A GAZELLE IN A COURT OF TIGERS

"Where is papá" Jason asked, stepping back from his crazy sister.

This joke had become too much. She even had their old man's gun... what did she mean, El Fuego was no more? She couldn't... she couldn't mean he was...

"That is what you are here to tell us, no?" Sofia closed the distance again, still breathing into her brother's face. "Both of you disappeared on the same day... no warning... no NOTHING ."

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out inside the room, making Jason's ears ring deaf for a while.

Sofia had fired.

Jason hadn't flinched, but from the look of things, the shooter was clearly shaken by her own action.

"Sofi," Jason made as if to reach for the gun in her hand, but then it rose with alarming speed. It was now pointed directly at him.

Sofia did not say anything, and she didn't need to; Jason knew the threat was real.

The fact that she was his sister carried little meaning for her.