Arthur got to the trance later than he planned, grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat. He couldn't believe he had found someone else like him—okay, maybe not like him. But it did come quite close in his estimation.
The fact that he had never met anyone else who had powers like he did made him feel alone sometimes. Maybe he couldn't exactly call his that, but he was definitely different from everyone else, he thought. But everything's alright now, and life doesn't have to be so lonely anymore.
Arthur didn't notice when he drove into the parking lot and parked his Altis motor bike in the parking lot. He didn't notice when he turned off the ignition and headed inside. And he absolutely didn't notice when he walked into the club, hung his sling bag in a corner, and got behind the counter.
Those who had worked closely with him knew that although he was in high spirits, he still had his guard up. But the newbies and day-to-day customers thought he was too far gone to know what was happening around him.
Arthur's eyes briefly scanned the people sitting around for the noonday lunch the trance usually makes when the club isn't in session during the day. He made eye contact with some of his men planted among the regulars but swept his gaze over the rest. He mentally smiled at the ingenuity of his men when it came to the art of camouflaging themselves. They blended in so perfectly that no one would suspect anything. The result of one of his many training sessions, he silently praised himself as he whipped his phone from his pocket and began punching away at it.
He noticed his new assistant come behind the counter and stand a little distance away. The other assistant, who happened to be his supposed best friend, Peter, was still busy sulking. Arthur knew no amount of talk was going to sway this new side of Peter he saw, so he let him off the hook and brought in this one, who was still wet behind the ears when it came to dealing with him.
He held back a sigh as he felt a weight in his chest that came on every time he missed Peter. His best friend would have bundled him to wherever this one was here to call him to, with Arthur's ears pinched between his fingers. But those were the good old days, he thought, as he pretended to be so into the game he played on his phone.
He almost felt sorry for his assistant, whose name he couldn't remember, even with a gun pointed at him. The assistant, on the other hand, stood fidgeting by the side because he had a message from Jamil for Arthur but didn't know how to wake his boss up from what he thought was his high. He had cleared his throat a countless number of times to get Arthur's attention, but Bro seemed far too gone to pay attention.
It was as he helplessly cleared his throat again for what he considered the last time—one of many—that Trance showed up at the door of his office marked "manager." Trance glanced from Arthur to him, noticing his discomfiture. Studying the situation, he put two and two together and beckoned on the assistant to go over to him.
Like a drowning man grabbing onto a life rope for dear life, the assistant sprang to Trance, almost on the verge of tears.
"Talk," Trance quietly ordered.
He gave Arthur another quick glance, expecting that the guy would still be busy with his phone. But he met Arthur's gaze instead. The idiot even had the cheek to wink at him and lowered his gaze back to his phone, like their little exchange didn't just happen. Trance almost burst out laughing, but considered the assistant's feelings and held himself back on time.
He had lost count of the number of assistants who had walked in and out of that bar after working with Arthur, ever since Peter stopped showing up for work. Arthur literally frustrated them to no end without any remorse. He knew, however, that Arthur's attitude was only a transfer of aggression because he missed Peter.
"The boss needs Arthur, but he seems to be in one of those moods we aren't supposed to interrupt," the innocent assistant said, oblivious to the train of Trance's thoughts.
"Yeah, it looks like it," Trance said, smiling.
It was plain as day that Arthur was mentally engaged, but he knew Arthur. So he also knew Arthur wasn't as stupid as he was playing out; the guy's attention was like a radar, and this radar wasn't missing a blip.
He just wanted to stress the poor guy, and one could see it was obviously working. All that was left was a dirge to get him bawling his eyes out. Trance managed to hold back his laughter at the puppy eyes the assistant gave him and pretended to clear his throat.
He patted the assistant reassuringly on the shoulder and headed towards Arthur, who was playing the Altis game of flying different types of airplanes or riding fast cars through dangerous opponents or situations. The game was created by the Scorpio company and was one of the most played games by mercenaries, armed forces, and anyone in any dangerous occupation.
"Your boy tells me you're in love," Trance said as soon as he got to the counter.
Arthur laughed at that and stared at Trance, keeping his phone on the counter.
"Is that why he's been looking like he swallowed a frog?" Arthur asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Dude, it's called puppy eyes, but your icebox of a heart wouldn't recognize that." Trance teased, laughing softly.
Arthur glared at him, but one could see the smile skirting his lips if they looked carefully. Trance coughed lightly and tried to keep a serious face, which worked somewhat.
"No, but he did say the boss left him with a message for you," Trance said.
Arthur's brows furrowed at that.
"What about?" He asked.
"I'm not sure, but there have been some weird movements around the trance lately," Trance told him.
Arthur raised a brow at him, waiting.
"The casino girls reportedly heard some men discussing Cleopatra," he said.
Arthur's expression froze on hearing that. He grabbed his phone from the counter, picked up his sling bag from the corner where he had hung it, and headed for his father's office. He knew work was done for the day as he cursed in his mind, praying no one had realized that Cleopatra wasn't locked up safely but was out there.