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<span style="font-family: 'Georgia'"><i><u>Adan Bennington</u></i></span><br/>
<i><u><br/>
December 1st<br/>
6:25 p.m.<br/>
En route to the Willow Residence</u></i>​</div><br/>There was something about the holidays that made things appear to be both chaotic and serene, a rare combination that would've never worked in any other season of the year... at least in terms of what Adan was used to from how he grew up. He'd been one of the few people to grow up surrounded by a life of crime, having witnessed his father take the position of leader of the crime family known as the Gefallene Engel, or Fallen Angels as it translated from German, at the tender age of five as his grandfather had managed to pass away from old age. His father, in bold yet foolish moves, had always tried to expand the territory they held, expanding into markets that had been forbidden by his predecessor, but the worst move that could've been made was the move to antagonize the rival family that was carefully pacified over the years. It was no surprise that the Steele family decided to fight back personally upon hearing that his father had planned another attack at a neutral ground, almost igniting another war as he chose to lead that attack personally, though it paid off as they put the bullet in his skull, leaving the only son to step up and carefully placate them back into an uneasy peace in the mere weeks since the funeral. He'd even thought of one of the middle ranked people in the family business, Jonathan Willow, as an unofficial godfather in a sense, but that greed that he possessed could be helpful in getting late protection money from those that were long overdue, but only if he could take what was necessary. However, traffic appeared to be congested due to the ice that was on some parts of the roads, and since it was clear that he still had at least seven minutes left in the drive to get to the house that belonged to Mr. Willow, Adan decided to call up the landline on his personal cell, and while the car was synced to his contacts via Bluetooth, it was obvious that he was expecting someone else to answer the phone.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 102, 255)">"Hello?"</span><br/><br/>It was a feminine voice, one that was incredibly soft, yet thick with emotion for some reason.<br/><br/>"Hello. I'm looking to talk to Jonathan Willow, I'm running a bit late to the meeting I scheduled with him at six thirty tonight. Ice on the roads tonight, you know?"<br/><br/>The first thing she would've noticed was how smooth Adan's voice sounded, like he carefully refined it over the years to the extent that he could have a successful career as a voice actor had he chosen that career path.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 102, 255)">"I'm sorry, but um..."</span><br/><br/>A feeling of dread began to come over Adan, as slow as a room beginning to flood, but rising steadily at the same time, knowing very well that something about her words was trying to conceal something as he heard her take in one of the shakiest breaths possible.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(255, 102, 255)">"My father can't come to the phone right now..."</span><br/><br/>It was at that point that Adan guessed that Meredith Willow, Jonathon's daughter, had to be on the other end of the line, and he knew at that point that something had happened to the man they both knew very well, though she likely didn't know about his involvement with a life of crime. "Listen very carefully, okay? Whatever happened... you can't call the police about it, even though it's likely the one thing you want to do more than anything." His voice took on a much firmer tone, yet there was something in there that resembled sympathy, which was unusual considering he never wanted to be the rock when it came to family finding out about a double life. "Call it a sixth sense, but I know that your father wouldn't answer the phone unless he was either in the hospital or dead, and as much as I hate to say it... I'm placing bets that it's the latter. By the way, not the best time for introductions, but I'm Adan, Michael's son if he ever talked about my family at all, and you must be Meredith, Jon's daughter." That would've had to be a shock, and pale hands gripped the steering wheel with a grip that made it painfully obvious that a mix of emotions were swirling within. Glancing into the rearview mirror, the lights from the stereo system barely made his face visible, his raven hair nearly blending in as it was somewhat illuminated alongside earthy eyes that nearly appeared to blend in the way his hair did, though he was thankful he was wearing a red dress shirt underneath a vest similar in color to his hair with pants and shoes to match. "Look, it's not safe to remain where you are, but at the same time, you're also likely still in danger if you attempt to go anywhere else. For right now, just stay by the phone, but get away from the view of the windows. Behind the desk should be the perfect blindspot, and just wait for me to get there, okay?" As much as he hated the fact that he was likely going to have to bring her to a safe spot, it was looking like that was exactly what was going to be the case, but that safe spot just so happened to be his house since he only held high-level meetings there with the most trusted advisors... one of which he was going to have to call anyway because of the nature of the situation. Adan watched as the traffic began to move at a much faster pace, and considering his navigation system found a faster route at the same time, he knew he had to step on the gas as soon as he was physically able to.<br/><br/>"Meredith, I'm going to hang up now, but I just got the route changed to make it so I can get there a little bit faster, okay? Just sit tight, and I'll be right there." Adan wasn't sure if it was safe to hang up or not, but with Meredith's life on the line, he knew how much every second counted. However, he couldn't help it as he hesitated, but whether it was him pressing the button or her hitting it on her end to hang up, he knew as soon as the screen showed that the call had ended that it was now a race against the clock to get to his destination. The car wasn't exactly built for trying to speed through icy conditions, but he did this before in other spots, and he had to get there before anyone else could try to get there first. As soon as the car was close enough to the new turn, he threw it into sport mode just before making the turn, picking up speed as he now raced to get to the her house. Luckily, he made it with two minutes to spare, but as he parked the car, it was painfully obvious that he never had to deal with a situation like this, and yet he couldn't go in unarmed. As soon as Adan managed to get into the house, it was clear that Merry had been carrying something when she found her father since there were spilled bags on the floor, and since he took the time to put on gloves before grabbing a Beretta 70 pistol, he had a tight grip on the gun as he carefully made his way inside the study with careful and precise footsteps.<br/><br/>"Meredith, it's me: Adan. I'm here, but for our safety, I'm armed, okay?"