The Butler's Master

Lost - Part 2

[Lost – Part 2]

Kay strolled the streets casually, checking out business news with ease. Lyca Trading was getting more hits on search engines and gaining steady popularity, and he hoped that such an achievement would be enough to appease the boy's mother and boost Kyren's confidence. He had found a broken, lifeless and aimless young man on the street a month ago, and had found out that his mother had ruthlessly torn his confidence and carefully-crafted persona apart in one single day.

While Kay could not say he approved of the actions of Kyren's mother, he also could not stand out to say anything against it. The only thing he could have done, the thing that he had actually done, was to take Kyren in and slowly teach and build him again. Kyren had the innate traits and instincts unique to his family –it was impossible for anyone to deny that his parentage given how fine his instincts were when it came to business. But the young boy had once been misguided, complacent and infected with all the problems a young master of any respectable, reputable household would be afflicted with. In that sense, Kyren's mother had done the first step of treatment; she had given the boy such a big shock that he had been broken down and vulnerable immediately.

Kay had followed up and done the second step of treatment in her stead; he had taken the boy in and built him up all over again. Kay only hoped that he was building the boy up in the way that would please the boy's mother. Kay could no longer claim that he knew exactly what would please a businesswoman or a mother like Louise Greaves-Crawford anymore.

Once satisfied that he had been kept abreast with the day's business news, he pocketed his phone and kept a sharp eye out for his surroundings. He was rather sure that by now he had bought, bribed and convinced most of the townspeople that the man named Jason Branwell was not a good influence and was targeting young boys in the vicinity. Though it was somewhat a slander, Kay found it a necessary evil to set his plan into motion. The cameras that he had blocked the night before, the transmission jammer he had set around his apartment to stop anyone or anything from trying to transmit images or audio of the place, the removal of traces of evidence that Kyren was still staying in the apartment.

All of them were done so quickly that any rightful suspicious individual who had been keeping his eye on Kay's apartment would immediately be alarmed and understandably report back to whoever who had hired him. And Kay had a very strong suspicion he knew who it was who had hired Jason Branwell.

It had all been planned rather carefully; Kyren would be free enough to ask if he could go out for a walk to allow Kay time to return to the apartment and make it look as if traces of the boy's existence within those walls had disappeared. He needed to make it seem as if Kyren had disappeared without a trace overnight, and the boy's unknowing cooperation was required. That was why he had purposely allowed Kyren a day with nothing to do, knowing that a boy who had been locked up in the room studying business files after files would crave some fresh air in his leisure time.

With any luck, the boy's mother would panic, send someone down to hunt and save Kyren from Kay and finally whip the boy back home even faster than Kyren could react. And by the time the young master of the Greaves-Crawford family had regained his wits enough to demand being returned back to the town to find Kay, the man named Kay would already have long disappeared, with another identity created for himself elsewhere.

In fact, Kay had been so prepared about the situation that he had even removed his sunglasses and mask while he walked along the streets, glad at the reprieve that he gained. While it had been his choice to hide his identity, the sunglasses and mask had not made his daily life easy. He had to avoid eating or drinking as much as he could in front of the boy, and even if he had to, he had to keep the mask covering most of his face with every bite he took. A mask and sunglasses had also not been the most desirable choice of sleepwear accessories. In all, it was rather safe to say that Kay was glad to be rid of his disguise. The townspeople generally did not recognize him –he had made sure to blend in with the crowd as much as possible whenever he stepped out of the house, and kept his head down as much as possible. While there had been one or two cases of recognition, Kay had always been careful to disappear within the crowd faster than confirmation could be made.