The Illusion of Danger

Chapter 14

The day of their next meeting had arrived and Mordecai found himself in a bit of a predicament. Since the week prior, Serafine and Nicodeme had been on his tail consistently about their theories and accusations, watching his every move and teasing him.
Unfortunately, this was going to put a bit of a roadblock in the plan for that evening, so, the tuxedo made sure that he wasn't being followed before going out to the residence he knew to be of Rocky's cousin; how he knew wasn't important.

Knocking firmly upon the door eight times, Mordecai stepped back again and held his hands behind his back.
It wasn't long before noise could be heard from inside of the home, then the door swung open to reveal a rather husky woman. It took her a moment, looking the black and white cat up and down before she spoke.
"Can I help ya?"

"Yes, I was hoping to speak to Calvin McMurray if he happens to be available."
Mordecai stated flatly.

"Oh, merciful Lord, did 'e get 'imself into trouble somewhere?"
The woman asked, though not necessarily in a worried sort of tone, but rather annoyed.

"No, I assure you, madam, he is not in trouble. I will only be a moment with him."
The tuxedo said.

"Calvin, there's someone 'ere to see you!"
She called up the stairs of the household before turning back to Mordecai with narrowed eyes.

Calvin had been writing in a journal when he was startled by his mother's voice coming up the stairs.
"Someone... here to see me?"
He questioned out loud to no one in particular.
Usually, his only visitor was Rocky and he always jumped in through the window, so who could it possibly be?

The orange tabby made his way down the stairs. His mother walked away from the door she left cracked and gave him a stern look as if she didn't believe a word of 'he's not in trouble' that she was told. Calvin's ears folded back in concern.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
"Hello, can I hel-..."
His face drained of all color. He was not expecting to see the stern and rather scary man in front of him. Calvin was so stunned he was unable to even slam the door in his face, only stand there in a frozen state.

As soon as the man he'd been in search of came to the door, Mordecai raised his chin and looked down at the smaller gentleman in front of him.
"Yes, Calvin, we've met before, so I'm sure an introduction is not required."
He began.
"May I speak to you outside for a moment?"

The orange tabby's eyes stayed trained on those piercing green ones. He had lost his voice but was able to nod slightly. Slowly, he stepped outside and shut the door slightly behind him. Honestly, he didn't know how Mordecai knew where he lived and he was afraid to ask.

"Wh-... what do you want..."
He questioned timidly and almost too quietly for Mordecai to hear.

Mordecai could see that Calvin was very much afraid, which he understood perfectly well and frankly didn't mind at all, but he kept his distance regardless in hopes it would make the small tabby a little more comfortable so that this interaction could go at a bit of a faster pace.

Calvin appreciated the distance between himself and the tuxedo. Although he was still afraid and not being very good about hiding that fact, he still tried to put on a brave face.

"I was simply wondering if you would be seeing your cousin at all today. There is something I need him to know but given the circumstances, I won't be able to seek him out myself."
The black and white cat stated.

"To be honest, he kind of just shows up when he wants, but knowing him, I'll probably be seeing him today before the sun goes down."
He chose his words carefully, not knowing if Mordecai knew that he knew about the relationship he had with his cousin. So he opted on keeping his mouth shut and being as vague as possible.