Astarte stirred awake as she felt the car stop suddenly hearing the GPS. "You arrived at your destination." In a British voice, "When did she become British?" Astarte said, rubbing her eyes and turning towards Neorch, who shrugged. "She just started being British on the way here."
"You want to be armed?"
"Let's not. I'll have my revolver, but I pray I don't have to use it. I trust Jade that this is a good person." Astarte said, getting out of the car and slamming the door, viewing the two-story city house, White panels and an oak trim with a brick-lined porch. Astarte turned her head as she walked onto the sidewalk in front of her house, looking at the nice houses. "Imagine living here."
"I rather not. Too much responsibilities."
"True. Knock on the door."
Astarte followed behind Neorch as he walked up the stairs. Astarte stayed back a little bit. They watched him place four gentle knocks on the door before hearing kids screaming. Neorch turned to look at Astarte before hearing the door open. A teenager leaned on the door. "I don't know you."
"Where is your mother?"
"Why? Who's asking."
Astarte smiled. "I see where Jade gets her attitude from."
"You know my sister?"
"I'm her boss," Astarte said as she watched Neorch blocking her view. The child turned their head towards the door and screamed a name that Astarte couldn't understand. "Who the hell are you talking to?" a grown woman asked before watching the child step back and an older woman step into the doorway. "I don't want any Girl Scout cookies," the older woman declared.
"Wait, Wait, We aren't Girl Scouts. I need to talk to you. I'm Jade's boss." Astarte said
"Ah, okay. What's wrong? And excuse me, may I know your name?" The woman observed Astarte as she walked past Neorch and onto the porch. "Just a moment, please," the woman said before turning to the children and speaking softly. Neorch asked, "May we come in?" The woman nodded in response. Astarte stepped forward and followed the woman to the kitchen.
"I don't want the kids hearing." "I don't blame you," Astarte said, standing and watching Neorch sit down. Astarte crossed her arms, looking at the kids as they peeked around the corner, staring at her.
"They're just curious. They've never seen a revolver that huge before," said the lady
"Yeah, that tends to happen," Astarte replied before turning her attention back to the lady.
"Let's start this right, and I don't want this to go south," Astarte added.
"Right," the woman said, her uneasiness palpable.
"What's your name? So I can address you," Astarte asked.
"Mylia," the woman responded.
"Pretty name, Mylia. I'm Astarte, and this is Neorch," Astarte introduced themselves.
Astarte noticed Mylia looking around frantically, clearly nervous. "Relax, Mylia. I mean no harm," Astarte said, trying to reassure her. She watched as Mylia attempted to make eye contact with her.
"I know. I didn't expect to see you in the kitchen today. It's just overwhelming to see you, especially considering all the news reports about how dangerous you are," Mylia said
"I only want some answers," Astarte replied, gently touching the kitchen table and noticing Mylia flinch. Astarte heard children screaming and turned her head to see one of them yelling, "Don't hurt her!" Ignoring the commotion, Astarte refocused on Mylia.
"I'm not asking for money, and Jade is safe. I just need some information. Please don't lie to me, and I won't have to resort to any measures. These should be simple questions. I need to know where Jade's boyfriend is," Astarte said.
"Her boyfriend? That damn bastard," Mylia replied, her voice trembling.
"Uh.huh.." Astarte hesitated, waiting for Mylia to continue.
"Give me the address, now", Neorch demanded, causing Astarte to stare at him in surprise. She then turned to the woman standing near the kitchen table and grabbed a paper from her fridge. "Here it is", she said, handing the paper to Neorch after reading the address. "Go warm up the car. I'll join you in a minute", she added, and Neorch walked towards the front door and left.
"I felt a little safer with him here," Mylia said, as she watched Astarte turn around. "That's normal. Like I said earlier, I want answers and I got what I wanted."
"Let's move to the kitchen," Astarte said, turning towards the kids. Mylia backed up and followed her into the kitchen.
"Tell me what's on your mind. I can sense that you have a lot to share," Astarte said.
Mylia asked, "Is that gun loaded?"
"Yes, it is," Astarte replied.
"what if I didn't tell you what you wanted?" Mylia asked, watching Astarte laugh. "I can show you if you'd like," said Astarte, grabbing Mylia's hand and guiding her outside. Mylia felt a gentle resistance but followed anyway. Outside, Astarte led her to a blacked-out SUV and opened the back door to reveal a rifle. Mylia was taken aback and stepped back into Astarte's arms. Astarte placed her hands on Mylia's shoulders and made it clear that she had to keep quiet about what she had just seen. "Now that we're on the same page, you saw nothing, got it?" Astarte said, slamming the door shut. She then warned Mylia that if she spoke about it, the kids would be in danger. Astarte took Mylia's phone and unlocked it, noticing a message from Jade warning her about Astarte's arrival. "Did you see this message?" she asked Mylia "Yeah, Then you knocked on the door."
"I'll answer for you then," Astarte said, typing back to Jade and closing her phone before handing it back. "How did you get past my passcode?"
"I'm in the mafia. Drink water. Your heart rate is through the roof. I can hear it from here," Astarte said, watching Mylias turn and noticing her mafia badge on her shoulder. Mylia placed her hand on her heart, feeling it race. "How...?"
Mylia followed Astarte as she headed back into the house and asked, "May I speak to the kids?"
"Can I be present?" Mylia added.
"Of course," Astarte said, smiling before opening the door and watching the kids run from the windowsill. "Hey," Astarte began, but the kids begged her not to say anything further.
"Listen, all I want to say is, don't hang out with the wrong crowd, and don't get involved in gang activities. It's not a fun thing to do, okay?"
"Do you kill people?"
Astarte smiled and laughed silently before crouching down to the kid's level and replying, "No, I don't." She watched as the child pointed to her badge and asked, "What's that?"
"It's my Mafia badge," Astarte replied
"Oh, really?" The kid questioned
"Well, your sister works for me too," Astarte said with a smile.
The child was excited and said, "That's so cool!"
Astarte then stood up and turned to Mylia and said, "You are family, and Jade is part of our family. If anyone is giving you trouble, just call me, okay?"
Astarte walked into the kitchen and took a piece of paper from a notepad. Mylia watched as Astarte grabbed a pen and wrote down her phone number. "Wow, you have great handwriting," Mylia complimented her. Astarte smiled and added her name beneath the number before attaching it to the fridge. Then, she reached into Mylia's pocket, took out her phone, and unlocked it. She added her own number to Mylia's contacts before returning the phone.
"Remember this number. I am always here to help you, even during emergencies like a break-in. Just give me a call and I will make sure to arrange for Jade to take some time off and visit you and your kids. Memorize this number and don't hesitate to contact me." Astarte said as she handed back the phone and walked towards the door.
As Astarte approached the car, she got into the passenger seat. Neorch, who was with her, said, "I thought we were threatening her."
"That's Jade's mother," Astarte replied, facepalming and turning towards Neorch.
"I don't want to upset Jade. I gave them my number," Astarte added
"We live an hour away," Neorch added, puzzled, looking at Astarte as she buckled herself in.
"Ten minutes if I'm driving," Astarte responded.