Creed of the Leviathan II

32 | M + E

Mattia

My hand started to sweat from how long I was holding my phone, staring at Nuelle's name in my contact list. I had not deleted her number after changing my phone and contact, not even when they made me believe that she was dead. Perhaps, deep down I knew that she was still alive or maybe I was just hoping that she was.

I turned to the live footage of the camera in my office at M.A.D., which was playing on my laptop. I had been watching Nuelle all morning. She was now sitting at my desk with the phone to her ear. Her hand moved to every word she said. When she put the phone down and got up to leave the room, I deleted her name from the search bar and searched Clay's number instead.

"Calling to tell me that you're going on a little trip?" He guessed.

I leaned against the frame of the large, open window with my eyes still on the screen, waiting for her to return. "Considering it. How long can this trip be?" 

"Like I said. We'll be in touch when you're needed. That's the only catch to this thing. Whenever you're needed, you'll have to respond."

"Right." I lost focus when I saw her again.

"Are you in the right condition for a visit?"

Only a little over two weeks had passed since Prague. I was bed bound almost the entire time and though I was recovering, I was far from completely healed.

"I hope so." I answered honestly. "I'll brief you indefinitely when I've made up my mind."

I took the laptop from the table and placed it on my bed. Sudden movements still brought me pain. Watching her, it made me forget about it. It made me forget about most things. But was I wrong for being anxious that being in her presence would take away what I had learned, what I was now used to, only to be called back to reality when the organization needed me?

I turned away from the screen and was walking to the bathroom when a manly voice stopped me. I faced the screen again, ignoring the intense sharp pain in my side due to my fast movement, and pulled the device closer to me. Imagine my surprise when Kline's face appeared on the screen. I pressed down on the mattress with my hands rounded into fists. I had forgotten about this prick.

'Is this who she replaced with me?'— I asked myself.

I straightened myself and typed a message to Clay, notifying him that I had made up my mind and was leaving for Seattle.

I took my ring from the nightstand and slid it onto my right ring finger. Then, I placed a cigar between my teeth and lit it up. The first few puffs were intense, almost overwhelming as I was still a new smoker, but it brought me relaxation. Less than two hours later I was on the plane to Seattle. I had not contacted anyone about this visit except for Clay.

When I landed, I took a taxi back to a hotel not far from our family's company. First thing I did was check the cameras again. This time of inside the house since it was already evening. Good thing I still had access to the main systems. But, with Christoph and Emillio controlling it, I knew it was only a matter of time before they would notice an unidentified device logged into the account. 

The yard was quiet, just two guards, whom I recognized were present. The downstairs living-room, my home office and the library were all also quiet. Dom and Marissa were in the upstairs living-room, both doing their own thing. My eyes moved from left to right, scanning all the squares that the screen was divided into. I found Nuelle in the kitchen. She moved around within the space and therefore, walked on and off camera a few times.

Then suddenly, the front-door bell rang. My eyes shifted to the footage of the camera that was facing this area. Nuelle showed up within this frame, peaking through the little-watch-hole. I glanced at my watch to see the time, wondering who could possibly show up at the house this late at night. When she opened the door, it was the same person, who triggered me to react this uncalculated and fly to Seattle without a gameplan. Kline, that motherfucker.