The Magnificent James Lawrence

Chapter 7 - Back to Disguise

The next day.

The James study door was opened slowly by Amelia. She had come to invite her brother to get breakfast, since he had missed dinner last night.

Amelia's first glance noticed that there was nobody in the place, only files still scattered on James' desk. Amelia walked over, looking at each file with the word 'classified' written on it.

"I wonder, what exactly is he working on?" Amelia said, wondering.

The woman's attention was drawn to one of the folders with the words 'Gargoyles.08/12/2030.Top secret' printed on it. Out of curiosity, she carefully opened the folders.

The first thing Amelia saw in the folder were three pictures of the victims of the Gargoyle group's distribution of DD pills. Amelia widened her eyes, screamed reflexively, and stepped away from the file.

James, who was still in his room, getting ready in the shabby clothes he wore, was jolted to hear the scream coming from the room next to him.

The man hurriedly leaves, stepping quickly into James' study and opening the door. James' eyes grew wide when he saw the look of fear on Amelia's face.

"James. What the hell are you doing?" asked Amelia, worried.

"You're not supposed to touch my things!" insisted James.

He stepped closer and picked up the files, tidying them and putting them away in his personal room hidden behind a wardrobe.

"What's that picture? Why does he look smiling and laughing when his body is covered in wounds?" asked Amelia, the person in the photo still running through her head.

"Just my work. You shouldn't know more about this," James explained.

The wardrobe used as the entrance to James' private room was open. Seeing the dozens of rifles and other weapons in the room didn't surprise Amelia, as she had known about it for a long time.

"What happened to him? Tell me, James!" said Amelia.

"Huft! I knew you'd be curious about all this sooner or later," James retorted.

He put down the file, which was none other than Gargoyle's criminal record that Prime had managed to get from the city's police system, "I need you to swear not to tell anyone about this."

"I swear."

After putting away the file and closing the wardrobe again, James walked over to Amelia and stood straight before the woman. The look in his eyes was intense as he tried to intimidate Amelia. Because of the man's carelessness, civilians seemed to know the details of this intelligence mission.

"That's a victim of the abuse of DD pills. Have you ever heard of that before?" asked James.

Amelia's eyes widened greatly. The television news had reported many cases of these DD pills; the only effects she knew of were severe hallucinations.

"But could it be that bad?" asked Amelia, curious.

James began to briefly explain the effects of the drug on the addict's brain; there was no point in telling Amelia the whole case.

The woman began to understand why DD pills were so dangerous to humans. The damage caused was incurable unless they stopped using the drug after one try.

"The Gargoyles are distributing this kind of drug. If I can find out their location, I might be able to find out the person behind this DD pill case one by one," James explained.

"I'll help you," said Amelia. She was pretty interested in information like this, something new to her.

James shook his head, leading Amelia out of his study, "You're not a spy. Don't get involved in my work."

"You just need to help me get the four men together," James pleaded.

Amelia nodded. She would help James as much as possible but also realized that if she interfered too much in James' work, she would overwhelm him.

"Come on, let's have some breakfast together," Amelia said, inviting James to eat together downstairs.

The man nodded, agreeing to Amelia's request as he had missed out on dinner earlier.

The two went by lift until they reached the first floor, where the dining table was already filled with food prepared by the maids in this residence.

James was amazed by the food being served. While living in the Rosewood residence, he had never eaten together like that for the past two years.

"Are you going back to Rosewood after this?" asked Amelia, sitting next to James; it was just the two at the table.

"I suppose so. I can't leave them just like that, right after finding out three members of the Rosewood family are involved in this case," James explained.

"Are you gonna be okay?" asked Amelia.

James smiled broadly, his right hand stretched out to hold the back of Amelia's hand. The woman's face took on an anxious look, knowing that Tobias would have to live another day of misery like before.

"I've lived there for two years; their torture and abuse won't stop me," James explained.

"Don't push yourself, James. I don't want to see you humiliated by them," Amelia said.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," James explained.

The two began to eat the breakfast slowly. Amelia actually wanted to continue having time with James. However, James' important spy job had limited their time.

Right after breakfast, Amelia intended to take James to the Rosewood residence. However, James refused. He was afraid people would suspect him, so the best option he could do was to go home using public transport.

"Alright. Time is running out; I can't stay here too long," James explained.

Amelia nodded. She escorted James to the front door of the Lawrence residence. Just before James left, Amelia tightly grasped James' right hand.

"Be careful, James," Amelia pleaded.

James agreed with a slight nod. He stepped away from the residence while waving at Amelia. The security guards at the gate began to open the gate to let James leave.

He traveled by bus within the city, taking about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the nearest bus stop to the Rosewood residence. James kept thinking about what he could do at home during the journey.

"Is there any important information I can get there?"

The man continued to pay attention to the buildings that passed during the journey until the bus James took stopped at the bus stop that the man was heading for.

There didn't seem to be anything unusual about the situation at the Rosewood residence, considering it was a weekday and the mostly Margaery children went to work. He was only worried if the old woman was still home to care for things.

James walked around the mansion, quietly entering from the house's back door. On the residence's first floor, there was not a single person in the place. James looked right and left; he only found a few maids.

"Where is everyone?" asked James, acting like James Rickon.

"Of course, they've all gone to work. What the hell do you think they're fucking doing?!" asked one of the maids back, with a high tone and harsh words.

"You're so rude. Do you have a problem with me?" complained James.

The man continued to walk with quiet steps, leaving the back area of the house until he reached his and Caroline's room. At first glance, there was nothing suspicious in the room, a sign that Caroline had not done anything with another man last night.

Just as James was about to lay on the bed, James' eyes caught sight of Caroline's laptop, which seemed to have been left behind.

James approached the laptop, opened it, and signed in using the password he knew.

He tried to figure out the laptop's contents; perhaps he could find some information related to the DD pill case. However, the only files he found were her company's data.

"I don't think Caroline has anything to do with this case," James explained, ensuring that Caroline was cleared of all charges.

A car pulled up outside the Rosewood residence. James placed Caroline's white laptop on the bed as he walked towards the window.

He opened the curtains slightly, peeked out, and found Caroline returning home with an agitated and hurried face; she was about to pick up the laptop James had just opened.

James hurriedly closed the laptop and returned it to Caroline's desk. He decided to go to the bathroom and turned on the shower, signaling that he was home and washing up.

"Oh gosh, why did I get-"

Caroline's words were interrupted as she was about to pick up her laptop, her ears faintly hearing water splashing from the bathroom. She put her ear to the door and asked who was inside.

"It's me, dear," James replied.

"Oh, you came home, dear? Where have you been all night?" asked Caroline, her soft tone showing no resentment or jealousy.

"I got drunk on the way home from my work colleague's house. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you last night," James replied.

"That's okay, but you're fine?" asked Caroline.

"I'm fine," James replied.

"I can't stay too long. I have to go to the office quickly. If you're hungry, the food is still in the dining room," said Caroline. James thanked her.

James slowly began to turn off the shower, listening cautiously towards the room. Footsteps could be heard moving away, a sign that Caroline had left to return to her office.

The bathroom door opened, and the room was empty again, with the white laptop no longer in place. James sighed; he hadn't had time to check all the folders on the laptop.

"I can't do this. They'll suspect me," James explained.

He walked over to his bed and sat right on the edge of it, "I need to be part of the Rosewood company. It's the only way to make them trust me."