Antonio talked about two spies and how they died, saying one of his men had crushed one of their skulls without mercy.
Casemiro thought that Steven and Lucas were the ones who died, as expected…
But now—
Lucas was standing in front of him, smiling.
He tried to process it.
Antonio wiped his mouth and laughed:
"He's a good man… but don't give him a shovel."
He kept laughing.
Lucas stole a glance forward—
Carl was there, watching them.
In fact… everyone was watching.
Half of them didn't understand what Antonio was talking about.
Casemiro excused himself and left with Antonio.
At that moment—
Gene turned toward Miguel… but he wasn't there. He had disappeared.
Lucas felt a light drowsiness,
He took out his phone to check the time…
But—
Carl stopped in front of him.
He looked at her.
A slight shiver ran through his body.
She was too close… closer than necessary.
He looked at her smooth skin, then into her eyes.
She said:
"I didn't know you were that close to Antonio."
He looked back at Antonio, then returned his gaze to her:
"I'm not close to him… I don't know anything about him. We haven't talked since that day."
She smiled:
"I know that, I hate—"
She suddenly put her hand over her mouth,
Raised her eyebrows.
(Again… she did it again…)
Lucas laughed inwardly.
(Her gestures… they're… nice.)
After a moment—
He actually laughed out loud.
He didn't remember the last time he laughed like this.
Then—
Silence.
His expression changed.
He looked down.
Carl noticed.
A heavy silence hung between them.
"Lucas…"
He lifted his head and looked at her.
"Are you hungry?"
He smiled lightly:
"Yes."
Even though he had eaten not long ago…
He didn't understand why he suddenly felt hungry.
She lifted her hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear:
"I know a restaurant… you won't believe how good their food is."
They left the headquarters together.
He asked her:
"Where's this restaurant?"
"Close by. Come on, let's take the car, we'll get there quickly."
Her car was small… pink.
And on the hood—
A sticker of Billie Eilish.
She leaned slightly toward Lucas:
"Do you like Billie Eilish?"
He looked at her in surprise, shaking his head:
"Honestly… I don't know her."
She froze for a moment, then put her hand on her head:
"Wow… you don't know Billie Eilish? Did you just come out of a hole?"
He put his hand behind his neck, embarrassed.
She laughed:
"I'm just joking."
They got in the car and drove off.
—
On the other side of the street…
There was a car.
Watching them.
Then it moved.
Following quietly.
The driver—
Casemiro.
Watching… silently.
—
Inside the car—
Carl played one of Billie Eilish's songs,
And started singing along.
She swayed side to side,
Enjoying the drive.
Lucas didn't know what to do.
He just…
Smiled.
He began looking at her.
He liked seeing her like this… enjoying herself.
She suddenly turned to him:
"What do you think? Amazing, right?"
He kept looking at her admiringly, then said:
"Yes… amazing."
She parked next to the restaurant.
She gestured excitedly:
"This is the restaurant."
His expression changed.
He felt anxious… uneasy.
They got out and entered the restaurant.
They chose a table and sat down.
But—
Lucas remained silent.
He just stared at the table in front of him.
Carl felt something strange…
A hidden sadness seeping from him.
She swallowed and said:
"What's wrong? Don't you like the place?"
He scratched his head and gave a small, tense smile:
"I don't know… suddenly… I feel a deep… heavy sadness… but I don't know why."
He paused, then continued:
"All of this… started when I saw this restaurant."
There was something…
Missing.
A piece of the picture…
Something didn't fit.
He was sure—
He hadn't been to this place before.
But…
Why did he feel this discomfort?
As if—
He had… done something here.
Her voice came, soft… warm:
"Lucas…"
He lifted his eyes to her.
She smiled gently:
"Let's make beautiful memories here… so all the bad things disappear."
Her words…
Were like snow on an open wound.
They eased the pain… but didn't erase it.
He kept looking at her—
At her black hair, lightly reflecting the light.
They ordered food.
Lucas started eating.
He ate half of his plate… then stopped.
He couldn't eat more.
"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"
He wiped his mouth with a napkin:
"No… it's delicious."
Then he smiled lightly:
"But… I've reached my limit."
He laughed a little:
"Actually… I ate before I came."
She smiled faintly—
But she wasn't paying attention to the food.
She was just looking at him.
She placed her hand under her chin,
And continued staring at him.
Lucas felt embarrassed by her gaze.
"Did you like the food?"
"Yes…"
Then she said:
"Tell me a little about yourself."
—
Silence.
Lucas looked at his plate.
His expression… calm.
"What do you want to know?"
Carl laughed:
"Is this your first date?"
Then she started listing:
"How old are you?
Where were you before joining the organization?
Do you have a family?
And what's your goal in joining?"
—
Inside him—
Images flashed.
An office…
The FBI logo.
Then—
A woman…
His wife… with another man.
A little girl…
Running toward him.
Then—
A voice.
An agent… named Jimmy.
A mission… to catch three of the seniors.
And the leader's identity.
—
He returned to reality.
He lifted his head coldly.
"Lucas… 30 years old."
He put the napkin on the table.
"No family… no friends."
Carl kept looking into his eyes—
Without blinking.
"As for why I joined the organization…"
He placed his right hand on the table,
Tapped twice with his finger:
"Money… and power."
—
Silence.
But—
Carl wasn't convinced.
She looked at his hand…
Then at his eyes.
She sensed emptiness in his words.
Something… untruthful.
She reached out,
Gently touched his hand.
"Liar."
Then she leaned back in her chair:
"When you're ready… you can tell me."
—
Lucas froze for a moment.
He couldn't believe…
She could see inside him.
But he said:
"Why would I lie? This is reality."
She took a green olive from her plate,
And put it in her mouth.
"Hmm…"
She kept looking at him, chewing slowly.
Her gaze…
Confused him.
He felt something strange inside.
Tension…
And attraction.
As if—
At any moment…
He might lose control… and get closer to her than he should.
Lucas tried to push that thought away.
He spoke with a tense tone:
"What about you?"
Carl sighed,
Wiping her hand with a napkin.
"Carl… 27 years old.
I love listening to music while driving…"
She glanced slightly to the left, then continued:
"And I love swimming."
She paused, then said:
"I don't have a family… only one brother."
She lifted her eyes to him:
"You know him… in the organization. Harry."
—
He didn't let her continue.
He raised his hand, cutting her off quickly,
Unable to hide the surprise on his face:
"Harry… your brother?"
She leaned slightly closer to the table,
And calmly answered:
"Yes. You're not the first to be surprised… I'm used to that."
—
Lucas looked toward the window.
(That addict… her brother?)
(Looks like a vampire.)
He laughed inwardly with slight sarcasm.
Then he turned back to her:
"Okay… and why did you join the organization?"
—
This question…
Aroused his curiosity intensely.
A girl like Carl—
Kind, calm, not seeming like she belongs to this world…
So what is she doing here?
—
Silence.
Not a word came from her mouth.
Lucas understood he had touched something he shouldn't have.
He smiled, trying to lighten the mood:
"How about we step outside for a bit? Get some fresh air."
But—
She spoke.
With difficulty.
"A year after I graduated from university…
my father… disappeared suddenly."
She was looking at the floor…
as if her memories were playing before her eyes.
"And after a while…
men from the Rock Star organization came."
She slowly lifted her eyes:
"They told my brother and me… that my father had run off with their money."
—
The picture began to form in Lucas's mind.
"Seems… he was working with them.
And he ran off with an amount…"
She paused for a moment, then said:
"One million three hundred thousand dollars."
She laughed lightly…
A hollow laugh:
"An amount you only see in dreams."
—
Her expression changed.
As if something was suffocating her from inside.
She took a deep breath, with difficulty:
"And as I expected…
they told us we would pay the price."
Lucas listened intently…
So much so, he felt as if he were inside the story.
"I went to the police…
then to the courts…"
Her lips dried, her words heavy:
"But… nothing changed."
"I lost money… time… and all hope."
—
She paused for a moment.
Then continued:
"In the end…
my brother made a deal with them."
She raised the napkin, her hands trembling:
"We work with them… and repay the debt."
—
Her hands kept trembling.
Lucas tried to calm her,
But she… wouldn't stop.
As if she wanted to release everything at once.
"At that moment… I understood something."
She slowly lifted her head, her eyes shining:
"Neither the police… nor the courts…
can save you…"
Her voice lowered—
A broken whisper:
"From a bullet… aimed at your head."
—
She had reached her limit.
Suddenly, she stood up.
Placed the napkin on her face.
"Sorry…"
A tearful tone.
Then—
She rushed toward the restroom.
—
Lucas remained in his place.
Silent.
Understanding.
He understood well.
After graduation…
Life is supposed to begin.
Work…
Future…
Dreams.
But—
All of that… was stolen from her.
Because of a mistake… not hers.
(Children… are not guilty of their parents' sins.)
—
He sighed.
Looked at the table in front of him.
(An organization like Rock Star…
shows no mercy.)
(Even after your death…
it will exploit you.)
"Arthur…"
—
Lucas froze in place.
A voice… from behind him.
Calling him by his real name.
He felt as if he were sinking into a swamp…
Slowly.
He didn't turn.
The voice came closer:
"Arthur…"
—
He finally turned.
An elderly woman.
Her face was unfamiliar…
He had never seen her before.
But—
How does she know his name?
He asked cautiously:
"Arthur… who?"
She quickly raised her hand apologetically:
"Sorry… I thought you were someone else."
Then she moved toward the waitress, starting to speak with her.
—
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief.
(But… how did she call me by name?)
(And this feeling… when I entered the restaurant… is it related?)
—
He sank into his thoughts.
Then—
Someone sat in front of him.
He slowly lifted his head.
"How are you?"
—
Casemiro.
He was looking around, calmly… as if on a casual stroll.
Lucas frowned:
"What do you want? Didn't you say we should pretend not to know each other?"
Casemiro tilted his head in agreement:
"You're right…"
Then he smiled lightly:
"But now… Antonio introduced us officially."
—
Lucas started biting his lips, then said:
"So… you're the one who killed Steven?"
Lucas looked toward the restroom, where Carl had gone:
"No. Antonio killed him… I killed someone else."
Casemiro laughed:
"Ah… so you took advantage of the situation."
—
Lucas's tone changed:
"Just tell me… what do you want."
—
Casemiro reached out, taking a piece of food from the plate.
"Delicious… your girlfriend knows how to choose."
—
Lucas swallowed hard.
Anger began to cover his face.
(He's threatening me…)
—
Casemiro deliberately sucked his finger, teasingly.
Then said:
"When you finish your nice dinner with your girlfriend…"
He nodded his eyes toward the outside:
"You'll find me in my car."
Lucas looked through the glass—
Casemiro's car was there.
—
At that moment—
Carl returned from the restroom.
She suddenly stopped when she saw Casemiro:
"Mr. Casemiro… what are you doing here?"
He stood, smiling:
"Just a greeting."
Then he looked at her:
"And now… I'll leave."
—
And as he left—
He passed behind her…
Looking at her body.
He licked his lips.
—
Lucas's body stiffened.
Anger… ignited inside him.
—
Carl sat down, staring at him.
Before she could speak—
He quickly said:
"Sorry… I have to go. I remembered something important."
Tension was clear in his voice… in his movements.
She also stood:
"Alright… sorry if I burdened you with my story."
He shook his head:
"No… you didn't."
Then added quietly:
"I'm glad you told me."
—
They left the restaurant.
"Come on, I'll take you home."
She smiled gently:
"No need… I have a place I want to go."
She leaned slightly… whispering playfully:
"My love?"
He put his hand in his pocket, speaking lightly:
"Someone like me? Has a girlfriend? I barely go out with a beautiful girl like you."
—
He coughed shyly after saying that.
She laughed.
—
He kept looking at her laughing.
Feeling satisfied…
At least—
He managed to change her mood.
—
She approached him.
Leaning up slightly—
She kissed his cheek.
"See you later."
—
He smiled as he waved goodbye.
Then—
The voice.
"Believe me, Arthur… if I had a mouth, I'd vomit from this disgusting scene."
—
His expression changed instantly.
It became cold.
"If you had a mouth… I'd smash it."
—
Before he could move—
Carl stopped.
She looked toward the other side of the street.
A car.
—
Casemiro's car.
—
She remembered the tension inside the restaurant…
His gaze…
His actions.
And now—
Waiting outside?
(This… is not a coincidence.)
—
She left.
But doubt… remained with her.
—
As for Lucas—
He crossed the street slowly.
Walked toward the car.
Stood next to the window.
—
Casemiro looked at him… from inside.
Smiled.
And said:
"Get in the car… Arthur."