Work Text
Wally finally made it, after so much effort he was able to cross the border between Mexico and the United States, he can finally have a better future for him and his family in Mexico, he could give them the money they deserve for supporting him to cross everything is a matter of finding a job.With a hopeful smile and singing in Spanish, Wally set out in search of a nearby town with all the intentions of fulfilling his dream, getting that job and helping his family.I did not spend more than a few hours when in the distance he could see some houses in the distance, it seems to be a small town with colorful houses, as soon as he visualized them, he increased his pace ready to start the interviews.As soon as he entered, he realized that the town had no more than 5 jobs available, but Wally is sure that he will get the job without much effort. He approached the first place, a construction company that is looking for new helpers for shipments of materials, without giving it much thought I go in and do the happy interview, being rejected almost immediately for being an immigrant.A little disappointed, but not giving up hope Wally walked out and went to the next interview, only to be turned down for the same reason. The following interviews were the same, they did not hire him because he did not have papers.In low spirits he walked to a nearby motel, paying for a room for the night, his steps heavy as his walked to his room, his face tired after his first day of job hunting.Once he got to his room, he entered and closed the door behind him, immediately throwing himself on the bed to rest a bit, after seeing the ceiling and getting lost in his thoughts, he sat down and grabbed his backpack, taking out the money he saved for when for when he had arrived to the United States.After counting it for a while, he realized that it was not as much as he thought "It seems that I still have some money left for 2 weeks, 3 if I don't eat breakfast for some days" he muttered in his thoughts, he has to hurry to find a job before runs out of money.He put the money back in his backpack and laid back on the bed, thinking of a plan for the next day to be as productive as possible, his gaze was fixed on the ceiling until his eyes began to feel heavy, letting sleep creep in. seizes him with a smile on his face, he is confident that he will be able to get the job in no time.
(Time skip to the next day)
The sun's rays can be seen through the window, a few filtering through the window of the room giving directly to Wally's face, he moved to avoid them and be able to rest a little more, but when he remembered what happened the day before he jumped up, a look of determination on his face as he headed to the bathroom to take a shower, determined that this would be the day he would get a job.He showered quickly and got ready in a matter of minutes, ready to continue his search in the next nearby town, grabbing his backpack and leaving the motel, a smile always on his face as he made his way to his next destination singing happily.He arrived in the next town after 4 days of travel, in this town he could see that he had many more jobs to interview, but like the first town, none wanted to hire him.So he continued the journey, determination draining with each rejection, his hopes are losing with each passing day and with each rejection his smile is losing, two and a half weeks have passed and he still has not been able to find a single job part time or full time.The next destination would be the last, he had no more money left but for about 3 more days and his strength was running out, the town seemed a bit colorful, children running here and there, at first glance you can see that it is a town happy, Wally really wants this to be the town where he finally gets a job.He arrived in town and began looking for job interviews, following the same pattern as the other towns when rejecting him, Wally was already reaching the point of desperation to find a job, it was so much that he ended up losing track of where he was walking, crashing into a man taller than him.The man wears a cowboy suit like those of his hometown, the clothing is completely black, ginger hair and green eyes, a black cowboy hat perched on his head, he has an intimidating demeanor."Be careful" The man said, looking at Wally with cold eyes, scanning him and looking how bad he looked, the man stayed silent for a moment "Are you a vagabundo?" he mixed the Spanish and English, still staring at Wally."I just got here from Mexico" Wally looked at the man, not wanted to show any sight of weakness, and the man saw that, he let out a chuckle and looked at Wally directly on his eyes."You don't seem pretty well mi amigo" he puts a hand down Wally's shoulder."What if I give you a job? I need someone to take care of organizing my shipping, to have my other workers on line and working fast, someone that Works fast and hard" he was still staring at Wally."A job?" Wally whispered with hope."Yea, you would be a supervisor compa, but that would mean you need to sign some papers but the money you will get is really good. Do we have a deal?" the man smiled with dark intentions behind it, but Wally didn't care he needs the money."Of course! But first, can I know your name?" Wally looked at the man excited, thinking on all the things he can do with the money."Home, that's my name, come with me so you can sign the papers and start to work tomorrow morning" the man now called Home started to walk to a near house.Wally followed Home, looking how they slowly started to leave the main town to some houses hidden in the woods, he started to feel a little nervous but his excitement of getting a job, they soon arrive a big house surrounded by smaller houses. It's like a small town near the big town.Home opens the door and moves to the side, making a clear invitation to Wally to get in the house, as soon as Wally sees that he walked fast to get in, turning around to see how Home walked in too and closed the door behind him."Follow me" Home talks, walking to a near door and opening it, getting in first this time and sitting in the chair. "Go on, get in and sit" Home said with a smirk, pointing at the chair in front of his desk.Wally quickly sat in the chair, looking at Home a bit nervous but with determination on his eyes. "So, what do I sign?" Wally looked at Home with impatience.Home smirked more and got some papers out of his desk, giving them to Wally. "Here, this are the papers" Home then gave Wally a pen, staring at him. "Go on, sign up compa."Wally looked at the contract, signing up without reading it completely. Looking at that Home grinned, knowing that now Wally can't back off."Welcome to Home Town compa" Home looked at him with a relaxed face, smiling now that he has a new worker on his 'business'. "I'll see you tomorrow at first hour in the morning". Home made a signal for Wally to leave.Wally understands the signal and leaves, the smile on his face shining as he walks towards a near hotel to spend the night, he rents a room and takes a shower, felling relaxed now that his life is solved, he gets out of the shower changes to his pajamas and lays in the bed, thinking how his life will only get better and he can finally send money to his family in Mexico. With those thoughts he falls asleep, ready for the next day.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The rays of the sun creep through the windows, giving light to the room where Wally is without even waking him up, his snoring is loud and constant with heavy sleep, at this moment nothing can wake him up. . . .Wally wakes up screaming, looking everywhere for a clock to tell him the time, he knows he can't leave a bad impression on his now boss by being late for his first day at work.He quickly finds on the bedside table to his right a clock that marks 7 am, Wally is still in time to get there on time and impress Home, he quickly wakes up with a lot of energy and energy ready to start on the right foot.Taking his change of clothes he took a quick shower, changing at the same speed to be ready as soon as possible, taking less than 20 minutes to get out of his hotel room, heading for the hacienda where Home took him the day before with decisive and quick steps.After 10 minutes he was able to visualize the hacienda, heading straight to the house where he signed the contract yesterday, arriving at the door and knocking waiting for the owner to answer him."If you're looking for Home, he went to do a quick job" A voice was heard behind Wally's back, said voice was soft but firm, Wally turned around and found the owner of the voice, a man a little younger than him, apparently a year or so with black hair, light brown eyes and a little shorter than Wally, it seems this new man was waiting for him."Really? I thought I'd find him here. "Wally let out a sigh, wiggling his eyes to see this new fellow. "My name is Wally Darling, what's your name?" he stood silent, patiently waiting for the black hair man answer."Miguel Montés, so you are the new second in command" Miguel observed Wally from top to bottom, calculating each of the movements that Wally makes "the boss asked me to show you the hacienda and show you the work that you have to do, I hope you have a good guts"Miguel beckoned Wally to follow him and began to walk the paths of the hacienda, Wally hastily following him from behind to catch up with him."I hope you understand that everything that is done here has to be kept completely secret" Miguel mentioned without turning to see Wally, there is a serious tone in his voice throughout the conversation "It's not like you can do it anyway, not without serious consequences"Wally swallowed, the last comment made him nervous because he didn't fully understand what he meant.Miguel guided Wally to the nearest house to the main house, from outside you can hear people talking and heavy things falling, looking closely Wally found the door too big to be a conventional house, 'What kind of house needs a door twice as wide and long as a normal one?' Wally was questioning in his thoughts.The answer to his unspoken question came soon, Miguel opened the door and it let go a squeak, showing inside many boxes and bags, what on the outside looks like a house more of the hacienda inside is a cellar, Wally can count about 7 people carrying boxes and bags, 2 particularly caught his attention when he saw them carry more boxes and bags in a single turn than anyone else.Wally was about to ask about those two people when Miguel starts talking."This is where we keep all the merchandise once it's finished and ready for distribution" Miguel began to speak "This is probably where you spend most of your day so that everything is on time, the boss doesn't like to be late with deliveries" Miguel pointed to a blackboard with dates and symbols, a very well structured calendar to keep production at its peak."They've been loafing a lot lately, so it's up to you to make them work" Miguel kept walking without waiting for Wally, he wanted to finish as quickly as possible to get back to his own chores.Miguel left the cellar being followed by Wally, his next destination can be seen quickly, a house with a chimney through which smoke constantly comes out, two voices can be heard coming out of that house."For now we can't go in there, they're creating the merchandise and the smoke is going to hurt us" Miguel passes by the house and goes to the next one, this is the smallest and simplest house on the farm, although you can hear cries of pain and the yells of two angry people giving orders and asking for information.Wally looks at the house nervously, wondering what he got into when he signed the contract, he knows he can't regret it anymore, but everything he's seen only reminds him of something. . . . Something that exists in his native home. . .Wally's thoughts are interrupted when he collides with Miguel's back who stopped out of nowhere, in front of both is Home with a look of hate and coldness directed at. . . . . . . Miguel, there are four more people around Home with threatening poses.With an angry grunt Home began to speak "Tu, traidor hijo de puta (You, traitorous son of a bitch)" he clicked his fingers and the 4 men headed towards Miguel, him seeing how they approached he ran in the opposite direction directly to the exit of the hacienda being followed by those 4 men, Wally froze on the spot, watching with some terror the human hunt that he is witnessing.Miguel is quickly tackled by one of the men, being restrained on the ground by the other 3, leaving him completely helpless as the men move him to bring him to his knees still restrained.Home approached Miguel with slow steps, the silence of the place makes his boots sound more against the pavement, with a scornful look he ducks to be face to face with Miguel "How long did you think your little spy game would last? I know everything. "Home gets up and kicks Miguel in the face, he releases a scream of pain."Not fast enough, the police already know everything" Miguel mentions as he spits blood out of his mouth into Home's boots who doesn't even move."So talkative, let's see how much you can take" Home with a sign makes the men release Miguel, only to start kicking him hard and angry "NO ONE CAN BETRAY HOME AND GET OUT ALIVE!" with a final kick Home leaves Miguel on the ground, blood coming out of his mouth from the repeated kicks to his stomach and face that Home gave him.Home remains silent for a while, turning to see Wally after a while with a cunning smile."I'm sorry you saw that on the first day, but I guess we can take advantage of the situation" Home pulls a gun from his waist, goes up to Wally and hands it to him "Take it, don't think about it too much and just do it" Home looks at Wally expectantly.Wally watches the gun with cold sweat running through his face, slowly taking up the gun and approaching Miguel who looks at him with tired eyes.Wally raises the gun, pointing straight at Miguel's head, his hand is shaking and his breathing is rapid. . . . .A deafening sound is heard throughout the estate, the gun has been fired.Miguel's body falls to the front, blood splashing around and staining Wally's shoes.Wally watches the scene with open eyes in shock and horror.Home watches the scene with joy, placing a hand on Wally's shoulder talking to him in a calm and serene tone."Welcome officially to Manzana de Oro (Golden Apple)"Home stops having his hand on Wally's shoulder and walks away with the other 4 men, leaving Wally to reflect on what he has just done.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Wally didn't notice the fact that Home and the four men left the scene, staring at the bleeding puddle that slowly grew with each passing minute, his head is full of questions and scenarios, each more worrying than the last, his breathing more erratic with each new thought that ran through his mind.'You killed someone, your hands are stained, there is no turning back, you killed, you killed, you killed...' those thoughts and worse are those that run through Wally's head, his eyes still fixed on the lifeless body until noon.In the distance heavy footsteps began to be heard, the walking of said person was slow, very similar to the walking of someone who does not want to frighten a lost cat.The seconds passed and the mystery person was getting closer and closer, but Wally didn't care, his mind was still trapped in a state of shock, that until a large hand was placed on his shoulder, a sharp scream came out of Wally's mouth and quickly walked away from the person, turning around and taking a few steps back stumbling upon Miguel's body, falling on it."No no no no no no no" Wally whispered and repeated the same thing over and over, looking in terror at the person who surprised him, his eyes quickly shifting down to see that he was right on top of Michael.With another yell Wally crawled away from the body and the man, his eyes moving erratically between the corpse and the man in front of him. "W-who are you?" Wally's words came trembling, his eyes showing the clear trauma that killing Miguel caused him.Wally moved his right hand a little and could feel the gun still in his hand, firmly grasped by him and now more than ever Wally refuses to let go, it's the only thing that can protect him from the stranger.The man in front of him takes a few steps in his direction and bends down to narrow the height difference, now Wally can see the stranger better, long, dark blue spongy hair tied in a low ponytail, brown eyes, a short-sleeved blouse and reliable blend trousers, the man raises both hands to show Wally that he is not a danger."Calm down friend, I won't do anything" the person moves his left hand to Wally's right hand where the gun is still firmly held by him "Please give me the gun, we don't want any more tragedies" the stranger's voice was heard as a soothing whisper, causing Wally to calm down a bit, but still remaining in a defensive state."What makes sure you won't try anything?" Wally continues to look distrustfully at the man, the gun still firmly in his right hand now pointing directly at the stomach of the person in front of him."Wow, calm down, I promise not to do anything" once again the man raises his hands in sign of not being a threat "My name is Barnaby, Barnaby Beagle, I promise I won't try anything" his voice came out in a quiet whisper, he doesn't seem intimidated by the gun pointing at his stomach, Maybe he's been threatened before?, Wally is not sure if he believes him."That doesn't reassure me." Wally's hand and gun begin to tremble, his mental stability about to break after losing adrenaline hours ago, his body tired and his eyes exhausted."I know you don't trust me, but remember that you are my superior I can't do anything against you" Barnaby approached cautiously and removed the gun from Wally's hands, holding it in his own belt on the left side, on the right side is Barnaby's own gun guarded.Wally's eyes watched Barnaby's action, slowly dropping his hand to the side no longer strong enough to fight for the moment."So, what are you going to do?" Wally's eyes are looking straight at Barnaby, but you can notice some confusion and disorientation in them, the memories of him killing Miguel still fresh in his mind.Barnaby shortened the distance between them, running his hands through Wally's armpits lifting him up effortlessly, keeping his hands there to give him stability "First I have to show you where my work area is, but it looks like you're not quite here, how's the moon?" Barnaby asked in a playful, joking voice as he observed Wally's disoriented state.With flashing eyes Wally walked away from Barnaby, staggering a bit at the beginning "I'm better" he massaged his temples with a bit of discomfort, he wanted to go to the hotel as quickly as possible to forget what happened today."Sure? Because I can still see that you're still on the moon" Barnaby's voice was still playful, clearly he was enjoying making Wally a little angry "If you're very sure, come follow me to the cellar" with a last playful look Barnaby headed to the cellar, Wally following him even with difficulty.Barnaby all the way from time to time turned to see Wally to make sure he didn't have a panic relapse, the road to the winery didn't have any setbacks and they arrived in just 5 minutes."Okay, meet the main cellar" with one hand Barnaby opened one of the doors, letting Wally through.With slow steps Wally entered the cellar, now there were only 2 people left and they seemed to be in a moment of rest, the place looks freer of boxes, maybe the goods have already been taken to their destinations."Barnaby..." Wally spoke in a trembling voice "what are they really doing here?" he turned to look at Barnaby, if his memory does not fail him the contract mentioned confidentiality, now that he has killed a person he is more than certain that he is inside something murky, Wally begs that it is not something like what he is thinking."Well, I work in the loading and unloading area of drugs, I am the second strongest in this area" Barnaby bends his right arm, boasting of his strength "although sometimes I have to carry bodies or other things."Wally froze instead "Puta madre, I should have read the damn contract" with a frustrated sigh he turns to see Barnaby "Is there anything else to be done here?" his tone of voice came out tired."Well, sometimes when this one with little or no merchandise is used to train new people, I guess it will be your turn to train in the future" with a hand movement he told Wally to follow him.Wally followed Barnaby to a nearby room, inside which is a desk with leaves arranged in one of the corners, a bin under the desk to throw away the papers, and a box with black feathers on top of the desk.The room also has air conditioning, a blackboard and a comfortable chair, as well as a window that lets you see the whole cellar from the desk chair, to the sides you see 3 filing cabinets."I'll introduce you to your office, I don't think you'll spend much time here, but it's comfortable." Barnaby bowed comically as if he was a play host and stepped aside, letting Wally into the room "we can place more things you like if necessary."Wally walked through the room, running through the wood of the desk with his right hand, his mind finishing processing what happened on the day "is the room soundproof?" Wally turned around and stared at Barnaby.Barnaby nodded, "It is, anything said here can't be heard outside," he stepped forward toward the window. "With the window they can't see you, but you can see them, so you're in control here." Barnaby turned to face Wally.Wally watched the chair closely, walking up to it and sitting down, "Thank you Barnaby, you can retire."Barnaby watched him a little more, Wally looks tired and disturbed "I'll be close if you need anything patron" he makes a goodbye sign and goes out the door closing it.The room remains silent, in the background you can hear the air conditioning cooling the place, some sobs are heard in the room, slow and paused, small sighs coming out between the sobs.Wally points his left hand to his heart, grasping his shirt desperately, his breathing becomes erratic and uncontrolled again, painful pressure on his chest prevents him from breathing, stories of the Mexican cartels going through his head, what he least wanted was to get involved with illegal things."I should have read the contract, this was too good to be true" Wally whispered between the sobs and groans that came out of his mouth, with each new thought the pressure on his chest increases, the sobs grow louder and the tears flow freely down Wally's cheeks.He reclined on the back of the chair, letting his thoughts consume him, now being alone he can let go of all the anguish he's been accumulating since he... since he killed Miguel.Wally releases a cry of anguish and despair, he knows very well what a cartel does, he knows very well what he will have to do and that there is no turning back, he will have to adapt to this life one way or the other.The pressure on his chest makes him despair even more, with the hand he has on his heart area he begins to give himself small blows to try to relieve the pressure, his right hand clinging to the armrest of the chair, he no longer sobs, but the pain complaints remain, the pressure is becoming too painful.With a slow and heavy movement he gets up from the chair, taking a few steps before falling to the ground, his right shoulder receiving most of the impact, Wally stays on the ground, the pain increasing and his strength diminishing, all he can do is hug himself in an attempt to calm down.After 10 minutes he was able to calm his breath a little, sitting down and crawling to a corner pushing his back against the wall. "I guess I just have to adapt to survive..." his eyes slowly closed, so many emotions and revelations left him mentally shattered.With a few more slow blinks Wally lost consciousness, his breathing now being slow and laborious as the tears dry.A sound can be hear, it's the door opening and Barnaby's same heavy footsteps entering the room."Patron, we're done with the move-" Barnaby freezes to find Wally sitting in the corner, evidently not awake "Patron, get up" he walks toward Wally and shakes him, Wally's body falls to his side, but does not get up "Mierda" Barnaby quickly loads Wally on his left shoulder and leaves the room, promptly leaving the cellar toward his house.Seven minutes later Barnaby arrived his home, kicking in the door to get in quickly and leaving Wally on a nearby sofa, doing a quick vitals check, everything is perfectly fine.Barnaby with a sigh decides to let Wally rest, he doesn't know exactly what happened, but he knows very well that it won't be the last time he sees Wally in that state, he knows very well how difficult the first months of work here are.Placing a blanket over Wally, Barnaby heads to his own room to rest, and tomorrow he can explain the rest to Wally when he's calmer and cooler.The house remains silent, both occupants deeply asleep, one suffering nightmares and the other with heavy sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It is the beginning of a new day, the streets of the town are empty at 7 am, businesses are just opening and most of the population is just waking up in the comfort of their homes.Barnaby's house is in complete silence, Barnaby is peacefully asleep in his bed covered with a simple light sheet as it is not hot, downstairs more specifically on the couch is Wally peacefully asleep, his breathing is calm and his movements are soft, as if he was having a nice dream.Wally's movements started to become faster and more aggressive, small complaining sounds came out of his mouth, it is more than clear that his peaceful sleep turned into a nightmare, memories of the previous day swirled in his dreams, Miguel's voice can be heard yelling at him for killing him.Wally stands up with a deafening scream, shaking as he hugs himself "Shut up, it's not my fault, it wasn't my fault, I didn't mean to" he kept repeating to himself over and over again, heavy and quick footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, a worried Barnaby appears from upstairs running in Wally's direction."Wally! Easy, it's ok" Barnaby whispered in an attempt to calm him down, but as he approached Wally he jumped up and ran in the opposite direction, apparently the nightmare activated an 'fight or flight' defense mechanism.Barnaby realizing that his help would not be the best in this situation began to think of different solutions and scenarios to help his boss, among those ideas the name of a person appeared in his mind.Quickly Barnaby ran out of the house in the direction of the house of the person he knew very well who would be able to calm Wally down enough to talk to him.About 15 minutes passed, Wally stood in a corner near the couch sitting and hugging himself, hurried footsteps were heard again at the door of the house and two people entered, one already known to Wally and the other a new face.This new person is a reddish skinned woman with incredible magenta eyes, curly rainbow colored hair tied in a ponytail, she is wearing a traditional Brazilian dress called a baiana and feather earrings.The woman slowly walked towards Wally making small soothing noises "Don't be afraid little one, you are safe" her voice came out almost like a soothing, motherly whisper, slowly approaching Wally.Wally's breathing slowly calmed down, the woman's voice reminding him of his mother and the affection she showed him all his life growing up, with her soothing voice he slowly relaxed, letting out his gasping breaths and letting his arms fall to the sides of his body.The woman was finally able to get completely close to Wally, hugging him gently and giving him small words of support, the woman's gaze changed from Wally to Barnaby, looking at him with concern."You're going to have to explain to me what happened Barnaby, he's too upset about something I have no idea, if you want me to help him I'll need to at least know what happened" the woman slowly carried Wally to lean him back on the couch."I know, I think it would be best to have this conversation somewhere else" Barnaby walked from the living room to the dining room, motioning for the woman to follow him, but the moment she tried to pull away from Wally he held tightly to her dress."No, please don't leave me" Wally's voice came out cracked, this woman managed to calm him down completely in a matter of minutes and he wasn't going to leave her side for quite some time.The woman turned to look at Barnaby with concern, returning her gaze to Wally "I won't leave honey, rest easy" she settled back to have Wally hugging her right arm as they both sat on the couch, Wally's eyes gradually closed until he fell into a deep sleepy state from mental and physical exhaustion."Well Barnaby, I think it's a good time for you to tell me what happened" the woman settled better, letting Barnaby tell her everything that had happened since Wally joined the cartel up to the present time."So that's what happened, no wonder he's so uneasy, after all we all had a similar reaction the first time we killed someone" the woman gave Wally a look of motherly understanding "I hope it doesn't take him long to get used to this new lifestyle".Barnaby and the woman remained talking quietly while Wally was still wrapped around her right arm, the way he was holding her he wouldn't wake up for a while.About an hour later, Wally slowly started to open his eyes, the light around him is more powerful as well as he can hear a quiet conversation happening around him, even though his eyes are open his mind is still not fully awake."Hey buddy, good to see you woke up" the voice that came through his ears he didn't recognize it, but something in the tone of voice reminded him of his loving mother."Mom?" Wally asked in a sleepy voice, his eyes finally focusing on the person he was still hugging."No honey, my name is Poppy, Poppy Partridge" Poppy smiled calmly at Wally without moving, giving him the time he needed to fully wake up."Sorry for confusing you" Wally spoke in a sleepy voice still, getting up fully observing that he is hugging Poppy's arm, with a quick and embarrassed movement he let go of her arm, turning to look at Barnaby "What happened?" the confusion in his voice was clear as he doesn't remember anything.Poppy seeing his confusion decided to get up to make him some tea to calm him down "Let me make you some tea sweetie" her voice still had that motherly tone that completely calmed Wally, as Poppy prepared the tea Barnaby cleared his throat to get Wally's attention."You had a nightmare mate" Barnaby began to speak, his voice having a careful tone so as not to exalt his boss "I had to go and ask for an extra pair of wings" he spoke with a playful tone of voice intended to lift the mood."How many times have I told you that just because I like to wear feathers in my wardrobe doesn't make me a bird" Poppy's voice rang out from the kitchen, from her tone of voice it seems this is not the first time the joke has been mentioned."Oh come on, you know you like the nickname" Barnaby let out a genuine and innocent laugh, Poppy followed shortly after, the two seem to be very good friends, playing pranks on each other."Sorry to interrupt" Wally's voice came out a little shaky, memories of the previous day running through his mind in a more leisurely fashion, giving him time to process everything without causing him another attack like the previous ones "I know it's too late for regrets now, but... what exactly its done here?"Poppy and Barnaby turned to look at each other with concern, silently discussing who should be the one to blurt out the information, seeing that Poppy showed no signs of wanting to talk she, Barnaby took a step closer to Wally."Well" Barnaby started to speak hesitantly "You saw what we do, we create drugs that we then distribute and sell, we also create new variants to generate more customers" Barnaby paused a little, taking a breath and mustering the courage and finesse to say what follows "We also torture and kill rivals or traitors..." after saying that he went totally silent.Wally was silent, pondering and digesting everything Barnaby had told him, reality finally settling into his mind as his body went numb. His gaze shifted to Poppy as she walked back into the living room, setting a cup of hot tea on the small table in front of her."Barnaby told me what happened" Poppy spoke as she sat down next to Wally "I know I can't offer much information, but some of your questions I will be able to answer" with that last she fell silent, waiting for Wally to speak again."What exactly do you do?" Wally asked calmly, now that he had this opportunity to learn everything possible to survive this new life he would ask as many questions as possible, if he is going to be in this for the rest of his life he is going to do it right, he just hopes his dear mother understands his reasons."I'm the one in charge of selling locally and getting new customers or workers" Poppy replied calmly, although her hands were moving nervously, Wally could notice small old wounds on them, although Wally saw this with concern he decided not to ask, after all the two of them barely knew each other and that seems to be a private matter for her.A new question came to Wally's mind "How old are you both?" seeing how they both look their age or a little older caused him intrigue, and not just them but Home as well "How old is Home?" he spoke again, this time more determined and stronger.Poppy spoke again "I'm 23 years" Barnaby's voice was heard shortly after Poppy finished telling her age."That you don't bathe" Barnaby said, letting out a laugh after another of his usual jokes, Poppy just snorted and looked at him reproachfully."You always say the same joke every time someone says their age" Poppy's voice came out tired but at the same time amused "Since the little lord can't tell his age because he's laughing, Barnaby is 18, Home is 19."Wally was taken aback, he hadn't expected Barnaby and him to be the same age, let alone Home being only a year older than him "Barnaby and I are the same age, but how come Home is the leader at only 19?" Wally frowned as he asked."That's not for us to say" Barnaby was quick to answer, there is a hint of concern and fear in his tone "He will tell you in time, for now you better get ready, you still have to work just like us" as he finished speaking Barnaby and Poppy got up from their places, Poppy said goodbye and walked out the front door while Barnaby went to the bathroom in his room to get ready.Wally said goodbye to Poppy and waited for Barnaby to finish grooming himself.The doorbell rang and Wally being the only one available went to open the door, running face first into Home."Wally? I didn't expect to see you here" Home spoke with clear confusion on his face "Do you know where Barnaby is? He has to start loading the merchandise as soon as possible" Home moved his hand to reveal a gold watch, checking the time "He's already 10 minutes late, and he knows I don't like delays" Wally answered quickly "He's on his way out.Wally quickly replied "He's on his way out, he's taking a bath right now, as soon as he's ready he's on his way" it was clear from Wally's tone of voice that he still has a certain level of distrust of Home.Home noticed how Wally's body language indicated that he wasn't comfortable around him, with a thoughtful look he decided to change that "Okay, how about after work you and I go out for a few drinks?" the question completely confused Wally, he didn't expect the boss to ask him out as friends."I guess that wouldn't be bad" Wally answered him after some thought, after all he could use a drunken night out to finish digesting what is his new life from now on.Home gave Wally a sincere smile "Perfect, I still have to introduce you to the others, but that can wait, although I think with Frank we should wait a lit-" Home couldn't finish because a shout was heard close to the house."WHERE ARE MY CHEMICALS?!" was the shout that was heard, the person sounded clearly annoyed as the voice trailed off still shouting.Home started to laugh "That's Frank, don't mess with his chemicals and experiments for the new drugs, you don't want to know what happens if you do" his laughter subsided "Tell Barnaby I'll be waiting for him, take today off" with a parting gesture Home left, leaving Wally thinking.Barnaby came downstairs a short time later, Wally told him what happened and Barnaby ran out the door in a hurry shouting a goodbye to Wally.Wally just went back to the couch, sleeping for a little while longer.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
What was going to be a short nap of an hour ended up being 6 hours, the sun was at its highest point and the temperature was starting to rise, Wally slowly opened his eyes lazily, that nap definitely helped to calm his emotions and think more clearly.Getting up from the couch he headed to the kitchen, pulling a glass cup out of one of the cupboards he went to the refrigerator get help himself something to drink, anything would do him good right now as he hasn't eaten anything in quite a while.A clock near the refrigerator caught his attention, Wally looked at it carefully until he realized that it was already 2 pm, with a sigh Wally returned his attention to the refrigerator to look for something to eat.Without much effort he finds some steaks to prepare, taking two from the refrigerator and heading to the stove to prepare them. While the steaks were being made Wally returned to the refrigerator in search of something to drink, finding a half-finished soda.Pouring some of the soda into the glass he got earlier he returned to the stove, turning the steaks over he served them on a plate, beginning to eat them while humming a song."I wonder what time Home and I are going out for drinks" Wally said aloud, Home asking him out for drinks seemed odd to him, after all they have only known each other for 2 days and friendly chats they only had 2, maybe Home wanted to just get to know him more? Until the time came, his questions would remain unanswered.He continued eating his steaks without any problem, after so long without eating well this meal felt like glory for Wally, after all he had gone so long without food.Once Wally finished eating and washed his dishes, he headed back to the living room, now that he has time to think and be on his own he decided to take a tour of Barnaby's house, although he would stay off the second floor since that is where Barnaby's room is.His house is simple, a living room, a dining room with 4 chairs, a bathroom and what appears to be a garage, the house is clearly furnished for more than one inhabitant, does Barnaby live with anyone else?Without realizing it, it took Wally a whole hour to explore Barnaby's house, and Wally is sure he still has a long way to go.A knock on the front door alarmed him, it was still too early for Home to arrive, Wally walked towards the door and opened it. To his surprise Home was there with a smile on his face."Ready for a few drinks?" Home said still with the smile on his face, looking genuinely happy, Wally watched him with clear confusion on his face."Isn't it too early to drink?" Wally questioned him, a slight smile forming on his face as he watched the grimace appear on Home's face."The earlier we drink, the more time we have" the smile on Home's face reappeared "come on, I've already got the beer and everything else at my place" Home moved aside to let Wally pass.Wally left Barnaby's house closing the door behind him "well, you're right about that, the sooner we get started the more time we'll take" Wally laughed a little and waited for Home to lead the way to his house, even though he had been there before he didn't know the farm so he could find his way around.Home led the way to his house, opening the door and letting Wally in, locking it once he entered."Well, my house is your house, let me get the cooler with the drinks" with that Home headed for the kitchen, leaving Wally alone.Wally walked around looking for the living room, finding it relatively easy by just having to walk straight down the hallway, the living room is simple two large armchairs and 2 singles around a low table, Wally walked around and sat down in one of the single armchairs, a window to his back where the air comes in and hits him directly in the back.Home returned with the cooler, setting it down in the middle of the two single armchairs and handing Wally a beer."Well, tell me, where were you born?" Home pulled a beer from the cooler, opened it and began to drink without a second thought.Wally followed Home's example and uncorked his own beer, taking slower gulps than Home "well, I'm from Zamora Michoacan" Wally said after the first few gulps he took of his beer."Michoacan huh? Nice place" Home went back to taking more big gulps of his beer, leaving it halfway through quickly "i am from Guadalajara Jalisco, its good to have another mexican around" Home took smaller gulps of his beer, slowing down the fast pace he started with."Have you visited Zamora?" Wally said with surprise, he never expected Home to know his native home "I hope at least you have visited somewhere important or nice" he took another sip of his beer leaving it half full."Only the cathedral unfortunately, but I can't wait to see more places all over Mexico" with a few more gulps Home finished his first beer, quickly pulling another from the cooler and giving it a swig."The cathedral is beautiful, although you definitely should have visited Lake Camecuaro, it's quite a beauty" Wally spoke, finishing his beer shortly after and pulling another from the cooler, this time drinking more slowly as he doesn't want to get drunk that fast.Home quickly finished his second beer, it seems he doesn't mind getting drunk soon as he pulled out the third beer and started drinking it."I already asked my question, you're up" Home mentioned with a smile, expectant of what Wally would ask."What are your parents' names" Wally took another sip of his beer quietly "from what you said I guess they're both mexican, right?" Wally started to feel more relaxed, he was never a big drinker because of his low resistance to alcohol.Home stood quietly staring at his half finished beer, after a few seconds in silence his voice came out monotone "my father's name was Luis Sanchez, he was ecuadorian" with a big gulp he finished the third beer, quickly grabbing another from the cooler and drinking half of it quickly, his eyes expressed hatred and his voice came out as a dangerous whisper "my mother... her name is Camila Gutierrez, she is mexican".Wally noticed the change of emotions he had at the mention of his parents, his mind was screaming at him not to keep asking, but his curiosity was greater "what happened to your father?" Wally asked cautiously, while his curiosity won he is still wary of the reactions Home may have.A growl came out of Home's mouth "I killed him myself" his voice came out with some pride "the bastard got my mother pregnant and abandoned her, so I came back for revenge" Home finished his beer and pulled out another, his voice already having that typical tone of a drunk person."Why kill your father, but have hatred for your mother?" Wally couldn't help but ask that question, covering his mouth when he realized his mistake.Home let out a sigh "I'm going to tell you, but anything I tell you can't get out of here, understood?" Home took more gulps of his beer.Wally nodded his head quickly "nothing will come out of my mouth" he waved his hand in silence.Home sighed again, now speaking with that typical drunken slurring of words "my mother never cared about me, at no time did she ever say loving words to me or even a smile."Wally interrupted him "Completely nothing?" his face showed the surprise he has "my mother can't go more than a day without telling me she loves me or giving me kisses on my cheek."Home's eyes showed the anger he feels for his mother "she never loved me, I have memories from the age of 10 and she wouldn't even ask if I had eaten yet, I went days without eating under her and her husband's care" he took a long drink of his beer."Home...really what was your childhood like?" Wally finished his beer and pulled out another, waiting for Home's response with a slight idea of the answer.With another sigh Home started talking "my memories start from my 10th birthday, my mother wouldn't cook for me or let me go out and play with other kids, if she let me go to school it was because the law made her do it and she always ordered me to do chores around the house while she went out and had fun with her narco boyfriend" he finished his beer and grabbed another.Wally, seeing that Home wouldn't stop drinking, decided to drink his beer quickly to hide the rest of Home's beers.Home didn't notice what Wally did and continued telling his story "once I finished high school at 15 my mother sent me to work to be useful to her" his eyes showed the anger and hate he has for his mother "it was the worst year of my life until I turned 16, the day of my 16th birthday she got excessively drunk and told me the truth about how I was born" Home finished his beer, this time he finished his beer, this time Wally finished his beer.Home finished his beer, this time looking at the floor as he spoke "my father was the owner of this cartel, he dated my mother for a while and when she got pregnant, he abandoned her forcing her to go back to Mexico" he leaned back on the couch looking at the ceiling "after I found out what my father did I vowed to kill him someday, and I took advantage of my mother's narco boyfriend to learn how to handle guns and train physically".Home turned to look at Wally "once I turned 18 I came here to fight my father, killing him and becoming the owner of his cartel" with that Home finished telling his life story.Wally remained thoughtful for a while "you told me about your life, I think it's best to return your trust and tell you about mine" Wally took out a beer from the ones he had hidden and started to drink it."My mother's name is Dulce Maria Darling" Wally began to speak calmly "my father's name is Joseph Darling"."My family actually has a huge fear of the cartels and narcos" Wally began to calmly recount "several of our relatives have died at their hands and we always had the fear of being next" he took more swigs of his beer "that's one of the main reasons I left my town, the second was to get a stable job to help my mother and the third to escape from a toxic ex" Wally finished his beer, calmly looking at Home.They both stood in silence, simply keeping each other company.Home out of nowhere staggered up "If we're going to share sorrows, what better than with a nice tequila" at a slow pace he walked to the bar, pulling out a bottle and pouring two glasses, Wally staggered over and they both continued drinking, both sleeping drunk on the floor that night.