บท 39: The Ones Indited Part 2
Returning home, Noe stirs the information around in his head with the spoon of distraughtness. If Choi was indeed the first indited, it means Allery's body is composed of his dead father's cells.
In order to live for another lifetime, people must take the body of a healthy biological family member and receive transplantation. The younger the relative, the older one will live. Who are the doctors who approved of this enough to carry it out?
Noe shuffles his feet and by the time he arrives at his destination, the sun is already rising over the horizon.
Once everyone has awoken and had their breakfast, Noe gathers Vivian, Rosalind, and Feng Mian around the dining table. Plucking out the journals from the space pockets he has stored them in, Noe hands them to his mom.
Vivian reads aloud, unsurprised by Kamiyama's actions and behavior. After so many years of investigating her, Vivian had seen hints of who Kamiyama truly is momentarily seep out before hidden behind the mask of a dependable political leader.
The next gala will be held in a week's time and the group has plenty to do before then.
~
In the days that preceded the gala, Lancaster returned to his temporary Westville home with Allery hidden in tow. Vivian and Noe spent their time analyzing every piece of Choi's journals while Rosalind and Feng Mian focused on Jinn's physiotherapy.
Jinn decided to join Rosalind and Feng Mian wherever they may go. Although he can walk and talk easily, he still has a long way of muscle training to go before he can accomplish his dream.
"What will happen when Jinn ages and we stay the same? Will we have to live our lives without him?" Feng Mian once asked Rosalind on the rooftop where they trained. The moon had barely risen.
"Don't worry about that," Rosalind told her, "we'll figure it out if the time ever comes."
They pulled each other in for a hug and remained there.
Throughout the week, Vivian noted that projectors were being installed all over Westville. She tried to investigate further but all the servicemen told her was that their purpose was classified information; even they themselves did not know.
On the day of the gala, Vivian returned to the Tower of Beauty picked out the perfect outfits for each of them, with Noe remaining in a similar suit and scarlet red tie, hair freshly cut.
The mission has changed. Their new goal is to get Kamiyama to say something along the lines of sacrificing Setiawan Choi to save Allery. They can manipulate that as evidence against her. Only then will Kamiyama have dug her own grave and driven their plans home.
~
The orange limerence within the glass walls of the Crystal Palace glimmer as buoyantly as they did a week ago. Stepping out of the elevator, the Ephrenes hear the throng of guests engaging in lively chatter, white teeth exposed, gums bared, and excitement buzzing around.
This evening, notable live orchestral music plays from a place unseen; possibly another hidden room on the building's floor. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Prime Minister Kamiyama must be making an appearance tonight.
What the group does not know is that she, Kamiyama, has already arrived.
"Miss Patel, it's lovely to see you and your companions again," Jorge approaches them.
"I wish I could say the same," Rosalind responds, picking up a wine glass and running a finger along its cylindrical base.
"Charmed. Prime Minister Kamiyama requests an audience?" Jorge poses it like a question, of which it is not truly so.
"Of course," Rosalind hands a waiter her glass and steps forward.
"Not you," Jorge responds, "but Nicholas Khumalo." He grins at the thought that he has knocked Rosalind off her high horse.
"This way, please," Jorge leads Noe away from Rosalind and Feng Mian.
Even if there were a Borne present, they would not harm the Ephrenes for fear of losing their status, or if a waiter or waitress, their high paying job. Thus, Noe allows himself to be led.
Jorge stops him in front of a section of the glass wall opposite the elevator.
"Prime Minister, your guest is here," Jorge speaks upon their arrival.
"Let him in," an intelligent voice composed of vanilla commands.
"Yes, Prime Minister," with a tilt of his head, Jorge gestures for Noe to walk forward.
Noe stares at the wall in front of them then back at Jorge. For a moment he worries that he has been had and they have discovered his abilities until Jorge jets his arm through the wall. It is a hologram.
Cautiously stepping forward, Noe's foot indeed passes through it. Noe walks into the hidden room.
He wonders how many more holograms make up this building, secret rooms hiding precious items, information, people.
Scarlet red shoes appear a few feet in front of Noe and he kneels with a hand on his heart, "Prime Minister Kamiyama,"
Kamiyama laughs warmly, "Please, we're not living in the Renaissance. Stand, young man," she asks of Noe. Only then does Noe pull his head up and take in Kamiyama's form, sitting upon a throne like chair in the middle of a dark red room. Her red lipstick matches Noe's tie.
"Take a seat," Kamiyama smiles and extends a hand to the comfortable chair beside her.
Noe does not feel the least bit comfortably as he sets his bottom upon the cushioned seat.
Kamiyama's teeth peek out between her smiling lips, "I would like to personally thank you for the contributions your family has made to humanity. Without the Khumalos, none of us would be here right now, enjoying the fine wines and champagnes that Westville has to offer."
"Don't mention it," Noe nods.
"If you need anything, feel free to contact my office and they will instantly line you to me," Kamiyama hands Noe a card headlined 'Kamiyama & Choi'. Noe accepts it with both hands, fingers straightened against its laminated surfaces.
"Thank you," Noe says. "Does this still have your husband's contact information too?" he asks.
Kamiyama's smile remains solid, "No, it does not. There's no point in calling a number that will never pick up."
"Then why does the card say 'Kamiyama & Choi' when there are only your details?"
"It's the name of my law firm," Kamiyama chuckles.
"Our," Noe responds.
"What?"
"You and your husband started the firm together, 'our' would be better than 'my'." Noe shoots her with his eyes, "His history isn't erased just because he's dead."
Finally, Kamiyama's smile drops.
"I've always wondered," Noe begins to bait her, "how did you manage to raise your son while running for Prime Minister? You must be the strongest person I've ever met," Noe ends with a compliment to lure her back into a sense of security.
Kamiyama sees this as an opportunity to fill in for the mistake she made before, "It was all my husband," she gives Choi due credit. "Without him, Allery wouldn't be the person he is today."
Mission complete.
"He is so admirable," Noe feigns awe.
"He was," Kamiyama prepends.
Noe remains silent to forge an atmosphere of awkwardness after what they have discussed. He wants Kamiyama to excuse him.
"I believe you came here with your friends? They must be waiting for you," Kamiyama says after the discomfort has built to an astronomical level.
Immediately, Noe stands up, "I'm sure they are. Our conversation has been enlightening but I should get back to them now. Enjoy your evening."
Walking back and out of the hologram, Noe turns around and the bright glass chamber comes back into his view. Chatter and excitement resume.
That was almost too easy, Noe thinks to himself but the thought does not grow further. That is because, as Noe takes a step forward, the elevator doors swoosh open and a figure walks forth.
Aromas of freshly-cut wood, pistachios, and decaf coffee hang in the air. Elegantly tied-back, curly black hair sways. A blue tie perfectly complements the figure's sky eyes.
The Veren in Noe's body makes itself known. Noe comes alive again.
Vivian has obviously picked out an outfit identical to Noe's save for the color of its tie.
The figure walks closer and closer towards Noe causing dark energy to swirl around him; Noe slurps up every inch of it, showering himself in the aura he has dearly missed. The figure stops a mere meter away.
Standing in front of Noe is none other than Daniel Henderson.
"You look stunning," a compliment slips past Noe's lips.
"Thank you," Daniel accepts his words with a roughness in his voice that Noe has never heard before.
Upon hearing this ruggedness, a complexity overtakes Noe and he smiles in sincerity.
When he does so, the whole room subsequently quiets, turning to look at Noe. Every man, woman, and in-between, wishes they were on the other end of Noe's jaw-dropping smile.
Whether it is the crowd's fever or something entirely different, the orchestra's brilliant sound rings louder and truer.
Spontanaeouty boasts a string in Noe's actions as he extends a hand to Daniel, blue appearing around his pinky-finger.
"I don't know how to dance," Daniel admits confidently, happiness reflected in his own earsplitting grin as he takes Noe's hand in his and snakes his arms around Noe's neck. He feels Noe's arms lean into the sides of his upper back. A shiver passes through them.
Noe plays it cool and suggests, "You've read Sartre, I'm sure. Let's do as Eve and Pierre did."
"But Eve and Pierre didn't end up together in the end. I refuse to be like them."
Whole-heartedly compromising, Noe breathes in and looks deep into Daniel's gaze, "Move and I'll follow. You are my direction."
"I can't say no to such sweet words." Daniel steps and Noe, keeping eye contact with Daniel but feeling the displacement of oxygen, simultaneously steps the same. Reaching within himself, Noe senses the rises and falls of Daniel's emotions against that of the vibrant music and relishes in them.
They remain like that, unifiedly moving this way and that until the orchestra progresses into something sharper, more fast-paced.
"When did you read Sartre?" Daniel inquires.
Noe spins Daniel around before pulling him flush against his body. Noe grins mischievously, "Let's just say I recently got the chance to taste the flavors of period writing." When Noe was in Kamiyama's library, he thought to read the novels that made Daniel become an English teacher.
Rapidly unwinding their bodies, Daniel walks back and Noe counters his every step. Their movements collide in tango, hips assuming a mind of their own, before Noe and Daniel join again, regressing into a waltz of passion. They glide around the glass chamber, weaving between people and creating circles of rhythm in their wake.
Noe's heart jumps into his stomach as Daniel dips him, strong arms digging into his waist.
The music stops.
Air crashes into their lungs, not from exertion but from their raging desire for each other. They want to be closer - rid themselves of these restricting suits and shirts - embrace fully, wholly, completely. As if magnetized, they are hardly aware of their faces pulling closer together.
All of the sudden, Noe's face turns red beneath Daniel's. It is not a shade of blush but the replacement of the chamber's orange with one of scarlet. The white lights are out and a huge electronic banner across the four walls blinks red:
PRIME MINISTER KAMIYAMA DECLARES MARTIAL LAW: WESTVILLE IN A STATE OF EMERGENCY
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