Genesis

5

"You followed my directions," Tamsin's voice says on the phone.

"Yes, I wanted to speak to you once more before I die," Calus replies almost woodenly.

"I'm not going to kill you. At least not today," Tamsin says. "Walk back into the trees about fifty meters."

"You mean you're actually going to give me a flag of truce?" Calus replies incredulously.

Tamsin shrugs, he knows that Calus can't see it, Tamsin is well concealed among the trees. "Yes, I haven't lost my honor Calus."

Calus hunches over as if he's been hit. Honor was big to both of them and the biting tone Tamsin uses hurts. "No, you wouldn't," Calus's voice is soft and sounds as if he's about to cry.

"That's far enough. Now close your eyes and count to ten," Tamsin orders and Calus immediately follows his orders.

"You can open your eyes now Calus," Tamsin says softly not ten feet in front of Calus.

Calus doesn't start, he'd been expecting something like this from the start. Tamsin doesn't get found unless he wants to be found and isn't heard unless he wants to be heard, it's been like that since they've first met.

"I thought you said you ordered the hit on my sisters." Tamsin says softly, quietly his voice not much more than the breeze through the trees.

"I wanted to, but I didn't have the seniority to do so. Tamsin, I swear the only reason why is because the boss wanted them for his pleasure houses. I couldn't allow that to happen, not them. Their beauty and sweetness, they wouldn't last a week, especially since the boss ordered them to be brought to him first."

"How do you know?" Tamsin says through gritted teeth.

"It was my father that he ordered to bring them to him. My father actually liked your family and he didn't like the order and got himself drunk and told me. I went to one of the men that owed me and made him send out the hit. This is his name and the name of the man that actually accomplished the hit." Calus passes him the paper with the two names on it.

Tamsin nods his thanks and turns to go, "Wait, there's more Tamsin. Your father and brother, they didn't get sick for unknown reasons." Tamsin turns back to him and his confused look turns to one of anger as he looks at Calus's guilty look.

"I slipped the pathogen into their blood on their last check up. I know that this means that you will kill me. The boss also wanted your brother to work for him, he was just going to wait another couple of years and your father was a means to control all of you. What I did is unforgivable Tamsin, I know that." Calus says as he kneels down before Tamsin. "I absolve you of any dishonor, the truce is over Tamsin."

"Was it you that slipped the packet or had the packet slipped into my pants?" Tamsin demands holding back all his emotions.

Tamsin looks down at his kneeling friend or ex friend waiting for a reply, "Yes." Tamsin nods in understanding. The packet had contained a strong sedative, one pill to sedate, two to kill. There had been four pills in the packet, a packet that only can be gotten through a prescription.

"Thank you," Tamsin says and leaves his friend kneeling waiting for his death.

Just as Calus thinks that Tamsin is gone and starts to take out his weapon to kill himself, Tamsin's voice floats back to him, "You won't need to kill yourself to avoid torture by the boss, he'll be dead soon."

"I'll be dead even sooner," Calus replies to the disembodied voice.

Suddenly Tamsin is beside him once more. "The boss is quick to make me one of his, well now he's going to know the reason why that's not a good idea. I'll need someone I can trust once he's dead and I'm in charge."

Calus just stares at him in shock. "You're going to kill him and take over the mafia?" His voice has started out normal but ends in a squeak.

Tamsin's smile is dark and sinister as are his eyes, "He brought this on himself. Your father, where will he stand?"

Calus shakes his head still trying to understand just how the hell things have gotten this surreal. "Before I'd say he'd rather die, but he really liked your family. I think he thought of you all like extended children and your father as a brother he never had, it broke him that last order, I think. But truly I don't know, not anymore." Tamsin nods in understanding. He'd always liked Calus's dad as well and had considered him like a second father. They all had, hell they spent as much time at Calus's house as they had at their own.

"If he's in doubt then you better not tell him. And Calus?" Calus looks at Tamsin in confused horror, "If you ever betray me again, the death that I'll be meting out to the boss will be nothing to what I'll do to you."

"I've no doubt of it Tamsin," Calus answers still in a daze and still kneeling at Tamsin's knees.

"Oh, get up Calus, you look ridiculous kneeling there. I'll be taking care of the boss tonight and these other two as well I think. Go home back to your father and keep him out of the way. Get him drunk if you have to but don't let him be anywhere near the boss when I go after him, or I'll have no choice but to kill him as well." Tamsin says no emotion in his voice sending shivers down Calus's back. Tamsin has gone into his killer mode and he just hopes that he survives.

Calus slowly gets up, he doesn't want to set Tamsin off. He dusts off his knees as he thinks, he's only seen Calus like this once before and it had taken more than a day for the killing rage to dissipate. "Tamsin, I will do as you say. I am sorry about your family, I had hoped... I couldn't let your sisters to that fate..." Tears do fall now.

"I know. You loved Sirren, even though you had a strange way of showing it. You know she cried every time she saw you with a girl?" Tamsin says.

Calus smiles through his tears, "I had to turn her against me. The mafia life is no life for anyone, least of all someone as sweet as her. I was born trapped in this life and it killed my mother, I couldn't do that to her."

Tamsin put a friendly hand on his shoulder, "I understand. Thank you, but they still must die."

Calus smiles his own sinister smile, "Oh, I know they do. They both are fiercely loyal to the boss and were horrified when they found out the boss had wanted the girls for his brothel after he broke them in."

"Then maybe I should go pay them a visit right now. Thank you Calus, go home and take care of your father. Too many I love are gone," and with that Tamsin was gone. Calus smiles at the empty space before him. Tamsin would've made a fine brother if things had been different.