Cat And Mouse Games
DESCRIPTION: You're a member of a powerful and rich family. When one of the family heads passes your share of an inheritance will be given after a year. But when others start dying it's clear someone wants a bigger share. Lucci is tasked with the assignment to investigate and protect you specifically. WARNINGS: none CHARACTERS: Rob Lucci WORDS: 3582 A/N: After I had this idea, it was all I could think about until I had it written. It feels so good to be writing fully again. I hope you all enjoy this new story 💕
*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*
DIRECTORY | PROMPT LIST | KO-FI
Chapter One(here)| Chapter Two (coming soon) ———————
Normally funerals are emotional affairs, a time to pay one final moment of respect to the dead and say goodbye. A place to come together with family and support one another, bonding together in grief. That’s the common view of funerals. Not for your family though. As you took your seat amongst the masses you took a long, steadying breath and waited for the service to start. Blankly you looked to the large framed photograph of your great-uncle at the front of the room. A distant relative, a stranger in everything to you but a shared last name. You tried to think of any conversations you shared with him and could only really recall vague pleasantries in passing at social events or other funerals, times you were assembled to fulfil some duty that your family name expected of you. You heard laughter behind you and cast a glance back, spotting a distant cousin gossiping loudly with another relative, your great-aunt through marriage possibly.
Their conversation held no interest to you and you returned to your previous position, blocking out their voices and the other conversations bubbling up around you. There was no pretence in today’s gathering. For many, like yourself this was what was expected. Your obligation. Others held so much excitement that the room practically buzzed to the point you felt it impossible to relax. Your great-uncle was one of the main heads of the family and now that he was gone so many of your family could barely contain themselves at the question they all shared. ‘What was the old man’s will going to say?’ You held no curiosity on that part. The family, as large as it was was incredibly wealthy and held a lot of power in the world from multiple businesses and old connections. Not exactly royalty but close enough. Whether you got anything left to you or not, you already had enough to live in luxurious comfort for more than one lifetime. That was true for everyone in the room but for some of them, what they had still wouldn’t be enough. They craved more, wanting to hoard as much wealth and power as they could.
As the signal came for the service to start you sat a little straighter, telling yourself that all you had to do was sit through this and you could then go home and leave the vultures to themselves until the next wedding, event, or funeral required your attendance. That had been the plan at least. It seemed your great-uncle had other wishes entirely as when the funeral was concluded his lawyer stood and announced that those he called for were to remain behind. Everyone else was to leave. Sadly for you, your name was in the list. When the final family member not needed left with a resounding, petulant slamming of the door, you and the rest of your relatives listened silently as the lawyer read out your great-uncle’s final wishes. As expected his shares in businesses were evenly split between his surviving siblings. Adequate sums of money were given to close friends and chosen charities to ensure the family name continued to be seen in a positive light. But then came the reason you were still sitting here. “It is my wish for my wealth to be distributed out equally among you, my youngest and unwed relatives. However there will be rules. The first rule is that the inheritance will only be granted one year after my death. Secondly, should any of you marry in that time, your share will be forfeit and added to the other’s inheritances. Third, although you are all young and healthy death can come to anyone. Should any of you pass from now until the deadline, your share will also be forfeit and shared amongst the others.”
At the time you only nodded, showing you understood and stood with the others. You spent no further time in the room and promptly returned to your ship and headed home, thinking no more about the will or the inheritance that would come your way in a year’s time. Unless you got married or died that was. At that stipulation in the will you had held back the urge to laugh. Of course he would have snuck something like that in, he wasn’t the first to pull something like that. Your father had once told you about his great-great aunt forbidding anyone listed in her will from wearing the colour green for six months before they received their inheritance simply because she hated the colour. You reasoned part of the rules came from a place of boredom, if you have so much money you may as well have some sort of fun with it once your gone. As your ship pulled away from the island you finally let your body relax and truly felt like you could breathe properly again. With that over with you could finally get on with your life.
———
Ordinarily for mission assignments they were given to the agents that would be going out together, never in large groups like the one Lucci was stood with now. He wasn’t the only one confused it seemed. His gaze looked to the door as it opened and more agents came in and looked around in bewilderment. An answer for this mass of agents would be explained soon so he remained silently in his seat, lifting a curled finger to lightly stroke Hattori’s chest at the same time Kaku pulled up a chair beside him as Cipher Pol’s main liaison officer and multiple administrators entered carrying stacks of files. Lucci silently calculated there’d be a file for each agent. Wordlessly the administrators spread out around the room, handing out files as the liaison officer cleared his throat. “I’m keeping this brief. In the last month and a half twelve members of the same, prominent family have been killed.” Lucci took the file offered to him and flipped it open. His gaze zeroed in on the family name and felt a frown pull at his lips as some murmurs broke out, all of the agents understanding in unison how serious a family of your standing was to the balance and power of the world. It was also worth mentioning your family were huge supporters of the Marines for centuries. “While some managed to look like tragic accidents it’s clear these deaths have been intentional. We need to act before more are targeted.”
“Sir, this copy of the will…” One agent spoke up, his gaze on the legal document included in everyone’s file. “Are we to lead with the belief that these deaths are at the says of someone in the family itself?”
“Yes. The less members to share the inheritance, the bigger the survivors receive.” The liaison nodded. “This isn’t the first time such a thing has happened however the bigger picture is what each of these deaths do to the world state. This family has dealings in many industries and is large enough to cause havoc if this situation worsens. The newspapers are already circulating stories on this and we need to get it under control. Each of you have been given a specific family member on the inheritance list. You are to investigate thoroughly to discover if they are the person or persons responsible for the current deaths, stop them from causing anymore, and prevent them from being targets. Most importantly of all, keep a low profile and do not attract any attention about your true intentions. There will be no more public news about this situation. You all have your assigned target, leave as soon as possible.”
With that Lucci rose from his seat and left with the other agents, everyone set on their tasks with no room for idle conversation. As he boarded his ship, he gave a small cursory nod to Kaku and the others. Stepping into his quarters, Lucci sat down and began to meticulously read over his file. Silently he examined your photos and personal information, looking for anything of use to aid him in his investigation. If there was just under a year until the inheritance was paid, it was safe to assume that would be the duration of his mission. If he wanted to be as prepared and efficient as possible he needed to craft a persona for himself to explain his presence with as little questions as possible. Your family weren’t to know they were being observed and he could hide himself with little effort but if you were one of the targets, instead of the perpetrator he doubted those responsible would stop after a single failed attempt. A family as rich and influential as yours could hire multiple assassins and mercenaries as they liked without batting an eye to the price and that was before they received the added boost from your late relative.
Absently Lucci drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair as he looked over the twelve deaths. One died from falling over the balcony of their mansion in the middle of a party, that had originally been classed as a drunken accident. One had fallen down the stairs and broken their neck. Another drowned after ‘falling asleep in the tub.’ One death had been at the hands of a seemingly random pirate raid hitting the island they lived on. Two had been stabbed in previously thought to be safe locations, one had been shot by a sniper, three had suffered poisonings, and two had perished in fires. Lucci felt himself growing annoyed already. If the assassins were as good to be able to kill from a distance with a sniper as well as get into the homes and even manage to plant poison without detection then he couldn’t just merely stick to the shadows for the duration of the mission. If he had to prevent any possible chance of death befalling you then he would have to get close. Close without his presence being suspicious, preferably in a way that granted him access to your home.
His sharp gaze poured over the included images of your home and its full blueprints of the layout, already searching for possible weak spots and good vantage points for nighttime surveillance. By the time the sun had set and he was turning in for the night he had everything memorised, already devising the fastest routes and running through any and all possible methods for breaking in, hiding, escaping for nearly any scenario or attack.
The next morning the ship docked at the island neighbouring yours and Lucci disembarked, ready dressed in simple and plain clothing and planning to get a merchant ship to take him the rest of the way. His plan was to appear as though he was just a simple civilian moving to your island in search of work. For the next nine and half months he was no longer an agent, an instrument to kill. He was an ordinary man, just like he had been back on Water 7. Skilled, hardworking, unassuming. He’d be just another person going about their life until his mission was classed a success and he could discard the persona and return to Cipher Pol Headquarters, just as he did for his other missions. It was no effort at all to get passage onto the ship, especially after some money was offered in gratitude for the journey. Lucci leaned against the mast of the modest little ship that drew closer to the island already visible in the distance. Just another short distance to go.
———
You were exhausted but knew there would be no benefit to going to sleep so early in the day, as tempting as it would be. You braced your hands against the counter of your kitchen and glared out at the bright, sunny day that was irritating your stinging, tired eyes. You’d arrived home just as the sun rose after yet another trip to yet another funeral and had no urge to do anything. Not that you had anything pressing to do anyway. Any necessary correspondences and minimal duties were seen to before you’d left for the most recent funeral. Rubbing your neck you sighed and looked around the kitchen, remembering why you came here in the first place. In spite of your exhaustion and all that had happened you knew you needed to eat. Even if it was a little at a time, you needed to maintain your energy in some capacity because you knew this was far from over.
You ate slowly, forcing yourself to just focus on one bite at a time. It didn’t matter if your meal took longer than usual, if anything it meant it would kill time until you could actually lie down and sleep. Now that your stomach was full you felt a little bit more alert and with that came the agitation of having energy but having nothing to do. After you washed up and cleaned away your plate you stepped outside into your garden just as you caught a muffled but familiar voice in the distance, drawing closer to the front gate of your home. The island mayor if you weren’t mistaken. “Now remember, I’m only showing you the house because you helped me out. Don’t be disturbing them, until tomo- oh!”
The mayor jumped in surprise from behind the gate to see you approach. The old man bowed respectfully at you, regardless of how many times over the years you’s told him he didn’t need to. Sharply he jabbed the man beside him in the ribs, coaxing him to bow too. Curiously you looked at the newcomer who peculiarly had a white pigeon perched on his shoulder. He wasn’t someone you recognised and given how the mayor mentioned showing him your house it was clear he was a stranger to the island completely. Now you had to wonder why he wanted to see it. “Who’s your friend?”
“Oh him? He appeared late this morning. Wants to make the island his home apparently, been asking about jobs and lodging.”
“I see.” You smiled, looking to the stranger politely. “Any luck?”
The man opened his mouth but the mayor cut in immediately. “He’s got a room in the tavern for tonight at least and managed a few odd jobs in town.” The mayor lightly clapped the younger man on the shoulder. “Then I remembered you mentioning you were considering looking for someone to do work on the grounds. Perfect timing huh? I’ll leave you two to discuss things, oh and sorry again for your loss.”
You nodded stiffly and watched the mayor turn and disappear down the path that lead him back to town, leaving you and the stranger alone. You jumped slightly when the pigeon on his shoulder ruffled his feathers and extended a wing. “Hoo, hoo I’m Hattori. This guy’s name is Rob Lucci and the mayor’s right he is looking for work.” An amused curve of your lips appeared as your eyes darted back to Lucci’s face. “So you got anything for us like the old man said?”
“That depends.” You mused watching Lucci’s head tilt slightly, showing he was listening. “Show me your hands.”
“Huh? What kinda interview is this?” Hattori’s high pitched tone sounded out and you grinned playfully, offering him a light shrug.
“Humour me?” You requested innocently. “Put your hands between the bars, palms up please. Promise I don’t bite.”
Lucci stared at you for a second, keeping his expression calm and slowly lifted his hands from his sides and did as you asked, passing them between the spaces of the bars in the locked gate. You leaned forward and examined his palms with a critical stare before you gently reached out, your fingers running over his palms and fingertips while your thumbs traced against the back of his hands. You took in the coarseness of his warm skin, feeling every little nick, callous, faint scars, and especially taking note of how strong his hands felt even in their relaxed position. Satisfied you pulled your hands away and smiled at him. “Okay. Interview’s over.” You smiled, turning on your heel and began to head back towards the house. “Come back tomorrow, I’ll get you started on some work then.”
“What was that about?” Hattori called after you. Instead of stopping or looking back you lifted your hand to lazily wave at them.
“Tomorrow morning, Lucci.” Lucci watched you disappear, completely unsure of what to make of you so far. You seemed like any other rich person, ordering people based on their random whims but at the same time your careful scrutiny of his hands and the fact that you kept a safe distance from the gate that you never once moved to open told him something else entirely. Still he couldn’t complain, this introduction went far smoother than he’d thought possible. Already he had an in with you and if you were going to allow him to work for you on your grounds, he already had access to your home during the day for his investigations and to keep you from being assassinated. He turned and headed back to the town, making sure to be seen to return to the tavern he’d gotten lodging in for the night then he’d make his way back here to start his hidden surveillance of you.
———
You hadn’t done anything of note throughout the day, stayed inside your home only really going to your study and the kitchen. Lucci observed you didn’t have any servants in your home. You didn’t even have a cook when he watched you prepare dinner for yourself. Perhaps this was their day off? He’d look into that more over the coming days. You cleaned up and when night fell Lucci remained in the shadows as you moved up the staircase and into your bedroom. Even living in seclusion and away from the rest of the town you still moved to the large windows and began to close the curtains only to stop suddenly and stare out. Lucci narrowed his eyes. No, there was no way you could see him. Not this far back and with this cover. Then you leaned forward and used your sleeve to wipe a mark off of the glass before pulling the curtains closed and hiding you from sight.
When the lights switched off, Lucci moved swiftly and silently to clear the high fences and crossed the grounds. As expected picking the lock of your door took little effort and he made his way inside. Starting in the kitchen he meticulously inspected your food and raw ingredients looking for any sign of possible tampering or poisoning. When that was cleared he moved through your home like a ghost, anything he moved and investigated was put back with precision as if he wasn’t there. There were no suspicious lists of your relatives or signs of being in contact with an assassin but this was his initial search. His more in-depth scrutiny into your home, secrets, and personal life would come later. The rich always knew how to cover their tracks efficiently but if there was anything to find, it was inevitable he would root it out and succeed in his mission.
Finally he moved to your room. Staying close to the door he peered inside your room and saw you lying in your bed. The sound of your deep, relaxed breathing telling him you were definitely fast asleep. Lucci stepped inside and did a sweep of your room, keeping an ear out for any sign of change in your breathing or for any possible intruder coming to make their move so swiftly after the last death to hit your family. For the rest of the night Lucci stayed hidden in the hallway, guarding you until the sun began to rise. Quickly he left, locking up behind him and made his way back to the tavern to change and ready himself for his first full day of working for you.
———
After a full night’s rest of deep, uninterrupted sleep you felt more yourself and woke feeling refreshed. As you rose you remembered Lucci would be returning and sighed, working on preparing yourself for that. You were happy to play the fool if it meant people kept their guards down and underestimated you. The laidback member of an important family who got everything they wanted without a care and with no real view of the world beyond the fact it was there to cater to your every wish was an easy role to play. But you weren’t an idiot. You never were. And it certainly didn’t take a genius to spot how twelve less family members meant someone in the family wasn’t satisfied with their already enormous share and weren’t going to be happy until there was only them left. You would be a target. If not today then definitely within the next nine and a half months.
As you looked outside you spotted Lucci casually appear on the pathway towards your home you stepped outside and headed towards the gate to unlock it and let it inside. You didn’t believe in coincidence so you weren’t going to just believe some mysterious stranger looking for work happened to appear in the midst of all this was by chance. He was hiding something and you were going to keep him occupied with work until you got to the truth of the matter regardless of what it took and how long.
———————
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