Set laid with his cheek pressed against the hard desk's surface. His hands dangled between his legs and his eyes gazed into nothingness. He sighed. He should probably lie on the other cheek - this side was getting a little numb -- but that meant he would have to move.
"Set. Why don't you go up to the apartment and take a nap?" Chris's voice was heard behind Set.
"Is there anything new? Did you hear anything about Lucas? "
"He and Helen went to the police station." Chris went around the desk and his crotch came into Set's line of vision.
A sight in which Set wasn't particularly interested. He looked up. "How do you know?"
"He called Tian."
"Oh." Set's gaze was now fixed on the wall behind Chris. Why didn't he call him? "Did he ask about me at all?"
"Not that I know of," Chris went behind Set. He grabbed his shoulder and pulled him up. "C'mon. Lets get you into bed. You look like shit."
"When is he coming home?" Set allowed Chris to pull him out of the chair and lead him, with one arm around his shoulder, up the stairs and toward the apartment.
"I don't know." Chris opened the door and they went through the hallway and into the bedroom.
"It's been two days." Set was pushed down on the bed.
"I know." Chris took the blanket and waited for Set to lie down. "But he's wrapping things up and stuff like that takes time."
"Two days? Where did he sleep?" Set asked. "I think he's avoiding me." Like before. And all his talk was just empty words. He lay down on his side.
"He's used to taking naps at any available moment when the need arises. We all are." Chris tucked the blanket around Set and went toward the window to pull down the blinds. "And he wouldn't do that."
"He did it before." Maybe Chris just hadn't noticed or was pretending that he hadn't . Set put his hands under his head.
"That was just him cooling down." Chris stepped back to the bed.
"He spent the night at your place."
"Not really." Chris sat down on the bed. "He stopped by 'cause he needed Tian and then just dozed off in the chair. He was really exhausted."
Yeah, right. Like Set would believe that. Chris was probably just trying to cover for his friend. He closed his eyes. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep."
#
"Mom?" What is mom doing here? She and dad should still be in Germany. The next moment Set found himself in the warm circle of his mother's arms and her tender comfort was just what he needed.
"Thank you, Chris, for bringing him." Rina said over Set's shoulder.
"No problem, Miss K." Chris patted Set's shoulder. "I'm leaving you in good hands, Set. Take care, man."
"That you have." Rina slowly stroked Set's back. "Bye, Chris."
"See you later, Chris." Set looked over his shoulder, he watched Chris walking away and as soon as he disappeared through the automatic sliding door, Set's body relaxed in his mother's hold. " Where's Dad? Is he with you?"
"He's in the conference room with Helen and Geb." She stepped back and held Set's face between her hands. She pulled him up, her gaze examining him. "Why is my baby looking like hell?"
"I've had trouble sleeping lately." Set gently slipped out from her hold. "Why am I here, Mom?"
She hooked her arm around his and pulled him behind her, deeper into the building in the direction of Helen's office. "Because you wanted to know what's going on and because Li persuaded Helen to include you in the last act."
"Oh." Should he be grateful to Li? Set was led past the secretary's desk and through Helen's office door.
The room was empty but his mom didn't stop. She pulled Set towards the bathroom door. "Are you going to potty train me?"
She just giggled and tugged him toward the big mirror the size of a door that covered the bathroom wall beside the sink. With her fingers she pushed something under the edge of the small mirror above the sink and the big mirror slid to the side, opening the way into another room.
The existence of a secret room shouldn't have surprised Set -- he knew Helen better than that-- but it did. Set stepped into the small, three square-metre room. On the upper side of the right wall from the 'door' a glass was situated. There was a row of monitors above the glass and low cabinets underneath it, a display of buttons in the corner and two sofas at the other walls.
One of the sofas was occupied by a man lying with his knees drawn up and his hands under his head, with a blanket covering him. It was Li.
Set's step was immediately directed towards him.
"Leave him." The hand on his arm stopped him. "He hasn't had any decent rest for quite a while."
"But, Moooommm." Set's gaze was glued to the sleeping man.
"Don't 'mom' me." Rina pulled him toward the glass opposite the sofa on which Li was sleeping.
After he managed to tear his gaze away from Li, Set looked toward the glass through which a room with a big U-shaped desk that occupied almost the whole space could be seen.
Geb, Helen, his dad and uncle Herman sat at the head of it, in the chairs closest to the glass, showing their backs and a little bit of their sides.
She took the newspaper that was on the low cabinet and gave it to Set. "Look."
After a quick glimpse toward the still sleeping Li, Set took the newspaper and read the headline.
"Cliff Ward, the owner of Golden Palace andone of the most influential people in this town, was arrested this morning. The city's prosecutor said: 'We have enough evidence to prove that a large part of Mr. Ward's income came from extortion, prostitution and drugs.' Cliff Ward's layer denies all the accusations and has threatened a lawsuit against the city. More on page three."
"Li gathered almost all the evidence they have."
"He did?" Not that he doubted it. Set looked at the sleeping figure. Li had grown into a man who could do anything he set his mind to.
Rina took the newspaper from Set's hands and used it to hit him on his head. Once. Twice.
"Ouch." Set tore the newspaper away from his mother's hands and put it on the cabinet. "What's that for?"
"For putting yourself in danger and for being a bitch towards Li." Rina put his hands on her hips. "He hasn't had a decent night's sleep for a week. He lied, stole and burgled just to get enough facts so that we could end this as soon as possible. So that there would be no more danger of you trying anything on your own."
"What did he tell you?" He looked at Li. Traitor.
"Nothing. But Geb did and Li finished in four days what should have taken him at least two weeks." Rina wagged her finger at Set. "And I know you."
Set put on his best puppy dog eyes and pouted. One escapade, just one, and all of a sudden they were all on his back.
"If you think that's going to work on me then you better think again." Rina turned around toward the glass, she took the thin remote control from the cabinet and pushed a few buttons. "I should have taken you to Germany with me so that I could keep an eye on you."
A long, narrow opening appeared on the cabinet's surface at the wall and a big LCD screen slowly rose from it. The image of the conference room appeared on the screen. It displayed the people that were in it from another angle - the front.
Set focused on the screen. "Why were you in Germany?"
"Getting information." Rina pushed a few buttons and different angles appeared on the screen.
"Couldn't Li's connection do that?"
"We wanted to do something so we went," Rina said. "And we were successful. We discovered that all of Herman's inheritance is gone. All of his father's estates were sold and the factory they owned went bankrupt."
"They were really rich, even richer than Helen. And everything's gone?"
"It seems that Herman's gambling addiction was inherited." Rina looked at the screen and pushed the button that showed the occupants of the room from the front again.
"What are you doing?" Set tried to pull the remote control out of her hands.
"Leave it. It's recording." She hit his hand.
"Well… why don't you turn the volume up?"
Rina pushed the volume button.
"I'm not going to divorce her and disappear out of my family's life like you want," was heard from the speakers.
"Fine," Helen said. "Then I'm going to give this folder to the police. You are getting out of our lives one way or another."
"You manipulative witch!" Herman said. "Does your daughter know what you are up to?"
"I told her everything. She knows about your debts, about the stealing and about your deal with them. Also about your plan to murder Geb and then me. She doesn't want to see you anymore."
"They had me. They threatened me, my family. What could I do?" Herman's hands trembled. "I made one mistake, one. And now you're taking everything I love away from me? So I was stupid, I fell in their hands. You can't punish me for that!"
"You should have come to me. Asked for help." Helen stood up. Her hands on the desk, her upper body leaning forward. "I can forgive the theft but I can't forgive you for the danger you put my family in. You tried to murder my grandson. There is no forgiveness for that."
So this was the final act, the epiphany, the revelation before the curtain fell. It sucked. Set felt like he was a spectator in a theatre who had gone to the toilet to take a piss, missing the big action, and when he came back somebody had just filled him in. If this were a story, he would fire the writer.
"She really looks scary," Set said.
"If I was in there, I would be even scarier," Rina said and reduced the sound. "He was trying to kill my son."
Yeah. Set could understand that and he was angry at his uncle too, but on the other hand, he felt sorry for him. He still thought that his uncle wasn't really evil -- he was just stupid and shallow. He turned away from the glass and the screen toward the sofa. The object on the sofa was more important than what was happening in the conference room.
He glanced in his mother's direction and after he saw that her focus was on the screen, he tiptoed towards Li. He kneeled down before the sofa and reached out, stroking the blonde hair away from Li's face. With his facial muscles all relaxed, he looked so young, a little feminine, and very beautiful.
The light brown eyelashes fluttered against the skin and uncovered the hypnotic aqua eyes. "Set?"
Set nodded and retracted his hand. "Hey. Mom said that --"
Li captured Set's face between his palms and pulled Set close. He pressed their lips together. A slick velvet tongue found its way into Set's mouth.
Set's fingers wrapped themselves around Li's wrists and tried to push Li's hands away. His mom was here and it wouldn't do to see him like that, not even when it felt so good. So good.
Li turned on his back, his hands pulled Set's face with him and Set's body followed.
Set ended up on top of Li, their mouths still connected. So good, so right. A shiver of warm delight traveled up his spine.
A flash lighted the room.
Set literally tore himself away from the pleasure and lifted his head.
His mother held a camera and another flash lighted the room, before she lowered her hands. "You two look so cute together."
"Mom!" Set scrambled down from Li. He fell on the floor.
Li sat up, his cheeks dusted pink. He leaned forward and reached his hand out for Set. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, yes." Set swatted Li's hand away and stood up. His dignity was a little bruised, but otherwise… "I'm okay."
"Are my boys finally together?"
"What?" Set turned toward his mother, his face flaming red. "What's wrong with you?"
"I guess the answer is no." Rina turned toward Li. "I thought you were better than this."
"This is not the time ." Lucas stood up and brushed his fingers through his blonde tresses. He looked toward the screen. "How's it going with Herman?"
Rina joined Li. "Helen might offer him another chance, but he'll have to go through hell to earn it."
"Did she find out why his first target was Geb?" Li crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Set stepped closer. His eyes on the screen, he watched Herman getting up, his shoulders slumped and a look of resignation in his eyes.
"Geb refused to be Helen's heir and Helen ordered the revision. She intended to change the firm from a private company to a joint-stock company," Rina said. "Because this was Geb's idea, his death would put that on hold and Herman's forgery wouldn't be discovered for quite a while. And if Geb had died first, before the plans for a company could become reality, Helen's property would have been divided between her two children after her death."
"We thought it was something like that," Li said. "We just weren't sure."
"I'm glad this is over." Rina took the remote control and turned off the TV.
"I think we all are." Geb appeared in the room. "It's time to get on with our lives. Finally! I'm so sick of hiding."
"We need to celebrate." Rina hooked her elbow around Geb's arm and leaned on him. "How about a late lunch? Jack's cooking."
Dad was an excellent cook and even Helen was up for it. They went to their place and as soon as they arrived Jack went into kitchen. Rina employed Geb to carry all the luggage from the car, including Set's, which they had picked up at the reception desk in Helen's firm where he and Chris had left it. Helen went towards the phone -- apparently there was still some stuff that needed to be sorted out.
Set wanted to lend a hand to Geb but Li grabbed his wrist and pulled him into Jack's study.
"We need to talk." Li closed the door and leaned on it.
"Yes, we do." Set turned around and went toward the little couch by the ceiling-high bookshelves to the left of the big desk. He plopped down on the red fabric.
Li unglued himself from the door and went toward Set. He pulled a small stool out from under the low desk beside the couch and placed it in front of Set before sitting down. He took Set's hands in his and interlaced their fingers. "I'm sorry that the things turned out the way they did. That I had to leave you hanging like that."
"I'm sorry too." Set looked Li in the eyes, in those deep blue eyes. "But maybe that was for the best. It gave me time to think."
"Yeah?" Li leaned forward.
"It made me realise that it won't work out between us, that if we want to have a relationship it should be just as friends."
"You are kidding, right?" Li released Set's hands. "You can't be serious."
"I think it's for the best." Set put his hands in his lap and interwove his fingers. "There're so much misunderstanding between us. It seems to me that as soon we sort one thing out something else pops up. If I'm not angry at you, you are at me. And I'm tired, Li. So tired of fighting the resentment and anger that I feel towards you, towards myself."
"I love you." Li's palms cupped Set's face.
"Sometimes love just isn't enough." Set's hand covered Li's. "I'm just… just doing what I think is for the best."
"For the best? For the best? I don't want to hear that again." Li's hands withdrew. He stood up. "I don't want to be your friend. I want to be your lover, your boyfriend. The one to hold you, to love you."
"Li?" Set looked up.
"I'm not going to let you give up on us."
"Sometimes you have to give up and cut your losses." Before you break down and there is nothing left. "If it were meant to be we would already have been a couple a long time ago."
"If you think that then you never truly loved me." Li took a few steps backward.
"That's not true." Set stood up and stepped over the low stool. He was just sick of anger, of anguish. The fact that Li had walked away (more than once) still hurt. And he was afraid that in the end he would just end up hating him.
"I did everything you wanted. You said the words and I delivered, always trying to please you. But not this time. I'm not going to be just your friend. It's all or nothing."
"Li, please."
Li grabbed Set's shoulders, pulling him into a hot, delicious kiss. He tasted Set, slid his tongue against Set's and took Set's breath away.
Set was about to reciprocate but Li ended the kiss.
Li's eyes glared down on Set. "You still want to throw this away? To throw us away?"
Set stayed silent. What was there to say?
"If you change your mind you know where to find me. Just don't wait too long, because I just might stop waiting for you and decide to move on with my life." Li turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.