Chapter 2: The Lion

“Sarge, thank god you came!” Gunner said while approaching Lily. 

“Of course, I came,” Lily replied. 

With Lily reinforcing the squad, teamwork picked up a notch. Gunner and his colleagues were more confident under Lily’s presence and command. They managed to immobilize most of the attackers, and with the police arriving for backup, the crossfire eventually ceased. 

Lily studied the damage to the three bulletproof Lexus cars in the middle of the crossfire. The first car’s windshield had been shattered due to the number of shots incurred. Lily assumed that was how Gia got shot. 

Around them were police officers questioning members of her team, paramedics taking the wounded attackers to the ambulance, and crime scene investigators taking pictures and collecting pieces of evidence. 

“Anyone else hurt?” Lily asked Gunner. 

“Gia is already headed to the hospital. Nolan only got an abrasion. He will be fine,” Gunner reported. “Johnson and Rick are unharmed.”

“And - the client?” Lily paused, finally remembering the “big fish.”

“Mister Thompson is fine. His car’s windshields did not break, and his personal bodyguard and driver instructed him to remain inside,” Gunner said. “MVM has sent another two Lexus cars to pick him up. The ones that are here must remain for evidence collection.”

Lily tried to avert her gaze from the cars that had arrived. She knew Lucas would be moving into one of them, and she could not bear to see him. She was afraid she might end up killing the client herself. 

Instead, she said to Gunner, “Then, I guess I’ll be leaving now -”

“Ah!” Gunner raised his brow, asking, “Aren’t you going to meet the client? Technically, you are our boss. Shouldn’t you talk to him?”

“I have nothing to say to him. Continue to escort him as planned. I’ll call MVM to send in more men from their side to protect the big fish until he leaves Koplin,” Lily responded before turning on her heel and approaching the detective in charge of the investigation. 

Gunner had to chase after her and asked, “Wait. Wait. Wait. What’s with the rush, Sarge?”

Shifting to Gunner, Lily reminded, “I gotta get home, remember?”

Lily went ahead and gave her testimony to the lead detective. Afterward, the officer studied her identification and expressed, “An exciting job you got here, Sergeant: a part-time National Guard and a full-time private military contractor for Black Hawk. Any openings for Black Hawk?”

“You are free to apply anytime, Detective,” Lily said casually. 

“I probably will do that, Sergeant. I always thought all members of Black Hawk were cool,” the detective said with a laugh. “We are all good here. You may go, but we will be in touch.”

“I’m not hard to find, Detective,” Lily responded. 

Just as Lily went past the police officer, she realized that she did not have a car or a bike for that matter! She had wrecked the police motorcycle when she had let it crash against the ten-wheeler truck. 

She was about to ask for a ride from one of the police officers when Gunner called from behind, “Sarge! Sarge, Mister Thompson would like to take you to the airport!”

Lily became rooted in place. It took her seconds to get back to her senses, and she continued to walk, pretending not to hear anything. However, Gunner could not take a hint and kept calling her, “Sergeant! Lily! Boss!”

A black, armored Lexus 500 pulled over and blocked her path. Gunner stepped out of the car and said, “Boss.” He leaned his head to the vehicle, saying, “Mister Thompson would like to speak with you and take you to the airport. The ground-breaking ceremony has been re-scheduled due to the attack.”

Lily saw the confusion in Gunner’s expression. He gave her that look that screamed, ‘Be professional, Boss! What the F are you doing?’

Left with no choice, Lily unwillingly entered the car and immediately felt the man’s presence from inside. The energy from Lucas seemed to be eating her whole, yet she refused to look at him as she settled in the backseat. 

Gunner had taken the front seat opposite to Lucas’ driver. She noticed the other Lexus car drove past them, taking the lead. After which, they all drove away. 

“Mister Thompson, this is our operations director, Sergeant Lily Wright. Like me, she is a National Guard,” Gunner introduced. 

Lily remained silent and stared only at the front. Beside her, she heard the man say in a deep voice, “It’s nice to meet you, Sergeant Wright.”

Of course, what did she expect? He left her without saying anything. So now, he was practically denying their past relationship by pretending not to know her! 

The truth was, it stung a little. When he disappeared, Lily cried an ocean for him, yet this was how he treated her now? Then again, Lily supposed it was better that way. She could not handle a confrontation with him right now or ever! 

Lucas sucked in a deep breath. He added, “Thank you for coming to my rescue -”

“You are mistaken, Mister Thompson. I did not come for you. I came for my team,” Lily cut him off before facing him. Her tone was frosty, and her face was grim. 

Finally, she had a glimpse of Lucas. She had to admit what she saw took her aback. 

This was… a completely different Lucas Thompson. 

The man she used to love always had a gentle expression on his face, and his build was modest. The Lucas now, however, was muscular, like he had been working out all those years he was gone. The muscles around his body were practically cramping his attire. 

Additionally, his uncompromising and domineering look appeared to say he had been to hell and back. Lily thought that was really odd. 

He looked more mature, and his dark eyes were sharp as if piercing through her frame. His skin was tan. His face was now slightly bearded, and she did not miss the long yet thin scar at the side of his left cheek. 

For a fleeting moment, she felt concerned. She wondered what had happened to Lucas all this time and why the hell was he facing a level-three assassination threat to begin with.

A tiny part of her wanted to just throw her pride out the window, wrap her arms around him, and cry out of anger and pain. However, she held back and let her bitterness overpower her. Moreover, a lot had changed from her end. Aside from that, Lily was also in a relationship. 

‘Yes, that’s right. I have Jake, my boyfriend,’ Lily convinced herself before returning to study the man next to her. 

Lucas wore a black suit and a dark violet shirt underneath. His legs were crossed, and his left elbow leaned on the armrest while his fist supported his chiseled jaw. 

He flaunted that latest edition Omega watch and smelled of Versace cologne. He reacted calmly to her curt words, saying, “Ah, no wonder Black Hawk holds such an impressive reputation.”

“You are a private army led by a lion.” Lucas chuckled while glancing at Gunner through the rearview mirror. 

While Lucas was talking, the car was moving relatively fast, but Lily felt like everything was in slow motion. The agony of being next to Lucas was killing her composure. 

“Lions have always been considered the symbol of power, bravery, courage, strength, and ferocity.” Lucas looked back at Lily, describing, “I saw how you took down those men, Sergeant. You were fearless out there.”

She responded with silence, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the panic in Gunner’s expression. The poor guy was probably afraid he would not get paid for how she treated the client. 

“I’ll be sure to compensate you and your team for the hard work you have put in today. I’ll increase the pay to five times your standard rate. I’ll also pay for your colleague’s medical expenses,” Lucas assured, maintaining his stare on her. 

Lily did not react. She merely looked straight and crossed her arms against her chest. 

“Don’t I get a thank you?” Lucas asked. 

At that point, Gunner was glaring at Lily. He seemed to have forgotten that she was above in ranks! But because she understood why Gunner reacted that way, she turned to Lucas indifferently and answered, “Thank you, Mister Thompson.”

Finally, they rode in silence. When they arrived at the airport, Lily was ready to leave the car. Lucas, however, unexpectedly asked, “Will I see you again, Sergeant Wright?”

“I think... never,” Lily said coldly. 

She had just opened the car door when Lucas responded, “Really?” The man chuckled and suggested, “On the contrary, I think we will.”

Lily snapped in his direction, and their eyes met.