Apparition (Vento Aureo x Reader)

Only Crippling Anxiety Keeps Me From Murder

"You...!" Mr. Gaps begane, but quickly silenced himself. (Y/N) glanced at him, eyebrows narrowing. He knew something, but it was obvious he wouldn't say. That gaze... was very intense though. "You.... have very beautiful eyes."

"... Thank you for the compliment. But shouldn't we get back on track?" He knew something, he knew something, he knew something, he knew something. And she didn't want to know what it was. She didn't recognize him, he shouldn't recognize her. So why, why why why did his soul say different? It was wrong. Her predictions were a little rough, but they were never wrong. "I'd like to keep the topic on what I came here for. Professionalism, please."

"Yes. Of course." Her comment was largely ignored. "Then tell me what you are looking for. I hand select from a wide variety, so I do need a list of criteria."

"Hm... How are the conditions they are housed in?" Of course, she had no list of criteria, or any clue of how to bullshit one, but she could bullshit on other things. This was fine. This was fine! Fuck, she didn't like this. The atmosphere was wrong. Did she overestimate herself? No, it was too late to wimp out now. She had to stall for a few hours. "How good are you at reading them?"

"I can tell enough to keep them alive." The man scowled, obviously not pleased with the questions. This wasn't an interview, for christ's sake, this was an order. "Why does it matter? What is the intended use for my high end client?"

"Can you access their background and medical history?" She pressed, eyes narrowing. "The foundation expects the best of the best."

"Then why did you come to me? There must be a reason you just jumped in a random car, certainly it wasn't because you just got lucky. Sure, I can tell you're from Naples with your accent, so you must just be close by, but there must be another reason..." Their suspicions grew, and her stomach churned. Her face did not reflect her terror, hidden behind the steely, professional gaze she wore.

"...Why are you so positive I'm the only one they've sent?" She huffed, checking her nails before crossing her legs again. "The Foundation doesn't take chances, Sir. They will not risk their reputation searching for sellers. We are just the stand ins, we search on their behalf and buy on their behalf. I might be affiliated with the group, but I am not their employee. How I found you does not matter, the only thing that matters, wouldn't you say, is results?"

"... Fine then. But you still haven't answered by question. What are you looking for?"

"You still haven't answered mine either." She spat, possibly a little more passive aggressive than she should have been. Think, think, think! What could they possibly recruit random strangers for... wait... recruit... wasn't she recruited off the streets? "... Test subjects."

This wasn't the answer they were expecting. Perplexed, Mr. Gaps leaned forward, fingers entwined as a glimmer of intrigue lured him forward. "Test subjects, him? Well, I have heard that the organization that was so fueled by science and logic... dabbled in the supernatural."

"Well, most rumors do have some layer of truth behind them. I couldn't tell you what these tests are, of course, but we still need to ensure all the proper information and data we can get." She bit back her worry, calculating the time it would take for them to come. "How long will this take, do you think?"

"Again, depends on what you are searching for, how many you want, and everything else." He waved his hand, glancing at the table between them. Tapping his cane on the ground in thought, he smiled at her. "It may take a while, may I interest you in some wine?"

She watched him lift up a glass she hadn't noticed before, the sharp scent of alcohol permeating the air from a freshly opened bottle. Was it poisoned? Were they thinking of targeting her after she fudged up and said that she wasn't actually an employee? Were they thinking of selling her? Nonono, she had to stop that. Whipping out her phone, she quickly dialed the number they had used just for this "No. I'll pass, I need to make a phone call."

"... Of course." He leaned back, using the tip of his cane to hook the handle of the extra cup and fling it into the surprised arms of his subordinate, who juggled it unsuccessfully before it clattered on the floor with a loud crash. Frozen in his spot in the corner, Antonio gently sweeped the shattered glass under the table with his shoe.

"..."

"... You were supposed to catch that."

"Sorry."

"Shhh! I'm on the phone!" (Y/N) shushed, dismissing their conversation to listen to her phonecall. "Mhmm, yea. I'm ordering right now, yep. A large variety?"

"Are you ordering food-"

"No, the foundation wants a bunch of different ones. Random ages and backgrounds and stuff, so they can run multiple tests." She waved them off, ending the call once they pinned her location and were in place. In actuality, they were already situated around the area, watching them with bated breath for the signal.

"Multiple tests on what, exactly...? If I may ask?" No, he didn't care about the wellbeing of his stock, he couldn't care less about them. He didn't know anything about their lives except the fact that it had gone to high hell. Their supplier was the one with the information after all, and even then, the supplier took them from families so deep into their crippling debt, they sold off the people around them to be free of it. Sometimes you get someone who sold themselves, or a gullible immigrant, but of course, as was human trafficking. But what were they being tested for? The Speedwagon foundation was one of the revolutionary leaders in scientific development, but for all he knew, there was no pharmaceutical faction, so it couldn't be testing out vaccines or cures or anything like that. But... perhaps... the supernatural, as the rumors have stated? Were they trying to test Stands? Well, this woman really might not know then, there were hardly many female stand users, after all. "I have to say, this has piqued my interest... it's a shame you're not a formal representative, I would love to strike a deal with such a large and influential company."

"Are you not a representative yourself? Or at least, the manager of this fine establishment?" (Y/N) tried not to make it seem like she was prying too much, but she still had to get a sense of who he was. His position in the Family was definitely higher than most. But Antonio was much higher than a simple foot soldier, even more than a Capo, perhaps. But seeing the way he conducted himself, she really doubted it. Either way, he was higher than at least... a foot soldier. So then... what was Mr. Gaps?

-+-

Finals are back and finals are a bitch

Like what the fuck is a mitochondria I don't care about that shit