Explanations?

Tonight, Tuesday 23rd.

When they finally reached Michael's place, the atmosphere is tense. Roméo sits on the kitchen counter after giving his coat to Michael for him to hang and then, he sighs profoundly.

- I'll tell you but.. promise me you won't do anything to me afterwards..

Michael sighs and judging from his tone, Roméo could tell he was angry. He gulps of fear and starts trembling.

- I won't.. promise you.

Roméo startles and glances at Michael's face ; he was very upset.

- W-well then.. I-..

"Hold on, I can't tell him the WHOLE truth right ? It's not like he could discover if I'm telling the truth or not.. in any case, I can't tell him yet. He's too unpredictable, I can't be sure of what he'll do to me if he ever discovers what I'm really hiding.. let's play smart." is what he thought.

- I have to meet David Martinez personally, get close to him. He.. has something that belongs to me. Stella and I joined this tournament in order to do so. I'm sorry I had to hide it from you but.. I mean ! You're a cop ! And, like, we're in the US.. who knows what you could do t-to me.. I mean..

Michael walks up close to Roméo, he puts his hands next to Roméo's thighs and gets his face to his'.

- Do you really think I would put you in jail like that ?

- I-I mean I don't know-.. you're such a loner, I can't say if I'm 'close' to you or not..

- Really..

- A-anyway ! I really have to get close to David as soon as I can. Which means keep on this tournament.

"I feel like he's not telling me everything.. if you wanna play the tough guy with me, hiding behind excuses and lies, dancing with your shadow, I'll play along." is what he thought.

- You see, as if by chance, I also have to meet him. He.. did something to my sisters. I'm here for revenge and blood. Maybe we could help each other in our respective objectives. What do you think ?

- W-well..

"I can't know what he'd do if I say no. Even so, he's a cop, I bet he has some info on him that we couldn't get. I don't know if I'm making the right choice though.." is what he thought.

- Why not ! I wouldn't mind working with you.

- Good. Now, how about you tell me about your plan ?

- My plan ?

- I saw it earlier. You guys aren't seriously beating up these people, you only find a way to kick them out of the ring with ingenious techniques.

- About that.. it's Stella who planned them. I-I didn't really know what to do, she came up with tricky plans and until now, everything went good !

-.. but David chose to change his own rules. I don't want to scare you off but I believe you'll be on your own for the next fight.

- I believe so too.. until now, all of Stella's plans went as planned. She has some crazy contacts- she knew every little details on each of them. Just with a few calls, she learned the twisted case of Joshua and she even discovered Jackie's drug history in no time, she knew what kind of drug would trigger him, she knew that Joshua was easily offended, she knew..

- Ah-.. Joshua's case. Wasn't he in love with his mother ? Killed his father and, if I remember correctly, had sex with his mother which led to his sister/daughter ? I think Patland was assigned to that case at some point. As for Jackie, he is known to be a huge drug consumer, who knows how many overdoses he went through.. I bet it wasn't hard to find his history.

- Yeah, that's what she found too..

- Who's your next opponent ?

- Hmm.. a girl but I kind of forgot her name..

- ... I have a question. How come your girlfriend knew in advance who you'll be fighting ?

- That's-.. well, during our training, she just said that she had contacts, that she paid people to fight the guys she knew she would win against. That's all I know, she never said much about it, even I.. h-have doubts..

- You should. This girl seems really suspicious.

Michael pats Roméo's head softly.

He whispers,

- Be aware of your surroundings. I wouldn't want such a cute youngster like you to die so early.

As he said that, Roméo felt somehow a degree of pain in his voice, as if Michael was actually scared. But his expression is so cold and impassive, you can never know when he's feeling something. Then, Michael walks away to his room quietly and locks it. Roméo can finally breathe.

- Mon Dieu..

(My god..)

He jumps off the counter and walks to the couch. One or two hours later, he was already asleep.

Today, Wednesday 24th.

When Roméo wakes up, around noon, there was no sound in the apartment. Michael was already at his work. Roméo walks to the kitchen while checking his phone. On many social media, Jackie's critical time during his fight is mocked by everyone, he's almost lynched by the community. Everybody thinks he's weak, that he has no pride anymore, his family was even interviewed afterwards to talk about this recent event. They're all disappointed. In a way, Roméo feels bad.

He takes out a carton of milk of the fridge to pour it in a bowl but then, he receives a message from Carter. It says :"My god, yesterday Stella really went wild on that poor guy. I guess you saw it on internet too. But I heard things. David seems interested in you and Stella, keep it together ! You guys are this close to enter his private circle and kill him. Stay focused kid, I believe in ya' !".

When Roméo read it, he sighed and kept on doing what he was about to. "He's right.. I'm close to the half of my goal. After that, everything will be settled. I'll finally get to go home and far away from these gangster stories. I'll just have to leave the killing part to Stella.. or Michael. Ah, Michael. I'll leave him too when it'll be done. I should find something to offer him to thank him for accommodating such a delinquent like me." is what he thought.

Far away from this boy lost in his thoughts while making his breakfast, there's Michael, sat alone at a table at the back of the police station's cafeteria. While eating what he bought at the store close by, Patland and Quinn come and sit in front of him with tired face. Michael raises his gaze at them and rolls eyes after seeing their dark rings under their eyes. Patland even collapse on the table. Quinn sighs and glances at Michael.

- The case we were given is terrible--..

- Yeah ! So upsetting too ! Tell him Quinn, I can't move a finger right now..

- What, you guys chose Harry's case or something ?

The both men startles suddenly with surprise and a bit of fear.

- YOU ! Must be crazy ! We would NEVER take his case, Patland may be a bit dumb but I'm not, I wouldn't let him take this case.

- So what ? What case did you took ?

- Something related to.. David Martinez.

Quinn's expression changes. He raises his gaze to Michael with a deadly serious face, it's like he said that to trigger him. Michael frowns and almost breaks the fork he had in his hand after hearing Quinn. He is tense.

- David Martinez, really..

- Yeah. Heard his business isn't doing good these times. We wanted to clear it up so we chose it.

- Really..

The atmosphere is electric but only Patland doesn't notice it ; he's too tired to notice nor listen to anything.

- And so, how's it going ? Found something interesting ?

- You can say that. We're searching for clues about their factories, for now, no advances but--!

Michael stands up and walk past Quinn.

- .. before enrolling in new cases, finish your current one. We let our prisoners break free, you should worry about them killing us when they'll come back than some drug baron we searched for years already.

Then he walks fast out of the cafeteria, leaving waste on the table. Quinn clenches his teeth forcefully and bangs the table. The impact woke up Patland, he even screams of fright. Quinn sighs profoundly while watching Michael walking away.

Michael enters his office but, leafing through his sheets, it's Maddie, staring at Michael's almost empty office. When she hears the door creaking behind her, she turns around and sees suddenly Michael in front of her frowning.

- What are you-..

- Sorry Michael ! I just- I needed to see you.

- Is it work related ?

- W-wha-.. yea, it is.

- Then ?

- W-well, it's just.. I heard you worked on Tammy Stevens' case, no ? I wanted to know what her lawyer said about her. It seems that he's involved in dangerous things..

Michael seems doubtful but.. he walk past her to take his files on Tammy Stevens. Maddie follows him to his desk and stands really close to his body. She can feel his cold breath on her neck.

- You took another case ?

- N-no ! I'm just searching that for a friend- uhhm, for Emma, she's on that guy's case so..

- Why didn't she come to see me herself ?

- You're quite.. imposing. Many people here are afraid to talk to you..

She whispers,

- Also, I didn't want her to get too close to you..

Michael glances at her and their eyes met. Maddie's face gets even more redder than it already was. In the meantime, Michael is still searching through his sheets to get what she asked.

- But I-I must say..

Maddie looks down. The coldness emanating from Michael's body is covering Maddie's whole body, it's like she was wrapped in an igloo situated somewhere in Antarctica. Somehow, she's feeling good being covered by this mantle.

- I feel like.. I'm falling.. even more for you..

Michael sighs deeply and rolls eyes. He takes out a sheet out of his huge file and hands it to Maddie.

- Here, you can give her that. It'll be enough.

- O-okay..

Reluctantly, Maddie gets away from Michael and starts heading to the door.

- T-thanks for that.

- ..

- But.. I really meant it ! I'm really falling for you day by day even more harder than the previous day. You'll see, one day, you and I.. we'll become a "us".

Suddenly, she rushes out of his office with a flushed face. Michael sighs and turns around, he's facing his office's window which opens onto a global view of Boston. "She's really stubborn huh.. what am I going to do.." is what he thought.

Some hours later, his shift finally ended. Michael walks out the police station but then, get his arm grabbed by someone. He turns his head and sees Quinn with a frustrated expression.

- Michael, we need to talk.

- Yea, we do-..!

Michael grunts and plasters Quinn against the police station's violently while wearing a very angry face. Quinn scoffs, his frustrated face disappeared, you can tell by seeing his face that he's scared.

He whispers loudly,

- Why can't you stay out of my business ?! I already I told you to step back, not to interfere with what I do. It's none of your concerns.

- Tsk ! You see.. I don't even know why I keep helping you..

Quinn's face gets sadder.

-.. I covered you for every suspicious things you did, I keep on informing you on David's doing and whereabouts and still,.. STILL..! You keep me out of everything ! I never questioned anything you did and I still don't. I'm not trying to get in your way, I want to help you ! I want.. explanations.

-... Why..

- Why..?

Quinn looks like he's about to cry.

- Isn't it obvious..?! I consider you as a very close friend.. you know things about me I can't even face myself, you are my friend, I truly want to help you. Yet.. you don't give a damn.

Quinn pushes Michael off of him brutally and clenches his teeth.

-... You know what's worst about you..? Even if you are as cold as ice, distant like the Moon, mean and rude like anybody else, I can't..I can't even walk away from you and leave you on your own. I don't know if you noticed the power you hold on us, we are weak to you. Your gaze is like-.. you are so powerful. One glance from you and we..

Quinn suddenly dashes to Michael's side.

- If you wanted to, you could dominate anybody, create a true army. I feel so sorry for Maddie, poor her, she fell for.. Someone like you.

Quinn gulps and walks past Michael really quickly. When he turned around to stop Quinn, he already disappeared from his sight. Michael's expression indescribable. It's a mix of sadness, anger and deep.. very deep loneliness. Some minutes after, the clouds darkens and it starts raining. As if Quinn's feelings were linked to the sky, Michael could feel his profound sadness and distress from the touch of the cold water falling from above him. You could think the few rain drops falling from his face was the tears coming from his shocked eyes.

After being awfully screamed at, Michael walks back home as planned. When he walks through the door, Roméo glances at him from where he was lying down on the couch. In one glance, he knew something wasn't right. Michael is usually impassive and inexpressive but this time, it's like he had no soul, that his eyes were reflecting a huge dark hole. When he noticed that, Roméo gets up from the couch and walk slowly to Michael. A bit confused and clumsy, he tries to hold his hand shyly, his hand is trembling. He doesn't need any explanations, he acts by his heart.

As soon as Roméo's warm hand got in touch with Michael's frozen hand, they could both feel a weird yet good connection. It's like mixing two opposed powers, two opposed worlds that find a common point to gather together.

- H-hm.. I.. I can cook for us, o-our next fight is on Friday so for now, I don't have much to do..

Michael just stares at him. A few seconds later, unwillingly, he let go of Roméo's hand and goes to his room to change clothes. When he closes the door, Roméo's face was as red as ever, he almost ran to the kitchen to bury himself in cooking so that he won't think of anything else. Around five minutes later, Michael comes out of his room and walks to the kitchen counter. He sits on one of the three chairs available and just watches Roméo cooking.

Roméo clears his throat.

- So, h-how was your work today ? Anything special..?

-..

Michael stares at him.

- Your.. next fight is on Friday huh. I'll make sure to reserve my evening to come and watch you.

- Huh ? You- You don't need to do that, you know.. I mean, being a policeman is already weary, you should just head home and sleep, I bet you're having rough days.

- I'm okay.

- If you say so ? But really, no need to come, it won't be of any fun..

- .. your girlfriend is gonna be there ?

- My girl--.. Hey ! Stop calling her that, I already said it wasn't like that. Why so stubborn about it ?

- The way you look at her says otherwise.

- Wha-..?

Right when Roméo turns around to glance at Michael, he was already behind him, grasping quickly Roméo's face to bring it close to his'.

- When you look at her, you always seem so pleased and happy, at ease. But when you look at me, all I see is a scared kitten willing to give himself entirely to me. That's..

- Cute ?

- I was about to say Funny cuz' I don't get to meet many people like you. Like you're from another universe..

Roméo giggles and rolls eyes.

- I'm from France, not Mars or something. Of course Europeans would look very different from you and what you're used to but just remember that in the end, we have the same ancestor and that also, originally, Americans are basically Europeans sooo..

Michael rolls eyes and steps back.

- You're no fun.

Then he walks back to his seat.

- What~? I was just saying facts here. I bet you didn't like history class in high or middle school.

Roméo turns back and keeps on cooking.

- I wasn't fond of it.

- Guessed so. You look like a math brain or something.

- Why so ?

- Don't know, when I look at you, I see a misunderstood genius.

-.. and still this genius ended up being a regular policeman.

- Don't think so low of your job ! Policemen are sure brave, I couldn't do it. Moreover, even if you're quite imposing, people would feel secure by your side-- completely my opposite. I don't have the stature of someone that could protect you anytime. More like a basic young man in his twenty that could approximately protect you from one burglar or something..

- Hmph, says the guy who's fighting against delinquents in a tournament hosted by a drug baron. Such a dangerous lifestyle..

Roméo giggles a bit loudly, at each sound of his, Michael smirks but Roméo doesn't see him.

- Oh yeah that's true~.. at first I was terrified by it too. But now, I just feel.. less scared. Having a whole crowd cheering for your success really help! You feel like these people are by your side anytime you want, I still hear their screams at night when I'm about to sleep..

- Yeah, when someone truly believe in you, it feel so good that you could die. You feel so much at ease that you take him as granted.. as if no matter what you do, he'll never leave you.

Roméo turns his head to Michael. "He is talking about someone else.. even Michael can feel something for the others, that man who looks like he doesn't feel anything can be so.." is what he thought.

- Well, I believe in you Michael. You said you wanted to meet David too ? I bet you will get to meet him soon enough, after all..

Roméo glances at him.

-.. if it's you, nothing can resist your will right ?

The shiny eyes are almost dazzling Michael, watching such an angel is so unrealistic that he feels like all of this is a dream. Michael looks away from Roméo's gaze. Roméo giggles.

-.. when will the food be ready ?

- In some minutes, be patient !

Michael sighs and walks to the couch. Roméo stares at his reflect in the window in front of him. "I must say.. some sides of you are cute Michael." is what he thought.

In a district plunged into darkness, only a not so well maintained bar is lighted. This bar is surrounded by dirty streets and dilapidated stores. When you take a closer look to the walls, you can notice that they all carry the sign of Carter's crew ; the Black Devils. This whole district is ruled by them. Inside the bar, a woman, alone, is waiting at a very filthy table. Some minutes later, a man comes out of the kitchen part of the bar and sits in front of her, followed closely by three armed men from the Black Devils crew, it was Carter.

- I think we all heard and know what happened yesterday night huh. A young woman who floored the feared Jackie Jarcko in a 1v1 arena. David isn't going to ignore this one, it was well-played but.. aren't you putting too much personal feelings into it..

Stella ?

She raises his gaze at him, wearing a very angry expression.

- Maybe. It's none of your business anyway. I don't owe you explanations.

- True true, I don't really care to be honest but I'm just sayin' ; if you're too full of yourself you may regret it hardly. But enough of talking about that. How is Roméo doing ? I texted him earlier but I'd like to know what you think of him, you, as his "tutor".

- Well.. he sure is tough, I give him that, but is he strong enough to deal with all that ? All I see in him is an angel, too pure to enter our world. He's not ready to face reality, to learn about our world, our truths..

- You can't change your partner now, Théo was clear on that. I don't know why but he sees something in Roméo, something stronger than physical strength. I can see it too, this guy is.. out of the world, even his own.

- Yeah, I felt it too.

- Stella, this is your last chance to do what you always wanted to, do not fail so close to your goal. This time, kill him for real. You've been on this ring too many times already to fall again. By your side, you have us, and moreover, Roméo, I don't care if you hate him or no, you must admit that you need him, he has something any of your previous partners had. He will lead you to your goal, just keep on playing with him for a while and that's gonna be settled in no time.

Stella nods and gets up. She walks up to the door.

-... You guys put too much effort to help me. I know that you'll kill me if I don't succeed this time, it really is my last chance before I lose my life for good. I can't run away from your crew. Sometimes.. I'd like to kill myself just like that on a whim but I know you can find a way to bring me back to life one way or another. After all, you've done it once already..

Carter smirks evilly. Stella doesn't look back and walks out the bar.

- I wonder when.. she's going to explain him the true story behind all of this. I can't wait for the real explanations to come out.

She stares at the stars obstructed by the heavy rain, in only a few seconds, her body was already wet from head to toes. Even the people from above could hear and see her cry, hidden by the rain.

- The end is soon for me.. and when I'll be no longer here.. you'll be next Roméo.

Next Chapter: Dangerous Woman.