Reaching Amanda’s car, Brian exclaimed:
“I didn’t expect him to lose his temper so fast! We could’ve learnt more!”
“That reminds me of someone”, Amanda remarked coquettishly, trying to ease him off.
“Excuse me?!”
“You got me right! Sometimes you behave exactly like Evan, so look at yourself from the outside! Though you are a bit more reasonable. I also don’t understand why he started acting out”.
“Yeah, his arguments and conclusions sounded quite strange. Civilians have a distorted image of the police in their heads”.
“Really? I can relate. My family are considered monsters by so many people and even though it’s justified to some degree…”
“It is justified. You can’t blame people whose relatives died because of your drugs!”
“Yes, maybe it’s not the most honorable occupation but they make decisions themselves! We don’t force anyone! Besides, we’re constantly developing new medicine for various diseases as well! And don’t forget who’s been sponsoring your PD all this time!”
The last words shut Brian up. He couldn’t find a counterargument for this one. This was exactly what Amanda counted on.
“Anyway, we’ve traded insults enough. Let’s talk about business”.
“You’re right, we always communicate in the same manner. So , about Evan - I find his behaviour suspicious. He clearly wanted to appear indifferent but he quickly lost his cool after telling his story”.
“Did he say anything new? I believe you read the reports from the investigation”.
“Not particularly, no. But I can’t understand why he thinks Mark was made sell the drugs”.
“There was nothing about it in the records?”
“No, there were only his words about Mark’s life”.
“Are you sure you didn’t miss anything in the archives?”
“I spent 4 hours there. I’m positive”, Brian looked a bit offended.
“Okay-okay, I didn’t mean anything by that”, Amanda raised her hands in a peaceful gesture, “I guess the only thing we can do now is go home”.
Brian looked at her questioningly.
“Home?”
“Not like that!”Amanda's face turned a bit pink, “I meant to our respective places!”
Brian laughed.
“I got you. I just wanted to see you flustered”.
“Ha-ha. I can drive away now leaving you to your own devices in this wilderness, you know”.
“Fine. I’ll shut up”.
Amanda smiled and opened the car door. Brian sat in the front passenger seat and turned on the radio.
“Tomorrow at 6 pm a press conference with our mayor, Mr. Myles Darrell, will take place at the Town Hall. He will give his speech about the current situation in Moon Chasm City. Our reporters will be present there and keep you updated”.
“Mum got all the media stuff covered. Will the police attend?”
“I don’t know. Maybe some from the patrol division. You need security. I doubt your Capiano bodyguards will do”.
“Why not? They are more than capable. Some are even ex-policemen. My mother’s personal bodyguard was once the head of the SWAT division”.
“I meant that to cover so much ground you will need at least 100 guards”.
“Oh… these security things are not my forte. I didn’t think about it this way”.
“What about your bodyguard?”
“I don’t have one. I used to have several in my childhood, especially after my attempted kidnapping”.
“Wait, what? Someone tried to kidnap you?”
“Yeah, I was about 12. I don’t remember much and I don’t know who it was”.
“Must have been scary”.
“Not at all. They didn’t even take me from the mansion. Mum said I was sleeping, probably that’s why I don’t remember anything”.
“Did you trust your bodyguards? That they won’t fail you?”
“Brian, I was a child. All I cared about were my toys and a good GPA”.
“So you never ever allowed a possibility that they won’t get to you in time and fail to protect you?”
“I guess not. I was sure about them. I still remember their names: Ken, Jasper and Peter. Ken is retired now and the other two still work with us”.
“An admirable loyalty”.
“They get paid well”.
“That’s also a good incentive to make a compromise with your conscience”.
Amanda gritted her teeth. When will he stop his rightful act! He’s literally using her family’s resources to work at his dream job and still dares to slander them!
“Brian”, she growled warningly, “if you say something like that again…”
“We’ll never see eye to eye on your family, Amanda. We will have to agree to disagree. But I…”
Suddenly the sky darkened and it started to rain. Not just rain but pouring rain. Cats and dogs. Amanda switched on the wipers but it didn’t help much. Visibility was almost zero. The road became muddy and thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.
“Damn!”, Amanda smacked the wheel, “what am I supposed to do?”
“It’s too dangerous to drive in this weather. Let’s wait it out. The rain can’t last more than an hour”.
Amanda groaned. The prospect of sitting in the same position doing nothing seemed like a torture. And with Brian Davis, of all people!
“We can go to the backseat”, he suggested suddenly, “there's more space. Shut the engine”.
“What?!”
She looked at the on-board computer. The temperature dropped by 4 degrees. Now it was only 64 F(author’s note:19 C).
“But it will get too cold!”
“No, it won’t”.
Brian was already on the backseat. That officer could be so deft and quiet! Amanda didn’t even notice when he started moving. Sighing, she had no choice but to follow him. She did shut the engine like he told her.
“Was it really so difficult?” he asked.
“What?”
“Doing what you were told and not behave like a stubborn mule”.
“Who are you calling a mule?!”
“Okay, a very cute stubborn mule!”, he smiled disarmingly, “so what do you want to do? This rain won’t stop any soon”.
Amanda’s teeth chattered. She cursed herself over and over for not taking her jacket. She hugged her shoulders in an attempt to warm up. Brian sighed and took off his own jacket.
“Come here. You have goosebumps the size of a car wheel”.
He threw it on her shoulders.
“What about you?”
“I’m not cold. I used to spend hours in an ambush wearing only summer camouflage clothes. I’m inured to bad weather”.
“Wow, what a seasoned warrior”, she rolled her eyes, “in that case, I will use you as my personal heater”.
She snuggled closer to him and pressed her cold hands to his chest.
He’s indeed very warm… I need to train more to be able to withstand bad weather. Our city has a good climate, so I never even thought it could be important. After all, you can always come inside a shopping mall or a cafe. But now, in the wilderness… I hate to admit, it’s new to me.
“I never thought I would say this but I’m glad that you’re here”.
“Because you can warm yourself on me?”
Amanda smacked him on the shoulder.
“Hey, I’m trying to be nice here!”
Brian laughed.
“I know, but your face is priceless!”
“Ugh, you’re unbearable!”
She tried to move away but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back.
“Where are you going? I don’t know what your father will do if you catch a cold”.
“He is not an idiot to psych out over such a trivial thing!”
“Your health is a trivial thing?”, Brian got genuinely surprised.
“Well, when it comes to simple colds, of course it is! By the way, I doubt you take care of yourself properly, too!”
“Well…”
“You know that I’m right”, she smiled victoriously.
The rain kept banging on the roof and the windows. Amanda thought that it was the perfect time to ask him if he was serious when he said he trusted her.
He’s relaxed enough for that.
“Brian…”, she said, “were you honest when you told Evan that you trust me?”
He looked away. He knew she wouldn’t let this slip. He hoped to distract her with meaningless chatter but there was no escaping her attentive gaze.
“I… I don’t know. Should I trust you?”
“You’re evading the question. Are you afraid of the answer?”
“I’m afraid of trusting you”, he finally admitted.
That was to be expected.
“I see. As any policeman, you hate all Capianos”.
“No, not you, Amanda! You are the living proof that all people are different! You are not like your father as much as I’m not at all like any police officer!”
In the heat of the conversation, Amanda didn’t notice when his hand slipped from her shoulder to her waist and she ended up almost sitting in his lap. She realized that quicker than him and immediately changed to her previous position next to him, still snuggling close.
I don’t want him to think I’m disgusted by his touch. Especially if it’s quite the contrary.
“I believe you”.
“Really? You do?”
“Yes, you wouldn’t have gotten so emotional if you were lying”.
“How long does it take you to figure a person out?”
“Depends. I only started understanding you. And I’m pretty bad at it so far, I admit”.
“What if I say I can’t figure you out either?”
“I’ll say that it’s great. No Capiano worth their salt is easy to understand”.
“Can’t you say the same about policemen?”
“Touche”
Amanda smiled and hardly managed to fight back a yawn.
“Did you sleep well yesterday?”
“Well, not exactly, but…”
“If you fall asleep while driving… Let me drive us back”.
“What?! I’m not giving you my car!”
“Then relax and try to sleep”.
“Brian, it’s not even sunset!”
“So what? There’s no one around for miles, your reputation won’t be damaged”.
“You…”, this time Amanda couldn't help but yawn, “fine, I’ll try to rest. But no funny business”.
“Who do you even take me for?”
He hugged her tighter.
“Just checking”.
She put her head on his shoulder but kept her eyes half-closed to quietly watch him.
“Close your eyes. I see you”.
Ugh. At least his hands are on me, so he isn’t checking the gloves compartment or any of my hidden stashes.
As if reading her thoughts, Brian said:
“Amanda, I won’t tear your car apart while you sleep, I promise”.
“Fine, I’ll take your word for it”.
Amanda finally closed her tired eyes. Brian was right, she really didn’t sleep well. She worried too much about that truth serum business. However, she was determined to just lay there, not sleep. But Brian’s warm embrace and melodic tapping of rain gradually lulled her to sleep.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Lki6LKEm1
****
Myles Darrell was sitting in his favourite black leather armchair in his office. He was fiddling with a Parker pen in his hands.
What will be my next course of action? I need allies. I am only one person. Even if my evidence is a bomb, I need some backup, just in case. But who should I call? Also, I have to find a scapegoat for Nathan. Ah, that’s easy. I have an idea”.
Triumphantly smiling, he took out his phone.
“Hello, Mr. Evans? It’s mayor Darrell, I need to talk to you, could you come to my house, please?”
Even though he said “please”, the invitation didn’t sound like a request, rather it was an order.
“...Okay, Charles, I’ll be waiting for you”.
In half an hour Myles was having the head of the police of Moon Chasm City at his patio.
“Whiskey? Cognac?”
“Thank you, I don’t drink alcohol, sir”
“Well, then, let’s get to business, no small talk”.
Darrell sat on a chair.
“Sit down”.
“Sir, did you want to talk about tomorrow's press conference? Security measures are being taken care of, I assure you, you will be completely safe”.
“Thanks. I believe you are good at your job. That’s not why I invited you. I wanted to discuss Nocturnal Phoenix and Capianos with you. Have you ever thought that they have a bit too much influence on our city?”
“Well, they do influence it in many ways, but they sponsor our health care system, education, law enforcement…”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I read the reports every day. They also helped both of us get the positions we hold now. But don’t you think it may be time to take our destiny in our own hands?”
“Do you suggest overthrowing Capianos?!”, Charles exclaimed, “how can you even think of that? You don’t care about your relatives’ well-being?”
“I don’t have anyone”, Darrell rolled his eyes, “and I’m not telling you to overthrow them. I suggest we put Luis into his place. This city shouldn’t suffer under their rule anymore. Look around you - people are trembling in fear from his name, is it good for civilians’ happiness level?”
“Sir, maybe Luis goes too far with an iron fist sometimes, but on the whole, citizens are happy with their lives. I don’t think your claims have any plausible ground”.
“I see. So your girls are still not safe, huh? Is this what you are so afraid of?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about”.
“You actually do, but whatever”, Myles waved his hand nonchalantly, “what about the Phoenix? What do Capianos do about it, huh? How they help the city? With the press conference that will have any effect only thanks to me?”
“Luis sent his daughter to take part in the investigation. I personally collected all the necessary data for her She’s been with them for two days already”.
Myles raised an eyebrow.
“Amanda? That girl from Coffee Valley? Then Nocturnal Phoenix should be trembling in fear”, he laughed, “I wish I saw that pathetic sight!”
“Forgive me, sir, but I dare say you are wrong. They already uncovered some new details. I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you, though. I’m sorry”.
“Ah, never mind. Go”.
Charles stood up to leave but suddenly Darrell stopped him.
“Evans, do you remember that bribe you took from Luis’s competitor? He still doesn’t know why he lost that contract then. But if you tell him about our conversation today, I will have no choice but to let the cat out of the bag. Did you understand me?”
Charles’s face stiffened.
“Yes, I did, sir. Have a good day, sir”.
Myles was left alone. He angrily swiped away everything that was lying on the table: a vase with flowers from the garden, an ashtray and a couple of journals. The vase got broken and the water poured out. A small puddle appeared under the table. Darrell raised the table and hurled it into the garden.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!”
“Martha, Elsa, clean this mess up!”
He called the maids and left for his bedroom to change. Again he will have to do everything alone. Maybe it’s for the better. If you want something done right, do it yourself
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