“I don’t like him,” said Gus. “Never did. Guy bitches about what he doesn’t have, loses sight of what he does have, and is never happy. He’s what you call a—what’s that word?”
“Pessimist?” said Fet.
“Asshole,” said Gus.
“He’s gone through a lot,” said Fet.
“Oh, really. Oh, I’m so fucking sorry. I always wanted my mother to stand naked in a cell with a fucking helmet glued to her fucking cabeza.”
Fet almost smiled. Gus was ultimately right. No man should ever have to go through what Eph was going through. But still, Fet needed him functional and battle-ready. Their corps was shrinking, and getting everyone’s best effort was critical.
“He’s never fucking happy. His wife nags him too much? Bam!! She is gone!! Now, boo-hoo-boo, if only I could get her back … Bam!! She’s undead, boo-hoo-boo, poor me, my wife is a fucking vampire … Bam!! They take his son. Boo-hoo-fucking-boo, if only I could have him back … It never fucking ends with him. Who you love or who you protect is all there is, man. Fucked-up as it may be. If my mother looks like the ugliest porno Power Ranger, I don’t care, man. That’s what I have. I have my mama. See? I don’t give up,” said Gus. “And I don’t give a fuck. When I go, I wanna go fighting those fuckers. Maybe because I’m a fire sign.”
“You’re a what?” said Fet.
“Gemini,” said Gus. “In the zodiac. A fire sign.”
“Gemini is an air sign, Gus,” said Fet.
“Whatever. I still don’t give a fuck,” said Gus. Then after a long pause, he added, “If we still had the old man here, we’d be on top by now.”
“I believe that,” said Fet.
Gus slowed in the darkened underground tunnel and started to unlock the padlock.
“So, about Nora,” he said. “Have you … ?”
“No—no,” said Fet, blushing. “I … no.”
Gus smiled in the dark. “She doesn’t even know, huh?”
“She knows,” said Fet. “At least—I think she does. But we haven’t done much abou
t it.”
“You will, big boy,” said Gus as he opened the access valve to the armory. “Bienvenido a Casa Elizalde!” he said, extending his arms and showing a wide array of automatic weapons and swords and ammo of all calibers.
Fet patted him on the back while nodding. He eyed a box of hand grenades. “Where the fuck did you get these?”
“Pfft. A boy needs his toys, man. And the bigger, the better.”
Fet said, “Any specific uses in mind?”
“Too many. I’m saving ’em for something special. Why, you got any ideas?”
Fet said, “How about detonating a nuclear bomb?”
Gus laughed harshly. “That actually sounds like fun.”
“I’m glad you think so. Because I didn’t come back from Iceland completely empty-handed.”
Fet told Gus about the Russian bomb he had bought with silver.
“No mames?” Gus said. “You have a nuclear bomb?”
“But no detonator. That’s where I was hoping you could help me out.”
“You’re serious?” Gus asked. He hadn’t moved past the previous exchange. “A nuclear bomb?”