Chapter 183: Art of Provoking
"For the record... date, time, and witness present. Commencing interview." His voice was flat, but the weight underneath was careful, layered. A man playing two games at once—keeping appearances for the official feed while threading the needle for Xavier’s hidden agenda.
Alexander sneered, yanking at his cuffs. "You’re actually going through with this circus? Letting him sit across from me like he’s an equal?"
Dominic didn’t look at him. "You don’t get to set the terms anymore, Alexander. Now sit tight."
He turned fully to Xavier. "Start from the beginning. The attack on your apartment. Who was there, what happened, what you remember. Be precise."
Xavier let the silence hang for a beat longer than comfortable, his grin sharpening. He glanced at Alexander, then back at Dominic, as if weighing how much theater to lace into his words.
"Well," Xavier finally said, voice calm, "it all started when I woke up to the sound of knives scraping in the dark..."
Xavier leaned back in his chair, letting his smirk stretch as he began, slow and deliberate. "So... I wake up, right? Midnight, pitch black, and there’s this—what I can only describe as a swarm. Dozen, maybe more. Shadows moving faster than humanly possible. I tried to see their faces but... couldn’t even breathe without feeling like a knife was at my throat."
He let his voice dip, tense, almost whispering, then shot up, laughter threading through it. "And then... they attacked. Precision, like they’d trained their whole lives just to carve me up while I slept. Incredible coordination, I’ll give them that."
Alexander’s jaw clenched, face draining of color, every muscle in his body twitching like he wanted to leap across the table. Dominic’s eyes flicked up briefly but stayed calm, watching Xavier play the game.
"I fought back," Xavier continued, tone dripping with faux humility, "of course. But imagine—every time I block one, another appears. Their weapons... exotic. I’ve never seen anything like it. One of them—might have been using some kind of Nova-infused tech, energy pulses—burned through the air like lightning. Nearly got me."
He paused to glance at Alexander. "You should have seen it. The chaos. Glass shattered, alarms screaming, lights flickering. I mean... it’s a miracle I’m even sitting here to tell you this."
Alexander growled, voice tight and raw. "Lies! All of it. You—this—" he gestured violently, "you’re making this into some... some story! How can anyone believe—"
Xavier cut him off, calm and almost teasing. "Believe what you want, daddy-o. Doesn’t change what happened. I survived. That’s the point, isn’t it?"
He leaned forward, hands drumming on the table. "Oh, and the best part? The ones who came for me... didn’t make it. Not one. I won’t bore you with the details... you wouldn’t want to see the mess."
Alexander flinched visibly, swallowing hard, but the fury never left his eyes. Every word was a dagger. Dominic’s fingers hovered over the holo-slate, ready to note details, but he didn’t interrupt—let Xavier have his performance.
Xavier leaned back again, voice softening almost lazily. "So yeah. That’s how it went down. I guess you could call it... a close call. But I handled it. Clean and efficient."
He smirked, letting the silence linger, letting Alexander stew, letting the weight of everything he wasn’t saying crush the air in the room.
Alexander’s hands shot up, slamming the table with a force that rattled the holo panels. "You think this is funny? You think—" His voice broke, a mix of rage and fear twisting every word. "You—you’ve turned my life into a circus! Do you understand what you’ve done?!"
Xavier leaned forward, elbows on the table, grin sharp as a blade. "Oh, I understand perfectly. You’re angry, flustered, and... honestly, it’s kinda cute watching you lose your composure."
Alexander’s eyes bulged, veins standing out on his forehead. "Cute?! You’re mocking me while I—while I—" His hand trembled as he pointed at Xavier, "you’ve destroyed everything! My wealth! My reputation! My son’s future!"
Xavier chuckled softly, letting the words linger like acid. "Destroyed? Nah... just... rearranged a bit. You might want to update your LinkedIn or something, maybe change your title from ’King of Everything’ to ’Very Concerned Man’."
Alexander’s breathing became erratic, face red, fists shaking on the table. "I will not... I will not—" His voice cracked. "You’ll pay. You will pay! You think this is the end? This isn’t over!"
Xavier leaned back, voice calm, taunting, like a predator circling prey. "Oh, it’s far from over. But right now... you’re delicious. Every twitch, every word—it’s a masterpiece."
Xavier only had one goal— to piss off Alexander as much as possible and enjoy every bit of it.
Alexander’s chair scraped the floor as he leaned forward, every muscle tensed, ready to lunge. "I... I—"
Before he could finish, Dominic’s voice cut through the room, firm and controlled. "Gentlemen. Enough."
Both men snapped their attention to him. Dominic’s gaze swept the room, taking in Xavier’s smirk and Alexander’s trembling hands. "This isn’t a theater. This is business. Now, we proceed with the questioning. Alexander, you need to calm yourself. Xavier... keep your theatrics in check."
Xavier sat back, hands folded, smirk lingering. Alexander inhaled sharply, trying to regain control, glaring daggers at both of them. The tension hung thick, a storm barely restrained, waiting for the next move.
Dominic turned to Alexander. "Alexander, from here on, we will proceed calmly. Xavier, you will answer the questions truthfully, without provocation."
Xavier, lounging back in his chair, let out a low chuckle. "Truthful? That’s a bit subjective, don’t you think? I mean, Alexander here seems to have forgotten what reality looks like."
Alexander’s eyes flared. "Reality? You don’t know the meaning of—" He lunged forward before Dominic could intervene, snatching the officer’s sidearm from the holster in a flash.
Xavier froze for a split second, then smirked, tilting his head as the barrel of the gun pointed directly at him. "Oh, well... look at you. Getting hands-on already. I was beginning to think you’d forgotten how dangerous you can be."
Dominic immediately raised his hands, voice firm but calm. "Alexander! Put the weapon down this instant. This is not how we proceed."
Alexander’s grip tightened, knuckles white, eyes locked on Xavier. "You’ve pushed me too far. I won’t let you—"
Xavier leaned forward slightly, unflinching, letting his smirk do half the work. "Oh? And what exactly are you going to do, Alexander? Pull the trigger and prove everyone right about you?"
Dominic stepped in "This stops now. Either you calm yourself and return the weapon, or the consequences are on you, not him."
Alexander trembled with barely restrained rage, and Dominic was the only anchor keeping the situation from exploding.