by Raquel Dove
“So who do you work for,” Gabrielle asked, tilting her head as she considered him and waited for his answer. Kasen was thankful that she didn't pick up on Markus' pointed behavior. He would give his friend an earful later.
“I…I work for General Kasen,” he said, deciding that would be the best way to go about hiding his true identity, sticking as close to the truth as he could. “Not a high position or anything, but I do alright. What about you? Who is your superior?”
“My superior?” Gabrielle asked with a little confusion. “Mr. Black.”
“You mean you work directly under Seb…um, General Black,” Kasen asked, his surprise again causing him to almost slip up. Sebastian was a colleague of his, and they were expected to address each other with their proper names. But for a subordinate to use a superior’s name so casually, especially a General, was beyond taboo.
“Like I said, I guess I got lucky,” Gabrielle said with a sweet little shrug.
“Well,” Markus said, butting into the conversation. "I should get going. My work here is done."
He slid off the barstool and had slipped away into the crowd before Kasen could even protest, not that he had planned to. He shrugged off the disappointment in his friend’s voice and refocused on Gabrielle.
“Is he ok?” she asked, pointing in the direction Markus had gone. Her head whipped back around to the back of the bar. “Actually, I should probably go check on my friend…she’s been in the restroom for a long time now.”
#
“I need to see Mr. Black immediately,” Kaia said to the short, grumpy looking man that had opened the door to her boss’s residence.
“It is the middle of the night,” he said with extreme hostility in his voice. “The master of the house will see you tomorrow in the office.”
“It’s an emergency,” Kaia said, persistence heavy in her voice. Her nerves were rattled, but she choked them back. This was the perfect opportunity and she couldn't pass it up.
“Go away, or face a harsh penalty,” the man said as he tried to close the door in her face. Kaia caught it just before it slammed shut.
“Go get him,” she said, defiantly as she held the door open.
“You disrespectful little—“
“Wilfred, it’s alright,” Kaia heard Mr. Black’s voice echoing from behind the old man and her heart began to flutter. She suddenly worried that her plan might backfire, but it was too late now to do anything about it.
Sebastian appeared at the door with a less than pleased look on his face.
“This had better be an emergency,” he said, nodding to Wilfred to leave him to this business.
“I apologize, sir,” Kaia said, doing her best to sound frantic. “I know this is entirely inappropriate, but—“
“Yes it is,” he interrupted her, his hard, dark eyes glaring down at her. “What is it that couldn't wait until the morning?”
“It's Gabrielle,” Kaia said, a mixture of pleasure and envy at the way his expression shifted immediately into what might be considered concern.
“Sir,” Kaia continued, sensing that she had sufficiently gotten his attention. “She went to the lower sector, I…I tried to stop her but…well…”
“Well, what?” Sebastian demanded, his concern for her now clear on his face. Kaia felt a bite of jealousy. In all the years that she had worked for him, she had never seen him show an ounce of care for anyone. Now he was clearly worried about this stupid little girl that had only been here for a week.
“I…well, she had a bit too much to drink. I tried to stop her, tried to tell her to slow down, but..."
"But what?" Sebastian demanded, his voice booming as he stepped closer to Kaia.
"Before I could stop her she had run off,” Kaia said, faking as much frantic concern as she could muster. “I…I know I shouldn’t have gone after her into the lower sector myself, but I just had to try and stop her. I saw her go into a bar…and, well…sir, it was The Watering Hole. I tried everything to get her out of there, but she wouldn't listen to me.”
Kaia was awfully pleased with herself. She knew it was the most notorious bar in the lower sector with fights erupting nearly every night and prostitution a favored activity of most of its female patrons. Going into the lower sector without an official permit was heavily frowned upon, but Mr. Black had expressly forbid such a thing within his ranks. It was certain to get the girl in a great deal of trouble.
“Go home,” Sebastian said, his jaw tensing as his voice dipped low. Kaia could practically feel the anger radiating off of him. She struggled to suppress her victory smile. “I’ll take care of this. I expect to see you at the office early on Monday.”
“Yes, sir,” Kaia said, nodding her head and averting her eyes. She would get a small slap on the wrist for her inappropriate behavior, but it would be overshadowed by her efforts at trying to help the girl. It was a perfect plan. Once Mr. Black saw the girl sitting there on that barstool, drunk in the worst place in all of the Death Angel Society, he would certainly see her for the stupid little thing that she was.
###
Sebastian used his rapid speed to get to the lower sector and The Watering Hole bar that the most deplorable of its residents frequented. He appeared in front of the bar faster than the patron’s eyes could move and when their eyes finally focused on him they all knew who he was. They backed away and cleared a path for him as he walked inside.
He hadn’t waited long to come after her, but he had to let his anger cool just a little bit. His immediate reaction was to find her, shake some sense into her, and then let his anger out on whatever unfortunate soul was in close range. But his cooler head prevailed and he knew that the last thing he wanted to do was turn the girl against him. He still didn’t have the answers that he wanted, but he had realized in the short week that she had worked under him that he really didn’t care what the answer was.
He settled on first getting her out of the awful situation she had placed herself in, hopefully impressing upon her the importance of following the rules. But when he walked into the door and scanned the bar, she was missing from the crowd. Though on the outside, he seemed indifferent, on the inside he was incredibly worried. Any number of things could have happened to her here and all the worst possibilities ran through his mind. In a flash he was by the bar, scaring the patrons by the speed at which he moved. The bartender began backing away but Sebastian stopped him.
“You know who I am and what I can do to you,” he said, keeping his voice calm and even, void of any emotion. He had learned that speaking without emotion seemed to startle people more than if he tried to sound menacing. His reputation was menacing enough to have the effect he wanted. It was even more frightening that he was able to make his voice carry over the noise of the bar without having to holler.
“Yes…yes, sir,” the bartender nearly stuttered over his words as he was frozen in his spot.
“Good,” Sebastian said, speaking slowly and deliberately. “Then I expect you to be forthcoming with your answers to my next few questions.”
“Of course, sir,” the man said, nodding his head emphatically. The entire bar had frozen in place, all eyes focused on Sebastian. He realized that this was probably the first time they had ever seen a General in person, though they had certainly heard tales of the power that they held.
“A woman was in here,” Sebastian said. “Wavy blonde hair, blue green eyes. Black clothing. Very pretty.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said with a nervous nod. “I…I served her.”
“Where is she?” Sebastian said, letting his voice dip just slightly to enforce his displeasure with the whole situation.
“She left, sir,” the man said as he wrung his hands nervously in front of him.
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the bartender. He wanted to ensure that he was telling the truth.
“I...um,” the bartender stumbled over his words, trying to appease Sebastian. “
I saw her leave with a man, maybe half an hour ago... I'm sorry, sir, I wasn't paying that much attention.”
Sebastian wouldn’t waste anymore time here, not after hearing that answer. He was out of the bar before another breath could be taken. He had to find Gabrielle, and fast. His mind couldn’t fathom how stupid she was being. Granted, she had only been here a week. She didn’t know the way things worked here, the do’s and the don’ts, and according to Kaia she was drunk. But certainly she hadn’t been stupid enough to leave with an undesirable. The thought terrified Sebastian and he knew he had to find her before something terrible happened.
###
Gabrielle stretched out on her bed, a smile lighting up her face. She knew she needed to fall asleep but her mind was too excited. She had never met anyone that made her feel so electric. Granted she had no memory of anything past a week, but still. She could feel her skin tingling. Matthew. She ran his name over and over in her mind. She didn’t know what love felt like, but she could certainly feel herself falling for him. They had spoken for nearly an hour before she realized that Kaia had left her there. Matthew had been every bit the gentleman then and offered to walk her home. When he asked to see her again, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling absolutely giddy. Now, she was having trouble falling asleep. She could smell the way that he smelled, still on her hand that he had so gently held as he walked her home. Her fingers played at her lips, still tickling from the chaste kiss that he had planted on her lips as he left her at the door. He hadn’t even asked to come inside. He was every bit the gentleman and Gabrielle was so happy she had decided to go out tonight. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and told her mind to calm down and go to sleep or she wouldn’t get any sleep.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by a loud banging on her door. She sat up in her bed, confused for a moment. Had Matthew come back for some reason? Why would he bang so loudly at her door? Who else could it possibly be?
Gabrielle slid out of bed and trotted to the front door as the banging grew louder and more insistent. She whipped the door open as her frustration began to rise at the rudeness of her untimely visitor. When her eyes fell upon Sebastian Black, she was shocked.
“M..Mr.Black,” she stuttered, “What are you doing here?”
She noticed there was a strange look of concern on his face that looked so foreign on him. Her surprise grew as he roughly pushed his way into her home.
“Who is with you?” he said, his voice demanding. Gabrielle was absolutely stunned. She hadn’t seen Mr. Black behave this way and it was a bit frightening.
“No one,” she said, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
He ignored her question for a second time and continued to inspect her home as if he had every right to do so. Of course, Gabrielle had no idea if he did in fact have a right to do so or not. Though she did know enough not to talk back to him. When he had looked into every room and was satisfied that she was in fact alone, he turned to her, his eyes softening only slightly.
“Do you know how dangerous your behavior is?” he asked and Gabrielle could swear he sounded almost breathless.
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gabrielle said, shaking her head. “I was just trying to get to sleep—“
“You went into the lower sector,” he said, interrupting her, his dark eyes demanding an answer to his unspoken question. He took a step closer to her, reaching out for her but stopped short and dropped his hands back to his sides.
“I didn’t realize that wasn’t ok,” Gabrielle said softly, finally understanding why he was so upset. “I just…I thought—“
“I realize you are very new,” Sebastian said, interrupting her again. His voice had softened and the anger had almost completely left him. “But you must learn quickly. The lower sector is not a place you belong.”
“I’m sorry,” Gabrielle said, as sincere as she could muster given the situation. “I just didn’t know. I won’t do it again.”
“Make sure you don’t,” he said. He began to make his way to the door but stopped before he walked out. He sighed lightly and turned to look at her. “I’m sure you are tired. Try to get some sleep.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Gabrielle said, smiling softly at him. She saw the last of his anger wash right out of him as he walked out the door. But she couldn’t let him leave just yet. She had a question to ask him and she decided now would probably be the best time for her to bring it up.
“Mr. Black,” she said, stopping him. He turned to look at her just outside her doorway. “I was wondering, if I could possibly have a day off next week.”
“I suppose that would be possible,” he said, turning around fully to face her. “What would you need a day off for?”
“Well…I…I have a date,” she said, unable to hold back her smile as she told him. “Or at least I hope I do…he asked me to see him, but I told him I’d have to ask—“
“No,” he said, his demeanor suddenly shifting back to anger. She could swear she felt a chill coming off of him. Her smile faded.
“I just need a few hours actually—“
“I said no,” his jaw clenched tightly and Gabrielle suddenly found herself frightened of her boss like she had never been before. “I expect to see you before the bell Monday morning. Don’t be late.”
He turned abruptly and before she had time to plead her case further he was gone. She couldn’t imagine what she had said to make him so angry that he would turn so suddenly cold to her. Was he upset that she had made a date? She couldn’t understand why he would be. Whatever the reason, her encounter with him had completely overshadowed the thrill of meeting Matthew. She slunk back into her bedroom and fell into a restless sleep.
Chapter Thirteen
Sebastian was already having an awful morning. On top of the mess the night before with Gabrielle, he had a number of household problems to deal with before he had to leave for work. His subordinates would have the next two days off, but for Generals, every day was a workday. Now, he had a meeting with General Kasen that he was running late for.
Sebastian despised being late. He expected his subordinates to always be prompt and he liked to lead by example. This was setting a bad precedence for his entire ranks. On top of all the routine work pressures, he was feeling guilty about the way he had left Gabrielle. She was a beautiful girl and she was so new here. He couldn't expect her to remain single for long. But still, he had other plans for her. Plans that didn’t include her dating an undesirable. It wasn’t technically against any rule, although it was terribly inappropriate. He could forbid her from doing it outright, but he didn't really want to go that route. It would likely bring up a lot of questions he wasn't prepared to answer just yet.
He knew he needed to think of an appropriate way to apologize to Gabrielle. Even though he was her superior and technically had every right to show up at her home and push his way inside to see who she was with, it certainly wasn’t the appropriate thing to do. Sebastian pushed his thoughts of Gabrielle aside. He didn’t want it to distract him in his meeting with Kasen.
This peculiar mission report was turning into a rather big headache for Sebastian and he had decided to contact General Kasen for a meeting to clear things up in person. He found the White General waiting for him in the meeting room.
“I apologize,” Sebastian said, though he despised having to say those words. “There have been a number of disruptions in my ranks that needed to be dealt with.”
“It’s no problem Sebastian,” Kasen said, with his trademark gentle smile. Sebastian had always liked the man, though their very nature was at odds with each other. But he was a respectable General and man. Sebastian had a great deal of respect for him, which was something that was lacking in the Death Angel Society.
“Shall we get started then?” Sebastian said, setting his briefcase on the table and clicking it open. He pulled out the papers in question and laid them in front of Kasen as he sat down in the seat on
the other side of the table. The room felt oddly large when the other Generals weren't gathered in it.
“I was looking into it somet last night, though I must admit I slacked off a bit,” Kasen said smiled sheepishly as he pulled out a small case and retrieved a pair of slim silver rimmed glasses and adjusted them over his nose. He looked down at the paper. "I let Markus drag me out to meet women."
"I suppose that went as well as it sounds," Sebastian remarked with a bit of sarcasm, knowing full well the relationship between Markus and Kasen and the trouble he often had finding women that suited him.
"Actually," Kasen said, looking up with an almost goofy smile, "it went incredibly well." Kasen looked back down at the paper and his face scrunched up a bit in confusion. “This is really peculiar. I double-checked the issuing number last night. The official stamps are all applied correctly and they don't appear to be forgeries."
“And yet there was no record of the mission actually taking place,” Sebastian said as he pointed a finger towards the papers that Kasen was holding.
“Indeed, this is a strange situation,” Kasen said. He pushed the papers back towards Sebastian as he leaned back in his chair. “I didn't have a lot of time, but when you told me about this, I got curious. And that’s when I found these.”
He reached down and pulled out a stack of papers from his briefcase and plopped them on the table in front of Sebastian.
“More?” Sebastian asked, his brow rising minutely with his voice.
“Quite a few more,” Kasen said. “To be entirely honest, I don’t know how they got past us for so long. They go back for years. Decades.”
“This is rather disturbing news,” Sebastian said, looking over the sizeable stack of papers that Kasen had placed before him. There were nearly three-dozen cases here. This was either a serious oversight on the part of both their subordinates, or there was something much more sinister going on here.