THE OLD MAN IS GENIUS!

KING

Luca brought us to his home but couldn't let his family know about two strangers he had brought home as their guests. So the boy took us to a small cottage beside his house, which was old and dusty.

But it was better than nothing!

He left to get us food, water and some clothes. About an hour later, I and Fire lay on the ground gazing at the dark sky through the window in front of us.

We lay in silence with full stomachs when she broke the silence.

"What are you thinking?"

"A plan." I answered.

"Can you tell me? I might be of some help."

I sighed. "We have to contact Gabriel. We don't know what happened to Cameron and we don't have any mode of contact."

"We can borrow someone's phone and contact Gabriel." She suggested.

"No. That's too risky. As per Luca, this area is under Mancini. He is a cunning man with good network and technology. He must have ordered to track all the outgoing calls from his territory. He will know if we contact family. Also, don't forget that we have a rat amongst us." I explained.

"Ohh... right! I didn't think about it."

After a minute, she sat upright, pulling me with her. I was annoyed at her for touching me so many times without my permission, but she didn't give me a chance to speak.

"I have an idea. Gabriel told me that he is the one contacting Benji regularly. What if we tell Benji to pass the message to Gabriel? No one will get suspicious right?"

She actually used her brain for once.

"What if they are tracking Gabriel's phone?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that. My old man is too smart to deal with it. And we have to take the risk anyway. What say?"

I liked her idea, but I was not going to compliment her for that as she was receiving many of them since morning. I only nodded my head in approval.

"But do you know Benji's number?" She inquired.

"Yes."

"Great! I will ask for a phone to Luca first thing in the morning. I am sure he will help gladly." She gushed out.

Luca's name turned my mood bitter. "Will you stop talking about him again and again. Are you smitten by his charms, Miss Maxwell?" I said the last part with sarcasm.

She opened her mouth to argue when I warned her. "Stay away from him!"

"How dare you? You can't decide that for me. You are not Benji or Juan to do that for me. You have no right to do so." She said venomously.

"Why do you care, huh? You are fighting for a boy whom you know from only a few hours." I was getting impatient with her naivety.

"I care because he is a good person! I care because he is nothing but nice to me this whole time, unlike you. I care because he says sweet things to me, unlike you. I care because he makes me laugh and feel... normal, unlike you.

And lastly, he is not a monster... like YOU! Hence I will talk to him or whoever I want to. You can't stop me!" Her white skin turned red in anger. Her chest heaved up and down.

I grabbed and pulled her to my chest, encircling her waist with my good hand. Her body crashed into mine, sending sensual vibrations through it.

"I don't care what he or anyone makes you feel. I don't care how much special anyone treats you. I don't give a damn about anything other than that you will do as 'this monster' says! Don't ever forget that you are MINE! You are mine only! Mine to BREAK... Mine to RUIN!"

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BRIA

I was still shaken by his words last night. Since then, I refused to talk to him and just like every time, he didn't bother either.

The next morning, I asked Luca for a mobile, but he refused, saying he couldn't steal his mother's phone. He was acting distant, and I knew the reason for it. I felt bad for the poor boy, but my hands were tied. There was so little I could do for him.

I thanked him again and again before waving him goodbye. Probably this was our last meet, and in the race of time, he might forget about me. But he came as a saviour for both me and Devil and thus he would always remain in my memories.

The same thing couldn't be said about that heartless monster though!

Would he forget about me after killing me too?

Why the heck did that thought saddened me suddenly?

I ignored it and followed him through the village. Ten minutes of a walk later, we reached the marketplace, and for the first time, I was glad to see so many people around me after those terrifying hours in the forest.

The hustle and bustle in the market made me feel alive again. I watched people busy with their own thing, and nobody really paid any attention to me.

But how could the devil tolerate normalcy around him? He had to do something to disturb the tranquillity of life!

Without any word, he walked away from me to get mixed in with a group of people near one of the vegetable stalls. He picked up a pumpkin checking it like it was a precious diamond.

'What the hell is he doing?'

The devil came back after some minutes and pushed me to walk faster, holding my hand. We stopped at a spot with fewer people, and he took out a phone from his pocket.

I looked at him in surprise, forgetting our fight from the last night.

"Where did you find it?" I whisper and yelled.

Silence!

And then it dawned upon me. He was not interested in the pumpkin but was stealing the phone from someone!

What can you expect from a mafia guy anyway?!

He opened the phone with his long fingers moving smoothly on the screen.

"How do you unlock the phone without a password?" I inquired.

"This phone belongs to an old man. So it's obvious he has an old model with a less complicated lock system. Besides he is barely able to see a thing even with the spectacle so he can't set any pattern or number password."

My lips formed an 'o'.

That devious bastard!

"Benji. Benji, it's me. Bria"

"Bria, oh my god Bria. Is this really you? How are you doing, darling? Are you okay?" I could sense the relief and excitement in his voice.

I nodded my head with teary eyes even though he couldn't see me over the phone. "Yes. It's me. I am fine. How are you, Benji? I miss you so much!"

"I am doing just fine. I miss you too princess. Why didn't you call me again? I was waiting for your call. Those little monsters half murdered me when I told them that you called and they didn't get to talk to you." Benji whined.

I laughed softly, imagining the kids roasting Benji. "Sorry about that. But I have called now."

The devil pointed me to cut the chase. I nodded my head and continued, "Benji. I want to talk about something important to you."

"What is it? Are you hurt Bria?" He asked in worry.

"Yeah, I am fine Benji. Don't worry. I don't have much time. Have you talked with Gabriel recently?"

"Yes. He called last week and promised to check up on us again this week. Why?"

"Ok. Now listen to me carefully. We, I mean, me, Cameron and his boss are in Italy."

"What? What are you doing in Italy? It's fucking thousands of kilometre away Bria. What's going on?" Benji shouted, damaging my eardrums.

"Benji. Bad word. And don't shout, the phone is on speaker. I can't explain to you more at this moment. You have to do something for us. Can you contact Gabriel?"

"Yes. But-"

"Good. Contact him as soon as possible. We can't contact him directly. Tell him to contact on this number with a new number."

"What? But why? Please, Bria, you are giving me an attack here. Tell me why are you in Italy?"

"Benji please-"

"No. I will not pass the message to Gabriel if you don't assure me of your safety."

"Benji-" The devil pulled the phone again and spoke.

"Mr Benjamin Lachat."

A silence passed on the other side of the line.

"King. How?"

I looked perplexed, thinking about their exchange.

"That's a story for another time. Just do as she said. Rest assured that Miss Maxwell is safe with me." The devil said monotonously.

Benji scoffed. "Tells the person who abducted my child and destroyed our life!"

"Tells the person who has kept his all promises and hasn't killed 'your child' who has caused me only troubles and, nothing else!"

My jaw dropped at the devil's words. I hit his chest while glaring at him.

After some moments, Benji agreed. "Fine. But let me warn you, King. If you let Bria hurt even the slightest then I will make sure to bury you six feet under the ground."

"Noted!" The devil looked at me again.

"But you have to be very careful Benji. You have to pass this message to Gabriel in a secret code. His phone might be bugged." I warned him.

"Trust your best man, princess! I will take care of it."

Suddenly, we heard loud voices coming from the street.

"I think the man realised that his phone is lost. We have to go. Come on." The devil looked to the street and then at me.

I cut the call and passed the phone to him before we bolted out of there.

GABRIEL

I was frustrated and not in a great mood for the last two days. I hadn't received any news from Italy, and that made me worried. So much so that I avoided meeting Adam.

What was happening there? Was everything going according to plan, or was something messed up?

My phone rang, and I hurriedly checked the screen to see the familiar number flashing on it. I wanted to ignore it but then groaned before deciding against it.

"Hello"

"You said you will call this week"

"Yeah, I was busy. What's the matter? Do you need anything?"

"Where is Bria?"

Damn!

"She- um. She is with King. She is fine. Don't worry about her." It wasn't exactly a lie besides the fact that I had no clue if they were satisfied or not.

"Hmm. Can you visit us? We need some stuff and I have to talk about school fees and other requirements."

I scratched my head in frustration. "I can't. I have some important matter to take care of."

"You sound stressed. Is everything ok?"

Now I know where Bria got the trait of persistence.

"Yeah. Everything is cool!"

He paused for some moments.

"I think you should take a break. Go on a little vacation to a good place. Away from all like any foreign country or something. Look for a good and quiet place like a small town. The best way to deal with stress is by getting close to nature. The green trees, grasses, colourful flowers, beautiful 'butterflies' and blue sky. They will teach you the way to live life. Some journeys should be made by own, alone."

"I don't need a break," I grumbled.

What the hell was the old man talking about?!

"I know this world is full of lies and one can never trust blindly. But I am an old man who has gone through many seasons of hardship. These are the words of wisdom. Sometimes life gets too blunt with the regular same ways so try a new way to connect yourself with your soul. It will get you to the answer to your questions. If you need any help then you can always give me a call. Take care, GABRIEL!" With that, he cut the call.

I put my phone back on the table, confused by Benjamin Lachat's strange behaviour. This was the only time he had ever called me first, and he also talked about such an absurd thing for this long.

I tried to forget about it because I had so many things on my mind. I relaxed back in my chair and closed my eyes before something struck me.

-"Take care Gabriel!"-

He never addressed me by my first name. He always called me by my last name, Wilson.

-"foreign country, small town, beautiful butterflies, hardship."-

Butterfly? Does that mean Bria?

-" journeys should be made by own. Never trust blindly. Answers to your questions."-

The only answer I was looking for was where was King. There was a traitor. He didn't want me to share anything with anyone.

-"Try a new way to connect yourself with your soul."-

A new way to connect? A new way? What did he mean by that?

'Does that mean he doesn't want me to use my regular modes of connection? My phone, perhaps? Yes. Right! If someone is leaking the information about us, then it's possible that they are tapping my phone calls and might be tracking my every move.' I thought.

-"If you need any help, then you can always give me a call."-

Yesss!

That old man was a genius!

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