XIV – Trust issues
The butler was at the restaurant of a nearby hotel when he saw the car rushing down the street. Immediately, he rang the alarm. Not the typical one, but a simple blank text sent from a third cell phone. He would have to get rid of it as soon as possible and destroy the SIM card as well.
Sipping his wine, the old man nodded to the waiter that he was ready to pay. So, the stealth had to be cancelled… Hopefully, the three would have managed to take some valuables from the house by then – just enough to make the master of the house even more paranoid. That should create some tension between him and that little brat of a daughter he had – Caterina hated bodyguards. She loved privacy more than anything, but that may no longer be an option from now on. A sly smirk spread on his thin lips, lifting the corners of his mustache.
Meanwhile, the driver reached the penthouse just as another car was leaving the parking lot and speeding down the street towards the nearest highway. The man leaned forward over the board, but couldn't see the plate. How odd...
After parking and locking the car, the driver took notice of the silence all around. No guards – another highly suspicious thing. He thought about taking the lift, but changed his mind at the last moment and climbed up the stairs to the top floor. Once again, he was surprised to find nobody there to question him about who he was or what he was looking for. He eventually reached the apartment, but before he could put his keys out of his pocket, he saw that the door was not even closed.
Taking out his phone instead, he dialed a number he was said to use only in case of emergency or important news.
'What is it?' a deep voice answered.
"I have reached the place, sir, and I believe there are grave problems. Should I give you the details over the phone?" the driver asked.
'No… Meet me in an hour. Go find Rin first.'
The Dragon hung up as soon as he gave the other his new instructions and the driver left running. Stairs were much easier this time, and he was in the car a few minutes later. But how could he know where Caterina was…? The girl left by foot.
Vincent left the restaurant and took a cab to the penthouse. He took the elevator, then called the Dragon.
'Yes…?' he answered, sounding annoyed – but that was only the usual. Giuliano was annoyed by his presence nine times out of ten and ignored him completely the tenth time.
"Sir, my deepest apology!" he began.
'What have you done this time?' came the question just as the elevator stopped with a faint 'Ding!' - a sound Vincent prayed the Dragon had not heard.
"Robbers, sir! I apologize, I tried to stop them, but my old bones couldn't serve me like they had thirty years ago." Vincent continued to cry and whine into the phone. "They locked me in the bathroom, sir!"
'And why are you calling me only now?'
"I was afraid, sir! They were many, I thought they would shoot me!"
'Incompetent little worm!' the master growled from the end of the line, 'If I find you had anything to do with this, you will wish they had!'
"M-m-me, sir?!" the butler began panicking, "How could I? I'm just an old man, sir, your loyal servant! I have been working for you for twenty years, sir! I couldn't possibly think of such atrocity!"
'We will see about that. Now stop wasting my time with your pathetic cries!'
Vincent watched the cell phone in his hand with such hatred and anger, one would expect it to catch on fire any moment. His thick brows furrowed on the bridge of his thin nose as he breathed out the thoughts of a murderer. Ah, but he didn't lie about one thing – he was old, his bones were no longer capable of keeping up with his mind. But his brain was perfectly well! He could have ran an empire with his brilliant ideas, even if he will soon need help sitting up from a chair.
Just then, the driver caught a glimpse of Caterina and her friend at the second floor of a tea house. So, he guessed right – the two went in the center of the city, the most crowded and diverse part of Tokyo.
For a moment, the driver thought he should tell Caterina to dye her hair black. They were in Asia after all, and red hair would make her too easy to spot. But then he thought, if it wasn't for that, he would have never found her. He smiled to himself and made his way through the crowd, running up the stairs of the tea house to reach her.
Caterina may be denying it, but the two looked very much like a couple. They were talking quietly and Caterina was using one of her hands to explain what she meant. It was rather common in Europe for people to use some hand gestures as they spoke to one another, but not in Asia.
Catching his breath, he took the liberty of sitting on the right side of the girl. This drew the attention of both teenagers at once.
"I apologize for interrupting, signorina."
The driver knew the family tolerated more from him than from anyone else employed to serve them. Whether or not the master of the house had told them about his origins, he had no idea. But he was by far the best seen.
"I suppose you have a serious reason for this." The girl knew he must have been sent by her father. She left clear instructions not to be followed.
"Yes, I do. Is it alright if we discuss the details in front of your friend?" the driver asked as Light's eyes were on him the whole time.
"How serious is it…?" Caterina asked, suspicious of how much Light should know.
"Your father asked me to find you and take you with me. We will be meeting him shortly." After years of being an insider, the driver knew how to answer a delicate question without leaking too many details.
"I can leave, if you wish. Maybe we'll go out next week, or whenever you want." Light offered. "If you have anything important to talk about…"
"…No, I don't think you should. Did father say I should go alone?" Caterina asked.
"No. But in case your friend here will come with us, he should know about confidentiality."
"My name is Yagami Light, sir. And I can assure you, I will not speak of this to anyone else." The teenager extended his hand and the driver shook it and bowed his head.
"Understood. Because of politics, I cannot give you my name."
Caterina was the first to stand from her seat. Her lower back was numb, just like her bottom and hips, but she waited patiently for the tingling sensation to go away. "Can we go now?" she asked and both Light and her driver thought of a spoiled child. Though neither of the two was bothered by this.
"Have you paid yet?" the driver asked. Light nodded.
"We have. Actually, we were just talking about leaving before you showed up, sir." He eyed the man with caution, not too fast to trust him.
"Alright then. I have left the car two streets away, I couldn't park it anywhere nearer. I apologize, signorina."
"It's alright. I have agreed to walk this evening, it won't be a problem."
The driver stood up as well and left the tea house, followed by Light and Caterina walking close behind.
"Is this a good idea?" Light asked in a low voice, thinking only Caterina would be able to hear.
"I don't know. But we'll find out, I guess." She threw him a small smile.
Author's Notes:
Ah, finally, my beta and I have caught up and I can give you another chapter, instead of updating the rest. Sadly, it's more of a filler-chapter since nothing really important happens, but lots of things will start happening after this robbery.
Again, I'm offering you the same chance I offered to my Mandala readers - if you want to save a character that you think may die, or if you ship any characters, you can PM me and I will consider it. You have chances of changing the plot, if it's not an extremely drastic change. Though with this story, I think you should think more about saving some of the characters, since there aren't many possible ships at the moment...
As you know, this chapter was proofread by my beta Eat4Fun, who puts up with me every time I send a new chapter~ Yay for that. ^^'
And of course, the next chapter will be published after it is proofread and I receive a review.
