Chapter thirty
Throughout our journey to the Caden Manor, I couldn't fight the anxiety building up in my chest. I took slow deep breaths, looking out the window, so Levi wouldn't notice my angst. I didn't want to worry him. I knew how much Levi adored his father. What if he doesn't take it well? Damn it.
"You'okay?" Levi peered at me. Amber orange eyes sat across my face.
"I'm fine. Just tired."
He interlaced our hands together. My breathing became calm. "We'll be fine. I'll be fine. I promise."
He could tell. He had to have known that I didn't like his dad, his methods and his manipulations. I heaved in relief. "That's fine then."
Levi mumbled. "We're here."
We stood right in front of the tall mansion before us. Built in grey bricks and decked in stories high, the manor was really a sight to see. I knew the place looked magnificent. I've heard the stories, but never did I imagine it would look better than I'd been told. The manor was adorned with a long boulevard, filled up with beautiful flowers and delicate overgrown trees, flaked at each wing. The security guards had let us in, and we had parked in the lot.
Levi muttered. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"It is." I responded, still awe struck.
"Too bad, its beauty wasn't enough to keep me and my siblings together. Come on, let's go in. I'm hoping he's inside."
I followed him through the magnificent hall way, till he led me through a tastefully decorated ivory painted living room, furnished with diamond encrusted chandelier, draped at the centre of the grand room, an overtly sized flat screen television, hanging from the wall and taupe Italian leather sofas, where Vikram Caden sat.
His eyes narrowed, when he saw us. He was dressed in a casual tee shirt, paired with dark green shorts and an annoyed look in his dark orange eyes. "Why are you here? Are you trying really hard to get caught by the government? Do you not care?"
Levi greeted him, I followed suite, as he quipped. "You and I both know that they won't hurt me, even if they saw me. No one would take a Caden, now would they? No one likes Vikram Caden's wrath. Heck, they knew if they captured me, you'd have to save all my captured friends."
"What are you getting at, Levi?" His tone soured.
"I need your help. Desperately."
Vikram's moustache twitched. "I hope it's not about none of that nonsense I've been hearing about you, wanting to save your friends in the Refinement facility."
"I'm glad you know about it. So I don't have to explain myself. And it's not nonsense. It's been over two months. They need to be out."
Vikram Caden shook his head firmly. "I care about them. I do. But it's not time. Not until everything is done and you know that."
Levi looked exasperated. "Everything won't be done, until a year or two. By then, they'd have emotional trauma to last for a lifetime."
"I am trying my best."
Levi frowned. "I know when you try your best. You don't care enough, because you don't know them. Like I said, what would happen if I were part of them? Would you save me?"
"Like you said, it would be impossible. They would never hurt you. What you should worry about, is your dear lady friend you carry about recklessly. Unlike you, she is viable for being taken to the refinement facility. And each day you expose her to the outside world, you are putting her at risk. I'm sure you've considered that. I'm also sure she's too stubborn to listen to you. If you two really want to save the world, you should start by saving yourselves first." Vikram Caden said, with a wry smile.
I muttered. "That is not why we are here. I'm not going to take my freedom for granted. I want to help, not because I'm free, but because I can use this freedom to be of use."
Vikram Caden laughed. "You are just as childish as you look. Talking about freedom and helping, like you can change the world with a little speech. I've been at this since I was sixteen. That's over four decades I had spent dedicating my life to Radiants. I was once like you, hopeful and naive to the world and its thought. Hate doesn't wash away, just because you wish it would. Radiants too have done some fucked up things in the past, long before any of you youngling, were born, so you have no idea what you're stepping your foot in. I had to work with the government, to balance it out, but it wasn't enough. If people are tired of something, they will put everything into it to get rid of it. I learnt that first hand. This is diplomacy. Something neither of you can understand."
Fury blazed in me. "I'm not looking to save the world now. We just want to save my friends."
"Then you'll be starting something you can't finish." Vikram Caden glared at me.
Levi turned rigid. "That's why we're asking for your help. You're untouchable. You know this."
Vikram laughed again. It sounded more mocking, than the last. "They tore apart my Clandestine. If I truly was, they'd respect it."
"You only have a huge stake in it and that's something non Radiants don't know. The world sees it as a Radiant group, not as yours. Your name isn't even mentioned in this. They are careful with you. You are the one thing Radiants have and you're throwing it away." Levi seethed.
Vikram Caden remained apethic. "I have a lot I'm dealing with. I can not help you. You just need to know that I'm not the bad guy."
"Then quit acting like one." Levi's lips thinned, before turning away.
****
Levi's childhood bedroom was what I expected it to be. Simple and neat. There were no banner or wallpaper of any band hanging around. No pictures or anything else. Just simple. A bed, a table/chair duo, his closet and a tv. It seemed so ordinary, but it did remind me of Levi Caden. He was an ordinary boy, caught up in an extraordinary world.
Levi said. "Hope you like my room. I know it's not much, but it's—"
"Perfect. I love it. Now let's get down to what we came for. You are officially the number one genius of all time. We tricked Vikram Caden. I cannot believe this." I couldn't help giggling.
Levi's lips curled up. "Me, neither. But I should congratulate you. Your anger seemed so legit. I could feel your rage and almost thought you would punch him."
My nose crinkled. "I was angry. Super angry, but I needed not to break character. It was too early to get caught. I was having none of that."
"Still you were still amazing. Well done."
"Thank you, but it's not over yet. We just went through the first step." I told him.
He nodded back. Anxiety deep ridden in his eyes. "The first step's always the easiest. The next, not so much."
I walked towards him, and managed to keep his hand a little affectionate squeeze. He looked down at me, running his eyes on my face. I smiled reassuredly. "Let's do this."