Family Reunion
Tony carried Jonas to one of the bedrooms upstairs, carefully, as if the boy were a flower made of porcelain, the most delicate and precious thing in the world. He laid him down on the bed and then sat at the foot of it, deep in thought.
The enemy had found his weak spot. Tony cursed himself for an idiot, he should have been able to see this coming. He had tried to keep his family out of it; he'd purposely not tried to contact them at all, not even to warn them, hadn't gone anywhere near the house, not wanting betray anything that would point Cassius in their direction. He tried to pretend he didn't care about them, to keep them safe. He should have known it wouldn't work. Cassius would find them and use them on a whim, anyway, and exterminate them just as easily if it didn't pan out. It wasn't like they were hiding or anything. Hell, they were fucking clueless about everything, it must have been so goddamned easy!
The top of the bed's corner post snapped off in his hand; he dropped it to the floor and stood, started pacing, hands clenched into white-knuckled fists to keep from grabbing and destroying anything else.
He should have told them to get out of Texas, should have insisted, should have flown into a rage and scared them shitless enough to flee from him, if they wouldn't believe any of the rest of it. But he didn't. And now they were dead. His mother was dead. And David. Casualties of a war they didn't even know was happening.
His mother.... she knew. Not all of it, certainly nothing about Cassius Corp, but.... she knew it was real. When he'd told her about his dream all those years ago, and asked about his father.... He'd seen it in her eyes then, just for a split-second; she knew it was the truth. And she had him committed anyway, locked away in that wretched place for so long, instead of believing that inconvenient truth, making him into the crazy one.... Tony had hated her for that. But still....she was his mother. His mother was dead.
And Jonas was an orphan.
Tony's cheeks were wet, tears spilling down from unblinking eyes; he brushed them away and they were replaced, there'd be nothing to do for it for a while. That was part of the reason he'd retreated up here, to mourn in private. Displays of weakness like this were not meant to be shared.
The other part, of course, was to get away from Evan and his completely reasonable, cogent insistence that they send Jonas away to New York. Tony brushed his eyes again and sat back down on the foot of the bed, staring helplessly at his little brother. It was clear that Jonas could not stay here in Austin, but.... I'm all he has left, Tony thought, knowing full well that really he meant it the other way around. Hell, the last time he saw me he was only three. He probably doesn't even remember me.
Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, Tony was determined to protect his brother this time. Jonas had already been taken once, he would not let it happen again. And he didn't trust anyone -- couldn't afford to, not anymore. Cassius was so powerful, so far-reaching, Tony felt like if he let Jonas out of his sight even for a second it would be too late.
And this couple in New York, his supposed aunt and uncle.... Tony didn't know them. He didn't recognize their picture, couldn't recall ever even knowing that David had a sister. It wasn't like he was on bad terms with David's family, at least not at the beginning -- if she really was who they claimed she was, shouldn't he at least have a goddamned clue?
Maybe he did, and he just didn't remember. That part of his life was like such a distant dream, far away and muddled in a sea of sedatives, drowned out by crashing waves of insane ghosts, confused and broken into pieces that didn't always fit right back together again. Some bits of his memory were undoubtedly gone for good; this could very well be one of them.
But he also knew how easily Cassius could doctor information, create fake people, plant whatever it was they wanted to be found. That photo that wasn't him flashed vividly through his mind again; he shook his head vigorously to dislodge it. New York was a trap, it had to be. Tony would die before letting Evan send Jonas back into the open, waiting arms of Cassius Enterprises.
He supposed that if Jonas recognized them, then probably they were legit. And he was just a little bit closer to crazytown. Time would tell.
His mind was made up, though; Jonas would not be going anywhere by himself. Leaving his family alone had done wonders so far. Tony would not make that same mistake again. If that meant both of them walking into the lion's den in New York, well....it wouldn't be the same mistake.
No, it'll be worse, some slightly rational piece of his brain screamed at him. If you walk into their hands, they won't need Jonas anymore! He'd be signing his little brother's death warrant himself.
Would it even matter, at that point? If Evan and Morgan and E really had gotten all his other sibling Scions out of Austin....was the ritual broken now? If Tony left, too, would that break it for good? Would they even still be after him if he left? Did staying here, as the last Scion of Huitzilopochtli, make things better or worse?
The seal hadn't been destroyed. Which meant that sometime, somehow, they could try again. Tony knew he couldn't walk away from this until the enemy was really and truly defeated, until all the seals were broken and his father was free. Until this could never happen again. He had to see it through to the end, whatever that might be.
And if Cassius could use Jonas so easily as leverage against him.... then really, the only prudent thing to do was take him out of the equation. Right here. Now. Himself. The cold, ruthless warrior in him saw the obvious path unfold clear as day.
An individual life was meaningless; a sacrifice to preserve the world, glorious.
Let those bastards see that Antonio Felíz Donado was not one to be fucked with.
He didn't remember getting up, but suddenly Tony found himself on the other side of the room, with his fist through the wall. He screamed the fury of futility as he hit it again. And again. And again.