Blood and Snow

Chapter Fifteen

Mason opened the door to his office, looking into the dark room. He sighed and walked through the doorway. Walking over to his desk, he turned on the light, making a dark red glow illuminate the room. He walked back to the entrance and closed the door, then moved to take a seat at his desk.

Opening one of the side drawers, be pulled out a large stack of papers. He grabbed a pen from the penholder and started writing and marking things down. 'The meeting is soon...' Mason thought with a huff, 'Must it be during the winter? I hate the cold weather. Always causing problems.'

He paused for a moment to read over the next paper, then continued writing. 'I wonder who all's going to be there, we should be receiving word about the meeting's time and location in the next week.' Mason stopped and slammed his hand down on the desk. 'That ignorant snot better not be there this year, I can't stand him!'

"Abusing the desk now, are we?" Fredrick's voice called out from the doorway, "That's a shame, what did it ever do to you?"

"Nothing. A frustrating thought just crossed my mind." Mason responded with a frown. Fredrick closed the door and walked closer to his desk. The British man tilted his head a bit, "Fretting over the next meeting?"

"Not the meeting itself, I'm just going to murder someone if he shows up."

"And that victim-to-be is...?"

Mason looked at Fredrick, "The new leader of the Headliners. Y'know, the ones who literally thing they're famous? Their leader thinks he's the new Genghis Khan or some shit."

Fredrick scrunched his face up in a look of annoyance and disgust, "Oh, yes. Now I remember. That man acts like an absolute swine."

Mason nodded, "Disgusting, rude, narcissistic, absolutely vulgar pile of—."

"—Now I know why you want to shoot him so much." Fredrick interrupted before Mason when out into a full-blown rant. "Take a deep breathe and count to ten, calm yourself down before you erupt." He said, giving Mason a respectful nod. Listening to his companion, Mason took a deep breathe and counted in his head multiple times. "Are you calm yet?" Fredrick asked him after a long moment.

"Can't tell, I'm at seventy-two."

Fredrick raised an eyebrow, "He makes you that agitated?"

"Yes!" Mason slammed his fist down on the desk, "Do you remember what I completely ranted to you about last time?"

"Please, don't remind me." Fredrick rushed to say, almost sticking his tongue out. Mason let out an long, aggravated sigh and relaxed. The two stayed silent for a moment, then Mason cleared his throat. "I know you didn't come in here to listen to my frustrations. What seems to be the problem?"

Fredrick smiled, "Nothing at all, Sir Mason. The others and I were wondering if we could throw a Christmas party in the dining hall on the twenty-fourth. Would you be so kind as to permit it and join us?"

Mason thought for a couple of seconds, then sighed. "I don't see the harm in it, but who will watch the lawyer while the rest of us are celebrating?"

Fredrick dipped his head with a grin, "I'm sure she'll be fine on her own. She doesn't seem like she wants to try escaping."

"...Alright then, the party's in five days, correct?"

"Correct."

"Tell the others that the party is on," Mason instructed, "I'll go tell Sierra and Myckenzie that they need to prepare a dinner."

The tall man stood up and walked to the door with his friend, opening the door and strolling into the hallway.

}—————{

"Thanks, Tyreke."

"No problem, Belle." the blue-haired man responded politely, "I figured you might've wanted your coffee back."

Belle had been sitting on the bed writing in her journal when Tyreke had brought her the coffee she left in the other room. It was thoughtful of him, really, to go out of his way and do that for her. Just like Happy and Bradley, Belle thought that Tyreke might have been too nice to be a criminal. It made her wonder how he came to be a part of Mason's crew. "... Hey, Tyreke?"

Tyreke smiled at her, "Yes?"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to... but..." Belle asked in a calm, slow voice, "How did you end up here? With the others?"

The man's smile dropped immediately, his eyes widening. The brilliant emerald-green color dulled, and his pupils shrunk. Belle's own eyes widened at his reaction, and concern flooded her tone as she tried to gain his attention. "Tyreke?... Are—... Are you okay?"

Tyreke shook his head rapidly, blinking his eyes as he tried to erase an image from his mind. "Y-Yes..." he said quietly, "I'm fine. I'd rather not answer that question, if you don't mind."

Belle nodded her head, a sad smile on her lips, "Of course. I'm sorry for asking. I hope I didn't upset you horribly..."

"Oh, no no!" Tyreke rushed, almost apologetically, "Don't worry, it wasn't you! It was just... some really awful memories..."

The man fidgeted with his hands, then opened the door. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." Without another word from himself, and without waiting for a "goodbye" from Belle, he walked out the door, closing it quickly behind him. Belle looked at the door in sorrow, 'I know he just said it wasn't me, but I still blame myself for upsetting him. His memories must really be horrible.'

Belle shut her journal and set everything down on the floor. She picked up her coffee and drank the rest of it, then set the mug back down on the floor. Kicking her boots off, she wrapped her coat around herself as she curled up on the bed. She had this terrible, cold feeling in her stomach, like something bad was about to happen. Belle shivered, hoping to shake off that feeling.

'I hope this feeling is just guilt and not an actual warning.'