***
The commander and his team of five men walked sneakily towards the entrance, their movements soft and agile. Their movements were trained and precise. They had been in the industry of killing for years now and their bodies were already used to this. For these men killing and breathing were just the same. They could kill anyone as long as the price is right. And this time, they are here to kill Lisa Manoban.
Finally, the group of men was able to enter the underground parking lot. Half of the mansion was already in ruins but surprisingly, the garage is still intact. Not a debris touched the luxurious cars inside the garage. The commander only shook his head. As expected of a dandy young master. She would value her cars rather than her men.
The group continued until they reached the brown mahogany door that would lead them into the foyer of this mansion. One of the commander's men slowly opened the door and signaled everyone to follow him.
Left and right, they checked.
Nothing.
This was surprising, the commander thought, why would Lisa Manoban's men not patrol this area? However, the commander immediately pacified himself. This only meant that they had killed a lot of his men already. He laughed inwardly as he thought about Lisa Manoban lacking men.
The commander watched as his assistant signaled that Lisa Manoban was just outside the main entrance. Giving directions to her men and occasionally using her gun to kill the enemies. The Commander only nodded as they stealthily walked towards the entrance. Surprisingly, the gunshots that was heard earlier was not that loud in this area.
Then he slowly opened the door and was assaulted by the acrid smell of gun powder. He furrowed his brows and was about to signal his men to move when he felt a cold hard metal in his temple.
"Drop your weapon." The commander paled when he heard a cold voice almost next to him. Then he heard footsteps.
"Commander we are surrounded! It's a trap!"
The commander seemed to froze. The stele of fear caging his heart as he watched a Lisa Manoban's men surround them. It's a trap! They are trapped!
The door that was originally close was now opened and a group of fully armored men was standing across them. Their gazes were cold and domineering. If the commander was a normal soldier he would have already shiver from those gazes. He watched as the men slowly made a way, revealing Lisa Manoban and another man who was wearing a suit. He must be around late or early forties, his hair sleek and short. He is almost as tall as him.
"You must be Commander Smith." Lisa Manoban said. Seeing that Lisa Manoban held no malice in her face, the commander only nodded.
"Commander Smith… how long have you been working for the Vercello Family?" Lisa Manoban asked. In her thoughts, these men were mercenaries. People who value money the most.
"Not long. They only hired us occasionally for missions like this. The Vercello have their own trained men." He answered. This is actually not a secret among mercenaries. The Vercello Family had their own army but they especially hired an experienced war veteran for this mission just to make sure that they would win against the young woman standing across him.
"I say, we just kill them and throw them in the ocean. The sharks will surely love them." He heard the man next to Lisa Manoban say. His words were gentle as if he was talking to his child and was not talking about murdering someone. For some reason, the man's gaze made the commander uncomfortable.
This was the first time that he saw this person however the man instantly gave him chills. Once again he tried to remember the briefing that he had with Antonio Pardi. He cannot seem to remember him mention that Lisa Manoban had someone like this around her. Could it be possible that this man was the one behind the new group of people who arrived and started attacking their men?
What about the sniper? Was this man related to the sniper too?
"How brute… " Another man who looked a little older than Lisa Manoban said and walked beside the older man. The man's fox like eyes instantly made the commander cautious. This man was pale and a little skinny. Judging from the absence of calluses on his hands. It would be safe to say that this one is not experienced in combat. The commander watched as the man's eyes glitter, a sense of danger instantly embraced his whole being. "How about we peel their skin slowly until they tell us more about the Vercello Family?"
"You too…" Lisa Manoban shook her head. "I can now see where Chaeyoung got her peculiar methods."
"A part from her father and a part from her mentor."
"However, now is not the time to do this." Lisa said as she eyes Mason and Chanyeol. "We need to go and rescue Chaeyoung."
"Agree… you two take care of Chaeyoung while I take care of this place. Alexander will help me after he killed Nico's men." Chanyeol said, his eyes turning crescent as he smiled. The commander instantly wondered if this man was really what he thought him to be. After all, a normal man would not smile in situations like this.
"How about the sniper? Did you found him?" Lisa asked.
"That-" both Mason and Chanyeol eyed each other. Before Mason chose to answer. "Her… It's her not him."
Lisa raised an eyebrow at Mason. "Do you know the sniper?"
"Dad… you should also start calling me dad from now on." Mason answered, avoiding Lisa's question.
However, Lisa decided not to pursue the issue any longer. It was obvious that Mason was avoiding the topic. It must be Claire, she instantly concluded. Lisa remembered that they received a call last night telling them that Henry Lee already woke up and tried to bite his tongue when he discovered that he is already paralyzed from the neck down. Because of this, the doctor gave him something to make him sleep until Chaeyoung and Lisa comes back to deal with him.
Since Henry is already awake, Claire must have already left the island as well.
This could only mean that the 'she' that Mason was talking about could be Claire.
"Alright… let's go. Dad." Lisa said as she walked away from the mercenaries.
Seeing Lisa walk along with the older man, the commander fixed his gaze to the smiling man in front of him. A gust of wind hit him, making him shiver. For some reason, the commander was not aware of which truly made him shiver. Was it the gust of wind? Or the chilly smile that the man was giving them?
"Alright, gentlemen…" Chanyeol asked as an evil smiled blossomed on his pale face. "Shall we start?"
…
Meanwhile, Chaeyoung furrowed her brows at her uncle's words. "No… uncle... please leave with Taehyung and grandmother."
She then turned her head towards Antonio ignoring Jackson eyes. "Where is the helicopter?" she asked, her eyes started to scan everyone in the room.
"It will be here in two minutes," Peter answered before tossing his phone to Chaeyoung. "Here you go. I wrote the address. Phone's password is 795631."
Chaeyoung did not answer him. She just gave the phone to Wang Bolin and asked him to check it for her. After a few seconds, Wang Bolin confirmed Peter's words. In response, Chaeyoung nodded at Peter.
"Chaeyoung… we could leave you alone. We would not disturb you nor ask you to be our leader. However, you also have to promise not to touch us or any of our businesses." Antonio suddenly blurted, earning the attention of everyone in the room. Just now, his nephew informed him about Chaeyoung's crazed eyes. As a doctor, Peter was instantly able to detect Chaeyoung's the peculiarity in the way Chaeyoung would look at everyone.
He immediately informed his uncle that Chaeyoung might be planning to kill everyone once her family leaves. She is planning to kill everyone including herself.
At first, Antonio hesitated but when Peter told him how Chaeyoung must have snapped because they keep on telling her that they killed her woman, his opinion was changed immediately. Love was a woman's weakest point. He witnessed this kind of love when he threatened Natalie back then. Now it seems that Chaeyoung really loved Lisa Manoban to the point of killing herself to follow her.
Antonio could only sneer inwardly while looking at Chaeyoung. Waiting for her answer.
The best thing that they could do for now is give up... and wait.
"We will let you go and not bother you again. I would also personally give some support to the Moon Empire. We could start all over again." Antonio said when he saw the smile in Chaeyoung's face. Now that he was staring straight at Chaeyoung's eyes, he did notice something different about it. Her eyes this time did not show any cunningness nor alertness. It was… It was… dead.
That's right, her eyes are dead. No emotion. Just... blank.
Nothing.
"Where is the helicopter?" Chaeyoung asked. "If you could confirm that Lisa is not dead then, I might agree to your request."
After he heard Chaeyoung's words, Antonio instantly signaled Peter and Felix to call their men and ask them to abort the mission. However, both men only furrowed their brows as they try to call some of their men.
"We can't…" Felix did not continue his words as he shook his head towards Antonio. And just like him, Peter also shook his head towards the latter.
In response, Antonio's face sunk. Peter informed her a while ago that Mia and Nico planned a counter-attack today. They are also planning to attack Lisa Manoban's mansion. "Call Mia…" He looked at Peter.
"Now!"
Chaeyoung only looked at the men in front of her. If they could confirm that Lisa is safe then, she would cancel the attack. However, if they can't then… she would rather die with everyone here. "Three more minutes gentlemen and the villa along the lake would explode."
Chaeyoung watched as Peter accompanied by Felix ran their way out of the hall to get Mia. Once they could stop this threat, both of them already promised themselves that they would start a clean slate with Chaeyoung. Though, they know that Chaeyoung loved Lisa Manoban so much, they still did not lose any hope. Especially Felix.
Over the years, Felix had already fallen in love with Chaeyoung. At first, Felix convinced himself that he must be taking interest in Chaeyoung because she was the only woman who dared reject him. But as time passed, he realized that his feeling was not because she hurt his pride. No. It was something else. Something that he never felt towards any other woman.
Felix know that Antonio's decision would also include giving Chaeyoung her freedom. Meaning, no more marriage. However, this would not stop Felix from pursuing Chaeyoung. When he heard Antonio's words just now, Felix already promised himself that he would start his plan by being friends with Chaeyoung.
The duo immediately arrived at Mia's room and brought her towards the hall. To their surprise, Mia was calm and did not even ask them any questions. She just silently followed them towards the dining hall.
When they arrived, Antonio instantly asked her to call Nico. But the same thing happened. She was not able to contact her grandfather or anyone from her grandfather's most trusted men.
"You! What did you do to my grandfather and his men?" Mia asked, her shrill voice echoed inside the hall.
"Shut your mouth!" Peter hissed before grabbing Mia's arms. They are in a very dangerous situation right now and Mia still wanted to offend Chaeyoung. Though Mia is not aware of the current situation, she should be smart enough to detect that something is extremely wrong in the environment.
What a dumb woman.
"You-" Mia was about to retort when she noticed Antonio's glare. She then let a loud harrumphed before crossing her arms around her chest and taking the seat next to Peter.
"The helicopter should be here any second now… if you could give me a minute to confirm that Lisa is still alive then… then… that would be great." Antonio said, his gaze complicated. For Antonio, the deadliest enemy is not the person who had the most advanced technology. But the person who is not planning to live anymore. Just like Chaeyoung right now…
Antonio wanted to add how he would also be willing to pay Chaeyoung some amount of money to pay for the damages that were caused by his plan. However, he was able to convince himself that this would only agitate Chaeyoung even more. Antonio could only grit his teeth right now as he watched Chaeyoung blankly stare at him.
Everyone already knew that Chaeyoung had the space weapon but he thought Chaeyoung would be easy to control once Lisa is out of the way. Then he could just threaten her. His calculations told him that Chaeyoung would not be the type of person that would kill herself. How could she even think of that when she is not yet thirty years old? Antonio thought that by killing Lisa Manoban, Chaeyoung would only feel dejected and maybe become depress. Making it easy for Antonio to control her and eventually make her do everything that he wanted.
However, he was wrong. Chaeyoung might be smart, but she is also crazy. Somehow, her emotion made her dumb and blind.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, a loud thrumming of the helicopter drew nearer.
Chaeyoung immediately got up from her seat and instructed Wang Bolin to support Taehyung. Then Jackson will carry Natalie. "Let's go." She said without looking back at Antonio. In less than two minutes, the lake would explode. Though it was not that close to this place, she was sure that they would still feel the tremor. After all, the space weapon is armed with antimatter that could cause big damages to its surrounding areas as well.
"Don't worry… I would fulfill my promise." Chaeyoung turned to look at everyone before she started to walk out of the hall.
In response, everyone also got up from their seat and followed her. But, before Chaeyoung could take a step out of the door, one of Antonio's men informed them that the helicopter that landed was not their own but someone else's. It was an armored chopper, equipped with guns and missile launchers.
This made everyone nervous, another enemy? The threat that Chaeyoung brought with her is not yet done. Yet now, another crisis arrived! Just what is happening?
"Chaeyoung… is that your men?" Peter asked as he followed Chaeyoung. Next to him was Mia who was clinging at her soon to be ex-husband.
"No." she answered. "But we will know soon…" she said before she strode out of the place. Her guts were telling her that the people who just arrived should be Lisa. And Chaeyoung could not deny the fact that this immediately changed her mood.
She took big steps out of the place, seemingly forgetting that their enemy is actually following her. In just a few seconds, Chaeyoung already arrived at the landing area and was surprised to see three helicopters in front of her. All of which were military grade choppers equipped with what Chaeyoung thought as bulletproof walls and complete armaments.
These were helicopter gunships!
These helicopters were open doors, so it was easy for Chaeyoung to see the people inside. And the first person who she saw instantly made her shocked.
It was Henry Lee! NO. To be more accurate, it was someone who looked like Henry. The man was the first person to get off the helicopter. His hair was short and slick. His cold domineering presence instantly made Chaeyoung froze. This… this man looked just like her!
She continued to watch the man, flabbergasted. She watched as the man shoved his hands on his pocket and narrowed his eyes at the military uniformed men who were getting down on the other helicopters. Then his eyes met Chaeyoung's
Chaeyoung stared at the man who was more than ten meters' away from her. Flustered, she looked away. Should she smile at the man? Maybe hug him? Say something nice? Chaeyoung remembered how she had always thought about meeting her father. She always thought that she could stand her ground and maybe pretend that they knew each other for years.
During the party last night. Chaeyoung was so excited to meet this man. Yet, she really did not think about the words that she would say to him. Should they just talk about the weather? Killing people? Blowing up the Vercello's?
This situation is just so awkward.
However, she quickly composed herself and turned her attention to the woman who followed her father.
Lisa.
Lisa was wearing an all-black tactical gear. Her hair a little unruly. A small smile immediately escaped her lips when her eyes met Lisa's.
She was alive.
Chaeyoung was staring at Lisa intently. Apparently, her wife was not even injured. She then breathe a sigh of relief and started to walk towards her. Chaeyoung was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she did not notice the sudden change in Lisa's expression. A look of horror was seen in her face as Lisa strode towards Chaeyoung.
Deafened by the roar of the helicopter, Chaeyoung did not even notice that someone was stealthily walking behind her.
"NOOOOOOOO"
'What is happening?' Chaeyoung asked herself as her gaze started to blur, her hearing seemed to diminish and all she could see was Lisa running towards her. She then felt a throbbing pain on her chest and unconsciously looked down and clutched it.
'knife?'
'Was she stabbed?'
'THUD'
Chaeyoung sank on her knees as she lifted her chin to look at Lisa, her eyes full of disbelief.
She tried to extend her senses… Tried to hear what everyone was saying…
Chaeyoung heard muffled gunshots erupt as Lisa held her in her arms.
She trembled as her eyes started to water. "Lis…" she whispered. "Save our baby."
Then a loud explosion coupled with Lisa's red eyes was the last thing that Chaeyoung saw before her consciousness ebbed away.
.....