Harbinger Of Glory

Leo stepped out of the taxi and reached back inside the car to grab his wallet that had fallen out before pulling out a note.

”Thanks for the ride,” he said as he tried to hand the note to the driver, but the man waved it off with a smile.

”Don’t worry about it. Just keep working hard for Wigan, yeah?”

Leo laughed softly as the door shut.

”You’re a nice uncle,” he called after him.

The driver chuckled, gave a small salute through the window, and pulled away.

Leo turned toward the arrivals entrance and stopped just outside the flow of people coming through the doors.

He checked his phone once, then slid it back into his pocket.

A few minutes passed.

Families reunited, suitcases rolled past, and voices blended into a steady hum.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, hands hooking into the straps of his backpack, nerves creeping in despite himself.

Just as he turned away, thinking he might have missed her, he felt it.

That quiet sense of being watched.

He looked back, and there, Vittoria stood a few steps behind him, one hand resting on the handle of her suitcase, eyes already on him.

She looked as gorgeous as the first time Leo saw her, despite her being in moderate clothing, at least for a person of her occupation and what Leo had seen from those kinds of people when travelling.

She looked unreal in the soft airport lighting, a bit tired but glowing all the same.

Leo froze for half a second, then lifted his hand in a small wave.

She smiled and waved slightly, before muttering a little, ”Hi,” that Leo didn’t quite hear, but her lips told the words.

He stepped forward quickly, taking one of her suitcases without thinking.

”Hi.”

They stood there for a brief moment, just looking at each other, before Leo recovered and started rolling the suitcase away, and Vittoria fell into step beside him.

”How was the flight?” he asked.

”Good,” she said, nodding. ”A bit longer than usual, but fine.”

He nodded too, glancing at her, then back ahead.

”Well, I’m sure your time here will compensate for that. Welcome to Manchester.”

Vittoria nodded as the two strolled to the curb, quietly conversing for a couple of minutes before a black car pulled up to the curb.

A sleek and quiet Uber Premium.

”First time in Manchester?” Leo asked, to which she nodded.

”Yeah. I am mostly in London, though. Just for work.”

”That tracks,” he said with a faint smile.

Then, more softly, ”I’m really glad you came.”

Vittoria looked at him, her smile widening.

”Me too.”

The ride into the city settled into a quiet rhythm.

Streetlights slid past the windows, reflections stretching across the glass as traffic, the ones from the incoming holidays thinned.

Vittoria sat back against the seat, hands folded in her lap, while Leo leaned slightly toward the window, watching Manchester come into view.

”So,” he said after a moment, ”you mentioned you still had some work while you’re here.”

She nodded.

”Not really work, honestly. More like a greeting. A brand wants to meet, talk a bit, see where things could go.”

”That sounds manageable.”

”It is. It’s on the last day, actually. That’s why I didn’t go to London first. I didn’t want to be moving around too much.”

Leo nodded.

”Then we should make the most of the time before that.”

She smiled at him, small but sincere.

”I’d like that.”

The car slowed and turned onto Portland Street before stopping in front of the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly.

The driver stepped out, opened the boot, and Leo was already reaching for the luggage.

Inside, the hotel was warm and bright, a soft contrast to the cold outside.

Vittoria went to the reception desk while Leo stood a few steps back, holding her suitcase.

The exchange was quick.

A key card, followed by a polite smile later and they were moving.

He followed her into the elevator, setting the luggage down as the doors closed.

Neither spoke on the short ride up.

They stopped in front of her room, where Leo rolled the suitcase forward and left it by the door.

She hesitated, then asked, ”Do you want to come in?”

He shook his head gently.

”You should rest. I’ll call you later this evening. We can plan tomorrow properly.”

Vittoria smiled.

”Thank you.”

He nodded once and turned away, walking down the corridor without looking back.

Vittoria watched him until he disappeared around the corner.

Only then did she unlock the door and step inside, closing it softly behind her.

....

Back at the complex, Leo stopped in front of his apartment door and reached for the handle.

It didn’t budge.

He frowned, tried again, then let out a quiet breath and pulled the spare key from his pocket.

As he unlocked the door, he wondered where Ezra and Jake had disappeared to, as he had left the door and the main key with them.

He stepped inside, closing the door behind him and shrugging out of his jacket.

Before he could set it down, voices drifted in from the corridor.

”Did you get the sauces?” Ezra was saying.

”Of course I did,” Jake replied. ”What do you take me for?”

The door opened again, and both of them walked in, Ezra balancing a paper bag filled with food, the smell cutting through the room immediately.

Jake didn’t stop.

He went straight past Leo and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.

Leo sighed.

”One of these days, he’s going to clog my toilet.”

”I heard that,” Jake called back from behind the door while Ezra dropped the food on the table and shook his head, amused.

Leo crossed the room and fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a second before turning his head toward Ezra.

”By the way,” Ezra said, ”Dawson told us we’ve got tomorrow off.”

Leo lifted his head slightly. ”Really?”

Ezra nodded.

”Yeah. Said we’ve done well. Wants some time to think and, apparently, to let us rest too.”

Leo huffed, more tired than annoyed.

”And that’s it. One day.”

”At least it’s a day,” Ezra said, sitting down. ”Better than nothing.”

Leo nodded slowly. ”Yeah. That actually works out for me.”

He took out his phone and found Vittoria’s chat just at the top of the list.

”Wanna hop on?” Ezra asked, pulling Leo out of his thoughts.

Leo looked at his phone and then at Ezra before nodding.

”Put me on,” he muttered before leaving his phone on the bed and then joining Ezra on the couch.

Jake came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, drying his hands with a towel.

By then, Leo and Ezra had already started a game, the room filled with button clicks and commentary.

”Pause it,” Jake said, reaching for the food. ”Or you might not see any of the food by the time you are done.”

Ezra laughed and leaned forward to stop the game.

Leo did the same, the controller resting on his thigh as they pulled the bags closer.

They ate in a loose silence, broken only by the occasional comment about the match they’d just played or Jake complaining about how long delivery always took, even though this food that they were eating was gotten from one of the matrons at the cafeteria.

After a while, Leo pushed his plate away, seemingly feeling full.

He stood, grabbed his phone from the bedside table, and slipped out into the corridor without saying much, where the hallway was quiet and the lights dimmer than inside the apartment.

He leaned against the wall, unlocked his phone, and scrolled to Vittoria’s name, finger hovering over the contact before he hit the call button.

It rang. Once. Twice. Three times.

But no answer came.

He repeated it two more times until Leo exhaled softly and ended the last call before it could go to voicemail, and resorted to sending a message.

I tried calling. You might be asleep. Goodnight.

He sent it, stared at the screen for a moment longer than he meant to, then locked the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

When he stepped back into the room, Ezra barely looked up, already deep into another round with Jake, who was shouting something at the screen.

Leo closed the door behind him and went back to his bed, settling down as he waited for his turn on the console.

.....

The following day came as quickly as the night had left.

In the hotel, Vittoria was just waking up, wondering when she had fallen asleep.

She swung her feet to the floor, before rising to her feet, the groggy feeling still watching over he before she moved towards the bathroom, almost stumbling on one of her shoes.

After washing her face and then pulling out her brush from her bag, she made her way over to the counter where her phone rested.

She picked it up, only to find multiple calls from Leo and then the text the latter had sent over the night before.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before re-entering the bathroom.