The Devil's Den
The Devil's Den
Compared to Ririna's bright and lovely colors, Skyler took an interest in using darker and neutral tones. His mother's preferences on painting sceneries and portraits clashed against his impressionism and abstract art.
Rion wondered if Skyler also wished to pursue a career in the art industry.
"Uncle?" Skyler's voice brought his attention to the child beside him.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think…?" Skyler hesitated, his gray round eyes staring at the unfinished art in front of him. "Do you think Mommy doesn't love me anymore?"
Rion gave the little boy a quick glance before taking another set of watercolor tubes from the box beside him.
"What made you say so?" He had an idea, but he still wanted to know what was on Skyler's mind.
With gloom on his face, Skyler brought down his brush and looked away as if he was embarrassed about what he did.
"I made my mommy cry," he whispered.
Rion was taken aback from the little boy's confession. He'd known from the phone call he received from Ririna that Skyler was upset from the news of him becoming a big brother, but she never thought the child would feel guilty because of it. Ririna even said that the boy refused to talk to Eli and gave him a look that made his father feel like it was his own fault why Ririna was pregnant.
"I assure you, your mom will understand. Now, will you tell your Uncle Rion why you didn't like to be a big brother? Don't you like to have a sibling?"
Skyler nodded. "I do, but I miss my mommy…"
'Oh, so it seems it stems out from Ririna being away from him for too long,' Rion thought. The kid needed some reassurance from his mother and needed to understand that it was normal for him to get jealous for the attention of both of his parents.
"You know I have a sister, right?"
Skyler nodded absentmindedly. He remembered his Uncle mentioning his deceased sister before.
"I don't know how to become a good brother," Skyler confessed. He was too used to being doted alone by his mother and never thought that there would be a day that he had to share her with his father… what more with another kid.
Rion paused and thought about the first time he found out about being an older brother to his sister. Truth to be told he didn't care about it, but when he saw Ava for the first time, he promised that he would do his best to protect her from any harm. He wondered if Skyler would feel the same way once he met his sibling.
"You will be fine. Didn't you say you will protect your mother once you grew up? It's the same way with having a sibling. You should take care of and protect the baby."
Skyler pouted, but it made his cheeks look like cute little buns asking to pinch. His cheeks slightly flushed, and Rion wasn't sure if the boy was still upset over the matter.
"And you're a big boy now." Rion paused for a while before taking something from his coat. "Here. Look at this."
He handed a small photograph to the boy. It was old, and there was an obvious tear on one side. Skyler took a peek on it and saw a boy who extremely resembled his Uncle Rion with a small little girl with pigtails tugging his shirt as if trying to get his attention.
"That girl was my sister, Ava. She was a crybaby when she was younger and would always get in trouble when no one was paying attention to her."
"I don't want a baby sister," Skyler said. His expression almost the same with his father when he's irritated. Rion chuckled on his response.
---
Christian Jiang knew something was up when Aoi and Jerry came on his doorstep. The same thought had flashed through his mind several times. There was this uneasiness in the air, and he wondered what had happened now.
"What brings you here?" he asked although he was sure that neither of the two would give him an answer.
When the Park family took over the case over the death of his elder brother, he knew that his own family had instigated a plan against the Parks. They wouldn't invite Gamaliel Park and Ririna Han if it wasn't for the bureau's intervention. He followed both men silently. He was sure that his family offended the Parks once again; hence he was being escorted now, away from the capital.
Aoi didn't say a word ever since they arrived but motioned him to follow while Jerry took his phone and punched in their boss's number with his huge thumb, not taking his eyes off the man they were taking. When Eli answered his call, he told him the status of their mission and mentioning someone following their trail. He also asked him if they should proceed with their original plan. Eli decided to go with the plan, and he would send one of the other team to rope off the way to their next destination.
"Damn. Do you think they are still coming after us?" Jerry grumbled as soon as he disconnected the call.
Aoi gave him a flat look before opening the door on the driver seat of his car.
"Even if they do, it's clear that they can't do anything." He was reluctant but did what their master's command nevertheless. He sat in his SUV, not making a move to put the car in gear.
"I need to pull down there so I can turn around." He pointed at the narrow path. Aoi was forced to change the route while they were on the way earlier to mislead whoever was following them. Fortunately, after an hour of circling around, they decided to leave his car on a secluded park on the outskirts of the city near Christian's place.
Jerry and Christian buckled up at the backseat and waited for Aoi to say something, but he didn't. Aoi was glad that the two men behind him were reluctant to talk to him. He had to clear his mind from distractions. He wasn't really sure what Eli meant when he asked him to take Christian and hide him to one of their hideouts up north, but now, it was starting to make sense. Was it from the underworld, or was it the government's bureau moving against the Park family?
Since Gamaliel Park married Ririna Han months ago, they started to notice changes within the bureau. It was like some kind of silent rule that no one should mention the existence of Ririna Han to any mercenary family working for the government. Of course, Aoi took some precautionary steps when Eli asked him to infiltrate and gather info about what was going on with the bureau.
He wasn't expecting anything yet when someone slipped and mentioned how Ririna Han ended up as one of the confidential cases the bureau had to offer, Aoi knew that Eli's intuition was right.
The Bureau wanted Ririna Han dead. They were planning to do a witch hunt, and the bounty prize for her head was really tempting for most mercenaries.
As for the reasons, Aoi could only assume that it was related to the Park and Song family's decision to cut off their ties with the government. Before they were just speculations that the two families weren't happy with the government for the past years and were just trying to contain their disappointment.
"We shouldn't be surprised if the Bureau decided to pull the shackles against the Park family. Master Eli knew that they were the ones behind the Jiang family's actions." Aoi's voice was so cold that Christian felt that he was being interrogated on the spot.
What did his family do now?
Aoi looked pissed. They've been working with the government for so long that it was the first time that the other party blatantly forced the Park family to yield to them. Didn't they know the Park family didn't take shit from anyone? Did they really think that the Park and the Song families wouldn't react when they tried to assassinate him and Ririna Han the other night?
If Eli didn't arrive on time, he and Ririna would've been dead.
Several ways of answering him flitted through Christian's mind. He was thinking of denying that he knew nothing of what his family did. Considering that it was the aloof Aoi—Gamaliel Park's right-hand man who had picked him up from his place, he kept his mouth shut.
The silence seemed to satisfy Aoi. He said nothing for the remainder of the trip. His fingers tapped the steering wheel as he drove away from the place. He was glad that it was a long ride. It gave him enough time to calm himself and think clearly.
Once they arrived at their destination, the three of them kept on anticipating what could be waiting for them. This hideout was kept secret and only served as a torture chamber for those who offended the Park family and a place to squeeze answers from their leads. Aoi hadn't stepped on this place for two years, and he wasn't happy to hear another round of pleading and screaming.
Jerry watched Aoi pause before following his trail with Christian on his side. He looked like he wanted to say something more to Aoi about Ririna's case. The woman had several enemies, and while their loyalty was on Gamaliel Park, he couldn't blame the others to doubt if they should protect their master's woman. Everyone seemed to think that the devil got a weakness now, and he couldn't wait to see the day when the devil would reap their souls and drag them down the hell.
He could not very well say now that he doubted Ririna's capabilities. True, she was missing in action for years, and he knew her skills haven't been used since she left. She gave up her life of being a mercenary to raise a child of her own.
A scream of agony broke the silence, making Christian falter on his steps. Aoi checked the time on his wristwatch and rushed to the scene where the scream came from. Jerry cast a glance back to the other man and saw a combination of fear and uneasiness written on his face. This place was called the devil's den for a reason.