Chapter 7: Inside the Apartment
Leon let out a huge yawn as he and the others got off the plane. He was feeling tired for some reason, even though a five hour flight wasn't that tiring. He suspected that it was the temperature on the plane that made him tired, not to mention sweaty. He trailed behind Kai who led the way out to the airport parking lot, trying his best not to doze off and slam into a car. Violet walked alongside him, her hand gripping his tightly. Leon knew that she was worried about him, and he felt bad for making her feel that way.
"But this isn't the first time she's felt that way," he thought. "She always worries about me whenever I take a job." He couldn't help but feel even worse at thinking that. Sometimes he wondered if he made the right choice in doing what he did to make money.
The trio walked all the way to a rather empty area of the parking lot, where a red Admiral was waiting. In the driver's seat was a skinny, slightly goofy-looking man with chestnut hair. He had a look on his face that reminded Leon of a wild animal. He could just tell that this guy was a nut.
"Yo, Kai! What's going on my friend?" the man yelled out the window.
"You know damn well what's going on, so just take us to our new home," Kai responded, making his way into the passenger side seat. Leon and Violet climbed into the back.
"Kai, I gotta tell you, I couldn't get you no high-end home. Shit costs too much these days for me to go around and let people live in homes that I have to pay for," the man said as he started the car and drove off.
"I don't care, Flynn. Any place'll do, assuming it's big enough to house three people."
"It can.....I think. Here's the key. We'll be there in a little bit."
"It isn't some rundown shanty, is it?"
"No. It's a nice apartment building right across from the North Point Mall, Vice City's premiere shopping center."
"Flynn, the only thing premiere in Vice is it's drug trade."
"Good point. Speaking of which, if you need something to calm your nerves, I can help with that." Kai looked at him as if he was an idiot.
"Does it look like I do drugs? Wait, let me guess. You thought I was an opium junkie, right?"
"Forget I said anything." Flynn turned his full attention to the road, unsure of what else to say.
In the backseat, Leon and Violet were just enjoying the new sights they were seeing, as neither had ever been to Vice City before. Leon's mind was filled with thoughts that were bothering the hell out of him. He was wondering if going through all of this was worth the money he made for Violet. They did need it, but there were probably better(and legal) ways to make money, but those ways wouldn't have produced as much funds as Leon's jobs produced for him. Nevertheless, there were downsides to it all, the biggest of which being that he constantly had Violet on pins and needles due to the dangerous nature of what he did. Her worries always doubled whenever Leon was late in coming home, as she automatically assumed the worst.
There would be no need for Leon to do any work if his parents had been lucky enough to avoid the train crash that took their lives. Both Leon and Violet remembered the day quite vividly, as if it had happened just yesterday. They were waving goodbye to their parents, who were on a train heading for some city in the north. A babysitter was hired to keep an eye on them and she was kind enough to bring them to the station to see their parents off. Leon would later come to wish that she hadn't. The train had barely pulled out of the station before an oncoming freight train that was on the wrong side off the tracks slammed into it, causing an immense explosion due to the gasoline that the freight train had been transporting. Leon and Violet basically saw their parents die right before their eyes, and it affected them a lot at that time. Eventually, Leon realized that they wouldn't survive if they didn't focus on what they needed to do, which was to somehow figure out a way to make money. The accident happened when they were ten years old. They were able to live off of the money their mother had stashed away in her closet for two years, but they were two difficult years and the money eventually ran out. That was when Leon became a mercenary of sorts. He was only twelve, and he became a killer.
"Leon, you okay?" Violet asked, bringing Leon out of his reverie.
"I'm good. Just tired," he half-lied. He wasn't feeling good at the moment with all of his problems, but he was tired. Violet gripped his hand again, determined to comfort him as best she could.
The drive to the apartment only took twenty minutes, thanks largely to Flynn's wild driving. In those twenty minutes, Leon had firmly decided that he disliked Flynn, and that was that. He was too much of a random person for Leon's taste, and the only thing that he really heard was Flynn's quick introduction. After that, Leon tried to tune him out, but that wasn't easy. Flynn's voice just seemed to grind it's way into his head. When they reached the apartment, Leon was incredibly thankful that the ride wasn't longer.
"All right you guys, I'll be back tomorrow," Flynn said as he watched the three walk up the stairs to the front door. "Hey, Leon. I promise you that this job I arranged for you is going to be sweet. You'll be working for the city's most infamous resident."
Leon felt like asking who Flynn was talking about, but elected to keep his mouth shut. He'd heard enough from Flynn for one day.
The three found their apartment quickly and went on inside to check it out. It was actually a nice place, complete with stylish furniture and beautiful paintings up on the wall that gave wonderful life to the apartment. It was the lovely mix of reds, greens, and browns that blended together so well that made Leon feel slightly calmer for some reason. He went on to survey the rest of the apartment, taking note that it only had two bedrooms. He wondered how that was going to work. Violet had noticed this too as she walked around, but unlike Leon, she wasn't worried about it.
"Leon," she started as she walked into the room he ended up in. "You wanna sleep together?"
Leon spun around to look at his sister, unsure of what he just heard her say. There was a look of confusion on his face.
"What's wrong?" Violet asked.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Leon exclaimed.
"Do you want to sleep together?"
"No, of course not! What do I look like, some country bumpkin?"
"I was talking about sharing the room you idiot. What the hell are you thinking about?"
Leon didn't answer. He was wondering about that himself.
"Well, whether or not you're okay with us rooming together, I'm gonna need a new set of clothes since all my stuff is back in Liberty. Give me some money so I can go over to the mall."
At this point, Leon realized that she was still wearing the white tee and plaid shorts she had on earlier. For some reason, as he looked at her, Leon's eyes locked in on her chest and his mind began to make comments that Leon hadn't ever considered before. Violet seemed to notice where his eyes were looking and she covered up her cleavage with her arms. "Why are you looking at my breasts?"
"I..I..I'm not," Leon sputtered, returning to his senses. "Why would I be looking there?"
"You tell me. Were you entranced by them?"
"I wasn't looking at you like that!"
"There's no need to lie. I'm not mad at you."
"I didn't mean to stare at you like that. It's just that...you look more...mature than I thought you did."
"Is that the best excuse you can come up with? With all the boys you've driven off, I'm sure you have a good idea of how sexy I look."
"No, I don't. You're my sister and I don't look at you like I might other girls."
Violet glared at Leon, making him wonder if he should retract that last statement.
"So you don't think I'm pretty?"
"Of course I do. I just don't want to use the word sexy."
"Why not?"
"It doesn't feel right."
Violet said nothing more, but she moved closer to Leon, taking baby steps so as to not move too fast. Her face was as blank as a stone slab, making it impossible for Leon to read and causing him to worry about what she was going to do, though he stopped wondering when she stopped inches away from his face. He was certain that she was going to smile at him, then slap him silly for looking at her breasts. He braced himself, but it wasn't necessary. Instead of slapping him, she gently kissed him on the cheek and whispered into his ear, "I may be your sister, but I'm your sexy sister, and don't forget it."
"Yeah, I won't," Leon said as Violet walked out of the room. He turned around and looked out the window at the beach. Three thoughts were up front in his mind, pushing away any others that might have been there. The first was that Violet was strange. The second was that her breasts were rather large. The third was the question of why that conversation had begun in the first place. A fourth thought was added when he stuck his hands into his pockets.
"She took my wallet."
He flopped onto the bed, tired and aching for a good rest after everything that had gone down, hoping that he didn't wake up until the next morning.
