Intermission - Contact with Oliver Brooks.

She had screwed up. There was no doubt that it was her fault and she had to take responsibility for it. In theory, she could’ve left those two men sleeping on the grass and made her way back home. Oliver’s domain was clearly powerful enough to defend them against most things. Lucy’s presence was needed to protect them against the few things it couldn’t.

After the screw up, she had called her boss to ask for further orders. After a moment to think, Luke Allen told her to make herself known. After all, the objective was to protect this family’s peace of mind. Keeping quiet would likely only make things worse.

Lucy followed Oliver into the house. He had explicitly allowed her in, so her stiffness and nerves had nothing to do with his domain’s effects. She followed him to the kitchen, and she hoped he didn’t notice that she was already somewhat familiar with the layout of his house. After all, she’d… watched them from afar plenty of times now.

“Anything you can’t eat?” He asked her.”Eggs or cheese or something else?”

“I can eat anything. Thank you,” she said softly, feeling awkward at how quiet her own voice was.

“Take a seat at the table. At that end of the table, if you don't mind,” he said, gesturing with his head and with a small, apologetic smile. “By now we all kind of have our spots.”

Lucy nodded, then sat down. She watched him text something on his phone then quickly get to work breaking eggs to scramble them, to mix them in pancake batter, boiling water, toasting bread, pouring jam into small glass bowls, getting the butter… The moment the smell of the pancakes hit Lucy’s nose, her stomach grumbled.

She’d eaten five hours ago… and that had been a couple of protein bars. It had been a night in which she had no time to have a proper meal.

“...” Lucy watched him set a plate with toasts, one with pancakes and an empty mug in front of her. “Um… Are the others coming down?” She asked.

Oliver set his own plate of pancakes before him and sat down at the other end of the table before shaking his head. “I just asked them to stay upstairs for a little while. I’ll tell them everything later, of course, but I think you’ll be a bit more comfortable without eight people staring at you.”

It was true, but… Lucy wondered if he also didn’t trust her enough to let her get close to his girls. Only natural, she supposed. And smart. One should be careful of people from the underworld.

“I didn’t do anything to the food, if you’re wondering,” he said. “Don’t even know how, but I’ll understand if you’d rather not eat.”

She had to eat. It was a show of trust on her part. Oliver Brooks was Luke Allen’s irreplaceable partner. If her actions here soured their relationship…

Lucy poured herself some coffee, added no sugar or anything else and took a small sip before she also tried the pancakes. They were fluffy and perfectly cooked. In fact, she noticed that while hers were all neat and beautiful, the ones in Oliver’s plate were a bit deformed and overcooked.

Warmth filled her chest, and not just from the coffee. She was always so busy that all she ever had were MREs. And when she was home, she was too tired and lazy to make herself anything. Not that anything she made was ever this good.

“Thank you. It’s good…” she said, her voice at the edge of cracking.

Oliver groaned softly and shook his head. “I’m… sorry for the way I talked before. I’m on edge, but I’m sure you are, too. Eat first if you want. You can explain things after.”

The first bite only made her hungrier. She had come down from the adrenaline rush and her body felt heavy. She shouldn’t have, but she took him up on his offer. She ate the pancakes, drank coffee, had scrambled eggs on toast, accepted another cup of coffee… She hoped she at least didn't look like she had swallowed it all in one go.

“I’m sorry for the trouble, but thank you. That was delicious,” Lucy said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Oliver smiled. It was gentle and… beautiful. No doubt an effect of the Spirit of Lust’s powers. Right? It had to be.

“Can you tell me what happened, then? And… why you’ve been watching us?” he asked her.

Lucy nodded. “Some time ago, you confronted a dangerous man. Joseph Milán, a petty, spoiled business man used to throwing his money around to get what he wants.”

Oliver sighed. “I had a feeling…”

“Mr. Allen knew he would retaliate against you, or try to… get the girl he wanted by force. He has hired four groups of… mercenaries, let’s call them, to kidnap Fernanda Santos and to harm you.”

Lucy felt it in her bones. The moment she mentioned Fernanda’s name, Oliver tensed up and his expression hardened. Lucy paused for a moment and Oliver took a deep breath.

“Four groups?” he asked.

“Yes. The one from last night was the latest. This time it was only one man. Unlike the others, this one… had supernatural abilities, like me. I fought him, knocked him out and had him taken away.”

Oliver blinked. “You… fought him?”

Lucy nodded.

“Are you okay?” he asked, frowning with worry.

“We exchanged blows, but I am unharmed. You probably understand that one can use magic to reinforce one’s toughness.”

Again, Oliver sighed, but nodded. He seemed to be believing her words. She didn’t notice the skepticism that was there at first. Then again… He could be reading her mind. She hoped he was. Not only would it make things easier, but it would be the smart thing to do.

“You knocked him out and had him taken away…” he repeated her words. “Then… what about those two guys passed out by the gate?”

Lucy tensed up and took a deep breath. “My failure. We normally know when someone will be sent to attack thanks to Mr. Allen’s information network and spies. It was the case for this last mercenary, which is why I was prepared. Those two… we didn’t know about. Either they slipped past our information network or aren’t affiliated with Joseph Milán. By the time I noticed them, they were jumping the fence and I couldn’t stop them.”

Lucy felt a bit sorry for him. Waking up in the morning like usual, only to be hit with all this. To suddenly learn that dangerous things were happening just outside his house while he was asleep…

She’d known from what Luke told her, but the troubled look on Oliver’s face confirmed it. He had power beyond what most people will ever approach… but he didn’t belong anywhere near the underworld.

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