Caught In The Act

Zane didn't want to wake up by the time they reached the estate. Clive tried a gentle approach of informing the other that they arrived as well as tapping his hand on the compartment between the two seats. Neither worked to wake up the young mafioso who'd managed to tuck himself rather tightly into the corner of the seat closest to the window.

If it weren't for the fact that Clive knew how the older Scarlet would react to seeing his son in such a state, he would've headed inside to inform Bernard of their arrival. Instead, the driver opted for the last resort in getting the other to wake up.

"Simple remember that you brought this upon yourself, young sir." Reaching into the glovebox, Clive pulled out the disk still wrapped in its shrink-wrapped plastic. After spending so many days in perfect condition, it would finally be touched. Putting it into the car's CD player, it became time to brace for what would come next.

Ten seconds of the bass booming through the stereo plus the signature heavy-metal screaming to start before the cursing and the sound of someone hitting their head against a headrest occurred. Not wanting to push his luck more than he already did, Clive let the music go only for a few seconds longer before abruptly stopping it. Just a few minutes longer and he would be able to enjoy the whole song by himself.

"Glad to see you're finally awake young sir. I apologize for the disruption but it seemed that not much else worked in getting you to wake up."

"What in the hell were you thinking by putting that terrible racket on?" The young mafioso scowled while rubbing the back of his head.

"There are a number of different ways that are far better in terms of waking me up than this." Far better than anything that left his ears feeling as though they were bleeding from the sorry excuse for music Clive enjoyed.

"Would you have rather I went and fetched your father to wake you up? I thought that you would prefer to be awake ahead of time. Unsure of how long that would take, I calculated this would be the next best option." Taking the CD out, Clive placed it back in its case for extra protection.

"Poor excuse for deciding to torment me. You know that all you had to was get out of the car and come around to this side to wake me up." His hopes of waking up in a better mood had all but been ruined by the other. The tease would've been better accepted any other time except for today.

"Indeed, but I fear you might have fallen out if I took that approach." Clive unbuckled and stepped out of the car to let the other out.

"You were rather wedged into the corner there which would've put you in a poor position if I did attempt to open the car door."

"Next time, I would much rather you open the car door than go about blasting that music. You can enjoy it while I'm here but put it away before I come back otherwise I might chuck it out of the car." Getting out of the car, Zane ran a hand through his hair both to fix it and ensure he didn't have a bump from hitting the headrest.

"Heard loud and clear, Sir. I will make sure that it is gone before you come back by the time I get ready to pick up lunch. Be certain to call if you need anything prior to that." Zane waved him off as he headed towards the house.

The young mafioso barely made it to the door before he pulled out his packet of cigarettes to light one up before he made his way inside. The nicotine would help settle his mood before facing his father. Not like his father would be there to greet him on the other side of the door. Bernard would most likely be tucked away in his office doing some work or other. No matter how little or often he came to the house, everyone always treated him the same way. A drink and the offer to take away any unnecessary items he carried with him. Today, he didn't have anything of the sort. He only brought himself to see his father. Brushing off the offer for the drink, Zane handed them his over-shirt before making his way to where his father would be. No sense in pausing for wasted conversation. His father never approved of his sons talking with the hired staff.

Walking down the hall, the young mafioso felt a strange nostalgic feeling strike him. One that hadn't come in quite a while. The strong urge to go about sneaking to his father's office like he used to do when he was younger came over him. Slowing down to the lightest of footsteps and evening out his breath to not be heard, he carefully made his way to his father's office. He knew the way like the back his hand. A fun game between him and his father when he was much younger. One that turned into the bad habit of sneaking into to steal his father's pipe and later spy to see if the older man was cheating. Zane only figured out later on that Bernard though a fool wasn't quite foolish enough to bring any mistress to their estate.

No one questioned the young mafioso's actions despite a few odd looks. Likely an odd sight to see a much taller version of himself engaging in childish antics. Zane didn't pay them much attention, too engrossed in remaining quiet the closer the office got.

Once he reached the office, he inadvertently made two mistakes in a row. The first that he shouldn't have to knock before opening the door. The second believing he would never have to worry about catching his father in the act of cheating. Both were wrong and a mistake on a variety of levels based upon the sight that met his eyes when the office door creaked open and the older Scarlet came into view.