Chapter Three | Red Wine And A Trap
Gabriel had set up a firewall that only the extremely skilled could breach with a few points checked out. If anyone from any of the Empires of the galaxy tried to contact or attempt to locate him, they wouldn't find a clue about his whereabouts. So only someone who was wandering like him in space could have a chance at finding him. And he could already guess who it was.
On the other side of the screen stood the tall and gorgeously muscular frame of Caden Earl; wearing military training attire that hugged his frame to display his powerful body fully. His thin yet inviting lips were curved into a smile that reached his hazel eyes.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr Kiel." His voice was pleasant to the ears, magnetic and authoritative. "I don't think we've had the opportunity to get acquainted before."
Gabriel took another sip of his wine, dying his lips an enticing red. Caden's amused eyes followed the movement as he scanned Gabriel's features as per his military training - studying his movements closely. With a smile, Gabriel said, "The pleasure is all mine, Mr Earl. We were bound to meet someday, and perhaps, fate has directed us to meet now. So, how can I help you today?"
With that question, Gabriel set his wine glass down on the desk in front of him and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand, waiting for Caden to reply.
"I have come to know that you refused to acknowledge the charges levelled against me in a highly secret meeting and fled the Star Empire."
Gabriel's relaxed expression didn't change and he carelessly commented, "I am impressed. I did not expect that you would find out about it this early, Marshal. I left the Capital - what, an hour ago?"
Caden's smile did not recede as he replied, "I have my ways, Mr Kiel."
Gabriel's face split into a knowing smile, "Do these ways of yours include our ancient Marlene Quar?"
The smile from Caden's face evaporated as he stared at Gabriel's smiling expression, "How?" He demanded in a calm voice.
Gabriel didn't let his small smile falter, "She is one of the oldest people of the Empire. No one could be more loyal and truthful to the Empire than her, Caden. It's easy to figure it out if you have the brains." For emphasis, Gabriel tapped his forehead. "Now, I'm asking you again, what do you need me for?"
Caden didn't comment on Gabriel using his first name suddenly, he just scanned Gabriel's features with steely eyes. After a few moments of silence, he spoke while remaining eye-contact with Gabriel, "You are a fugitive of the Star Empire now, Gabriel. Do you think you're in the position to be playing smart with me?"
Gabriel's eyebrows rose as he scanned Caden's face, trying to recall if he had missed something that gave Caden the leeway to subtly threaten him. With his smile gone, Gabriel spoke, "You are a fugitive too if you have forgotten. What advantage do you have over me? Is it perhaps the order from one of the strongest Empires of the galaxy to eliminate you on site?"
Gabriel's blatant mockery did not faze Caden, his face was still the picture of calm and his eyes calculative. Breaking eye contact with Gabriel, his eyes scanned Gabriel's features as if studying a criminal, "Although Star Empire and all of it's allies are after me, what makes you believe I don't have the support of Phial Empire? I freed their commander and their elite soldiers, after all. I could easily come after you, I was able to contact you now. So," Caden narrowed his eyes, "I can easily find you."
Silence hung in the tense air.
Gabriel's posture was still relaxed as he scanned Caden's features, feelings mildly impressed inside, but he didn't let it show on his face. "What you are forgetting now is the fact that I possess a highly active mind; that comes with consequences, you see." Gabriel picked up his wine glass to take a sip, "I can't put anything down when it sparks my curiosity. Your current circumstances are very interesting so I wasn't able to control myself and I ended up rummaging around." Flashing a smile towards Caden's passive face, Gabriel said, "Apologies in advance for invading your privacy."
"What do y--," Caden's voice died in his throat when Gabriel leaned forward and swiped his finger on the glass table; icons emerged and Gabriel selected one to share it with the ex-Marshal. Instantly, Caden received files from an untraceable terminal.
"I know you are not completely unrelated to all the politics going on between all the Empires, but you did not have anything to do with releasing the Commander of Phial. So you don't need to bluff, I know you don't have the support of either faction. Most of your true allies are still in contact with you and I know they are listening in to our conversation right now. You are the one who needs my help right now and not the other way around." as Gabriel spoke, Cadan's calm face finally cracked to show expression with mixed emotions, "And as for you being able to contact me...
Do you genuinely think you'll be able to find me if I don't let you?"
Caden looked up after skimming through the files and stared at Gabriel for a few seconds, genuinely lost for words, but then his face eased and he let out a chuckle, "Truly the greatest mind in the galaxy." Closing his eyes, he shook his head. Gabriel was amazed seeing Caden's smiling face- it was a pleasant sight, but didn't let that thought show up on his face, "It's a pity you work for those guys."
The sudden words and hardness in Caden's voice threw Gabriel off for a minute. He didn't work for anyone since he left Star Empire and abandoned that Empire's network security firewall. With furrowed eyebrows, Gabriel inquired, "Those guys? In case you have forgotten Marshal, I left the Star Empire and that leaves me without a job. I don't work for anyone."
"No matter how smart you are, you can't go against someone who planned ahead. I know about your parents' involvement with the Phial Empire, don't try to skirt it away. All of that information was pretty hard to get, but my people managed." Caden's lips rested in a thin line but his gaze was calm.
Truly out of the loop now, Gabriel's thoughts scattered. Parents? He didn't have any; he had already been disowned when he was in his early teens. Since his relationship with his parents was already caked in mud, he never liked anything related to them. They were involved in this drama?
That was news to him. Sitting up straight, Gabriel spoke calmly, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I've had no contact with my parents for more than a decade now, Marshal. Even if you think I'm lying, would I leave them back in that Empire after shutting the firewall of Star Network down?" Gabriel quirked an eyebrow as he finished.
"Your involvement in this is uncertain, I admit. But leaving you alive is just as dangerous even if you're not involved." Caden said with a smile as if he wasn't talking about killing the person across the screen.
Laughing, Gabriel said, "So what? You're going to kill me now?"
"Indeed."
The seriousness in Cadan's voice made Gabriel pause. He studied his features and judged that he was not lying - this set off alarm bells in his head but he kept his calm expression. Ignoring Caden who was studying him from across the screen, Gabriel swiped his hand on the table, drawing familiar icons.
Previously he hadn't bothered to scan the spaceship's internal structure, but looking at Cade's annoying smug face, it had been a severe mistake on his part. Finding something odd, Gabriel quickly pulled it up and expanded it to cover the whole table holographic-ally. Upon studying it, he found the abnormality.
"You've planted a bomb in my ship." Gabriel calmly stated.
"Mm." The bastard had the nerve to smile at Gabriel. But before Gabriel could do anything about the bomb or run his mouth off to curse that bastard to death, Caden spoke, "You have less than half a minute to live. Enjoy your time." Then he flashed Gabriel a grin.
Feeling ticked, Gabriel fumed silently. He glared at Caden, then turned to his table again to exact his revenge. Within a few seconds, the other side of the screen lit up to show red.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Caden lost his composure for the first time during their conversation after feeling that something was definitely going wrong.
Through the screen, Gabriel could see that Caden was in a room with translucent glass walls, and now that the ship was on red alert, he could see blurry figures running around behind the military man. Gabriel refused to reply and continued to hack into Cadan's ship through their connection and failing the functions of his ship one by one. Finally done, he pulled out a timer to see how long he had before his ship would explode and take him down with it.
He had ten seconds. It was petty of him to do this even though he could have very well prevented it, but he had the sudden urge to conclude things like this.
He made eye contact with a livid Caden, and unexpectedly, he found that look to be especially entertaining. With a Cheshire cat grin on his face, he said, "I'll take you down with me, asshole."
"You fu--!"
...
There was a flash of light at two distant places a couple of light years from the Star Empire, and the galaxy lost two of its youngest yet the brightest stars.
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Author's Note: Man, that was a fun chapter to write. I can't help but fangirl over how cool Gabriel is in this chapter. Now, I'll see you next week on Wednesday!
Can you guess the reason why Gabriel started addressing Caden as Marshal again?
Thank you for reading. Please don't forget to vote and comment!