His arm trembles but he refuses to lower it. I sigh with exasperation and jerk my head towards his comrades.
“They can’t save you, you know. It’s just you and me now, kid.”
“I’m not a kid,” he barks.
“No?” I ask. “Then shoot me.”
“I… what?”
“Shoot me,” I enunciate clearly.
He gulps like he thinks this is a trap. I spread my arms wide and smile.
It’s a tense standoff for a second, though I don’t understand why. I’m giving him the chance to avenge his father. Pull the goddamn trigger.
And then, he does.
The gunshot rips out.
But Lobo’s hand is trembling so badly that, even though I don’t move at all, the bullet only grazes across my left arm. It’s nothing more than a flesh wound.
Pity.
I stoop low and throw my body against his. His eyes go wide but he’s too slow or shocked to get out of my way.
We hit the ground in a heap.
The moment I’ve got him pinned underneath me, I rip the gun out of his hand and fling it into the dirt several feet away from us.
He struggles like a fish out of water until I punch him in the face. Then he goes limp immediately.
Just like that, the fight leaves him. Lobo looks up at me with defeat and hopelessness.
“Are you going to kill me?” he asks.
It’s a child’s question. Not a man’s.
I sigh. “Yes.”
I clamber off him, leaving him stunned and shivering on the earth.
He sits up a little on his elbows and looks around. He’s trying to determine what his odds are of getting out of this forest alive.
I pick up my gun and check the clip for my remaining ammo before returning to face the boy.
“Don’t even think about running,” I say. “It’s pointless. You’re not gonna get away. Not from me.”
“You killed all of my men,” he says. There’s an awestruck note in his tone.
I shrug. “I’ve been training since I was a boy. I was told I’d be in charge one day. Unlike you, I was prepared for that inevitability.”
“I am prepared. I… I… was prepared,” he stammers. But as he glances around at the bodies of his friends and followers, the last of his confidence snuffs out.
“I think the evidence speaks for itself.”
I take a step forward. He flinches and seems to huddle lower into the ground.
“I know what it means to inherit your father’s legacy,” I tell him. “It’s all worthless in the end.”