362 One Wish

A silent understanding between Amelia and Damien ensued. There were a lot of things that needed to be said about their relationship but talking about it felt like hard work. It wasn't supposed to be like that given that they were connected by blood. However, it's not as easy as one two three because there were thirty-one years and a million 'what-ifs' that separated the two.

As much as Damien wanted to have all the answers to his questions, a part of him wanted to protect himself from any possibilities of hurt related to his mother. After all, he had already been left once by the woman whom he thought was his mother. Miriam wasn't a perfect mother—though he couldn't really make any comparisons to begin with. Nevertheless, for eight years, she was the only 'mother' he knew. And even though he had very little 'good' memories with her, he grew up knowing she was his mother.

And for twenty-two years that he thought Miriam was his mother, he had been crippled at the thought of wanting to recreate the only 'good' memory of her that led him to learn how to cook—only to find out that it was a false memory. It turned out that he didn't actually have any worthy memories of her. 

Living that lie for all his life and learning the truth about it, he didn't want to expect too much from Amelia. She had left him when he was only one month old, so he pretty much didn't know anything about her and was only getting to know her now. 

He could feel that there was something inexplicable whenever she was around him—something that he hadn't felt with Miriam before. And he couldn't deny that this was probably his blood reacting to its source. But this wasn't enough for him to just jump on the train and become a son to her like nothing happened for the past three decades.

However, it didn't mean that he was punishing her. He just wanted to take his time getting to know Amelia and maybe then, things will just come naturally between them.

Meanwhile, Amelia could see that Damien was trying his best. Even though they were in quite an awkward phase at the moment, she was already thankful that he wasn't ignoring her nor was he cold towards her. He's hesitant and careful but that's okay. At this point, she couldn't ask for more and she would have to just be patient now that they would have to be around each other more often. It may be very selfish of her—to think that she was the one who left—but she only had one wish pertaining to Damien—it's for him to call her 'Mom'.

'You learned from the best,' Damien repeated Amelia's statement in his head and the image of his father appeared in his thoughts. He wasn't a perfect father too but he was his father and he loved him—and he was indeed the best. Lawrence Park was a great leader and a skillful man who had only taught him the best. Despite not liking how his father had shaped him growing up, Damien could only be thankful. "Mhmm… He was," he muttered.

Damien noticed this habit or reaction from her for a while now and he wondered if her shoulders were sore. He released the paper target from the carrier and put it aside before replacing it with a new one, pressing a few buttons on the divider right after and watched as the paper target traveled back to its place twenty meters away. 

"Four—almost five years. There was a… breach back then and I figured it would be much safer this way to have total control over the guys. Train and groom them on my terms instead of hiring externally." Amelia nodded and he asked, "Have you always been good with guns?"

"Ah…" she softly chuckled. "Honestly, I was average when I used to work for your father. Later, I realized that I was initially placed on night shifts because your father was mostly cranky during the night whenever he was working late, so it wasn't because I was really good. The security head must have thought I was perfect to receive Lawrence's tantrums whenever there was one. He could be a big baby sometimes—your father." A hint of blush colored her cheeks.

Realizing she had strayed the conversation, Amelia cleared her throat and continued, "I like hand-to-hand combat better since I learned martial arts. It was only when I came to Shadow that I got to practice and improve my marksmanship."

Katherine who was quietly listening to their conversation inched closer and stood next to Damien, her left arm slightly leaning to his right as she chimed in, "You know, Falcon is sort of a legend back there. She actually developed tactical and strategic combat techniques that have been used until now I believe. A lot of what I learned there came from her. I only knew until recently." She cheekily winked at Amelia.

Damien briefly glanced at Katherine and then at his mother, impressed by what he just heard. Even though he loathed Shadow for what it is, he couldn't help but brush that thought away and acknowledge the discovery that he just found. "I see…"

Amelia chuckled and shook her head. She didn't think much about her contributions as a pioneer in Shadow. Back then, she was only doing her job.

Waving his hand in the air as he called someone from a distance, Damien met one of his men halfway and told him something that the two women couldn't hear from where they stood. When he turned around to face them again, he looked at Amelia and said, "Carl, this is… Um…" He paused, wondering how he should introduce his mother.

"Hi, I'm Lia, nice to meet you," Amelia extended her hand as she introduced herself under an alias.

They still weren't ready to reveal her identity yet so they wanted to keep the truth only to those people who are in the 'need-to-know'.

Catching his mother's thoughts, Damien continued, "Right… Escort her to the dojo and show her around." A 'Dojo' is a Japanese term that means "hall or space for immersive learning". But as a Western concept, it's a Martial Arts training place.

Damien thought that by showing what he had with Maverick Security and what else he could pull off later, it would be easier for them to strategize their plans. Turning to Amelia, he probed, "Would that be alright?"

"Of course." She nodded and was about to take a step when Carl—one of Damien's trainers in the security spoke up, "Ah—Wait. Boss… Is it okay if…" he awkwardly pointed with an open hand at the gun near Amelia, "I arrived late. I didn't see her earlier and they've been talking about it in the theatre. They said she was so good." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the men who were inside a clear glass room where spectators could watch the target shooting.

Damien shot a quick glance at the theatre before he faced Amelia. "Cover your ears, kid." She winked. Turning around, she picked up the handgun, aimed at the paper target and fired.

Carl, who didn't wear earmuffs, got startled—his hand immediately flew to his ears to cover and then stepped back to watch. Soon, after a full seventeen rounds of shooting, another round of applause and muffled howls were heard from the theatre.

Just like the first one, Amelia perfected her score, of course.