Escape

"No!" Darah shouted when she saw him raise his gun to the window. Ryu saw that she was about to block him so he cleverly wound his free hand tight behind her and pulled her underneath his coat as if he had covered her with a blanket.

A fire sound rang through her ears and Darah almost felt her poor heart jump out of her chest. No not another dead body!!!

I missed it! Darah's shaking me! Ryu furrowed his brows in anger and aimed again. Was this crazy dude going to create a bloodbath in her house!? 

"Ryu!!!" She called out his name angrily for the first time while pushing him away. 

"Don't try to stop me!" He retorted in anger as he aimed again and this time the target moved a little, causing the bullet to brush through his shoulder and break the window glass. 

Another knife flung towards Ryu but just as he was about to dodge it, a hand blocked his sight, causing his pupils to dilate in disbelief. Darah caught it before he did. She caught it? 

The masked man was stupefied and took it as an opportunity to jump through the window outside. 

"Luca!!! Bring that man to me!" Ryu roared and the young man outside hearing it ran up to the house only to see a black attired figure running past him.

"Stop right there!" Luca growled in anger and followed but the man swung him with his knife once, causing Luca to jump back in caution. In an instant, his white shirt was stained with a very light streak of blood.  He felt like a fool for not carrying his gun with him. 

One of the guards was still in the car and he failed to notice the man running past him and fading into the thick bushes… Luca ran a little but lost sight of him quickly. He was no ordinary robber or anything. He was an assassin for sure with that precision. Ryu ran out and noticing that the man had escaped, he looked at Darah with cold eyes.

"Why the hell would you do that, you stupid bonehead!?" Ryu was raging at her, his eyes staring daggers into her soul. Oh now I have to deal with him too, Darah internally sighed. 

"Did what!?" Darah tried to appear innocent.

"You shook me! Why would you purposefully try to save someone who tried to kill you!?" Ryu asked again

"I didn't want to make a bloody mess out of this place!" 

"Goodness, what a valid reason! How dumb are you!? You're not in Disneyland for God's sake! He could've killed you!"

"But I'm still alive!" Darah stopped his fit of rage. He didn't seem in a mood to fight. She looked at her hand, still gripping tight to the throw knife in disbelief. I don't know how I caught it. But I just knew...

"I know what you're thinking. Maybe you don't want to see people die in front of you. But that wish of yours has nothing to do with me. I decide what to do to my enemies. Look at what happened now. More men are going to come after you. They already found out where you live! They probably think you're someone important to the Shengs since you saved Lyra that day!" Ryu warned as he firmly held her arm and turned her attention  to his eyes. 

"I'm already paying for my sins." Darah said to herself in a low voice. Ryu didn't quite hear that so he lowered his head to her height, glaring into her eyes. 

"What are you mumbling about?" His voice was deep and threatening. Darah closed her eyes and looked at him again, sternly. 

"I'll be fine on my own. I'll go somewhere else where I won't bother anyone. You don't have to care at all." She said with a determined look, making Ryu smirk.

"You still don't realise how dangerous people can be do you?" Ryu tapped her head as if checking anything's inside. Darah turned red at the close proximity but Ryu stood back when he heard steps behind them. It was an old man with grey hair and a very angry face. 

"What were the noises I heard here!? And- Oh god! No no no!!!" He looked at the window where there was shattered glass shards scattered everywhere, the broken mirror and the misplaced furniture. The old man lost it. 

"Who did this!? And you, young lady! Where did you disappear without a word for the past few weeks! You've already crossed your due date to pay!!! If you keep this up I'll double the price! Oh god this mess!" He was fuming in anger and Darah didn't know what to say. She wanted to pay the rent but the furniture and the glass altogether? Her head began to spin. 

"Speak up, woman!" 

"I'll pay up for sure. Please excuse the mess for now." Darah bowed lightly.

 Shaggy old grubber, Ryu thought. He was about to step out to leave the hassle when he heard the old man say something again. 

"Now that you've run out of money, you're bringing rich young men over too!? In that case I can't let you stay! Such indecency!" 

Ryu stopped in his tracks and turned back with a menacing glare. The old man looked at him but noticing that he was probably an elite, the man composed his expression pretending he hadn't said a word. 

"Did your wife bring over rich men too because she was done with your bullshit? Is that it?" Darah said suddenly out of the blue knowing that he was divorced. Ryu raised a brow but needless to say he was impressed. He smirked, noticing how the old man began to shake in anger.

The old man's look changed, feeling humiliated.

"You-" 

 Ryu smacked the man across his face with a bundle of notes so hard that it left his cheek red as the notes scattered to the floor. 

"Take it. Slice it up and maybe put it in your noodles. People like you only know how to eat money." Ryu said in a disgusted voice as he held an angry Darah's wrist and gently pulled her beside him. 

"How dare-" 

"Shh…" He kept a finger to his mouth with a devious smile. 

"Don't say stupid things. You don't want your family to see your picture in the papers tomorrow do you?" The man began to shake as Ryu smiled, tilting his head. 

________

"You let her escape!? You can't do one job right! You've failed me!" The old man was fuming in anger as the masked man reported the news to him. 

"I couldn't get a hold of her! It wasn't easy!" The masked assassin pleaded in frustration. 

"What isn't easy about catching and killing a puny young woman who's alone!? She killed my son! I won't let her live any longer! " The old man raised his gun at him. The masked man began to shake. 

"That's the point! She wasn't alone! She's not just anybody to them! She had him with her!  Ryu Sheng…" 

As soon as the old man heard his name, his eyes widened in anger and a gunshot fired in the dark room.