Page 87

12:23 p.m.

Death-Cast did not call because he is not dying today, but he has murder on the brain.

Joaquin sits at his desk, alone with his thoughts about whether he would survive prison. Should Joaquin get his hands dirty,

there is plenty he is willing to sacrifice: his spacious homes for a cramped cell; delicacies such as Nova Scotia’s bluefish

tuna and his wife’s bacalaítos for chow-hall fish patties; the ethereal sunrises of Svalbard and the golden sunsets of the

Riviera Maya for harsh ceiling lights and mandated lights off; trips to El Yunque for trips to the courtyard; his dignity,

his sanity, and even his security as he’s surrounded by convicts who foolishly used their lack of Death-Cast alerts to act

on criminal plans as if dying is the only way to stall life. Joaquin would even be willing to bunk with his target’s ghost

until his own End Day, but as long as Naya and Alano are alive, Joaquin will never sacrifice a long life spent with them,

no matter how much he wants to kill Carson Dunst.

No one has ever made as bloodthirsty as Carson Dunst. Of course in the heat of a moment people have infuriated Joaquin so much that intrusive thoughts of wishing them dead surfaced, even some where he imagined killing them himself, but that heat always cools down, that moment always passes. Carson Dunst is different. That son of a bitch created a movement that seeks to undo Joaquin’s greatest creations. It is one thing for Dunst to build his campaign by lying about Death-Cast, even to dissolve the company nationally if elected president, but should anything happen to Alano then Dunst will become the match Joaquin uses to set this world on fire.

The nerve of Dunst to not only weaponize Andrea Donahue against him but also issue a statement about welcoming Alano’s vote

on Election Day when he never even condemned his young zealot’s attempt to assassinate Alano. Joaquin is so furious that he

will be asking Aster Gomez to compile anything and everything he needs to do to run for president as an independent candidate—and

he does intend to run to take down Dunst and even President Page, who is not nearly as outspoken against the Death Guard as

he should be. Some might say that there is not enough time for to make the most out of this election cycle, to

which he would say that if Deckers can live fulfilling lives in a day, then he can change his own life between now and November

to secure the presidency—and Dunst is out of his mind if he thinks Alano will still be casting a vote for him once his father

enters the race.

At least, Joaquin hopes Alano will vote for him.

There are more urgent matters at play now, such as Joaquin fielding calls from his board members, executives, lawyers, politicians, security force, the media, and his son, who created this mess. He’s reminded of the first End Day, when he believed his company was about to collapse before it could soar. Death-Cast survived that, and Joaquin believes—hopes—they will get through this too.

Perhaps these journalists should stop hounding him and investigate the true source of this leak. He would very much like the

answer himself.

For most of his life, Joaquin has been called overly cautious. Paranoid, even. How could he not be? He has been holding close

the greatest secret of the world. No, the universe. Apart from his wife, the only souls trusted with the knowledge of Death-Cast’s

apparatus were key members of Central Intelligence and President Reynolds, all of whom have since died: an extraordinary coincidence

that keeps the secret close to the Rosas. That responsibility makes a man second-guess those around him. It makes a man reject

the Secret Service and instead create his own security force. It makes a man limit how many heralds work the call center because

having more employees risks more betrayals—more Andrea Donahues. And it makes a man question who has it out for his company

and his son.

Anyone and everyone told about Alano opting out of Death-Cast is now a suspect.

Joaquin can safely rule himself out, as well as Naya, because only the worst mother in the world would endanger her child’s safety and future like this. Then again, she did send Alano out to make amends with the Dario boy. He wants to rip his hair out for questioning his wife’s integrity. Naya did not persist through heartbreaking miscarriages to ruin their amazing son’s life. He firmly rules her out.

This is where things get tricky. Everyone must be questioned, including the heralds back in New York, but Joaquin suspects

this is a more intimate inside job. He wonders if the only Shield-Cast agents who were in the know before this rally are responsible:

Agent Andrade, Agent Chen, and, of course, Agent Madden. Joaquin is especially suspicious of Agent Madden retaliating after

his eleven-hour termination, but he not only got Alano home safely, his report of everything that occurred at the theme park

lined up perfectly with Alano’s account. No one is fully ruled out, but having to suspect any of the bodyguards sworn to protect

him and his family has Joaquin eyeing the bar cart once again, even though his hangover is the worst in recent memory.

There are four suspects Joaquin believes have motives for destroying Death-Cast.

Ariana Donahue, the daughter of a woman fired for leaking private information about Death-Cast and Alano. Joaquin fears the

apple has not fallen far from the tree. He is not sure how she would have possessed this knowledge, seeing as she has not

checked in on Alano once since the assassination attempt, but that makes her suspicious in his eyes.

Rio Morales, a new pro-naturalist who believes Death-Cast should be ended and had his heart broken by Alano yesterday. That

is a vote Carson Dunst can actually count on this fall.

Paz Dario, a boy whose life was ruined on the first End Day. Sound familiar? Mac Maag failed to get his revenge for Death-Cast’s error, and the Dario boy might be trying to finish the job. What if exposing Alano’s secret—which he’s known longer than anyone else!—is Paz’s way of keeping his hands clean but allowing the Death Guard to do his dirty work? For his son’s sake, he truly hopes this is not the case, but he’s not sure.

And the fourth and final suspect is none other than Alano himself. He has made many questionable choices lately, but he is

still brilliant, so brilliant that he may be strategizing for Death-Cast’s collapse to experience a true freedom he will not

be able to enjoy since there is no other calling on this planet that will ever need him as much as Death-Cast.

Joaquin wants his son to live his life, but not at this cost.

Not at this cost.

Joaquin’s phones keep ringing.

For the first time in forever, for the briefest moment, an intrusive thought like those he had for wanting to kill others,

wishes Death-Cast was calling to spare him of this misery.