Glass 2: Merlot

A shadow dashed along the Marseillais rooftops under the moonlight. They stopped on a ledge before the window of a condominium. The silhouette of a woman projected onto the glass and, using specialized tools to create a hole in the window, the figure sneaked into the room with the quiet tact of a cat. They stopped just right in front of a sofa and fell onto it. All was quiet once more.

Morning arrived and Cab woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He yawned and stretched his body before slipping out of bed. After completing his morning bathroom routine, he walked into the living room and felt a chill. He glanced to the window and noticed that a piece of it was missing. Without wondering why, he let out a sigh and frowned. In fact, he didn’t even need to wonder—he was all too familiar with this scene. He turned back around to see a trail of clothes strewn onto the floor leading to his sofa. The clothes were women’s clothes: a black pleated skirt, a white silky blouse, a red brassiere, and a pair of matching red underwear. The owner of the clothes was currently sleeping atop the couch while being buried under a blanket.

Cab said nothing and walked into his kitchen to grab a drink. He poured himself a glass of wine and walked back to the living room. The woman had finally woken up. She raised her arms to stretch them, dropping the blanket to reveal her naked breasts. She was a very pretty woman with wavy auburn hair that elegantly flowed down her back, glassy sky-blue eyes with sharp and focused pupils, a small beauty mark under her left eye, rose-kissed lips, and white lily skin.

“Finally awake?” Cab asked her with a raise of his glass.

“Drinking again?” asked back the woman. Her voice was clear and soft yet cold like a blizzard.

“Of course,” said Cab with a smile before taking another sip.

“Is that all you have to say?” asked the woman with a sigh. “It’s already the third Wednesday of the month.”

“That time of year again, huh?” said Cab. “Sorry, I almost forgot about that.”

“Maybe I should carve it onto your body next time so that you won’t forget,” offered the woman half-seriously.

“Thank you, but I prefer my body scar-free,” said Cab with a laugh. He took another sip of his wine.

“I’m hungry,” said the woman. She got up and let the blanket slip away without a thought. Exposing her naked body had no affect on her concept of shame. The only thing on her mind right now was feeding herself. She opened the fridge and looked through it.

“Will it hurt you to at least put on some clothes?” asked Cab passively.

“Let me borrow yours then,” said the woman without hesitation.

“I’ll buy some for you,” offered Cab.

“No thank you, then,” rejected the woman, her focus still on the contents of the fridge.

“Just go sit down. I’ll cook you breakfast,” Cab told her.

The woman closed the fridge and walked back to the couch. She sat down without covering herself up at all. At that moment, Franc woke up and entered the living room. The child noticed the strange woman sitting naked on the couch and her eyes quickly searched for Cab. Both Franc’s and Cab’s eyes met and the former immediately excused herself.

Cab facepalmed after seeing Franc retreat back to her room.

“Who was that?” asked the woman.

Cab ignored the question for now and made his way to Franc’s room. He gave her door a little knock before saying, “Let’s have some breakfast, Franc.”

“I’m sorry for walking in on you having fun,” said Franc.

Those words made Cab’s eye twitch. “What do you mean by that?” he asked her kindly.

“When I was with the others, they would always bring in girls to celebrate with. They would place me in a room by myself while they played with the girls,” explained Franc.

‘Those damn bastards,’ sighed Cab with a shake of his head. “Do you know what they were doing?” he prodded carefully, his heart growing heavy.

“They always tell me that they were going to play a game before taking me away. I never saw them play, though,” said Franc.

Cab let out a sigh of relief. The heaviness in his heart disappeared. “Franc, let’s have breakfast,” he repeated to her. “Just so you know, that woman out there is just an associate of mine. We weren’t playing any games, I can assure you that. She’s just, um, very unique.”

The door creaked open halfway and Franc revealed half of her face through the crack. “Unique?” she asked innocently.

“Yes, unique,” repeated Cab with a laugh. Franc finally opened the door and returned with Cab to the living room. When they arrived, the woman was waiting for them in her underwear. ‘Well, at least she’s covering herself,’ sighed Cab.

“Who is that?” asked the woman once again, pointing to Franc.

“Franc,” introduced Cab. He then turned to the child and said, “Franc, this here is my associate, Merlot. I call her Lotte.”

“Is she your love child?” Merlot asked Cab.

“Where the hell did you get that idea?” came Cab with an unamused expression. He made breakfast and the trio ate it together.

Once they were done, Merlot got up and put on the rest of her clothes. “Well, I have to go to work now,” she told them.

“Good luck!” called Cab from the sink. Merlot gave him a little wave as she left through the front door.

“Why was she here?” asked Franc once Merlot had left.

“It’s the third Wednesday of the month,” answered Cab. “I don’t know when it started, but she had been coming here on the third Wednesday of every month. She would come and sleep over and eat breakfast before going to work just like today.”

“She’s very unique,” said Franc.

A week had passed since Franc had been living with Cab. The latter did his best to bring the former out of their shell at their own pace. Franc slowly interacted more and more with Cab; she started with helping to bring the finished dishes to the sink; and now she's become comfortable enough to engage in full conversations. Although Franc is still lacking in very important social skills and common sense, Cab was very patient in helping integrate her into the society that she was unfairly restricted from.

“How about we go outside today?” suggested Cab. “We can finally shop for clothes.”

Franc shuffled uneasily at the prospect. She was still very anxious about going outside. Cab bent down and placed his hand on her head. “I’ll be with you the entire time,” he reassured her. “We can take a step outside, and if you still feel the same way, then we can always come back.” Franc looked up at him with trusting eyes. Cab chuckled and added, “Although, it would be better for you to go choose your own clothes. I don’t think you’ll appreciate my taste in fashion. I don’t even know what young girls wear these days!”

“T-Then, I’ll go too,” said Franc tentatively.

“That’s a good girl,” praised Cab with a smile.

Merlot entered the busy streets of Marseille and blended into the crowd. She slipped into a busy restaurant and made her way to the restroom. A few minutes later, a woman dressed in a white face-mask exited out of the restroom and walked out of the restaurant. She had black hair in a small bob-cut and wore a pair of dark sunglasses. She was also dressed in a large beige overcoat and pumps.

The woman, who was Merlot in disguise, briskly walked down the street like the rest of the crowd. She made her way to an intersection and turned left onto a quiet street. After another minute or two of walking, she arrived at a studio and entered. A man with an exaggerated pompadour and a camera around his neck ran up to meet her. “Oh, Jo, you’re here!” said the man in a high-pitched voice.

“Maurice, am I ever late?” said Merlot in a completely different tone from the one she used with Cab. Her voice was more husky and conveyed actual emotion.

“Oh, you’re absolutely right, dear,” said Maurice with a giggle. “Now, let’s get you changed. I hear that today is the day we take your picture for the spread. Ooh, lucky you!”

Merlot took off the mask to reveal a small beauty mark near the left corner of her bottom lip, and a smile so natural that one would think this was the real her. Maurice swooned at the smile and let out an excited squeal. He then showed Merlot to the dressing room for today’s photo shoot.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Cab, reaching out his hand to Franc. Franc tentaively took his hand and let him gently lead her out of the condominium. The sun hit her face and she reflexively looked away. “See? Not so bad, isn’t it?” said Cab with a smile.

“Mm,” replied Franc with a nod.

Franc held tightly onto Cab’s hand as they walked the streets of Marseille. Cab led her to a shopping district and Franc was bewildered at what she saw: a place bustling with people of all ages and genders, mixing together freely and peacefully and happily! She saw children laughing and walking hand-in-hand with each other and with adults—a scene that she would never believed existed if she hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes! Being raised to live for herself and to blend in with the darkness at all times have made her unaware of these scenes of human warmth; her life was controlled with the notion that solitude and survival was all one needed to continue on living. But now, being able to witness these fairy-tale scenes…a tear formed in the corner of her right eye.

Cab noticed this right away and gently wiped away her tear with his hand. “Shall we continue?” he asked her gently. Franc simply replied back with a nod of her head.

The duo came to a clothing shop and entered. The store clerk welcomed them and immediately offered their aid. Cab took their offer and admitted his unfamiliarity with girl clothes. The clerk selected a handful of clothes and showed them to the dressing rooms. While Franc changed, the clerk told Cab with a smile, “Your daughter is very cute.”

“Daughter? Oh, um, actually—,” Cab started to protested.

“Cab?” came Franc’s voice from inside the room.

“I’m here,” he reassured her. “Did you finished changing?”

Franc opened the door and revealed herself in her new outfit: a two-tone striped short-sleeve shirt and a frilled skirt over black tights.

“Oh my, so cute!” cried the clerk. “She’s like an angel!”

“You heard her,” Cab told Franc. “I think it’s very cute on you, too.”

Franc’s cheeks turned a deep rouge. It was the very time she ever heard those words and the very first time she ever felt those feelings from words at all! She immediately shut the door and continued on trying the other clothes. Cab ended up buying them all.

As they exited the shop, Franc noticed from the corner of her eye a magazine stand next to the store entrance. The cover that caught her eye was that of a very beautiful black-haired woman with a bob cut and a pair of thin-framed glasses. She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman Franc had ever. When she gleaned a little closer, she somehow felt as if she had seen this woman before.

“Ah, ‘Belle’,” said Cab, referring to the magazine’s title, “You got a good eye.”

“She’s beautiful,” said Franc.

“That she is,” laughed Cab.

The two exited the store and made their way home. On the way, one of the streets were filled with people breaking for lunch, so they decided to take a less familiar alleyway to avoid the crowd. They came out the other side to an empty street and Cab scanned their surroundings before leading the way in the direction of home. As they walked, a woman clad in an overcoat walking in the opposite direction slowly converged paths with them. Cab, who had his attention turned to Franc to check her current condition, didn’t notice the woman’s presence and bumped into her. The woman’s pair of sunglasses fell onto the ground.

“Ah, excuse me,” politely apologized Cab, bending down to retrieve her glasses. When he brought it back up to her, he immediately noticed who she was and asked, “Hard at work today?”

Merlot snatched the glasses from Cab and placed them back on her face. Franc, who had caught a glimpse of Merlot’s face in her disguise, finally made the connection between the woman on the magazine cover and the thought of having seen her before. “Are you a model?” asked Franc bluntly.

“Only in public,” replied Merlot. “Were you not working today?” she asked Cab.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Cab told her.

“Still working as a candy-man?” asked Merlot. It was clear from her tone that she disapproved of Cab’s profession.

“How about I treat you to some bonbons tomorrow?” offered Cab playfully.

Merlot leaned in close to Cab and whispered seductively in his ear, “How about I give you some of my bonbons tonight?”

Cab laughed and said, “An intriguing offer. But we shouldn’t really make those jokes in front of a child.”

Merlot furrowed her brows, clearly displeased with Cab’s treatment of her offer. “Why would I be making the same joke for the last ten years? Do you take me for a boring or foolish woman?” she muttered loud enough for Cab to hear.

“I told you before, didn’t I?” Cab told her in a serious tone.

Suddenly, a loud pop broke the silence and Merlot and Cab instinctively sidestepped away with the latter pulling Franc along with them. Buried in the ground between them was a smoking bullet. Cab grabbed Franc and Merlot and pulled them back into the alleyway. He gestured for them to stay silent.

The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder and louder. A man dressed in an overcoat and homburg hat with a white mask covering his face appeared at the alleyway’s entrance. He took one step forward and was suddenly stabbed by some kind of projectile on his left shoulder. The initial pain was no different from a sharp bee sting, but his arm immediately became drowned in an aching pain that turned his entire limb numb and limp.

Merlot walked out of the shadows and held in her hand a long and thin metal needle with a black tip—the same needle as the one that struck the assailant. “One hour,” she told the assailant. The man cursed at her in an unfamiliar dialect. “Dendroaspis polyepis,” said Merlot, referring to the venom on the tips of her needle.

“I see you still play pretty dirty,” said Cab, exiting out of the shadows with Franc.

“Not as dirty as cowards who attack from afar,” replied Merlot snappily.

The assailant, whose body was now slowly losing its ability to function properly, shakily took out his gun. A loud gunshot resounded through the alleyway, and the assailant dropped dead.

Merlot turned to Cab with a frown. “Self-defense,” Cab told her with a smile. Merlot said nothing. “I honestly don’t know what’s so enjoyable about watching people suffer as they slowly reach Death’s door,” he said with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

“You took my kill,” said Merlot with a pout.

“I told you, I’m not in the game anymore,” Cab told her. “That was honestly for self-defense.” Merlot’s expression didn’t change. “Anyway, who was that guy?” he asked her.

“Assailants from the Cult of Numbers,” she told him. “I was on a mission from the organization to infiltrate them. After I took down one of their bosses, they targeted me for revenge.”

“Cult of Numbers?” Cab repeated to himself.

“The organization wants to keep an eye on them because they’ve been growing in power. If left uncheck, they could bring ruin onto the world,” explained Merlot.

“So? Do you have something to do here?” asked Cab.

“Marseille was the last place where the cult’s secret weapon was last witnessed,” answered Merlot.

“I see…,” said Cab with a nod. He then clapped his hands and said, “Anyway, how about lunch? I’ll cook something nice for us to eat!” He grabbed Franc by the hand and led her and Merlot back home to the condominium.

After arriving back, Cab immediately stepped into the kitchen and started on lunch. Meanwhile, Merlot and Franc sat silently across from each other in the living room. The former had their face leaning on their hand with their attention turned to the side. Franc, uneasy about the fact that she was in the presence of someone she didn’t know, had her attention focused on her feet.

“How long?” spoke Merlot, breaking the silence between them.

“E-Excuse me?” asked Franc, shaken by the woman’s sudden question.

“How long have you been here?” clarified Merlot.

“O-One week,” answered Franc timidly.

“Really?” said Merlot with feigned interest. “Do you like Cab?” she asked.

Franc simply answered back with a nod of her head and an utterance of confirmation.

The doorbell rang and Cab yelled from the kitchen, “Can someone get that?”

Franc took this chance to escape from this unsettling situation and answered the door. Standing before her on the other side of the entrance was a tall man dressed in a long navy trench coat and a black trilby. His eyes were a dark shade of blue and he had very dark circles under them as if he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in ages. He yawned before finally realizing who it was that opened the door.

“Ah, I apologize, I must have the wrong address,” apologized the man in a low and groggy voice.

“Who is it?” came Cab’s voice from the kitchen.

“I guess not,” said the man upon hearing the voice. “May I come in?” he asked Franc with a tired smile. Franc had the feeling that this person might know Cab so she stepped aside for the man to enter. The man walked on in and took of his hat, revealing a crown of messy greased-up brown hair.

“What a strange occurrence? I thought police were nocturnal for a living,” said Merlot upon seeing who the visitor was.

“I could say the same about you, Miss Assassin,” replied the man without hesitation.

“Ah, Rémy!” greeted Cab as he joined them in the living room. “I was just about to bring out lunch! Say, how about staying for a drink?”

“Although your offer sounds nice, I’d have to decline,” replied Rémy. “I’m actually here on other business.”

“Other business?” asked Cab. Suddenly, a beep went off and Cab immediately excused himself to return back to the kitchen. After taking care of the roast beef in the oven, he returned to find Rémy standing outside and smoking on the balcony. He joined him on the balcony.

“Want one?” offered Rémy, taking out a pack from inside his coat.

“The only thing I need is a glass in my hand,” said Cab. “Besides, a drink is safer than a smoke considering my current living situation.”

“I would object if you weren’t actually a well-bred connoisseur of wine with enough common sense to stop right at the entrance of the spiral to Hell,” said Rémy with a wry smile.

“Those who abuse the good stuff do not know how to drink the good stuff,” said Cab wisely.

Rémy took a hit and laughed dryly. “That girl, who is she?” he asked Cab, taking another hit of his cigarette.

“Cute, isn’t she?” replied Cab happily.

“Don’t dodge the question,” drawled Rémy with an unimpressed raise of his eyebrow.

“Remember that little incident last week?” asked Cab. Rémy responded with a silent nod. “Well, she’s a survivor from that same incident. A refugee that I saved from the depths of Hell.”

“She was a member of the Cult of Numbers?” asked Rémy, taking out his cigarette and extinguishing it on the railing. He then took a fresh one and lighted it.

“Have you ever thought that your chain-smoking may also be negatively affecting your sleep health?” commented Cab.

“I’m not a big fan of caffeine,” replied Rémy bluntly. “Anyway, why are you taking her in? First, you became a candy-man. Now, you’ve decided to play some random kid’s surrogate father.”

Cab laughed at his friend’s joke, though Rémy hadn’t really meant any of what he said to be conceived as such. “To tell you the truth, I saw myself in her,” Cab told his friend honestly with a faraway smile.

“Was it out of guilt? Pity? A desire to destroy your connection to your unredeemable past?” posited Rémy.

“Call it self-satisfaction,” said Cab, smiling. “If it was out of pity, maybe I would be more content with myself. But you know, I’m not kind nor fair nor generous nor virtuous. In fact, I’m drowned in sin. Did you know? I’m right at the entrance to Satan’s throne room. The Devil has already reserved a special spot for me to live a life full of free sunshine and more warmth than I could ever ask for.

“But when I saw her that night, I was reminded of my own journey down the spiral to Hell. And when I observed the pitiable creature in front of me, I thought, ‘The only sinner that Hell needs is me.’ I didn’t want her to go down the same path and suffer the same fate as me. Hell is no place for a child.” Cab let out a chilly laugh. “But like I told you, it’s not a decision I made out of righteousness. It’s all self-satisfaction. I just wanted to do one act of heroism just to satisfy my own ego since I know that my own fate is set in stone. If I’m going to Hell anyway, then what’s wrong with doing one good deed just to see how it feels? It’s not going to change my appointment with Satan anyway.”

“If you want, I know a very good priest who can purify your sinful heart for only two baguettes and a glass of cheap wine,” came Rémy.

“Are you sure he’s just not going to tell me to consume that very bread and wine myself?” joked Cab wittily.

“Then do you prefer a fortuneteller? Or perhaps a Tibetan monk?” continued Rémy jokingly.

“Why not just get me a clown? If laughter is the best medicine, then it should also be able to cleanse my soul, too, right?” laughed Cab.

“So, what’s your relationship to that girl?”

Cab pondered the question for a bit before answering, “Guardian.”

“Legal guardian?”

“That’s not important, is it?” said Cab with a dismissive laugh.

Rémy let out a heavy sigh. “What are you going to do if the someone asks you about your relationship to her? How about if you are asked to provide documentation? Do you know how many cases I’ve seen of people lying about their relationships with children to hide the fact that they’re dangerous kidnappers and deranged human-traffickers? This is more serious than you think, Cab. You could put her in danger.”

“Then what do you suggest I do?” asked Cab. “I’m pretty sure that the girl isn’t in the system anyway.”

“Well….”

The balcony door opened. “Cab,” called Franc.

“Ah, lunch!” remembered Cab. “Join us for a drink, Rémy! I owed you one, remember?”

“I guess I’ll take you up on your offer,” relented Rémy, finishing his smoke with a small smile.

Cab brought out the plate of roast beef and set it down on the table. He then took his seat at the table’s left end. On his right was Franc and on his left was Merlot; Rémy sat opposite of him. The adults had glasses filled with Merlot—a special 1887 vintage from Cab’s personal collection. For Franc, a glass of grape juice was set out for her.

Rémy took a sip of his wine and gently set down his glass. “I was expecting you to set out something stronger, but something like this isn’t bad once in a while,” he said with a grin.

“I do have some stronger liquor, like a 1836 Rémy Martin or 1915 Branca Stravecchio,” revealed Cab with a pondering expression while swirling the wine in his glass. “Or were you looking for some whiskey?” The question elicited a laugh from Rémy. “Well, you know that when it comes to alcohol, I tend to gravitate more towards wine anyway. That’s where my expertise lie and where my palate feels most at home.”

“This merlot is exquisite,” said Merlot after taking a sip. Her expression was cold like always, yet she was careful to make her words come out warm as opposed to her usual coolness.

“And how’s your grape juice?” Cab asked Franc.

“Good,” replied Franc in a timid voice. She ate her food in silence.

Rémy looked at the pitiful young girl. “Cab, why don’t you adopt her?” he suddenly suggested to his friend.

The words almost made Cab spit out the wine in his mouth—a grave sin that he managed to avoid committing by stopping himself and calmly swallowing the contents before doing anything else. “What did you say?” he asked his friend for confirmation.

“Adopt her and make her your legal daughter,” Rémy told him. “If you do, then she can live with you and you don’t have to worry about anything from a legal perspective,” he elaborated.

When Franc heard those words, her ears lit up. The idea injected a sense of excitement in her. She also felt a foreign emotion rising up in her from hearing those words, but it was an emotion that she didn’t hate at all.

“B-But—adopt her? The idea of it is…,” came Cab at a loss for words. He glanced over at Franc and saw her looking back with twinkling, expectant eyes.

A loud slam on the table interrupted the conversation. Merlot stood up from her seat with her hands gripping onto the table tightly. “…able,” she whispered.

“Merlot?” came Cab.

“Unforgivable!” shouted Merlot, revealing a pair rage-filled eyes that were now focusing point-blank on Franc.

“This matter doesn’t concern you,” dismissed Rémy.

Merlot quickly turned to Rémy and, faster than a flash of lightning, brought out a stiletto knife with its poisoned-coated tip pointed at the cop’s neck. “Say another word and I’ll inject this Bungarus caeruleus venom into your bloodstream with a movement that won’t feel any different than a sharp paper cut,” she threatened.

However, Rémy wasn’t scared in the least. He calmly took a sip of the wine in his glass. “After receiving so many of these threats before, I’m now desensitized to your sadistic tendencies,” he told her with a jaded look in his eyes.

“Connard!” cursed Merlot with a snarl.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Merlot, language!” quickly objected Cab. He went up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Without resisting, Merlot let herself be guided by his hands back into her seat. “Now, why don’t we discuss this diplomatically,” he suggested. ‘If this gets out of hand, the entire apartment will get torn to shreds and Franc will get hurt. But more importantly, my wine collection will be caught up in their battle!’

“Cab, take this girl as your daughter,” repeated Rémy. “If you do, you can ensure her safety, not just from enemies, but also from legal entities. Say if you wanted to continue what you have right now—if you were found out, legal authorities will take her away and you will never see her again. Forget protecting her then.”

“If she get’s taken away, I’ll simply get her back,” Cab told his friend simply.

“Think about it rationally!” shouted Rémy furiously. “Just do it the right way and you won’t have to go through all of that trouble!”

“But can a man like me adopt a child and become her father?” questioned Cab.

“Of course you can!” quickly answered Rémy.

“Cab already has his job. He doesn’t need any other hindrances,” snapped Merlot.

“Hindrance? That’s rich coming from his personal stalker,” snarked Rémy.

“Accusing me of being a stalker when you’re the one keeping tabs on him, hah!” responded Merlot haughtily.

“So this is what they mean when they say a woman is all looks and no brains,” said Rémy with a smirk.

“You know, I’ve never liked you ever since the first we met,” snarled Merlot through gritted teeth.

“The feeling is mutual,” replied Rémy in the same manner. At this point, they were both literally butting heads.

“Nicotine-addled cop,” insulted Merlot.

“Mentally toxic woman,” insulted Rémy.

“Useless self-righteous tax thief!”

“Venomous stone-faced stalker!”

“Narcoleptic baggy-eyed stiff!”

“Uncouth nymphomaniacal exhibitionist!”

A shot rang out. Merlot and Rémy immediately stopped. Cab had brought out his gun and fired a shot from his seat. The bullet flew right in between their faces and out the open balcony. When they turned to Cab, they immediately froze upon seeing the cold, killer expression he wore. “Now, you can either play nice, or receive a punishment from yours truly. The choice is yours,” he told them with a cold smile. Merlot and Rémy sat back down without argument.

“Cab, I finished my food,” said Franc, pushing her empty plate forward.

“My, what a good girl!” gushed Cab, losing the killer aura that was all around him just a moment ago. He proceeded to take her empty plate and deposited it in the kitchen sink before returning with a chipper smile.

“You act like father and daughter already, so what’s wrong with making it all official?” sighed Rémy after taking a sip of his drink.

“There you go again you oaf,” hissed Merlot.

“I’ll do it,” declared Cab.

“What?!” immediately exclaimed Merlot in furious surprise.

“But only on one condition,” Cab continued. He turned to Franc and kneeled down in front of her. “Say, Franc, do you like living here?” he asked her.

Franc nodded her head. “This place is nicer than my old home. It’s also not scary or dirty at all.”

“Do you like living with me?” Cab asked her.

Franc nodded her head again. “Cab is a very nice person. You don’t force me to do things that I don’t like and you take good care of me.”

With each answer, Cab was hit with a wave of paternal euphoria. But there was still one more question he needed to ask—the one that will decide whether or not he goes through with his decision. “Franc, would you like to be my daughter?” Cab asked her.

Without hesitation, Franc answered back with, “I have always thought of you as my father.”

Cab smiled and slowly stood back up. “Well, you heard her,” he said aloud for the others to hear.

“You don’t have to worry about the paperwork. I’ll have one my buddies take care of it,” revealed Rémy with a relieved smile.

“I thought you said that I should adopt her for real,” said Cab.

“Who said that I’m going to forge it?” snapped Rémy, not appreciating Cab’s little jab. The latter simply laughed at his friend’s reaction.

“This is unacceptable,” growled Merlot with gritted teeth.

“Then why don’t you play the role of her mother?” offered Rémy jokingly.

“I will!” quickly accepted Merlot. “Cab, let’s get married and consummate our union right now!”

“Please, enough with the jokes,” dismissed Cab.

Franc walked up to Merlot and innocently asked, “Mama?”

Merlot took this chance and knelt down to grab the little girl by her shoulders. “Yes, call me Mama,” she cooed back with a smile that wasn’t remotely motherly at all. All it carried was the uncontrolled lust that was building up inside of her for the true target of this plan.

“Having a wife and a mother-figure for the girl isn’t a bad idea at all. It can make your current situation as a civilian family man all the more credible,” pointed out Rémy.

“Seriously?” Cab sighed exasperatedly. “I was actually prepared to live life as a single-father. I had a whole story prepared about my dead wife who passed away from pneumonia in case someone asked.”

“It’ll just be a marriage on paper,” reassured Rémy. “I’ll have my friend write one out for you, too.”

“Say, Rémy, will this still be considered as playing house?” asked Cab with a smile.

“Maybe not to other people, but for those with a history like ours, well, this’ll be something more like walking around with your head out in the open for people to take it with no resistance at all,” returned Rémy with a chuckle.

“Ah, I see. So it’s a different kind of hell,” laughed Cab.

“A personal hell, if you will,” laughed Rémy.

“I think I won’t mind being in this hell. In fact, I think I’ll enjoy my time here,” said Cab with a soft smile.

That night, all was quiet in Marseille. A shadow silently dashed along the rooftops. They stopped on a window ledge of a condominium. Using a glass-cutter, the shadow traced a large circle on the window and made a big enough hole for them to fit through. With another gadget that they pulled from within their clothing, they pulled out the cut glass. They slipped through the hole and entered the room.

Suddenly, the lights came on. Standing in the living room near the light switch was Merlot. “If you want to enter a house undetected, maybe work on your foortwork next time,” Merlot told the intruder with a scowl.

The intruder was wearing all black with a balaclava covering all of their face except for their eyes. They weren’t threatened at all by Merlot’s presence and lunged at the assassin. The two combatants exchanged blows.

“Savate,” realized Merlot after being pushed back by a kick. The kick had power, but Merlot had been dealt by worse before. To her, it felt no different than a light fall on a paved street.

The intruder was also pushed back by Merlot’s punch. Unlike Merlot, the intruder seemed to have taken more damage. However, they were still standing, albeit breathing a little harder than before. With a movement that caught Merlot off guard despite not being that quick, the intruder brought out a long chain and whipped it out. The chain wrapped around Merlot and she fell to the ground.

The intruder then dashed into the hallway. They came to a door with the sign ‘Franc’ plastered on it. They opened the door and slipped inside. They spotted Franc sleeping in the bed and approached it. Suddenly, the door behind them closed and they turned to see Cab standing there with a burgundy revolver pointing right at them.

“If you’re here for her, then you must be a member of the Cult of Numbers,” concluded Cab. “Now, I will give you two choices. Either leave now and live your life, or resist and prepare to greet the Devil.”

The intruder stood straight. And then, with the same movement as before, she brought out a long chain and whipped it out. With the cover of darkness on their side, they managed to circumvent Cab’s otherwise well-cultivated killer instincts. The chain knocked the gun out of Cab’s hand, surprising him. Taking advantage of the confusion, the intruder dashed forward and exited the room.

Cab gave chase. By the time he came to the living room, the intruder had already escaped through the window. He found Merlot tied up and helped her.

“They got away,” Merlot told him with a scowl. “I’m sorry for my incompetence.”

“It’s alright. As long as no one was hurt,” Cab reassured her. He then turned to the hole in the window and hung his head in lament. Letting the intruder go was one thing, but he had just repaired the window only to have it be broken again!

“Cab? Is everything okay?” asked Franc from the hallway entrance. She was woken up by the commotion and stood there rubbing her eyes.

“Ah, it’s nothing,” replied Cab. “You go to sleep, okay?”

“Okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”