By the time they arrived at Lola's place, sunrise was near. Phantom took a shower and mechanically ate breakfast while wondering what to do next.

“Do you have a laptop I can use?” Phantom asked. 

She nodded from the other side of the narrow table. “Yeah. But it's old and the internet sucks in this place.” 

Phantom made a mental note to see what he could do about that. He had already turned off his private phone in case they tried to track him. He however kept the burner he used for club business at the ready. His gaze drifted over Lola’s face as she poured him coffee. The strong smell did nothing good for his already upset stomach. 

The image of the boy on the filthy mattress kept occupying his thoughts. Over the past few years, he had managed to block out every thought or memory of Alec, and now there was a huge hole in the carefully constructed wall. 

How was he doing? Was he even still alive? Memories forced themselves through the gap and wrapped around him like ropes, leaving him staring numbly at the black coffee. Laughter as they ran out of a supermarket with their pockets full of candy. A gun in his hand, feeling as heavy as a block of concrete. A corpse hanging from a rainbow-colored tie. Graffiti stains on his clothes. A broken window. Screaming, more screaming. A kiss in the dark, his heart nearly pounding out of his chest. Thick, red-purple welts covering Alec's entire back. There was no order to it, and it was accompanied by so many conflicting emotions that it felt like they were trying to tear him apart.

“Phantom?” 

The name he had been using for the past two years struggled through the fog of memories and pulled him back to the present. He took a deep breath and saw Lola’s face coming into sharper focus. 

“Are you okay?” Her eyes radiated a softness that he wanted to resist. None of the people who had ever looked at him that way were still alive. As if he were some kind of curse. 

He rubbed his face. “It was a long night.” The words triggered a deep yawn. 

“I know you can’t talk about club business,” she said. “But if you... want to subtly share anything, you can, you know?” 

A wry smile tugged at his lips. We barely know each other. However, he wasn’t such a jerk that he would say those words out loud. She could have been angry with him for fucking up the rescue of her friend. Instead, she was letting him stay in her house. “Thanks,” was all he said. He picked up the cup and drank it all in one go, even though the coffee was still too hot. 

She smiled. “You can stay as long as you want.” 

He took in her innocent face. She was... different from the other girls he had met at the club. More cautious, it seemed. Kinder. More innocent – even though she had a rebellious streak with her light blue hair and nose piercing. He was curious about her, about the reason she regularly went to the clubhouse – and why she had asked him for help instead of someone else. She was so kind that he couldn’t imagine she had no friends other than the missing Carla. “How long have you been living in Oakland?” 

“Not very long. About six months. I've... lived in many places.” 

He looked at her inquisitively. “Why?”

She shrugged. “I just wanted to see more of the country. Meet new people.” 

“And out of all those new people you met, you asked me for help?” 

She bowed her head a little. Even in the light of the single lamp that was on, he saw her blush. “I don’t know any other hackers. You could search for her in a way I couldn't.” 

Phantom couldn’t argue with that. It had been a practical decision, he realized. And yet... he couldn’t shake the feeling that there were few others in her life. He didn’t know why–maybe because he saw his own loneliness reflected in her eyes, or because this shabby apartment didn’t exude coziness–just like his own didn’t. He sensed she was hiding something. Something painful. And for some reason, that touched him, making him feel the need to be a band-aid – or a painkiller. Something that would help her shake off the gloom and live the life she deserved. Far away from a moldy space like this, and from his brothers who just wanted to stick their dicks inside her to satisfy their needs. Something he had been guilty of too, and which had left him with a sense of guilt. She deserved better. Much better.

Phantom was about to get some sleep after Lola left when his phone buzzed. Table. He sat up in Lola’s bed. Wasn’t he supposed to stay under the radar? He was so tired that it took a few moments to realize that he, of course, wasn’t the only one who had been at that cop’s place yesterday. Esai had been there too. The president’s son. If anyone had recognized him, he couldn’t go anywhere either. 

With a sigh, Phantom pulled on his boots. He felt ashamed for not trusting the club to keep him safe, for not wanting to keep him safe. Since he had seen how they treat Raine... But you should have thought of that earlier. You have your patch now. You’re stuck with them. He pushed the burdensome thoughts to a far corner, knowing he would be in deep trouble if anyone ever got wind of them. 

He put on the sweater Lola had brought him yesterday and headed to the clubhouse. Nervously, he stepped inside. They probably thought he was a failure. To his surprise, the men who were already there nodded at him with neutral expressions. He took a seat at the table in the meeting room as the last men came in and joined them. 

Once all the chairs were filled, Alvarez spoke. “As most of you probably heard last night, the operation didn’t go as planned. The pig woke up as soon as our guys entered the room and reached for the gun on his nightstand. Esai and Phantom had no choice but to silence him.”

Phantom stared at Esai in disbelief. He had expected him to expose his mistake; instead, he'd made it sound like they had no other choice. No one was angry with him. In fact, Esai took just as much of the blame. It puzzled Phantom why the man would do that. There was a calculating look in his eyes–and a smug smile on his lips that gave Phantom chills. 

“Esai is convinced no one recognized them, but we’ll keep our ears and eyes open.” Alvarez’s gaze shifted from his son to Phantom. “You both stay on our grounds today, just to be safe.”

Phantom nodded absentmindedly, still trying to get a grip on the situation. 

“I heard that bastard abused his own kid. For now, they’ll be preoccupied with that. There’s a good chance they’ll want to cover it up and won’t be too enthusiastic about finding the killers, as that would only cause more uproar.” 

“But we have lost our only lead,” the VP said with a sigh. 

Marcus nodded gravely while holding Phantom’s gaze. Carla danced at the nightclub they owned, but she had no direct ties to any of the Mayans. Not even to him. They had gone along with this because it had been important to him. 

“I’ll keep looking,” Phantom said. “For footage.” 

Marcus agreed. 

Not long after, the meeting was ended, and they went to work. Phantom was hardly surprised when Esai walked up next to him. 

“I kept you out of trouble,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t forget that.” 

Phantom looked up. His former sponsor’s eyes gleamed maliciously. He clearly hadn’t done so without ulterior motives. 

Phantom’s jaw tightened. “Don’t think I’ll let myself be blackmailed again.” He stopped and looked the man squarely in the eyes. “If I reveal the truth, you’ll go down before I do. You are the one who lied to the Prez. Again.” 

That made Esai narrow his eyes. He had spun this story because he feared his father would punish him otherwise, but he was wrong if he thought he could hold power over him ever again. 

Esai might not have learned from his mistakes – but Phantom had.