Heirs To The City: The Quartet

Chapter Twenty Two

The hours that passed were slow and relaxing, by the time the sun rose high over the water creating endless rows of flickering light off the black glassy surface of the water. Walking back downstairs after changing I found Kate and Olivia in the living room talking opposite one another and laughing about the stories they were exchanging, all while Olivia talked about investing Winters Group funds to help Kate go beyond North America.

Adrian however stood outside at the end of the patio overlooking the ocean beyond where the home I shared with Kate sat. He seemed almost unbothered as he stood there, the man was an extremely high functioning psycho-sociopath at least professionally. Privately he was normally asocial, though there were exceptions to that since he was also able to fully take control of entire situations with ease. That was also why I knew that he was the kind of man that after seeing how he reacted with Olivia, he wasn't ever going to let her down. He also would never allow a single one of his friends to be let down, which was probably the reason we all accepted him to be the one to be in control of the entire case's details.

Stepping out of the sliding door out to the pool that rippled in the wind and had a pale blue colouration to it from the lights along the sides showing that it wasn't much deeper then four feet. Passing the lounge chairs, and the firepit area with multiple chairs around it I walked down the side steps to where Adrian stood eyeing the ocean with a look of ease. The smell of cooled air and sea salt filled the air as I stopped next to him while he lifted his glass that had some of the rum I'd bought for him in it.

"You do realize that drinking alone isn't good for you mentally," I say and he flicks his eyes to me with a regaled look, before he returned his eyes to the water.

"No one said that when I got drunk in Monaco at sixteen," Adrian says and I cast him a piercing look in return.

"You got drunk over the shit you've been though, though it's not quite as impressive as getting drunk, shutting down a city, and turning into a detective to find your kidnapped girlfriend for four days," I quip and he blank stared me. It was that same brother like bond that we had that made him not do anything, and I stated the truth and he'd never fault me on it. The idiots just bothered him, or did things to get on his nerves and he never once didn't threaten them for their amusing stupidity.

"Shut up Harrington," Adrian muttered before a smile cracked his icy façade.

"You're my brother, we can settle this like men over a chess match," I say, and he laughs lowly.

"I'd win, and we both know it. What did you really come down here to ask, I know you well enough, you're either checking in, or asking me something," Adrian asks crossing his arms as he finished his glass of rum.

"What's the plan with the Ambrose Case, I know that you always have a plan and it's usually at the expense of a company you can manipulate to do your bidding," I say and Adrian laughed, a cold sound, like the devil himself had decided to come out and play.

It's fucking unnerving.

Media and books liked to make it seem like having the devil by your side would eventually cause betrayal. Personally I thought the devil would kneel to Adrian, let along fuck with him; Adrian's subconscious would rid the world of evil for the rest of time. The devil would gain attention in public, would cause fear but no one shut their mouths when it came to him. Adrian made people shut up, and usually stopped doing what they did. The fact he hadn't disclosed much in regard to how he planned to ruin the Ambrose Executives who remained highly public and had their own circles of influence, made me wonder rightfully so, since I'd been questioned on what my role in the past was.

"Everyone can be manipulated if you know where to start," Adrian half smirked while pouring another two finger measure into the glass, "I've only made my opening move, and now my next move is to destroy them from afar, or what use is being the CEO of the largest MNE on earth," the smirk grew, and I was reminded that Adrian's favourite past time was playing all his opponents off one another, and no one ever knew until it was too late.

"You have to be a sadist," I say with a suppressed expression of admonishment. I was always the closest to Adrian, for good reason. Him and I were the two geniuses of our group though mine was self taught from countless hours of reading, and curiousity, he had hypermnesia, and I suspected it came from the intense amount of stress he put on himself. He'd taught himself to be calm in the presence of stress or uncertainty.

It terrified me.

"I'm a cold calculated bastard," Adrian muttered in amusement before flashing me a smile, "however I have no reason to direct it towards you, I've already beaten a guy to shit for you a few times. That's why I trust you to treat Kate with the utmost honour".

"You rule New York through fear Adrian, and you're not even a mob boss," I say leaning on the railing with my hands in my pockets.

"I'm related to a whole family of them, also when did you become not so nonchalant," he asks.

"When there is more then just you on the line for once. Though I wouldn't trust anyone else to have that kind of role," I say, "However stress does cause headaches, so please drink something other then scotch when working," I add for good measure and he shuts his eyes for a second.

"Have you been talking to Olivia about my work habits?" he asks.

"I come to Winters Group Tower once every month, remember your company is the chief shareholder, or was since I've been buying back projects, by the way thank you for organizing the NATO contract".

"Don't mention it," Adrian says downing another sip from his glass, and I began to wonder if there was a reason he was drinking alone. 

"What's on your mind, and don't lie to me, I've been seeing through your bullshit since we were five," he snorted in derision and fixed me with a half hearted glare.

"I'll save you for buying me a three thousand dollar bottle of rum, for the wording of that," he says gesturing with his free hand as he finished the glass. This time I laughed though it was short.

"Like you said you're initiating your next step in this plan of yours to take down twelve powerful executives. I'm assuming that's your reason for drinking alone by the beach," I say and he straightened putting the cork in the bottleneck.

"They have powerful friends Nico, half a billion stolen dollars turned into three billion, and they've created friends in other cities, I don't want to tear the fucking country apart, so I'm drinking to mellow my minds separation so I can figure out what to do about it," he says before a dark look passed over his face and if there wasn't wind rolling off the ocean I'd have to say it concerned me as nervous chills covered my neck.

"I know exactly how I'll do it," Adrian mutters before pulling out his phone and texting a command to someone before pocketing the device, "and now the world burns," he muses walking past me with the bottle, and I smiled while shaking my head as I followed him back towards the house where our girlfriends were completely unaware of the fact Adrian likely was going to tear apart the business world by tomorrow morning.
    
    
It's a shorter one but its late as hell at current so I don't care. Comment, vote, and share. Anyways

Peace✌