ตอน 30: Days Counted
I slept like a log that night, but the next morning was hectic. I woke up twenty minutes late and missed my early workout routine, and even Veronica woke up before me. If that wasn't enough, Emma woke up when I was about to leave the bed; she kissed me for ten minutes.
Which means I'm now thirty minutes late.
"Uhm, don't go!" She pulled my trousers down, trying to get me back onto the bed.
"Emma, let go!"
"Can't you skip class one day?! You're a millionaire already; what are you studying for when you have a hot blonde on your bed?!"
"That has nothing to do with anything; discipline is discipline-".
"Come here and discipline my ass~"
She bent down on my bed, naked with the light of the morning shining all over her curves, wiggling her flesh back and forth, tempting me.
"No".
"Ugh! Fine, do whatever you want!" Emma screamed, harrumphed and protested. She stuck out her tongue and went back to the bed, covering her naked body with the quilt and going back to sleep.
I dressed up a bit hazzardly, not paying attention to details. Then I pulled her legs out of the quilt.
"Hey!"
"You're going to drive me to school today; it's your fault that I'm late, so hurry up and get ready" I took her garments; she tried to wrestle me but calmed down after I kissed her for two minutes.
"This won't work on me forever, jerk." She cursed, her cheeks red like tomatoes, apparently angry, but I doubted it. Reluctantly dressed up, we could finally carry on our day.
Veronica was outside, drinking some coffee, her cheeks flaring up, and she wasn't dressed up either.
"H-Hi..."
She said awkwardly. Emma introduced herself as my girlfriend and apologised for the intrusion with the laziest voice ever. The moment the word 'girlfriend' was said, her complex gaze flickered between Emma and me many times. She spoke to me in sign language, I had no idea what she was saying.
"Veronica? Why aren't you ready? Look at the time".
"I'm taking the day off today, Ray... I thought you would too and we could spend the day together and go shopping; you never oversleep".
"Should you be telling your son to skip school?".
She shrugged her shoulders, "You're mature enough to decide if you want to skip or not. Also, your birthday is next week, so I wanted to make some preparations".
"Birthday?!" Emma's drowsiness disappeared like it was a dream, "Why didn't you tell me anything?" she asked me, fuming.
"I forgot..."
It is true: I don't keep track of things like my birthday. Veronica took the chance when Emma mumbled something to herself and pulled me aside.
"Ray, what about Jean?!" She screamed at me with a whisper, still loud enough for Emma to hear, by the way.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean'?! Isn't Jean your girlfriend? Why are you sleeping with this mysterious blonde who is clearly older than you?! She came by the other day; wasn't she just your friend?"
"Oh, that? Jean is my girlfriend too".
"A-Are you two-timing?!" Veronica gasped; I felt like laughing.
"No, they know about each other".
"H-Huh?"
Veronica was left frozen on the spot while I walked back to the table. I'd like to delve further, but there isn't really much time.
Although Jean is not officially my girlfriend yet, since Emma doesn't mind, I'll just make it happen. As for Annie, I don't know. I didn't want to focus on romance so soon, but ever since I robbed that money in the bank, my life has been moving at a hundred miles an hour.
I just haven't figured if that's good or bad. But oftentimes, I don't find myself thinking about the past as often, so I imagine... it is something good.
...
Emma jumped on me from behind when I wore my loafers, ready to go. Even now, she's still tempting me.
"Ray... just skip for today. Even your mom took the day off; let's go shopping! I took a peek at your wardrobe. You should be ashamed of yourself for storing those rags in there. Come on, let's go!"
"She's right, Ray. It is time I get you something proper." Veronica held my hand as if Emma's comment had triggered something in her, and she somehow thought my depressing wardrobe was something she needed to sort out ASAP.
'Woman, stop trying to make your son skip classes, can you? You're trying to be a good mother and failing horribly,' I sighed in exasperation. What about going shopping with the two of them? Hell no. It is almost seven in the morning. We will be back home by midnight the next day.
"No, I can do it. If you want to sleep, sleep, Emma. I'll go on my own." I picked up my backpack and was ready to go. I'd be late anyway, but I couldn't keep wasting any more time, or my perfect assistance would be at risk.
"Baby, I was joking! Don't get angry; I'll drive you!"
**
**
"You have no sense of humour. If you want to have both Jean and me, you should at least try to work out how you will make us laugh," Emma groaned and drove me to school.
"..."
I was checking my phone and saw I had several missed calls from Jean. She must have been waiting for me to pick her up, but I never turned up. I texted her that I would be a bit late, but I was still going.
Emma put her hand on my tight, "Are you in a bad mood? I'm happy after yesterday... I thought you'd be happy too".
"I'm happy, Emma. I'm just thinking of some stuff" I put my hand on top of hers; I did feel wonderful that our relationship moved forward, I just hoped that had happened on a Friday.
"You don't have to worry about Veronica; I'll drive back and spend the day with her. I'll be able to guard her like that."
Emma misunderstood; that's not what I have been thinking. But then I realised I hadn't told her about Sebastian Shaw harassing Veronica; she also shouldn't be able to read my mind.
"How do you know?"
"Obviously, I read Veronica's mind; I know she's worried about Shaw... he contacted her".
Was she able to read her mind so quickly? I didn't even notice when she did it.
"If you do take care of her on my stead, won't Sebastian know that you're around and not in France?" she told me she had gotten her 'holidays' from him and that she was supposed to be in France for a month.
"I don't care. Frankly, I don't care anymore" She smiled.
"..."
"If anything happens, you will protect me, right?"
We stopped at some traffic lights, and her hand turned around to entwine our fingers in a more intimate touch. I pulled her and sealed her lips at that moment. She looked too beautiful, and it just felt like the right thing to do.
"Of course, I will protect you. We're partners, aren't we?".
That giddy smile never left her face after that. We held hands like this all the way, and I, too, felt the warmth she irradiated. I feel a little bit less empty when she and Jean are around; maybe that's why I don't want to give up on either.
"I was going to ask you. What's stopping me from killing him right now if I wanted to?" I asked her a serious question. Her smile dropped in consideration.
"... the fact that by doing so, you wouldn't be able to succeed him as the black king of the Hellfire Club. It is not a spot that's decided by who kills who. He's capable of keeping that spot because he inherited it and also... because of Shaw Industries behind his back. It is a huge hedgefund that invests in plenty of key tech, oil and energetic industries around the globe. As long as you're in the picture, killing him is not the problem".
"Is it easy to kill him?" I asked.
Emma laughed, "It is virtually impossible for anyone else to kill him except for you. That's why I have been so enthraled with you from the moment we met, you were exactly what I needed~".
"Why?"
"His mutation allows him to absorb energy and transform it into physical strength. He can enhance his metabolism to the point where his regeneration may be even more ridiculous than yours".
That was a lot to say... I'm virtually unkillable as far as I know.
"If he absorbs energy, then wouldn't we be able to kill him so long as we take care of the power sources around him? Like cutting off the power in the building or something like that?".
"You don't get it... when I say energy, I mean all types of energy that exist in this world. He's most particularly fond of kinetic energy. It is the sort of energy that's formed by the movement and friction of small particles. Every punch you give him makes him stronger, any projectile that hits him makes him stronger, any grenade that explodes near him makes him stronger... if a nuke were to explode in front of him, he'd still not die... that's the sort of person we're dealing with, Ray".
That power of his is downright stupid and unfair... although you could say the same about mine.
"That's ridiculous... how do you kill someone like that?"
"Others can't... but you can. His only weakness is his mind. He has in his power a helmet capable of inhibiting psionic waves; it can stop my telepathic capabilities, although he doesn't wear it when he's around me because I serve as his 'protection' he won't be wary of me, that's our advantage."
"..."
She looked at me with the most evil gaze that she could muster, driving down the main avenue at about thirty miles an hour in her Ferrari.
"Your power works like the void. It emits no energy; you're essentially his nemesis, and he doesn't even know. Erase that bastard's brain, Ray; he won't know how he died~"
"I will..."
"If you want to do it now, we can go and get it done... but if you want to take over Shaw Industries and become the Black King, then we have to play it safe and plan how to transfer ownership because if he were to die the one to inherit would more than likely be his wife, Lourdes and she will a hundred per cent leave New York and move to Europe".
"Why would she?"
"She's fed up with him and his affairs. Shaw is a pervert with an insatiable sexual libido and a small dick".
"What a combination..." I chuckled, and so did she.
"She's not going to give that wealth up; Lourdes is also going to be in our way. I won't be happy with any less, Ray. I already told you I want you to be the Black King... and I'll be the White Queen. We both can rule the Hellfire Club and then... we see what we do from that point on" Her grasp on my hand tightened, she was finally allowed to have ambitions of her own.
"How would you compare Shaw Industries with Stark Industries?"
"... both are Multi-billionaire international corporations. If I had to say which is more valuable worldwide, it would be Shaw Industries. If I had to say which is more important for the United States, Stark Industries is the main weapon manufacturer that owns most of the army, airforce and marine contracts. They're both at the top of the world... how curious, you now have the chance to inherit both~"
"Did you watch the news?" I asked about the article I read last night.
"Yes, Tony Stark is being held hostage in Afghanistan by the Ten Rings. They're allying with the Afghan government and demanding he cease manufacturing weapons for America. This was Obadiah Stane's objective; no, this was his facade; he merely wished to get rid of Stark and become the chairman, quite like what Kingpin is doing with Charleston Industries".
"I killed both of them, Stane and Beifang... so why is this happening?"
"It is profitable for them... that's the only answer. If you want to help your dad, we have the means to do it from here without even having to travel to Afghanistan. You wanna?" She gave me the sidelong glance, the one that begged me to say yes, but that was not in my interest.
"I already tried to save him once. Don't really care... I'd rather focus on Shaw Industries and the Hellfire Club that are closer at hand".
"So cold~ what's your plan? or do you want me to move the pieces this time?"
"You move your pieces and I'll move mine".
Hopefully, that woman will make her move soon as well if she behaves the way I expect her to... this will be sorted out shortly after my birthday.
We reached the school, and Emma held my cheeks and kissed me goodbye.
"I'll pick you up later".
"You don't need to; I'll come back home with Jean and Annie. We study together at my place every so often. I can use it as an excuse to have Jean train with you. How long are you going to be staying at my place?"
"For how long can I stay?~"
"As long as you want..."
She licked her lips and giggled, already making a few plans in her mind.
"Then I'll go shopping with your mom and get some clothes for myself to leave in your wardrobe. Is that okay?"
"Stop asking... do whatever you want, Emma".
"Hey..."
"What is it?"
"You and I... we're a thing, yeah?"
I kissed her hard, not particularly caring about whether we were seen by anyone or not, and turned around and entered the school gates to get a good scolding.
'I'll take that as a yes~' I heard her sultry voice in my mind and smiled, ready to face another day and feeling better than ever.
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Photosphere
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