Chapter 19. Training

Carlos went for his usual morning run. When he returned, Dahlia and Stones were waiting for him.

“Look alive,” Dahlia told him. “We have a lot to do today.”

He got ready for the day and had a rushed breakfast so as not to keep them waiting.

“Slow down, son,” Jasmine laughed when she saw him jamming toast into his mouth. “You’ll choke yourself. Don’t hurt yourself in a hurry; the brothers will wait.”

“But—” he began to speak, but she interrupted him.

“The brothers will wait,” she said again.

While he struggled to chew, Jasmine flicked through the TV stations. Carlos took a peek and saw something on the news. A woman was screaming and crying, something about her sister being murdered without redress.

There were pictures, obviously taken some years back, of a restaurant surrounded by police cars. A mass shooting of some sort. Before Jasmine could switch the channels again, he dropped his mug on the table and offered her his thanks. He told her