The Last Option

Duncan was furious at Billy's failure; in all their years of working together, he had never failed in the jobs he gave him. To make matters worse, the first person he called "the bully" when he was able to speak at the police station, the next day, went to him, which could compromise him and link him with the event for which he was imprisoned.

"I'll send you to one of my lawyers, and don't call me again! You could compromise me, you idiot!" he said, quickly cutting off the call.

An hour later one of Duncan Smith's lawyers met with Billy to begin his defense, although they both already knew how difficult it would be to free him from accusations for all the crimes that the thief accumulated over the years. "Tell our mutual friend," Billy said to the lawyer, "to do everything possible to get me out of here, because if I am prosecuted I will sing better than a nightingale and may in the end be my cellmate. Do we agree?"

Less than an hour later Duncan received the message, at the same time that Louis also called him to order him to meet again in Central Park to claim his failure, because he saw his cousin Nathan the next day in his office as if nothing had happened last.

He sat down next to him on the same bench as before. Duncan looked upset, but Louis didn't notice because he didn't want to see his face because of how upset he was.

"You told me the job would be carried out last night," Louis told him, in his voice Duncan realized he wasn't very happy to be said, "and now I'm seeing that it wasn't. What happened?"

"Just a small setback, I made the mistake of trusting someone else and he failed."

This time Louis turned to see him for a few seconds, then refocused his attention on the people around him. Duncan didn't dare to look back at him, both embarrassed and annoyed at the same time.

"I commissioned an acquaintance to simulate a robbery," Duncan continued, "but he didn't count on your cousin's new driver being a former Navy Seal and he knocked him out in a second."

"I thought you did your jobs yourself. That is something new that I'm learning about. How many jobs have you done with this modality, compromising us all? Tell me, will I be compromised in any way?" "Of course not, I'm taking care of everything. You don't worry about anything."

"I hope so. I don't want to have to turn to someone else to correct your mistakes."

"You don't have to threaten me, you know I've never failed you, and this won't be the first time. Like I told you, it was just a minor setback, nothing to worry about."

"Well. I will trust you again. Anyway, I was going to tell you to let some time pass before acting again. With this failed attempt, he will be vigilant and take additional security measures. I don't want him to think that someone is actually trying to assassinate him. You have to wait for him to let his guard down again to make sure you don't fail next time."

"Very well. I'll wait a while and take care of everything myself. I won't fail you again." Louis got up and left without saying goodbye. Fifteen seconds later Duncan also left. The next day Louis read a message on his phone: "problem solved. Everything is fine."

Billy "the bully" had been murdered in the police cells by a homeless man with apparent mental problems who had been arrested for attacking several people in the center of the city hours earlier with a knife. When the police officers requisitioned him, they did not realize the piece of glass he hid in his private parts, and with which he attacked Billy, mortally wounding him in the neck, by cutting his jugular.

Bernard suspected that Margaret was upset with him, as she had been quieter than usual for the past two days. That night he insisted on making dinner and asked her to wait in the room to make her more comfortable, to which she agreed without saying anything. When he took her to the room, he decided to ask her the reason for her apparent annoyance, although he already imagined what it was.

"Nothing's wrong with me," she answered, as women always answer when something really bothers them.

"Dear, I know you well, and I know something is bothering you. Is it because of the attempted robbery?"

She lowered her gaze. Her lower lip began to tremble slightly, a sign that she wanted to cry. He walked over to her on the bed and hugged her.

"I can't stop thinking that something could have happened to you," she told him, controlling the impending crying a bit. "He could have murdered you."

"But nothing happened, darling," he spoke to her in a low voice, "and here I am with you. Don't think about that anymore, please."

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

She gave vent to tears.

He hugged her tighter.

"It was an automatic response to a dangerous situation. I admit that something may have happened to me, and I promise you that from now on I will stop being so reactionary." "Even the Hicks were in danger. Can you imagine what would happen to us if something happens to them?"

"Don't think about that anymore, my love, calm down. The important thing is we are safe and sound."

"Maybe pregnancy makes me more sensitive than usual, but I still feel worried."

"And for the baby you shouldn't be like this. Remember your mood influences it."

She wiped her tears with the sheet at her side, and smiled slightly.

"That's true. We don't want to give the Hicks a nervous wreck, right?"

He lifted her face and made her meet his eyes, then kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I was thinking that we should have a child too," he said after kissing her.

He stared into her eyes. After so many years of seeing them every day, they still seemed to him the most beautiful eyes in the world. Its honey color still captivated him like the first day. "Do you think we should?"

"Why not? Soon this apartment will be ours and we will have some money. We should begin thinking about it, don't you think? Also, we will have some experience for this one that you are waiting for."

"Well, I must confess that being pregnant is a very beautiful experience, despite the discomforts at the beginning and the heaviness that one feels now. They say the last few months are the most difficult. We will see if it's true." "So? The answer is yes?"

She smiled widely, brightening her spirits at the expectation of having children of her own. He took her face in his hands, and after once again delighting in her beautiful eyes and her captivating smile with perfect white teeth, he gave her another delicate kiss on the lips, this time a little longer. After parting, she looked him in the eye again.

"They also say that in the last months sex is more advisable," she said very softly, then lowered his gaze, between shy and provocative at the same time, "because of the dilation." Now it was Bernard who was grinning widely.