Dedicated to @sheennasharma because she is a wonderful reader. ❤

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Chapter 12 The Plans

"Together, they would watch everything that was so carefully planned collapse, and they would smile at the beauty of destruction."

-Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

• • •

The sky was a dusty grey as the clouds were fast approaching. A light morning breeze caressed his hair as he pushed them out of his eyes. He stood in front of the florist's shop waiting for his turn.

The florist, an old lady, smiled a toothless smile at the familiar boy.

"Blue tulips?" She said.

The green-eyed boy nodded.

She handed him the usual bouquet of blue flowers with a grin. "This girl must be really lucky, a handsome man like yourself, buying her flowers every now and then."

He smiled. Yes, very lucky indeed.

"Did she come, today?" The boy suddenly said. "The other girl who buys tulips?"

"Not yet." The woman shook her head. "Why are you so keen on meeting her anyway?"

He just shrugged.

"She usually visits on weekends. But it has been a over a week, now. She used to visit her friend at the cemetery. Maybe, she got over it?" The lady suggested. "It happens all the time, right?"

The boy nodded very slowly. "Yes, maybe."

"Anyway, you can hang around a little and wait. Or give me your number? I will give it to the girl."

"No!" The boy said rather violently. "I mean, it's okay. I will wait." He smiled weakly.

"Alright, lad. I have a business to get back to." She patted his shoulder and went back inside her shop.

The boy wandered around the front of shop, with blue tulips in his hand. He sniffed them and immediately he felt at ease as he took in the familiar smell into his system.

Who is this brunette, who keeps on visiting my Emily, with her favorite flowers? He tried to rake his brain in search of someone, something Emily told him, but drew up a complete blank.

After waiting for a few minutes, he got inside his truck and whispered to himself, "Wherever you are girl, I will find you. Soon, very soon."

• • •

"MALLORY." Jake shouted. "Come downstairs."

"COMING."She shouted back as she snapped shut her books. Finally, the mammoth task was completed. It had taken her almost whole day.

She didn't even visit Emily, because of the amount of pending homework she had. But finally, it was done. With a sigh, she thrust her books inside her bag and skipped downstairs.

"What's up, big brother?" She said plopping on the couch.

"I am waiting for mom to come, then I will tell you."

"Oh-kay, I guess." She said quizzically.

"Hey there, pretty face." Harry said, appearing from the kitchen.

"Do you live in kitchen, hottie?" She smirked.

"Pretty face? Hottie? Are you people trying to make me throw up?" Jake said with scrunched up nose.

"Kitchen?" Harry said ignoring his friend's comment. "Nah, baby. I am more of a bedroom person." He winked, flashing her a smile.

"Everyone knows you are a lazy poophead. No need to say it out loud!" Her brother said smacking Harry on the back of his head.

"Ow!" He grunted. "What was that for?"

"For flirting with my little sister and for using vulgar innuendos!" He said hitting him again.

"And what was this for?" Harry rubbed the back of his head.

"Because I am a sadist?" Jake grinned.

"Come here you son of a bi-" He said but one glare from his best friend's sister shut him up. "I meant biscuit, you son of a biscuit!"

She laughed as the two friends chased each other, in the entire house.

"Okay...stop it guys." She said getting up. But they won't listen as they were busy tackling each other to ground. "STOP!" She screamed.

And both of them looked up. Very slowly they got up with their heads down.

"What are you people, ten?" She reprimanded them.

"Yeah, on a scale of ten." They both said together, looked at each other and started grinning like mad men.

Mallory rolled her eyes. "Dumbasses!"

Finally, after they were done laughing, they sat next to her, one on her each side. Jake kept his hand on her shoulder and Harry followed the suit.

"So, let's watch something?" Her brother suggested.

"America's next top model?" Harry said with a wink.

"NO!" Two voices said together.

"Jeez, people. Who set your ass on fire!" He raised his hands, surrendering. At that moment, doorbell rang.

"Mommy!" Jake shouted and skipped down the door.

"This should be important, alright? Or I will kill you." Eva said placing her bag on the table.

"Hello to you too, mom." He laughed. "Anyway, sit." He motioned towards the couch. "Scoot over, moron." Jake pinched Harry's thigh.

"Ms. Millington, your son is becoming rather violent, day by day." Harry complained, almost like a schoolboy!

"Oh, shut up!" Jake groaned.

"So, mum, Mallory..." He looked at both of them. "You know how I have been applying to colleges for MBA?"

Mallory nodded.

"Well, I got accepted in Yale!" He beamed.

"W-What?" Mallory stuttered trying to comprehend what he said.

"When you say Yale, you mean Yale School of Management?" Her mother's eyes widened.

"Yes mom. Yale School of Management, Whitney Avenue, Connecticut." He said pouting. "What's up with the surprise tone?"

"And I got accepted too." Harry joined in.

"You both?" Eva's eyes were the size of saucers. "Come here boys. I am proud of you. Both of you." She hugged them together, sniffing.

"Congratulations both of you!" She said and hugged her brother. "I am so happy for you. When are you leaving?"

"You are really waiting for the moment, huh? Me leaving you alone." He smirked pulling her cheek. "But you can't get rid of me that easily, Smelly-Melly, it would take some days."

Mallory forced a smile. "Great!"

"Why didn't you tell me that you are applying to Yale?" Eva asked her son.

"I didn't think I would get in." He said sheepishly.

"Neither did I." Eva winked.

"Jake, I love your mother." Harry said smiling from ear to ear.

"Ugh, you are such a creep!" He punched his arm.

"You do realize we will share rooms for next two years, don't you?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, a lot can happen in two years, you know." Harry winked. "You will pay for your sins, brother." He said in a serious tone and then laughed.

"Oh, shut up. Let's go celebrate." Jake said, ecstatic.

"You boys go have fun. I need to call your grandma." Eva said.

"Alright, mommy. But wait, where is Melly?" Jake said as they all looked around.

But only when they heard the door click, did they realize that the girl had already left.

• • •

"Boss, I have some news." Sean said knocking on the door.

"Come in, Sean." A voice came from inside. "What is it?"

"It's about Andrew."

"If it is We-should-not-trust-him shit again, then get out Sean. I am not in mood." A lazy voice commanded.

"No, this time I have proof."

"Alright. Alright. Show me."

He handed a paper which looked like a document. His master scrutinized it very carefully.

"Hmm. So?"

"I gave you such an important piece of information and all you say is 'Hmm. So?' " Sean shook his head in disbelief.

"It was important information alright. But I already knew that."

"You knew he is a novice in training and you still recruited him?!?"

"First, I didn't recruit him Antonio did. And second, he was a novice. Now he is disavowed."

"But, Antonio is in prison..." He began but decided to shut up immediately. When Antonio wanted something done, he had his ways.

"Anything else?" He could see his boss smirking.

"Umm...what's the proof that he is not an undercover agent? How do you know that he is disavowed?"

"For starters, he was ready to spill all the secrets. He told us about four drug raids in advance saving us billions. He told us about their safehouses. And he has a personal vendetta against them."

"Alright I guess..." Sean shrugged.

"Now, since you are done acting all James Bond, may I ask you how is the Mallory Millington assignment going?"

"We sent in a few messages, but looks like she changed her number. And anyway, why are we wasting time with all that shit? I don't think sending her some dumb messages will have any effect. Hell, I don't even understand the meaning of half of the phrases."

His boss smiled.

"Have a seat, Sean." A hand motioned towards the seat in front of the desk as Sean immediately slipped into it.

"So, one thing I have learnt from Antonio is that if you want to defeat your enemy, exhaust them. Play with their minds and screw them. Snatch away every ray of hope, every ounce of support they have and when they are vulnerable, strike!" For a moment, there was silence as Sean took in the words of his master.

"But I still don't understand..."

"Let me complete." The voice began once again. "So, what is the purpose of those messages, you wanna know?"

He nodded.

"Each of those messages is supposed to trigger a memory, a certain memory which she has buried at some distant corner of her brain."

"So, basically we are making her relive her worst fears every time we send her a message?" Sean said as realization dawned upon him.

"Now you have me."

"But, what's the point? Why can't we just go get her and make her pay for what she did?" His fists clenched.

"That's the thing with you people. Fight. Fight. Fight. Sometimes, mental torture can do far more damage than physical one. And anyway, we need to get Antonio out first. And it would take a while. So till then, what we need to do is to break her down. Make her vulnerable. So that when the time comes, that bitch begs for death and we refuse to give it to her."

"That sounds like a plan." Sean smirked. "Too bad I really liked the girl."

"Of course you did." The boss smiled. "Anyway, so any progress?"

"Yes, actually. Her brother got accepted in Yale."

"What? Now that's some good news. Does it have anything to do with you?"

"Maybe." Sean winked. It was almost as if two best friends were talking only their intentions were, eerie.

"Make sure to keep an eye on him."

"Yep. We are planning to send Drew to Connecticut."

"Very well. One down, two to go."

"I think, I should go now." Sean said as his master nodded.

As Sean bolted the door, the hooded figure got up from the chair and walked towards the window. Somehow, the master couldn't contain the smile. They will finally get what they wanted for years, revenge.

Thanks for coming back, princess. Now, you would know, who it feels like to lose family. You made it really easy.

And with a smirk the figure turned towards the phone.

Let's give Antonio the good news...

• • •

Mallory ran blinded by tears. Her legs were on fire. It was almost like she was reliving her nightmare only she wasn't running away from people who wanted her dead. Instead, she was running away from someone who had comforted her, when no one else could. The person who would wake with her and hear her sob for hours. She was running away from her brother.

She stopped as she saw the familiar iron gates. For a second, the security guard was taken aback but when he saw who it was, he opened the gate.

She didn't stop for a minute to look at the bewildered guard. She didn't stop to look at the lady who opened the door and said, "Master is in living room."

Only when she saw the familiar face of his friend did she stop. "Ben..." She whispered to her friend who was watching TV.

Her heart was hammering inside her chest as Ben turned around. He was taken aback by her appearance. Her clothes were drenched with sweat and a little rain, making a wet trail on the carpet. Her hair were a tangled mess and tears were dripping down her eyes.

For a moment, his mind went back to the time, he had last seen her like that. It was when Emily's parents were killed. He shuddered at the memory as he walked over to her.

"What is it, Melly?" He walked over to her and guided her towards the couch.

"Jake..." She whispered.

His heart clenched. Did something happen to Jake?

"What happened to him?" He said, panic clear in his voice.

"He is leaving. H-He is leaving me alone." Her lower lip quivered. "What would I do without him?"

"What do you mean he is leaving?"

But she was silent.

"H-He has always been there. He would wake me up w-when I have nightmares. He would a-always talk to me. He helps me w-with everything. A-and now he is going. He is going far away." She said sobbing.

Ben realised that she was talking more to herself than him and he didn't say anything. He just sat there holding her hand as she cried.

"You know, Ben. When I was a baby, dad left us. And my mom, she was devastated. She refused to look at me. Somehow she forced herself to believe that I was the reason that he left. My dad...he had an affair and the woman died giving birth to me."

Ben looked at her. He wanted to say that he knew all that. He had known the girl ever since they were five. But he stopped himself. It's better if she let's it all out.

"Mom...she took me in but she could never love me, at least for the first few years. And when I was two, dad walked away. Just like that. And you know who took care of me? Jake. He was always there no matter what. He was there when I was sick. He was there when guys bullied me. He was there to fight my fights no matter what. He consoled me over my heartbreaks." She drew in a breath and continued.

"After Emily's death, I had nightmares every single night. And while my mom was busy with her patients, he would be there by my side. When I cut my self, he never scolded me. He would just wrap up my wounds and hug me while I cried." She smiled a wet smile.

"Mallory..." Ben whispered.

"And now he is going. Leaving me to deal with all those demons alone."

"Mallory..." He said.

"He is going to this college far, far away."

"MALLORY!" He screamed this time as she shuddered and looked at him. "Where is he going?"

"Connecticut, to Yale." She said almost mechanically.

"He got accepted to Yale School of Management?" Ben said surprised.

Mallory nodded.

"Melly, come here." He said as he engulfed her in a hug.

But she didn't respond. All the crying had made her numb.

"Look at you. This is not the Melly I know." He said patting her head. "You are crying because your brother is going to a college?" He said in disbelief.

"Is this really the girl who takes down guys single handedly? The one who breaks people's faces just because they touched her? Where is that girl who swore she would never cry in front of anyone? I don't know this weak and vulnerable girl. "

"Call me weak and vulnerable one more time and I would make you regret the day you were born!" She said sternly, pulling away from his chest, and wiping away the drying tears.

"See, this is the Melly I am talking about!" He smiled. "So what if your brother is going to college? Melly, he is twenty two. He would have moved out, years ago! But he didn't. Just because of you. He didn't go to a far away college for graduation because he didn't want to leave you alone. But, now for once, when he is actually making a decision for himself shouldn't you support him?"

She looked into the brown eyes and groaned. "When did you get this smart?"

"I was born smart, baby." He smirked.

"In your dreams, Mr. Jones!" She winked.

"So, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Jake, of course!"

"Oh, I think I was just over reacting." She confessed.

"You think?" He scoffed.

She sighed. "You are right. He deserves a life, too. I will talk to him."

"You are right. Wow, it's like music to my ears." He said dreamily. "I can get used to it."

"Don't. Because it won't happen often." She said smacking the back of his head.

"Took you long enough to realise my talents, huh?" He winked.

"Jerk!" She rolled her eyes.

"Crybaby!" Ben pulled out his tongue.

"Hey! Excuse me for not being an emotionless robot!"

"You should have seen your face." Ben muttered. "Ben, Ben he is going!" He mimicked her dialogue in the most high pitched voice he could muster.

"I sound nothing like that." She pouted.

"Ben, he is going far away! He is leaving me..." He continued flailing his arms over dramatically.

"You are such an idiot." She pulled out her tongue.

"But you love me." He said with puppy dog eyes pulling her into a hug.

"I would have if you weren't this smelly." She said pulling away from his chest and scrunching her nose.

"Excuse me. Someone was crying against these well toned muscles of my chest, minutes ago!" He said pretending to be hurt.

"It was the smell of your sweat that made my eyes watery."

"Don't you need a license to say something that dumb?" Ben said giving her a mock-horror look.

"You would know, wouldn't you? Mr. Dumbass." She said punching her shoulder playfully.

"Now, let's go before your family gets me arrested for abduction."

"Yeah, your beauty would be such a waste in prison, right?" Mallory rolled her eyes.

"Did I hear it right?" Ben said cupping his ear. "Did, Mallory Millington, just called me beautiful. Oh, wow! God, come and get me, my purpose on this earth is fulfilled." He said dreamily looking upwards with open arms.

"You are such a moron, you know that?"

"Too bad that you love me." He said beaming.

"Unfortunately, I do." Mallory said with a crooked smile.

"Now, come on let's go, princess." He said offering her a hand.

"You are the best, Mr. Jones." She said taking his hand.

"That, I know." He said winking.

"Jerk!" Mallory muttered laughing as they ran off to Ben's car.

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VOTE? That little white star wants to turn orange. :D

Hi readers,

So, what do you think about this chapter? Who do you think was that guy in the beginning?

What do you think about Jake's departure? And Mallory's reaction? Was her reaction a bit too over dramatic? Or was it justified?

A lot more to come, soon, very soon. ^_^

See you all soon. ♡

-Ridhima☺