Fallen Gods, page 24
“Never better.”
“Yeah, you sure about that?” Aaron smiled.
Footsteps rang out as Marlon ran onto the balcony, shotgun in hand. A line of cops and paramedics were with him.
“Come on. Get these people some help!” He rushed to Aaron, who’d never looked so pleased so see him.
“Is it done?”
Aaron nodded.
“Get on out of here,” he said, looking at the bodies, many of which were Black Vipers.
“What about this mess?”
“As far as I’m concerned, this was gang violence. We got an anonymous tip.”
“Some of these are our own,” replied Luca.
“We’ll handle it, trust me. I’ve got plenty of friends who owe me favors. This was a gang fight that nobody in the department will give a shit about.”
“And them?” He was looking at the paramedics.
“No problem, my brother and his buddies. I’ve got this sorted.”
“You’re a good man.”
He went back about his business, helping those he could.
“So what now?” Theodosia asked.
They were all exhausted, but glad to be alive, and that was keeping them on their feet.
“What would you do after a victory of this magnitude, Thanatos?”
“Drink, Aaron Miller. Drink to our victory, and to our fallen brothers and sisters.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
Vulcan took Thanatos and helped him walk away.
“You know it doesn’t stop here, right?” Theodosia asked Aaron as he looked at the carnage one last time.
He nodded in agreement. “You know, in my line of work, you celebrate the wins, because the job is never over, no matter what you do. We did something great here, didn’t we?”
“We saved us all, for now.”
“I call that a win,” he replied.
He put his arm around Grace and kissed her forehead. As they headed out the door, he stopped one last time, and let them go on. He turned back and opened his hand to reveal another shard of the crown.
“Until the next time.”
THE END
Nick S Thomas, Fallen Gods
