“I have proof of Desmond’s tax evasion activities. You can send someone to investigate his office.” When Kaze put down the phone, the hall of Desmond’s workplace remained silent. Everybody stared at Kaze in shock. No one expected Kaze to report Desmond to the authorities after what Kingston and Desmond had said. Kaze was a dummy. He sure was headstrong. To think Kaze tried to drag Desmond to hell. Everybody knew that the whole thing had blown out of proportion. Arcadians lived by two codes, which were inevitable. One was death. The other was paying taxes. The IRS was a powerful law enforcement agency. For Kaze to tip them off with his real name, the IRS would surely investigate the matter. Despite Desmond’s multiple backers, the investigation was going to happen. On top of that, Kaze held proof of Desmond’s tax evasion. “You have gone mad, Kaze! Fucking mad!“Do you know what you have done? You’re not just getting me killed. You’re in trouble too!” Feel
“Hand over the evidence, Lee, and we might just spare you.” “Look at yourselves. How dare you try to take our jobs away! We can kill you for pushing our buttons!” Desmond’s staff surrounded Kaze’s group and yelled at them maliciously. Faye and the employees of Rove went weak behind the knees from fear. Desperation drove Desmond’s staff crazy. However, Kaze kept his composure and chuckled. “I beat you up several times, Desmond. “Do you think I can’t handle your staff?” Desmond grimaced. He knew what Kaze was made of. During the disaster relief, Kaze hurled a dozen of Tendon Ltd.’s best security officers into the water. Kaze, on the other hand, was unscathed. “So what if you can fight? You’re too chicken to kill anyone.” Desmond scoffed and took out his phone. “Just surround him. I’ll contract help to kill him.” He had the connection to hire a few experts. Soon, he contacted a few outlaws living in gray zones and put away his phone. “Before my people arrive, h
“W-What? It’s Conan of the Butterworth Queens!” Desmond exclaimed when he heard Kingston calling the young man’s name. He and his staff turned pale. Everybody heard Conan address Kaze with the utmost respect. Why would an heir of the Butterworth Queens take orders from a wife moocher like Kaze? No one could understand. However, that did not matter. Conan was furious to see Kaze surrounded by Desmond’s staff. “How dare you encircle Kaze! “Take them down! I expect everybody to lose a limb.”At the wave of Conan’s arm, his team of suited men charged forward. “Urgh!” “Ow!” “Don’t!” Agonized cries ensued. In less than a minute, those surrounding Kaze collapsed to the ground with a broken leg. Even the press, who stood on the sidelines, gasped. Desmond and Kingston paled in fright. Conan drew close. “So you must be Lil Dee? “You have been stirring shit about Kaze online, bastard.” “Smack!” Conan slapped Desmond in the face. Desmond shuddered without a w
“That’s right. We are on the same page.” “Don’t worry, Mr. Queen.” Several journalists chose to yield to Conan’s authority right away. Some fell into hesitation. The Butterworth Queens may be powerful, but Desmond promised them shares, making the decision tough for them. “Lil Dee, the people with Lee Investment have arrived with the paperwork for the share ownership transfer.” Soon, a senior executive of Lee Investment, together with his subordinates and attorney, appeared at the entrance to the hall. The group became reluctant to enter the place, noticing the sparks flying in the air and Conan’s team of over a hundred suited men. However, Desmond just saw his white knight in shining armor and shouted, “Mr. Lays, hurry up and show our media friends the papers for the share ownership transfer.” Desmond knew that the shares in Lee Investment, far more persuasive than Conan’s empty words, would win the journalist over.Conan pulled a sulky look and was about to speak w
“Bastards! You are all bastards!” Conan lashed out. However, there was nothing he could do about the journalists who had banded together. As they said, these people in the press had friends and connections, maybe not across Arcadia but in most regions. They came together on a common ground, united in their actions. Conan could not possibly go ahead and kill them. Even the Butterworth Queens could not handle all the media outlets if they got in touch with their friends in high places. With Conan blowing up, the individual who spoke on behalf of the press grew smug and pretended to talk out of goodwill. “We don’t want to get into it with you either. We all will be happy if you don’t stand in the way of us making money. “I am Danesh Jetman from Neo-Fi Media. People call my boss, Mia Hunt, the queen of the media in Arcadia. I’m happy to be your acquaintance, Mr. Queen.” Neo-Fi Media was a media giant in Arcadia. The media outlet possessed a powerful voice that wielded gr
“Only the person, who set you up, knows that you were framed, Kaze. “That’s why I know you’re not part of the mafia. You just know a few friends on the street. “But I’m not telling you this to clear your name. “I just want you to be aware of the power of my penmanship. I have the ability to paint you public enemy No. 1. “If you continue to overstep and argue with Lil Dee, I don’t mind writing another article that will destroy you and your wife forever.” That was a lot of smack from Danesh. He acted high and mighty like he held the key to Kaze’s fate. As a media personality, Danesh believed so. The cultured could kill with words, not physical weapons. Words had the power to inflict lasting damage. “You’re so badass, Danesh.” Desmond exclaimed with joy as Danesh took a stand for him. “Hear that, Kaze? “Danesh and all the other journalists are on my side. “Take the hint now, or involvement with the mafia is only the start of your lifelong torment. You will nev
Danesh's façade of a gentleman crumbled.His face contorted with malice. He thought that he had taken charge of the situation, and all that was left to do was walk away with Lee Investment’s shares as everybody looked on with admiration. However, Kaze gave him a rude awakening. “Do you know what you have done? You will pay for hitting me, Kaze! And you can’t handle what’s coming!” Danesh said lividly. “Can’t handle what’s coming? I should make it worthwhile then.” Curling his lips, Kaze drew close and raised his hand. “Smack!” Danesh was knocked off his feet once more. “Drag him back.” Kaze glanced at Conan. Without another word, Conan went ahead and yanked Danesh back to his place by the hair. “Let me go! Let me go, Conan! “I work for Neo-Fi Media. My boss is Mia! “Do you really want to make Neo-Fi Media an enemy?” Danesh put up a struggle, but Conan gripped him tightly like a robot and dragged him to Kaze. “Hold still!” Conan made Danesh stand straig
Danesh and everybody else in the room finally got the idea of what was going on. Although Kaze talked as if everything was up for negotiation, no one actually thought he was discussing it with Danesh. Kaze was trying to make Danesh hand over the shares. “You have the nerve, Kaze. How dare you steal Lee Investment’s shares!” Desmond was livid. Kaze was disrespectful to take Danesh’s shares right in front of his face. “He’s annoying. Get your people to shut him up,” Kaze told Conan without looking up. Without waiting to take orders from Conan, a suited man went to smack Desmond twice in the face. Desmond finally quieted down. Kaze smiled at Danesh. “What have you decided, Mr. Jetman?” “Dream on, Kaze!” Though overwhelmed with emotions, Danesh toughened up and said, “You are delusional to think I’ll give my shares to you. Kill me if you dare!” “Tsk, tsk. I can’t believe you’re choosing money over your life.” Kaze shook his head and stomped on Danesh’s leg. “Cra
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening
“Tsk. Hold on.” Vexed, the man clicked his tongue and then waved at his colleague. “Come here. Someone fainted. Help me get him out.” The man wanted to take the professor out of the container. Manson’s heart pounded as he listened to the man. He was afraid he might be exposed, but there was no turning back now—he had to play along. Kaze stood behind the door, calming his breath down to lower his presence. “Get back. Stay away from the door. If anyone gets close, don’t blame me for being rough,” said the man as he unlocked the container. He opened the door and saw a number of hostages still sleeping. He then looked at the professor on the floor. He went closer to nudge him but did not get a response. It seemed like the professor needed medical attention. “Come on. Help me get him out.” The other man outside the container was on edge, looking as if he would pull the trigger at the slightest movement. “Why don’t we do it?” Callahan and Miguel volunteered. “You two
“It’s freaking troublesome.” “Boss, don’t worry about it. We’ll get an update tomorrow.” “Yeah. It’s late. Get some rest.” Tiguan’s men told him to get some rest and not worry so much. A few of them were already snoring on the chair. Tiguan sighed and killed the cigarette. He then closed his eyes to get some rest, too. The container that Kaze was in fell into silence once more. No one dared to make any noise but they all looked at Kaze, hoping to find out about his plans. Kaze’s eyes remained fixed on the window and showed no intention of revealing his thoughts. Miguel and Callahan were annoyed by the other hostages. “If you people want to get out of here alive, you better cooperate or come up with your own idea. No one is responsible for saving you.”“Yeah. I don’t want you guys to turn on us after we do all the heavy lifting. It will cost us our lives and you people won’t even be grateful.” Miguel’s tone was sarcastic because he disliked how the others looked at t
Kaze read the hostages’ minds and refused to be used. He wanted to leave but not under such circumstances. “That’s not true. We just don’t have the skills for this kind of situation. You guys are stronger, of course, you should be in the front,” said the man in glasses and a suit. A hint of sharpness gleamed in his eyes. Miguel knew what the man was planning, either. “That’s some plan you have there. You are just trying to use us to escape this place and no matter what happens, you’ll win.” “That’s not it! I just want everyone to stand together and get out of this place. I’ve never thought of using anyone!” the man argued, trying to look innocent. Even a monkey knew what he was planning, yet no one dared to speak up because they would benefit from it too. “Why don’t you guys think of something? If you need our help, we’ll help,” said another middle-aged gentleman who looked more just and fair, as if he could lead the group. “Then what is your plan?” Kaze suddenly wante
The hostages were locked up in the containers. Some of them were elites in their own field while some were ordinary people with average income, yet all of them got into trouble when they boarded the plane. Most of them could not accept their fate. Yet they dared not defy or resist the mercenaries. When things started to calm down, they broke down in tears, weeping in silence as resentment consumed them. Kaze sat down at a clean corner that allowed him to look outside the window. The window was dirty but at least he could see outside. The space inside the container was filled with people sitting closely, offering comfort to one another. They were aware they were just temporarily safe in this container. No one knew what the mercenaries would do to them at the next moment. “My parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I can’t even get in touch,” Barney muttered as he sat beside Kaze. He too looked outside the window, his feelings mixed. He watc
Kaze thought of what he had overheard in the toilet. If he told the hostages about that, they would probably panic. “It’s nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,” he said. He did not want to reveal too much because it would cause panic. Once the hostages knew their lives were on the line, things might spiral out of control. The mercenaries could kill a few of them to make an example, and none of the hostages would dare to cause problems anymore. Kaze kept it a secret because he wanted to protect the people. “That’s it?” “Is there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?” “We want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problem—we just got caught up in it.” The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. “I don’t know either.” No matter how m
“There’s a room there. Get in.” The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. “What do you want?” The mother was nervous. She clutched her son’s hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her son’s mouth to prevent him from doing so. “All women must go into that room. You go in now,” the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. “You people won’t hurt me, right?” the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. “We are not into MILF,” said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. “They told us they were going to separate us, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, worried that the mother and son would not cooperate. The mother then carried her son and followed the other mercenary into the room. It was called a room but it was actually ju