Day 5 & 6

I'd rather not say...

A knock on the door caught Mathias’ attention. He turned his swivel-chair to face the door and gently flicked his black hair back into place. “Come in.” His voice, roughened by age and smoking in his past, echoed around the room, which was bare of any cloth.

His assistant walked in, head down, a folder under one arm.

“Yes, Jacklyn?”

In a soft voice, Jacklyn said, “Ms. Tonnerre has arrived.”

Mathias took a long breath and smiled. “Very good. Has…” He glanced at an old picture on his desktop. It was half-covered in light from the window, which made it hard to see the contents of the frame. “Has anything happened yet?”

Nodding, Jacklyn walked forward and gave the folder to Mathias. “I’ve compiled a list of the injuries sustained today for you, Mr. Clan. There are several cases of concussions and bone breakages as well as mild lacerations and bruising. All of Mr. Tank’s team was taken down, so they will not be able to be used for several weeks.”

Flipping through the papers, Mathias whistled. “This is very nice. Did Tonnerre do this?”

Jacklyn shook her head. “Ms. Éclair did, sir. She interfered in the ceremony that the mercenaries call ‘initiation’ and was attacked by Tank, who was the initiator and most of the observers. She took them all down and then walked away with Tonnerre.”

A slight smile touched Mathias’ lips and his gray eyes lit in amusement. “Éclair did, eh? That’s very interesting. She doesn’t normally interfere in such things. I wonder if she’s taken a liking to our newest member. That would be very nice.” He looked at the reports without seeing anything. “You say that Tank’s entire group was beaten?”

“Yes, sir. The witnesses say that the entire thing took less than two minutes.”

Pleased, Mathias leaned back. “Good.” He handed the folder back to Jacklyn. “Send a message to everyone who fought against Éclair. They’re all fired. If they want a reason, tell them it’s a breach of the contract to lose too many times to the same person.”

Bowing, Jacklyn took the folder back. “Yes, sir. Is there anything else, sir?”

Mathias took a moment to think and then smiled. “Yes.” He leaned back in his chair. “I want you to connect me to Éclair. I need to speak with her.”

Again, Jacklyn bowed. “Of course, sir. Please wait a moment.” Jacklyn exited swiftly, her phone appearing in her hand the moment the soundproof doors closed shut. She stood right outside, dialing swiftly. “Hello, this is Jacklyn Lane. Mr. Clan wishes to speak with Éclair. Put her through to Mr. Clan’s office phone.” After a moment, she opened the door. “Sir, she’ll be connected shortly.”

Picking up the phone, Mathias nodded and waved Jacklyn away. After a swift bow that Mathias didn’t see, Jacklyn left the room again.

It took about thirty seconds for Éclair to pick up the phone on her side and ask, “What do you want, sir?” in a very patronizing voice.

Grinning, Mathias said, “Hello, Éclair.” I love talking on the phone to people. They can never see that you’re laughing at them. “How are you?”

“Sleepy. Did you need something, sir?”

“I wanted to check up on you - do not hang up on me, Éclair. I understand that you appreciate after dinner naps, but I do have some business with you.”

Stifling a yawn, Éclair asked, “Can you call back in the morning?”

Suppressing a laugh, Mathias replied, “I’d prefer to tell you now.” He took a pause for dramatic affect, heard a yawn on the other side, and decided to get on with it before Éclair fell asleep at the phone. “I take it you’ve met Tonnerre.”

“…Sure.”

“Well, I’ve just called to inform you that starting today, you and Tonnerre will be on a team together.” Immediately after the end of the sentence, Mathias slammed the phone down.

Jacklyn poked her head through the door. “Sir? Is something the matter?”

“No, I was just trying to forestall the explosion.” Mathias’ smile faded slowly. “Do we have any footage of Tonnerre ever fighting offstage?”

“No, sir.” Jacklyn said after running through her memories. “She’s only ever fought on stage.”

Mathias nodded vaguely. “Very well.” He glanced at his desk again, at the photo still covered in light, and sighed. “Well, I’m sure that we’ll see some soon.”

The phone went off.

A smile instantly flitted across Mathias Clan’s face. “Should I pick that up?” He wondered to the air, as Jacklyn quietly slipped out again. Still smiling, he reached to the phone and slowly brought it to about six inches away from his ear. “Hello?”

“WHAT THE -” There was a strangled noise. “DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” There was a pause filled with irritated breathing. “SIR?!”

Oh…life will never cease to amuse me, Mathias thought. “But, Éclair, it’ll be such good experience for you.”

“WHAT?!”

It’s a good thing that I’m holding the phone away from my ears.

 

…Marie -

“DON’T CALL ME THAT.”

…Éclair. I’m pretty sure he’s already hung up. Just put the phone down, and go back to sleep, please.

Éclair whipped the phone from her ear and stared at it. The message “Call ended” had just finished scrolling across the screen, and it was turning back to the home page. She closed the phone and chucked it at the couch, where it landed safely. “THAT B*****D.”

Éclair, just take your nap, and we’ll discuss it when you get up. The ferret poked his head out from under a pillow. Okay?

Éclair met his eyes and grumpily lay back down.

 

Mathias placed the phone back down on the table, letting the amusement slowly run out of his system. He reached out and carefully picked up the picture frame that sat at the edge of his desk, free from all clutter.

The frame was new, polished wood, but the picture held within was old, a Polaroid that had been cut to fit. It contained a smiling child, with black curls and bright blue eyes that sparkled with laughter and happiness. He was dressed in overalls and sat on a white horse. In his left hand, he held a bucket, and in his right, he held the hand of a middle-aged woman with wrinkles around her eyes and deep gray lines streaked through her hair.

Very slowly, Mathias ran his eyes over the picture, taking in the faded edges which had once been colorful, the boy’s smile, the woman’s cautioning hand, the horse’s indifferent look away from the camera - it all seemed so magical.

You’ll soon belong to me again, Mathias thought. He carefully replaced the picture in its original spot and leaned back, closing his eyes. I have Tonnerre and Éclair both now -the strongest show fighters in the world. If they can’t do it -

No. They’ll succeed. I’m sure of it.

Author's Note

Finally restarting it....xD