“Shut the fuck up, Barrett.” I spit back. “I’m actually perfect for this mission. Aren’t you the one who got put on the B team?” His silence shows me I’m striking him where it hurts, so I continue. “Your hate for the San Giovannis can’t cause you to be so hasty. If you blow them up, you draw attention to us. You also ruin the purpose of the mission if Romeo is there—”
“Why wouldhebe there?”
“The fact that you’re asking means you haven’t thought about it.” I step forward, knowing I’m winning by the look on his stupid face. “Call it off.”
“We can’t just let them spy on our land.”
“Have we officially claimed it?”
“Well—“
“Call it off, Barrett.” He doesn’t budge, and I shift my jaw, willing him to listen to me.
“No.” He nearly pouts.
“Yes.”
“N—”
“Who’s in charge of this mission?” I ask everyone now. The group looks nervously between one another, and Barrett turns his head to them, flashing them threatening eyes, I’m certain.
“You.” Blake nods at me, and the rest of the group follows him. Barrett grows noticeably angrier, and I glare, dissuasive.
“We’re not blowing that shit up. End of story.”
“You can give me reasons all you want, but I think if you don’t allow us to do this, you’ll have divided loyalty.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’re whipped.”
My eyes widen as I let out a laugh full of bitterness.
“Yeah. Right. And you’re not a total dick. Are we done fabricating weak arguments?”
His lip curls in disgust, and then he throws his hands up in the air angrily.
“Yeah. We’re fucking done.” He practically stomps out of the room and down the hall. There is a slight tension between me and the group for ruining their fun. Even though I know they’ve submitted to me, I feel a twinge of guilt. I can breathe easier again, which is not something I’m willing to over-analyze, so I don’t.
“Goodnight.” I finally say to them, and they mumble their goodnights back with sympathetic eyes. Their emotions are irrelevant because I don’t need their sympathy, just their loyalty. I head up the stairs quietly and change into my pajamas, feeling slightly disparaged, but relieved nonetheless.
I turn off the lights and crawl into bed, leaving my blinds and curtains pulled back so I can see the city shining in the distance. It's comforting to know that people are getting things done and carrying on with their lives as I fall fast asleep. I’m not convinced why, but I like that feeling. It could be because at the Magdalin, nothing slows down, not really. It’s a comfort that helps me close my eyes.
As I drift off to sleep, nearly completely consumed by the dreams dancing on the back of my eyelids, my bedroom door bursts open.
“Kira!” Barrett is in my face, and I nearly swat at him until I see the distress on his face.
“What?!” I sit up so quickly that I nearly hit his head with mine. He backs up, panting, glistening with sweat that runs down his muscular torso.
“I accidentally set the bombs off.”
“You what?!” I leap out of bed.
“The timer was faulty, and I tried to take the countdown off, but I sped it up, and now they are set to go off in less than ten minutes.
“Fuck. What can we do?” I’m already grabbing clothes.
“You need to warn them.”