"Morning sir," a maid greeted him as he walked past the sitting area and up the stairs to his main room.
" Take the rest and get out," he ordered, shutting the door behind him. He was outraged at the sudden circumstances that befell him in a matter of days. Whoever planed all this sure took his time and came up with the right things to strike his weakest points. But what kept him pacing around the room like a manic was the thoughts of what might come up next. He wasn't even sure if he is being used as a part of a revenge game or perhaps it was all to hit on his father. Whatever it was, he sure as hell had to come up with a plan of his own and find out what this was all about.
Taking out his cell, he called the only man who could help him out in such a situation.
" How will it take?" James asked, not wasting a single second in greeting_ his patience running out like sand in an hourglass.
" I am sorry, we had some issues. You will receive the copy by this evening"
"Let it be Just between us"
" That had been taken care of, sir"
With that he cut the call, putting his cell on the nightstand and going in for a much-required bath.
***
" Say it!" He shouted, pointing his gun at her.
"I...I am a-"
" No... Not like this. Not like this," he swayed his head from left to right in disapproval, the body of the gun now pressing against his lips as if he was drowned in deep thoughts. " You don't get my point, do you?" He asked, before letting out a sigh and sitting on his shoes. " You think of me as an antagonist in this story... You think I am the bad guy." His face was now a mere two-inch away from hers.
Through the fear that gripped every fiber of her body and wreck her brain and made her heart beat faster than ever, she looked into his green orbs. It was a contrast between hers and his. Her ocean-blue screamed of helplessness, fear and pain while his was all about power, control, determination and cruelty.
" No... I...I don't think-"
" Have I asked you to speak?" He questioned, his voice as calm as a dead lake. Who could have guessed from the steadiness in his voice and easy posture of his body, that he could have been unleashing hell on her from past three hours?
Seeing her fear-stricken face and limp body, he laughed, much to her disgust. If only she had power equal to his, she would have certainly gotten up on her feet and tortured him to death in the worst way possible! But neither was she strong nor had the game in her hand. She was nothing more than a mouse in a loins trap.
It was once his laughter died down that she could see the fire burning in his eyes. Grabbing her jaw in his hold, he whispered slow and low,
" I am disappointed in you, Adeline"
The very words were enough for her to shut her eyes close even when he exited the room and wait for the consequences she was quite fond of.
***
It was late in the night and James couldn't help but pace back and forth in the sitting room, waiting for one call that would lead him somewhere in the absurd darkness. He had been like this since the sun went down and night took over.
In utter silence_ except for the heavy rain crashing outside_ he could virtually hear his thoughts out loud, as if a real person was in the room beside him, at times telling him to set off this path, sit back and watch what happens next, and at others, kept on reminding him of what he had lost, screaming at him to do something, anything!
He was still lost somewhere in his deep thoughts when the sudden ringing of his cell took him by surprise. In a blink of an eye, he had lifted it from the table and pressed it against his ear
"You said the evening. It's completely dark outside!"
"James," The man sounded breathless as if he had been running a marathon. " James you were right," he said.
" You do not sound that good, Mark. What's wrong?" James couldn't help but ask. The man sounded fearful. Scared.
" The DNA, it matched. It was indeed Jenna's blood." Mark spoke hastily. Something about his tone wasn't normal. James couldn't quite tell what it was but it was more like a low, hard slightly above a whisper clouded with some thick emotions of fear and determination, emphasizing on every word as if he wished to root it in the core of his mind. " I have Whatsapp you the copies, I...I have also sent someone to deliver it to you right now," he completed, breathing low and heavy.
"Mark, could you please explain to me what's wrong with you?" James interrogated, not once caring about the results he had been wishing for since that dreadful night. At that very moment, Mark mattered more than anyone else. And he knew there was something very wrong with him.
Mark was a middle-aged man. A geneticist by profession. He wasn't much needed in Maxwell family but since Mr William had a keen interest in genes and how they work, Mark was a regular guest at the house. When James had found a single drop of blood, right under the balcony at the stage, he couldn't let this chance slip away from him. Quietly, he had bend down to lift a fallen tissue from his pocket, cleaning the drop with it before stuffing it back and going on with convincing others what he had seen.
Had it not been the blood or the look in her eyes, James would have believed that the woman was indeed Jenna Berry. But not now!
As soon as he stormed off the party, he rode himself to Mark. The blood was dry by then. Now that he thinks about it, it was quite wise of him to tear the tissue in half, keeping one with himself and giving the other to Mark for his examination.
A single drop of blood provided him much to stand his chance and talk on some solid bases. All he had to do now was to show the proves to the world.
" I am not okay, James. They have destroyed my lab!" His voice was now reduced to a mere whisper.
"What?! Where are you right now?"
" I am...under... a ... a shelf. They have even shut the power. It's dark in here, very dark." Mark stuttered. " They are finding me. I do-" he quite down, yet James could hear his heavy breaths and increasing sound of feet approaching.
"Who are you talking about? I am right on my way!" Again just the heavy breaths and footsteps of more than three people.
Before James could even take a step out of the door, things happened so fast that it felt like a Deja Vu, a dream, a nightmare!
"Tell my wife I love her" was his last words before a gunshot was heard on the other side followed by sinful laughs and then the call ended.
It took him a brief moment to comprehend what just happened.
They killed Mark.
Mark's dead!
The rain pounded hard against the concrete floor, the sound of every drop synchronized with the beat of his heart. Light from the fireplace tore the darkness with its orange luminosity, hitting his face with heat and warmth as he sat on the couch, his phone still clasped in his hands, mind still trying to comprehend what just happened.
This was no longer about Jenna. The thing had gone way worse in the dirtiest way possible. He could only imagine what was to come next. Another death, perhaps someone getting kidnapped?
His eyes shifted to the door as someone thumped upon it. It had been an hour since the light was out_another unusual happening of the day to add in the list.
"Sir please open the door," he heard a boy say from the other side. Guessing from the rawness in his voice, he was still a young, probably eighteen years old.
Must be the reports, James thought, moving to unlock the door.
"Mr Mark sent these for you," It was indeed a young boy, drenched in rain, holding out a plastic folder with the reports in it.
" Thankyo-"
Another gunshot and the boy fell, blood slowly oozing out of his now punctured scalp. His lifeless eyes stared back in James's wide ones, somehow telling him it was his fault. Everything was his fault. He had cost three lives!
" We will get rid of him."
James looked up to the owner of the voice. A man dressed in a black raincoat with a cigar between his lips.
"Always been a fan," he forwarded his hand in hope that James might do the same. " Either you take my hand or my bullet, whichever pleases you, Mr James Maxwell."
" I would rather take the latter than to give my hand in the blood-drenched yours." James hissed, his shaking body merely keeping the rage bubbling inside of him.
'' She was right about you. You really are a hard nut to crackle! But don't you worry pal, I know just the rights.... methods, I shall say, to bring you to your rightful place." The man looked up, amusement dancing in his eyes. " I am sure to do it with the same perfection as you did while investigating the entire case under the freaking nose of everybody!" He laughed, flashing a perfect set of white teeth.
James stood quite, there wasn't much to say though. The guards dragged the boy's body around the house. He didn't deserve to die like that. His parents didn't deserve to lose their child to some indifferent beasts!
" I mean I am bound to appreciate the level of your.... what should I say.... determination. While everyone was indulged in tagging you with disorders and whatnot, you, the mastermind, was busy in levelling our grounds!''
" Don't wanna wound your ego so letting you know that I am going to shut this door right on your face this second-"
"Don't bother doing that! See this..." he held the thin frame of the door between his fingers, " piece of wood won't stand a chance against my bullets. You see, my men here, they are of quite a sensitive nature.... they can't take disrespect of their boss easy," He craned his neck to survey the men, each one of them waiting for his one sign to take down the entire society with the cascade of their bullets. "It's natural, they were born with it." He paused for a while. "We have a lot to talk... so Invite me in" with that being said, He simply pushed past James into the house, followed by an army of men in black.
Ice replaced the fire in him. His grip on the handle, his body and even the look in his eyes, everything iced up. Anger was long gone not because his threat got to him but because he was suddenly interested in what he had to say_ though he knew it won't be anywhere near pleasant.
"Oh you read those?" the man asked, shuffling through the pages of a magazine he took from the coffee table. " I used to buy myself one every other day back in California," he walked to the couch before the fireplace, casually plopping on it and placing his legs on the table with a thud. " But ever since I came here, I couldn't spare myself a minute to flip through a single page. Life's been so busy punishing the fools who think they could defy me and walk away. Ahh, silly little idiots!"
The mere tone of his words gave off the feeling as if he had been reunited with his long lost bestie when in reality it was otherwise.
" Come to the main point. What do you want from me?" James questioned, walking into the house.
" What do I want from you... " He stood up, taking slow steps to James. " What do I want from you..." he repeated as if the words puzzled him. " What I want from you James, is to stop building towers that will fall right on your head!" He said, standing at a distance of feet from James.
Grabbing the brown envelope from the table nearby, he tore away the top of it, pulling out a paper having all the content that James had been waiting to get his hands on. He walked back to him, stuffing the paper in his face.
" I want you to let this be the last mistake you do or else...." he looked in James's eyes, a fire similar to the deepest core of hell burning in them. Then without giving a second thought, the guy tore the paper into a million pieces before throwing them away in the fire. Had he been alone, James sure would have landed a fist or two in his sick face, kicked him until he bled out all he had inside of him and spit at him for once and for all. Hell! he could picture the satisfying site before him, hear him beg for mercy! Instead, he just stood there with balled fists and only one thought invading his mind. " Or else" the man turned around, Positioning the barrel of his pistol between James's eyes, " I wouldn't think once about putting all six angel arrows in your blessed flesh."
His eyes carried a truth in them. It made James believe in his words yet his body refused to shiver or even flinch. Instead, he looked back in his orbs, challenging him to press the trigger. The man couldn't help but let a smile break loose on his lips. James really was a nut but with a brain that must be dealt tactfully.
" Lucifer, Lucifer Huntsman. Something tells me we will be seeing each other more often then any of us would prefer to." Lucifer patted James shoulder once, " The body's on you. tell the police whatever you like," with that they simply walked away like they didn't just kill a young boy before his eyes and threaten to do the same with him.
With the bang of the main door closing, James dug his hand in his trousers pocket, pulling out the extra cellphone he carried, breathing a sigh of relief after going through the gallery.
'' Not so smart after all."