When the door opened with a squeaking sound, Gabriel didn't flinch, and his gentle smile didn't falter, either. He sat on the wooden chair with his chin held high, seemingly unbothered by the restraints. His ankles had been tightly bound with layers of grey tape to the legs of the chair, keeping his legs parted and firmly secured, while his arms were tied behind the backrest. He couldn't move an inch but didn't appear all that worried about it.
It was the image he chose to present to the newcomer, whose expression was impossible to decipher behind the Pierrot mask. Still, Gabriel could feel his annoyance.
Silence stretched for minutes until it became evident that Gabriel had no intention of reacting in any way to the man's presence. He wasn't trying to evade Pierrot's stare, nor did he bat an eye when the man drew closer. He wasn't startled either when Pierrot grabbed his collar to lift him as high as possible, considering the restraints, and slid a gloved hand in the back pocket of his pants, retrieving the phone that had been recording everything. He turned it off.
"Couldn't they have at least checked your pockets before shoving you inside the car?" Pierrot clicked his tongue, talking to himself more than anything, as he let go of Gabriel, whose butt fell back on the hard chair with a thud.
To the man's comment, Gabriel responded with a shrug.
When his abductors asked for his phone, he gave them his work phone and kept his personal one out of reach, which was of the same model. Camille, in her frenzied state induced by drugs, didn't notice the switch, and the recording proceeded without a hitch. His compliant and frightened behavior at the time had comforted the thugs that he wouldn't try to pull the wool over their eyes, especially with the threat of being stabbed to death if he didn't behave.
Gabriel had been very obedient, although deep down, he was baffled by how unprepared and unprofessional the group was. He had more than one opportunity to flee; he simply chose not to grab them.
'Well, that should take care of Camille and her family for a while,' Gabriel thought, certain that his brother had recorded everything on his side, too.
In all honesty, Gabriel didn't know what kind of sentence they would receive for kidnapping, but they should be stuck behind bars for a moment at least. He'd make sure to get an ordinance against Camille, too, and keep her away from Masha and his friends. And this time, the cops were going to be involved, regardless of Matthew's thoughts on the matter. Gabriel wanted to get that unpredictable variable out of the way as soon as possible, and since Camille was so kind as to offer the opportunity on a silver platter, who was he not to seize it?
But before that…
"How about removing that mask?"
"How about getting rid of that fake smile?"
Another moment of silence befell them. Then, Gabriel's smile faded, replaced by a stoic and cold expression. There was no warmth left in his emerald eyes; only a deep indifference.
"That's better," Pierrot commented as he took off his mask, his chocolate eyes landing on Gabriel with a hint of amusement.
So, that was what his little brother would look like in about two decades. There might be some differences, as they weren't growing up in the same conditions, considering Tristan's diet and physical activities were different from Pierrot's at the same age, but the facial structure should be relatively the same. Eating well and exercising regularly wouldn't change the bone structure much, if at all.
Pierrot's face had some similarities with Jake's, too. The shape of the nose, for example, was alike, and their lips were thin, although he had the light freckles that only Tristan had inherited in the family. Pierrot also had his mother's almond-shaped eyes, whereas Jake had much more piercing eyes, like his father's.
Nevertheless, his similarities to his siblings stirred up an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach, but Gabriel quickly subdued it. That man was no brother of his.
Unbothered by his captive's scrutiny, Pierrot took another chair and dragged it in front of him to sit face-to-face with Gabriel. Their knees were only a few inches away, and the distance between them was too short for Gabriel's comfort, but he didn't voice out his displeasure; it wasn't like it mattered, anyway.
"So, I don't remember you being this reckless."
"Misha's influence, I'd say."
"Is that so?" Pierrot smiled, his index finger tapping his thigh in a steady rhythm. "You do know that your father will most likely not comply with my employer's demands, right?"
Gabriel didn't answer.
"Which also means that I'll have to demonstrate how serious we are, if only for show. Boss's orders, I hope you understand. So, finger, or eye? Which do you prefer?"
"I'd rather keep both," Gabriel responded, his voice even.
Again, they stared at each other without speaking. Pierrot ultimately sighed. There was no point in turning around the bush with this one. It might have been another story if Misha had been in the room, but Gabriel, alone, was too rational and uncaring. Mind games wouldn't work on him. He wasn't brainless, much less impressionable.
To start with, Gabriel connected the dots fairly quickly after receiving Jake's text message. Or, it'd be more accurate to say that his suspicions had finally been validated.
Pierrot had seen the message Jake sent his brother through Tristan's eyes, and he had an idea of the deductions that went through Gabriel's head. That, Gabriel could also tell.
"Why didn't you confront Tristan?"
"Probably for the same reason Jake hadn't shared who his texting partner is with the rest of us," Gabriel replied in a deadpan tone, preferring not to remind the man that up to now, it had only been a suspicion, and not a certainty.
His little brother didn't want them to know who he had been talking to on his phone, so it was better to pretend not to have noticed. The Lesskov siblings and Yuki probably hadn't realized yet, but Gabriel had a hunch that Stephan did, but also pretended to be dumb. That one always pretended to be dumb, anyway. As for Jake… He seemed to have been put in the know at some point. When exactly? It was hard to say.
"How considerate of you," Pierrot hummed, an unfathomable look passing through his eyes. "I wonder when that kid will realize that his big brothers have become overprotective mother hens; you're nothing like your previous selves from the past timelines. He's still worried you're going to hate his guts or abandon him one day, you know?"
The words pierced Gabriel's heart more than he wanted to admit.
"Are you holding a grudge for being abandoned in your world?"
"No, of course not," Pierrot laughed, waving Gabriel's attempted jab away. "You're important to Tristan in this life because you stayed by his side and provided him with the love and care he craved. As for me, how could I hold a grudge against someone who's never even been part of my life? I have no memory whatsoever of spending brotherly time with your counterpart in my world."
What could Gabriel retort to that? Nothing, so he kept his mouth shut. Once again, Pierrot's words reminded him of how things could have gone in this life if his relationship with his brothers hadn't improved. He'd have never known about Jake's struggles, nor would he have been made aware of the growing tumor in his little brother's head. He'd have been left in blissful ignorance, and even if he learned about these later, he wouldn't have cared, either.
It was hard for people to worm their way into his heart, but once they were in, it was even harder for them to leave. Even if things were drastically different from what Misha had reported from the first timeline, it didn't seem sufficient. Maybe Gabriel had become greedy.
"You know," Pierrot said, snapping Gabriel back to the present, "you could have borrowed your brother's phone when he wasn't looking if you wanted to chat instead of putting yourself at risk. I will have to rough you up if they don't hurry up and save your ass soon."
Of course, Pierrot had figured out the main reason why he let himself be caught by Camille and the incompetent thugs tagging along. Sending them to jail was simply the icing on the cake. No, if Camille was in Tristan's dream, then there was a high possibility that her group was connected to Pierrot in some way, and God knew he had questions for the man.
"…What's your end goal?" Gabriel finally asked.
"Hm?"
"Don't play dumb," Gabriel glared at the man. He didn't have time for games. "I don't believe that Santa, if we can even call him that, sent Misha and me back in time for no reason. Philanthropy is great in theory, but in practice, it usually hides something sinister."
As an answer, Pierrot smiled.