- WhiteBird -

- Chapter Twenty Seven - Arturo and Abraxas Part 2

Casey sat as still as a statue at Arturo Long's endlessly long and lavish dining room table. The house was endlessly large, and decorated with woodsy American decor.

Casey was now dressed in clean clothes, leather cowboy boots, faded jeans, and a blue button down plaid shirt. The white cowboy hat offered to him sat untouched on the table, just an arms length away. Arturo sat at the opposite end of the table, looking quite small with the distance between them.

He sat with his hands delicately folded on the carved mahogany table, patiently waiting for Casey to muster some kind of strength to utter a word, but there was a hot iron in Casey's throat that no endless swallowing could make disappear. Arturo gave no indication that he was annoyed with his son's prolonged silence.

Casey shifted ever so slightly, an uncomfortable heat settling on his skin. Now that he had the audience of his father, there was nothing he could find to say, the endless options caught his tongue like a mouse trap, making it impossible for him to speak.

Just when the silence became too long to bear, another man stepped respectfully in the dining room, hands clasped tightly behind his back. He was dressed very similar to Casey, only his boots and hat were decorated heavily with a solid blue aqua stone, that made Casey inadvertently cringe with style choice. There was a .38 blued revolver holstered to his hip, but his hands were clasped high on his back, as if they even rested near the gun, his life might be ended from the indicated disrespect to Arturo.

The iron in Casey's throat became a little hotter, and the heat travelled down to his chest, searing like hot coals.

Arturo looked over at the man with slow movements, the pleasant look on his face dropped into an annoyance that made Casey feel bad for the man before them. He was young, carefully groomed, and tall, but his features did not change as he dipped his head in respect.

"I apologize for the interruption sir." The young man said. "I came to inform you of important matters when you have the time."

Casey watched as the man retightened the grip he had on his own hands, and his Adam Apple bobbed slightly.

"Anything said to me can be said in the company of my son" Arturo smiled, once again returning his gaze to Casey, which made him squirm with unease.

"Yes sir. Raoul has made some transactions in Sole, our men have spotted his gang within the city limits in the early morning hours. I believe sir he has not left since the attack on your son."

Casey's ears peaked at this conversation, not in excitement, but in fear. Fear of the endless unknown shrouding the man he knew as his father.

Arturo did not seem much fazed by this announcement, and instead shooed the man away with a flick of his fingers.

The man turned on his heels and exited the large room, hands never leaving their bond behind his back.

"Come with me son." Arturo said, standing from his large leathered dining chair.

Casey stood, biting his lip with a shaky breath, and followed his father through the large home, where armed men stood watching with an emotionless gaze. As they passed a large window that looked out upon the street Casey could just see the taillights as Kitt sat waiting outside. Only for a moment did he allow his heart to ache at the thought that it might be Karr.

They came to pause in a large open room with desk, lounge chairs, and couches. It looked like Arturo's office, and Caseys suspicions were confirmed as he sat carefully at the large wooden desk.

"I am a business man" Arturo explained, gesturing Casey to sit in one of the large chairs before the desk. "I pride myself on not being a thief but an investor of those less fortunate. Desperate times create desperate people, and desperate people need money. That's where I come into the play."