Mobster Boy

15

I can't hear anything except a very annoying high-pitched whine, the world fading in and out. Vaguely, I realize I'm in shock. Then a pair of warm hands cover my shoulders. Supporting me, Chance eases me up until I'm sitting straight and looking into his eyes. "Adrian?" I blink a few times, looking into his eyes. They're several shades darker than the sky above us. "Hey, snap out of it!" He shakes me a little and I return to my senses, clutching him tightly by the front of his shirt.

"C-Chance...T-the car exploded." He breathes a sigh of relief, sitting back on his heels. To my shock, his lips curl in a small smile.

"You're definitely okay if you're back to saying stupid stuff again." Reaching out, I slap his chest, scowling deeply. Then the worried expression returns to his face.

"Does it hurt? Did you hit your head?" His worry surprises me, but I hide it.

"It's all gone..." I muttered, scrunching my eyebrows together.

"What?" He's confused, obviously.

"It was all in the briefcase, unless you had a backup somewhere. You had a backup, though, right? Like you told your father?" Chance doesn't respond.

"The accountant had it." My stomach sinks. I'm careful to look away from the pluming smoke and blackened mess of the wreckage near us.

"D-did he...?" I'm on the verge of a panic attack, but I stamp down on it furiously. 'Now is not the time.'

"You and I need to get out of here." Tucking an arm around my waist, he leads me away in a hurry even as he calls for a cab on his phone. "Come get us." He rattles off an address nearby, within walking distance, and hangs up without another word. Before Chance can pocket the phone, it rings again. He hesitates at the unknown number before answering it. Giovanni's voice is smooth and pleased, rumbling low through the speaker.

"I'm done playing games, Chance. This is the last time I'll go easy on you. Watch your back." And then he hangs up. 'That was him going EASY?! And this man has this much regard for his son? It's not like you've known much better either.' Chance's expression remains carefully neutral, even as all the blood drains from his face. The cab arrives soon, to my relief, but Chance and I are on edge until we see the mansion creep up into view.

~~

I'm shaking when Chance helps me out of the car, his hand tight around mine. He makes sure I go inside first, and his presence at my back is like a comforting shadow. I collapse onto the living room couch, something else suddenly dawning on me. "What about the car?"
 Chance retreats into his cool façade, dismissing it out of hand.

"Giovanni can clean it up. It's his mess." 'What about the accountant?' I start to tremble again, still smelling the acrid smoke. It must be stuck to me; I'm more than likely covered in scorch marks. 'I just keep ruining my clothes...'

"Hey." He kneels in front of me, demanding I look into his eyes. I glance up, pursing my lips together to keep from blabbering about something useless. "You sure you're okay?" I want to say I am, but I don't.

"I guess that depends on your definition of 'okay.'" I chuckle. Chance snorts, resting his hands on my lap.

"If you're well enough to be obtuse, then you can't have cracked your head that hard." One hand reaches up to cup my face.

"Let me know if you get dizzy or anything like that, okay?" A pair of footsteps approach us; after a moment I can recognize Hideyoshi's voice. Chance stays where he is, but moves to sit facing the TV rather than kneel in front of me.