Monday, September 20, 2010 Chapter 16

The rain fell even more fiercely but had no effect on the girl walking steadily towards the old mansion. As she reached the unshaded porch she looked up at the sky, raindrops crashed on to her face as if there was a force behind them. She heard thunder but instead of being frightened, she closed her eyes trying to sense something that wasn’t there. “Trouble,” she said and walked on. She shivered, her fingers became numb as her blood had slowly begun to freeze. She’d been walking in the rain for hours. Her fingers trembled as they reached for the round golden knob. An intense metallic chill filled her body as her hand came in contact with the knob. She turned the knob and with a little push the door creaked open slowly and revealed a long strip of red carpet with golden edges. A warm gust of wind hit her face almost sending her flying back out into the rain.

She paced her way down the old corridors, her footsteps echoed through the halls. Her coat left a wet and muddy trail on the velvety red carpet as she approached the lounge room. She marched her way in, her long black trench coat, snowy blonde hair and dripping mascara not letting her fit into sterile and calm environment of the room. A drop of water dripped off her chin and on to the wooden floor catching the attention of the other person in the room. An old man smoking a long brown pipe looked up from the book he was reading, and smiled warmly.

“Welcome home child,” he greeted and then paused to inspect the girl’s current state, “I’m guessing the driver didn’t reach you in time? Was Mr. Vasiliev late?”

“He’s now Late Mr Vasiliev,” She replied, irritated. The old man frowned, he had lost yet another employee.

“Well?” He asked noticing the large suitcase she was carrying.

“All of them have been taken care of,” she said. She threw the suitcase towards Lucifer who looked curious as to what was inside.

“What’s in it?” He asked.

“Proof,” she said and Lucifer realised the contents of the suitcase as the foul stench of rotting blood polluted his senses.

“All three of them dead, of course their bodies didn’t fit into the suitcase as whole,” She fiddled around in her pockets, “So I had to make some adjustments,” She took out a sealed, clear plastic envelope which contained a butcher’s knife covered in blood.

“I’ve warned you before Lara, don’t bring these things into the house. If your mother was to find them…” he said but seeing the aggravated look on her face changed the subject.

“But a job well done Lara,” Lucifer smiled and nodded at her clothes, “Now off you go, clean up.”

***

The building slowly caught on fire, every now and then the ground would shake as another bomb would go off. Things were blurry, he saw shadows, incomprehensible voices echoed in his mind as he struggled to control his limbs. He felt searing pain at back of his head but he couldn’t even bring himself to scream.

‘Nicholas!’ he heard a voice that seemed distant. It was Jensen. He felt his body move and his head turned to his side as he felt his weight being lifted. He saw a tall figure standing amongst the swirls of burning flames. A tear dripped down the side of his face as the figure dropped to his knees next to the body on the floor. The figure was soon consumed by the flames and the only thing that was left was the girl on the floor. He looked at the girl; her hands were reaching out for him. She looked back at him, her red pupils dilated and now her hands were gripping around his neck. He struggled to breathe. He heard a scream.

“No!!!” He yelled as he woke up. The nurse next to him stumbled backwards and Jensen came running into the room. He asked the frightened nurse to leave. Nicholas ran his fingers through his hair as Jensen observed him from a distance, leaning against the door frame.

“Is it safe to come in?” He asked jokingly trying to break the harsh aura in the room. Nicholas looked at himself; a bandage was wrapped around his shoulder through to his chest.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You got hit in the head,” Jensen replied, “Pretty badly.”

It came back to him, the events of yesterday suddenly hit him and he looked up at Jensen.

“Where’s the girl?” He asked.

“Who?”

“The girl! She was with us!” He yelled. He felt like his was losing control over his emotions, this wasn’t happening.

“I couldn’t bring her,” Jensen replied trying to calm him, shocked by the sudden outburst from this usually composed individual.

“What do you mean?! She saved our lives and you couldn’t even bring her out?!” He yelled and grabbed Jensen’s collar.

“She was dead!” He yelled back and Nicholas’ grip on his shirt loosened.

“She’s dead,” Jensen said quietly putting his hands on either side of Nicholas’ head and brought him into a hug, “I’m sorry if she meant a lot to you.”

“I barely knew her,” Nicholas said. Yes, he had only known her for a brief amount of time, but something about her gave him hope. Her goofy smile, childish remarks and annoying habits reminded him of what he had wanted all his life. The only other person that gave him this hope was his father who had also left him. He moved abroad when he was young and swore never to come back. With Hilda went every piece of hope he had.

Jensen patted his back and Nicholas cleared his throat, “Sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay mate,” he said, “Get some rest. This kinda trouble can do that to ya sometimes… Y’know make you all emotional. It’s good,” he smiled.

Nicholas sat back on the bed and Jensen made his way out of the room. Before he left he looked at Nicholas once more, “Y’know, you really weren’t meant to be in this shit,” he said with a serious look and walked out.

***

“Come in,” Lucifer said as he heard a knock on his door. Lara walked in curious as to why Lucifer asked for her.

“Sit down child,” he said politely and Lara did as she was asked.

“Lara you know why I asked you to dispose of those three men right?”

“Yes, they were planning to betray you by joining the Jakov mafia,” She stated.

“Precisely,” he said as he walked over to his usual chair and sat in front of his crafted chessboard, “Now that these three are eliminated,” he flicked his fingers a white pawn on the chess board which fell over, “We know that we don’t have any traitors on our side.”

“I get the feeling that that’s not what you necessarily believe,” she said curiously.

“Smart girl,” he smiled, “You were always able to pick up on these things.” He paused for a bit and picked up two rooks, one black and one white, bringing them to eye-level.

“You see, I’m concerned about your brother. My sources have sighted many occurances at which Nicholas and Young Jakov have been present together. I have reason to believe that our Nicholas has befriended Jensen Jakov,” He held up the white rook higher than the black and looked back at Lara who was contemplating this situation.

“But Grandfather, you’re forgetting something, Nicholas is quite cunning,” She smiled, “I believe he may have reason behind this. One which may prove an excellent outcome for us all,”

“Yes I have considered that. But Nicholas I’m afraid at times, Nicholas may be soft. But then again…” he held the black rook higher than the white, “He has always been secretive so whatever his intention is may be prove to be a good outcome.” He paused again and then after a few moments slammed the rooks onto the chess board, all the other pieces shook as the rooks came in contact with the board.

“I’m not taking any chances,” Lucifer said, “I need to be sure everyone in our mafia is loyal and even if I sense something is wrong, measures will have to be taken.”

“You’re asking me to kill Nicholas?” She asked, controlling her inner rage, how could he ask her to kill her own younger brother?

Lucifer observed her facial expression which Lara had cleverly controlled to show no emotion. He then smiled, “No, of course not. Nicholas is too valuable, he’s family.”

“Then?”

“Jensen Jakov must die.” At this Lara smiled.