The man put the microphone on the stand and walked slowly off the stage. The crowd instinctively parted, giving way to him. He looked relaxed and peaceful, like a traveler who reached his final goal after a long journey.
Marcus walked past the guests towards his brother, alternately nodding and greeting them and wishing a pleasant evening.
It seemed that the White House was his native residence, in which he held such meetings every week and was already so used to them that he was not bothered by the numerous cameras of the invited paparazzi or high-ranking guests.
"Good evening friends. Glad to see you at my modest event," Marcus nodded his head, greeting Elena and the others, "Hope you enjoy it here."
"To h.e.l.l with you! Marcus, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?!" Armand grabbed his brother by the collar of his shirt and hissed in an angry voice, to say that he was angry at that moment was like saying nothing.
"Hey, my dear little brother, watch your behavior, please. Did I teach you such manners in childhood?" Not a muscle fluttered on Marcus"s face, he still smiled as if nothing had happened, and only his voice expressed inner irritation.
The man opened his brother"s palm and adjusted his collar, "Do not forget where we are and how many people are looking at us. This is not the best place to demonstrate a family showdown."
"Ha, "family showdown"? Since when have we become a family again? As far as I remember, at our last meeting you said that apart from dirty blood, nothing binds us. So why such a concern about family reputation?"
Armand wanted to cling to his brother and beat him heartily until they both fell exhausted, but Marcus was right, unfortunately, this place was not suitable for paying off old scores.
Apparently, he specially organized their first meeting in such a way that their hands were tied and they had to think twice before saying or doing anything.
"Why all this show? What are you up to and what do you want from my family?" David asked directly, he was already unpleasantly surprised that the influence of Marcus was much stronger than they even imagined.
And now, having seen this presentation, he was afraid to even guess what would happen next. If the President himself and the government fully supported this idea, then what about ordinary people? This was known only to G.o.d himself, or, in this case, to the devil.
"What am I up to? Isn"t that obvious?" Marcus tilted his head to the side and squinted his eyes, "I gave people what they have longed for hundreds of centuries, and in return, they will gladly give away what I need - their freedom."
"Oh, you! Do you even understand how dangerous this is?! Was it not enough for you what our father did with us, so you decided to force others to go through such torments?" Armand was on the verge and he already did not care about the people around him. The guests were distracted from their topics and began to whisper among themselves, the situation around the two twins looked extremely tense.
"What do you even know about torment?! You, who since childhood has been an exemplary son, capable and indifferent to others. You, whose only loss was a pretty girl without a family and education, the daughter of some cook! You have no idea what it is...," Marcus" gaze slid to the side and the man was silent for half a word, all his attention was focused on the beautiful and pale woman standing a little behind.
He instinctively raised his hand and wanted to touch her, but his gesture was blocked at the same second.
"Don"t even think of approaching her," David hissed through gritted teeth and squeezed Marcus" hand with all his strength. How did this man even have the conscience to reach out to his precious Elena?!
Marcus took his hand back and looked contemptuously at the man, "If you want your wife, whom you so diligently protect, to lose her consciousness right here and right now, then, please. I am not so kind as to offer my help twice."
Hearing these words, David turned around and looked at Elena standing behind him, the woman was very pale and seemed ready to fall unconscious.
"What is it, honey? You feel bad?" All the thoughts in the man"s head were focused on his wife, even if the Apocalypse were happening around, she was always his main priority.
Elena shook her head, but could not utter a word, her body seemed to be shackled, even breathing seemed very difficult to her, but the most unpleasant sensation was the heat coming from her mother"s pendant, which, like a stone from the vent of an active volcano, was burning her chest with an invisible fire.
"This is because of the pendant, Amelia made it so that it reacts to my presence, the closer it is to me, the worse it is to the one who is wearing it," Marcus explained in an indifferent voice. Who would have thought that this bauble on her neck was such an unusual thing?
The man grinned. It seems that none of these fools even had a close idea of the potential and power of this unremarkably looking decoration.
"This effect will disappear as soon as I touch it, but since you prefer your wife to suffer, then...," the man shrugged and spread his arms to the sides, for some time he decided to show n.o.bility, but his efforts did not find approval from others.
"It"s all right, I let you," Elena answered through force. If what Marcus said was true, then she will immediately feel it. Moreover, the pendant had to react to an outsider, and it would immediately become clear to Elena whether Amelia trusted this person or not.
Marcus looked maliciously at David, if the owner of the pendant herself gave the go-ahead, then her husband only had to agree to this.
The man raised his hand and touched the decoration with his fingers. The heat, which prevented Elena from even moving, instantly disappeared and her body became as light as a feather. She felt even better than before she entered this room as if there had been no flight and a sleepless night before, and instead, she spent a week relaxing on some secluded island.
"How are you?" David immediately asked, noting the changes in his wife"s look.
"I"m... okay," Elena answered a little embarra.s.sed, in fact, she felt not just good, but wonderful, but to express such emotions out loud seemed inappropriate to her.
Elena looked at Marcus, he nodded his head and smiled back, "I said that I can help." There wasn"t a hint of causticity in his eyes, and if Elena didn"t know about this man, she could have thought that he was sincere in his help to her.
She was sure that he not only saved her from the effect of the pendant but also restored her energy, otherwise where did she feel such a powerful wave of heat when he touched her?
This person was too mysterious to perceive him unambiguously.
"Oh, young people, such wonderful music is playing, and you are standing still with such serious faces. That"s not good," the gray-haired man, tapping his cane on the parquet, approached the company, whom no one dared to disturb.
"Mr. President, good evening," everyone politely bowed and greeted the owner of the White House, "Thank you for the invitation."
"Not at all, I have nothing to do with it, it"s all the merit of Mr. Taubert. But I"m really surprised. You said that your brother will be at the meeting, but you did not say that he is your exact copy," President Jackson looked at Armand and smiled with a kind fatherly smile.
"Ahaha, I didn"t think this detail would be important, Mr. President," Marcus laughed, for all outsiders this communication looked natural and friendly, "This is my younger brother, Armand, although he"s only ten minutes younger than me, I feel greatly responsible for his well-being, right, little brother?"
Armand did not respond to Marcus"s remark, but the latter wasn"t bothered by that at all.
"By the way, do you know David and Elena?" Marcus shifted his focus of attention to the couple standing nearby.
"Of course I know. I"m very glad to see you again," Mr. Jackson smiled, he knew this couple well, as he personally once presented them with an award for their special contribution to the development of society and the creation of socially significant projects.
The charity activities of Lenali Enterprise found support in the highest circles of government and the level of communication between the family of David and the President could easily be considered friendly and trusting.
"David, I"m surprised you still haven"t invited your charming wife to dance. Usually, you do not miss the moment to show off in front of the crowd," the President joked, knowing the character of a man.
There probably wasn"t such a person in this country who didn"t know about David"s crazy love for his wife, and even the girls studying in high schools made New Year wishes to find a guy who would love them as much as Mr. Anderson loved his Elena.
"Mr. Jackson, in fact, I had already promised the first dance to Mr. Taubert and we were just about to go to the center of the hall," Elena answered, which caused shock among others. And David was the most shocked, of course.
"What?"
"What?"
Marcus and David asked the same question simultaneously, one with astonishment, the other with indignation.
"Mr. Taubert, didn"t you say yourself that you would be pleased to be my partner for a couple of songs?" Elena raised her eyebrows, expressing a slight confusion, and then gave the man a smile that would flutter the heart of even the most staunch and reserved Shaolin monk.
"Elena, what are you doing?!" David mentally shouted to her, he was taken aback at her unexpected offer, but even more he was amazed at her charming flirtation and with whom! With Marcus!
"I will take him for ten minutes, and you will talk with the President, we need to find out what is happening here," she answered her husband with the help of their common telepathy.
As for Marcus, he didn"t mind it at all. The man put up his elbow, inviting Elena as a partner, "It will be an honor for me to have a dance with such a charming woman," he answered and led David"s wife to the center of the hall with a triumphant grin on his face, ignoring the look of the jealous husband.
"It"s a very original trick on your part to take me away and give your husband the opportunity to talk directly with the President, but I would like to upset you, my dear, it"s all useless," Marcus answered, such tricks wouldn"t surprise him, and Elena"s attempt only made him experience a light feeling of adoration.
"You misunderstood everything," she answered and put one hand on the man"s shoulder, and put the other in his strong palm, "I didn"t invite you because I wanted to let David talk to President Jackson, but because I wanted to talk to you myself," Elena answered and looked Marcus in the eye.
The man raised his eyebrows, he did not expect such an answer and this time he was sincerely surprised. "Khem, and what did you want to talk about?" choking a little, he asked her and looked away.
"Just when you touched my pendant, you did something else, right? Why did you share your energy with me?" Elena noticed a slight confusion on the man"s face as if he was considering what answer was best to give.
And when she looked at him from such a close distance, she did not feel any aggression on his part, he seemed to her like Armand, except maybe a couple of inches higher.
Marcus closed his eyes and sighed heavily, "The fact is that the amulet reacts not only to my presence but also to my emotions. The conversation with Armand p.i.s.sed me off a bit and it affected your condition. Let"s just say that I only compensated for the damage caused. Will that answer suit you, Mrs. Anderson?"
His hand was neatly placed behind Elena and he easily moved to the side with the woman, avoiding an accidental collision with a nearby dancing couple who were too immersed in their romantic world.
Elena stumbled a bit from the sudden movement, but the man pressed her to his chest to help restore her balance. She did not notice the fierce look that he cast on the other couple, as all her senses focused on the scent that came from the man.
Woody musk, juniper and frosty notes of freshness... She always liked this combination, she did not like the cold and rarely went to the mountains, but it seemed to her that it should smell like this in a snowy winter forest on top of some high hill.
"Why did you do it? This is so not like you," she whispered, such an act on the part of Marcus seemed illogical to her.
"Why did I restore your energy? Not like me? Mrs. Anderson, what kind of person am I?" Marcus asked and it sounded with complete seriousness.
"You...," Elena wanted to express her opinion, but caught herself thinking that, by and large, she did not know much about him.
"I agree that our first conversation was not the most pleasant one, but it seems to me that you are not one of those people who value a person based on someone else"s opinion, right?" The man asked the following question, which made Elena to be confused even more.
She thought for a few moments, remembering everything that happened a long time ago and what happened recently. There was a question in her head, the answer to which she would like to know now most of all.
"You"re right, I don"t judge people according to others, so I"ll ask, based on what I know myself," the woman raised her head, the man"s eyes did not move an inch from her gaze.
"Why did mom hide from you, what did you do that she had to run away from Europe? After all, it was your job that Philip Carter became uncontrollable and you did it so that David was arrested on charges of his murder? Then, six years ago, Professor Richards was murdered on your order, right? You...," Elena swallowed a lump that approached her throat, she could not help but ask, "Did you set up a car accident in which my mother died?"
The music stopped, Marcus" face did not express any emotion, but in his eyes, the woman noticed a slight sadness. Or it only seemed to her.
"So that"s the kind of person you think I am, Elena," he whispered and looked at the woman.
"Why are you doing all this? Why?"
"Why?" The man grinned, Elena"s appearance was so serious that she seemed to him a little child, demanding justice all over the world. A small curl fell from her head and covered part of the woman"s face.
Marcus raised his hand and gently, barely touching the tips of his fingers on her skin, took this lock and tucked it into Elena"s ear. Her eyes were open and longed for an answer to the question posed.
The man smiled and said softly,
"It"s simple. Someone has to be a villain."