XIII – White Elephant
Anastasia walked up to the first guard looking at her, ensured by her own bodyguard being half a step away. Fifteen years ago, she would have giggled and drank her way up to the owner of the bar. Now though, she had to look more professional. Although she had no details of her husband's business, she knew this situation was one of life and death and that she was on her own for a little while.
"I'm looking for the Snake," she hissed quietly, wrinkling her small nose slightly as the guard came even closer.
"Who is looking for him?"
"He knows." Yet again, Anastasia was betting all she had on a guess, trembling on the inside at the thought of the possibility that this Snake guy had not yet been informed of her arrival.
"What is your reason?" the guard continued.
When he reached for the woman's arm, her bodyguard grabbed the other's wrist and slowly yet firmly led his arm back down.
"To see the Snake." The woman pretended to be annoyed and bored and attempted to step past the stinky guard. Five others began to approach.
Then, right before her eyes, the guards began backing away. Anastasia's bodyguard had rolled up the sleeves of his black dress shirt, exposing a colorful dragon tattoo on his left arm. One guard of the bar called the intercom.
"Boss. A woman is here."
Anastasia couldn't hear any reply back, but a few seconds later an automatic door opened towards a flight of stairs. The guard gestured that she followed.
In the mean time, Caterina was just walking out of the elevator about five minutes after Light's text. He was waiting for her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. As soon as he saw her, he gave her a half smile. She was late, but he had expected it.
In return, she threw him a weak smirk, that combination of boredom and thirst for something exciting sparking in her green eyes. She had a way of looking at him when she wanted something that Light learned to recognize a mile away.
"So, where are we going?" she asked in a calm voice, talking slowly and trying to hide the storm in her flat stomach. Whether it was excitement or anxiety, she didn't know… perhaps a combination of both. Or perhaps it was neither.
"I thought we agreed to take a moment to relax." Light approached her, observing how she had left her heels for a pair of oxfords. Mentally, he was glad he had warned her about walking, though his darker side would have enjoyed to see her trying to hide her discomfort from a long-distance walk in some pretty but uncomfortable shoes.
"I only asked where we were going. I didn't mean it any other way." Her brows raised in surprise.
"Perhaps I'm becoming paranoid, then…" he chuckled, "With us constantly being at each other's throat…"
Caterina smiled and looked away, amused and annoyed at the same time. "As long as I get what I want, I couldn't care less."
"Right," he said with a small smile and offered his arm. Caterina accepted it after a moment of hesitation. "Are you, by any chance, shy…?"
"What's that? I don't know what you're talking about."
Light held back the voice from laughing out loud at her comment. "I see you a little hesitant."
"Tired, rather. Cautious, perhaps. But hesitant, never."
"You want me to believe you were being cautious a moment ago?" he asked as they walked down the street and towards the center of the city.
"Yes…!" she answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "People might see us and my father doesn't know about this."
"…So I am your secret now?"
Caterina smirked and detangled her arm from his. "You're right. I shouldn't risk anything more than I already am." She thought that would silence his purr, no matter how nice it sounded.
"We can go someplace quiet, without too many eyes on us. That, of course, if you want to…"
"I dress to be admired. Maybe you didn't understand this yet, I want to be seen. Besides, you promised me chocolate."
They both laughed quietly at this.
"I never used the words 'I promise' with you," Light defended himself.
"No, but it was my condition for going out. You agreed to go out after hearing my condition, so you agreed to the previous condition as well."
"…Very well, you caught me this time."
Caterina smiled sweetly up at him and Light noticed they were almost the same height. She was a little short, but no more than two or three inches.
"So, what's my prize?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Prize?" he repeated. "For just that?"
"That, and going out at this hour, and walking…"
"…And probably interrupting you from talking on the phone with some celebrities or drinking some organic juice and watching a film by yourself…?"
"Pretty much. Don't tell me you had anything better to do, unless…" she began, but stopped.
"Unless…?" Light knew she was probably going to pick on him, but curiosity made him ask anyway.
"Unless you have someone else to take out for some chocolate cake before bedtime."
"I don't, if it interests you." He shook his head slowly. "If you want to know about my life, just ask."
"So, I know about your family and that you're single. I wonder why, though… You seem daring enough."
"Daring? Is that the only reason you were expecting me to have a girlfriend?" he asked, honestly surprised and a little disappointed.
"Well, that is possibly the first thing to notice once someone starts talking to you."
"Do you like that?" he asked, walking by her side and leading her towards the center of the city, the few streets that were even more crowded by people and flashing lights.
"That what?" she asked after a short moment.
"Confidence, or to use your word, 'daring'. Do you like that?" he asked again.
Caterina looked at him with her eyes a little empty, as if lost in space. She blinked once, twice, then put on a smile that tried desperately to look bright. "I suppose."
"You suppose?" Light repeated in confusion.
"Yes. I don't need weaklings around me. Confidence is usually a trait of the strong and the fools. The latter won't please me, though."
The boy shook his head slowly and chuckled quietly to himself. "You're interesting… For a second, you looked so absent-minded… What's on your mind this time?"
"Honestly?" she asked and looked at him. "I have a bad feeling… It's not just V, there has to be something else…"
He nodded. "Is that all? Because I think there's something more."
The girl sighed and looked down, watching their shoes stepping together. "I have my own worries and doubts. We all do, it's what makes us human."
"So that's why you like confidence." Light's arm went around her waist and rested just above her hipbone. He had noticed how small she was, but didn't expect to be able to feel her bone structure through her clothes. He thought of a model… Yes, she would make a killer model, with that heart-shaped face and deep green eyes of hers.
"No. I am confident enough on my own. There are few who can tell me 'no' in this world and if they did, they wouldn't live to see tomorrow. I have no reason to be insecure."
"It's alright to feel insecure from time to time. It doesn't make you any less powerful, it's part of being human. You said so yourself, right?" he said with a smile as they turned a corner. There was music in the distance, muffled by the general murmur of the people who were out that evening.
"Only… In the race for power, insecurities are a sign of weakness. There are no possibilities, no maybes or perhaps. Either you win, or you lose… I never want to lose."
Light sighed and held her a little closer, until she leaned on his side. To anyone else, they must have looked like a couple. Her fake smile and his thoughtful eyes were the only signs showing their conversation wasn't all rainbows and white flowers.
"It must be really stressful… How is your mother, by the way?" the boy asked, trying to change the subject to something more comfortable.
"She's alright… Worrying about the latest issue. It's all the usual."
"I think I heard something from my sister. Is that blonde model still working with your mother? Her name escapes me."
"She is. Misa, I think… Anyway, she's a Loli. It's pointless to worry about her – as soon as people find another teenager in lacy underwear, her career will be over."
Caterina sighed and breathed in his scent. She tried to guess the fragrance, but couldn't. Either way, it was nice… strong, woody, clean. With a little effort, she could picture a young version of her father using it in Italy, back when the Dragon was just opening his first bar.
"She does look rather… easy." Light avoided expressing his opinion in some possibly inappropriate words.
"Mm-hm. But people like her, for some odd reason. Keep it between us, but she's not very bright either."
He chuckled and the girl smiled. "I can imagine she didn't have much time to study. Speaking of which… Were you home-schooled?"
"No…" she answered with a frown and looked at him curiously. "Why would I be home-schooled?"
Light shrugged. "I was just wondering. In the movies, many rich kids are."
"In the movies." She laughed. "I went to different private academies, but I never depended on my father to pass. He could buy me anything, but I've always had an ambition of gaining first place on my own. Where's the satisfaction if you buy your prize?" she asked with a wide smile.
The two entered a tea house and sat at the top floor. They occupied two seats at a long and thin table, overlooking the city. Under the table, the wall was made of glass, while above there was an open space. A thin border was set on guard, just in case anything on the table would be in danger of falling down.
"I can agree with you there. Only after a while, it becomes boring… You know exactly how much you have to work for first place and there's no thrill in winning anymore. You get used to being on top."
"I haven't gone to the same school for more than three years. I don't know that kind of boredom because changing the school meant new teachers and colleagues, and… well, new obstacles. That kept me interested."
A waitress set two menus in front of them and smiled politely. "Good evening and welcome!"
"Thank you." Light said.
"Wait. What kind of insult is this? The menu is stained, that corner is ripped and there's an ink mark over there. Is there mold inside, too?" she asked on a harsh voice and the waitress turned red of shame.
"I-I'm so sorry, miss! Please, let me bring you another!"
"Please. And hurry up, will you? It took you over a minute to see we've entered this place."
After the waitress had left, Light turned to Caterina.
"Was that necessary?"
"Probably not. But I'm used to the highest quality for anything. I could make her lose her job for less."
"You win nothing with that. It's late and I can bet she had been carrying trays for hours."
"I've heard… I won't inform anyone about it, but I want to scare her a little. Somebody else might just take the matter to her employer."
Light smiled in amusement and looked towards the street bellow. "So you do that to help her… Again, you don't win anything out of it."
The girl shrugged. "That's a risk. If she is scared, the waitress, then she is going to be ten times more careful with her clients – at least for a while. That, if she is a strong one. If, on the contrary, she is a weak one, then her shame will turn into clumsiness and it will be only a matter of time before she drops something, breaks it, or spills the tea on someone."
"You're very strict about this…" he began.
Caterina nodded and hummed a short "Mm-hm."
A few streets away, the driver had just dropped Misa off and watched her reach her home safely before he called the Dragon.
"Lolita is home," he spoke into the device as he started the engine.
'Good. Go to the penthouse and take everything valuable. Tell V. to pack Sia's work and pick up Rin.'
"Question. I believe Rin is out in town."
'Go after Rin and whoever else is there.' The order was clear and short, right before the driver smirked and mumbled a simple "Understood," right before he hung up.
"So tell me… In which category do I fit in?" Light asked as he turned to face her. The girl looked surprised, green eyes staring back into his brown ones.
"…You?!" she repeated, as if he hadn't phrased his question clearly enough.
The boy nodded. He thought his curiosity would be obvious, since Caterina always resumed people to being strong or weak. He waited patiently for her to continue.
Instead, she simply looked the other way, pretending to be fascinated with the orchids in the window of a house across the road. "I… am not sure. You're a very…" 'interesting' she thought, "…unique individual. I doubt I've met anyone like you before."
"Should I take it as an insult?"
"Take it any way you want. You confuse me, that's all."
The waitress returned with two new menus and Caterina pretended to be interested in the types of tea they were selling. Her hands went through the pages, feeling their soft plastic texture as her left nail trailed down the columns of options. Light had been waiting for at least three minutes of painful silence before he spoke again.
"I confuse you… In what way, to be more precise?"
"…Everything." She shrugged. "You seem weak and fun one moment, strong and not-so-fun-anymore the next. Just when I think I've got you figured out, you twist my logic several times."
Light simply smiled, though the darker voice in his mind was mad with laughter. 'You confuse her… You seem weak one moment, strong the next!'
"I'm sorry…!" the waitress excused herself behind them, holding two wooden trays, each with a small cup and kettle. "Can I bring you anything else?"
"Do you have any chocolate cake?" Caterina asked.
Back at the penthouse, three men entered using a copy of the key only the members of the family held and began searching the house for anything valuable – jewelry, watches, electronics, paintings, sculptures, anything that could be sold. Anything not expensive enough ended up torn apart, on the floor or against the wall, smashed to pieces and destroyed in any way imaginable.
In Anastasia's room, a small bag of drugs got stolen, along with three chests worked in platinum and gold and filled with diamonds and emeralds. Three watches, many bracelets, an extra cell phone without the SIM card, a laptop. Under the bed, they found a small safe which they took as it was, not wasting any time trying to decode it on the spot.
Caterina's room was a surprise – they had been informed there only lived a married couple, no mentions of any children. They searched it anyway and took several pieces of jewelry, some money hid in various places – possibly for emergencies – and a laptop. They looked for safes or hidden places, searching through the girl's drawers and her wardrobe, but found no more valuables.
As the three men were ready to break into the last door which was locked and from which they didn't have a key, one of them got a message. It was a blank text – a signal that the whole thing had to be cancelled.
Half past eight when the ten began heading towards the only exit of the house. One of them saw a surveillance camera and shot it, well aware of the fact that they were perfectly covered in black from head to toe. There was no way they'd be identified by the police.
Author's Notes:
Did it feel longer? Because it is. Originally, was a different chapter before White Elephant, but I thought I should keep my word from the previous note and give you what ColdHeart1206 had asked for - Light and Caterina. Because we all need a little sweetness in our lives, don't we?
The robbery had been originally planned to happen in a separated chapter, but I squeezed it in this one. Keep your eyes open for details and you will see that everything makes sense in the end. Falling back into a cliche, it all happens for a reason.
Update: First things first: chapter proofread by my awesome beta reader, Eat4Fun. Next update will be published only after I receive a review or at least a PM from one of you. You've been informed.
Ah, it's so nostalgic publishing these... I've got so many chapters already written, and things are going to be so crazy in the following ten chapters - I just love it. And it's so cute to see Light and Caterina on such good terms! Because people are going to die soon enough, and things will get hectic, and the world will burn, and L will make his first appearance for about two paragraphs~
Come on, people! Help me publish all these chapters!
