4. Deal

The man in the blue suit was running for his life, gripping a gun that no longer had any bullets. After escaping that building he got separated from his bodyguards, and now four men were chasing him, they were also carrying guns with no remaining ammunition.

“If I see that bastard again, I’ll fucking kill him myself!”

He was out of breath, his face covered in wounds. The chase led them into an alley behind a middle class restaurant. It was dark, with only a few lights visible. There were only trash bins around and no people loitering or passing by.

“Fuck, where the hell are my bodyguards?” His body was full of wounds and bruise. He almost stumbled while running and threw the gun aside since it had become useless. Those enemies would not leave him alone until they abducted or killed him.

“Matthew, do you really think you can escape from us?”

The man was surrounded by the men in black, still holding guns that were already out of bullets. The only way he could escape was to fight them, but in his current condition he wouldn’t last long.

“You want to abduct me? You wish.”

He started throwing punches and kicks at the four men in black and managed to knock one of them down, but he was overpowered and punched in the face and abdomen. He felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground. One of the men in black began punching and kicking him until his body trembled from the heavy blows.

“Ahhh, g-get off me!”

He tried to fight back, but the men in black kicked him hard, sending him flying into the trash bins.

He tried to stand while holding his stomach and watched those men in black laughing in front of him.

“I thought you were good? Hahahaha! Look at yourself now. You look like a punching bag! Hahahaha!”

“The youngest son of the Guerrero family is really worthless after all, so don’t be surprised.”

The men in black laughed together.

Matthew’s anger flared even more. He wanted to fight back, but his body hurt so badly that he felt he could collapse at any moment from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, a man wearing a black cap, sleeveless shirt, apron, and face mask came out from the back door of one of the restaurants, carrying a black trash bag. He happened to witness Matthew being beaten by the four men in black.

“Another riot? Nothing new in this place,” he said, face-palming.

“Idiot, there are four of you. How am I supposed to fight back? Fight me alone and I’ll show you where you belong.” He could see how furious Matthew was.

He could hear the conversation between Matthew and the four men in black since he wasn’t that far away.

“And why would we do that? We know how you fight, and if this is the only way to take you down, then why not? We use our brains, not our fists, Matthew.”

He couldn’t help but cringe at what he heard.

“En pocas palabras, cobarde. (In short, coward.)”

He deliberately said it loudly, knowing they wouldn’t understand Spanish.

The five men fighting in the middle of the alley froze, and all of them looked toward the man casually throwing trash into the bin.

“WHO IS THAT?!” one of the men in black shouted angrily.

“Ah, don’t mind me, I’m just talking to myself,” the man said while shaking his head. When he tried to go back inside the restaurant where he worked, Matthew suddenly ran over and clung to his arm.

“Hey, please help me. They’re going to kill me.”

He could barely stand because of his wounds and body aches.

The man in the apron shifted his gaze between the men in black and the man now holding onto him.

‘This guy looks beaten to hell… but I don’t usually get involved in trouble,’ he thought.

“You know I’ll get dragged into this if I help you, right?” he asked with a grimace. The men in black laughed again.

“That’s right, don’t get involved if you don’t want us to include you too,” one of them said with a grin.

“Matthew, don’t expect anyone to help you. You can see this guy is just doing his job do you really want to drag him into your grave?”

‘You! fucking dare turn your back on me. I swear—no, if I curse him, he would never help me’ Matthew wanted to shout in anger, but he held himself back because the man in front of him was his only chance.

“Please help me....Don’t you have a conscience? I’ll treasure this day if you help me.”

He almost knelt on the ground just to make the man help him.

‘I’ll do fucking anything so this idiot will help me! I can’t be caught by these bastards!’ Matthew’s eyes were full of desperation as he stared at the man in front of him.

‘Come on, don’t look at me like that…’ The man couldn’t help staring at Matthew’s face because of his strange charm. In his entire life, he had never seen a man this handsome. Even with his bruised face, Matthew was undeniably good-looking. The man swallowed and then looked away, forcing himself back to reality.

‘What the hell? Why am I finding this guy handsome? I’m not gay! SNAP OUT OF IT,’ the man in the apron tried to calm himself, lightly clearing his throat.

“S-Sorry, but I don’t want trouble.”

He removed Matthew’s hands from his arm. As he was about to go back inside, Matthew suddenly spoke.

“I WILL PAY YOU IF YOU HELP ME!!” he screamed desperately.

The man immediately stopped, his ears perking up.

“…Repítelo. (Say it again?)” He suddenly turned around, eyes wide as he stared at Matthew.

‘That sounds good! I’ll do anything if money is involved,’ he thought, trying not to let a smile show.

Matthew, meanwhile, was confused because he didn’t understand what the man in the apron had said.

“I mean, how much?” the man in the apron asked again.

‘My begging didn’t work, but he practically jumped when he heard I’d pay him?’ Matthew couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Four digits.”

“Make it six and I’ll consider your offer,” the man said with a polite smile, as if he weren’t asking for a hundred thousand.

‘So aside from being shameless, this guy is also insanely greedy.’

Even though Matthew was full of disbelief at the greedy man in front of him, he still agreed.

“Deal…”