The conference room of the second compound was so large that Leon had to look above him to make sure he wasn't outside. The bright fluorescent flooded the entire space, giving it the feel of being right under the sun. Men dressed in crisp white shirts and fancy suits strolled about, talking in hushed tones and toasting glasses. Uniform men and ladies went about with platters of wine and spare glasses. As one of the waiters passed them, Fiona grabbed two flutes of champagne and handed him one. "Are you sure this is a good idea? We're here for a mission, we should keep all our senses intact," he warned. Fiona smiled at him and replied, "This is an elite gathering, Leon, you will stand out like a butterfly in a bee's nest if you pass such champagne without grabbing one. Come on, blend in," she said and winked as she left him with a pat on the hand and strolled to the side of the room, gesturing to him to follow. Leon moved slowly to her even as he scanned the room. There were
Fiona hissed as Cassidy walked away, she looked back at Leon with a frown and said, "I guess you're getting very familiar with the guests." Leon could smell the jealousy of her from a few inches and he snorted. "She's someone I know," he replied casually and removed his hands from her hold. "When do we get to use the tunnel?" He asked. Fiona shrugged and liked it at the entrance, her eyes were a little hard and he could tell that she was displeased with him because Cassidy had come to say hello to him. He could never understand women and jealousy, especially when he wasn't even an item with her. "You should be careful, Brian said we shouldn't speak with anyone," she reminded him and gestured at Cassidy with her chin. Cassidy was at the corner of the hall, with a fresh flute of wine but her eyes remained on them boldly - she wasn't even trying to hide her glare towards Fiona. "Please tell me when you're ready to stop the glaring competition and go find Master Xavier," he sn
The tunnel was darker than Leon would have expected. He could not see anything beyond his nose and he could smell Fiona's floral scent as she almost clung to him. "It's so dark in here," he muttered disappointingly, "I guess we didn't factor that in." Fiona sighed and rummaged through her handbag, she retrieved her phone and was about to turn on the flashlight when Leon stopped her. " We're so close to the gallery that someone might see our reflection from within," he whispered and she dropped her phone. Listening closely, they both could hear the light chattering of people as they conversed in the gallery. "What do we do? I'm not so familiar with these tunnels, I've only been here once and I didn't really...well, I guess I didn't notice much," she said vaguely. Leon didn't enquire any further, he had a feeling that whatever brought her to the tunnel was either very personal or very embarrassing and whichever it was, she wasn't ready to divulge. "Follow me, stay close,"
Thankfully, the room was quiet and there was no one else within. Leon quickly went to check the door just to make sure it was locked and that they would be informed if anyone tried to open it - he did not want any distractions. The drapes as usual were pulled shut and very little sunlight permeated the room. The air conditioning unit was regulated very low and the room was almost too hot - especially for a man that was sick and needed as much comfort as he could get. "This place smells like death already," Leon said and moved to the window. As he looked down, he noticed that many more cars had even parked outside joining the already long line of luxury vehicles. It was clear that what Peters had told him about the meeting was not very far from the truth. It did not really make sense that people would be gathered in the name of professor Xavier when he wasn't even in the meeting himself. "I guess the rich are greedier than the poor," he stated plainly and moved away from the wind
Brian was shocked, he skipped to the bed quickly and sat right beside his elder brother. He hadn't seen him in such an okay state for a very long time. "This is a miracle!" He yelled out and tried to hug Xavier but Xavier pulled away. "What's wrong?" He asked, Xavier shook his head and looked at Brian oddly. "Brother, don't you remember me?" He asked worriedly and then turned to Leon with a curious state, "Does he have amnesia? Could he have lost his memories because of this?" He asked. Leon shook his head and tried walking close to the master, he hadn't detected anything like a memory loss when he tried to heal him. If that was part of his problem then the ring should have shown it to him too. "No, he hasn't lost his memory," he replied. "Well, then why is he acting strange? Why is he avoiding me?" Brian asked and looked at Leon like he knew something and wasn't telling him. "Master Xavier hasn't lost his memory," Fiona cut in and reminded all of them how he'd said he
All the men in the room bowed And knelt before Xavier. Gideon knelt briefly and then hurried to him. "Master, is that you?" He asked and went to the bed to sit right beside him. Xavier turned to him and nodded mutely, his neck tilted to the side and his eyes a little distant. Gideon turned to Leon and snapped, "I thought you said you've healed him, why can't he speak?!" "That's because his organs are still very weak, they will take some time to fully recover," he explained. Gideon sneered at him and then looked at the master for a while. "Can he hear us? See us? What organs are you talking about?" He asked. Leon didn't know how to frame his lie so he simply agreed that the master wasn't feeling well or hearing well either. "So he can't see anyone in this room?" Gideon asked, for some reason, he sounded almost hopeful like he was eager to hear that the master truly didn't see. Leon thought it was because he still wanted to have them punished for trespassing and breaking
Fiona's face stretched into a wide smile as they matched out of the lord's private home. She was ready to go but Leon agreed to stay for the rest of the night. "The master said we could stay for as long as we want," Leon reminded her and she nodded, pleased with that fact. "Then why do you have to go?" He asked and Fiona smiled, "Mia, I have to go home to Mia, the nanny doesn't work all night and she'll be missing me soon," she replied. Leon groaned, he'd just remembered that Fiona was a mother and there was Mia in the picture, somehow, through the stress of the day, it had escaped his memory. "How's Mia?" He asked and she nodded, "She's fine, has been asking of you actually," she replied. Leon simply gave her a tight smile in response. He wasn't ready to play father to a kid and then walk away later when she was already attached. With Fiona, he had to be careful how he dealt with her, he had to be careful what he said and how he acted, she was a little fragile and even though
It was almost midnight when Leon heard a sound coming from the pantry. He'd picked the rook closest to the master's room despite Gideon's generous offer to have the biggest guest room cleaned up for him downstairs. Leon had agreed and slept in the guest room for a few hours after his dinner and then retreated into the room beside the pantry. It was dark and the lights were out in most of the hallways. The chattering of servants had long ceased and all Leon could hear was the whirring of the ceiling fan above and the humming of the air-conditioning unit. He sat up on his low mattress and pulled on a bathrobe quickly. The clattering in the pantry didn't stop and Leon went out to investigate. He had been unable to sleep soundly all night - if at all. The thought of someone trying to harm the master has chills. Somehow, Gideon had ordered that a security camera should be installed at the entrance of the master's room just to keep him safe. Leon thought it was a good idea but he s