Broken Kings (House of Cards Series 0)

Quinto Paso: El Accidente

Reaper could hear the beeping of a machine and the soft murmur of voices before he could properly open his eyes. It was a singular moment of terror, to realized that he was absolutely vulnerable and unable to defend himself and that made the sound of the beeping hit a frantic note while his body struggled to simply open his eyes to the world around him. And when he did open his eyes, a part of him truly thought that he had died. His father's familiar face loomed over him, a warm grip on his shoulder keeping him pressed against the bed, even as he weekly thrashed to be free.

"You're safe Malcolm. It's alright. You're in the hospital." his father's words finally sunk through the adrenaline and Reaper blinked, his mind slowly accepting that he wasn't actually dead or under attack.

"It's over." Reaper croaked, his voice broken and rough, but needing to say the words out loud. His father would understand, he knew that in a way that a child knows that their mother's kisses make the hurt go away.

Malcolm's father gave him a tired, sad smile. "It's over once we get you out of here. What you've done..." he sighed. "The others, Maya and Carlitos are going to take longer to get out of the hospital. He... your friend Carlitos, he's not going to be walking anywhere. Ever again. The crash shattered part of his spine. He still has sensation in his legs but the doctors don't think he'll ever be able to walk. Maya, she got lucky. Some facial scarring, a broken collarbone and some internal bleeding but otherwise she's fine."

Reaper heard the words and waited for the guilt to hit him. But it didn't, in fact he didn't feel much of anything now. The ever present, burning anger was finally gone, but the guilt and self loathing were missing. He should be horrified that Carlitos was wheelchair bound, he should be grateful that they survived the crash at all, and yet he just felt nothing at all. He couldn’t even feel ashamed of the way his father looked at him now. He should, he had done terrible, unholy things, and yet the look in his father’s eyes wasn’t disgust. It wasn’t exactly pride either, but some kind of deeply rooted understanding.

“After you called us, those men tried to come by the house and make a point with our family.” Malcolm’s father spoke, his voice having that flat quality that Reaper recognized all too well. “They were expecting us to be unprepared, and unable to do anything to defend ourselves.” There was an unhappy smile on his father’s face. “But this darkness you carry inside, my son, is a legacy of our family. You are not alone in this struggle to… have control over it. Those men were not prepared to face against what I had in store for them and we left that home knowing that we could never go back.”

Malcolm stared at his father, trying to understand what wasn’t being said. It took a moment for the words and their ulterior meaning to really sink in and he realized what his father had done. He had killed to protect Malcolm’s mother and younger brother, and he had no regrets in doing so. Now the guilt came, now the self recrimination flooded him because Reaper knew that his father had only been put in that situation because of his actions. It wasn’t Logan and the others that had destroyed his home and family, it was Reaper. The guild and self loathing choked in his throat and although no tears fell, he felt the burning in his eyes that they were there. “When we can leave, Carlitos, Maya and I are gone. Going to live Adrianna’s dream and go to Canada.” Reaper rasped out, his throat dry and coarse around the emotional knot.

Malcolm’s father nodded. “We know. And we’re going to have to be very careful how we get you there. The Mafia Men are still looking for you and the others. You did…. Your mark on their leader isn’t forgotten and they are out for blood. We are all going, and when we are there, you will never be this man again. You will attend school, you will live a normal life and you will not stain this family again.” His father’s tone turned hard and Malcolm knew that he wasn’t being given a choice. His family was forgiving him for this life he had lived, but he had to earn the right for that forgiveness with everything he did from this point forward.