18 V. I Chapter 16: Fall of Rosenblade
Laksa finished all of his work quickly, mind still on what the employee had said. Rosenblade was the name of the corporation that was giving LEO Corp. a hard time. But they'd gone quiet after their son and future daughter-in-law were killed. Why were they coming back, and why would they target Jaeyline and Ciel?
Laksa glanced at Ciel, who was hard at work on his laptop. No, he knew why. They wanted to make LEO Corp. nothing but a shell, so they had to kill of Jaeyline. And to make sure it stays down, as well as impacting the Cordelia family directly, they had to get rid of Ciel, too.
Laksa's fists clenched on his keyboard. Rosenblade had chosen the wrong targets. Not only could they both defend themselves very well, but both Ciel and himself had eyes in the Underworld. But Laksa was determined to keep this to himself. He'd settle the matter himself, tonight.
"What are you doing? You look like you're about to murder your computer screen."
Laksa looked up, his eyes meeting Ciel's. He smiled slightly. "I can't seem to understand this," he lied.
"Of course. I'm going to go get some lunch. Want some?"
"I'm good." Both he and Ciel were very good liars. Laksa watched Ciel walk out of the office before sighing. "Do you want to talk to me, Miss Jaeyline?" he asked.
Jaeyline stepped out of her office, leaning against one of the glass doors. "Yes. I already know both my own and Ciel's names have been assigned on the kill board."
"Yes," replied Laksa.
"Do you have a way to solve this?"
"Of course," said Laksa. "Preparations are already in effect. Everything will be settled before midnight tonight."
Jaeyline's lips twitched. "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," she said.
"On the contrary, it really does," Laksa replied.
"Correction," amended Jaeyline. "apples growing on the same step don't fall far apart."
"Agreed."
Jaeyline smiled. "Is Ciel out eating?" she asked.
"Yes," Laksa replied. He didn't bother trying to strengthen his brother's alibi, as the look in Jaeyline's eyes told him she already know what he was doing.
"I only ask of you what I ask of Ciel and the other employees," Jaeyline said, looking him in the eye. "Protect LEO Corp. Protect each other."
Laksa stood, hand over his heart. "I swear it."
Jaeyline copied the motion, a wry smile on her lips. He was on to her, knew why she was so proficient in martial arts. "If Ciel does not already know, please don't tell him. He's so busy basically running LEO."
"He doesn't know, unless he goes to a guild between now and tonight."
"He shouldn't, as he said he's staying overtime," said Jaeyline.
Laksa nodded. "It will be done."
Jaeyline smiled slightly before heading back into her office.
Laksa sighed, sitting back down. First day at work, and already his bosses had been threatened. He started laughing quietly. Ciel had one hell of a job. To think he did this nearly every day for five years, without ending up in the hospital due to fatigue, overwork, and anxiety... it was mindblowing.
The phone rang, and Laksa reached over, picking up. "Hello. This is Assistant CEO Laksa Jackson. How may I help you?" After finding out why he was called, he directed the line to the department that could actually help. After that, he thought about what Ciel had said before.
Laksa decided. He stood from his seat, swinging the jacket over his shoulder. If he was going to work for a fashion business, then he needed to know what he was working with. He left a note on Ciel's desk, in case he came back and found Laksa gone, before making his way out of the building.
"Oh, my God," breathed Laksa, nearly gaping at the LEO designs hanging in the window display. He'd thought the rough work done in the Color and Fabric department had been amazing, but now that he saw the finished products, he was aghast. The details were spectacular, from the straight seems almost invisible on the fabric to the gold button adorning the cuffs, giving the suit a sense of royalty while also retaining the option of being semi-formal. "No wonder LEO is the top fashion company in the world."
"Look! LEO's designs this month are coming out in three days! We have to be the first ones here or they'll run out," a group of girls chattered.
"I totally love their formalwear."
"And even their casual clothing is spectacular!"
Laksa nodded in agreement, gazing at the dresses and shirts. They were labeled casual, but one of LEO's trademarks is that the quality of the clothes automatically bumps the casual clothes into a semi-casual/semi-formal.
Laksa felt almost out of place as he walked into the department store.
"How can I help you, Sir?" an employee asked, walking up to him.
"What are LEO's best formal suits at the moment?" he asked the woman.
"At the moment, it's this one, but the new release will be coming out in two days, so if you're looking for the best, I recommend coming in later," she replied.
Laksa nodded. "Get me the best formal suits in the building, both LEO and other brands. Have them wrapped and brought to this address." He handed her the address along with a gold-colored credit card. "Put everything on this," he said.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the gold card. She took it and hurried off to complete his order.
Laksa could tell just by looking that LEO's clothes were both more popular and a higher quality than the others. His trained eye could pick out the small flaws in the other brands' clothing. "My God, Ciel was right," said Laksa, in awe. He could pick up so much data just by observing the clothes, what fabrics are used for formal, what textures complement different colors and styles, even differences in shades of color in the clothes.
"Your clothes will arrive by tomorrow. Here is your card," she said, returning, slightly out of breath.
"Thank you," replied Laksa.
"You're very welcome. Is there anything else you might need today?"
"No, that's all. Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon, Sir."
Laksa walked out of the store, eyes still sparkling. But one stray thought snapped it out of him very quickly. Flushing slightly, he was very glad nobody had telepathy as he hurried away, burying the words "clothing fetish" far away.
.
"Welcome back. Would you like some coffee?" Ciel asked as Laksa walked through the doors into their office.
"I'm good," Laksa replied, smiling.
Ciel raised an eyebrow.
Laksa frowned. "What?"
"You're eyes are shining."
Laksa just smiled wryly before sitting down. He pulled his new laptop in front of him, pulling up emails that had been sent to him in his absence. He went through them one by one, fingers flying across the keyboard with a killer's speed.
"You're doing very well," Ciel remarked from across the room.
"Thank you," replied Laksa. "It's not that hard once I get the hang of it. You had everything in that notebook of yours."
Ciel smiled slightly. "I have four copies of that notebook," he admitted.
Laksa's hand slipped, creating the first red-lined word that day. "Really?" he asked, surprised.
"Just in case."
"In case what, Jaeyline gets four new CEOs?" asked Laksa incredulously. "You're the best employee in all of LEO. Like she'd need others to sit on their asses and leave all the work to you."
Ciel laughed. "Glad you think so. But, no. These are all just in case. I always have several plans in motion, and even more backup plans. Nothing will escape my notice in LEO Corp."
"Then I'll be in your care," Laksa replied, smiling. This kind of work atmosphere... was actually quite fun and even more productive than if everything was dictated. Work where friends helped each other, fought with each other, and fundamentally drove each other to even higher levels of excellence. "This is one hell of a Corporation you're running here, Jaeyline," muttered Laksa.
"Hmm?" Ciel asked.
"Nothing. Just talking to myself," replied Laksa, smiling to himself.
.
"You clocking off?" Ciel asked as Laksa stood and stretched.
"Yep. I have a few errands to run, but I'll be back just after midnight to bring you some food," replied Laksa, grabbing his jacket and packing his planner and laptop.
"Thanks, Laksa. You're a huge help."
"No problem, Nii-san. See you later." Laksa walked out just as Jaeyline walked in, their eyes meeting and conveying the plans. 'It all ends tonight,' Laksa said with his green eyes.
Jaeyline nodded before striding right into her office after exchanging greetings with Ciel.
Laksa's eyes were fixed ahead again, this time fierce and deadly. Anyone who had the guts to try to harm his brother would pay. He'd show them just what 'searching for teeth' meant.
.
"I'm shocked you came yourself, Laksa," Leslie said as he walked into the underground assassin's guild. Her chocolate hair went to her waist, her light blue eyes sparkling with intelligence.
"Did you do what I asked?" he asked. When she nodded, he relaxed. "How's your heart?" he asked.
"Fine. Everything's been going great. Recovering quite quickly, actually, seeing as I was stabbed in the heart with a knife and stuck in a coma for years. My strength is finally starting to improve."
Laksa smiled, a real, bright smile. "That's good to hear. Don't do anything that can put your health in danger."
Leslie nodded. "Of course. If I died, who'd take care of you? You wouldn't be able to find your way out of a paper bag without me."
Laksa chuckled. "Would you like to go eat? I need to get some food for my coworker, anyway."
"So gentlemanly. Why don't we go to a restaurant? There's a nice tea shop down the street." Leslie's voice wavered on those words.
"I'm so sorry," said Laksa. "Did I remind you of him again? Your boyfriend?"
Leslie just smiled sadly. "A little. The response I gave you was the response I gave him, so it took me back a bit."
Laksa offered his arm. "Shall we, my lady?" he asked.
Leslie was like his little sister, though she was technically older than him. But because she'd been in a coma, she was a bit late maturing, as she'd gone into a coma when she was about eight.
Leslie and Laksa had a fun time out, eating at a restaurant, going shopping. Laksa even bought Leslie a couple LEO brand clothes.
"That was, by far, one of the best day's have had, ever," Leslie said, smiling.
Laksa smiled back.
"You have a spectacular smile, like the sun," Leslie said. Then she blinked. "I said that before. To my boyfriend. Do you think he still remembers me? We really only had one short date..."
Laksa rubbed her head. "Of course he remembers you. If what you said was true, then he could never forget."
"You remind me of him," Leslie admitted.
Laksa stiffened slightly. He took a step away, giving them both distance. "I don't want to remind you of him," he said. "I've got to go. I have some stuff to do tonight."
"Stay safe," she replied.
"Of course." Laksa walked away. As he did, he wondered why he reacted like that. She was his little sister, a girl who had nothing and came to him for help. Why had mention of her old boyfriend bother him?
.
Laksa jumped from roof to roof, his eyes fixed on the target walking below. He ran to the edge, hopping down, using the windowsills to make his way to the ground level. Everything would end tonight.
"What are you doing so late at night?" Laksa whispered in the ear of his target. He dodged the punch his target threw at him. It was too easy to get behind the target, slashing the knife across his throat. Laksa jumped clear of the blood spray, letting Old Man Rosenblade fall into a growing puddle of his own blood. He wiped his blade on the old man's clothes before vanishing into the shadows again.
The Rosenblade estate was huge, guards posted at every entrance, window, and even on the roof. There were so many guards, they didn't have to make rounds, which made security tighter, leaving no gaps for someone to slip in.
At least, if that person was an assassin any less skilled than Laksa.
It was fairly easy for him to jump onto the roof from one of the tall trees growing right next to the manor, moving around unseen before hopping down one of the many chimneys. It was tight, but Laksa was thin, able to shimmy down.
As soon as he came to the end of the chimney, he planted one of the many explosives on him on one of the logs. He jumped from the chimney, quickly darting out of the room.
The explosives were planted every hundred feet of so, because, while they were small, they were quite powerful. Once Laksa made sure there were enough planted to take down the whole manor, he burst through a window, drawing all attention to him. The guards started rushing toward where he hung from a branch of the tree.
Laksa's lips curled up into a smile as he swung up onto the branch, running the length of it before leaping, hands going under his suit jacket, pulling free the complex system of rods and paper-thin membrane, creating a hang-glider that snapped together over his clothes, taking him to the sky as he detonated the explosives. "Good luck trying to destroy my family," he said as he flew off.
Anyone who messed with his family would pay with their blood.
