hands only to remember the pager. Damn it.

  I got off the bed and walked out of the bedroom. “I’m surprised you don’t have a key—”

  There he was standing in the living room in a black tuxedo, a black bowtie over his black dress shirt, a single red rose on the velvet lapel. His green eyes stared and wandered down to my stomach and before I could say anything, he rushed towards me, pulled me into his arms and kissed my lips.

  I was so stunned for a second, I couldn’t move. But when his arms wrapped around me, I hugged him back, kissing him fiercely. I opened my mouth for him, moaning against lips.

  BANG.

  We pulled apart and he rested his forehead on mine. “Happy New Year, la mia anima.”

  “Your family is going to be looking for you.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’m with my family,” he whispered. Pulling back, I glanced up at him. His soft side was coming out again. He must have really been tired of his family. I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek.

  “Don’t let them get to you. Just think of them as children. They make mistakes. They don’t see the big picture like we do. It’s a burden but it’s better than being ignorant.”

  “Thank you, sensei,” he said with a smirk.

  “Technically its Sa Bum Nim, sensei is mostly Japanese.”

  He rolled his eyes, let go of me, and gave me a hotel key card. “Change rooms and wait for me. I’ll be back, we have work to go over.”

  “Work?” My eyebrow raised as I took the card from him.

  “Among other things,” he replied, kissing the side of my head one more time and stepping back. He pointed to the floor. “Do you need help moving her or will that mess up your plans?”

  I glanced down at Nari’s husband’s cousin. Her body was still where I left her, drool pouring out of her mouth as she snored, her cheeks bright red.
It would look like she passed out from too much to drink.

  “I think she looks she looks pretty comfortable here, no?” I answered and met his gaze.

  He shook his head but the look on his face said he knew I was going to say that.

  “Twenty minutes. That’s how long before the gap in security and you head to room 2177.”

  “Yes, boss,” I nodded, and he walked to the door. “Don’t forget to bring me dinner.”

  He paused and looked back at me. “No special request?”

  I shrugged. “I want to be surprised.”

  “This is a trap for me somehow.” He shook his head before walking out.

  He was right.

  “Ah…” I placed my hand on my stomach and looked down. “Did you just kick me?”

  Daddy’s girl already.

  ETHAN – AGE 24

  Seoul, South Korea

  Tuesday, Jan 1st

  The food was a trap because it forced me to think about what the hell I was going to get her while I stood amongst my family. They all spoke and went on, but I was trapped by thoughts of her. She was pregnant and outside of loving fried pastries I wasn’t sure what she actually wanted to eat. So I was forced to think of everything I had her seen her eat when we were together. Forced to figure out how to leave, which also let me set up another reason to send my men away. I sent a few of them to escort the new shipments into the city. It wasn’t necessary that it be done tonight, but I just wanted no more questions. I got spicy beef and fried noodles before returning to the room by myself.

  I glanced down at the phone when she didn’t answer. She always answered.

  Entering the suite, I placed the takeout on the table.

  “Calliope?”

  No answer. Either she was playing games with me, which she had no reason to, or…I headed down the hall and pushed the door open and there she was laying diagonally across the bed curled up into a ball.

  She was sleeping, the strands of the platinum blonde wig she wore over her face. Walking to the side of the bed, I sat down and brushed the hair from her face.

  “Anyone could have walked in on you,” I whispered and she lifted her hand, a cell phone in it, with the words ARRIVED on it.

  “Hmm.” She pushed herself off the bed, rubbing her eyes before reaching under my arm and tugging at something on my back of my suit jacket. It was small thin circle. She clicked it and the words on the screen changed to CLEAR.

  “You put a tracker on me?”

  “No. It’s a motion bounce. The others are in the in hall. So if anyone came that was not you, I would know.” She pressed the sticker on the phone, yawned, and laid back down. “Where is the food?”

  I don’t know why I bothered to doubt her anymore. I don’t even think it was doubt, actually. More like curiosity.

  “Living room. I’ll get it.”

  “No, stay.” She grabbed my arms. “Take your shoes and jacket off so we can cuddle.”

  “Cuddle?” She said it with no shame. We cuddled now?

  “Pali! (Hurry)” She waved her hands at me, apparently tired of using English or Italian to speak and telling me to hurry up.

  Why was I going along with this? What was wrong with me? I took off my shoes and my jacket lying beside her across the bed. She turned, pressing her back against my chest.

  “Am I the boss or you?”

  She answered by lifting her shirt and putting my hand on her stomach. My eyebrow twitched, and I moved closer.

  “Since you left, she’s been moving around like a big fish inside of me. Calm her down,” she ordered, obviously not very pleased with being the fish bowl.

  “What language? English, Italian, Irish, or Korean since we are in Korea?”

  “Are you making fun of me right now?”

  I grinned, even though I no longer recognized myself anymore. Slowly I rubbed circles on her stomach, watching the lights of the city shine through the curtains. It was well after 2 AM, but it seemed people were still celebrating.

  “You aren’t saying anything.”

  “She’s my daughter. She’ll understand silence, just like her mother.”

  She nodded and relaxed against me. “What does the rest of your family think of my remodeling?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Renovations start in a week.”

  “True. Do you like your room?” she asked. “Don’t get used to it. The bachelor pad is just a cover. I’ll be changing it later.”

  “Yes, boss.”

  “What is the work you wanted to talk about?” She changed the topic smoothly. She wasn’t slick nor was she trying to be.

  “My brother is leaving for Boston in a few weeks. He wants to run away from our family, the Callahan name, and keep studying medicine there.”

  She laughed softly and I could feel it against me. “Your brother is either not bright or lying to himself. I suspect it’s the latter. He must know there are more Irish people in Boston than in Chicago. He’s not running from the Callahan name—”

  “He’s running from me,” I whispered, knowing that to be the truth as well.

  “Exactly. But can you blame him? It must be hard living in your shadow.”

  “You do it.”

  “With the knowledge that I’m not always going to be in the shadows. I’m simply delaying my gratification, but I know it will come. He does not have that knowledge.”

  That was also true.

  “You want me to watch out for him? He’d notice anyone else.”

  I paused, realizing that we weren’t on the page. “No, I wanted to use it to see if we could trap my parents. Harm him, forcing him to come home, and then get my parents.”

  “It’s too much.”

  “What?”

  She shifted and turned over to face me. The contacts she wore now were blue. “I told you, do not rush because of me and this child.”

  “I am not rushing—”

  “You are.” She cut me off gently. “You are being greedy. You want everyone home. You want it done already. We knew this was going to be a long plan from the start. If shit goes wrong for Wyatt the moment he gets there, he’ll know it was you. Your parents will know it was you.”

  “It doesn’t have to happen immediately. It could be—”

  She shook her head. “It can’t happen at all. Let him go completely…well, seem like you let go completely. Be the big brother and watch from afar, clear the traps in his way and let Wyatt live the life he wants to live.”

  “But he doesn’t want to live that life. I know my brother. He’s tired of living in the shadows. He wants purpose and he feels like he cannot have it by my side, but he can.”

  “Exactly.” She nodded. “What happens to a person who walks down a road thinking there is gold but finds nothing? They have two choices. Kill themselves for being such a fool or turn back and go down the right road. You know Wyatt loves being a Callahan. You know he wants to be more like you. So let him deny himself. Let him lie to himself. Give him no excuse as to why he didn’t make it down the road and then he will have to self-reflect. He will make the choice to come back. You can give him a little nudge, but you can’t block him. Let him finish medical school, maybe even do part of his first residency. He will be bored out of his fucking mind.”

  “That’s basically four years from now.”

  She nodded. “It is.”

  Once again, her dedication, her ability to put nothing ahead of the plan, my plan, was something that was beyond my understanding. How could she be so self-sacrificing? Being my wife meant that much to her. She could simply delay her gratification like that.

  “Very well.” I nodded, her strength my only resolve. “Wyatt goes to Boston, and after you give birth, you can be his Triste Mietitore.”

  “What?” A grin spread across her face. “Why am I his grim reaper?”

  I stroked her cheek with the back of my hand. “Because you decide when his soul goes back to the underworld.”

  She rolled her eyes and turned back over. I r
ested my hand on her stomach again. “Sounds like the beginning to a great myth; the brother of Hades, tired of living in his brother’s shadow, escapes the underworld and goes up to the land of mortals, Hades sends his true love, the Grim Reaper, to watch over him until it is time for his soul to return.”

  “What of Cronus and Rhea, Hades’ parents, who seek and roam around the earth? What can be done of them? I need him to get hurt for them to come back.”

  “No, you need one of their children to get hurt. You are their child, remember?” I stilled, my mind looking at all the pieces. They were so far apart from each other, but now I could see them aligning.

  “Do you know who Savino Moretti is?”

  “An old rich Italian family in Chicago, right? They worked under your mother.”

  “And after my mother died…so did their steadfast loyalty.”

  “They betrayed you?”

  I shook my head. That was the problem. “No. Not yet. Moretti is trying to drive a wedge between me and the Italian families. So he can take over. Just like Miguel Munha. All of them are on the cusp, flirting with betrayal. They don’t know it themselves, but I can see it. Step by step, they are walking towards me just to stab me in the back.”

  “Your lapdog, Tobias, too.”

  “That one is complicated,” I muttered, already annoyed by the thought.

  “Because he’s sleeping with your sister?”

  I glanced down at her face. She had her eyes closed but still managed to have that know-it-all look on her face.

  “Yes.”

  “You love your sister. You don’t want her to hate you. Killing her lover would do that…and maybe set her off to betray you too.”

  “Like I said, complicated.”

  “Not if you have her kill him.” Her gears were turning. “Same with Wyatt. She loves her family, loves being a Callahan. You know want they want better than they do, so help them make their choices. If it came down to family or Tobias, and it was Donatella’s choice, who would she chose?”

  “Family. Without hesitation.” Now it wasn’t complicated, there was just another step to the process. “I let her make the choice she wants to make.”

  “Then she can only be upset with herself.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.