Immaculate Spirit c1-242

by Newbiel

  The place had long been furnished with exquisite pieces of furniture and even the office had been turned into a private gym. That was where Lucie was at the moment, running at full speed on the treadmill, two earphones dangling from the side of her head proving that she was listening to music. It wasn't any music that she was listening to but Nathaniel's new single that will be the music for the next SpiderMan.

  He had sent a copy of the demo to the entire team asking what was their take on it. That was the four times that she was listening to it and Lucie quite liked it. She had noticed two times where the song could be better and had taken a mental note of it but she had nothing more to say about this. Truthfully, she was bluffed that he could be that talented in music when she knew his others areas of expertise. Even more when she knew he was doing the lyric and the melody arrangement himself. He was of course calling others musicians when he needed a special instrument but all the rest was just him.

  That was one of the things that she was bothered the most about him, how could he be that good at everything and how he had the time to do all of it. She had asked him about it and he had told her that he was good only because he took the time to be and that he wasn't good at everything but refused to say what he was bad at. He had just smiled and just said to figure it out herself. He knew she was investigating him and he didn't appear to care about it, more there was time where he almost dared her to figure it out.

  That was one of the things that she liked the most about him. He was always honest with everyone, even strangers on the street. He didn't care about statut, money, race or gender. Like he always said, he was respecting talent, only morons had the privilege to have issues with the rest. It was at this moment that her thought and the music was interrupted by a phone call. Not bothering to look at the caller ID, she took it.

  "Yes?"

  "Oh cousin! I was starting to worry."

  Recognizing the voice, Lucie started slowing down the treadmill until she was walking and then got off of it.

  "Duchess, why would you worry about me?" She asked, taking the towel that she arranged early and put it on her neck.

  "I tried to reach you a number of times in the last couple of days and each time it did go straight to voicemail. So I got worried and asked to ping your phone and it said you were somewhere in Springfield, based on what I learned, this is where the fictional family, 'The Simpsons' is living. I didn't know you had that kind of skill or such a youthful humor cousin." Brunhilde said in a neutral tone but with a lot of innuendos.

  Lucie had to bite her lips to prevent her from laughing out loud. Of course she wasn't responsible for that but Lina was, after all she was the only one who had the skills and the sense of humor to pull a prank like that. She didn't believe that her cousin was really worried about her, it was only an excuse to keep tabs on her and to trail Nathaniel to a certain extent. Lucie was not anxious about the chance of being tracked, after all before each mission, they were leaving every personal item in a safe and their phone was cut off and the battery extracted.

  "I'm sure you were sick with worry, Duchess." She answers the same way. "Nothing nefarious happened to me if it's any consolation, I was just swamp with work and didn't have the time to look at my phone."

  "Oh good, I'm glad to hear that. Where are you now by the way? We should meet."

  "I'm in New York right now, and you Duchess?"

  "Me? I'm in Los Angeles, it's a nice city, I have never come before and I quite like it. I met your friend again, Nathaniel Lyndon, we had an interesting conversation."

  "Why are you so fascinated in him Duchess? He's interesting, no doubt about it but this is not like there aren't scores of other mens around you that aren't as interesting as him. I'm assuming that you look at his genealogy like I did."

  "Indeed."

  "Then you must know that the council would oppose any form of union with him. Hell, they would even stop me and I'm not even one of the main Five. I really don't understand why you are so curious Duchess." Lucie said, shaking her head.

  "Don't play coy with me Lucie, I know you better than that but I must say it's a pleasant surprise to see you fight back for a change. I also must remember that our annual reunion is next month, I would hate to see you miss it."

  Lucie had no doubt about the fact that it was a real threat.

  "Of course I will be there, when I ever missed one?" Lucie answers.

  "Glad to hear that, I will see you there then. Take good care of you little cousin. Bye." Brunhilde said before hanging up.

  Once the call ended, Lucie sighed. Talking with the Duchess was a very exhausting thing to do as they had hidden meanings in each of her words. Maybe this was why she liked Nathaniel so much, he was open where she was secretive and manipulative. She didn't have the time to dwell into it when her phone started to ring again. This time though, she took the time to look at who was calling and wasn't very surprised to see the name on it. Still, she answered her phone.

  "Hello." She said on the phone with a resigned tone.

  *****

  "Alright Andy, sit. Grandpa, sit." Nathaniel said.

  He was sitting himself in the middle of the living room, his grandfather to his left and Andy to his right.

  "Hey! I'm not a dog!" His grandfather said angrily, taking a kneeling position.

  "Nathaniel, was that necessary to say it like that?" His grandmother asked, alternating between being annoyed and amused.

  "Necessary? No. Funny? Yes."

  "Why am I even here? Besides you, that wolf hates everyone!" Robert said, annoyed.

  "He doesn't hate you, he just doesn't trust you and so thinks you are dangerous for his pack. Now, don't raise your voice please." Nathaniel said.

  "Could you have picked someone else to try your little experiment? Maybe one of the maids." Robert asked but this time in a much more measured tone.

  "The maids already have a tedious work, they are not paid to be experimented on. I could have picked grandma of course but if Andy here eats someone, I would live better with myself if it's you. Now, hush." Nathaniel said, raising his hand to stop any complaint.

  "Andy." Nathaniel called, the crossbreed immediately looked at him upon hearing his name. "Family." Nathaniel said, touching his chest with his right hand. "Family." He said again, this time touching Andy on the chest. He put his hand back to his own chest and repeated. "Family." but this time he moved his hand to his grandfather's chest. "Family." After that, he put his hand back to Andy's chest and said again. "Family." Seeing the intelligence in Andy's eyes, Nathaniel this time used his two hands. Repeating 'Family' but this time saying it when his hands were touching simultaneously his grandfather and Andy.

  "Alright, let's test this. Grandpa, move your open right hand, palm first in front of Andy."

  "You want me to do what?" Robert asked, looking at his grandson like he was crazy.

  "It's for him to sniff it. Wolf relied a lot on their sense of smell to function." Nathaniel explained.

  "He's going to bite my hand off!"

  "No he's not and if he tries, I would stop him before he touches you. Trust me."

  Moving his hand slowly, Robert did what he was told, presenting his palme to the wolf. Seeing him approach, Andy looks at Nathaniel before giving a sniff. He seemed satisfied by what he found because he then licked Robert's fingers. Andy then put his muzzle into Robert's hand and then let himself be patted.

  "I can't believe it works." Diane said, awed.

  "Yeah, me either." Nathaniel added, releasing his breath.

  "What the hell! You told me it was going to work!" Robert shouted, incensed.

  "Well, wolves are wild animals and crossbreeds are especially known to be highly unpredictable and dangerous. That's not for nothing that they are the first to be put down in animal shelters. I had high hopes that it was going to work because Andy is really smart and he can understand me. Good job, Andy by the way." Nathaniel said, patting his head and giving him a biscuit as a reward.


  After being properly shouted at for his carelessness, his grandmother was also accepted by Andy which made things infinitely more easy for him. In the past, he could only let his pets inside when he was completely alone and then was forced to lock them in the yard when his grandparents were there. Now that it was done, Andy was sleeping on the carpet where his grandfather sat near him reading a newspaper. Jaydon was being her usual self, closed enough to be part of the group but far enough to be left alone by the humans. The only two exceptions being Andy which Jaydon enjoyed playing, hunting with and even sometimes cuddling and Nathaniel which she liked to play with but she was showing clearly that they were not in cuddling terms yet.

  Chapter 225: :

  "Ah Ah Ah!" Robert starts laughing.

  It was a little later after Nathaniel's little experiment and everyone was doing his own thing. Diane was reading a book while the TV was turned on in the background but no one was watching it. Nathaniel on his side was sitting around the table of the living room, in front of him two huges books were open, a number of pages were spread everywhere and he was busy typing on his laptop like crazy.

  Upon hearing him laugh, Diane put her book down and threw him a curious look while Nathaniel moved his head fractionally to look at his grandfather.

  "What do you find so funny?" Diane asked her husband.

  "Do you know the Emerson family?" Robert asked the two of them.

  "Never heard of it." Nathaniel answers, shaking his head.

  "Wait, I do. Early nineties right? They made a fortune selling cameras and developing negative or something?" Diane answered.

  "Yes they were, they just filed for bankruptcy. Their last stores are going to be sold to the highest bidder in order to sponge their debt. I can't believe someone could be so stupid as to never diversified." Robert shook his head.

  "That is stupid." Nathaniel had to agree.

  "Yes, especially now that the technology evolved enough to have a camera with higher definition in your own phone. They never try to invest in other areas?" Diane asked.

  "They quote some failed ventures when they were at the end of the rope in the article but nothing more. That's not when your boat is sinking that you try to build a new one. Nathaniel, you should learn from them and invest your money, I saw that you barely touch what you own in your bank account. You are in fact losing money by making it sleep." Robert said, looking at his grandson, Diane doing the same.

  "I know grandpa, I just haven't found something I want to invest on so far. Don't worry about me though, I have enough money stashed in diverse places that even if we were to have all of our assets frozen tomorrow, we could still live comfortably for the rest of our lives." Nathaniel answered in a distracted voice, his attention still on his exposé.

  "Good to hear. Don't misunderstand me, we will always be there for you if you are in need of money but I want you to stand on your own feet. If you were to know the number of young people I know who passed their days just burning the money they inherited in our circle, you would be surprised. I even know some who gather so much debt that their family almost has to file for bankruptcy." Robert shook his head.

  "Ah ah don't worry about this, I will never ask for more money than you have." Nathaniel started laughing before stopping rather abruptly, his expression turning from amused to thoughtful. "The money…" He murmured.

  His grandparents notice the change.

  "What's wrong dear?" Diane asked.

  "Wait a second grandma, I need to check something." Nathaniel said, opening another window on his laptop and making a quick search. Luckily for him, what he was looking for was public information and so he didn't need to hack anything. The bad news was that his hunch was right. "I'm a freaking moron!" Nathaniel shouted.

  Running to his bedroom he came back with his cellphone and quickly dialed a number.

  "Hello." The person on the other side answered with a resigned tone.

  "Lucie! Tell me that you are in New York right now." Nathaniel almost yells.

  "I'am, if it's about the Duchess, I know that you saw…" Lucie starts to say.

  "No, I don't care the slightest bit about her. I'm calling about the Senator case, it's not over! I need you to grab Jon and go to their house in the Hamptons right now."

  "Got it." Lucie answered, Nathaniel could hear her moving. "What's the address?"

  "I'm going to text it to you right now. Listen to what I found out and what I want you to do." Nathaniel said before explaining.

  A couple of hours later, Lucie and Jon were meeting in the Senator office in their mansion in the Hamptons. The Senator and his wife were behind the desk while on the other side, Lucie had Jon to her left and the brother of the Senator who was there and to her right.

  "First, I would like to thank the both of you. You brought our daughters back and we will forever be in your debt for that."

  "You don't have to thank us sir, we aren't here for that." Jon answered.

  "I'm still curious as to how you found the girls so quickly and mounted an entire operation on a foreign country in but a few days." Marcus asked.

  "We must have been lucky." Lucie answered not looking at him. "Senator, we have a few questions for you if you would care to answer them."

  "Of course, fire away." The Senator said, making a motion with his right hand.

  "Alright, I was made aware that you started organizing fundraisers for your reelection next year, is that true?"

  "It's true." John nodded.

  "Were your daughters supposed to attend one of those events?"

  "Not really, we try to keep them away from those kinds of events." This time it was his wife who answered. "Though they were scheduled to come to a gala two weeks ago but never attended because they took off to go spring breaking in Mexico at the last minute."

  Lucie and Jon exchanged a quick look before Lucie continued.

  "So people working in your campaign were aware that the girls were away?"

  "Yes, they were aware. We had to modify the entire setting arrangement two days before the event, it was a mess." She answered.

  "How many people are working in your campaign exactly Senator?"

  "A little more than fifteen as we are still early in the process. Why are you asking about this?" He asked, frowning.

  "We believe that someone in your entourage was the instigator of the whole thing or at least complicit with it." Lucie broke them the news.

  "What!? You better have some real evidence before throwing serious accusations like that!" He shouted.

  "Before I answered that, I will ask you something. We saw that you already got more than sixty millions dollars to your reelection, why didn't you use the money to pay for your daughters? You have access to that account right?" Lucie asked.

  "I do have access to it but it's not my money, it's party money and every access is highly regulated. If I were to take it, I'm sure I would be arrested before I even exit the bank with it. In fact, if I had been turned away by the President that day, I would have tried it. I had no other solution to get our daughters back." He confided.

  "This is why we believe it was someone working for you. Your daughters were never the target, they were simply used to make you desperate enough to do something really stupid. The only people who would benefit from that would be someone under you and could use your fall as a stepping stone, maybe even catching you in the act of taking the money to get the credit. You must know that person, it would be arrogant and ruthless."

  "We are working in politics, everyone we know is ruthless and arrogant! That could be anyone." The Senator shouted, feeling powerless.

  "No no! I need you two to think carefully. He would be a male between twenty five and thirty five years old. He would never be the kind to reach out to people or even engage in pleasantries. Extremely paranoiac, he would often try to mask his own mistakes as being sabotaged by his coworker. He would never hesitate to go above party line if that would further his goals or benefit him. You definitely know him
and would feel uneasy when you are talking to him."

  Once finished, the Senator and her wife looked at each other, clearly having a person in mind. In the corner of her eyes, Lucie noticed Marcus getting out his cellphone from his pocket and typing something on it.

  "Honey, she's describing Ryan." The wife of the Senator said in a weak voice.

  "Ryan?" Lucie picked up.

  "Ryan Welling, he's one of my assistants. Four weeks ago he made a mistake with a guest and I warned him that if that happened again I was going to fire him. He matches the profile that you just made almost perfectly."

  "Does by chance he has a connection in Rikers?" Lucie remembered something Nathaniel had said the night before they left for Miami.

  "Yes, his uncle is the director of that prison." The senator said.

  "Thank you Senator and I'm afraid I'm going to have to apologize." Lucie nodded.

  "What for?" John asked, knitting his eyebrow.

  "For that."

  Without waiting more time, Lucie threw her elbow to her right, breaking Marcus' nose. Following up, she kneed him in the gut and finished the move with a right hook to his temple. Marcus never saw it coming and was out cold before he could feel himself hit the ground. Surprised by the sudden explosion of violence, the Senator and his wife just look at the entire scene dumbfounded. Seeing the phone of Marcus on the ground, Lucie picks it up and shows it to the Livingstone couple.

  "Your brother here was texting someone to kill your assistant. I may have broken his nose but I just saved him from death penalty so I believe we are even. Don't worry about your assistant, we will take care of it. I really hate morron from the CIA." Lucie shook her head before exiting the office.

  Hesitating a bit, Jon finally took a knee and looked at Marcus' injuries. Seeing that everything was alright, Jon took Marcus' nose and put it back in place with a sickening sound, luckily, Marcus was still knocked out and never felt the pain. Wiping the blood on his hand on Marcus' shirt, Jon gets back up and looks at the couple.