AN:
Before the chapter starts I wanna thank - as always - my adorable reviewers Chocolatepie277, , Novaglare & TheAmazingQwerty!

Music tip:
Tom Odell – Can't Pretend
youtube: watch?v=B4-OxOmsqR0

Lovers of Freedom

Chapter 8:
No Mercy

Of course the nap Mitch took after his tantrum wasn't restful at all.
He woke up some hours later at around 3pm with a stiff neck and an aching back. A groan escaped his throat, as he sat up slowly and looked around, still enveloped in the blanket he had used for the night. At least he wasn't freezing anymore. It had been a bad idea to fall asleep on the terrace with the now very low temperatures. Mitch was sure that Murphy wasn't very keen on having him sick on the first day of his official employment.

A crackling sound made him jump and he looked abruptly to his left side-
the fireplace was lit and spread a cozy heat.

Mitch's ears picked up another sound. Heavy raindrops were pelting against the large wall made out of glass and thick, dark clouds covered the sky. For a moment Mitch had the feeling it was already nighttime again, because the only light source was from the fire.
With a sigh he lay back down and stared up, where shadows were spinning across the ceiling in an uncoordinated dance. His breathing slowed down again and his eyelids began to drop, while random thoughts filled his mind.

Most of them involved Adam of course.
He shouldn't have snapped and screamed at his host earlier. Not when everything depended on their relationship, which up until now was pretty much non-existent. But Adam's constant teasing and the hate he spewed at him at every possible occasion took its toll on Mitch. Wasn't it enough that he couldn't forgive himself for what had happened? Adam's words were too much to bear and right now Mitch ached desperately for some peace. Just some hours in which he could rest – both his body and his soul.

Needless to say things didn't work out as planned.
"You're finally awake."

For a moment Mitch considered even looking at him, before he pulled himself together and glanced over his shoulder at the lurking shadow in the doorway. He wasn't sure how his voice would sound, so Mitch better kept quiet for now. Another escalating situation wasn't needed.
As Adam noticed that his guest wasn't going to answer, he continued, "Murphy called several times and wants to speak to you."
Immediately Mitch sat up straight again and stared at Adam, before he burst out, "What did he want?"

"No idea, he didn't tell me."
"You should have woken me up!"
"I tried."

Adam pushed himself off of the doorway and stepped into the light of the fireplace, crossing his arms over his chest. Nonetheless he didn't seem to be as disgusted by his presence as he had been before. His eyes silently regarded Mitch, who still sat on the couch buried under the blanket, when he finally continued,
"Actually he called you several times on your phone, but you didn't wake up. After the third try I answered it, because you weren't even moving."
"Oh, well, thank you," Mitch stuttered, surprised about the fact that his restless sleep had been so deep.

"I'm going to get us something to eat. You should call him back."
Without another word Adam turned around and left the living room. A minute later he returned to ask Mitch if pizza was okay, then he left the house to run some errands. He was eager to stand by his promise and Mitch admired him for trying at least. In the past his plans had often been revoked rather quickly due to his moods. Mitch didn't expect it to be different this time, but he would enjoy it as long as possible.

With a sigh he leaned back and slipped under the blanket once more, before he grabbed his phone from the table. Several messages and missed calls of Murphy, Jerome and his parents destroyed the rest of his motivation and a reserved expression adorned his face, as he called the number of his best friend.

It rang barely once, until the call was picked up.
"What the fuck, Mitch?!"

Several moments passed but as Mitch tried to answer, Jerome rambled on.
"Where have you been?! We were worried sick man! You can't just talk about a mysterious meeting with Adam and this Microsoft guy and then just disappear like that!"
Jerome left him speechless and Mitch already dreaded the phone call with his parents. They for sure were ready to murder him. "Jerome, I-"
"No one knows where you are right now! Do you have any idea what your parents are thinking? I can't wait for them to talk some sense into you."

"You have called them?!"
Mitch finally got the chance to reply, but the thought of Jerome telling his parents that he didn't know about his whereabouts…
"Of course I did."
Finally Jerome's angry voice calmed down a bit and with a worried sigh he started a proper conversation.
"Seriously Mitch, where have you been?"

"Currently I'm at Adam's."
Silence.
Several seconds passed, Mitch could hear other voices in the background and then Jerome asked him to talk, "Explain. What happened after you had arrived at this guy's office?"
Mitch couldn't tell him, right? No, every detail was confidential and Murphy would murder him, if Mitch blabbed something.

"We talked, Adam was there as well and I had no hotel for the night, so he let me stay with him. That's it."

"…yeah sure, Mitch. What was the talk about?"

"I can't tell you, sorry."

"You've got to be kidding me, right? You know I'm not gonna tell anyone."

"Sorry Biggums, you know I can't talk about it. Remember what I told you in the car?"
Mitch wanted to tell Jerome about Murphy and his dirty schemes, but he had no choice. One slip-up was enough to endanger his family, his career and the future of the former Team Crafted guys. He wouldn't risk it – he couldn't.
"I do. Don't tell me he-"

He knew what Jerome was suggesting and stopped him before he could bring Mitch in a precarious situation.
"It's okay Jerome, you don't have to worry. Seriously, I'm fine."
"Sure you are. Are you kidding me? As soon as I'm there you have to-"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Mitch interrupted him and frowned, while he put a hand on his forehead. "As soon as you're here? What are you talking about?"
Now it was Jerome's turn to sound surprised, while he explained, "That's odd. Murphy said he would tell you. We – the Team Crafted guys and I – are heading over to Washington right now. Tomorrow we have an appointment with Murphy."

Jerome didn't even have the time to think about an answer, as Mitch pressed out some restrained words and ended the call.
"Sorry, call you back later."

"But Mit-"

Murphy had tried to call him several times and now Mitch knew what the mysterious man had wanted to tell him. Not a minute later he stood in front of the open patio door and waited for Murphy to pick up the phone, while he took some deep breaths to calm down a bit.

Mitch heard the familiar sound of a connected line and started, before his new boss could say his name.
"I'm gonna destroy you, if you plan on blackmailing them as well!"

"Mr. Hughes, it's nice of you to finally call me back. I hope you had a good nap?"
The kindness in his voice couldn't be more fake and with an angry snort Mitch began to pace.
"I swear to god-"

"You're amusing me, Mr. Hughes, vowing on god even though you don't believe in this religion."
The comment caught him completely off guard and Mitch abruptly stopped his pacing. "I- what?"
"It was in one of your… what was it called? Oh, right. It was in one of your former bYd-podcasts, wasn't it?" Mitch walked over to the couch and sat down with shaking legs. "A nice little series you had back then with Mr. Aceti, Mr. Nucciarone and your other friends from Montreal. It has a lot of potential, but the topics are too private. Nobody should have knowledge of stories like the one about your blackout at Mr. Nucciarone's party, right?"

Suddenly it was way too warm in the room, even though Mitch had just opened the door to the terrace. His hands began to tremble and he was as white as a sheet. Murphy knew everything. Not even the former Team Crafted members had heard of their unknown podcasts, but he knew. Mitch felt sick and had to take some deep breaths to choke back the bile.

Murphy had been serious about his threat all the time.

"Don't you dare underestimating me, Mr. Hughes. There were people before you, making the same mistake."
The rest of the explanation was left unsaid. It was unnecessary. Mitch got the hidden message.

"I won't."
His voice was barely audible, filled with fear and defeat.
Mitch couldn't see Murphy's face, nonetheless the big grin on his lips was obvious.

"Wonderful. Now shall we talk about the way you're going to convince your friends of our little project tomorrow?"

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MERRY CHRISTMAS from Germany everyone, I hope you all have some wonderful days! :)

New cover! Do you guys like it? =)