A Dangerous Game

[Mayah Playah]

The minute Julian was gone, Daniel fell against the wall and exhaled through his nose. "I'm going to die," he breathed, then turned and started back into the school. He couldn't handle all this right then.

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Mayah Playah

By the time Daniel came back from school, Fredrich was at the dinner table with his laptop up, but with the Nightingale page on it. "Welcome home." he said without looking at his son, busy reading a request. "Were you able to steel your emotions?"

 

[Mayah Playah]

Daniel walked in, then moved to stand in front of his father and nodded. "Yes, yes I was." He bowed a little, then turned and moved towards the stairs. He paused, then moved back. "Hey, where's Mom?" he asked.

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Mayah Playah

"Out buying fabric." answered the Austrian. He was silent for a minute before quietly adding, "It seems he wants to practice controlling his emotions as well." He looked at Daniel and motioned him towards the laptop, turning it to face him. "Here. This seems easy enough, so you should be able to finish it quickly tonight. It should also be a good distraction for you." he explained.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Daniel was quiet, thinking about what his father said. Are Mom and Dad fighting? he asked himself in his mind. Nodding, he moved to look closer at the screen. "A mission? Tonight?" He read over the email, shaking his head. "A schoolteacher, huh? Is there any particular reason why?" he asked.

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Mayah Playah

"It's been a while since you've hunted, and this should be easy enough for you to get them without harm. I won't make it a cake walk, though. I want you to talk to the teacher yourself with a disguise then stab them in the back. Discard of the body any way you want." Fredrich explained.

 

[Mayah Playah]

He nodded, reading the short bio for the teacher before beginning to work on a strategy in his head. Daniel stood and prepared to turn, then faced his father again. "How did you learn to steel your emotions against Mom? I can't imagine he made it easy," asked the teenager.

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Mayah Playah

"At first it was easy because I was so used to it by then. After a while I had to think about how the truth would put a target on his and your heads. To be honest, I would have still been able to do it if it hadn't been for your boyfriend's mother kidnapping him." Fredrich responded. He looked down at Daniel. "Steeling emotions gets easy once you get the hang of it. It might be smart to remember how to use emotions."

 

[Mayah Playah]

=

"Yes, but I'm afraid," he said, looking over to the window. "Julian's different than Mom. He needs to know if I'm pushing him out, if I'm trying to get rid of him, or else he freaks out. Mom couldn't care less, he just calls you out on it before deciding that two can play at that game."

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Mayah Playah

The detective looked down at his son thoughtfully. "Your mother wasn't always as calm and collected as he leads on. When we first started dating he would spend hours screaming at me about not showing emotion around him and how he couldn't tell whether I cared or not. With a significant other, you learn to keep yourself grounded. Your partner learns a thing or two about concealing emotions as well. While Julian is indeed far different from your mother, I don't believe you should be worried. Besides, I doubt he'd be willing to leave you alone after that incident." he said. That said, he pulled off his gloves and handed them to Daniel. "Now go on. Your deadline is tomorrow night. Don't forget to check the weather."

 

[Mayah Playah]

"Yes, Father." Daniel nodded, taking the gloves and looking down at them. He remembered being a child and seeing these gloves for the first time, his adopted father, then just a kind but quiet detective, taking his hand and leading him away from the horrific life he'd known. Little did he know how much blood had touched these simple gloves, nor that he would one day be expected to take them up. Sometimes he wished he could go back to those days when life was so simple and his hands were tiny against the gargantuan hands meant to fit inside these gloves, but it was too late now. This was his life, his destiny.
Taking a deep breath, Daniel tucked the gloves into his pocket before turning and disappearing into the weapons room to stock up for that night. It wouldn't be hard to kill the man, but he always liked to be prepared.

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Mayah Playah

Six-thirty in the afternoon. A tired man looking to be in his late forties, with early wrinkles to show, stepped out of the school building. He looked up at the colorful sky then down to the nearly empty parking lot, all with the same bleak eyes. The sooner he got home the sooner he could finish grading all those God-awful papers.
He had made it three steps down the stairs when he heard his name called out in a frilly voice. Turning halfheartedly, he saw a girl student hurrying over to him.
"Going home already, Mr. Waschek?" she asked eagerly as she laced her fingers behind her back.
"Uh..." was all the teacher could offer in reply. Who was this one again? He lost track of them all. All with the same style and same uniform and same academic grades. The only thing different about her was that she was still here.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Footsteps echoed behind the pair, a large hand appearing out of nowhere and clamping on to the student's shoulder. "Now, now, Jenny," started a deep, masculine voice. "Mr. Waschek is very tired, he's had a very long day. It wouldn't do for you to be bothering him. Run along home, I'm sure your father's wondering what you're doing out so late after school." The man smile, dark eyes sparkling behind glasses and handsome face lit perfectly by the slowly-setting sun.
He waited until the girl left, waving goodbye, before chuckling and rubbing the back of his neck. "It's great to see you again, sir," he said, dark hair ruffled gently by the wind. "It's been some time. In fact, I've been so busy subbing Miss Eisen's class, I haven't seen you in weeks." He traded hands with his papers, reaching up his free hand to adjust his glasses.

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Mayah Playah

Something crossed the girl's face when the man grabbed her shoulder, it was a mixture between infatuation and unease. She looked back at the teacher quickly before being ushered out, forced to watch from a distance as Mr. Waschek glanced at the fellow teacher with confusion. Who was that man? She had never seen him in her life! Something glittered across her eyes. Was it possible...? Pursing her lips in thought, she turned around and hurried off.

Meanwhile, Mr. Waschek raised an eyebrow at the man. "Miss Eisen...? Oh! Yes, that's right. I've been so busy with midterms that I forgot she left. Ah, I'm sorry, but your name seems to have escaped me..." he said with an apologetic smile.

 

[Mayah Playah]

"Ah, Sluder," he reminded with a kind smile. "There's so many people here, I understand forgetting my name." He started to walk slowly, initiating the movement and setting the pace. "How's your wife? I think I saw her the other day at the market, but she seemed to have forgotten me as well."

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