Cage began to speak, but Autumn interrupted him. "No! Don't deflect this again. Don’t talk around it! I need to know why! I need to understand!" She was screaming at him without realizing it. "Why? Why did you kill him? Why did all this happen? Why?!" She wrapped her arms around herself.
Cage sighed as he looked at her. His face became stony for a moment, then softened. And then something in his eyes, his achingly beautiful ice blue eyes, seemed to reach out to her. He straightened in his chair, placing his hands on his desk, and leaned forward slightly. He stared at her intently.
"Autumn..." He paused and started again. "Do you remember when we met, in the hallway? It was just another day for me. Another day in a long line of endless days."
"You came around the corner. Our eyes met and it was like I knew you. It was like I'd been waiting for you to come around that corner my entire life." Autumn nearly forgot to breathe. There was an emotion in his voice that she'd never heard before. "Then you looked away, and moved on. But I felt something in that moment that I'd never felt before. Terror." Cage looked at Autumn intently as he continued. "Not fear. Everyone feels fear sometimes. What I felt... was absolute terror. My stomach twisted as you walked through the restroom door. I was terrified that I would never see you again. That, somehow, you would disappear from my life just as suddenly as you'd appeared."
Cage cleared his throat roughly before continuing. "I spent the next few minutes trying to understand what had just happened to me. Why did you fill me with such terror? I was hoping to coax you over with a drink, to spend some time talking to you. But you refused. " Cage rubbed his hands against the desk. "When you refused, something came over me. I had to have you. In every sense. You had to be mine. I was suddenly consumed by it. I was helpless before it. I was a mere man before a tidal wave, and I was swept away by it. You looked into my eyes, and looked away. I looked into your eyes, and ever since then they're all I can see."
He lit another cigarette. "Why did I kill Curtis? Because he tried to come between me and you. His family tried to do the same thing. I refuse to let them. I refuse to let anything stop me."
Autumn felt bewildered. “Me? So this really is all because of me. You really killed Curtis to get me. And it sparked a war. And now the Fayngin are trying to kill you.”
“And they will fail.” Cage said.
“Can’t something be done? Can’t you just explain it was a mistake?!”
Cage sighed. “Mistake or no mistake, what has been done, has been done. The black card of war has been thrown down.”
“But surely they can be reasoned with. Is there nothing you can do to stop it?”
Cage smiled at seeing Autumn so worried. He reached out his hands for her and she came to him as he sat. He held her in his arms, resting his head on her stomach before he pulled back. He looked up into her eyes and said, “I’m sorry, Autumn. There is nothing. Months ago, I met with their messenger. What they wanted…I will not give them. Ever. They wanted you, Autumn. I love you. Even if I have to fight a war. Even if I have to kill every last one of the Fayngin, I will. I do not regret my decision. I could make no other. I will never, never allow anyone to come between us. I would burn the world first." Cage spoke with total certainty. Autumn stared at him, simultaneously awed by, frightened of, and attracted to the man who had taken her so long ago. Her emotions were confused, uncertain.
She started to speak again, but the doors to Cage's office opened. Both Fredric and Lane rushed into the room. Cage looked at them curiously as Autumn took in Lane’s panic stricken face. Even when Cage had been hurt Lane had not panicked. Something more must have happened. Autumn wanted to know what it was, but neither Lane or Fredric spoke.
Fredric just looked to Cage and he let his arms drop from her. He quickly pushed past her as he made his way over to Fredric. The two whispered something to each other that Autumn couldn’t hear. When they were done talking, Cage turned to Autumn. He looked at her and she knew this must have been grave, for there was pain in his eyes before he pulled Fredric close to him. He whispered something into his ear and Fredric nodded before grabbing Lane’s arm. Together, the two left the room just as quickly as they had entered.
For a moment Autumn stood there, watching Cage think. He ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. He looked even more tired than when she'd entered. It was a wonder he hadn’t collapsed. Autumn took two steps towards him and asked, “What is it! What happened?”
“Nothing! It's none of your business!” barked Cage as he moved past her, going to his desk. He quickly typed something on his computer.
Autumn stared at him. After all the things he'd just said, she couldn't believe he was still keeping things from her. After all they'd been through, why couldn’t he just tell her? He raised his head and looked at her. “I will finish this. I will do what I have to, and I will make things safe for you again. But right now you can’t stay here. It’s become too dangerous. I want you to go now and pack your things. Get Poppi and take the stairs to the roof. A helicopter will be waiting for you. It will take you to a safe house until all of this is settled. When I am finished here I will join you. We can finish our conversation then if you like, but for now you need to keep your head down and stay out of trouble. Listen to your bodyguards. And please…do not leave their sight.”
Autumn had never seen Cage so serious. He scared her as he stormed over to her. Like a madman, he took her arms in his hands and shook her once to look at him. “Promise me you will not leave their sight, Autumn.”
“I won't.” said Autumn. “But what’s going on?”
Cage didn’t say anything. He simply leaned in and kissed her. The kiss didn’t reassure her. If anything, it only frightened her more. It was long and passionate. The kind of kiss you might give someone if this was the very last time your lips would touch theirs. After nearly a minute Autumn couldn’t breathe. She pushed her hands against his chest and still he persisted for a moment longer. When he pulled away, he left her breathless. She gasped for air as he looked into her eyes. And then he was gone. Turning his back to her, he left the room.
Autumn stood there in silence. Everything had happened so fast. Her mind raced with the conversation they’d been having. And now he wanted her to leave. Autumn sought to follow him, but when she went to the doors she found them locked. Autumn pulled on the handle and called out his name, but she knew he was gone.
A second later three bodyguards rushed into the room. “You need to come with us, madam. You need to pack your things and collect your dog. We’re to leave within the next half hour.”
Autumn looked at the door Cage went through and then to the bodyguards. She knew she could fight them, but in the end they’d just make her come with them. Autumn sighed, telling herself they would finish this conversation later. No matter what was going on, he would not get away from telling her everything.
**********
The next half an hour passed quickly as the entire tower moved into defense mode. Every able bodied person rushed to get there, and security was packed to the max with weapons loaded and prepared. Everyone knew what to do because Cage had planned for nearly everything.
Cage knew that at any minute they would be under siege. It was a hard decision to decide to shower and change. With things as tight as they were he didn’t know if he could spare the time. But he knew that if this was happening, if the Fayngin were coming in for the killing blow, Cage needed to look his best.
If his people saw him in a disheveled state they might doubt the Zisgani’s ability to win. So he needed to shave. He needed to style his hair. When they saw him, he would look confident and ready for anything. When he was all cleaned up and had put eye drops in his red eyes, he put on his best tailored suit. He looked at himself and smiled. If all else failed, he’d leave a beautiful corpse. However, he doubted anyone would be able to admire it for more than a few seconds. Maybe a few minutes, at most.
If things went too far south, this whole tower was set to blow with every
one in it. For a moment he thought of Autumn. She would be gone soon and this thought both saddened and relieved him. He didn’t want her here for this. He couldn’t risk her being damaged by some idiot with bad aim. With her out of the way he’d be able to concentrate fully on the battle ahead.
He’d made arrangements for her to go to a cabin he had in the deep woods. Only a few knew of its existence. There she would be safe until he could reunite with her once more. However…should he perish…he’d made arrangements for her to be cared for until the end of her days.
Cage left his private bathroom and went back into his office. It was empty now. For a second he felt a twinge in his chest. He almost expected Autumn to still be here with as stubborn as she was. He could picture her sitting on his couch or looming over his desk with her arms crossed. Her face twisted in her rage that only looked cute to him. He could picture her demanding that he tell her what was going on until he had her dragged away.
As Cage sat down at his desk he was grateful she was gone. Grateful that he could push her from his mind, knowing she was safe and sound. Perhaps she was already on the helicopter… He reached for a hidden drawer on his desk. Entering a code he scanned his fingerprints before he pulled out his best guns. He began to put them together, getting them ready. As he checked to make sure they were fully loaded, Fredric came into the room. Without looking up at him Cage said, “So they’re all finally coming.”
“Yes.” said Fredric, “From what our sources can tell us, this is it. They’re done bleeding us. They believe they’ve won, and they're coming in for the kill.”
Cage grimaced. “If this is traditional, then they’ll be bringing everyone they can spare. Have you called everyone in yet?”
“Yes sir.” said Fredric. “Most of them should be here before the attack begins. The enemy is, apparently, rushing to get the attack together and underway. I can’t imagine they’re trying to take us by surprise. Surely they know we’ve got them under surveillance. Regardless, the numbers aren’t good for us. That attack they ambushed us on cost us a lot of people. They’ve got the edge in bodies. We’ve got the home advantage. It’ll be close.”
Cage sighed before he checked his guns. He made sure a round was in each chamber before sliding them into his jacket holsters. “There has to be something else going on here that we don’t understand. Whoever wins tonight's brawl will still be enormously weakened. If we survive, we may be set as far back as a decade.”
Cage picked up two more guns from the desk, checking each one to make sure it was loaded before concealing them on his person. “And even if we don’t survive as an organization, we’ll have hurt them badly enough that they’ll take at least as long to recover. I just don’t understand why they’d choose to attack now.” He grimaced again. He hated it when something didn’t make sense.
“Here.” said Fredric, handing Cage a couple clips of ammunition. “The top two are jacketed soft points. The bottom two are armor piercing.”
“Thanks.” said Cage. He wanted to go look out the window one last time, but he knew better than to present his profile to the world right now. “Are our snipers and counter-snipers in position?”
“Yes, with trained spotters and extra clips. And we’ve got most of them with video feed from the surrounding areas. So they should be able to take out some non-visible targets by penetrating their cover.”
Fredric checked his own weapons, selecting a few clips from a briefcase to conceal on his person. “I’ve sent down the restriction on the use of scatter fire and explosives as well. We’d probably end up killing more of our own people than theirs. And I’ve made arrangements with our local security firm. They’ll claim responsibility for our part in the attack. We’ll have to run a sweep after the attack though, and make sure any unlicensed firearms end up on the bodies of the dead.”
“Make sure it’s just the enemy’s dead. I won’t have our people being blamed.”
“Yes sir.”
Both Cage and Fredric had gone over details like this before. They’d discussed everything from combat strategy, to media strategy, to ways they could turn an attack on them into a financial advantage. Both of them often enjoyed these discussions that almost always went late into the night. It was, of course at, moments like this when their discussions became most important, for they were finally put into action.
While this might be the most dangerous battle they’d had to fight, it certainly wasn’t the first. Cage had earned his reputation through his uncanny ability to deal death in even the most impossible of situations. And, through most of it, Fredric had been there.
Over time, they’d developed a ritual. Oh, they’d never talked about it, or described it in particular. That was part of the ritual as well. But it was there, forged over numerous battles, hardened time and again by surviving the fight. And on the eve of this battle, once again, they participated in the ritual.
Once they finished checking their weapons, stocking up on ammunition, and going over strategy one last time, they sat down across from one another. Fredric took two glasses. He placed them before Cage, who took a small bottle of bourbon and filled both glasses halfway. Then Cage kept one glass while he slid the other over to Fredric. Together they raised their glasses to one another.
Looking each other in the eyes they said, “To Death! May we both remain within his good graces.”
Then, as one, they drained their glasses. Finally it was time for the battle to begin.
Cage stood up from his desk, buttoning his suit jacket. Fredric also stood, straightening his tie. With a nod to his good friend, Cage said, “Well then, I think it's time we head downstairs. I’d hate for the party to begin without us.”
Fredric nodded. “I doubt they’d wait for us." Together the two crossed the room and, this time, Fredric let Cage go first, opening the door for him. “After you.”
Cage strode through the door, his body radiating control and command. Several men were waiting for him and bowed their heads when he stepped into the hall. “Let’s go rally the troops.” Cage called out as he continued his stride. Fredric followed barely a step behind.
Chapter Fourteen
Somehow, it didn’t feel right leaving Cage. Autumn knew something was going down, and from the way everyone was scrambling about it looked like something major was about to happen. She assumed Cage wanted her somewhere safe and needed her to go, but still, it just didn’t feel right.
From the moment they parted, Autumn felt like she was in a haze. A mess of confusion and emotion washed over her. Everything she’d learned raced through her head. Cage’s feelings, his mistake, the Fayngin, the war. All of it twisted and knotted itself in her stomach. She knew for certain now that Curtis had been killed because of her, and this war had been started over a mistake.
She couldn’t help but feel jaded when she thought of Curtis now. She thought of the Fayngin and the fact that he hadn’t mentioned them at all. She thought about the fact that they were going to be married and, in all their planning, not once had he told her he was related to a criminal organization. For a second she wondered if he knew, but then she remembered Detective Stills saying Curtis was like a son to the head of the Fayngin organization. So it had to mean they were close.
She wondered if Curtis had ever planned on telling her. Would the Fayngin have attended their wedding, or would they have just popped up one day when she had three kids and couldn’t leave Curtis even if she wanted to? The happy future she had once imagined them having no longer looked bright. Her feelings for Curtis were tarnished with blood and lies.
Now there was Cage. She didn’t want to even begin to think of everything with him. Clearly there was more bad than good, but at least there was some good. Autumn sighed. The cards of fate seemed to be stacked against her. No matter what, her life was fucked whether she would have ended up with Curtis or now with Cage.
More than anything, Autumn wished she could talk to Penna, let her know all of this, and seek her advice. Autumn nearly tripp
ed as they made it to her room. She was so lost in thought that she was barely paying attention. The closest bodyguard caught her and made sure she could stand on her own before he let her go.
The bodyguards seemed more alert than ever as they told Autumn to hurry up and pack. The helicopter was nearly ready to go. One of the bodyguards put a small duffel bag on the bed and told her to fill it. Autumn moved quickly, almost mechanically, as her mind tried to make sense of things. She wasn't sure what to pack, so she tried to pack a little bit of everything. She wasn't sure how long she'd be gone. Cage hadn’t told her. She couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by he’d join her. Did that mean they wouldn’t be coming back here?
Autumn took a moment to look around her room. For so long it had been a prison to her. A place she’d been held captive. But now it almost felt like her home. As Autumn packed, she told herself there were other places they could go. Other places that could be her home.
Cage was rich. Even if he got his money through obviously questionable means, he still had money. She knew he owned a beach house, and the mansion in the country. Maybe one day they could buy their own apartment, or even a house to start over fresh. Yet there were so many memories here.
Autumn lifted up Penna’s snow globe, watching the glittering stars fall as she took it to her bag. She thought of her friend and how this was where she’d first met her. Here was where her life had begun once again after it had been taken away. Autumn couldn’t picture not coming back. It had become a place of safety, security, in a world that was so unstable. Autumn bit her lip, wondering if she might have a few moments to run to the garden. But she had a feeling there was no time.
Something came over the bodyguards' radios and they told her they were leaving in five minutes. Autumn saw one of the bodyguards step into the room with Poppi. He had wrangled him from the garden. He was in his crate, whimpering. He had no idea what was going on. Autumn went to him and assured him that everything was going to be alright, but she herself didn’t know if that were true.
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