It was yet another day where Jericho would meet Charlotte at the greenhouse. He was in his office after finishing a coffee, peering out the window as he tied his watch on his wrist. There was a charm to gloomy days. He much enjoyed clouds. The shapes he could make out of them, or how he could watch them to pass time. It was an enjoyment he didn't find often, so he cherished it.

No shapes were present this time around. The clouds were tightly knit together, no shape of note coming to Jericho's mind. With that, he sat and made sure his laptop was shut down properly. Theo and Asa were in one of the common rooms, preparing to take over in Jericho's absence.

His office felt lonelier than usual. Jericho wondered if he should add more decorations, just for a change in mood. A couple more chairs wouldn't hurt. He made a mental note to go shopping later.

Before he could get himself ready to go, there was a rap on his door. It had him halting in his tracks, and he backed up to his desk and sat down. His hand went to the pistol attached to the underbelly of the wood, his other hand on the surface to come off as passive. Whenever someone knocked on his door, unless he knew who it was, he sprung to defend himself. Sure, he was paranoid, but in his profession, no one could blame him.

When Jericho didn't answer, the entrance creaked. A footstep followed the irritating sound. What awaited him was Eladio. Jericho's hand fell from the pistol, and he brought it to his other to fold them together.

"It's an honor, sir. What can I do for you today?" Jericho asked, dipping his head in the hopes it came off as polite. Despite being the leader of a giant crime organization that extorted tens of thousands from businesses daily, Jericho still wasn't sure if he grasped the concept of professionalism as well as his subordinates did. Those subordinates being Theo and Asa, but Theo in particular.

"I'm here on business," Eladio replied, motioning to one of the seats in front of Jericho's desk. "May I?"

Jericho hummed, and the High Council member came over and plopped himself in the seat. Funny, there were bags under his eyes and crevasses lining the flesh of his face. The corners of his eyelids were dusted with crust, what was left of his hair tangled on the top of his head.

"I don't mean to jump to conclusions, but does this meeting have to do with the job?" Jericho asked. For a brief moment, Eladio grinned. It fell as soon as it came.

"Originally, yes. You've always been a top candidate since you became leader. How could you not be? You signed more kill orders in your short time as right hand than most working for years. That's quite a feat, Mr. Novak. That's without mentioning how you've led Unmei to stardom in the city of all places."

"And I'm still alive through it all."

"That too," Eladio said, chuckling after. His kind, professional demeanor dropped seconds later, and he leaned on the desk with his elbows. "But I learned something today. Something about your little mafia."

"I'm sorry?"

Jericho allowed the confusion to drip into his tone. His mind ran through all the possibilities of Eladio's next words, but there was nothing that came up. All Jericho ever did was abide by the rules and contribute to the Underworld. What more was there he could do? As for his subordinates, Asa and Theo were perfect for their jobs. The grunts were monitored by soldiers and captains. If there was something wrong with them, Jericho would still be in the clear. He hoped so, anyway.

"Can you call your two best in here? Asa and Theo?" Eladio asked.

Although perplexed, Jericho grabbed his phone and did as he was asked. He reached out to Theo, who was with Asa as always. One 20 second phone call later, Jericho had the device placed on his desk as they awaited the arrival of his friends.

"May I ask what this is about?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Eladio said.

Jericho's leg bounced a few times, but he managed to stop it before it became noticeable. What he couldn't stop was the clamminess circulating around the palms of his hand. His skin sunk in on itself from the moisture, and he attempted to swallow the saliva in his throat as if that would do any good.

Theo and Asa broke Eladio and Jericho's silence when they entered the room 2 minutes later. The creak came back, as did the footsteps. They opted to stand, approaching the desk with their hands folded behind their backs. Jericho motioned to Eladio. They caught on in a heartbeat and brought their attention to the seated man.

"I got off the phone with Ivan Belmour and Byun June not too long ago," Eladio said, Jericho letting the cushion of his chair engulf him.

"Mr. Byun was with Mr. Belmour? Why? I thought they hated each other," Jericho said.

Asa and Theo peeked at one another, and it was in that moment that Jericho noticed their trembling lower lips and darting eyes. It seemed as though liquid was forming on the sides of their heads, dampening their hair and making their already dark locks even darker.

"I thought the same, but it seems as though they teamed up to tell me a secret about your organization."

Eladio got up, Asa and Theo flinching back at the action. As he stood, Jericho noticed the pistol tucked in the waistband of his dress pants. The man departed the vicinity of the seat and stood perpendicular to Jericho's most trusted men. The two groups stared each other down, Eladio's hands almost too steady by his side.

"Sir?" Theo asked, mostly to Eladio, but Jericho got the sense part of Theo's tone was directed at him as well. "Permission to ask what's going on? Is Mr. Novak getting the High Council job?"

"He was going to, yes, but I'm afraid he is under arrest for potential conspiracy against the High Council."

"What?!" Jericho asked, his voice nearing a scream. "And what evidence could you possibly have that supports that claim?"

Eladio drew the weapon out of his waistband and pointed it at Theo. Jericho reacted in a heartbeat, reaching under his desk and hopping up with his arms raised. The silence that followed lasted two beats. Three. Four. Then, Eladio clicked his tongue.

"Lower the gun, Mr. Novak. These two are traitors who assassinated a High Council member," Eladio said. In that moment, Jericho practically fell. Gravity gripped his chest and shoved, but his shuddering legs managed to remain upright. "I have audio evidence of Theo calling in a hit on a Council member using an assassin named Myra, who's already been dealt with. Charlotte Evermore was also involved, and your little friend Asa was feeding her information."

"Asa was a spy?" Jericho asked, Asa and Theo not bothering to dispute the claims. The two men who were once his friends shattered in front of his very eyes. It was Kayden all over again. Every ounce of love he had for the two vanished from his body. Or, he thought it did. That was until Asa spoke.

"Theo and I, we wanted to rule together," Asa said, placing his hand on Theo's shoulder as the taller man dropped his eyes to his shoes. "We wanted to give you a higher position of power so we both got what we wanted. You got the power you always craved, and Theo and I got to take care of your organization. It was perfect for both of us. Sir, I know you have every right to hate us, but I promise you we never had any ill-intent."

"You murdered a High Council member just so you could rule a mafia," Eladio said, not taking his eyes off of Theo. "I'm not waiting to bring you to London for a public execution. I'm handling this now. Mr. Novak, kindly take the gun off my head and maybe I'll put in a good word for you with the other Council members deciding your punishment."

"Why would I be arrested? I had no knowledge of this, and you have no proof of my involvement."

"They're your two highest ranking officials. You're to be removed from leader either way. You had no knowledge of a conspiracy of this scale, and you want me to believe you're a competent leader? Here I thought you were a legend in the Underworld, like Theo and Jimin. How wrong I was," Eladio said.

Time slowed as Jericho took in the newfound hell. Eladio was about to gun down Theo. Asa was a spy, Theo assassinated a High Council member, Charlotte was in on it. She could help, but she was in no position to get there fast enough to do anything. She was at the greenhouse, which wasn't far, but also not close.

Theo had his eyes squeezed shut. The odds were, in less than 5 minutes, Mr. Belmour would be receiving a call from Eladio. Mr. Belmour would come in and sweep Jericho's office of the bodies of his best friends. He had a choice. Lower his pistol and face the consequences of his blindness, or shoot and destroy his entire life. Neither option was appealing, but it was either lose his friends, or lose himself.

Deep down, he already knew the answer.

The thick walls of his office couldn't conceal the gunshot that went off. The putrid scent of sticky, slimy blood crept up his nose and stung the insides of his veins. A shade of maroon burst onto the floor, Asa's sneakers squishing over the substance until he vomited to add to the mix. The vomit wasn't from disgust, rather the stress and realization of what had happened. Jericho was still processing it himself, but the smoke coming out of the barrel clued him in on what happened.

Eladio's body was slumped in front of Jericho's desk, and Theo knelt to take the man's pistol. It was covered in dark fingerprints that Theo touched with a grimace, shoving it in his waistband as the High Council member did.

"Is Unmei responsible for the deaths of two High Council members?" Asa asked in a whisper, coughing out liquid Jericho couldn't begin to describe.

"Yeah," Theo whispered, backing up until he hit the wall. "We are. Shit, what now? We'll have an entire compound running to get in here in less than a minute. Not all of them will be on our side when they find out what happened. Jericho, what do we do?"

They both turned to Jericho for guidance. The choice he made should have felt like the wrong one. Theo and Asa had betrayed him, even if they had good intentions in mind. Yet Jericho found himself lowering the weapon with zero remorse in his body. And with that, he holstered the pistol and said the first order that marked the start of his new life.

"Run."

~~~

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