** Flashback to the day Kyle left Mansion BMX***Samantha was in total shock as she listened to her father.
What"s this? Black Dragon? Ice? Cards? What?
"So, you understand that I can"t let you out of the house till this Ice person is caught," Richard was saying, looking at her in the eyes.
"But -" Samantha started to protest. She had wanted to watch Kyle shoot his scenes and now her father was telling her she"s housebound?
"No buts," Richard stressed.
"Not even in our own compound?" Samantha pressed on, "Surely the security here is tight enough?"
"NO," Richard replied, then his voice softened, "I can"t take any chances, Samantha. Please understand."
Samantha shook her head, not believing this whole thing, "But who is this Ice? Why is this Black Dragon after you?"
"Who knows?" Richard said with a straight face, "I guess I made a lot of enemies in the business world? All I know is this. Don"t mess with the Black Dragons."
"Especially Ice," Richard said, "But I refuse to cower to these lowlife vermin! Does Ice think he can scare me? Hah!"
Samantha watched her father with awe, "Are you okay, father? Why were you hiding this from me before? And how did you know? Was there an attempt already?"
"One question at a time, sweetheart," Richard said, "These Black Dragons just think too highly of themselves. I got a card, with some instructions of what needs to be done. Since I refused to do it, I"m to be killed."
"Why couldn"t you just follow what they wanted?" Samantha asked curiously.
Richard glared at her, smas.h.i.+ng the table, "I will not bow down to them! I have my own principles and will stick to them. These Drug Lords think they are so great? NOT TO ME."
Samantha was even more proud of her father. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.
"Okay, father," she said, "I will obey."
She didn"t want to cause more hards.h.i.+p to her father.
Richard gave a huge sigh of relief, "That"s good."
He reached into his drawer, pulling it open, "I have here the t.i.tle deeds to a penthouse at Street Px. It"s under your name and no one knows about it. I want you to head over there as soon as everything is ready."
He took out a file, and as he brought it up, something fluttered to the floor. He froze.
Samantha saw the look on her father"s face and turned her head to where he was looking at. There, a black calling card was seen. She was about to pick it up when Richard beat her to it, crus.h.i.+ng it in his hands and stuffed it in his pocket.
As he did so, he felt something in there.
Furrowing his brows, he touched it. It was paper. His heart calmed a bit, for it couldn"t be the card now, could it? His fingers held it and he took it out of his pocket.
Upon seeing the all too familiar emblem, his heart rushed up to his throat and he fainted.
Samantha was shocked.
One minute, her father was fine. The next, as he looked at something that he had taken out of his pocket, his eyes rolled back and he slumped unconscious onto the table. She couldn"t move in time and he banged his head hard on the desk.
She frantically called for the butler and they brought Richard to his room. Their regular doctor was called and Samantha sat by her father"s bed, waiting. Taking out her phone, she started texting Kyle.
She knew that it was unlikely that he would see it yet, as he would be busy. Still, it was better than nothing. She sent several texts, first apologizing for not being able to watch him shoot after all, but didn"t say why. She simply stated that her father had some problems and she had to help him.
She also told him about her father being unwell and had fainted so she had to stay to take care of him.
When Kyle saw those messages that night, he smiled.
For the next five days, Kyle was busy with the shoots. During the da, he would be working. At night, he would be texting Samantha.
Through her, he could listen to her telling her concerns for her father. He could monitor Richard via the security feeds, of course, but it was nothing compared to hearing how Richard was acting.
Samantha was getting worried. She said that her father was on edge lately. Every single thing could set him off. Everyone was walking on eggsh.e.l.ls.
The worst thing was him firing most of the staff and only left the barest mininum. Bodyguards were everywhere. Samantha even had to stay in the same room as her father, sitting on a chair to watch him sleep.
He was that paranoid.
[The fruit is ripe for the picking] Kyle reported on the last day of filming.
He was furiously trying to brush down his hair, that Keanu had messed up. The static that he created still made some of his hair stand up.
[Finally] Kay replied [When is the harvesting going to be done?]
[The Witching Hour]
[Geez, brother] Kay complained [Can"t you just say midnight like a normal person?]
[But I"m not normal]
[... ...]
Kyle could actually "feel" those ellipses and he laughed.
[You"re really having fun, aren"t you?] Kay admonished him [Are you sure you know what mission you"re really under?]
[Tsk] Kyle responded [Yes. I"ve been fattening the pig and now he"s really for slaughter. Is everything in place?]
[Affirmative] Kay a.s.sured him.
Kyle stretched, bringing his arms up in the air above him. He bent his right elbow, and reached behind him to touch the middle of his back. Then, with his left hand that was still up, he grasped just below the right elbow. He gently pulled the right elbow down and towards his head.
His muscles were feeling a little stiff, so he had to loosen up his back and triceps.
Thing is, he was still in costume - minus the leather jacket that he had placed carefully on the chair. With his sleek physique being outlined in that slim fitting dark s.h.i.+rt, his movements only served to showcase the rippling muscles underneath.
"Do you really have to show off so much?" grumbled Sam, watching Kyle intently.
Kyle smirked, put his hands on his waist and wriggled his b.u.t.t, "What? Want a piece of this, is it?"
Sam made some retching sounds, while sticking his tongue out and pretending to poke his finger down his throat.
"You guys have a unique friends.h.i.+p," came a deep voice, laughingly.
Both Kyle and Sam stood up straight then, facing Keanu.
"What? You"re still nervous around me?" he questioned them, frowning at them.
Sam"s eyes went wide open, "No, no ... it"s just ... ah geez. I"m such a big fan, Mr. Reeves that I can"t help it."
"I"m just showing respect, Keanu," said Kyle sheepishly, "I mean, you"re an elder, you know?"
Keanu first said to Sam, "Call me Keanu."
Then he turned to look at Kyle, saying, "I"m not THAT old."
"You"re older than my parents," Kyle pointed out.
"Again, I repeat. I"m not THAT old," he replied with a smile.
Kyle grinned and Sam laughed softly, "Fine, fine. You"re one of us then."
"As it should be," Keanu replied, smiling and sitting down next to Sam.
He leaned pver to Sam, pointing at Kyle with his chin as he said, "And you"re right. He really does like to show-off, doesn"t he?"
"HEY!" Kyle shouted, looking indignant, then pulled up his s.h.i.+rt to show off his muscles, waving his hand up and down, "When you have these, it"s only right to show them off!"
Then before anyone could react, Kyle rushed forward and pulled up Sam"s s.h.i.+rt, showing off his muscles. It wasn"t a 6-pack like Kyle"s, but it was still pretty impressive.
"See? Even Sam has them under these baggy clothes that he likes to wear. Though it"s only for Betty"s eyes, I know."
Sam whacked Kyle"s offending hands, pulling his s.h.i.+rt back down, his face red.
"Shut up," he growled.
Keanu just watched the two of them, laughing and shaking his head.
He couldn"t quite wrap his mind around these two.
One second, they looked and acted like normal teenage kids.
Then, the next second, they do things that just showed how much of a freak they were. He was surprised to see how developed Sam"s body was as well, considering that he looked pretty much like a desk-pusher only.
When they were in work mode, their professionalism and efficiency were higher than most of the adults he had been in contact with.
When they were playing, they goofed off more than any clown he knew.
Still, he found himself wanting to be part of their world. If these two were like this, how was he with his family? His other friends?
Strangely, despite the many people around him and the love they gave him, they didn"t quite fill the void within his heart since his daughter died.
Even more strangely, he felt a connection to Kyle that he couldn"t quite explain ... which was slowly patching the grief in his heart. He looked at the laughing young man, his eyes deep in contemplation.
✿✿ Midnight ✿✿
Sam and Kyle were in their trailer, going through the last minute preparations.
Kyle was decked out in his black ninja outfit that covered him from head to toe and wore black contact lenses.
As he pulled the last glove on, he looked steadily at Sam, asking softly, "You ready?"
Sam took a deep breath, sitting at the desk and looking at the laptop that was connected to the mansion security feeds - and Kay.
"Yes," he answered simply.
"This isn"t my first hit, and it won"t be my last," Kyle said as he headed to the middle of the trailer, putting his hand on the ceiling, where the opening at the top was located. "Kay will give you the signal, so you don"t have to watch."
As he pushed the latch, Kyle said softly, "In fact, it"s better that you don"t watch. Just focus on doing your part. Don"t ... just don"t get too involved in this part, okay?"
Sam saw the sadness in Kyle"s eyes and he nodded. He gave him a big smile, saluted and said, "Don"t worry. I know you are doing what you need to do. Stay safe."
Kyle smiled, though Sam couldn"t see it through the mask. Silently, he went through the roof and disappeared.