The Edge

Matteo: Part Nine

His initial reaction was disbelief.

Then Matteo remembered their conversation at the hospital after the body modders "mistook him for someone else," and suddenly he was fighting the urge to jump out of the bushes and strangle Arian.

You shithead, you did know them, you knew them, I thought we were past this shit, Arian...

They moved out of range of the transcriber pretty quickly, but watching the conversation made Matteo realize that this wasn't exactly a friendly relationship. Arian was in his listen, buddies, can't we just get along placating stance that had served him well during his criminal days and his serious troublemaker period. It didn't look like the two other guys were having any of it.

Literally what is he doing here?!

It didn't matter. What mattered was the massive wrench this threw in his plan. Now he had to get two siblings out. Matteo shook his head to clear away his frustration. He didn't have time to be pissed. He needed more information before he could alter the plan.

Matteo waited until they'd gone into the long house before approaching it himself. There weren't really any windows, but there were a few small gaps in between the boards, just big enough to allow noise to filter through. All he had to do was keep walking, and...

Arian: ...I'm just saying, literally every person in this family is gifted. If she doesn't get back soon, they're all going to take offense, and you guys are going to be in a lot of trouble.

Unknown: Well, we still need her help.

Arian: I get that, I do. It's uh, pretty obvious you guys are in a bit of a pickle. But I'm not exaggerating. One of my brothers is a literal beast and...

Unknown: Well, maybe you should've worked out something with them.

Arian: I told you guys, there's nothing we could work out. We're in the middle of something right now.

Unknown 2: Right, right, your missing sister. Convenient.

Arian: Why would I lie to you? You have sharp stabby parts more places than I can count. I'm not that stupid. And if I were that stupid, I would've come up with a less weird lie.

Matteo didn't want to start making assumptions, but those few parts of this conversation were starting to paint a picture he really didn't like.

Arian: I just want five seconds to talk to her. I can explain what's going on and maybe...

Unknown 2: She's working. You can talk to her later.

Arian: I don't care if she's working. She's my sister, shithead.

There was a lull in the conversation. Matteo couldn't see what was happening through the gaps, but he could only assume Arian was getting stared at. If he had to guess, it was either a threatening stare or a you're kidding me right now stare. It probably depended on how much Arian was looking/acting like he was about to pick a fight. He was, as far as Arian could tell, shorter than pretty much everyone there, but that wouldn't necessarily stop his temper from flaring up.

Unknown 2: Take a walk, Dave. We'll talk about this later.

There was that name again. Matteo had to take a deep breath to keep his internal rage at bay. We're having words. We are so having words.

That mental threat came to fruition sooner than Matteo though it would've. The transcriber picked up approaching footsteps, but after Matteo ducked behind some random equipment along the side of the house, he realized it was just Arian.

New plan.

Matteo poked his head out from behind his hiding place, just enough to be seen, and made a psst noise. He had to do it twice before Arian noticed him. Matteo couldn't help feeling a weird, grim sense of satisfaction at seeing Arian's face go through every stage of grief at the sight of him. "What the hell?" Arian signed.

Matteo flipped him off, then added, "Get over here. We need to talk." What he left unsaid, but heavily implied, was, I'm yielding older brother privileges and you're grounded.

Arian glanced over his shoulder before darting over. "How did you get here?" he asked.

Funny thing: Matteo had always joked that knowing sign would come in handy if they ever had to do some spy shit. He just never thought it would actually happen, not for real. "Not important," he replied. "Is Tola in there? Is she okay?"

"She's not hurt. Looks like she might start angry-crying, but not hurt."

That was something, at least. They could deal with the psychological ramifications later, as long as she could still run. "We have to go," Matteo signed. "I called Adoette last night, but I couldn't give her exact directions. I was going to distract them while Tola ran..." Arian cut him off with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Is that the whole plan?"

Matteo fought the urge to smack Arian. Hitting your siblings was wrong, he knew that, and they were too old to be smacking each other over minor inconveniences, but...damn. "You have a better idea?" he asked, making sure to put as much frustration into his expression as possible.

Arian thought about it. "I need five minutes," he said. "Don't look at me like that. Just trust me for five minutes. I've got this."

Matteo would've believed that if it hadn't been for literally everything leading up to this moment. He had so many questions and concerns, but despite that...

"What are you going to do?" Matteo asked. He was a bit resigned and very, very irritated, but trying to keep things professional.

"Steal some keys and talk to Tola. I'll go from there."

...okay, that wasn't a terrible plan. Arian was uniquely qualified to do it, too. As annoyed as he was, Matteo couldn't deny that. "Be careful," Matteo signed, with as much emphasis and as serious an expression as he could.

Arian grinned crookedly. That was all the response he gave before slipping away from their hiding place. The response was annoying, but it could've been worse. If he'd made some smartass comment about how he was (biggest air quotes) always careful, Matteo would've lost out to that Cain instinct.

We're definitely still having words when this is done, Matteo thought grimly as he consulted his transcriber again. His second thought was tinged with a bit more concern: And don't die, dumbass.

Was Matteo furious at Arian right now? Absolutely.

Did he want him to get hurt? Absolutely not.

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(Author's Note: This story was cross-posted from singlequantumevent.com. If you'd like to see more stories like this one, including ongoing stories and ones that haven't been posted to WattPad yet, check out the site! )