Page 12 of The King

"You were simply being a big brother and messing with your little sister," she snorted sarcastically. "I expected nothing less." With a quick wink, she quickly schooled her features and pointed at the screen directly before her. "Oh, and not only do you have the best tech money can't even buy, but you also have a monstrosity of a desk that holds it all and the millions of printouts and still gives me room for all my sticky notes."

Nodding as he took in the rainbow of large and small square and rectangle notes stuck to his desk, lamp, vase, and phone, Max couldn't help but chuckle, "I do love to watch you work."

“Yeah, well, enough of the watchin’. Time to get your hands dirty, Bro.”

Taking off his jacket and hanging it on the wooden hanger on the hook of his coat tree, the King rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and pushed a chair closer to the front of his desk. Walking to the door when he heard footsteps ascending the stairs, Max smiled when it opened to reveal his second-in-command and best friend since childhood, Juan Carlos.

Seeing the tray filled with coffee, tea, sandwiches, cut vegetables, and homemade peanut butter cookies, Max snickered, "Look here Sophia, we have a new waiter."

"Ha, ha, ha," the Golden Panther Shifter and Lieutenant to the entire Big Cat Pride, Juan Carlos Moreno grumbled, trying to hide the smile that made the muscle in the side of his mouth quiver. "Consuela is so excited that you're both here. She's cooking a feast. I was out back when you called, so I used the kitchen door. I didn't even get it closed before she was shoving this tray in my hands and telling me to, 'Vamos, vamos.'"

Going right, he walked towards the credenza and added, “So, here I am.” Setting the tray on the mahogany surface, he poured a glass of iced tea and grabbed a sandwich before turning back to Max and smiling. “Besides, you know how I love Consuela’s tuna salad. I don’t know what she puts in here, but it’s damn good.”

"Catnip," Sophia offhandedly commented, even as her eyes stayed on the middle monitor and her fingers danced over the keyboard so quickly that they were little more than a blur.

“Yeah, well, let’s hear it for catnip,” Juan Carlos gave a mock cheer before stuffing the last of the sandwich into his mouth.

“Are you hungry, Sophia?” Max asked as he walked towards the food.

"Not really, but I would rather chew on some of those baby carrots than the end of this pen. Do you mind?"

“Not at all.”

"Oh, and can I have a fresh tea? This one…" She pointed at the glass pushed to the side with barely colored water, a lemon that had seen better days, and a smudge of her favorite nude lipstick on the rim. "Well, the ice melted a couple of hours ago, and that poor lemon slice is begging for a proper burial."

Chuckling as he made Sophia's tea and a cup of black coffee for himself, Max put a handful of baby carrots on a plate along with two of Consuela's famous peanut butter cookies and headed to his chair. With the plate atop his mug, he carefully and strategically placed the refreshments on the desktop, careful not to disturb Sophia's work, and finally took a seat.

Getting a cookie from the plate, he also picked up the pile of papers his sister pointed to. It always amazed him how Sophia could work, eat, and carry on a conversation simultaneously. Leaning back, Max placed his left ankle on his right knee, took a sip of his coffee, and started to read.

Page after page detailed the numerous business dealings, holdings, and bank accounts left behind by the notorious founder of the most recent iteration of the Hunter movement. Sworn to eradicate all things Shifter because he believed a Dragon Guardsman had killed his mother when he was a child, it didn't take Tariq O'Baoill and his deranged and murderous twins – Eve and Adam – to expand their operation.

Using their impressive network of Hunters to capture and detain not only Shifters but also any other Magical Being, they set up horrific torture chambers all over the world in the name of science. Any and all of the Paranormal Entities they imprisoned were poked, probed, and prodded. They were experimented on, electrocuted, drained of their life and dignity, and used in the most ghastly and gruesome ways imaginable.

Thankfully, Tariq was taken out early in the war against the O’Baoill League of Hunters. Unfortunately, his evil twins were still at the helm.

Chasing them all over the world, Max, his Pride, the Dragons, the Clan of the Sun, the Earthen Witches, and many others took down facility after facility, saved countless Others, and, along the way, got rid of Eve and Adam. No, killing them had not been the ultimate goal. Max and the Dragon Guard Leaders wanted to capture the diabolical twins and get vital information to take down their entire network.

“But the idiots refused to be taken alive,”Casimiro snarled."Still, we found all the facilities, saved our Paranormal brothers and sisters, and put an end to the O'Baoills."

“Did we?”

“No, you can’t think…”

“That is exactly what he's thinkin', Cass," Sophia answered aloud.

“Dear Sister, have we not talked about you listening to my thoughts and mental conversations without permission?”

“Yes, and we also talked about you working harder to shield your thoughts when you’re worried or angry.” Finally looking up, she shrugged and winked. “Besides, it’s nothing you haven’t already told me. How did Cass miss the memo?”

“I was busy with another task, Muñeca,” the Panther King with whom Max shared his soul mentally responded to everyone in the room.“We all have our jobs to do.”

"Wow," Sophia feigned being impressed. "You called me 'doll'. You must've really been busy. You usually call me 'brat' or something equally sarcastic yet endearing."

"Only because I love you." Not waiting for a response, Casimiro added, "And yes, I was incredibly busy."

"Alright, you two," Max interrupted their banter. "While I enjoy your playful chit-chats, we have more pressing matters."

“Yes, we do,” Sophia quickly responded. Eyes wide with a baby carrot between her lips and her fingers once again flying over the keyboard, she went on. “And I think I just found something.”

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