[center][b]Kenan in Darius’s home, Around Evening time.[/b][/center] 

The whole situation was nothing more than a mess within Emmet’s mind and Darius was the cause. After he hailed a cab, jerked open the door and threw himself into the worn seat, his eyes shifted to the cab’s rear mirror. He wasn’t surprised to see a pair of bright blue eyes surrounded by crow feet stare at him through the reflective surface. Likely his reaction possibly reminded the man, who looked old enough to be Emmet’s elderly father, of a little kid with his huffy display. Inwardly Emmet groaned while he took a moment to examine the pessimistic expression which concreted itself on the man’s face. It seemed he was the last fare before the driver was supposed to retire back home and now, impatiently, waited for the new address to his cab’s new destination. Figuring enough of his time was wasted, Emmet leaned forward and spoke the directions. His words were short and quick, a faint attempt to amend his ill-timed trip.

A wiry white grey eyebrow raised in suspicion at the address. To satisfy his curiosity, the man turned in his seat to more closely trace Emmet’s image. As if looking at him in a different angle might change something drastic. Emmet knew it wouldn’t though he could see the driver’s conflict just under the surface of his eyes. Namely the choice between taking him seriously and drive or kick his ass to the curb, then head home for a hot meal and rest. The only question was which one sounded better. Unconcern with the man’s inner choice, he leaned back into the seat and looked out the window making it very clear he wasn’t joking about his directions while he waited. Minutes ticked by before the man realized Emmet wasn’t about to break out laughing then change his destination, his body pulled back to its original position and started to drive. He had pulled the cab out onto the main street when he tried a conversation. The whole time, his face warily eyed Emmet as if he expected the man to pull a knife on him. Something which was impossible because of the wall like structure that separated the passenger and driver, their eyes met through the small several inch thick glass between. 

“Why is someone like you heading to the ritzy part of the city, eh?” His tone was world weary, distrustful and suspicious all wrapped up in one. Sounded like a man who grew up in the toughest area Kenan had to offer and the one thing that made Emmet relax. 

“And why would a paid cab driver be itching to know?” Emmet asked, countering the man’s nosiness with a question of his own. His lips dangled in a half hearted smile though his face felt plastered into the mold out of habit. 

“Just curious and hoping you intend to pay for the trip.” 

“I have a feeling if I aimed to skip out, then I would be faced with a simple problem.” 

“Oh yeah, son. What problem might that be?” 

Emmet’s smirk widened, still seemed faked in his mind, while he edged back and hooked his fingers underneath the door handle. Gently he jerked up but the door stayed fixed in place. “You’ve locked the doors. If I don’t pay, you’ll just keep me until the police arrive and force me to. Or arrest me. So, I assure you I intend to pay.” 

Silence was Emmet’s answer. The only one he was grateful for when he positioned himself back to staring out the window. His body gently jerked side to side during the rest the trip, no more pleasant conversation had happened between them and in its absence a heavy discomfort settled. It left Emmet’s guilt to jerk at his conscious as he kept wandering back to the apartment. Namely Zi and her pain at his firm answer to her request. Things had been left on a sour note, all because he let his personal feelings get in the damn way so now he would pay the price. The worst part was he had little idea why Darius had requested his presence. The Fox had been so cryptic that it made him nervous especially when it came to Olivia. He had a bad gut feeling within his heart but he tried to shove his way past it, his throat tightened and swelled until it seemed to be suffocating him. The thought of Darius only strengthened Emmet own reasons to protect Zi and Olivia, neither knew how truly dangerous the fox was or what lengthens he went to for control. If only they knew. Then again, he had a feeling Zi would attempt something reckless like trying to take out Darius. That little scene might’ve solved many problems at once, but it created a new mess of others and possibly even some more danger then before. Darius’s presence had for years help keep the delicate balance in Kenan. At least behind the scenes and that was what made him so deadly. 

At this point, Emmet had noticed the cab slowing. His ears perked at the sound of tires hitting gravel, mind thankful for the distraction, when the jarring movement softened then stopped. Emmet pulled his eyes to peer over the driver’s shoulder and saw the reason for the halt. Several feet before the cab stood a man, his hand upheld just between the car and the gate. The other hand had hovered just over his holstered gun. Emmet was pretty sure if cab driver continued he would’ve had several bullet holes within his windshield and skull. The guard didn’t look like the type to warn before he killed someone. Already Emmet spotted the familiar decorated dress code Darius forced most his employees to wear as two more, a slender blond female and red haired man started to approach into his vision’s edge. They moved like stalking animals, alert and ready, when they came to the first man’s side. They kept glancing to the cab while one man, the first one, started to cautiously approach. 

No matter how often Emmet came here, the way they moved, their reading of each other and wordless gestures gave him the creeps. It was like whatever made them human had vanished completely. When the man came close enough, the driver rolled down his window and gave his best poker face to the stranger. It was clear Emmet wasn’t the only one unnerved by these people but he gave the man credit, he kept a damn good straight face. Immediately, he jerked his thumb behind him. 

“He’s the one who gave me the directions, Mac. Shoot him if you’re going to kill anyone.” His reply was gruff and short, straight to the point. 

Emmet took a wild guess this guy rarely had repeat customers. The suit tilted his head into Emmet’s position in the back seat, his features cold and unmoved by his scruffy appearance. Great, Emmet thought bitterly. He shoved his depression away and sat upright. “Darius is expecting me. Emmet Matthews.” 

The man’s reaction told Emmet all he needed to know, even help peel away the bizarreness when he spotted the tension in the mouth corner. Small, and barely missed but it was still there all the same. Though it was hard to tell the cause, either fear or unsettled nerves, for it. After a moment or two past, the man had straighten up allowing the gates to open. Wordless his body stepped aside alongside his fellow employees, their covered eyes in dark sunglasses and blank faces centered on the once more moving cab. Shortly the car had rolled into the driveway all the way up to the two story mansion. 

When Emmet first witness the [url=http://www.newport-discovery-guide.com/images/newport-mansions.jpg]house[/url], he thought it looked a bit like a well-kept government build rather than a home to a powerful demon. 

His eyes roamed over it for a moment longer until the car grinded to a complete stop. One thing he had little doubt about was that the interior was just as elegant as the outside which added to one dark fact. The fox knew how to spoil his little sister better then Emmet could hope to and didn’t have any problem making it public. Too much irony filled Emmet’s life that anymore simply lost its humor. On his way out, he paused only enough to pass a few wrinkled bills into the driver’s meaty hands and shut the door. It didn’t take long for the elderly man to take off suddenly. The tires’ screech still rang inside Emmet’s ears when he reached the top of the stairway entrance and disappeared. When he opened the second set of doors he had expected to come face to face with one of Darius’s trustworthy lackeys, but instead Juan’s catty grin merely widened at his appearance. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Juan was rarely absent for long, namely at Darius’s orders, and usually one step ahead of him. Still his mind was slight impressed to the fact before he shrugged it away. Juan’s bloody grin was convincing evidence it was best to guess at what had happened to shooter rather then ask about it, some things, Emmet had learned early, were best left unsaid. 

Juan, like usual, couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He stepped forward, his arms wide and wecloming in greeting. “Hey sexy, miss me?” 

“In your dreams…” Emmet replied in a short, grouchy tone. 

He ignored Juan’s need for attention and allowed his eyes to drift. They were naturally attracted to where Darius’s lower level office was, the door only slightly open yet the fox hadn’t appeared. That wasn’t something Emmet found comforting. Usually Darius had sent someone to fetch they but no one arrived, just the pair left alone within the lavishly decorated room. Emmet didn’t have much time to puzzle over the matter when Juan interrupted him. 

“Touchy. Did your girlfriend kick you to the curb already? You know I can take the pain away.” The demon had closed the gap quick and now stood within Emmet’s personal space, his hand gently caressed Emmet’s cheek. 

Emmet merely jerked and slapped it away. “Knock it off Juan.” 

A voice, neither Emmet nor Juan, interrupted anymore conversation. Emmet’s neck hairs stood on end just to hear it. Darius’s voice always sounded rather smooth and over sweet, too kind to belong to a demon but rather a slick business man. Not today. Instead it seemed forcefully steady, an underneath tone of angry and impatient mingled dangerously. “Get in here you two. I’ve not patience enough to tolerate your bantering today. There are more important matters to attend to then receiving a headache.” 

Emmet shot a questioning look at Juan. It was too late as he managed to glimpse the demon’s naked back when he glided into the main floor office, his body shifted to side wall to allow Emmet to follow. He sighed and crept into Juan’s wake. Delay, with Darius’s mood being sour, meant pain later. Something best avoided. On entering, he could almost touch the tension which had laced itself throughout the room and it left an uncomfortable and invisible residue. Nearest the window, just beside the desk was Darius. Dressed in his casual wear of a polo shirt and black slacks, his back was facing them. His hand swished a half filled glass in his paw while he stared into the evening scenery through the open window. The crimson liquid swirled from his wrist movement in accordance to his deep thought. Slowly he took a sip, his body half turned and placed the fragile thing upon the corner. He didn’t face the pair which edged farther in, yet he knew they were there. His ears tracked each step, each jerked in time with their steps, before he spoke again the instant they stopped. 

“Nice to see you two finally arrived,” he said, finally acknowledged them. Darius twisted his head slightly to the side, the pupil had narrowed into a thin strip, surrounded by a slightly reddish yellow iris that warped with thin, tiny lines, “Now if you two are done flirting about your sexual preferences, I rather have your full attention.” 

“Ummm… either you’re jealous, Darius, or impatient. I sure hope it’s the latter because I’ve not much experience in outer species relationships.” Juan spoke in his normal charm. Out of all of Darius’s staff, Juan was the only one who Emmet had witness never to receive reprimanding consequences when he spoke in that fashion. It meant one of two things: either the two had some sort of history and one he never wanted to know, or Darius seriously respected Juan’s skill enough to tolerate such quirks. 

Both were very bad in Emmet’s opinion. 

“Sad to say, Juan, I’m not currently in the mood to entertain you.” Darius warned Juan, who seemed to sense the hostility emerge and retreated cautiously. The fox ignored Juan for the moment, the demon pulled back to the wall where he stood leaning against it. “Hank had just finished up a deal when I called him to pick up Olivia. He was supposed to contact me as soon as she was with him yet it’s been too long. Though according to Juan, Emmet, you were reported to have a nasty encounter with an imp and the thing left its mark. Seeing you currently however makes me wonder something. Either Juan lied or something else is a miss because you seem rather fit for someone who had a nasty…bite just over an hour ago.” 

Emmet’s jawline tightened at what Darius was hinting at. His eyes continued to glare at the demon, but never did a word cross past his lips and his arms merely fisted at his side. Something wasn’t right. Darius seemed to practically glower at him and silently blame him, the fox’s black lips pulled back to reveal incisors briefly. Did he believe this was his fault? 

“What are you getting at?” Emmet almost growled, his hand moved slightly closer to his gun while his eyes stared at his tormentor. 

Darius whipped his head back to the window, unconcern with his accusations or the fact Emmet looked ready to put a bullet into his head, while he continued. “I called the school to see if she was still there, but when Ms. Corbin sent one of her resident students outside, they discovered a horrible scene. The grounds keeper, a Mr. Findley, was found bleeding from the mouth. In farther investigation, ribs and sternum were cracked as well as his neck snapped. In addition to that, Hank was found several blocks away with what seemed like a sharp weapon wound. One that entered his throat and exited out the back, killing him instantly.”

“Darius,” Juan’s voice sounded genuine concern. He moved to intervene, his voice showed he didn’t like where Darius’s words were leading. “He was injured. I will vouch for that, I saw the wounds myself.” 

“Bullshit, Juan. You’re good, but no damn miracle worker when it comes to venom. Olivia’s gone and there’s only person here who benefits with her disappearance. We both know how Emmet can be when comes to those who get his way…” Darius didn’t bother to look at Juan, his face fixed to the window. 

Emmet just stood there. His ears dulled the sounds of their fighting until they were nothing more than background noise. Only the earlier words seemed to have made the world stop dead in its tracks while a chill, cold and freezing, washed over Emmet at the fact Olivia was gone. His skin paled while eyes darkened and his throat became dry, unable to speak. Olivia was missing? The words didn’t quite register. None of it seemed to be in English while he struggled to understand it, his fear and worry pounded like a sledge hammer at his calm demeanor until his hand finished the move to his gun. Fury rippled throughout him enough that he hadn’t realize he was already positioned behind Darius, the gun ready to blow the fox’s brain out the front of his face without a second though. His target barely seemed to note his aggression which caused words to spill forth. 

Each word was punctuated in pure hatred, though his gun was strangely steady. “You think I would be idiotic enough to do this again? Why am I here now if that was case? I could’ve been long gone.” 

“Emmet, enough.” Juan tried again to calm the situation, his eyes warily eyed the gun, still determined to reason with the fox. “Darius, this is silly. Yes, I’m no miracle worker but it wasn’t my doing. His mending was…well, helped along.” 

Immediately Emmet’s eyes shot to Juan. His glare tried to silence the man, but the demon merely brushed it off. Juan peeled himself off the wall while he walked past Emmet and where he could gain Darius’s attention.

The closeness only caused Emmet’s finger to tighten about the trigger, itching to pull it and end this charade. If Olivia was out of his grasp then Emmet might actually be free of this hell. Darius didn’t speak. He continued to stare out the glass, his reflection fixed back at Emmet. For a moment seemed like the Fox would accept his end, but another hand appeared between the conflict: Juan’s. The darker demon lashed out from the side and jerked the gun’s barrel downward before he ripped it from Emmet’s grasp. In the same motion he immediately emptied it then threw it to the side. The weapon skirted across the floor until it was halted by a wall, far out of either one’s reach. 

Still pissed, Emmet impulsively shoved Juan away and snapped at him. “What the fuck are you doing?” 

“Sorry, cutie, this emo attitude is a rather bad turn off for me. Let’s take it down a notch,” Juan chided, “As for you, Darius, there’s a clear explanation for this. Since you think Emmet had something to do with this, it’s rather hard to accuse someone who’s been busy fooling around with someone else in his apartment. A girl named Z-”

Without considering the end consequences, Emmet’s hand connected with Juan’s jaw and shut Zi’s identity off before the demon could finish. It was reckless and impulsive, but little could’ve stopped him at this point. He felt his bones crack on contact as Juan drop onto one leg and in moments, the familiar pain of broken bones followed it. Juan had foolishly let his guard down when Emmet hit him. It was obvious the demon wasn’t expecting the violent outburst while he rubbed his throbbing jawline and stared upward at Emmet’s furious expression, his own eyes return the intense emotion with a much darker interest. For a moment a Emmet concluded Juan might actually kill him on the spot for it. 

Still fixed in the venomous glare remained on his while his sight never left Juan’s. “Leave her out of this Juan! Or I swear, you’ll regret it.”

Before Juan could reply, Emmet felt something take hold of his shirt collar. With intense strength, he was thrown off his feet and slammed right into the window. Glass crackled in a high pitch sound as it shredded into his exposed flesh, his shirt shielded his arms from most the damage while he instinctive protected his head. His eyes closed but the pain danced over his senses. It was like tiny blades slicing into him with a vengeance. Darius sent Emmet flying across the side lawn several feet, his body hit the ground until it halted at the base of a bush. It was there he laid for several moments. Men and women, all employees, gathered around with their guns out and pointed at Emmet. However Darius wasn’t finished. His shoe lifted and carried him over the now shattered window and onto the lawn. Grass was trampled until each step he took to close the distance, he waved the gun men off with a small gesture. Gingerly he lower himself down to knee to let his voice carry over to Emmet. 

“Tsk…tsk, didn’t I teach you better?” Darius smirked and reached down. 

His hand cradled Emmet’s skull, the man struggled, his hand propped him up while he started to fight back. It only increased Darius’s grasp. Fresh fired rippled through Emmet’s head and his hand slammed into the ground. In moments a crude puppet had formed then launched itself upward, its little claw sliced upwards with a vengeance. Darius felt the sting of its tip connected with his eye. With a roar mixed in fury and pain, the Fox’s free arm batted thing away and took hold of Emmet’s arm. Snap! The bones were easily crushed under the demon’s strength while Emmet screamed. With that answer, the puppet returned to its feet for round two, but Darius was ready. He slammed Emmet’s face into the ground. Once, twice and a final third time before the puppet suddenly crumbled into dust. The once green grass was stained with the human’s blood. It glistened in the faded light, just beside the collapsed form as one man edged forth to aid Darius’s now raising form. Again the demon waved them off. 

“Lock him up in the guest house and ensure he lives. Drug him as well bled him out, just enough to keep him weak. I can’t have him using his magic again and without energy, he can’t even decay a stone let alone anything else.” With his final word, Darius turned on his heel and walked back to his exit. His hands brushed out his clothes as if nothing had happened outside the norm. 

He ignored Juan’s disapproving look and took his glass from the desk edge, his muzzle took a sip. 

“You shouldn’t have done that.” 

“He’ll live. I’m know his limits, if I wanted to kill him then I would’ve done so long ago. Now I believe its best you leave.”

“As you wish, Darius,” Juan bowed then exited, though he was careful to keep his hand behind his back and out of sight. He did managed to sneak a disappointed look in Emmet’s direction but the Fox had little idea what lingered on his fellow demon’s mind or cared. 

Darius continued to sip his wine and idly watched his men pick up Emmet’s out cold body then haul it into the guest house’s direction. His mind was lost in the questions and puzzlement over the current situation until the phone ring tone broke it. A phone, oddly, appeared nearby followed by a mysterious and cheerful voice. Darius’s lip pulled back irritation at the ill manner of the man while he listened closely. He knew trying to close the phone was pointless, either a trap or wasting energy, so he bore through the mockery. 

“Mr. Foxman. You don’t know me. I don’t care about you and your petty little games. The only reason I’m even contacting you is because I have something of yours, and you can help me get something of mine back. You may have recently noticed that your blackmailing chip, one Olivia Matthews, has been kidnapped, and your man sent to pick her up is dead. I killed him, and took the girl. Don’t worry; nothing bad has happened to her. Yet. I want you to get a girl named Mary from the Academy. You know the one where they teach Musicians. Bring her to the ruins of Loom, and contact me when you have her with this phone, and I’ll give you Olivia back. Fail to do this, and I contact her brother with the same proposition, and send you both periodic recordings of me torturing her. You have three weeks to contact me before I go contact her brother. Have a nice day.”

The wine glass stood no chance. It broke easily when Darius’s hand fisted together, his eyes lite heavily in a reddish glow while his teeth bore in anger to the message. Not because the man had degrade or insulted him. If a simple slip with the Foxman bit when his last name was Cain was all it took to unravel the demon then he would’ve never lasted as a Casino owner in the past. No, it was because he threatened Olivia. Thankfully Emmet was already imprisoned so he was one less problem to worry about.

As he calmed himself, Darius couldn’t help but noticed the one mistake this man made. The fox demon was far from the merciful or the forgiving type when those he valued were threatened. It was a trait Szayeis himself had often found rather useful in the past. Now it was time to get to work.