Bustles of crowded footsteps, panting breaths and the clacking keys of keyboards along with the hurried rings of the printer printing reverberated widely amongst the room as the occupants further sped their tasks at hand until they reach its end. The room was filled with the extreme adrenaline of heated atmosphere. It was clearly intense by the looks of running sweat and numb legs plastered on the employees' faces and drooping actions. Some might say an important and crucial event was going to be held at the moment with all the hustling preparations.
But in reality, this was simply a normal afternoon in the Cypheres Corporation.
Up, up in the high glistening tower of the business sat a man of wisdom and prestige with the sparkling jewels that represented his fruits of hardships. He rose in power at a young age of 24 by the creation of his successful company as he was known worldwide. He was a man of his word, endowed with supreme divinity and blinding light that elicited the country's gain of hope for its reach of compensation. He was handsome as well, hurled with thousands of suitors around the globe when news of his availability was reported. He had power, charisma, and renowned honor.
He was a god.
And his name was William "Bill" Alexander Cipher, the CEO of Cypheres Corp, famed heartthrob of the nation and the youngest billionaire of the century.
All the while, a blonde woman with gleaming cyan eyes and highlighting purples of her dress encased on her body elegantly sped walked through the swarm of workers whom created a path for her until she reached the top of the building, absent of any person besides her and man behind the glass door.
She flipped her hair and creaked the door open to be met by the god himself. Said god was in his formal attire of a linen tailcoat and his theme of ebony and golden pattern in which he presented himself onto his clothes with a small top hat on top of his head. His right eye was covered by his bangs as his face transcended the expectations of an enigmatic beauty and possessed a much more mystifying artistry of glamor and splendor.
As his piercing flaxen eyes pinned on his visitor, a maniacal grin grew on his pale pink lips and excitedly called, "Llama, long time no seek!"
'Llama' rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she sat on the luxurious seat by the oak office table, "It's a long time indeed, William."
"Aww, don't be so professional on me hun." teased the man while twirling a finger at her, "What caused this abrupt visit, anyway? As you can see, I am quite busy at the moment." he gestured to his laptop and the tall pile of papers that lay in front of her.
"As embarrassing it may seem, I am inquiring for advice at the moment." hesitantly asked the woman with a sudden rigid posture.
"Oh?" he quirked an eyebrow curiously, "And what is that, my dear?"
Her voice never wavered though they could hear her discordant tone behind her words, "My attention has been seized by a woman, it seems. I met her in a coffeeshop around the block and when I made contact with her, it was as if my heart has been filled of something in my hole of voidness that I cannot even begin to live without its half. I," she breathed heavily, "It must be my soulmate. I know it is, but I cannot even comprehend what my next course of action is. What do I do?" her tone submerged into personal desperation.
Pacifica Northwest the daughter of the popular Preston and Priscilla Northwest, was a woman of honor like Cipher was. It has also been rumoured the the two would create such a great couple, though it was rejected by the people themselves. In reality, Pacifica and Bill were simply close friends who confided with each other through business and life.
"I say just go for it." bluntly stated the blond, "You're soulmates, you were made for each other. What's stopping you?"
"I don't know. I just-" she was cut off by the glass door suddenly sliding in the office.
The door revealed a brunet with what seems to be of younger age nearing adulthood than the two wearing a much more different attire than his co-workers with a blue and black waistcoat to represent his higher position as Bill's personal assistant. His face reddened and was plastered with surprise until it converted to a bashful appearance contrasting his attire of dominance.
"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of-"
"It's alright, Pine Tree." disregarded Bill with a careless wave of his hand, "Come inside and take a seat as well while giving me the report. You look as if you've had run a marathon."
He indeed looked like he did with all the small hitches of his breath and furiously growing sweat on the side of his forehead. The panting boy obliged, took a sip of water from the cup Bill gave him, and sat across Pacifica as his nimble fingers shakily slid a dark folder to Bill with eyes filled with fear. Pacifica wondered why as he was spending all his job entertaining Bill's company.
Bill opened the folder and carefully read the contents until he widened his eyes slightly before it hardened into stone, "What is the meaning of this?" his voice may sound calm and poised, but his tone spoke of unmanageable fiery fury.
The brunet flinched from his boss's glare and meekly informed, "There was some misunderstanding in the company and we tried to investigate it. The guards checked the security cameras and found nothing of the-"
"I don't care about the cameras!" shouted the man, leaving his original plan to stay calm, "What I am asking about, is how the police got winded up into my company!"
"I-I" the brunet stuttered as his eyes looked like tripping off into a verge of flooding tears, "I'm not quite sure. It was all so sudden that everyone assumed it was an ambush. We-"
"Out." Bill interjected icily.
"P-pardon, sir?"
"I said get out!" and Bill slammed his hands on the table, shaking the objects within the area, his head hung low to hide his glowing red eyes as Pacifica and the brunet flinched visibly at the sound.
The boy wasted no time and nodded as he quickly vanished through the doors of the office, leaving the cup of water that he drank on the table and a spinning chair where he originally sat. Pacifica turned her head to see her friend rubbing his temple with his face scrunched in stress, breathing deeply.
"What was that all about? You almost lost control of your demonic self there." she questioned with no hint of fear for she was entirely aware of her friend's nature of being a hidden demon.
"There were written codes of blood etched on the sidewalk with a corpse lying beside my building last night. The police suspected it was of my doings on how this had occurred since the writings used my codes." he stated briskly and asserted. "It must have been Gleeful who did this. And if not, somebody must be competing with me by ruining my reputation."
"They must be foolish if they want to frame you." she scoffed flippantly.
"Yeah," his mouth returned to its grin though with less manic to it.
"So what're you gonna do?" she asked, "Gleeful's must be so desperate to even consider this ludicrous act." she softly blew on her newly polished nail.
"I don't care about that rascal." he spat, " What I should be worrying about, is the police barging in to my building and finding about my business." he said with urgency.
Pacifica answered with silence as Bill brought up his phone to dial an employee of his, "Kryptos? I need you to bring me the- yes, that one. I also want the files and the tabloids going up for print about this incident and make an appointment with staff as well." he paused to hear the other's words, "Yes that's about it. Oh and Kryptos," he called with a sudden softness with his tone that piqued Pacifica's ears, "bring Pine Tree an inhaler and some comfort food would ya? I may have lashed out a bit." and he ended the call with a tap.
"What was that?" Pacifica arched her perfectly sculptured brow with a curved lip of amusement, "Are you going soft with your assistant?"
Bill only smirked back at her, "He's also my secretary, Llama. Besides, I have a feeling that he's special and I'm going to keep him within my vicinities."
"Special, how?"
"Don't question it." he evaded which annoyed the blonde, "And that girl you were talking about? I think a bit of courting and subtle flirts should do the trick." and he sort of winked only having one eye visible for her.
"Thanks." she said with a determined voice hidden behind a sarcastic tone as her mind plotted possible scenarios for her to catch the apple that had caught her eye whereas Bill planned a small visit with his sapling.
By the time Pacifica ended her quaint visit with Bill, the blond immediately exited his office with no regards for his urgent duties and strolled around the hallway as he stopped at a particular door near his room. On the door was a symbol of a pine tree pasted on it to represent the person who was working in there.
Mason "Dipper" Pines was both Bill's secretary and personal assistant. He was also the youngest employee of the company at the humble age of 19. The reason how a teenager got into the Cypheres Corp was unknown to everybody, even Dipper, except from Bill himself. In truth, he hired the brunet by pure curiosity. It was as if the teen tugged an organ somewhere in his body that made him keep the boy as a trinket like what a puppeteer would do to its puppet. Instead of eliminating the person who silently controlled him unconsciously, Bill only kept the boy close in his grasp and tried to decode the mystery he held so secretly.
Oh, the boy thinks he's so smart. Bill knows Pine Tree slips in the darkness late at night to do some business for himself. The blond would often watch how the cunning brunet would hide behind his cloak and blended in the night and follow him until Bill never finds him again. The last time he tried to catch Dipper on his tracks so close, was last month when Bill saw him speaking with another cloaked figure near a warehouse before the pair disappeared in a blink of an eye.
At the memory of his assistant, Bill curled his lips in a smirk until turning it into a sincere smile as he cracked open the door. The room revealed the said person in his mind meticulously typing a document too hurriedly than what he usually does by the obvious look of his shaking hands and small sniffles. And by the boy's anxious state, he didn't hear Bill's entrance as the blond saw the inhaler and food lying forgotten on a table by the door.
Normally, Bill would just roll his eyes at the vulnerable state and laugh at the pain it brought. But when it came to a very special sapling of his, it was a special case and he was willing to cater his needs until he reaches his goal.
Bill moved towards the inhaler and one packet of chips then plopped them beside the computer. Dipper flinched at his sudden appearance and stammered gibberish words until he stopped when Bill's mocha hands grasped his smaller pale ones.
"Hush, Pine Tree." he cooed softly at the shaking teen as his cheeks colored in pink and coppery eyes glimmered with unhushed tears that made them look like diamonds, it was ethereal to be met with a sight.
"I-I," he gulped, "I apologize, sir. I was-"
A finger stopped his words as Bill cutted in, "Look, I should be the one apologizing for my unruly behavior. I am quite informed with your condition and should have been aware of it." he grabbed the inhaler and gave it to the boy, "Here, this should have you calm down."
When Dipper finally used the inhaler, he relaxed his body a bit before completely melting into a state of calmness when Bill stood up beside to comfortingly rub at his back, lending the brunet's head lay on his chest unbeknownst that he was being controlled by Bill's signals of powers easing him up. When he saw that copper eyes were about to be drooped low into slumber, Bill took the chance and carried the light teen onto the couch of the room with a blanket on his form.
A beep from the office table caught Bill's attention and walked to open Dipper's phone. This was his chance to unlock another mystery from his Pine Tree, he thought excitedly with bated breath.
As he unlocked his phone and checked his messages, Bill's eyes grew in interest at the words as he read with a growing determination and grin.
"Next week. Code is Pentagram. I won't be around but bring the grappling hook just in case." the text said.
How intriguing, he thought as he slipped out of the room with a permanent grin on his face.
Polished nails and fingers drummed expectantly at the wheels of the car as Pacifica sighed. She made a move to grab her phone and unlocked it to mindlessly scroll through her social media, trying to calm the storm of anxiety within her chest.
She had decided to take Bill's word to heart and dressed casually to look less intimidating to the girl she was meeting to. But when she was met with the sudden eerie coffee shop, Pacifica couldn't but shudder nervously to think for the worst case scenario to happen. She wouldn't admit it in a blue moon, but she was actually scared. She feared that the woman will only see her as some aristocratic blonde who bribes people in her bed for additional power. She wasn't oblivious that rumors about her usually spiral around secretive prostitution and illegal bribery. It was a curse to be so famous and beautiful sometimes.
And now as she repeated the horrific thought of the girl's plausible angry look, Pacifica shakily breathed in her car with a stressed face and dialed Bill's number in the speed of light.
"Really nervous about this meeting, huh? Must be the work of those soulmate stuff I bet." Bill amusedly teased through the phone after she told him about her predicament.
"Shut up," she chastised, "I just need some company."
"Are you sure about that, Llama? A billionaire such as myself going to some cheap coffeeshop is an impossible feat to be seen."
"I chose this shop, therefore it has taste." she sniffed, "Besides, the location's too hidden to be seen by the crowd, That's why I took it."
"Oh, alright." he complied, "But, can I bring my Pine Tree? Might as well be a double date." chuckled him.
"Oh? And how about your own soulmate?"
"Haven't met them yet, they don't have any control over me anyway." he declined.
"And you're willing to sacrifice them for him?" Pacifica knew Bill can be sadistic and sometimes act like a psycho, but going this far sacrificing their soulmate for another is a bit disgruntling.
"If it means getting Pine Tree, I may as well kill them if I need to." he carelessly said.
"You're obsessed." she said with a hint of surprise, though she should have expected it from Bill.
"I know." she swore she could see the smirk on his face there.
By the time Bill and Dipper (that was his name, she learned) came for assistance, Pacifica slightly relaxed for her preparations and greeted the pair politely. Surprisingly, the pair wore the same casual clothes like her with Bill wearing a creamy white turtleneck and tight pants; and Dipper with a blue sweater, leggings and a cap.
The trio entered the shop and was engulfed by the sweet aroma of coffee beans being smashed as Pacifica huffed with a poised chin and walked up to the counter where the girl who held her heart stood so beautifully with her wacky glittery sweater and blinding wide grin.
"Pacifica!" she shrieked with shock, "What a surprise, I thought you wouldn't be visiting again so soon." Pacifica thought she saw a pink blush on her face, but she assumed it was her imagination.
She gulped and confidently said, "How could I? With someone like you to be working here so professionally, how can I not come back so soon?" she slyly said with a subtle wink at the brunette.
Pacifica heard a choked cough behind her, and before she was about to glare at Bill for the interruption, she was surprised it came from Dipper whose face was red like a tomato. When she expected a response from the girl, said person shrilled with renown excitement from before, taking the distraction.
"Dipper! What'chya doing here? Come, it's so long since I last saw you in the morning!" she called out with exaggerated hand gestures for the boy to come over.
The two blonds simultaneously narrowed their eyes into slits in suspicion as they watched the two silently, both analyzing the surprising relationship they could possibly have.
Dipper seemed to be stuck between speaking and staying silent before he hesitantly walked beside Pacifica, "Just some work, I guess." he whispered but still enough to be heard by the others.
Mabel grew her grin and patted Dipper's back, "I see that, dummy." she faced the whole crowd, "So what can I get for all of you?"
"Maam? Sir?" the brunet turned to the blonds whom were slowly brimming with foreign emotions bubbling in their chest before soothing it down.
"Black coffee will do." Bill said as Pacifica agreed silently and stood beside Dipper with a hand placed on his shoulder.
The girl typed in the order with a nod and faced Dipper, "What about you bro-bro? Still craving for that cheese cake Wendy cooked yesterday? God knows Mom gave birth to a sugar addict."
The three relaxed from different reasons as Dipper smiled softly at her, oblivious by the blonds' calm demeanors at the platonic term and mention of a parent, "Yeah, I'm kinda hungry. You don't mind if I have a rain check for paying, would you? I know you're still working."
"Blah blah, Dip-Dop." she flapped her hand with her eyes rolled over, "It's fine. Don't be so formal on me." then she typed in his order and gave him the receipt.
Before the three could go away and serve themselves a table, Mabel added with an expectant expression, "Can you not be too late back? Great Uncle Ford's coming back today."
Dipper's eyes brightened and shook excitedly that Bill has never seen before, which brought back his envy at how the woman easily got a reaction from the boy, "Really?" his voice cracked, "Did he say something about some souvenirs?"
"Yep," she affirmed, "so try not to miss out alright? Grunkle Stan's getting too old at you being so absent at the shack all the time"
"Sur-"
"Mabel Pines I presume?" Bill cut in with a tightening grip on Dipper as he had forgotten that his boss was watching them.
"Yeah! This is me alright, the Alpha Twin!"
"Mabel." whispered her brother with a reddening face.
"Right," he deadpanned politely, "Come on. We have some work to do." and he roughly but still elegantly guided Dipper away from the register to leave Pacifica with the brunette and gave a signal to continue her intentions. She gave him a grateful smile.
"You haven't informed me that your sister worked here, Pine Tree." he smoothly filled the silence as the two sat side by side, saving the last seat for their other companion.
"I just thought it was irrelevant to mention it, sir." he amicably replied.
"I guess you are correct at that one," Bill surrendered, "Tell me, Pine Tree." his voice lowered into a much more baritone sound that made Dipper shiver.
"Sir?"
"Bill, call me Bill." he told, "You may as call me by name as you are my personal assistant after all." he emphasized the word and continued further when Dipper nodded, " Tell me, have you ever thought about your soulmate, Dipper?"
That was the second time (the first being on their interview) Bill had called him by his preferred nickname as he regretted ever correcting the blond for calling him otherwise if he's going to pronounce his name like this. Curse his damnable voice and face, Dipper thought with a blush staining his cheeks.
"W-well, now that I think about it. I haven't really… paid any attention to that - er, yet."
Bill perked up even more. The way how the boy glided his words so inarticulate yet puzzling at the same time in such a endearing manner aroused his inner monster within as he forced it not to burst and tackle the boy.
"And what if you found them?" his voice continued to lower down in an even more deeper volume as he placed his hand secretively on Dipper's knee and face closing in his personal space, "What would you do?"
"I-I…" he fumbled for words while nervously tugging at his sleeves, "I don't know…?" his face crunched into confusion, but something in Bill felt off with the statement and expression. It was as if his question was expected somehow.
Knowing that he had reached his limits, Bill resided back onto his tolerable demeanor and finally gave room for his assistant to breathe. He wasn't going to get something out of the teen without his asthma attacks interjecting. Patience and perseverance will have to do.
As Pacifica returned to their table leaving Mabel with a dazy expression with a smile, the billionaire knew one of her hints had been successful. The day had been wonderful, he concluded with a glance at his seatmate having a distant look on their eyes.
"Strange," Bill greeted curtly, holding his arms in a wide manner, "I wasn't informed surprised meetings were held this week. I had one with dearest Pacifica Northwest and now you. Quite extraordinary don't ya think?" he snorted, "How quaint, indeed."
The man tipped off his fedora with a quirked smile, "Sincere apologies, Bill. But I have gathered some interesting news in need of privacy." he directed his gaze at the brunet standing beside the blond with a knowing gaze.
Bill waved a hand at Dipper for him to excuse himself and waited patiently for him to gather some folders and went out, locking the door at the same time. Now that the two were secure of additional pairs of ears, Bill snapped his fingers as he watched the room satisfyingly turn into the familiar monotone color of his Mindscape. Then he gestured Tad to sit on a chair with rising brows.
"Is this about the ambush?" he started with his normal business tone.
"Yes." he said without any thought with the strange occurrences one might question, "As you are already informed, your security cameras held no footage of any inconsistencies. I had some of my men check the gadgets for any hacks or removal of memory and found nothing of the sort. We had suspected it was either a demon or Gleeful."
"I already came into that conclusion myself, Strange." he boredly leaned his back on the chair, "Tell me something new."
"I'm getting to that, Bill. Don't be impatient." he teased before he straightened up, "What is most shocking however, was a small little footage that may interest you."
"Go on." he ordered, leaning forward.
"Right here." Tad pulled out a laptop, opened it then clicked on a video.
Bill's eyes peeled wide opened at the screen attentively as Tad watched expectantly with a smile. On the video was the sidewalk that held the scene of the crime and with scrutinised vision, he could see a pair of dark figures participating in a heated conversation. Their hands waved around furiously as the voices mended together in syncronised gibberish going deeper and deeper into their quarrel.
That is, until blue flames erupted from the other's hand and shot the fire right at the person's chest with a thud. As the flames diminished, the person carried the body with levitational fire and dropped it onto the garage where the police found the corpse. During the course of their argument, the person's hood had fallen off to reveal orbs of feral oceans and a tiny glowing blue outline of an unknown shape in which the blond assumed no one have seen it. And then the screen blurred out as if it was glitched by a syntax error with whispers resounding in the audio.
Bill tried to control in his breathing before letting out hysterical laughter. His giggles echoed through the room in boisterous joy, punching the table and shaking his head from side to side.
"This," he inhaled, "This is brilliant. How-"
"We hid additional cameras all around the building as payment for your deeds in my facility." he pointed his finger on the frame where they saw the constellation and eyes, "Here, we can debunk Gleeful ever being behind this activity as the man who had died was one of his own. And as you have noticed, the energy within the scene was quite foreign."
When Bill finally calmed down his chuckles, he said, "So a new demon is in town, aye?"
"Yes." Tad returned the manic grin.
"Send me the footage tonight," Bill commanded, "I think more analyzation must concur. I might even let Llama's excellent hypotheses aid me in this mystery. Thank you, Strange. You have done enough."
Tad stood up with a nod, "Enough doesn't suit my standards, friend. We shall meet again tonight." he curtly said before exiting the office.
Unbeknownst to everyone around the world, Bill Cipher wasn't some goody-two-shoes billionaire. In fact, he lived his life transcending the norms after all. The mystery around his immediate rise to power wasn't because of some miracle that happened to him, heaven's no. In actuality, he had other businesses that he had attended to before his successful one, barred with the name: Henchmaniacs.
This business was simply illegal bargaining of either politicians or influential people (and even some unimportant ones as well) using their demonic prowess to control and seal multiple deals. The reason why Bill had formed this group was… well, for fun?
Bill was well-known for his eccentric and crazy personality, so the idea of an illegal company with no goal whatsoever wasn't really much questioned by the members. The members, however, had lessened after his ordeal with a public image as they didn't want to be dealt with the police. Bill had to use some excessive means and cleared the evidence that might lurk out of their mouths.
"Glad that you still remember the location, Strange." Bill entered the door with the fine finesse of his real self, thank goodness. "That one year vacation of yours must have rendered your brain. I'm relieved that I don't have to force you to try and recall it, by my means." he shot a smirk at the purple-haired man.
Tad sighed, "Don't be so foolish. I am in no sort of age nearing death."
"But you might be." suggested Bill, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Master Cipher." a voice caught their attention and saw Kryptos by the door with Keyhole and 8 Ball gripping a woman's body between them in hostage. Her face was covered by a woolen bag, covering her eyes from seeing the directions of the hideout.
"A customer already?" Bill piqued in fascination, "What are you waiting for? Bring her in!"
8 Ball dragged the woman forcefully and plopped her down roughly, tied her hands and ankles with the straps of the chair had provided and removed the bag on her head. The woman blinked wearily at the bright light of the room, trying to maintain herself from straining her eyes and swayed her body mildly.
Bill's eyes glided onto the woman with speculative eyes in wonder. She looked quite familiar. The woman wore a tight and revealing red gown (possibly captured after some ball) with a chiseled face thickly caked with makeup.
The blond sighed and sat on the seat beside Tad and across the woman, "Who's this? She seems familiar."
Tad massaged his chin up and thinned his eyelids, "Herbrew? Is that you?" he couldn't tell due to the woman's makeup that disguised her original face.
When the woman finally regained her clear eyesight, she widened her eyes and tried to untie herself from the tight straps on her limbs by tugging at them, "Tad?" she muttered, "I can't believe it's you! Oh God! It's been, it's been what - a month since we last saw each other?"
"Ya know her?" Bill nudged an elbow at him.
Tad rolled his eyes and ignored both questions, giving his own. "What are you doing here, Amelia?"
Amelia was flummoxed with the man's cold and unnatural actions and continuously opened and closed her mouth, "I… I was hoping for a favor. One of my friends suggested that-that this provides business?" she said, unsure.
Bil scoffed, "If this is some teenage prank to have some little girly fun, I suggest you leave the area already. I am in no mood to deal with immature humans." he assumed in disdain.
"Humans?" she repeated, "Are you-"
"A demon, yes." Tad answered for her, "And I am one myself." he turned to the annoyed blond beside him, "I do apologize, Bill. I wasn't filled in that some of my affairs had followed my scent all the way here. Let me take care of this myself." then he stood up towards the woman and took her away through the doors with a slam.
Bill sniffed and poured himself a glass of red wine then drank idly on it. As he opened his lids, the lights of the room suddenly blinked speedily as a harsh yet soft rumble on the ground vibrated. The guards on the door held onto the walls quickly. Bill went on alert mode and sprang up from his seat, trying to not get nauseated with the dizzying circles of the room.
A line of an electrical zap was thrown onto one of his henchmen as another shot through another, leaving two unconscious bodies lie on the floor. Bill heard the lock on his door being shut loudly as he growled with his body at the ready for any attacks.
His eyes glowed a bright gold shade and his hands was engulfed with blue scorching fire, then flew up from the ground to search for the creature responsible for the disaster. Instantly, a flash blinding light bursted in the middle of the room to show an old man.
The man had grey hair, square rimmed glasses and clothes an average human would wear. His face held on a determined and hard look, his fist clenching in concentration before relaxing the crinkles of the skin. When the man caught sight of the levitating demon, a thin smile appeared on his lips.
"G-"
"State your name this instant, trespasser!" Bill shouted with his voice rendered in an echoed sound as it reverberated scarily around the place. His eyes turned livid and red as pupils narrowed into slits with his mouth bared open to show sharp teeth and a sharp tongue.
"Now, now. Calm down, Cipher. I'm sure we can discuss this civilly." The man had the audacity to gesture him with a gritting tone that caused red hot flames lick around the area. Though it did not harm any of the occupants.
"I inquire you that you state your identity, demon." Bill ordered once more.
A smirk bloomed on the man's face, "Demon? How did you ever came to that conclusion?" then he chuckled lowly, "Tell you what, you calm down and remove these ghastly red fire and I'll reveal my intentions." he proposed.
Bill hesitantly thought about it then slowly lowered himself back on the chair with a wary gaze. Instantly, he shot his hand up and gripped the trespasser's body, slamming it painfully onto the chair with the straps being automatically tied at his will with red glows around them.
The fire and his anger simmered down at a low level because of the trapped stranger and stalked his prey like what a predator might do to one. He rounded the person with articulate orbs and noticed the abnormal number of fingers on one hand consisting of six.
The man continued his amused chuckle and said, "Feisty one, ey?"
"Shut you crap, Sixer." he chastised, "Tell me of your abrupt visit."
His gloved hands rose up in a sign of surrender with a cheeky face, "Alright, alright." he nodded his head, "I came here with incredible news."
"And that is?" he arched a brow.
The edge of his lips curled up in an annoying manner, "I know the killer's identity."
A few hours ago…
Pacifica hitched her breath for the umpteenth time th, "Damn."
A grin appeared on Bill's face, "I know. So whatcha think?"
A look of total concentration passed over Pacifica's beautiful face as a finger was placed on the tip of her chin. Her gaze calculatingly watched the snippets once more before drawing in her opinions, "Whoever this creature is, they probably are someone familiar to you."
Before Bill could ask for elaboration, Pacifica answered it quickly for him. "They're possibly within the perimeters of your social circle that has personal access with your company. A person that really knows your identity and secrets. Tad Strange is a plausible suspect."
Tad Strange and Pacifica Northwest did not bode well with each other's company. Somehow, something must have electrified within them to have a goal for their throats. No matter, it didn't surprise the blond much with the assumption and shrugged.
'And why is that? Except for your hatred for him of course."
She glared and pursed her lips, "My 'hatred' of him isn't shrouding my sense of judgement, Bill. And there is a specific reason for that." she paused to rewind the footage on the computer until it stopped at the glowing blues of orbs staring at them, "It is fairly obvious that the person right here has been possessed, you can see by the strains and small wrinkles from the man's limbs which shows their struggle with their clumsy staggers. You and Strange have fairly the same powers with the use of mind possession and the disadvantage of consent. But because of Strange's ability to shapeshift and cover up his energy aura into any forms of living things, this will be able to give him a higher advantage to try and cover up his identity. But there's also another suspect. Remember Pyronica Fishel?" she craned her face at the blond.
He nodded, Pyronica Fishel was one of his members in his secret society. She was actually the most influential and obedient follower he had ever obtained in the past before his upbringing in status. It was rather unfortunate that the stupid girl ahd taken upon herself to fall head over heels at Bill. She knew she was destined to a soulmate somewhere around the world but stubborn that she is, she idiotically ignored the responsibilities behind just to feed her animalistic lust towards her boss. Now that Bill had fired her off with the deal of secrecy still intact, the woman would often execute the most pathetic attempts at 'winning his heart' as Bill still haven't found his other half.
"Right," the blonde continued, "now if I still remember correctly, her demonic powers seemed almost similar to yours. Am I accurate?"
"Yup." he affirmed. Bill had initially thought the pink-haired girl was his soulmate at the time. Pyronica possessed the powers of wielding magenta flames (almost in the shade oof his blues) and the obnoxious tongue projection. As stated with a correct assumption, the girl's personality connected with her features as she was a gossiper and a total bitch at best. But when Bill examined the woman more carefully, it had been both a disappointment and relief that they were not meant to be together.
"Now, she could also be the one with the possession thing if she had any assistance. And if she knows any better, a demon that projects false aura. This theory may be crazy, but there's also a possibility Strange might have played a role in the scheme. But it can also be Strange only with the same method. Can you see where I'm going here?"
Bill hummed and placed his chin perched up on his palm, "I did consider that thought. And you might be correct in your guess." Pacifica sniffed haughtily, "However." he plucked out his pointer finger at the blonde, "There's another person that we might assume to be responsible of this."
"What?" she said disbelieving, "That is not possible, I've calculated and observed the entire video with a hawk's eye. Who could have I possibly miss?"
"My soulmate."
Before any further thought and consideration, an onslaught of laughter exploded within the office as Pacifica's boisterous giggles echoed in a ringing motion. Tears brimmed behind her eyes as she softly slapped her knee with her shoulders slumped in an effort to ease her tightening abdomen due to the extreme glee that filled within her gut.
As she was about to round in another fit of titters, a cold metallic object was paced on the side of her forehead. Realizing at the extreme action that she has caused, Pacifica stopped immediately and internally panicked for a second. She composed herself and gathered up the courage to crane her neck to the side.
Bill beheld his signature cheeky grin as his pupils dilated into a shape of a cat. The gun was tightly gripped on his hand as his other raised his index finger.
"I don't normally tolerate others laughing at my opinions, Pacifica." he said, shaking the weapon lightly, "Can't have any respect being non-existent in my company, can we?"
Pacifica gulped, though not audibly, "I may have been out of character."
"You were." agreed him with a dark look, "If this ever happens again, Llama. I might take actions out of proportions. Just a disclaimer," the volume lowered, "I might get out of character." he repeated her words.
With a relieved sigh, Bill removed the gun and shoved it in his pocket. He rested his chin on his palm once more as he swooshed the laptop on his view.
"Possession amongst demons is quite common in our lore. Assuming that Strange and Pyronica were the only suspects in this case, might be quite foolish." he sent a wink at the blonde, "But if we take a deeper look onto this, wee can see a very small glimpse of the demon's eyes. While, yes, one can glamour ones aura and appearances, it cannot, however, replace the destined soulmate mark."
"S-soulmate mark?" she asked, "What do you mean? I can't see it from here."
Bill turned the laptop again and pointed towards the possessed man's covered forehead.
"Here, there's a bluish outline of a shape. Sort of like those coloring books that connects the dots. DO you see it?"
Pacifica squinted her eyes in a thin line until she saw what Bill had been indicating. Right beneath the tuff of hair was a line glowing the same shade as their flames and eyes showcasing the half of the shape's picture.
"What mark could that be? It kinda looks like a constellation?" she wondered loudly.
Bill chuckled lowly, "Yeah, it's either their birthmark or the soulmate one."
"Perhaps," she said, "what should we do?"
The billionaire only sighed, and twirled his chair in a circle while flopping the screen down, "Sadly, I think waiting is a much more tactic choice in this manner. Whoever this demon is, my soulmate or not, they are pretty intelligent with their skills. We're walking on thin ice. They want something, and whatever that is, I ain't giving them that unless its just."
Pacifica inclined her head in a nod, "I understand. I do appreciate that you inquired for my assistance, Bill."
He grinned, "Don't overgrow your ego there, Llama. I don't think there's enough space with mine in the room."
"Yeah," she gave her own smirk, "two in a room can get crowded in here. Why don't you move it out, Cipher."
"No can do, Pacifica. I own the place, and what I deem must go out will go out."
"Cocky you are." she said while standing up and making her way to the glass doors, holding the knob with her hand.
"What a Cipher wants, is what a Cipher gets." was his response before she exited.