The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

“LET HER GO!!” Emma exclaimed angrily.

The leader of the small group turned his back, and stood casually staring at the black helmet man, “If I refuse, what would you do, then?”

“I’m going to break your neck. Quickly release that woman before I do it myself.” Emma said firmly.

The man laughed, “Try it, then.”

Brumm!! Brumm!!

Emma looked back when she heard the sound of the exhaust blaring all around her. The motorbikes’ headlights shone toward her as if she were a movie star receiving an Oscar.

“You coward bastards!” Emma muttered as she stared at the dozens of additional motorbikes that had entered the battle arena.

***

.....

Marcel clutched his head in frustration as he drove his luxurious sports car. In all his life, Marcel had never been angry with his grandmother or mother. He was a good son who never fought nor talked back at all. But today, not only did he fight back, but he also hurt his grandmother with cruel words that somehow managed to come out of his garbage mouth.

What the grandmother said was true and Marcel realized it. But he really couldn’t accept that his standard of living to be dropped. In fact, even from the start, the Redvalley Street would not be as advanced as it was now if Marcel had not kept the Underground Cave open. From the very beginning, the funds to maintain and protect Redvalley were never enough if it only relied on the deposits from the residents.

All that pressure made Marcel lose control of his emotions so that he could hurt the grandmother he loved so much. As usual, regret always came too late. And it hit him very hard.

You will only realize that you hurt someone, after seeing the wound you made.

Marcel stopped his car just before entering the gates of his headquarters building. He contemplated for a few minutes behind the wheel. His eyes seemed to be puddled. Did this mean that he was no longer able to bear the burden placed on his shoulders? If it was Jack, would he do the same? If it was Jack, would he be so depressed that made him hurt their grandmother? How did Jack and his mother feel when they saw Marcel hurt his grandmother?

“Tsk! You jerk!” Marcel growled by stepping on the gas pedal and slamming the steering wheel. The car didn’t go into the base, but instead drove away again, leaving the guards who were bowing respectfully around the gates to welcome the leader.

Marcel knew he was wrong. Indeed, he did not believe that he could change his perspective on money. He was also not sure if he could change the policy he had set for the deposit fee on Redvalley Street. However, he was a grandson who must apologize for hurting his grandmother, the last person he loved the most in this world. He would kneel at his grandmother’s feet and beg for her forgiveness.

When Marcel’s car had entered the Redvalley Street area, his cell phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the object he had previously placed on the passenger seat next to him. On the phone screen, the grandmother’s contact name appeared. Marcel immediately grabbed his cell phone and picked up the phone.

“Hello..”

Marcel stopped when the call was suddenly ended unilaterally by the caller. His brows furrowed in confusion as he removed the phone from his ear to stare at the locked screen of the phone.

Even though it felt a little odd, Marcel didn’t think about recalling his grandmother because she was close to home. Less than five minutes, Marcel’s car had arrived in front of the tavern which was the house where his grandmother lived. He immediately got out of the car and opened the door of the shop. But the door was locked.

‘Is grandma asleep?’ Marcel thought, but he immediately denied the prejudice because his grandmother had just contacted him although he did not have time to answer.

Finally, Marcel pressed the bell button beside the door. He waited a few seconds before pressing it again. However, there was still no sign of the door would be opened.

“Gosh! Idiot.. I have a spare key in the car,” He muttered as he walked briskly to his car for the keys.

Marcel moved fast because he had an uneasy feeling for some reason, but he couldn’t tell whether it was because he had just had a fight with his grandmother or if there really was something wrong.

The tavern door opened with Marcel stepped inside. He took off his coat and immediately rushed upstairs which was the house. But Marcel’s panic only increased when he couldn’t find his grandmother in any room. The house was empty.

With a little run, Marcel stepped down the stairs while holding the phone to his ear. He called Lilian who was now out of nowhere. In all her life, the old woman had never been outside the house at night. She even had never left the Redvalley Street area except with his grandson during this time.

Marcel’s call was still not answered even though he had called many times. Until he felt relieved when the dial tone stopped which indicated that his grandmother had picked up the phone.

“Grandma! Where are you?” Marcel asked quickly.

“I.. that..”

Marcel’s eyes immediately widened when he heard that it wasn’t the grandmother who answered the call, but a man’s voice.

“Who are you? Where is my grandmother?” Marcel asked fast.

“I.. am a taxi driver. I.. I was the one who drove the woman who owned this cellphone earlier. She left her cellphone in my car,” The taxi driver answered breathlessly.

Marcel could hear the man’s voice which sounded like he had run a marathon. His feeling was getting worse, “Right. Then, where did you drop her? I have to pick her up now.”

“Actually.. there’s a problem..” The man muttered.

“What kind of problem? Can you speak clearly? You just need to tell me where you’re dropping my grandma.”

The taxi driver was silent. He was still in the parking lot of a motel because his house was still far away. He was so scared that he decided not to wander the streets until the morning came. Just like what the big scary man said earlier, he must not tell anyone about what happened earlier.

However, the taxi driver was a nice man who understood that the passenger woman was in danger. If he was in her granddaughter’s position, he would feel almost crazy to know that his grandmother was being caught by criminals.

“Sir! I’m asking you, where is my grandmother?!” Marcel snapped impatiently. “Listen! You don’t know who I am. If you dare to touch a strand of my grandmother’s hair, I assure you, not even the police can find your corpse!” He growled.

“There was a bunch of thugs who stopped my car. They caught your grandmother and told me to leave immediately. Please don’t tell anyone I told you this. They also threatened to kill me if I opened my mouth.” The man explained with a trembling voice as if he was holding back tears. Of course, he would be scared to death. Now, he just realized he was in the middle of two criminals who were at odds. What bad luck!

The information was like a bomb that exploded in Marcel’s heart, “Where.. Where did it happen? Tell me now!” He exclaimed while rushing to his car. He even left the tavern with the door open.

In the car, Marcel pressed the gas pedal deeply while calling Kenny to immediately send troops to the road the taxi driver had mentioned earlier. Marcel’s heart was beating briskly. He didn’t expect his grandmother to go out in the middle of the night like that and got caught right away. No need to think any further to find out who did it. It must be the Creeper group that had been eyeing RJC’s territory for a long time.

The black sports car drove like the wind on an empty road. Then, Marcel’s eyes saw a large group of motorbikes with their owners who seemed to be involved in a fight. In his haste, he even hit some of the parked motorbikes before actually stepping on the brake pedal. It seemed that he did have an intention of doing this.

Like a bullet, Marcel shot out of his car door at lightning speed. But in the end, he realized that the thugs were fighting.. or rather ganged up on a man who appeared to have a petite body with a black helmet covering his head.

Marcel, who was about to attack the thugs, became confused. He wasn’t sure who should he beat? However, he could see from the leather jackets worn by the group of men, that there was the official Creeper logo on them. Whoever kidnapped his grandmother would not change the fact that the Creeper was an opponent who wanted RJC’s destruction. Therefore, Marcel decided to finish them off first.

On the other hand, Emma Hilland was desperately fighting off the hordes of men that were swarming her. It had been a long time since Emma had fought that many men. The last time she fought dozens of men was when she was attacking the Hell Gate headquarters. But the difference was, that this mob of motorized men had a greater fighting ability than the members of Hell Gate.

Although a bit troublesome, that didn’t mean Emma couldn’t fight them all. With her already stable body condition and because she had fought many times during her time as a hero in the shadows, her abilities had greatly improved. Compared to Emma Hilland who at that time fought with Hell Gate members, this current Emma Hilland was a monster that was almost impossible to be touched.

Actually, there was only one thing that bothered Emma quite a bit. It was she had someone to protect. Yes, Lilian was in the middle of the dangerous fight. Every now and then, the men tried to pull the old woman to take her away but were quickly thwarted by Emma. So, Emma’s current state was, apart from protecting herself, she had to protect the old woman as well.