Chapter 5: Venting Together with Novia

“Thank you so much for helping me, mister. My name is Novia. Who are you? Are you really a former cop, like those two officers said earlier?” she asked, looking at Brandon as he sat on a chair while she remained seated on the edge of the bed, since the room had no living room.

“Yeah… I’m a former cop… who got fired. Just call me Brandon!” Brandon replied curtly.

“Why did he treat you so rough, Novia? Who is that guy anyway? If you want to talk about it, go ahead. If not, that’s fine too,” Brandon said, his cold demeanor still lingering as he stared piercingly at Novia, who was dressed only in a loose house dress.

“His name is Punang. He’s my ex-boyfriend. He has a violent temper, loves to drink, and works as an extortionist—basically a street thug. We broke up a long time ago. He wanted to get back together, but I refused. If I went back to him, he’d torture me to death. I don’t even know how he found out my address here, seeing as I’ve only lived in this boarding house for three months!”

“Ah, I see… sorry about earlier, I almost killed him… Turns out he’s your ex-boyfriend, Novia,” Brandon said, slightly surprised.

“If the law didn’t exist, I’d actually love it if you had beaten him to death, as payback for all the abuse he put me through while we were together. But looking at his broken arm and smashed-up face from your beating... if I hadn't stopped you, I’d be worried he actually would’ve died and you’d be in serious legal trouble!”

“Yeah, you're right. I lost my temper back there. Good thing you held me back, otherwise Punang might actually be dead,” Brandon replied with a slight smile.

“Oh right, do you want some coffee, Brandon? Let me go make you a cup in the back!” Without waiting for an answer, Novia headed to the back area and returned in less than ten minutes holding a hot cup of coffee.

“Do you mind if I smoke, Novia?”

“Go ahead, I smoke sometimes too!” Novia pulled out a pack of mild cigarettes, and Brandon smiled when he saw they smoked the exact same brand, except hers were menthol.

Novia finally opened up about how she ended up ‘shacking up’ with Punang the violent thug. It turned out that she had once almost fallen into online prostitution after being tricked by a woman who initially promised to find her a job at a combined café and pub.

Instead, she was going to be sold to wealthy patrons. Punang, who was working as a security guard at the time, stepped in to rescue her. But his help came with strings attached—the thug actually wanted to make Novia his kept mistress.

Rather than becoming a prostitute, Novia reluctantly accepted Punang as her boyfriend. However, Punang ended up exploiting her, regularly demanding her entire salary to fund his drinking and gambling habits.

Eventually, Novia couldn't take it anymore, especially since Punang frequently abused her whenever his demands weren't met.

So she secretly fled the boarding house they had been sharing. This current place was already the third room she had rented, but Punang somehow always managed to track her down.

Until finally, Punang got what was coming to him, beaten unconscious by Brandon. They continued chatting casually into the night. For Brandon, who was drowning in despair, it felt like finding someone he could actually confide in. The usually closed-off Brandon now had a new friend in the sometimes blunt and outspoken Novia.

They talked until 10 PM, after which Brandon excused himself to head back to his own room. Novia unhesitatingly told him to drop by her room whenever he wanted to chat during his free time.

The next day, true to his conversation with Senior Commissioner Roni, Brandon headed to Jack Black’s address located in West Jakarta.

The house he arrived at had a closed-off, heavily fortified look, featuring a high fence guarded by two security guards at the front.

“Just head straight to the side patio. Boss Jack Black will call you inside if you already have an appointment,” said the guard, whose name tag read Asep.

Brandon nodded in acknowledgment, then made his way to the patio and waited there.

Only about fifteen minutes later, a tall, powerfully built man with a dark complexion and a thick mustache stepped out. After introducing himself, he looked Brandon up and down from head to toe.

“So you’re Brandon, the guy who just got dishonorably discharged from the force, according to Senior Commissioner Roni?” Jack Black asked.

TO BE CONTINUED