Sunday, June 19th, 2044
Noxville, Netheria.
Gazing out from the glass walls of the 172nd Floor of the Tower of Nox, Keith could see all of the Noxville from here. The project was almost complete, and everything was on schedule. A year later, Noxville Netheria was going to open to the Public, but even now, some Business Towers were already functional.
It was a beautiful view from up here, but there was a very solemn expression on his face, and it was the same for the people around him.
"Keith..."
His grandmother, who had returned from Eden last Wednesday, worriedly called out to him.
He had brought her here today to show her around the Noxville, and with them was Nana, and his Shadow, Yingying.
She was there with him when he received a very disturbing news half an hour ago.
Rebecca Grayson, his bride, had been targeted in the Sameran Downtown. The people who attacked her car were not there to kidnap her but were there to kill her.
The City of Sameran, which had not heard the sound of Gunshots on the streets for nearly a century was in a panic.
Suddenly, the door to the office they were inside opened, and in walked a girl wearing a baseball cap and black glasses.
She glanced at everyone in the room and then approached him rather casually, even ignoring Yingying, who stepped in front of the stranger to stop her. But she had to come to a stop when she felt the coldness of the dagger kissing her neck.
"Let her go, Yingying," Keith said without even looking back at what was happening.
"She's scary, Senpai!" The stranger cutely complained to him, making the other three people in the room frown at her words.
"Report." He ignored what she said and commanded.
"Hai! Tiger, Hound, Hummingbird, and Viper have been caught. Tiger was here today, and he personally led the attack. Hummingbird was found on the outskirts of Sameran, trying to run away. Hound was in Delvon, and Viper has been caught by Z in China," Iris informed him. "Other than them, is dead, and so are the rest of the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group. Lady Rebecca and her Shadow are safe and have been escorted to the Demiliore Manor by July and Nike. The Shadow, Marianne, suffered some burns and minor injuries, everyone else is completely fine."
"You killed him?" He knowingly asked.
"Yes. was trying to detonate explosives, and so I had to take him out."
"Civilian Casualties?" He indifferently asked.
"Two men. One old, and the other a High-School Student."
"The recordings?"
"The attack has been captured on the feed, and we took care of the things that are not meant for the public." She brightly said.
"I see." He nodded to her words and then calmly stared at the faraway mountains.
"Keith, let's go home." Diana finally could not bear the silence and pleadingly said. She was immensely relieved to know that Rebecca was fine, and she wanted to return home to see for herself how her granddaughter-in-law was doing.
"I have some things to attend to. Take Nana with you. I will ask Victor to escort you home." He turned around and lightly said before taking out his phone and making a call to his bodyguard.
"She might need you to be with her." She frowned, and as a wise woman, who was well aware of some of Keith's secrets knew that he was not up to anything pleasant, and as his Grandmother, she could not help but try to persuade him to leave whatever he had to do to others.
"I know. I will be there by nightfall." He assured her with a light smile and stepped forward, giving her a comforting hug. "Also, she's fine. And you must not miss your lunch." He strictly said, which brought a smile to her face and she nodded her head.
"Be safe." She said, and then allowed Nana to hold her arm as the two of them left the office.
Right before they left the room, Nana turned around and glanced at him, chatting with the unknown girl, and she frowned a little.
Keith caught her looking his way and gently smiled at her, shaking his head, easing her frown and telling her that she must not talk about this strange girl to anyone.
Even though he did not speak, she understood what he meant and obediently nodded to him.
"Where are they?" He grimly asked as soon as the door of the office closed.
"Tiger and Hummingbird are being held at location four. Hound will be delivered there in two hours, and Z will bring Viper there by 5 pm."
"Make sure that the news does not reach Ye Tian that his subordinates have been captured." He instructed her before starting to walk out of the office.
Yingying silently followed after him, and Iris heeded Keith's instructions and checked on the status of Ye Tian again.
The final bail appeal of Ye Tian had been rejected by the court on Thursday, and he was set to appear in court tomorrow.
A lot of people had approached the Demiliore Family in the last two weeks, asking them to show some leniency, and Keith offered them the same conditions as he did to John Hawkins, the Chairman of Nestex Corporation.
Needless to say, Ye Tian refused to offer any public apology. Even after he discovered that the evidence he had against Keith and the Demiliore Family was missing, he refused to beg for mercy or apologise to anyone, which created a lot of friction between him and the people who had come for his help.
His stubbornness was akin to a slap on their faces, who had come forward to help him despite all the backlash they had to suffer, and in the end, he refused to capitalise on the chance they had earned for him. Though it was not much, it could still help him a little in his case, but Ye Tian was too dumb and stubborn to realise it.
However, the Child of Destiny still had his hard-core supporters behind his back, including John Hawkins and his son Rupert Hawkins, who tried their all to somehow get hold of anything detrimental to the Demiliore Family, failing miserably in their quest.
Keith was not one to tolerate such an act, and within the last week, he had managed to drown the Hawkins foundation in muddy waters, causing them to bear losses worth tens of Billions.
Everyone knew who was behind the current plight of the Nestex Corporation, but there was nothing anyone could do about it since even the Government refused to offer any help to people supporting Ye Tian.
It was quite clear what was going to happen tomorrow at court. Ye Tian was going to be awarded a sentence for the Murder of Jun Gouzo. And this was why Tiger, the second in command of the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group had tried to kidnap Qingyue on Friday, which was foiled without anyone noticing, and then attacked Rebecca today, which Keith and Rebecca were prepared for.
Their actions were all in desperation to make Keith suffer, but unfortunately for them, he was prepared for everything.
Taking an ordinary BMW, which could be found on the streets of the City at every stop, Keith and Yingying arrived at a Villa in a decent housing society.
Naomi was already there, waiting for him, and as soon they stepped out of the car and reached the front door, she opened it for them.
"Good afternoon, Captain." She respectfully said before guiding them to the basement.
There were three individuals bound on metal chairs, and since they were all Aurors, as a precaution, they were all sedated as well.
Keith could see that Tiger had been beaten up well, and he knew that it was Julian's doing.
He looked at the bald man, who was codenamed Hound and then at the average-looking soldier girl with a permanent scar across her face that she must have suffered years ago. She was Hummingbird, a girl Ye Tian recruited into his Group a few years ago.
"Wake them up." He simply said as he locked the door, and Naomi nodded to him before taking out some medicine and injecting them into their bodies, not even bothering to change the needle or disinfect it.
They had tried to kill her sister. It was already a blessing for them that she had kept them alive, listening to Keith's order.
Keith calmly took off his suit jacket and handed it to Yingying before uncuffing his sleeves and folding them up, just under his elbows.
He then walked over to the wall and placed his hand on it, Initiating a mechanism that revealed a hidden safe, where several gadgets were placed.
He took out a camera which stuck to the wall right where he placed it, and then he activated it.
Before the three prisoners could wake up, the door of the basement suddenly opened, alarming Yingying, but it was the same unknown girl whom she has seen earlier in Noxville. And in her hands was something that made her frown.
Naomi too had a frown marring her face when she looked at the decapitated head that Isuel was holding onto. She was well aware of the sadistic methods of her colleague, but she was still not quite used to them.
Keith simply smiled at her when he saw what she was holding in her hand, and it evoked a brilliant smile on her lips.
"I thought you would like the present."
"I do. And I am sure the three of them would appreciate it too." He glanced at the three people who had started waking up.
The bald man was the first one to open his eyes and looked around in alarm. His face was a little pale as he could not muster up any strength, and when he found his subordinates bound alongside him, he seemingly calmed down a little. Perhaps, he was relieved to see them alive, but the moment his eyes landed on the decapitated head of his best friend, terror struck him before a heart-wrenching cry escaped his lips.
"I am sorry. Your boyfriend was a fat man, and fat people irritate me." Iseul apologetically said. "But I made sure he screamed a lot when I ran my blunt knife into his neck." A chilling smile crept on her face as she looked at Hound, who let out another sorrowful and rage-filled cry.
Tiger and Hummingbird were wide awake too now, and their faces were deathly pale as they looked at the head of their companion, which had a very ugly expression frozen on his face, undoubtedly from the excruciating pain that he had to suffer before he died.
