Angel and the Assassin 3: Sins of the Father

vulnerable sitting on the floor naked with his bottle of
    water and his white face. “What? And be cautious what you say because I’m still angry
    with you.”
    “Yeah, I can tell,” Angel said. “You’re disappointed in me because I’m not as good
    as you. But what makes you really mad is someone saying no to you. You not having
    control about whether or not I get into Cambridge is what pisses you off. You want to
    snap your fingers and have everything line up the way you want it.”
    “Yes, I do,” Kael said. “And I’ll still make it work. You’re going to Cambridge.”
    Angel was absolutely right. Kael hated anything being beyond his control. The
    toast popped up, and he took the low-fat Flora margarine from the fridge and spread it
    on the toast before cutting the slices into perfect triangles and arranging them on a
    white, square, very thin porcelain plate. “Eat.” He passed the plate to Angel, who
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    placed it on the floor in front of him. The boy took a piece of toast and began to nibble
    at a corner.
    “What are you going to do?”
    “Leave it up to me.”
    The buzzer sounded. Surprised that anyone would be at his door at that time of
    night, Kael looked at the microwave clock. “It’s half past ten. Who the hell is that?” He
    looked at Angel. “Stay there, and I expect you to eat that toast.”
    At the front door, Kael looked at the CCTV. Conran . What was he doing there? He
    pressed the button to release the door.
    “What are you doing here,” Kael asked when Conran exited the lift. He must have
    been at work late, because he was still dressed in his formal dark blue suit with white
    shirt and red tie. He must have a dozen of those suits in dark blue or dark gray, because
    they were all he wore at work. “Never mind. I wanted to talk to you anyway. Come in.”
    “Is everything all right?”
    “Why shouldn’t it be?” Then he remembered screaming Angel’s name into the
    secure line phone yesterday. And he’d canceled his afternoon class. “Oh, yes. Well, it’s
    okay now. I was having some trouble with Angel, but…” He shrugged.
    In the living room, Kael pointed at one of the black leather armchairs. “Sit.”
    Conran sat exactly where Kael indicated while Kael sat on the black leather couch
    opposite.
    “Where’s Angel?” Conran asked.
    “I’m here.” Angel stood in the doorway, holding a piece of toast. “Hi, Mr.
    Conran.” The boy walked over and leaned down to kiss Conran on the cheek.
    Seeming only slightly taken aback that Angel was unself-consciously stark naked
    in the living room, he said, “You don’t look well. You’re paler than usual.”
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    “I’m better than I was a few hours ago.” He walked quietly over to Kael and sat
    cross-legged on the floor at his feet. “I got sick, but it was my own fault. Wasn’t it,
    Daddy?”
    “Yes, it was.” Kael looked at Conran. “If you were hoping for some action, I’m not
    in the mood. You have to make arrangements in advance for that.”
    A deep blush crept over Conran’s face. He adjusted his already perfectly
    positioned tie and cleared his throat. “No, I came to speak to you about work.” He
    glanced at Angel.
    “All right,” Kael said. “But first, who do you know in government who went to
    Cambridge?”
    “I don’t know offhand, but it’s easy enough to find out. Why?”
    “I want someone with clout to write a letter of recommendation for Angel. The
    headmaster at Redmond thinks he won’t get in with no history of expensive, fancy
    schools or a genius level IQ.”
    “Daddy! Jesus Christ!” Angel screamed, throwing the toast across the room and
    rising on his knees to face Kael. “When are you going to quit on this? I’m not going to
    fucking Cambridge.”
    Kael grabbed him so fast, pulling him to his feet and landing several hard slaps on
    his buttocks, that he had no time to escape. Angel screamed at the indignity. Conran
    shifted about in his chair, looking very uncomfortable. With his arms around Angel’s
    waist, Kael lifted him off his feet, carrying the struggling boy to the dungeon. Even in
    good health, Angel was no match for Kael’s strength, but he was still weak from
    whatever he had taken the day before and Kael carried him easily. While Angel
    continued to struggle, Kael pushed him into the standing cage and closed the gate,
    snapping the padlock closed.
    Grabbing the bars, Angel pulled on