Happy Reading.
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Mallory, Victoria, and Claire. The three girls of almost the same height walked out of the classroom together after the teacher who taught the last subject on Friday, ended the lesson and walked out exactly one second before the dismissal bell rang. The hallways of the school were empty, though not completely deserted. The thumping sound of lockers being closed one by one still echoed, occasionally heard the chirps of other students who were in a hurry to get home. The afternoon sunlight streamed in from the tall windows, casting long shadows on the floor littered with shoe soles.
The school bell had just gone off and the large Los Angeles schoolyard this afternoon was instantly transformed into an escape route. Students spilled out of the gray building like a burst of energy that had been held back for eight hours. Some immediately start their bikes, helmets half on their heads. In front of the school gate, the last yellow bus was almost full, the sunlight of dusk and the voices of students mixed with the sound of motorcycles passing by on the big road.
Claire closed the locker storing the last book before catching up with Mallory and Victoria who were waiting near the exit. "Tonight there is a betting race that will be opened by the Eagle Scouts in Sierra, Hazuki as the flagship member was appointed by Hestia to represent," said Claire reading out the announcement sent to the group with Randzion.
Victoria pursed her lips slightly, with a sardonic look that held warmth she turned to Mallory. "Wanna come, Ry?"
Mallory shrugged her shoulders briefly. "I'm actually not in the mood for racing right now, but we'll see tonight. Lorenzo wants to meet me and Marzio." She walked ahead, leaving Claire and Victoria in her wake.
Hearing Mallory's words, Claire immediately followed suit, matching the rhythm of her best friend's footsteps. "How strange? You're going out with him now? Don't intend to tell these two friends of yours?" Claire's question coupled with the change in her face implied that she was clearly looking for the truth on Mallory's face.
Mallory's head shook slightly, "No, he just said he had something important to talk about." she replied calmly as she stepped out of the school building towards the parking lot. "Oh, yes. I saw Lorenzo in the same car with the CEO of GH'Y Industry yesterday, I wondered what Lorenzo's relationship with the CEO was."
Victoria, who was wearing her full face helmet, stopped for a moment to open her visor to see Mallory's face. "You said the CEO of GH'Y?" Mallory gave a small nod without turning around. "He's the head of the biggest fundraiser for the Dr. Olymphic Race, and Lorenzo himself if I'm not mistaken is the son of an important person from the school, some kind of donor, perhaps?"
"That alone could infer that he's the son of a rich man who is probably well-respected, Tori." Claire added. "Maybe the CEO is actually Lorenzo's father? Especially since Lorenzo's parents have never been exposed, who knows if he's Lorenzo's Papa." Claire's quick conclusion got Mallory's approving finger snap.
"But how can Lorenzo contact you? Didn't you say you blocked his number?" Victoria asked again, already ready with her motorcycle that she just needed to start.
Mallory sighed as he sat down on his bike. "That's it, the story is that yesterday I returned from the headquarters after meeting with Azrien and Mattheo, returning from there before I got to the housing block that afternoon and evening, I saw from afar Lorenzo coming in a car with the CEO to my house. They brought a box to the front of the house, which contained a bouquet, a letter, and chocolates. It was in the letter that I got the message that he wanted to meet me and Marzio later that night."
Claire glanced at Victoria, and Victoria raised her eyebrows before glancing at Mallory. "I wonder what Lorenzo would want to talk to you and Marzio about, I think you'd better come see him." she said. "About the race later, if Randzion wants to come, I can ask William or Aesira to represent him." Victoria seemed to agree with Claire's suggestion, the race could be handled by other members.
Mallory's gaze stared blankly at the motorcycle in front of her. "Alright, I'll be going. Hopefully nothing important will be discussed so that I don't become an impromptu monster," she chuckled, Claire and Victoria shook their heads smiling widely at Mallory's face.
After starting the engine of his vehicle, waiting for a few seconds to make sure the bike was hot enough to use then he pulled the gas in his right hand a little deep, deliberately blasting the loud sound of his bike filling the school building. He held out his hand to Claire and Victoria for a high five because it meant that he would not be going to the headquarters after school, and would be going home to prepare to leave later.
The corner of Mallory's eye caught a movement that felt familiar, and as she glanced in that direction she immediately smiled slightly at the sight of a man, who was walking towards the car with a basketball in his hand. The continued conversation that Claire and Victoria were having no longer rang clearly in her ears as it was in a different room to her.
Mallory eased the pressure of her breathing as she felt the movement of the world around her slowing down in intense time, she couldn't help but feel that the small space between her long-empty heart was screaming her name. Although there was another heat and pain fighting to force it to fade because she herself was not sure in her heart, that the man who in the past few months had been the reason for her enthusiasm for school, now had a high possibility of being one half of her greatest enemy.
An enemy that scouts up close.
That's what Mallory has been thinking lately in the nights when she broods in her room alone, Marzio offers her to keep trying to live up to what has already become evidence of their closeness, but it still weighs on Mallory. She was genuinely afraid that there would be a day when she would get too carried away, and she would end up releasing the Chaopard Diamond to the enemy.
Her lingering gaze on Lorenzo was interrupted as the black car moved out of the school parking lot, her eyes following behind the car until it disappeared from her sight. "Claire, Tori. I'll go first," Mallory said without looking back and took her bike to the exit of the school parking lot which was on a different path from Lorenzo's car.
The afternoon sky was starting to turn a deep orange color mixed with a thin purple, hanging low over the old buildings whose paint was starting to fade. The city streets were still busy even though it was no longer rush hour. The sound of horns honking, motorcycles passing each other, and the dusty air mixed with exhaust fumes made breathing a little heavy, but Mallory was too used to it. The full-face helmet with clear glass revealed tired, heavy eyes at the thought of the task at home ahead.
The traffic light ahead turned red, but Mallory didn't stop. She made a quick right turn into a slightly smaller deserted lane, where laundromats and taco stands were starting to turn on their neon lights, a rat run she used to bypass the usual route home. Tall palm trees followed the direction of the bike. And amidst all the chaos of Los Angeles - the traffic jams, the sirens in the distance, the pedestrians crossing carelessly - Mallory just smiled. Like all the hustle and bustle could never touch her. The city may scream. But on the bike, gas in her right hand, helmet on her head, and speed above the limit, Mallory felt free.
"I've always hoped to stay in this city forever, with no plans for me to move to another city. Although there are many cities in the whole country that are more beautiful than Los Angeles, maybe Las Vegas or New York. Los Angeles is too beautiful to leave behind." her words just now unknowingly brought out a single teardrop from her right side, somehow her mood felt very hot even though so far there was no problem that really made her feel hurt or anything like that.
Mallory idly stares at the speedometer, thinking that maybe it's just her mood swing relapsing, and speeds up again. In front of the mirror near the kitchen, she stares at her own reflection that looks very tired from all the tasks and conversations throughout the day. His head lowered slightly, staring at the clear pill with a red circle in the center that he had to take since he was a child to regulate the hormones in his body, which had been out of whack since he was seven years old.
"Another day, another pill." Mallory lamented lowly, screwing the cap back on until there was a 'click' that signaled the lock on the bottle was tight. "Lorenzo wants to see you tonight Mallory, I myself don't know what the man is really up to... the truth about him being a member of Dalton. It's all still up in the air,"
***
Mallory gives herself the final touches of finishing her preparations to leave for the night, lifting her hand with the triangular glass bottle of intense pink liquid, bringing it closer to her body. Pressing gently on the head of the bottle, each tiny droplet sprays onto her clothes. The sweetness of the cherry given a touch of the delicate scent of the lily flower binds perfectly.
Not long after the sound of the car's arrival was heard followed by the sound of the horn, Mallory put the perfume bottle on her dressing table walked to the window to peek out a little at the black car that was very familiar to her stopped on the side of the road. Mallory closed the window blinds again immediately grabbing her cell phone lying on the bed and the small bag by the door. Walking down the stairs she met Marzio who was ready in the living room in his well-tailored, masculine suit. Marzio turns his head at the sound of shuffling feet on the wooden stairs next to him, and his sister comes in wearing the dark blue dress with a touch of lace with a small ribbon around the waist to the knee that he suggested she wear.
"I told you that you're always pretty in clothes that really bring out your sweet feminine side," Marzio smiled warmly at the face of the younger brother who had been with him for years longer than their parents had been with Mallory.
Mallory raised one eyebrow and slightly looked up glancing at Marzio through the corner of her eye casting a sardonic glare. "No man can comment on what I'm wearing," she insisted. "But, thanks. I don't know what kind of important things you want to talk about, but it's certain that Chaopard won't be brought along." she continued raising a smile without warmth on her face.
Marzio who was previously a little surprised at Mallory's answer about his comment on the girl's outfit, raised his eyebrows as his sister thanked him. "You can still be grateful. It's good that you didn't bring Chaopard, I was afraid that something out of control would happen. So it's better to just leave it at home."
Mallory had just nodded her head when there was a soft knock on the door from outside. Marzio immediately walked over to open the door and was immediately greeted by the figure of Lorenzo appearing wearing a casual clean outfit with a white shirt covered by a dark blue vest. A smile as sweet as a flower in the morning was etched on his face when he saw Mallory wearing a long knee-length dress in dark blue as well.
Marzio glanced briefly at Mallory inside who was seen folding one hand over the other, and that simple little movement Marzio immediately knew Mallory was feeling a little awkward at the smile and gaze thrown by Lorenzo. Marzio stepped outside to divert the situation before it got any more awkward by pulling Lorenzo away first to walk to the car. Mallory chuckled inwardly laughing at how Marzio could understand her even with simple signs.
Music blared softly from the radio playing a playlist of indie songs that weren't too loud, but just enough to break the silence. The streets of Los Angeles that night glowed in the lights of a city that never really sleeps. From the car windows, the neon lights of vintage shops, the billboards of blockbuster movies, to the traffic pulsing like the pulse of the city, everything blended together like a living painting. The car glides through the streets of Sunset Boulevard, which is still busy, but not chaotic. The tall buildings grew sparser as they got closer to Santa Monica-the skyline was darker but wider. The sea was yet to be seen but could already be felt from the cool breeze that seeped through the slightly open windows.
After almost half an hour spent on the road, Lorenzo turned the steering wheel to bring the vehicle to a stop in the parking lot of a steakhouse that was quite famous among the locals. As Mallory lowered the windshield all the way down, the savory and juicy aroma of the steak's varying degrees of doneness entered her nostrils without permission.
Marzio got out of the car first in the front passenger seat, opened the back door even when Lorenzo hadn't unbuckled his seatbelt, tugged gently with no force just a firm command for Mallory to get out. Then he led his sister slightly away from Lorenzo's car to the neon lights of the park whispering something. Lorenzo saw their interaction only smiled briefly then went inside without saying anything.
"There's a weapon I've hidden under my clothes, you'll hold one just in case." Marzio pulled out the object then held out the weapon in his hand slowly, Mallory's eyes opened wide for a moment and quickly pulled the object into his hand, hidden through the zipper of the dress on the back.
Mallory chuckled softly at Marzio's tense expression, which was always the case when smuggling weapons. Even though they had done this many times to keep each other safe. Her gaze wandered up to see the restaurant's sign, then unsuspectingly turned to glance at the luxury car parked comfortably next to where they were standing.
"Marzio, this is Papa's car, right?" Marzio's eyes followed Mallory's index finger to a car parked right next to Lorenzo's.
Marzio raised his eyebrows with eyes that flashed a small surprise. "Yes...? But why is Papa here? Are we here to meet Papa? I really don't know anything," he peered slightly at the change on Mallory's face.
In one breath, Mallory tried to neutralize her heartbeat which was getting heavier. "Never mind, let's just go in first." Mallory walked ahead of Marzio, who broke into a sudden sprint to catch up with the small but quick steps.
Lorenzo waited in front of the entrance while fiddling with his cell phone for a while, but seeing Mallory's arrival whose face had turned more wrinkled and even the look in her eyes no longer showed a curious twinkle, he almost misspoke and directed her to the second floor where there was a reserved private dining area. Lorenzo lifted his gaze briefly to look at Marzio, then together they both glanced at Mallory folding her hands in front of her chest looking straight at the door. Without another thought, Lorenzo took out his reservation card to scan.
Before the door opened, as Lorenzo's eyes faintly gave a lopsided smile directed at Mallory, the girl could sense that a strange look was being given. But she didn't want to overreact, so she just kept staring at the door in front of her. However, Marzio seeing all the happenings in front of him did not remain silent, his strong and burly arms immediately grabbed Lorenzo's neck, pulling him away from the door pushing the man until his back thudded against the wall.
"If you want to mess with Mallory, you'll be finished by my hand." Marzio bluffed, his jaw visibly hardening with a furious glare at Lorenzo's face who just wore a relaxed expression without any feelings.
Mallor turned his face slowly at how Marzio threatened Lorenzo, his face didn't give any change, just a flat stare like he was holding things inside his own head. But finally he moved feeling a little worried that something might get out of control, Mallory pulled Marzio's hand to let go of Lorenzo, then walked first into the private room whose door had been opened.
The first thing that captured her vision was the figure of the person she and Marzio had suspected from the beginning to be in this restaurant, it turned out that their guess was not missed at all and was even right on target. Seeing him sitting alone in the room, without his back moving at all to show a reaction, Mallory immediately turned around to swing her legs out of the room. But after just one step, she felt her hand being held back.
"Don't go yet, this is an important matter that we need to talk about." Lorenzo's hand gripped her tightly looking directly into Mallory's beady eyes trying to figure out what was on her mind. The girl paused at the sight of his restrained hand, but then turned to the table to see the man sitting there briefly glancing in her direction.
Mallory twisted her arm as hard as she could and flung Lorenzo's hand away. "I never want to see you again." she said through clenched teeth, her eyes slowly heating up.
Before Mallory had even stepped out of the room, Lorenzo took her hand back and forced her to turn around to stare at the man's face with heated feelings. "What the hell is wrong with you!" he growled.
"Please, just for a moment to meet with—"
Lorenzo didn't get a chance to continue as he saw Mallory bend over, but as he rose to his feet again he held out the gun Marzio had given him in front of him. Mallory's face was staring at him so hard that his face was slightly flushed from the mounting emotions.
"Lock your mouth tight now, and let go of my hand before I fire this right into your forehead." Lorenzo had no other choice, he released the hand very slowly as if buying time. But Mallory immediately hid her hand behind her back.
Lorenzo walked backwards further into their private dining room. "Mallory, if you—"
"What about it, huh? You think I'd be afraid to use this thing?" Mallory said lowly.
On Lorenzo's face, it was faint but clearly visible that little by little cold sweat was pouring down his forehead. He stood leaning against the wall unable to say anything as if his lips had been tightly locked by Mallory, his expression clearly terrified as he stared at the gun which without moving in any other direction remained fixed on him. Mallory's steps slowly but surely approached into the private room, her hand still raised straight towards Lorenzo.
"Mallory Halloran."
The heavy voice of the man who had been silent, but the moment the name was called out caused the temperature of the air around the room that was already filled with suffocating tension between Mallory and Lorenzo, to drop further forcing everyone to hold their breath. Slowly without prompting, Mallory lowered the weapon in her hand catching her breath for a moment. Then she turned her gaze towards Marzio, who had been silently looking at her and Lorenzo throughout the entire incident without doing anything.
A sad smile carved on her face, Mallory clucked spitting her saliva to the side as she stared at the man who had called her earlier with an annoyed lump in her chest. Saying nothing as the atmosphere quietened down, she turned to walk out of the private room without a second thought.
Once she had just set foot in the parking lot with the intention of going to Randzion's headquarters without using any transportation, only carrying her bag and cellphone clutched tightly in her hand, although it was faint but Mallory could clearly hear Marzio's voice appearing behind calling her several times. She ignored for the first time when her brother called out, but her footsteps still managed to catch up and her shoulders were brought to a forced stop from behind.
"Can't you listen even for a minute?" asked Marzio slowly, Mallory showed no reaction, only silence. "Listen first, this is so important that I'd be lying if I didn't know anything... actually this was all planned," he said carefully as if his words could destroy Mallory.
"But why does it have to do with Papa?" Mallory pushed Marzio's hand off her shoulder. "You know your sister really hates him, but you asked me to meet him."
"Because what we're talking about is that important, Mallory Halloran." he said trying to remain calm. "If it wasn't so important, I could have gone myself and told you what was discussed, just like I did before. But because the importance is different this time, you really need to be involved." Marzio's tone sounded low as he said her name.
Mallory swallowed her saliva furiously, feeling a little frightened by the change in Marzio's tone but keeping a straight face. "No, I'm going to Sierra. There's a betting race I need to win."
Ignoring the change in expression on Marzio's face, Mallory ran a little closer to the road waving her hand at the taxi that was slowly approaching. Marzio hadn't even had time to stop her from leaving but the vehicle sped off as soon as Mallory told it to, ignoring her own brother. Marzio rubbed his face lightly as the taxi drove away. It would indeed be very difficult to get Mallory to compromise if there was Papa involved, that much hatred for his brother to the point of not even wanting to see his face. Marzio was silent but behind him he heard footsteps approaching.
See you in the next part!
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