Broken Kings (House of Cards Series 0)

Tercier Paso: El Odio

A/N: Pic to the side is Alberto Guzman, the model cast as Paco

Short chapter sorry but work is crazy+ wattpad is buggy= back to my 2 page wonder post :P

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Reaper bade farewell to the men who were helping salvage his soul and walked towards his friends and comrades, ready to put himself back into the world of warring demons. Although there was nothing supernatural about the world he lived in, Reaper was just metaphorical enough to view the world he walked through as more than just the action-reaction that the rest of the Barrio Boys viewed. He was no longer satisfied to only be about the revenge, although it was a large burden that was always on his mind, he was maturing now and could recognize the need to be more than just a one faceted man.

Keeping his sigh internal, Reaper fell in beside Carlitos and Maya, walking in silence with them. He knew that eventually they would get to the point of why they came here. But he just found that he couldn't be bothered to ask about it yet. For a few minutes longer, while they walked in silence, he could just be blank and not be Reaper. He felt the name he bore as a weight across his shoulders, weighing him down and pressing his soul into the muck. But at the same time, he had to admit that there were times that being Reaper was freeing and he struggled with trying to come to terms with his own internal dichotomy.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Maya reach for Carlitos' hand but drop away before she actually grabbed it. There was a hint of a smile on Reaper's lips but he kept it from blooming because although his friend and mentor hadn't figured it out yet, the fiesty Senorita had picked him as the one to receive her scarred, battered and abused heart. He would treat her well, knowing better than almost anyone how precious it is to have a loved one. Reaper felt another layer dampen down his spirits because he wondered if he would ever allow himself to have that, to let someone in and close when they can be taken away so quickly and easily. It wouldn't be easy letting someone in to see the beast he carried inside, have them accept it, and then lose them. Malcolm knew he wasn't as strong as Carlitos was, and that to lose someone like his friend has lost Adrianna would kill the best parts of who he could ever be.

Malcolm stopped walking when he realized that thinking of his sister didn't make his entire insides twist with unbearable pain. Guilt flooded through him as he realized that he was forgetting about her already and to the surprise of the two friends walking with him, he spun to the wall of the building they walked past and pounded his fist into the plaster wall. The first strike, his hand screamed in pain, the impact ricocheting up his wrist, to ache in his joints as he pulled back and threw the other fist into the wall. His knuckles, although calloused and used to rough treatment, weren't able to withstand the rough surface and split open, dashing a spattering of scarlet over the whitewashed walls and the dusty sidewalk. Reaper was not holding back, slamming his fists against the wall quickly and repeatedly, as if he were striking out against those he needed to end. But the one he really wanted to thrash was himself, so he kept up the barrage of blows until Carlitos hooked his arm around Reaper's neck and hauled him away. The older man tackled the younger ot the ground, coiling around Reaper's thrashing form like a python and controlling his movement.

"Basta!" (Enough). Carlitos growled in his ear, thrashing with him and trying to keep the younger gangster down. Reaper wasn't able to listen though, head screaming like it was filled with angry wasps. Buzzing and stinging, burning and pumping him full of venom, he thrashed and fought, never hurting his friend but careless of his own regard. "Basta!" Carlitos repeated, squeezing in tightly as Reaper continued to writhe and buck. "Basta." Carlitos whispered as he crushed the last of the air from his friend's chest.