Page 60 of Gabe

Finally, Senator McLeod smirked. “I suppose you’re waiting for your reward, aren’t you Ozias? All right. You’ve done a lot of work for us recently. As promised, you can have your pick of the dolls. We’ve got a wide selection on the island right now.”

I nearly vomited on the spot when I saw that Ozias was so eager and excited for what Senator McLeod offered that he actually started playing with his belt buckle.

He pointed to the boy on the couch. “Him. I want that one.”

The Senator’s grin twisted into something a little more sinister around the edges. If asked to describe it, I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly what changed in his expression from one moment to the next. It was almost as if the very shadows in the room bled into the lines of his face.

“Bold of you to ask for my doll.”

He stood again and stepped over to the couch. He stroked his hand over the boy’s head, ruffling downy hair just enough to make the boy stir in his sleep but not wake him. “You have good taste. This one is my personal favorite.”

Ozias also seemed to pick up on the Senator’s changed mood, for he dropped his arm to his side and started messing with his belt buckle again. This time, the gesture seemed less eager and more like a nervous tick.

The Senator’s hand left the boy’s head to instead trace the ring of bruises around one thin wrist. His fingers aligned perfectly with the dark splotches on tender skin.

“Maybe, if you keep being so useful to us, I’ll let you watch while I play with this one. But, no. This doll is mine. Pick a different one. Although, if this is your type, I can make a few recommendations.”

Ozias nodded again, but the motion was much smoother than before. “I guess I was hoping for too much. Things are never so easy.”

It was an odd statement, but before anyone could say anything in response, three quick popping sounds echoed through the room. The noise was too sudden for me to even jump in surprise and it took me a moment to realize what I was seeing. Once I did, however, my eyes nearly fell out of my skull.

Ozias stood at the center of the room, his arm raised, with the world’s smallest gun clenched in his hand.

A weapon small enough to hide inside a belt buckle.

Senator McLeod lay slumped on the floor, with his bodyguards only a few steps away in a similar position. All three had identical holes in their heads, each less than an inch wide.

The bullets may have been small, but they got the job done. Senator McLeod and his bodyguards were dead.

Ozias’s knees made a painfully loud sound against the floor when he collapsed, clinging to the edge of the desk for support as he laughed to himself.

“It worked. Ha ha. Oh god. It worked. Barely had enough bullets, but it’s done.” He was babbling to himself and barely seemed to realize what he was saying.

I stared in confusion between the man, the gun he’d dropped, and the three newly dead bodies.

“What the hell is going on?”

That seemed to finally snap Ozias out of his stupor. He grabbed the now empty gun off the floor and shoved it back into the hidden compartment in his belt buckle.

“Right. This is… um…”

Before he could get any farther in his explanation, a small voice interrupted him.

“Oz?”

The boy on the couch had woken up, probably startled by the sound of gunfire, and now his heartbreakingly large eyes were locked onto Ozias.

Ozias rushed toward the boy.

Newt pushed himself to his feet as if to stop the man, but I blocked my friend from interfering. At first, Newt looked at me, confused, but I merely shook my head.

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but one thing was clear. The boy not only knew Ozias’s name, but even had a nickname for him. They must know each other.

This fact was made even more obvious when Ozias scooped the boy up into a hug, calling his name in turn.

“Milo.”

The boy, apparently named Milo, clung to Ozias like an octopus, wrapping all four limbs around the man and holding on with all the strength in his young body.

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