Itching for a friend for ages, Dimitri discreetly hoped to establish a kind of father-son relationship with Clive. He forced himself to hide his feeling of joy. Filled with enthusiasm for their project, he went to the annex building of Gressenheller University where a renowned professor in science maintained an academic library. In front of it, Dimitri began to read its descriptive. In the years that followed Claire's death, the research laboratory had diversified its fields of new technologies. Computers hardware, files, processors… Dimitri wasn't really impressed. He only was interested in fundamental facts about wormholes.
After entering the tidy library, Dimitri greeted the professor with a hearty handshake.
"Time has come to travel through time!" Dimitri told him, a little obsessed by the word time.
Feeling tired, the man rolled his eyes when a beautiful, mature and self-confident woman appeared in the room. She was wearing a lab coat, a dark and creased dress with tights and a black boater with a ribbon made of white pearls. With her long, curly, blond hair and her almond-shaped eyes, she waved to the professor in charge of the laboratory.
"Carrie! Glad to see you!" He cheerfully shouted, ignoring Dimitri's question. "It's been a long time! How are you?"
"Do you really want to know the answer?" She mumbled.
"Of course not. We all miss Jake. He was my best friend."
Stunned to be facing someone who looked similar to Claire, Dimitri remembered the bright smile of his lost love. She was everything for him. He regretted her not being here because he desperately needed her comforting presence. After all, she always said the right words at the right time.
Seeing two old friends re-establishing their friendship, Dimitri swallowed and spoke in an exhausted voice.
"Excuse me for interrupting you, but I was here well before you arrived."
The other man put his hand over his mouth and whispered in Carrie's ear.
"Don't listen to this guy! He is nuts; he wants to create a time machine!"
"You're not very discreet," Dimitri added, drawing closer to him. "I've heard everything you said."
The professor did not understand why he suddenly sweated streams, but he stuttered and put his hands into his pockets. Without paying attention to him, Dimitri looked at the captivated gaze of Carrie.
"A time machine?" She asked. "I've always liked this idea. Is it really serious? I would like to help."
"Yes, I work on a project — a sort of staging — with a nice guy. To succeed, we need the best scientists in London and Bill Hawks.
"The First Minister?"
"He once worked with me on the development of a time machine. By the way, he killed the girl I love, gave the details of our machine's power source to a malevolent firm and got a lot of money before entering the political world."
With a watchful eye, Carrie put her hand on his shoulder. Dimitri's despondent look proved the weariness of his face. He seemed to have no more feelings, which affected the sensitivity of Carrie. Taking a close look to her split ends, the blond woman sighed and confided herself.
"I lost my boyfriend three years ago. We were both happy chemistry students, but Jake wanted more. He decided to have a drug trafficking and died in the wake of a suspicious business," she stopped before smiling at Dimitri. "Your project intrigues me. I don't know if I could see Jake once again, but I need to do something else in my life."
Dimitri liked her because she was sensitive, direct and expressive. Everything he wasn't. Everything he had liked in Claire's personality. Cheerfully raising her fine cheekbones, Carrie leaved her old friend and dragged Dimitri away from the laboratory. Accompanied by her, Dimitri took her back to the place he lived, where Clive was reading some of his complicated notes. His mouth wide opened when he saw them, Clive checked Dimitri's apartment. There were no feminine traces in the room. Some of Dimitri's soiled clothes were lying around on the floor and two empty cups were spilling coffee on a science fiction novel. Suddenly, Clive sniggered staring at Carrie.
"I wasn't expecting you to go out with a girl."
Dimitri sighed and replied.
"That's wrong, Clive. I've just met Carrie. She's a scientist and wants to help us with our project."
A rapturous expression on his face, Clive smiled at her.
"You really should get rid of this lab coat. It tends to make your magnificent face pale." He added, kissing softly the back of her hand. "I'm Clive."
Blushing in his presence, Carrie thanked him. As she shook her head, he touched the hand that she had unconsciously held out before listening to Dimitri.
"To begin with the project, we must find skilled scientists, mechanics, engineers and architects."
"I'll take charge of Future London. Stay focused on the scientists. Only you and Carrie can decide who are the best in this domain."
"I agree with you," Carrie affirmed. "You are lucky to have me, but every person is different from me. Other scientists wouldn't be happy to work with you on a such project!"
Smiling at the pensive look of Dimitri, Clive shrugged his shoulders and declared.
"If they don't want to bring us their invaluable help, we'll propose them some money. Without meaning to brag, I have money in reserve."
"Good idea," Dimitri praised Clive's view. "Or else, we'll bring them to Future London and let them believe that they need to build the Time Machine to return to their own time."
As they were working towards their Future London's concept, Carrie easily took part in their discussion.
"Even though I was volunteer for helping you, can I have a bit of money?"
Clive approved by nodding and approaching Carrie in a gentle way. They were exchanging smouldering looks in front of Dimitri who suddenly felt alone.
"I feel like I'm disturbing you."
"Absolutely not! I was wondering… What if we build a casino? I could learn you to play poker, Clive." Carrie suggested, her seductive eyes fixed on him.
The Gilded 7 Casino was a spectacular place looking like a huge slot machine illuminated by some beams of light. Inside, the world seemed to be reflected in gold-plated tiles. Two staircases — adorned at their ends with green decorative plants — greeted the guests; the playrooms were covered with an ocher color, which came close to bright red. With his chestnut-colored pants, his tight black top and his dark blue scarf, Clive had adopted a casual style. Pleased seeing his ideas finally materialize, he noticed a crystal chandelier in a room and his eyes lit up. Raring to reveal his speech to his henchmen, Clive suddenly recognized Carrie waiting in a corner of the room. The blond girl had curled her hair for the occasion. She was dressed in her regular lab coat and was putting her hands in her pockets, which gave her a fiercely nonchalant air. Greeting him discreetly, Carrie ordered two lagers from the bar waiter and took him to a solid wood table.
"I told you I'll explain a few things about poker?" She murmured in his ear, giving him his cold beer.
"I remember it."
Bewildered, Clive's attention turned to the colorful clay tokens of a small briefcase that Carrie proudly held.
"To shuffle the cards, we arranged them all, face down, on the table before gathering them in a pile."
With ease, Carrie deployed the cards on a bar table. Clive was looking at her, whereas she raised a charming little smile.
"The purpose of the game is to score the tokens of your opponents by composing the best combination of five cards," Carrie spoke again, enthusiastic about the game. "Before playing poker or any other card games, you have to know at least some combinations."
"I've already played it with my old friends. I remember that there were pairs and full house…"
Carrie nodded jovially.
"Yes, after, you can have specific straights. For example, the straight flush is where you have five cards of the same color. You also have the four of a kind where you have four cards of different colors and same numbers."
"You like this game, don't you?" Clive asked maliciously.
An embarrassed smile on her face, Carrie blushed thinking at the man who had once shared her life.
"I really liked playing poker with Jake. But this game also pleases me for other reasons."
In front of Clive's perplexed face, Carrie decided to answer.
"In fact, it's psychological, because you can make sure to give up your opponents during the game."
"Psychological?" Clive repeated, hypnotized by the game. "In that case, I feel that I'll really enjoy myself in this casino."
Carrie did not answer to Clive when she saw several men who looked strangely similar. Clive apologized to her and then took his henchmen to Dimitri.
"These are the men I told you about," he began. "Those who will inform us of the actions and gestures of every resident in the false London."
"Nice to meet you. Clive did well to have you come here. How are we going to call them?"
"They are the Family Goon. We all belong to a big family after all," Clive went on, firmly insisting on the word family.
Dimitri ended up shaking his head before following Clive on a small stage, which announced the beginning of their speech. The first that caught the attention of the people in the room was Clive.
"You have to play a crucial part in the staging that we have prepared. You'll be the mafia under the orders of Future Layton, and you'll rule with him the entire city. There will be no more polices, no more democracy. You'll be the only ones to decide the laws, but don't forget it's only a facade."
Clive suddenly stopped talking and let Dimitri take over the discussion.
"Future Layton has built a time machine. Clive, who will be in reality Future Luke, will enticed the real Professor Layton and Luke into the casino. Bostro, you would like to stop Clive and you have to make it real."
"Yes, boss," Bostro intervened.
"Clive has invested a lot in our project," Dimitri said. "And I personally want to thank him."
Dimitri turned to Clive when he slapped in a friendly way on his back.
"I did nothing else. But, thanks to your genius and your uninterrupted determination, we'll finally be able to implement a machine to travel in time."
Closing his eyes, Dimitri seemed peaceful and showed his good humor. Clive had an important place in his heart, but he couldn't afford to destroy their collaboration. For their commune success, their project was fundamental. There will be no sympathies between them.
After a few minutes, Dimitri and his main associates, Bostro, Shmeley, Shmarton and Splinters left the casino to go to the Towering Pagoda to check the riddles for the Professor Layton and Luke. Suddenly, Clive shouted into the microphone, calling out every person in the casino.
"Perfect! Dimitri's friends are gone. Now we can focus on the essential."
"The essential?" Carrie wondered, playing with one of her lock of hair. "Are you doing something behind Dimitri's back?"
A conquered smile on his attractive mouth, Clive rubbed his hands and took again the microphone to call out the rest of his henchmen.
"You've understood what Dimitri and I want, don't you? Now, let me tell you what I want."
Staring at Carrie, Clive interrupted for a moment when he began to confide himself indirectly.
"The staging of Dimitri is used to hide a time machine project, but do you know at least the risks of a such innovation? Carrie... Believe it or not, but your futile idea of taking Jake back to our present is impossible. Time travel is inhuman, a real abomination. You, scientists, like to take this project lightly… What a little stupid thing! I assure you that you're going to kill many innocent people, some parents."
Carrie's bright gaze darkened what brought her to Clive's attention, who was already smiling, proud of his next reply.
"In Future London, you only answer my orders. Tomorrow is a long day. I'll contact all of you in the morning. I want to explain you in more detail the roles you'll play in my world and of course you'll have money. A lot of money."
By noticing the reassured faces of his audience when he said the word "money", Clive wanted to jubilate. Ah… Power. It will never really stopped astonishing him. In politics and in business, the Prime Minister had also understood the importance of means. Bill Hawks resembled to a fairly simple, small man with his big Browline glasses, but his pulled-down smile and his sharpened self-centredness terribly horrified Clive. He had participated in the death of his parents and had never paid his crime. If that was not enough, he proudly continued to do a dubious business all over the country and this unique thought destroyed Clive's mental health.
"And what about Dimitri?" Lockjaw suddenly asked, curious and hurry to get Clive out of his devastating thoughts.
"Don't listen to his requirements. In any case, Dimitri is too busy with scientists for his big obsessional project... But unlike him, I'm reasonable and try to ensure everyone a fair life. Harold!" He suddenly boomed to one of his henchmen. "Do you remember what a shady Scotland Yard cop told you about the accidental death of your wife and daughter?"
In his tailor-made suit, Harold remembered the livid faces of the two women who were the most important people in his life. He rubbed his eyes under his round white glasses, whose optical lens were covered with tears, and he took the microphone that Clive gave him to express himself.
"How could I forget? At the sight of my police record, he said that I deserved what happened, that it was a right thing for the society."
"Justice," Clive added. "Here is a word I really like. I am a man able to make out the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and untruth. I also have the ability to enforce the law, to make it legitimate, that means to make it justified by the reason and the common sense of everyone."
Receiving a round of applause in the entrance hall of the Gilded 7 Casino, Clive's delighted smile seemed to illuminate the gilded walls of the building. Carrie had fallen under his charms at the moment she met him. What he was doing there was simply admirable. Suffused with his self-confidence, he strongly believed in his own definition of justice. Clive greeted his famous Family Goon before approaching Carrie, expecting her to refute his thoughts.
"You know how to motivate people," she whispered, giving him an endearing smile.
"That's obvious! I'm a talented guy," he added, with a charming tone.
"Are you afraid of me? I can tell everything to Dimitri."
"You'll not say anything."
Confidently, Clive grabbed Carrie's blonde hair before slipping a bundle of notes into the back pocket of her pants. He kissed her, raised a captivating smile on his face and led her into a box room under the teasing whistling of his henchmen.
Everything was just a question of appearance. Clive thought that manipulation was his opportunity to achieve his ends by any means at all. He had to deceive his close friends and to trust only in himself. But his biological parents and Constance hadn't been like that and certainly hadn't wanted such a life for him. However, their child couldn't detach himself from his hatred, continually suffered with loneliness and dreamed of fully satisfying his desire for revenge. Clive had rapidly made a decision. He had bought the silence of some architects for his Mobile Fortress' model. His work was duty-bound to be assuredly splendid, functional and especially feasible unlike Dimitri's pathetic time machine. Against the wall of the Gilded 7 Casino, Clive gloated — smoking his cigarette nervously. The world was corrupted. Journalists, politicians, scientists, police officers… They did not understand the pain of underprivileged people.
Holding his head firmly in his hands as if he prepared himself to tear it away from his body, Clive couldn't explain why he started crying. The explanation was rather simple. He was destroyed. Dreaming of such projects brought him nothing else than madness and antipathy in his life.
"Clive?" One of his fellow partners suddenly called out to him, which stopped his destructive thoughts.
Trying to stop his crying fit, Clive vaguely greeted Fisheye before taking him in a muddy path scattered with grey stones. Robust and tall, Fisheye was an unscrupulous man who had followed Clive for many years. Suddenly, his boss inhaled some fresh air and sighed.
"Marzano is already waiting for us there."
Clive was fond of Fisheye's pragmatism and nonchalant attitude, which contrasted with Marzano's insatiable curiosity. They arrived at the place their associate was waiting for them, in a dilapidated laboratory whose doors and windows were thick metal bars. A proud dimple stood in the middle of Marzano's chin. His square jaw and his black hair on his temples made him a perfectly normal man. However, Marzano was a former alcoholic with a tragic past, and he was persuaded to have psychic powers.
"I've just understood why Carrie didn't sleep with you." Marzano teased Clive about his dismal face.
"You have a nasty habit of forgetting I always get what I am looking for."
Disconcerted by the bad temper of his boss, Marzano friendly put one of his hands on his back and whispered to him.
"You can give me your trust."
"Thank you, but I'm fine." Clive sighed, pointing at the main entrance of the building.
Inside Dimitri's laboratory, a dejected spectacle presented itself to them. Clive cried out fearfully when he noticed the small, sticky cages that enclosed wounded and bruised animals in the wake of Dimitri's scientific experiments. Covered in blood, they all had a number assigned to them. Medicines and drugs were in a large basin, which was located on a cracked table to overcome their undesirable effects. Clive let his eyes linger on a white rabbit having the number three on its label.
"Those scientists… They allow themselves to do the worst things in the world. Rabbits, parrots, humans... Do they realize at least the number of deaths their destructive inventions lead to? Look at this rabbit locked in his cage. He was separated from his family when he was only a child. He is weakened by the mortal experiences that Dimitri inflicts on him, and I know that deep inside him he just feels anger and fear."
"The life of this rabbit is strangely similar to yours." Fisheye said evasively.
Demotivated by his collaboration with Dimitri, Clive shrugged his shoulders and caught Marzano's deep, austere gaze.
"I'm loyal to you because of what you did for me."
"I know," Clive added. "I helped you when you sank into alcoholism because I needed your eternal gratitude."
"I don't believe you, Clive. Under your manipulative armour, you have a wounded heart, but a living and loving heart."
"What's happening to my buddy today? You're usually so distant with everyone…" Clive replied ironically.
"Clive… I know the outlines of your past, and you're definitely right to act that way."
With a despondent look, Clive stared at the space in front of him before sighing in a passive voice.
"I don't deserve to be loved."
"Probably. But you need to love."
"Love?"
"Yes, love someone."
Clive frowned and laughed uncontrollably, even though he did not actually find the situation funny.
"I don't like nonsense."
"That would make you happy."
Devastated by Marzano's few words, Clive imagined a happy life as a couple when he suddenly remembered Iris. Her angel face appeared in his mind. Obsessed by revenge, he had never really paid attention to her. She had been there for him. But Iris had spent four years waiting for their wedded bliss and for the first time in his life, Clive began to have regrets.
"Please… Allow me to intervene." Fisheye said. "The idea of a serious romantic relationship is just so stupid! Clive! You have to pull yourself together. Wait… Are you listening to me?"
No. Clive wasn't listening anymore.