GOLDEN AGE | ON HIATUS

XX | WILDFIRE

[ 20 ]

SEMPER CITY, AS IT HAD ALWAYS BEEN, was never beautiful. No, as much as people liked to think, with its demure skyline and sloping streets that charmed everyone but its inhabitants. But even they, who always dreamed about one day packing up their bags and taking the highway to somewhere better, maybe Pittsburgh or New York if they were feeling particularly adventurous, couldn't find it within themselves to live. Mother Semper was like that, casting a spell that lured people in like charmed snakes, mindless.

Jasper tended to not care as much as most people, but even he found himself tightly intertwined in the city's pulsing heart, each breath an ode to its life. His feet tapped on the glass floor, stomach clenching as he peered through. He didn't know why exactly he was so scared -- it wasn't as if the floor would just give way to air, but it definitely felt that way. Casting Jasper a half-amused look from across the room, Finn winced as his stool scraped across the floor as he tucked it under the table, where his third coffee of the day was placed. 

It was only nine in the morning.

As much as Jasper loved his best friend and trusted him with everything (including his life, but that was a story for another time), it took all of the strength bestowed within him to stop himself from pouring the contents of the mug into the sink. Finn and caffeine did not mix -- and Jas had learnt that the hard way, namely, when they were eleven and got into the coffee supply that Narcissa had stolen from the mess hall days before. 

He would never forget the sight of him, Crux's golden boy, practically bouncing off the walls and snickering like a maniac. The memory brought a trace of laughter to his lips, but it faded away when Finn's brown eyes became full of blazing anger, something so rare that Jasper found himself marching over as fast as he could. 

"Wildfire."

"What's happening? You aren't okay, dude."

Finn laughed dryly, yet another uncharacteristic move. He drained the mug of coffee in a few gulps, despite the quite visible steam rising from the brim.

"Talk to me, Finn."

"What is there to talk about? You hide so much from us. I thought we were-" he brought the mug down, a sharp crack sounding as the handle snapped off, "-friends. We grew up together," Finn added dejectedly, a chord of sadness in his otherwise flat voice.

"What do you mean?"

Confusion hammered through Wildfire, until his gaze swept over a small stack of official-looking documents on the tabletop, the pages dog-eared and worn with use. "What is that?" he asked, but Finn's eyes were half-shut, his chest heaving as his head fell into his hands, every inch of his body sagging with pure exhaustion.

"The files. About the Yakuza. And here," Finn indicated his chin towards a smaller stapled pile after a long moment of silence, "about you. There are so many links, Wildfire. So many." His voice was pained, shaking like that of a small child who had lost their mom in the grocery store. 

"I don't know what you're talking about, Finn." 

"Just tell me what's happening," came his friend's weak response, his voice flat.

Guilt flooded into Jasper, and he found himself leaning against the wall, heart racing. "I-I..." he plucked up the strength to tell him. "My name is Jasper Jaehyung Lee. I'm Ayana Nakamura's brother."

"The Yakuza boss and Narcissa's associate?" Finn lifted up his head, eyebrows furrowed. Jas could almost see the gears clicking his mind, racing at a hundred miles an hour.