Chapter 22: Intimidation
When Red returned home, he found Lupa reading one of his novels.
"You read?" Red asked.
"I'm trying to. The books I used to read were mostly academic in nature." Lupa replied as she flipped a page of the book Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman.
"Oh, what did you study?" Red asked with curiosity. He only knew that Lupa was a thief, but knew very little else about her.
"I studied mechanical engineering amd fabrication. I'm also a cybersecurity professional." Lupa said.
"Is that office speak for hacker?" Red asked jokingly to which Lupa nodded. "A hacker, yes. But a hacker who detects vulnerabilities for the sake of patching them, not exploiting them."
"Interesting." Red replied. "I've had my share of eclectic interests, but technical skills is something I've always been at an anathema with." He sighed.
"What kind of eclectic interests?" Lupa asked curiously, when she thought about how this barely eighteen year old boy had even been volunteering as a paramedic in the conflict ridden Congo Basin.
Red smiled. "I once had a passing interest in the game of stone skipping. Have you heard of it?"
Lupa shook her head. "What is that?"
"Have you not ever tried to throw a stone into a lake to make it bounce on the water's surface?" Red asked.
Lupa nodded. "As a child I probably did."
Red smiled. "Stone skipping is a sport where you try to make the stone bounce as many times as possible on the water surface in one throw."
Red manipulated his phone and a video appeared on the tv. It was of a much younger Red, who threw a smooth and flat rounded stone in an extremely curved spinning arc, causing the stone to bounce at least twenty times as it zoomed on the water's surface like a rocket, before sinking.
"Wow, how did you do that?" Lupa asked in shock. She couldn't believe that a stone could skip on water twenty times in such a manner.
"I practiced hard for a month. It was very good training for arm and finger flexibility." Red replied.
"You really are weird, but you have real skill." Lupa said. "You have talent to become a thief. If you want I can train you."
Red shook his head. "I don't lack money. I don't see the need to unnecessarily become a thief and put a target on myself like you have."
When Lupa heard that she became sad. "I was tricked! I was asked to steal an item from the museum, but the item in the display was a fake! The contractor even exposed my identity and various organizations are out to assassinate me."
Red sighed. "The life of a thief is hard for sure. If there is anything I've learnt in my experiences, it is that anyone can backstab you. You should always be careful against everyone and any organization no matter how much security they provide."
Lupa realized that Red was telling her not to blindly trust him just because he was helping her at this low point as a life lesson, but that only made her feel that Red was more reliable.
"Aren't you worried I would harm you?" Lupa asked.
"You have never killed someone in your life." Red calmly replied.
"How do you know that?" Lupa asked with a stunned expression on her face.
"Your attempts at intimidation feel comical. It feels like a teacher trying to scold a student instead of a murderer who has complete disregard for life." Red laughed.
"You...!" Lupa was speechless, but Red had correctly pointed out that she had indeed never killed someone.
At that moment, Red's disposition changed. He felt like a sword and his eyes looked crazed and bloody. He suddenly moved towards Lupa and his finger touched her jugular. Lupa was frightened out of her wits and her mind blanked out.
However, Red suddenly calmed down and his finger was lifted from her jugular vein. "That is how you intimidate someone. You completely portray the intention of killing them, not just through your actions, but also within your mind." Red explained as he calmed down, however Lupa was still fearful.
"Who are you?" She finally asked as she breathed out.
"I already told you who I am. Relax your fears, if I wanted to deal with you would I have helped you when you were bleeding to death in the closet of my school's Art room?" Red asked with a smile.
Inside he was sneering. "Now you should be scared of me for the time being and not attempt any mischief." Red thought. He never trusted this woman for a moment. All along he was playing mind games with her.
At that moment, Red received a text from his neighbor, the senior Mayumi.
[Mayumi: You haven't talked to your neighbor in a week.]
[Red: I'm sorry, I was very busy. I have a guest at home. Do you want to come to my place for dinner? I'm cooking.]
A few minutes later, Red heard the bell ring and opened the door to let Mayumi in. She began observing the room and found it to be very clean and organized. She then saw a woman sitting on the sofa reading a book.
"Am I interrupting you?" Mayumi asked.
"She is my cousin. You aren't interrupting anything. I'm cooking pasta and a Hamburger Steak. Is that fine with you?" Red asked.
"Awesome!" Mayumi said as she punched a fist into the air like an anime girl. Red laughed and went to the kitchen.
"Does your cousin speak japanese?" Mayumi asked.
"I can speak a little bit." Lupa suddenly replied in broken Japanese.
Mayumi nodded. "I am Mayumi, Red's neighbor. May I know your name"
"...My name is Joanne.." Lupa eventually made up a fake name. "Is Red naughty at school?"
"Naughty? He is certainly the talk of the school in the past week. The latest rumors are that he's involved in a love triangle." Mayumi gladly began gossiping.
"Cough.. Mayumi, stop spreading baseless rumors. What love triangle?" Red interrupted from the kitchen.
"Didn't you hug Rin chan in front of Aito? Our literature club has only been discussing you three the past couple of days. The club atmosphere is so awkward with Aito blatantly trying to get Rin's attention and she keeps feeling guilty." Mayumi explained.
"Well, that's between them. I'm just Rin's friend. Apparently she had a crush on Aito since middle school. How exactly am I in the picture." Red laughed.
"You are lying..." Lupa suddenly said.
"Ha? What do you mean?" Red asked dumbfounded.
"You have feelings for this girl. Your voice just trembled earlier." Lupa calmly analyzed. When Mayumi heard this she suddenly turned towards the kitchen, her eyes flickering, her thoughts complicated.
Red didn't respond to Lupa's allegation. He simply thought in his mind. "Good work woman. You are a really good tool."
Mayumi suddenly spoke up. "Aito was telling everyone in the club that you like Yui. Many people saw you say that you like someone else, not Rin."
"Well, forget these matters. Rin and Aito like each other, what's the point of pulling me into this mess? Yui will get angry with me!" Red laughed.
"Lying again!" Lupa conveniently analyzed. "You are a terrible liar." Lupa was helped by Red so much, so she thought she would help Red out.
"...Joanne, why is your mouth so talkative today?" Red fiercely asked from the kitchen.
Mayumi shook her head. "So it was like this.." She thought. "Well, Rin already made her choice."
"Do you know that Rin and Aito became a couple today?" Mayumi suddenly asked.
"Oh... no I just learned from you." Red replied as he brought out the food. His face was blank, though there was a hint of a stunned expression.
"Aren't you her friend? How did she not tell you?" Mayumi asked.
Red shrugged. "She's been ignoring me since she switched seats. Either way, I'm happy for her."
Mayumi changed the topic. "Goodness Red, you are an amazing cook! How can you cook so well?"
"Hehe, thank you for your complements." Red smiled.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone