Sharpshooter

Chapter Three

Klaus and Aydri headed toward Klaus’s home. Currently, they were in Ayr, the most metropolitan area of Faing. Klaus pressed a button on his cell phone and put it up to his ear.
“Who’re you calling?” Aydri asked. Klaus put the phone on speaker.
“Ezekiel Artemis Cross, also known as Zeke, codename Ace. He’s the best mechanic I could ask for.” The phone gave a final ring.
“Hullo?” The voice on the other end of the line said sleepily.
“Hey Zeke, Klaus here, hold on, I’ll put you on hologram.” Hologram was recently added to the newer versions of celebrity phones. Since Klaus’s family was rich, he could afford a lot better technology than most. Klaus pressed a button, and a full body hologram appeared before them. Zeke, as it seemed in the hologram, looked like he had taken a bath in machine oil. His dark red hair and exotic green eyes gave him a confident energy that made him seem like he could take on any challenge. He was wearing a black and red striped polo t-shirt that seemed to match his hair. His faded and torn jeans had stains of brown oil in various places. The stains, however, seemed to suit him, after all, he was a mechanic.
“Is that Aydri?” He said, motioning to me.
“Yeah, who’d you think I was?”
“Jeez, don’t get all snippy with me, girl.” He flashed a perfectly dazzling smile.
“What-ever, tee-tee-why-ell.” She said in a valley girl voice.
“Well, could you meet us at my place with your stuff? We’re heading out soon.”
“Roger that.” The hologram went blank, and then flashed the words “call ended”.

Klaus’s house was built like a 15th century castle, ornate and polished, yet mysteriously intriguing. A Victorian style gate surrounded the Gabriel Manor, making it seem slightly eerie; the extensive forest shielding any ounce of sunlight from the area didn’t help this fact. Aydri wondered if this was why Klaus was so pale, although he claimed it was genetic.
Klaus unlocked the front gate and stepped inside the garden. Aydri followed him as they weaved through the rose bushes and assorted flowers. Klaus and Aydri ascended the marble stairs and the old gate clattered shut behind them. The front door was made of black oak, which matched the dark grey and silver of the manor. Klaus pushed open the doors and escorted Aydri inside his home. A large staircase wound before them, and numerous hallways branched off from the foyer.
“Klaus? Is that you, dear?” A voice echoes from one of the distant hallways.
“Yes, Mother, Aydri’s here too.” He called. Klaus’s mother walked into the room. Despite the stereotype, that rich people are snotty and stuck up, Klaus’s mother was immensely kind, and she never yelled. She dressed casually, even though she could spend millions of dollars and yet still have enough to buy a yacht. Today she wore skinny jeans and a green cashmere sweater with her stiletto high-heels. Even though her hair has slight grey streaks in it, she still looked about nineteen.
“I’m leaving to pick up the triplets. So be responsible while I’m gone.” She said while reaching for her designer coat.
“Okay.” He replied. Mrs. Gabriel exited, blowing each of them a kiss. Klaus had seven brothers, and he was the youngest child.
“It’s amazing how she keeps track of you all.” Aydri muttered, “I can barely do it.”
“Yeah I know, the quadruplets, the triplets, then me, the only one born alone.” He let out a sigh.
They walked down the hallway to the kitchen, passing the family display cases. There were four on each side, bearing each child’s name. They passed Uri’s case, followed by Lex, Daniel, and Tobias, the quadruplets. Then, the triplets, Judas, Xander, and Fang, whose real name was Vincent. Each case was adorned with trophies for sports and academic achievements. Klaus stopped at his, and Aydri continued to the kitchen. He stared longingly at his nameplate, which read “Klaus Alexander Gabriel.” His case was bare, except for a baby picture in the center. His eyes were dark blue, not yet violet, and he was half-naked and holding a daisy.
Yep, he was the portrait of manliness.
He wasn’t terribly embarrassed by it, but he hadn’t had a proper photo of himself to fill its place. Well, one that wasn’t with Aydri. The two of them were nearly inseparable. Eventually he would ask his mom to replace it with any photo where he wasn’t holding flowers.
Or Naked.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked into the kitchen. Lex was talking to Aydri, Daniel juggling apples and Tobi trying to snatch one from him. Uri was surprisingly nowhere to be found. It was surprising considering the quadruplets hardly went anywhere without each other, even to the bathroom. Klaus had considered that they were meant to be girls before they were born.
Klaus had started to walk over to Aydri, when something clapped him on the shoulders.
“Hey, Baby Brother!” Uri said, ruffling Klaus’s hair. Klaus stood, paralyzed with shock.
“Wh-what… the…HELL WAS THAT FOR?!” Klaus yelled.
“Now, now, don’t be such a potty mouth.” Uri smirked.
“Shut up before I punch you and ruin your cosmetic surgery.”
“You broke my nose last time.” Uri growled, “You’re lucky I didn’t rearrange your face.”
“You wouldn’t want to ruin your manicure, would you?” Klaus purred.
Uri cursed under his breath and turned around. Klaus had gotten much better at countering his verbal attacks, and his physical ones. Soon he’d be the strongest in the family. Uri was strangely proud of him.
“So Aydri, are you and Klausey dating?” Lex said, loud enough for Klaus to hear.
“He loooooves you.” Daniel said, still keeping the apples away from Tobi.
“Yeah, you guys are cute together—Damnit, Daniel, just gimme the fricken apple!” Tobi said.
“Okay, all you had to do was ask.” Daniel said, putting them down on the table. Daniel was an easygoing person, and he was the most optimistic of the family. Uri, being the oldest, was responsible, but sometimes bossy. He always had a girly side to him, but he hid it well in public. Tobi was normally a sweet and caring individual, but when he got mad, which was rare, he got mad. Lex was, well, Lex. He was a mix of emotions, sometimes dark, and other times wild and carefree. Together, they were pleasant to be around, and very entertaining, especially when they ganged up on Klaus.
Klaus put on his best sulking face and crossed his arms.
“Here, let’s go upstairs.” Aydri said, “We can wait for Zeke there.”
“Fine.” Klaus said. Aydri walked out of the kitchen, headed for the steps, Klaus trudged behind her.
“Man, they are REALLY going to get it this time,” thought Klaus.