Chapter 12

Perhaps it was honestly a little too late to realize my mistake in this. This was truly a time where I both regretted my actions, and yet found nothing wrong with it. My heart spoke loudly –one of the very few times it ever did –protesting against my course of actions and yet my mind had been the one conducting my actions all this while. More often than not, I let my mind rule over my heart, and this was another evidence of such as I fastened the cuff link in.

I am a man comfortable in suits, and today was no different as I straightened the suit jacket. I half-considered appearing more formal by buttoning up, but decided that there was no point in me presenting myself nicely. All the men attending would be wearing casuals –some in presentable casual suits like him. It was the women who looked forward to this function as a chance to show off themselves, and I couldn’t blame them.

It was not every day that The Circle decided to host a gathering of con artists –in an effort to improve relations. While Tyler’s death had brought the members on The Circle closer together to prevent further recurrence of the tragedy, the cons following their respective mentors didn’t feel as such. In fact, cons following Myriam had always been rubbing rough with cons following Orson. Tensions were now beginning to rise between cons following Danaus and cons following Hayden. The reasons of such disputes didn’t matter, but the nature of their petty argument did.

The Circle was made to preside over the entire con world, to follow the proceedings and make sure that no con threatened the exposure of the larger con world that no one from the outside understood yet. And if some sort of ideology war were to happen, the first to catch on was only the FBI.

Standing before a body-length mirror, I threaded my fingers through unruly black hair, internally deciding to get a haircut soon. A man of his early thirties stared back at me behind the mirror, and as I stood there, holding on to my cane and watching him watch me back, the moment of choking desperation seemed to sink in.

It was almost just yesterday that I stood before a mirror and saw a young man, fresh and determined to carve a road in his future, to be the ideal con artist. I had conned, cheated, lied and swindled. I have ordered for people to be killed, to be disposed of, and to be taken care of. I have manipulated people, and incited them towards death. I have pushed them, goaded them and forced them in a corner. I have stood, expression unchanged as I watched men put the gun to their mouths and pull the trigger in front of me.

I looked into black eyes, and discovered- shockingly –that a monster stared back at me. A vicious beast; he was. He bit and fought fiercely, angry at the world who had taken away his parents when he was young. He tore apart every single soul he could –morally –get his hands on, as if sending tainted souls after souls to the afterlife could wash the moment of his failure.

It changed nothing at all. He had failed May and Jed. He had failed them, no matter what they had expected it of him.

I had failed them.

I patted my pockets to make sure that my pistol was tucked away carefully, along with my handy kit that every conman needed. There was always a locked door out there, begging to be picked, a stray wallet or purse always waiting to be cut. My phone was where it needed to be, too, and so was my wallet and invitation.

I was ready. Checking my watch, I found that it was almost time to get a move on. Driving was still out of the question for my injured leg, but at least it was showing signs of improvement as I was beginning to let up on the heavy dosage of painkillers by the day. Things were beginning to look up for me, and it would be soon that I would make it around without the need of a cane anymore.

The house was strangely empty as I locked up. Ever since Ms. Hurst moved in, the house had been… livelier. She was usually in when I went out, and still around when I came back. I didn’t have regular hours in and out of the house, but Ms. Hurst never seemed to fail to be around to greet me or help me to my bottle. It was her way of being friendly and helpful, and though it wasn’t needed, I was thankful for her presence.

The route to the harbor was uneventful, though upon reaching I met many of my acquaintances, already gathered and waiting. It was only polite business talk amongst us as I engaged anyone who approached me only briefly, detaching myself quickly from the crowd. In all honesty, The Circle was starting to appear like the stars of the con world. We were like celebrities walking through a sea of fans, and whenever we arrived, there was a stir.

It was a strange but true analogy to force upon the hierarchy of the con world. It did not suit Danaus well, and neither did it do for me. Myriam was entirely fine with acting upon will and Orson was comfortable. Hayley and Hayden had their own ways of charming the crowd, which left only me and Danaus usually engaging in only the briefest moments of conversation with our ‘fans’.

The initial stir of the crowd at my arrival died down after a short while, and attention was drawn away from my quickly at the arrival of the other members on The Circle. This was the down-side of our celebrity status; our arrival would never fail to be announced through the entire crowd. Myriam caught my eye and nodded an acknowledgement before he moved on. At his side was a beautiful model whom I was mostly sure was famous in Sweden.

How Myriam had managed to reel in a Swedish model when he had remained unmoving in the States the past year was beyond me, but it was to none of my concern. Orson arrived quickly after Myriam, with his pretty wife Lilith. Lilith was not a nice name to impart on a woman, but Orson’s wife was every bit the demon her name suggested to be. Yes, they were a loving couple, but Lilith’s demonic beauty was definitely the undoing of many men until Orson managed to cage her in.

Danaus arrived quickly, alone, but the attention didn’t stay long as he disappeared in the crowd, and no one seemed to know where he went. I took to quiet notice he appeared in a dark corner with a fedora tipped over his nose, keeping under the radar.

I checked the watch again.

5.58pm. Boarding would commence in 2 minutes, and the cruise was set to depart 15 minutes after that. There were little space for delays, and everyone who had been invited knew better than to be late. Amongst the crowd I –too –saw many unfamiliar faces of non-con-members, who had been invited as Plus-Ones by their con partner. To them this was a business function.

As it was to Ms. Kaylen Hurst.

It was a true sort of entertainment to watch Hayden, Hayley and Jeremy’s arrival a minute later. They were greeted with claps, shouts and yells. Cat-calls and wolf-whistles came around, and for the briefest moment, it appeared as if we were no longer the sophisticated, classy con people that we were supposed to be, only reduced to hormonal teenagers cat-calling for the prettiest and handsomest idols who had just arrived on set.

Hayden was dressed in a crisp, clean, flat-breasted suit that showed off his broad shoulders. This time, he had given blonde hair a new slicked back look, and blue eyes pierced even brighter in the orange light of the setting sun. Every bit of him screamed a man who was capable of things, a handsome and charming man who knew who he was and was unafraid of professing his abilities. Even at 41, he had the availability of a man at the ripe age of 21. He had the charisma of a Casanova, the aura of a Don Juan.

His sister was no slack in the effect at all. Hayley herself was dressed in a stunning haute couture that must have involved crazy designing for the flowing fabric of her dress hugged onto her frame like a child to his mother. The neckline plunged low, daringly showing the roundness of the breasts of a well-endowed woman. Faintly glittering in shocking red, and an entirely bare back, along with a dress with its slit running up so high it should be illegal to show so much leg, Hayley stood before the crowd, arm in arm with Jeremy and smiled the famous Seyfried smile.

Jeremy was dressed equally stunning as his partner, with a clean, happy look that spoke volumes. Jeremy knew who he was, where he was, and the woman he had gotten. The beam of joy came from a man who had dabbled and made fame in the con world, battled and won cancer, and achieved his prize in the end –in the form of a capable, almost-infallible woman.

For him, I allowed the smallest of a smile at his obvious happiness. The trio had a hard time walking from the door of their limousine to where the ramp had now been set to let the guests into the cruiser. They were the first to disappear on the cruise, followed by Myriam and Orson. The other guests milled in orderly, and I watched as Danaus slipped his way. I didn’t move, staying quietly at the side, watching.

I checked the watch once again, as the crowd at the harbor began to thin.

5.09pm.

A few of my acquaintances invited me to board the cruiser, but I told them to go ahead first, for I was waiting. Confusion flashed in their eyes at my comment, but they asked no more, for they knew me enough to never say anything I didn’t want to. Nodding, they moved on and boarded the cruiser.

Keeping still, and not letting thoughts run wild, I waited patiently while I watched some latecomers scramble onto the waiting ramp. I checked my watch again.

5.12pm.

“Elxa, what are you doing still out here all alone?” The voice of someone familiar surprised me, and I turned around to find Hayden coming back down the ramp –thankfully alone.

“I’m waiting for someone.” I replied evenly. I briefly considered making a comment about his and his sister’s attention-grabbing arrival, but decided against it. They were Seyfrieds, after all. Seyfrieds were good at making diversions.

“So I heard. Imagine my shock when I heard that Elxa was bringing a Plus-One! I have never seen you with a plus-one, Elxa. Never seen you with a proper woman, in any case.” Hayden parked himself comfortably beside me, an air of amiable friendship settling between us.

“Is your sister not proper enough a woman?” I questioned briefly, but Hayden only made an irritated at the base of his throat.

“You know I’m not talking as such. I’m talking about a woman you let your eyes turn to, Elxa. Who is this plus-one we are about to see? Is she going to be the future Mrs. Dal?” Hayden asked enthusiastically, as if he were an eager reporter waiting to snag on the next piece of fresh news. I knew exactly how fast the grapevine went in the con world, and wasn’t about to trust Hayden –a high classed conman –with my secrets yet.

“You are presuming too much.” I replied evenly, checking my watch again.

5.14pm.

“Besides, she might not even be coming. She is late.” I added. The sourness on my tongue was unexplainable, but I was determined to wash it all away with business once I got on the cruise that was about to take off without us in a minute. Ms. Kaylen Hurst could afford to turn back home and pull a no-show, but Hayden and my arrival had been lauded beforehand, so it would be ridiculous if we didn’t show on the deck later.

I turned, beginning to make back up the ramp, but was stopped by a strong hand on my forearm, stopping any potential movement I could make with my cane.

“Give her a minute more. If there’s anything I learnt from Kristen leaving me, it is that I never got around cherishing every minute I waited.” Hayden instructed, and while it would be better to point out that the cruise was departing in a minute, I didn’t protest. I didn’t know why. I stopped and turned back around, facing an empty road.

The tangy taste of sourness was strange on my tongue. The weight of pressure on my chest a disorientating but familiar. The pressure was the same pressure of exhaustion when Jon had still been a rebellious, destructive teenager. Was there a name to this pressure?

Disappointment.

The shock of that realization set in a moment after, and on reflex I checked my watch. 5.15pm.

The crushing weight clamped in, but I pushed it away, determined to lock that feeling away until I was safely alone. I would deal with such crazy thoughts afterwards, but now, the cruise was about to leave.

“She’s not coming.” I announced, turning away.

Hayden didn’t move, even after I took a step away from our waiting spot, then one more, and then another one more.

“Let’s go, Hayden. The cruise is leaving.” I stopped, and half-turned to watch his back, his determined, unchanged posture.

“She will come.” Hayden insisted with strange determination, and I noted that his hands were clenched in fists.

“You don’t even know who she is. Forget it; we need to be moving if we want to be on the ship when it leaves.” I urged further, but he shook his head.

“If she is a woman who agreed to be your plus-one, Elxa, she means something. I never knew how much Kristen meant to me until it was too late. I’m never giving up waiting for a woman ever again.” Hayden insisted, and it struck very suddenly how it was godly irony for Hayden to insist on waiting.

He wasn’t waiting for his wife, no. He was waiting for his daughter. And he didn’t even know it.

“She’s not Kristen.” I said, the words almost too hard to say. Kaylen wasn’t her mother, but she was damned-well close. I didn’t know Kristen when she was alive –she was Hayden’s secret –but from what intel I’d gathered, Kaylen was damned-well almost a parallel to her mother. Save the socially-awkward instinct, Kaylen had inherited her funny thinking, her amusing reactions and beautiful face from her mother.

“Yes.” Hayden agreed, and he turned back with a strange smile. “But your plus-one is here.”

I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant, but it was interrupted by the screech of a car spinning into the harbor at high speeds. The brakes were applied crazily, and I was pretty sure some sort of injury must have been sustained by its passengers.

The doors of the cab was thrown open, and out scrambled Jon and a woman I didn’t recognize.

“What time is it?!” Jon yelled ahead, holding a hand out to help the woman in a pair of amazing stilettoes.

“5.16. You’re late.” Hayden replied, stepping back so that he wouldn’t be in the way while Jon brought the woman quickly over to where I stood.

Toes were painted pretty blue with flowery patterns in white. Creamy white skin was contrasted starkly with black lines, crisscrossing all around her feet, up her ankles and a little way up her calves. The heels were at least five inches high, but the added height was a pleasant surprise as I admired the black, stardust material of a dress hanging from where the stilettoes stopped. A silver-blue belt was tightened around her petite waist, bringing out the delicate beauty of her attractive hips. The dress started low over her breasts, but to protect bare arms, she wore a beautiful red mini jacket.

Around her neck was a gold-gilded choker, and dangling from her ears were a pair of amazing round earrings lined with diamonds. In her right hand clutched a bright yellow clutch purse. Her hair had taken on a soft brown, set in loose, mesmerizing waves and left haphazardly around her shoulders. On the top of her pretty head pinned a diamond-encrusted heart-shaped bobby-pin.

But her face –her face was took the prize.

As a man, I failed to understand what had been put in the production process, but the woman who I had invited was entirely gone and back looked at me was a face of uncertain worry. Cheeks were blushed perfectly, lips were colored perfectly. Eyes were lined perfectly and everything was toned perfectly. A face of perfection looked back, but her eyes dropped to the floor embarrassedly, her teeth chewing on a shockingly red lower lip.

“Don’t do that!” Jon exclaimed, taking all of us by surprise. “You’re ruining the lipstick.”

Something that looked like disbelief flashed past her eyes.

“I’m more worried about other stuff than that, Jonny. I’m still convinced you have me dressed up like a female vampire. That, or I’m a hooker and you’re my pimp.” She replied back in the sharp, usual wit of the Ms. Kaylen Hurst I knew –and relief flooded through me.

She wasn’t someone else that Jon had picked from the street. This was Ms. Hurst.

“Even if he were, he’d make a very good one. You are a stunning piece of art, my lady.” Hayden had his charms turned on quickly, and I watched as he bowed down low beside me, a grin hanging on his face as he devoured the sight of my plus-one.

Almost immediately, the blush came on to her face, accentuating the artificial blush of her cheeks.

“You are quite the specimen yourself. Good Lord, did you escape from the museum?” She asked, fanning herself self-consciously, and beneath that uncomfortable woman, I found the Kaylen who was entirely comfortable with herself.

A brief moment of knowing amusement flickered past Hayden’s face, but he kept a straight, charming face as he straightened in reply.

“If you mean the museum cataloging charming, handsome men, then let me tell you a big yes.” Hayden continued, ever the man ready with his charms while I kept knowingly quiet. This would be a comical situation for me, if not for the conscience that was now beginning to weigh in my heart. There was no form of recognition at all from both parties.

“I kind of meant the museum for suits. Yours are really an amazing fit. Or are you going to tell me those things on your shoulders are real?” Kaylen complimented in her own funny way, and while some men would have been confused, Hayden only grinned wider. I wondered –in the moment of silence –how long it would take for them to figure some sort of a semblance of familiarity between themselves.

“Real as they come.” Hayden boasted, but moved his attention thankfully away from the woman in topic to her escort.

“Why, if it isn’t Jon!” Hayden exclaimed with surprise. It took me a long moment to realize that Hayden knew who Jon was, and how Jon looked –for Hayden and Hayley had been to visit my family long ago. “Good lords, you have grown quite a fair bit since I last saw you. I’ve been watching Elxa grow, but I don’t think I remember you being quite so charming and handsome yourself.”

Jon’s look of accusative suspicion was passed quickly to me when Hayden clapped him on the shoulders, but the confusion was quickly seen in those eyes too.

“Um… do I know you?”

“You don’t remember me?” Hayden asked, affecting a hurt tone of voice. “I visited you long ago when you were so young! I bet you were barely four. You dropped a little bit of the packet of fries you had, and cried until I gave you a whole new packet.”

“Sorry,” Jon’s sheepish, apologetic expression was quick to come on, though I began the slightest bit of a frown. Of all things, Hayden shouldn’t be lying and spinning up such lies of Jon. Yes, Hayden had visited when Jon was young, but the lie about the fries was entirely made up. “I don’t remember much of when I was young. You are…?”

“Elxa calls me Hayden, so don’t be afraid to do the same. You’ve grown up to be a remarkable fine young man, Jon. Elxa must have brought you up right.” Hayden commented, putting a hand on Jon’s head and ruffling his hair in a movement I wished so many times that I could do without consequence. Once, before May’s death, I had been able to do that. For fifteen years, I had not done that anymore.

“Yeah…” Jon began to show signs of scowls. “Brought me up… right…”

If Hayden noticed anything, he didn’t say it. Any further conversations was halted by the loud horn of the cruiser as it gave its last warnings to the latecomers. We shared looks all around, and began to move off quickly. Jon stayed behind without a word, but Ms. Hurst turned around and gave him an enthusiastic wave goodbye even as she stumbled forwards with her heels. I, for my part, did my best to walk as fast I could with a cane.

We made it on the ship right before the ramp began its automated retreat. The door closed behind us, and another horn rang through the ship, signaling the start of its departure.

“Thank goodness we got here on time, didn’t we?” Hayden commented, straightening his suit to make sure he hadn’t crinkled anything to mar his perfect appearance.

“Yes. Do you not have guests to attend to, Hayden?” I asked evenly. As a member on The Circle, it was only right that he had tons of conmen and conwomen to talk to. For a celebrity like him who soaked in the fame, wasn’t it his favorite activity to converse with his ‘fans’?

“You and this beautiful lady here are my guests.” Hayden replied with a grin, eyes going meaningfully to Ms. Hurst, who was straightening out her appearance too. There was a hint of an urge running beneath the reply from Hayden, and I sighed, brushing myself down.

“Hayden, this is my plus-one for tonight, Ms. Kaylen Hearst. Kaylen, this is Hayden, my associate at work.” I introduced, barely passing a quick look to the woman in topic. She would ask me about the change in her surname when we were alone, but for the moment, I knew Ms. Hurst to be trusting of me enough to take things as it was.

Hayden passed me a knowing look at being my ‘associate at work’, but extended a formal handshake to his daughter. Pleasantries were exchanged, and it was obvious that somehow Hayden had taken a shine to Ms. Hurst. I wasn’t sure if it was father-and-daughter genes at work, or if Hayden was really amused by my plus-one, but it changed no fact that they got on well.

I stayed at the side and watched passively.

Eventually, Hayden was whisked away by a fellow guest, and Ms. Hurst was left alone with me in an empty hallway. The moment after Hayden’s departure was heavy and apologetic, and I stood unfazed, expressionless as I peered at her flustered face.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Elxa! I know I have no excuse to be late, I’m really so sorry. The makeup and everything took so long to get done… I’m so sorry.” She apologized endlessly, not daring to meet my eyes at all as she bowed her head. Waves of her hair bobbed at the small movement, and I let my eye linger on the diamond pin. This outfit that Jon had forced on her was undoubtedly costly, but the bill hadn’t been presented on my table yet. It was most probably Jon’s way of keeping the suspense, though I must admit that the rebellious teenager had outdone himself this time.

“Jon has done a good job.” I commented evenly.

“Yes, he has. He was a good-” She began to reply quickly on reflex, but she cut herself off equally quickly. “Wait, you don’t mind me being late?”

The questioning look in her eyes could not be denied, but I turned away, beginning to make down the corridor, which led to the stairs that would bring us to the deck. We had barely started the night, and here I was, unwilling to meet anyone else more.

“I do not condone late-coming, but you are excused today, seeing how Jon has you done up. You’ve quite charmed Hayden.” I replied, keeping my pace slow so that she could catch up. The cruise was definitely riding on waves, but I couldn’t feel a single movement in this luxury liner.

“On the contrary, I’m pretty sure he’d have charmed me off my feet if I let him. He’s a joy to talk to.” She replied easily, the smile easy on her face now that she knew she was forgiven for the fault in her punctuality.

“He happens to be one of the hosts of tonight’s function, so you’ve done yourself quite a favor.” I informed, watching her reaction of surprise.

“He is? He didn’t look like one. For a host, he’s pretty free to be waiting outside on the harbor with you, Mr. Elxa.” Ms. Hurst continued, and was likely to continue down the chatty route. But, it wasn’t what I wanted, as I found an open room along the corridor. Ignoring confused protests, I pulled Ms. Hurst into the room and closed the door behind me.

In the half-darkness, the wariness that she should have had in the first place finally set in as she stepped back, a little afraid of what had possessed me to wrench her against her will into a dark room.

“Mr. Elxa?” For her credit, she didn’t stammer as she continued stepping back, inching away from me.

“Ms. Hurst, I’m not going to try anything funny on you.” I announced with a slight frown –but she could not see it in the half-darkness. “I simply need to talk to you before we meet anyone else on this cruise.”

“Oh.” She replied surprisingly shortly, and seemed to relax a little more, though still guarded. Good. It was good that she was now guarded, for the cons on the deck were not as understanding as Hayden, not as morally upright as I knew the Seyfrieds to be.

I withdrew the pistol from my suit jacket and offered it to her.

“There are dangerous men and women on board the cruise, Ms. Hurst. In my trade, there are always backstabbers, cons and mercenaries. Take this as a form of self-protection, but keep it in your purse.” I instructed, watching as her eyes widened in slight fear, scrambling to obey.

“I need you to be on guard, Ms. Hurst. As I’ve introduced you to Hayden, you are now Kaylen Hearst. You should not reveal your real surname to anyone. You should keep in mind that here, I am Elxa Dal, not Elxa Young. I will be calling you Kaylen, so please do not be surprised.” With more instructions, Ms. Hurst was beginning to lower her guards to me again as she stepped back close, nodding in frightened seriousness. Was she regretting agreeing to come along with me?

“You will be the object of many’s curiosity as my plus-one, Ms. Hurst. Don’t be afraid to talk, but don’t reveal any personal information. Give vague answers, and if you feel threatened, don’t be afraid to engage yourself to look for me. If anyone tries anything funny, tell them you belong with me and they should back off. I will disappear from your side from time to time, Ms. Hurst, to talk to my acquaintances, so I cannot protect you.”

A brief uncertain expression blew past her face, but it erased quickly, taken over by a look of strong determination.

“Alright, Mr. Elxa. Is there anything more I should know?”

“Don’t trust anyone on this cruise except for me.”

She nodded, and waited expectantly for more. I looked at her a little longer, taking in her stunning appearance. She was no slack to her aunt at all. Both of them had the figure of models, figures that many woman would kill for.

“Talk to Hayden and his sister Hayley when you get the chance.” I added finally. Conscience was working against me in this factor, and it was probably the only action I would allow be ruled by my heart. I still would not tell Hayden nor Kaylen of their mutual relationship. It was too early for things like that. But if Hayden and Kaylen were comfortable around each other, at least it was easier to accept facts in the future.

Assuming I would ever tell them.

But this was no place for an unveiling.

This was a cruise ship full of cons. It was going to be a long, dangerous night.

But with this stunning woman as my plus-one tonight.

It would be bearable.