Chapter 330 - 330 Pickpocketed
The young man nodded to him, before the doors closed, and Noah was left to thing alone in the company of Lilith.
"Don"t speak in words yet. We can talk like this for the time being," he warned her, as he felt the snake would start up a conversation.
"Is there anything I should know?" she asked him back, straightening herself as if ready to attack while staring up at his face from the ground.
"No, not really... It"s just a hunch. Let"s make sure not to let go of our leverage and secrets. I have a feeling things aren"t as simple as they may seem around here..." Noah"s sense of oddity only grew the longer he stayed in the Khan Family headquarters. Staring down the gla.s.s wall of the elevator, the image of the people working on the offices around painted him a story more akin to that he"d lived in the past. "We have to remember, the Nine Families exists only to stabilize the existance of the families themselves. And that man was one of them."
Lilith silently lowered her gaze, staring at the scenery, as she felt Noah"s tone grow grave, and his emotions darken. She knew exactly what man he was talking about, and what he"d done to him, his sister, and his mother. She saw the piple rishing carrying stacks of paper, being berrated, and doing menial ch.o.r.es. Just like what everyone else was doing in corporate all around Eyrin and the capital.
"No matter how high you reach, and how much you achieve, never forget where you came from and who you are. Else, you become an empty sh.e.l.l fed by your own power."
Lilith"s eyes widened, as she stared up, an incredible sense of dejavu mahing her heart beat faster. Noah was standing proud, his hands behind his back, as she watched with a serious expresion the hundreds of poeple working on the multiple floors. And that vision overlapped with a memory she did not recall having, word by word.
"And never bow to what those above you mandate, because they are probably just husks," she muttered together with the blurry and dark image of Lucifer in her memory, as he bemoaned the image of the tortured souls they gazed from atop a hill. A memory of thousands of years, before the Generals were even a thing, and before she"d recovered enough to be considered powerful at all.
"I feel I"ve heard those words before," Noah told her, looking down to see the snake"s eyes.
"You know... The longer we spend together, the more and more I feel you"re not just—nevermind." she interrupted herself, before slithering her way closer to the youngster. "What matters is, I"ll be here for you." She raised her body off the ground, touching his hand with her head. "Also, what are you waitining for?" She asked, realizing the elevator had already stopped, and Noah was lost watching a brick wall.
"Oh! Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts," he said, turning in place, startle, before walking towards the reception desk.
"Elder Noah, I"ll take you to the car," before he could say anything, though, the woman behind the counter said to him. She stood and bowed slightly, before getting a set of keys from a drawer. "Would you be so kind as to follow me?" she asked, as the side-wall of the counter retracted into the wall, letting her out.
As she pa.s.sed, Noah saw the logo of the car manufacturer on the keys in her hand, which surprised him. Even though he wasn"t that much into the fastest cars, that brand which boasted a large horse on a yellow background was renowned enough to be a part of history books. "Did that guy just give me a ferrari?" he asked himself, letting his mind run wind in imagining the car he would be getting. By the time he realized it, he had already been following the woman for a while, and they were already at the underground parking lot of one of the buildings.
"Please check the trunk on the front of the car, your armor, essence and a few gifts from the other elders should be there," the woman said, before handinf him the keys and turning around to leave.
"Gifts? I heard no word of anything like that," he told her, as she took large steps back inside.
Hearing his voice, the woman stopped, turning back with a bit of a demeaning expression, and saying, "I recommend you keep them," before turning back and heading inside without waiting for his answer.
"... d.a.m.n," Noah said, aghast, as he fumbled the keys to find the b.u.t.ton to unlock the car.
"What was wrong with that woman? She looked like a ma.s.sive b.i.t.c.h," Lilith leaked out loud, making Noah look around them.
"Lilith! Don"t speak!" he shushed her, tapping his pockets frantically, and putting it on his ears, "You scared the s.h.i.t out of me," he said on the phone, leaving Lilith staring at him confusedly. "I left you on loudspeaker, almost got a heart attack. Yeah, it all turned well. I"ll be heading home first, and then to the bank office." he took a pause, as if hearing someone else talk, "There"s probably someone investigating us already. Only talkt in voice after we get home," he told her in his mind, before pretending to end the call, "Okay, bye."
Opening the door, Noah hopped into the car, and opened the door to Lilith, who was getting in from the other side.
"So... can I talk now?" she asked, after settling herself on the leather seat. "Noah?" she slid across the center console, as she saw Noah silently ran his hand over the finish of the car. "d.a.m.n, you really like this car, don"t you?" she said while rolling her eyes and sinking into herself on the seat.
"Huh? Did you say something?" Noah asked, finally snapping out of his car rush.
"Oh, I just asked whether I can talk now," Lilith answered him coldly, not exactly happy.
"Eh? I mean, yeah, I think so... There"s no way they"d wire-tap a car, is there?" Noah leaned against the seat, tapping the steering wheel with the tip of his fingers.
"Aren"t you a little too up there with this whole car thing?" She asked, leaning her head sideways.
"You wouldn"t get it. This is a ferrari, is every kid"s dream car that I never would imagine driving. Let alone having it given to me for free." Noah smiled at the snake excitedly. "I can"t wait to hear what it sounds like..."
"You know, I think you sh—Let it be, you"ll see soon," Lilith cackled as she said this, realizing Noah had made a large oversight in his excitedness. The large E right next to the model at the back of the car. "Oh, before that, won"t you check the stuff in the trunk to make sure it"s all there?" she asked, surprised Noah was this trustful.
"Oh, right, guess I should. Wait inside while I do it, I"ll turn the AC on so at least you don"t get uncomfortable," Noah happily put the key into the ignition, only to see the car turn all on, without a sound. "Heh?" the bewildered Noah bit his lips, before walking out of the car to check the trunk, and leaving the snake staring at his disappointment through the windshield before the hood was raised.
"So... any issues?" Lilith asked, as Noah opened the door back, only to close it with an annoyed expression. "So, guess there was something?" she asked, cloling herself while staring at him.
"There"s some essence missing," Noah muttered, paddle shifting the gear down to reverse and pulling the car out the parking spot while handling his phone annoyedly.
"What? I couldn"t get a word of what you said," she asked, staring at him.
"There"s Esssence missing, G.o.d f.u.c.king d.a.m.n it! And to make matter worse this car has no actual engine and only electric motors!" he put his phone against his head, calling Marcel.
[Sup, Noah. Anything I can help you with?] Marcel"s voice happily sounded out of his speaker, before going silent as Noah shot back something at him.
"Some of the Essence I entrusted you has gone missing," Noah said, flatly without any emotion. And Marcel responded in kin.
[Now that"s a problem... How much are we talking about?]
"10 per cent, about 20 or so essence. It was so stupid I noticed it by weight," Noah rested head on the wheel, waiting on Marcel"s answer.
[I"ll look into it immediately. Expect my answer as soon I as find out about who did it. Did you like the car?]
"Yeah, it"s really nice on the interior. We"re yet to leave the parking lot though, so I can"t say much about it," Noah couldn"t have been any more unenthusiastic, which gave Marcel cold feet.
[I—I see. I"ll talk to you later, then. Bye.]
"Bye," Noah hung up the call, leaning heavily on the seat, "d.a.m.n... What a s.h.i.t start for a day," he said, staring up at the ceiling.
"This is not about the Essence, is it?" Lilith asked, immitating him and leaning her body on the chair, which looked funny coming from a snake.
"... You—Yeah, I was looking forward to rev the engine..." Noah confessed, leaning sideways and staring at the snake, who was holding back from laughing. "And you find this deeply amusing, don"t you. Let me guess, you already knew this was a full EV before we even got inside," he asked, laughing off his own frustration.
"Yep, I was about to tell you, but was looking forward to your reaction after turning the key. Sorry about that," she laughed him out, staring through the window. "Are we going straight to the bank now?" she asked, trying to figure their plans.
"Nah, I"ll hop by home and let Terrence and the Unicorn out.. I want them to keep an eye for intruders," he said, taking the car off the parking lot.