Lady of Fire

V : WREATH OF RHODODENDRON AS BULLETS OF A GUN

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The event have already started half an hour ago and Kai haven't seen the emotionless face of his secretary. He have already settled an agreement with some of the businessmen to have a meeting and deal with them in the next weeks to talk about a collaboration between parties, he have already tasted almost all of the old and new wines and ate three cherries from boredom yet still no Shia Rivers entered the doors.

Getting annoyed already, he scratches the side of his nose and place his wine glass on the counter and looks around the crowd. Everyone's having their little chats that surrounds the echoes of their voices along the whole event.

There's a group of performers playing a soft violin and chello from a corner, the sound of clanking and cheering glasses twitters the noise. And there's the famous Kai Palma, seems to be ghosted by his partner.

"And look who do we have here, Mr. Palma." A middle aged man spoke and offered him a hand shake. "Ian Gobek, pleased to meet you."

Accepting his hand, he showed him a little bit supple of his lips. "Kai Palma, pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself just as simple as that before letting go of his hand.

"I'm glad to meet you here in the event because you know, my wife is a magazine journalist and she's very eager to see you. Sadly she's not here with me." Ian Gobek chatted with him before sipping the last drop of his white wine.

"How unfortunate." He commented yet deep inside, he's partying for not encountering a person who would try to shovel him with their questions.

"Very well, I didn't brought her here because I knew you would be here." Ian said and placed the glass above the encounter and the bartender instantly took it for cleaning. "I know how nosy my wife can be and I respect you in the world of business, everyone must see how you want a private life." He added with a chortle.

"Yes." He replied and nodded his head. "Thank you, Mr. Gobek." He showed a little bit of appreciation keeps his feet off of the direction of the man.

"I really admire how your business sky rocketed and, say that I'm quite interested having a meeting with you to joint my company with yours. Your COO Mr. Baker is an old college friend of mine and he referred me to your company." Iam clicked his tongue and straighten his necktie. "Since my company deals with handcrafted products, why not offer you a deal?"

Lifting his tight brow, Kai considered the offer since he's open with joint partners with other company since that's what he's been doing. "I'll make a schedule for that, Mr. Gobek. You can call my secretary to infor--"

Got trailed off of what he's going to say when his eyes found a pair of cold eyes amongst the crowd of people. Shia Rivers in her red dress.

Her hair is stylized simply in a low bun, but what's noticeable is that she took her glasses away just to show how freezing cold her stare could be. Her make up is just as simply as she wears it everyday but even how so simple she is, she can make the whole world blur and shines herself brighter than anyone could.

"Your partner?" Ian Gobek asked and he earned a nod of Kai's head. "I guess I'll leave you with her then." With a chuckle, the businessman steps out of his space.

The song played smoothly and some of the partners started to ask for sways and dances. This is the time he's been waiting the most.

His feet suddenly had it's own life as he began to walk his way close to her. Both of his eyes are just looking at her, and the only focus he's got is the way she looks prettier if she could only lift the corners of her mouth while wearing that gown.

When he's got enough distance from her, Shia's eyes finally found him. She looks simply beautiful, holding that little purse in her hand and those unpainted nails just shows how plain she is. Ethereally plaintively.

"Give me your purse." He demanded with his hand waiting in the air.

"Decided to be a robber for tonight, Mr. Palma?" She asked.

Unintentionally funny, it cause Kai to chuckle softly before snatching her purse from her hand and place it in the pocket inside of his suit. "The thing that I want to rob isn't actually tangible, Ms. Rivers."

Knowing that she's not going to say anything after what he said, he took her hand and pulls her in the middle of the crowd before stopping and faces her.

His left hand guided her right hand to rest above his shoulder before placing his hand on her waist and his right hand holds her hand in the air before swaying.

"What are you doing?" She asked out of startlement. They're too close. She can barely breath air from the closeness of his face to hers.

"It's called a dance, just so you know." He rellied instead and let their body careen with the soft music.

"I know what's it called, I'm not stupid." She told him, making him humbly laugh from it.

"Bet you haven't danced with someone until now." He guessed and make sure that his face draw closer to hers, leaving no gap between their bodies. His eyes only looks at hers, their nose are almost touching and one mistake of movement, their lips may touch.

"You're awfully close." She whispered, watching how near he is to her. "I don't think that this is the right way of dancing." She tried to pull away yet she's latched on him.

"It is the right way, especially when a couple dances with love." He replied and witness how her eyes never loses it's wintriness.

"Love? Have you ever felt love? Do you know what it means?" She asked him.

Kai stopped swaying and stares at her eyes. And instead of answering, he closed his eyes and slowly lowered his head to envelop his lips against hers.

His lips are ready to welcome her frosty lips, yet it never happened. "Don't." She whispered to him before pulling away from his arms.

Opening his eyes wide, just to see her walking away from him.

With his mouth scantily parted, he let goes of the breath he didn't know he's been holding. What was that for?

He knew Shia Rivers accord to what she wrote on that piece of paper. He doesn't even know her story and of why is she so far away from people and he only met her a few weeks ago. What's with him?

The question is about love, that's what she was asking. Why did he wanted to kiss her? She's just a secretary, a person with a lot reason to be curiouser of and a total stranger to him.

Why on earth is he changing for a woman that he barely knows?

Still standing there in the middle of the floor, Kai walked his eyes around the event. And as he does, he found a very familiar face hiding behind a pillar of the structure.

Frowning, he received a signal for him to come close and meet with him at an empty room.

A handful reasons to feel hesitant, the inquisition won and let him march off the room.

When he entered the room, he looked around and saw that he's in the office of the head of this event. There are little numbers of lamps opened, so it's dimmed yet enough for him to see that there's the man he saw outside, standing before the shelves.

"You look really lost being left by a woman on that floor, ain't that awesome." He chuckled while playing with a knife in his hands.

Licking his lips, Kai paced closer to the wooden table and leans his bottom on it. "Yeah, it felt like awesome too." He joshed, making the man chuckle and walks closely to him and offer him a manly hug.

"I miss you, man. You look better with your real hair, Hue."

"And you still look like a zombie, Zombie." He returns the compliment a little too playful and receives a chortle from his old friend. "If you don't mind me asking, I know that you're not here just to see me. What are you doing here? Does my grandpa decided to spy on me?" He asked frankly and that changes Zombie's expression.

"It's not like that, actually." He replied and sits comfortably at the swivel chair. "The whole world knew that Nabil's family is being tracked down openly by the authorities, and we're actually... running out of safe places to go to." He began and shakes his right leg. "The world turn it's back against the family, I guess." He added and curves his lips up.

"Zombie, I don't want to be rude but I left the family a long time ago. I started a new life of my own and I don't think that... that's still my problem." Kai truthfully uttered and Zombie understands that.

"That's not actually what I came here for." He admitted and took a white envelope from his back that's folded into two and placed it above the mahogany coffee table. "Nabil wanted me to give you this." He said.

Eyeing over that envelope sitting there, Kai is hesitant to take it. What's in it? A letter? He knows how old-fashioned his grandfather could be, but sending a letter in the modern world? Nabil must still be taking care of his criminal life. No devices, no traces. Smart. But then he used Zombie as a hay in a stack of needles.

"He's not very well, Hue." Zombie dropped the real message and that made him feel numb. "The last attack from the authorities caused a rally of bullets. It costed the family half a number of deaths and... your grandfather's spleen."

Feeling sorry, Kai lowered his head and closes his eyes. "He has tons of safe houses in the world, how come this happened?" He couldn't help but ask.

"The family has a mole, Hue. The safe houses we've got are being guarded and taken down." He replied, causing Kai to hold his head with his hand. "Nabil said that I shouldn't tell this to you but... I know that my conscience will kill me if I don't."

Zombie stood up and goes back to the corner of the shelves, taking a random notebook quietly and makes doodles from it with a pen he took from the desk.

"Nabil isn't doing well, I'm afraid that... that he's dying. The doctor we've got told us that he won't last long. And Nabil's request is to see you one last time before he dies. That's all that he wants, man." Zombie uttered, not looking at him.

"Is that so?" He asked back and saw how Zombie secretly points his thumb on his ear and to the window near him. "I-- I will think about it." He replied, catching what Zombie means with the sign.

"You know that the old man loves his only grandson." Zombie closes the notebook but kept the pen from the page where he wrote something and placed it above the books. "Maybe visiting him would make him pass his dying a little lighter than how he's suffering right now." He added before walking near the window and opens it.

"Where are you going?" Kai asked and Zombie looked at him, his eyes gestured at the notebook that he left before smiling.

"Somewhere people got stuck living in flames, man." He jumps to sit on the ledge and shrugs his shoulders. "We'll see each other again. But for now, I'm glad to see you healthy, Hue." He saluted his right hand at him before jumping out of the window.

Feeling a life on the edge of the earth, Kai lived long enough with Zombie to have a simple signs of warnings. The way he pointed at his ear and the window, that simply means that someone's got an eye and ears on them. And the notebook, he left something in it. He must know what it is.

Turning off all the lights, Kai walks to the shelves and took the notebook Zombie left for him and took the piece of paper where he wrote something and pockets it before exiting the office like nothing happened.

Whatever's going on with the family, Kai doesn't want to get involved with it anymore.

Heading straight to the men's room. He owns the whole rest room and so he took that piece of paper from his pocket and reads what's inside of it.

"Nabil knows about the girl, he plans on using her to get you back in the family. FIND HER NOW!"