Hide And Seek

Chapter 8

Gabriel had a headache, that came and went.

Its name was Lila Rossi, and why he invited her to the hideout to conduct business was beyond him in moments such as this. Truly, he doubted he had ever met a more vexing girl, especially since she had been exposed to the general public. She had some followers still, mainly from her old high school class but truly he only kept her because it would be foolish to leave a loose end in the wind. Especially a loose end like Lila Rossi.

He had told her to come in order to tell her that she wasn’t doing good enough. He needed powerful Akumas, and she would spill some coffee over a man or frame a woman for petty theft. Small stuff, weak stuff.

Lazy work and it was aggravating.

She had come into his office quite casually, seeming bored by his accusations. Gabriel considered himself a patient man, but truly if he did not dismiss Lila he might end up killing her. After scolding her thoroughly, he had dismissed her. She had not, however, left. Instead, she waited patiently behind him, quite possibly for acknowledgment, which was a juvenile grab for attention if he ever saw one. Truly, it was not his business how lonely Miss Rossi was, but it was annoying him.

“What do you want, Miss Rossi? It is unlike you to stick your nose where you don’t belong.” Really he was in no mood to deal with her. She usually left quickly after he gave her a job. And while she was a nuisance. he also preferred to use her as to keep any unnecessary suspicion off of him.

“I want you to make Adrien date me,” Lila told him, inspecting her nails casually. Gabriel did not miss the subtle threat in her voice but was not threatened. He did however remember how Emelie had received a similar threat by an Ex-boyfriend once.

Gabriel refused to growl at her, but he came close to it. “What was that?”

“I need new material. So just send Adrien back to school, or make a statement that I’m dating him, either one will work,” Lila stated calmly, indifferent to Gabriel’s scowl. Truly Gabriel did not understand how she had the gall.

“I do not have time for your pathetic grabs for attention.”

“You better have time for it, or I might have to go to the police,” She smirked at him. “I hold all the cards, Gabriel.”

He sneered at her, not cowering back in the slightest. Lila had thought he might, but it seemed that Adrien must’ve gotten his cowardice somewhere else. Maybe in his dead mother. “Do you now, Miss Rossi?”

She said nothing, sure he knew that she did. She did not consider that maybe for once in her life, honeyed or barbed words could not save her. Secret threats would fail, and empty promises would fall through.

Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t have suffered such a cruel fate.

“You think I would let you walk away?” He asked her, taking small pleasure in how her face went white in realization. Lila wasn’t completely brainless it seemed, just catastrophically slow.

“Dark wings rise.”

Lila gasped in a panic at hundreds of white Akumas flooded in the room, they swarmed her, making it impossible for her to see as he took his own Akuma once more. She did not see him blindly grab a paperweight from his desk, or how his suit turned gold and his flesh turned nearly translucent save for his eyes. He looked like a piece of glass, wearing a suit made of gold.

His eyes turned gold, near-invisible sneer still in place as the butterflies swarmed away back into the attic. Barely taking his change in for a second she turned to run out the doors only to find them blocked by two curious floating strings. Each one was gold, thin, and simple. She knew not to trust it because the most unassuming of words or objects could be the most venomous.