"You didn't get tired carrying him from the bar toilets all the way here? Nate's pretty heavy, I couldn't even lift him." Gregory asked Walther as they pulled up in front of a Mercedes Benz in the parking lot. Gregory remembered pulling Nate's heavy body out of the water, lifting him to the dock and loading him into the car while he was unconscious and icy cold.
Walther replied, "Not at all." Without wanting to know how Gregory would react to holding the car door open. Walther was only focused on getting Noel into the back seat, followed by himself sitting next to the still unconscious man.
"You drive, I'll keep an eye out in case Nate throws up, he threw up so much that he's limp," Walther said, his hand before closing the car door.
Gregory chuckled at Walther's excuse of vomiting to come with them. He didn't say anything else, but quickly moved forward and started the car towards the hotel where he and Nate were staying in Hong Kong.
The entire trip was filled with silence, neither of them talking to relieve the boredom. Gregory kept himself busy by focusing on driving, occasionally catching a glimpse of Noel's condition through the rearview mirror. Walther occasionally corrected the position of Noel's head which was turned to the side due to the vibration of the car.
It took no less than thirty minutes for the car to reach the hotel where Noel and Gregory were staying.
Gregory reduced the speed of his car as he parked the vehicle in a place where there were few other vehicles.
"Let me do it," Walther refused as Gregory was about to help him lift Nate's body. In the end, Gregory just opened the door.
This time Walther carried Nate's body bridal style, following Gregory who walked in front of his guide to their room.
Rolan was playing a game on his cell phone when he heard someone open the door. The teenager hurriedly got up and stepped out to greet the person who came in.
"Uncle Gregory! Noe—" his call was cut off.
To Rolan's surprise, the person who entered was not the person whose name he had just mentioned, but a handsome man carrying an unconscious Nate.
Just like Rolan, the handsome man was equally surprised to see who greeted him after entering the hotel room number 397.
"Rolan, what are you doing here, don't tell me you came here alone?" Walther demanded.
Without saying anything, Rolan shook his head quickly to deny his father's accusation.
"Don't worry! He's with us." Gregory explained from behind.
Walther breathed a sigh of relief, as he walked over to the bed to place Noel on it. Now Walther's attention was fully on Rolan. "You little brat, come here!" Walther exclaimed.
Just as Rolan was about to run away, the man grabbed his wrist, so Walther easily brought the teenager into a tight embrace. "You didn't bother Gregory and Nate, did you?" Walther asked, his hand ruffling Rolan's hair.
The teenager smiled. "Of course not, I help them sometimes."
"Yeah, help finish the food." Gregory interjected, the man sticking out his tongue as Rolan looked at him with an unreceptive expression.
Walther smiled slightly at the behavior of the man and the teenager.
"Want something to drink?" asked Gregory as he opened the freezer.
"Mineral water, to neutralize my tongue."
"Catch!" Gregory threw a bottle of mineral water at Walther from the front of the freezer, which the man immediately caught.
"Thank you," he said. Gregory nodded silently. After taking a few sips Walther asked, "What's it like living for almost ten years in America?"
"There was nothing exciting since moving there, we started living a normal life," Gregory said. He took a bite of the apple from the freezer. "Well, although sometimes there are some of your underlings that you send to spy on us."
"Sorry about that. Things are different now, I'm not part of the Bratva anymore." Walther gave a faint smile.
"Really?" Gregory's eyebrows formed a slash.
Walther knew the man would not easily believe him despite the fact that he was no longer part of the syndicate. "I've heard that psychologists can read people's minds."
"Do you believe that?" asked Gregory, swallowing a bite of apple.
"Not really," Walther replied with a falsely sweet smile on his face.
"Many people think that a psychologist can read people's minds, but it's not true. A psychologist can tell a person's emotions through facial expressions and body movements, but not all of a psychologist's predictions are correct." Gregory continues. "Among many humans, there are some who can control their emotions. Like you, for example." Gregory looked at Walther seriously. "It's very difficult to understand your emotions." His eyes looked at the man with a watchful gaze.
Rolan, who knew that he was a 'mosquito repellent', didn't pay much attention to the conversation between the two men, staying focused on playing the game on his phone that had been delayed. But on the other hand he could understand where their conversation was going just by accidentally listening.
Before long, Noel woke up and moaned softly. He tried to get up while massaging his forehead. Seeing this, Walther approached and handed him the bottle of mineral water that had been in his hand. "Water?" he offered.
Without answering Noel accepted the water and took a few sips, when he had enough he looked up at Walther with a tired look. Anyone who saw Noel's current state could instantly tell that the man was still in a semi-drunk state.
Noel let out a smirk. "Walther, you asshole! How could you do something in the restroom?" he ranted while pointing at Walther.
Walther's eyes flashed up to stare at Noel sharply, and a bit of an evil grin tugged at his lips. "I can't help it, I was like that."
Noel reacted to that statement. To emphasize his words that he was really annoyed with the man in front of him, Noel squeezed the bottle tightly in his hand and took the initiative to throw it at Walther. However, because he was in a daze his movement was not fast enough. Walther grabbed his wrist first.
Noel looked at him sharply, making the man squint. "Let go!" Noel ordered in a stern tone.
Walther leaned in even closer when he saw Noel's piercing gaze. The two men stared at each other fiercely until an exclamation stopped them in their tracks. "Walther please stop, he's drunk, his reactions are now beyond consciousness."
Walther sighed with boredom and released his grip on Noel's wrist. As he was about to step away a hand intercepted him, that hand was none other than Noel's. Walther looked back at Noel who was now wearing a different expression. "Thank you for the water," Noel said.
Walther nodded, looked at his watch briefly and then said to his son. "Rolan, let's go home!"
The teenager gave Gregory a quick glance, after getting a nod, Rolan moved to pack some of his clothes.
Noel walked a little unsteadily towards the sink in the bathroom, when Walther was about to lead him the man immediately refused. "I can do it myself."
After Rolan finished packing his clothes, Noel came out after washing his face. Gregory walked them to the door.
"Uncle, I'll go first," Rolan said.
Gregory nodded with a smile. Walther's gaze fell on Noel who was wiping his face with a towel, then threw a faint smile at the man. Noel, who saw it, could only smile back and looked down, reluctant to look at Walther Zwick.
*
The twilight flared, casting shadows of Hong Kong city that hid behind the skyscrapers. Beyond the jungle the sun shifted from its throne, illuminating the earth's surface with orange. That's the panorama Noel sees from the window of the plane after taking off at 5.30pm this afternoon at Hong Kong International Airport for Moscow.
Two days after Walther had driven a drunk Noel to the hotel where they were staying, Gregory had reorganized his plans and decided to return to Moscow.
Noel looked over at the man sitting next to him. He had been watching Gregory for a long time. The man's face was solemn, reading a small, worn notebook scrawled in black ink.
Ever since the plane took off he had barely taken his eyes off the notebook, Gregory reading page after page so carefully.
Actually Noel was curious, but he didn't have the heart to bother Gregory even if it was just to ask what was written in the notebook that made the man so serious when reading it.
Feeling that he was being watched, Gregory finally turned his gaze to the side. "You must want to ask what's in this book, right?" Gregory guessed at Noel's actions, who wore a curious expression and had been looking at him ever since.
Noel smiled and nodded, expecting an answer from the man, but it seemed that his desire to know was just a desire that led to deep curiosity.
Gregory closed his book and put it back into his bag, then said, "Confidential!" And that succeeded in making Noel's face change that very second. "I'll tell you when the time comes," Gregory continued with a secretive grin like a teenager hiding porn under the bed for fear of being caught by his parents.
Noel sighed in frustration, finally leaning his body against the back of the chair, trying to get rid of his curiosity about the book. Instead, Noel returned his gaze to the panorama of clouds outside the airplane window.
Well, at least his encounter with the young man who became his nightmare in the past ended not badly.
THE KILLER'S WHISPER Book I of III END