Freddie rolled the flowery pendant of Lucy's necklace between his fingers and sighed, seeping from exasperation into contemplation. He paged through the small black address book Lucy left him, clinging to it. Treasuring it. A token. And perhaps...?
His fingers toyed with his lips until... He caught a faint glimpse of what he'd already made his mind up as a brilliant idea.
In an instant, the phone was off the hook with Freddie on his feet pacing about back and forth.
"Hello Mr. John Richard Deacon, and as of tonight, designated council for my doings and documented accomplice to my crimes... before you can even ask me what the fuck this is all about. I'm just gonna tell you..."
Freddie poured himself a glass of wine to fuel his courage as he plotted out loud into John's voicemail box. "I'm going on a little night time outing so I just might be a bit late for rehearsals in the morning. But it's important. I'm hijacking Lucy's mission... pick up now if you don't want me to go!"
Like a mischievous child whose parents were away, with a celebratory smirk, Freddie hung up the phone and then dialed the number of the page he'd bookmarked and twirled the cord between his fingers while he waited for the other line to pick up.
"Mr. Yien, yes, this is Freddie Mercury... I hope Singapore's time difference will have more mercy on you than it's having on me."
"Oh... Mr. Mercury. I'm quite surprised to hear from you at any hour even. Is something wrong?"
As if on cue for his role, Freddie dramatized. "Oh dear, It's my Lucy... She's supposed to be here with me! But she's gone off into outer space somewhere to defend another galaxy..." His voice dipped with his rankling sigh. "The situation did call for it—Violet's been kidnapped!"
"I see. It is good of you to call and let the Arrangement know about this."
"I'm calling in for more than that if you've got time..."
-:¦:--:¦:--:¦:--:¦:--:¦:--:¦:-
Gun drawn, Lucy approached the secluded checkpoint, hearing nothing except for the crumble of the gravel underneath her feet and the rumble of cars on the overpass by the Trinity River; Only one dim flickering light under the bridge saved them from the darkness in the middle of this night.
She found Violet guarded by several large men alongside her parents... beaten, tied, gagged, shackled, and stricken by fear.
A tall and confident man in a suit who clearly paid meticulous attention to his regularly scheduled haircuts waited for Lucy's cautious steps to draw closer, keeping a keen eye on Phoenix and Daisuke following just a few steps behind her.
The man opened their interaction by addressing her frown. "Are you upset with me, Captain?"
"You poked a sleeping bear. Can't get mad at me for being cranky when you woke me up..."
"Of course not." He slipped his hands into his pockets, making his nonchalance known. "Because you like the intrigue. You can't quit this life, Captain. You can never quit. You're addicted to it."
"Thanks for the existential psychology lesson that none of us asked for, Professor Dipshit.. but we're here because you kidnapped my friend and her family. Don't project your compulsive obsession with power and danger onto me."
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