"But why do you have to go?" Danna wondered sadly.
Luca looked at the sad little faces and the sad not-so-little faces surrounding him and his heart was warmed.
He squatted to talk to the little ones.
"Sorry, my loves, I have to handle some things with the company, but I'll be back after a week," he assured.
Ada frowned and looked at her feet. Mma stood still, but her eyes darted among all the faces. Danna and Lia were now teary and his brothers seemed... used to it.
Luca held his arms open and Mma darted into them, toppling him over and the solemnity of the atmosphere eased. The rest decided to join them on the ground. He laughed breathily as he looked at the dog pile above him.
"What's the 'H' stand for?" Danna wondered.
"Helipad. It stands for helipad, which is the area a helicopter lands on. I'll be taking a helicopter to the airport," Luca informed.
"From the airport to London, from there to Japan. I have a house there. I will have several meetings. I'll get you all gifts. I'll come back and we can have another movie night," Luca rambled as they looked to the sky.
"Fucking hell, pony!" Mma sat up and pointed to a cloud formation.
Luca knew he shouldn't laugh, so he bit his lip. The rest were silent but their shoulders shook with laughter.
"You're right, it looks like Rarity!" Danna supported.
Mma clapped, feeling proud. The others gave varying degrees of affirmation.
"Luca, you have to go..." Ada reminded.
"Yeah..." Luca agreed. He heard different sighs as they got up from the pile.
They dusted themselves and Luca gave each one a final hug before turning to board the helicopter. He watched as they headed back into the hangar, and they watched from the hangar as he was lifted away.
**************************************
"Misutā Jorudāno!" A cute voice yelled as he stepped into the baby-pink and maroon-red Cherī Lounge.
"Kaito-san!" They bowed to each other before Kaito jumped into Luca's arms.
"Tadaima," Luca whispered into Kaito's neck. Kaito giggled at the sensation and pulled back from the embrace. Not going down that road again. (I'm home)
He held Luca's hand and escorted him through his private channel to his pickup area. Aoki stood waiting to open the door to his car. They bowed and embraced for a second, while Kaito had already taken his seat. Then, they were off.
Aoki employed the partition and Luca secured his and Kaito's privacy by pushing a button. Kaito pulled out an anti-spyware device that scrambles signals, distorts radio-transmitted sounds and played a single track of oceanic Lo-fi music.
"I'd love one of those," Luca said.
They always spoke in Afrikaans when dealing with each other.
"Hmm, I thought so," Kaito pulled a small gift box from his suit's breastpocket and handed it to Luca who smirked and grasped the offered end of the box.
"You always seem to know what I want, Kaito-san" he praised.
"I'm good like that," Kaito quipped.
"That you are..." he trailed.
"So, tell me, why does Numore want you?" Kaito used their codename for the Oyabun. (Oyabun: Boss/Head of the Yakuza)
YOU ARE READING
The Empire's Descent (First Draft)
FantasyExcerpt: "Luca, it's a male Vampyr in the Green Grotto!", she burst into his office to inform. Luca rolled his eyes and clutched the desk before him, where he gripped splintered under the force. "Does it still hurt that much? Ari said you'll be able...
