Convalescence

TAKAHASHI

The first thing I heard was the clucking of a woman's stiletto against the asphalt. It was a sure sign that Mister Alfredo Buenaventura did not bail out on our deal.

Angling my head towards the direction where I heard the sound, I found the burly man walking towards me, his secretary following behind him together with five of his men.

The cold breeze brushed through my face, letting me taste the salty tang from the nearby sea.

We were at a port owned by one of the members of the Golden Island, a very convenient asset to have, I might add.

I can't help the smirk from forming across my lips. It has been a year. It has already been a year since I had taken the reins on the Golden Island and business had never been better.

Plastering a serene smile, I gestured for Paul who was standing beside me to hand me the case, extending my right hand in the process as Alfredo Buenaventura neared the spot we were in, the clucking of his secretary's heels getting louder.

"Takahashi," Alfredo Buenaventura's deep voice seemed to reverberate through the silence of our surroundings.

"Alfred," I said, briefly catching a wift of his secretary's perfume. A lovely floral scent teased my nostril. It reminded me of Mary. If my memory serves me right, she had one of the same scents.

"I apologize for the delay, I had some important matters to attend to," I noticed his strong emphasis on the words important and matter. It gave me a clear idea of what that meant. I chuckled.

"No hard feelings, Alfred. Although I'd highly appreciate a heads up next time. Also, it would be better if you make it on time too. But for now, I will let it slide," I said, parting my lips to form a smile.

"This is why I like you, Takahashi. Your patience with me is astounding,"

Patience. The word rang in my ears. If he really knew me, he would surely find out that I wasn't a man who was filled with that. In all honesty, I was willing to bail out on him if he didn't show up fifteen minutes late from the exact time we had agreed on.

"I am lucky, not many people like me, Alfred. I'm pretty sure that you have already read or heard what people are saying upon hearing my name."

"Nonsense, Takahashi. What's not to like about you?"

'A lot.'I let myself answer in my thoughts. As I have mentioned, there are people who didn't like me. But, I could hardly care about their opinion. I never did.

"I could name some, but let's not talk about that," It was Alfredo Buenaventura's turn to chuckle.

"Right, down to business," he said, sending a wink my way, gesturing to one of his men who was carrying a case almost similar to the one I was holding.

Already knowing the drill, Alfred opened the case and showed the bundles of thousands contained inside the case. Doing the same, I opened the case I was holding and showed him the set of Springfield XD which we had recently obtained.

I briefly caught the greedy look on Alfredo Buenavenura's face upon seeing the set of guns I had just shown him.

"The rest of the cases are in the car," I said, shutting the case I was holding close and tossing him a car key right after.

"You got me a souvenir Takahashi, I'll be sure to look forward to our next transaction," I smiled.

"I'm feeling generous Alfred. Until our next deal," I said, offering my right hand for a handshake.

The burly man clasped my offered hand with a wide grin as the other handed the case with the money towards Paul.

"It will be my pleasure to make a deal with you again,"

"Likewise," I stated. Alfredo Buenaventura then gave me a salute as he and his men began to disperse.

When they had finally disappeared from sight, I turned towards the black nothingness that seemed to stretch through the sea beside the port.

"Give me an update regarding Margaux's whereabouts," I said to everyone. Anyone who has a mouth and an answer could respond.

"Negative," I heard Paul's voice. Slowly, I turned to face him.

"This seemed to be a small country and yet finding two ladies on the run was taking too long, how fascinating," Paul's expression remained stone-like as he stared right back at me.

"I have warned you before, didn't I? You shouldn't underestimate Margaux. That kid can hold a grudge and with you killing her entire family, I could only imagine how deep that grudge is."

I mused over Paul's words, my lips twitching into a grin on their own accord.

"Then let her come for me. I want to see how she would get her vengeance. I look forward to seeing her again."

--

KEVIN

I slowly opened my eyes, my chest felt like I slammed into a hard wall. The first thing I saw was Astherielle's face hovering above me.

"Why the face, Elle?" I groaned, getting myself into a sitting position. Still feeling a little disoriented, I scanned our surroundings and found that they had brought me back upstairs, back at where we had been earlier.

"Bruh, what the heck was that?" Nico said, seemingly glowering at me.

I scratched my head.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"A woman," Nico paused, exasperated. "Knocked you out cold in a single blow. You, you, who is known for fighting, got knocked out by a woman with one punch. Bruh, seriously, what happened?"

I threw my head back, pinching the bridge of my nose. Memories of the happenings before I passed out run through my head.

"Crap," I muttered, remembering Rose.

"Crap indeed," Nico was fuming while Astherielle was quietly assessing me, most likely wondering the same thing that Nico had asked about.

"I honestly don't know what and how did that happen," I added another curse inside my head.

"Did you let her win on purpose?" I looked at Astherielle incredulously.

"What? Me, allow a stranger to simply knock me out cold, right in front of all of you? I would have just killed myself if I did that," Astherielle belted out a laugh, gaining two glares from both me and Nico.

"It's not funny," I said.

"The great Kevin Reyes got knocked out cold by a beautiful maiden. Imagine that, it will make a perfect headline for a news article. Don't you agree?"

I scoffed.

"I'm glad that you are enjoying this, Elle. However, this isn't a laughing matter. We do not know who she is and yet she found us." Astherielle seemed to consider this, the mirth from her eyes beginning to dissipate.

"To add, her fighting skills are extraordinary. She seemed to be well-trained, kinda suspicious," I agreed with Nico.

Rose. She said her name was Rose. Comparable to the flower, I can't deny that she had a pretty face. The way she carried herself, the confidence she had portrayed was admirable.

Like a rose, she seemed delicate.

Like a rose, she appeared to be deadly.