New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Alex and Kary practically crashed into their bed, forgoing the shower before bed, as they were burnt out. Their bodies refused to go on for a single moment, given their consumption of mana, and the extended day they had gone through.

But instead of a restful sleep and well-deserved rest, the loud penthouse intercom, ringing nonstop, abruptly woke them up.

Alex groaned, realizing someone was ringing them from the front desk, and that they had been sleeping for less than two hours.

Kary was unresponsive as he turned to look at her, and he figured there was no point in waking her up. So he rolled out of bed, dragging his tired feet to the intercom screen in the guest bedroom.

He could have taken it in the master bedroom, but then he would have almost assuredly woken up Kary, and that was a big no-no.

"Yes?" he yawned, pressing the answer button.

"Mr. Leduc, I am terribly sorry for disturbing you at this early hour. Someone is here for you, and they are asking us to let them up. They insist it's urgent," the young woman said.

Alex looked at the time, and saw that it was barely nine, and he sighed in annoyance.

"Did they say who they were?" Alex asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Kid, stop making me wait," Alex heard a grumpy voice over the speaker.

And he recognized this voice.

"Let him up," he sighed, knowing that making that person wait would only make them even angrier at him.

The young receptionist nodded, hanging up the line, and Alex sighed.

"What the heck does he want, this early in the morning, that a call wasn't enough?" he groaned, walking to the spare bedroom's bathroom to wash his face.

He was still sleepy and smelled of sweat, but at least the cold water he splashed on his face helped him wake up a tiny bit.

As he walked down the stairs to his living room, the elevator doors dinged open and Alex turned to greet his visitor.

"Good morning, Richard. What can I do for you this early in the morning?" he asked, his voice heavy with annoyance.

Richard looked at his dishevelled appearance, and his wrinkled clothes, which were clearly remnants of yesterday.

"Long night, I suppose?" Richard asked, his anger slightly reducing.

"Very. Which is why I don't appreciate getting a call before you show up…" Alex grumbled.

Richard scoffed.

"Check your phone before accusing me of showing up unannounced, you little shit," Richard spat, walking to the kitchen.

Alex watched him walk into his home like he owned it and became stumped.

'What is it with people barging in here like they own the place?' he groaned in his mind.

He grabbed the neuro-phone in his pocket, looking at the call history, and saw that Richard had indeed called him three times, leaving a message each time.

This, at least, made his arrival less surprising. But it still didn't make it less confusing.

"How do you take your coffee, Alexander?" Richard asked from the kitchen, opening the cabinets to pull out two cups.

His movements seemed almost practiced, like he knew where everything was.

"Uh… two sugars, two creams… But how did you know where the cups were?" he asked.

Richard looked at him like he was stupid.

"Kid, I work in a job that requires me to know a lot about human mannerisms and typical behavioural patterns. Your coffee maker is on the right of your counter, so the cups were either in the cupboard directly over it or the one on the left, for ease of access," Richard replied, as if it were common knowledge.

Alex was confused.

"You're saying you can guess things with just a broad knowledge of human patterns? Please. Do you think I'm that predictable?" he replied, trying to sound offended.

"You are. Don't kid yourself," Richard replied, pushing a coffee across the kitchen island and taking a sip of his.

"Eurgh… Cheap coffee brand. For someone who lives in a rich home, and likes to splurge on dumb shit, you still eat and drink like a commoner…" Richard complained, making a grimace.

Alex frowned.

Richard slid him a card over the countertop and emptied his cup into the sink.

"Call this number. He'll hook you up with a decent coffee ground instead of this garbage… At least have some taste, young man."

Alex took the card, confused as fuck about what was happening. Then he took a sip of his coffee and frowned.

"I said two sugars, two creams. Why is this so damned bitter?"

Richard looked at him and scoffed.

"I put one sugar instead of two. Don't you know that the more sugar you put in your coffee, the milder the caffeine effect? You are tired, so I figured less sugar would wake you up faster. You're lucky I put anything at all. Now, stop complaining. We have stuff to discuss."

Alex's mind was getting pushed left and right, from one confusing information to another, and he still had no idea why Richard would have come to his home this early in the morning.

He didn't see Alfred anywhere, either, which meant he'd come alone, making it even stranger.

"What could be so important that you came here yourself, without your butler, at nine in the freaking morning?" Alex asked.

Richard looked at him with annoyance.

"Nine isn't early, young man. Your long night doesn't concern the normal life rhythm of society. And, if you'd picked up my calls, I would have scheduled you at a convenient time. But since I wasn't getting a response, I decided it was now."

Alex's tired mind was hardly following his supposed logic, making him unable to guess why he was here.

"In any case, I'm not here to tell you how to live your life. I couldn't give a shit less what time you wake up or go to bed. As long as you don't keep me waiting when I need to talk to you, you can do whatever you fucking like.

"That is not why I am here. I believe you know why I am here, so I'll give you a minute to drink that brown piss you call a coffee, and think hard," Richard said, walking out on the balcony as he left the patio door wide open.

Alex followed him outside, watching the older man lean on the railing, looking at the surrounding city.

"Quite the view you got yourself. A pity it won't stay this nice forever, if I am to believe what my wife told me…" Richard mumbled.

That's when Alex's mind finally connected the dots.

"Is that why you are here? You have something to add to my deal with her, I suppose?" he asked, suddenly wary.

"Not quite. I don't tend to meddle in my wife's deals, just as she doesn't meddle in mine. We trust each other enough to stay out of each other's business unless it's a deal we made together," Richard said, turning toward him.

"No. Even though I can't entirely agree that she let our daughter go with you without asking me, I hardly get a say after how I treated her in the last year. I'm here for a different reason."

Alex sighed loudly, walking to the patio table and sitting down. He felt a chill on his back, as the cold metal chair reminded him of the time of year.

He waved at Richard to sit across from him so they could talk more comfortably. Richard nodded, satisfied with his try at hospitality.

"Then please, tell me what brings you here, Richard. Is there something wrong with the deal we made? Or are you just worried about your daughter?"

Richard shook his head no.

"Neither of those. The deal is pretty solid, and if my wife thought our daughter would be okay, then I'll let the matter rest. No. I came to talk about the situation on a global scale. I want to know what this is all about."

Alex frowned.

"Didn't your wife tell you about it? She's had my place under surveillance… Shouldn't you know as well?"

Richard shook his head no again.

"I just said I don't meddle in her business. I deal in mercenaries and para-military operations, Alexander. I don't poke into her side of the business. It's better this way. I only know the broad strokes. Something about the world about to enter crisis mode, and needing you on the move to react."

Alex didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his lack of information.

'I would have expected his wife to tell him, given his daughter is going with us…' he mused.

"Well, Richard, it's a little more complicated than that. But if you want to know, I'll tell you. I think I owe you that much, given that Violette is coming with me…"

Richard nodded.

"There is no easy way to say this… The world is not about to enter crisis mode. It's a little more serious than that," Alex said, grabbing his mug in both hands to warm himself.

"How much more serious?" Richard asked, his brows furrowing.

Alex looked at him, conflicted. But he'd resolved himself long ago to tell people when the time would come.

And it was knocking at their doors, now.

"The world is ending."