Bend and Break(poly)(bxb)

Twenty

Romero leans forward. Exposed arms bronze on a marble tabletop. "I haven't flown a helicopter in a while." He's smug. Pilot Romero is ridiculously sexy just to think about so no wonder. He runs a hand along the back of his neck with a sly smirk on his face. "Dunno if I can-"

"No one is asking you to fly it, meathead." Von is staring down at the map, fingers tracing from the main deck to the bridge. "We're going to need you on the ship. What, are you planning on jumping out and leaving it on autopilot?"

"We already can't take that many men. We don't even have room for bullets, for backup. Another boat wouldn't go undetected in the water..." L is pinching his nose bridge. "We're up to our necks with this one. I can't even get into the system so this map is basically a guess. For all we know the ship could be a submarine."

Von leans forward on one arm, bends down slightly so that he can stare straight at L. His apathetic expression falls completely. He raises a hand to the back of L's head, to his neck, then to the place between his tense shoulder blades.

"We can do this," Kimori enthuses. "We're the Sinner's Syndicate. We have the seven strongest gang members ever. The TLs should be scared, not us."

"I'm not scared," Seven smiles, welcomes Kimori's arm over his shoulder as I do the same. "Relax, L. We can take care of the TLs with or without a map. You don't have to have control over every single thing all the time."

"For this, we do," Von speaks up for him. "We'll get to where the captain is first. If we take them out it won't matter if our backup is detected or not. We take over the ship then we kill Cleo."

It's a law the way Von says it. We all nod and make sounds of agreement.

Von holds the reigns while the rest of us sit behind. L held them temporarily and he did an amazing job, but Von is the leader. Von is the one who grew up in the hells of the Sinner's Syndicate while I was busy complaining about not getting to stay outside for longer.

I've been feeling like something was missing. I thought it was Kimori. The sheer happiness he radiates, his inability to do anything wrong. I thought the gang absolutely needed him, and maybe we did. But maybe I needed Rosemary too.

"She wants to see you," Von said. He had sand in his car.

My agreement came too quickly. I said it like I was guilty and this was my plea deal.

When this is all over, I'll meet her on the beach. In her home or hospital room on the shore. I'll let the window open so I can feel the sea breeze and so that she can feel fresh air. I'll stare out of it for too long but she'll wait. We'll talk. I'll ask her how's she's been and she'll probably do the same, still hoping to be friends one day. Then I'll finally apologize.

•••

One by one we load into the helicopter. It's a black metal dungeon that only gets scarier once we set off into the air. My stomach feels like it's filled with rocks, but maybe they will keep me grounded.

The pilot, a slender woman with graying hair, is having a conversation with L as the co-pilot checks the controls. The boat in question isn't far from the coast and we should get there rather quickly, she just needs to know what time to sweep back and get us off of it.

I watch the movement of L's lips intently. I try to concentrate on what he's saying, on his expression, on his body and the stillness of it. His skin is black under the late night sky. It's adorned in all black too, the usual for the Sinner's Syndicate. He has black slacks, a black dress shirt, and a black blazer. The only thing different is the blood colored tie hanging loosely at his shirt collar. He doesn't need anything more because he won't be trying to get to Cleo. He'll be blending in until he gets to the captain, the bridge. He'll take over the controls on his own while the rest of us take over the ship.