Page 101 of Arranged Scars
We go in together. The apartment is nicely furnished, but very plain. There’s almost nothing on the walls. The decorations look like they’re straight from a designer magazine. Leave it to my brother to hire someone to take care of that for him. No personality, no touch of life, nothing but sterile beige colors and little junk that signifieswealth. The place is a status symbol. It’s definitely not a home.
Finn clears the main living room. The kitchen is barren. No surprise there. He takes the stairs to the second floor and I stay close on his heels. “Check this out,” he murmurs, frowning at another ruined door.
It looks like a bomb went off inside. I’m guessing it was a guest room at some point, but now the bed’s been slashed to ribbons and boxes were overturned on the floor. Sawdust covers the hardwood floors, seeping into their cracks. Finn kicks at one and frowns.
There’s a gun buried in the mess.
“I guess Mal found our little present,” I say brightly. I’m practically beaming with excitement now. “Cormac did a good job hiding it.”
“My brother’s nothing if not efficient.” Finn moves back out into the hall. “If Mal was here, Dermot was too. What are the chances they both left alive?”
“Let’s see the damage.” I stride down the hall toward the master bedroom. The door is closed, but that doesn’t bother me at all.
I’m practically singing, I’m so excited.
This is the end of my family. It’s an extinction event. My mother is dead, my brothers are warring, and my father is missing. Who knows if any of them are going to survive the day. They’re waging a running battle and getting into fucking knife fights. It’s fantastic.
I’m grinning like a maniac as we step into Dermot’s battle station.
That’s what he calls it, anyway. There’s a bed against the wall, but that’s the only way anyone would know this place is supposed to be a suite. The majority of the space is taken up by multiple desks covered in computer equipment.
There are monitors everywhere. Some scroll through data in incomprehensible languages. Others show images of the street outside, more show images of the apartment down below. There are dozens of them scattered all over. A few are running what look like bot farms, but I can’t figure out what they’re doing.
It’s a fascinating glimpse into Dermot’s world. The place is a mess. Cables are tangled all over the place. But I’m drawn tothe back wall, toward the largest of the desks with the most elaborate bank of screens, like something from a movie.
Dermot’s slumped in front of the keyboard. Blood’s everywhere, staining the mouse, the keys, the screens. He must’ve booted his system up at some point. His body is leaning sideways in the chair like he wants to surf the web, but can’t bring himself to do it. I approach, slowly, and Finn tries to hold me back, but I shake myself loose. He’s not happy, but I am.
I slowly turn Dermot’s chair.
My brother stares at me in alarm. He flinches back, lifting one arm. His sudden motion scares the crap out of me. I leap backward and scream. I slam into Finn’s chest and he grabs me, turning his shoulder so he’s protecting me, the gun jammed forward against Dermot’s face.
Dermot lets out a soft, pathetic whimper. “Don’t shoot. Please, don’t do it.”
“Fuck,” I say, shuffling away from Finn’s grip. “Dermot? You’re alive?”
He groans and looks down at himself. “Yeah, I’m alive. I think… I think I’m going to be okay. For a while I was bleeding… but it slowed. Malachy tried to kill me, but I had on Kevlar. That mostly stopped the knife.” He laughs, his expression wild. “Still got me though. Hurt like crazy. I’ve never been stabbed before.”
“I have,” Finn murmurs, still pointing the gun at him.
“What happened?” I kneel down in front of Dermot and take his hand. He looks confused, but he doesn’t pull away. I think he’s grateful that there’s someone here to help him. The poor guy. He’s never been good at taking care of himself.
“Mal went berserk. You should’ve seen it. He just lost his mind.”
“Tell me from the start.”
“Shit, Caroline. I need a doctor. I need stitches probably.” He grimaces as he shows me the wound. It’s a jagged slice down his side and it’s slowly oozing, but not too bad. “How’d you know I was here?”
“We found Mom.”
Dermot’s skin pales more. “Oh. You did?”
“She’s dead.”
He doesn’t look surprised, which confirms it for me. If I wasn’t sure, I am now.
“Malachy. He totally went nuts. Seriously, Caroline, the guy’s a nutjob. He broke into my place and started screaming about guns, about me stockpiling weapons to move against him. Which is crazy! I don’t even want to run our stupid family! I only hired those security guys because someone’s trying to kill us!” He stares at me and glances at Finn. The gun’s still aimed at his face. “Would you, uh, lower that? And maybe call an ambulance?”
Finn doesn’t move. He barely even reacts.
