Chapter 12. First Assignment

Friday had come and gone, and although he felt a little embarrassed about not going somewhere fancy or lively like Clark and Alfred had expected, Carlos quickly got lost in thought, too busy to dwell on it by the time he arrived at his mother’s grave.

The two bodyguards had stood a few yards back, giving him some privacy. They didn’t ask any questions or make him feel weird about visiting a graveyard at night, though Clark did behave a little like he was not fit to protect Carlos against ghosts. Carlos filed that away for later.

He spoke to his mom’s tombstone in quiet, hushed tones. He told her all about what had happened to him—from Zama’s betrayal to where he had found himself, now the son of her old friend. He told her his fears, how everything was so strange and new, and how he worried about getting used to it all.

He told her about his wishes: to work so hard that the Man in Black would be proud of him, to earn every penny he had been given until he felt li