Broken Kings (House of Cards Series 0)

Tercer Paso: El imitador

Reaper was back on his feet before long, and the moment he stepped out into the world, he had a young shadow following behind. West was supposed to be in class, and yet it didn't take very long before Malcolm spotted him trailing behind the older gangster. He was good, for an untrained kid, but Reaper had specialized in breaking and entering and kidnappings, he could disappear in a spotlight. Still it spiked his curiosity to see how good the boy actually was, so he spent the better part of the afternoon wandering around, making sure he didn't lead them into an ambush, keeping his own profile low and watching the kid thirty steps behind.

The first skill he tested was the kid's ability to get out of sight should Reaper start to watch behind him more obviously. So he stopped outside of a patio restaurant and casually turned around, checking the crowd behind him as if he was waiting for friends before heading in. The little Cuban saw Reaper checking and managed to disappear behind a fat man and his chubby family with ease. The only thing he hadn't accounted for was that his back was reflected in the shop window, showing Malcolm where the boy had hid.

Lobito, lesson number one, watching your own back. Carlitos will help me arrange it, same as was done to me. Take the beating and get up, wake up the fighter inside and he'll be more aware of his blindspots. Reaper listed internally, seeing a surprising amount of grace in the boy's movements once they both started moving again.

The next thing Reaper wanted to test was the boy's observation when there was distractions. So he walked through the crowds, cutting through groups to put more space between him and West. Reaper's eyes flicked to every reflective surface he came near, waiting for the most opportune moment and when a large group of girls spilled out of a coffee shop and in the way, he stepped off the main thoroughfare and into an alley. It wouldn't take the boy long to reach his old spot on the street and when he did, Reaper planned on grabbing the boy and scaring the arrogance out of him a little. Better from a friend now than an enemy later.

But West didn't show up as expected and Reaper grinned, realizing that the boy had caught onto his little game. It wasn't hard to predict what the little Cuban would do next, Reaper simply settled in and waited for the boy to scrabble over the roof top to drop down into the alleyway next to him.

"How long did you know I was behind you?" West asked, thin chest heaving with exertion. His clothes were ones he brought from home, close to the ones Malcolm wore but not the same. It was enough to let him blend in but to a trained eye it only made him stick out more.

"As we left our street." Reaper replied with a smirk, scuffing a hand through the kid's hair as West frowned at him. "Don't feel so bad, I'm just paranoid that way. You've got the knack for it, and the head to keep it together it seems. You just need someone to show you the tricks."

The eager look on West's face and the solid confidence in the young boy's eyes were enough to tell Reaper that this kid wanted to know everything. And if Reaper wasn't going to give it to him, he would find it from someone else. You really shouldn't be infecting a youngster with Reaper. Malcolm thought to himself, but he already knew he was going to mentor this young wolf. Maya had been dead accurate in naming him Lobito, and not just for his astonishing eyes. The way this kid moved, it was deadly grace and his curiosity would land him into trouble. And in the end Malcolm didn't trust anyone else to have this kid's back like he would. Carlitos was clearly leaving Lobito in Reaper's hands.

So Reaper settled his mind on the matter and knew that the next time West followed him out, it would be into the same ambush Carlitos had led him back in the day. And he was fairly confident that Lobito would pull through battered but undominated. But for the rest of today, Reaper was simply content to show Westley the city of Madrid, showing him the turf of the Barrio Boys and making sure that people saw Lobito with Reaper. Knowing that this young man was Reaper's Wolf would keep him safe, and make him a bigger target at the same time. But for the few sharks that would circle, all the barracudas were chased away so it provided a slight advantage and safer passage.