Chapter Text
Damn clan meetings were a pain in the ass; they always had been and Tora hated everything about them. He hated wearing stupid suits because they restricted his movements. He hated listening to jibber-jabber given that most of the time it didn’t concern him. Above all, he hated everybody in the room. They appeared nice and neat but the things they did were the exact opposite of their attire.
It was the gathering before Vincent went on a hiatus. He wanted to make sure all the clan members wouldn’t slack off while he was gone. He authorized Martin to have full power in commanding and supervising the men on his behalf, which made Martin’s ass lickers like Scharch and Claude pant with anticipation. It meant those sick bastards could rise from the shadows and become more violent and ferocious, even for a short period of time while the boss was away. Tora was frustrated because he would have to report to Martin. He told the older man to kiss his ass when he brushed past him on his way out.
Fuck if he followed the rules and everyone knew it.
He was called the Big Boss’s right hand man, the lethal weapon and the Legendary Tiger of Ares Street as long as he could remember. His life was tangled with the clan before he knew how to write his name. He wondered how long he would last living this kind of life. The Balthuman crest on his neck was a huge bull’s eye for anyone who wanted to take over his position and topple him; he had enemies from outside and inside of his organization.
Though he relaxed a little bit knowing there wouldn’t be any assignment from the kingpin for two weeks. He wouldn’t mind hanging out with Quincey at his lavish penthouse. But not tonight. It was almost 6 P.M. when he got out of the private conference room at Chevy’s.
Fucking great, he cussed at himself in annoyance.
Half of his day wasted away listening to nonsense babbling about endless gang wars; he was exhausted, physically and mentally. He needed comfort food so he stopped by Alice’s to pick up some dinner before heading back to his apartment. Although he didn’t want to be alone tonight but the only person he wanted to spend time with was unfortunately forbidden. She was off limits.
He was stuck in Friday traffic on the freeway, chain-smoking and listening to rock music when the song changed into the tune of an assigned ringtone. One he hadn’t heard for almost a year. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him; he almost dropped his third cigarette on his tailored suit pants.
He promised her not to smoke a long time ago but he relapsed into the old poisonous habit since he could no longer claim sweet, rewarding kisses from her.
A familiar name popped up on the digital dashboard. He was hesitant to press the phone symbol on the steering wheel. His heart hammered against his chest and he fidgeted the spinner ring on his middle finger. It was given to him by the same person who was calling right now. It looked similar to his old ring but he could twirl it when anxiety struck; this proved to help when he reeled it with her in mind.
Thinking of the devil and the devil is calling.
He inhaled one last puff of nicotine before flicking the ember out of the window.
********
On the other side of town, Poppy was making dinner while her favorite re-run show was on. Quincey gifted her with a flat screen TV to thank her after putting up with his demanding princess behavior. He insisted her to allow him to show gratitude, adding that the company laptop was restricted for work only. “You can’t watch movies on a small screen, honey. It’ll hurt your beautiful brown eyes,” the blonde man told her when he personally directed the delivery and installation by his underling crew.
Her job as his editor ended almost a year ago but she still kept in touch with him. She considered him one of her best friends as they spent most of their time working together. It was a rough start the first few weeks but she paid close attention to him and his expertise. She quickly earned the flamboyant man’s trust and respect through her sincerity and intelligence and she often helped him get through writer’s blocks. They worked together for more than six months. During that time, she knew she got more than she had bargained for. Digging into her memories made her heart ache for being overly sentimental.
She nearly dropped a bowl of miso soup when she heard the horrible piercing and persistent noise blaring from the television’s sound bar. She ran out to the living room to see an emergency alert displayed on the screen.
‘This is an Emergency Alert for residents in Narin municipal and surrounding areas. The Seismology Department of Narin University has detected the significant warnings of the largest earthquake which is expected to occur tonight. This will be the biggest earthquake of the century; it is called ‘The Big One.’ Under guidance of the Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Disasters, we advice the residents to seek shelter immediately especially with your loved ones ❤️. Please stand by for further updates.’
Poppy quickly sent out messages to her friends asking if they’ve heard about the projected disaster and where they were. Erdene replied that she was having dinner at her parents’ house. Jacob texted back that he was hanging out with his girlfriend and Gil, her boss, sent a short text saying he was with his family. Mirabelle and Danae, who worked as flight attendants, messaged back that they were in another country far away from Narin. Quincey got back to her with ‘I’m on vacation in Europe with my family.’ Knowing that her best friends were accounted for, she sent what seemed to her, a final text; ‘Be safe. I love you guys.’
Since her Granny passed away a few years ago, she couldn’t think of anyone else she should reach out to. Except for one person she dearly missed and deeply cared about. She hadn’t texted or called him since she didn’t work with his bossy brother anymore. They completely stopped any contact after the night of the celebratory party. It was an unspoken mutual agreement between them to just let the communication die out.