12. Another explosion

"The hell?!"

Liam burst inside Xander's study at their bunker in Red Wolf. Panting, as if he'd ran all the way here, Liam threw the file on Xander's table, earning himself an annoyed glare.

Ignoring his brother, Liam flipped open the file and jabbed a finger at the picture of George White talking with Jordan Villin. "He's meeting with him again."

Xander leaned back on his chair, one of his hands twirling the fountain pen between its fingers. "I know."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the 'Blood heir.'"

Liam rolled his eyes. "Not that. Why is he meeting with him? Didn't Jordan Villin leave US?"

"I know what you're thinking and yes, I spoke with dad about it." Xander shook his head in annoyance. "He said he knew Jordan was here."

"What?!"

Jeremy opened the door to Xander's study, banging it quite loudly. Seeing the fuming and irritated faces of his nephews, he raised his eyebrows. "Yikes another fight? Grow up."

"What the hell is dad planning?!" Liam threw his arms up in frustration, almost knocking down the pile of books on Xander's table.

"He didn't tell me." Xander shrugged simply, as if he had accepted it easily. Liam blinked at him, his mouth hanging open. "You're not gonna do anything about it?!" He turned to Jeremy, "He's not gonna do anything about it?!"

Pushing his chair back, Xander stood up. He walked to the book shelf beside the huge portrait of Xander, Liam, Blake, Jeremy and two more people with one of them wearing Xander's mask. He took out the book Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters and flipped open the pages. The middle of the pages were cut off, creating a space small enough to hide a key.

He had chosen to do this because everyone knew how much he loved books, especially his enemies who were once his friends. No one would expect a bookworm such as himself would hollow out the books he loved...or they would expect exactly that.

There's no use even if they found the keys to the hidden safe houses and compartments. Only Xander knew which key opened what kind of door and which key was a prop.

Seeing the crimson keychain hanging on the keys, Jeremy and Liam shared a look. Or course Xander wouldn't sit still obeying Ethan's orders. He was Xander Hagann Knight after all. Disobedience came to him like the pride to a king. He was a Prince himself, slowly setting up things straight in the shadows for his great plans to work when he finally overtakes the empire.

Jeremy, Liam and Blake were the most excited for that day, including the two other people in the portrait. Especially the one wearing Xander's mask, something no one was allowed to touch. He was the same person who had sent those paper airplanes to Xander.

He had also sent one right after.

Xander put on his black hoodie and his fingerless leather gloves that matched the dark brown wrist band on his left hand. Then he put on his black and red mask.

"Do you have your vest on?" Jeremy asked in a hard tone. Xander nodded, casting a glance at the portrait. "Was there any news from Ghoul?" He asked Jeremy.

Jeremy shook his head. "Still incognito."

"He's probably digging something up." Liam suggested as Xander continued to stare at the portrait. His eyes stuck at the masked person, he nodded.

Then he retrieved a paper from his desk. "We're gonna scare Jordan Villin today."

Liam breathed out a sigh of relief as if he'd just gotten the top result of a really hard test. He tilted his head back as I'd thanking God, clear anticipation shining in his eyes. He could already feel the adrenaline rush through him. "Finally!"

Jeremy shrugged off his jacket, throwing it on the couch. "Good thing I came prepared." He grinned.

Xander watched the two of them as they spoke animatedly about torturing Jordan Villin to death. When they got in the car, he asked, "Are you both not worried of the consequences?"

"We trust you." Liam said.

"If you're doing this, you must've already already thought about everything." Their uncle provided, pride shining in his eyes like the sun in the stubborn cloudy sky, the rays finding a way to him.

Liam agreed. "See, this is called blind faith. You wouldn't understand."

Xander frowned. "Of course I do. There's no one I trust more than you."

Rolling his eyes, Liam turned his head away from Xander, muttering something to himself. Jeremy chuckled softly, ruffling Liam's hair. "He's jealous." Jeremy said to Xander in a very amused tone.

Xander immediately understood. A smile threatened to break out on his lips as he swerved the car to a drift, coming to a stop.

Liam and Jeremy were wearing masks as well, Liam's was the black and gold dragon one while Jeremy wore a black mask and a bandana that was similar to the one Kakashi Hatake, a character from Naruto wore. The only difference was,t he silver plate in the middle of the bandana that had a Griffin carved on it.

Xander led them through the empty shipyard through the huge cargo containers of oranges and blues that were arranged like a maze. There were two huge ships side by side, in the middle of construction but there were no workers anywhere.

A few of the guards walked out behind one of the ships, carrying guns. When Liam was about to raise his gun, Xander stopped him. The guards disappeared behind one of the containers, completely ignoring the trio as if they were invisible.

"You bought them off?" Liam asked.

Xander began climbing up one of the ships from the ladder that had been placed at its front. "Nope. They pledged their allegiance to me themselves."

He took one of the three bags placed by the mast. Tossing one of them to Liam, he nodded towards the far end of the boat. "You're Ghoul today."

Opening the zipper, Liam blew out a low whistle. "Ghoul would love this." It was the Barret 82 sniper rifle, one of the best in the world. Xander's lips twitched up in a half smirk. "I know."

"And what am I gonna do?" Jeremy asked sceptically. Xander stared at him in thought, tilting his head. "You can come with me or get the car ready."

Jeremy have him a bemused glare. Xander shrugged. "I honestly don't need you here. But you're really important where we're going next."

Raising his eyebrow, Jeremy nodded. "Okay."

Xander and Jeremy his behind the big containers a few meters from the newly arrived shipment that was being loaded down. 10 to 20 men flocked around as it was being loaded down. One of them was James Wallace, who stalked forward to open the lock.

Packages and packages of drugs were stacked neatly from the top to the bottom, not an inch of space was left. Xander had half the mind to just burn them right in front of James right now to see the absolute horror on his face. He told himself to be patient.

Three cars came to a halt in front of James. Jordan Villin stepped out from the second one.

James shook his hand. They exchanged a few words then Jordan beckoned one of his men forward. He handed James two suitcases full of money before going to check on the drugs. They exchanged a few more words and then Jordan left.

Xander called James's phone.

There was fear in his eyes the moment he saw the number. His hand trembling, James picked up the call.

He didn't notice three of his men sneakily sticking some devices on the sides of the container nor did he notice the crates of explosives places beside the container of the drugs.

"Hello?" James asked, trying to keep the quiver from his voice.

"Your ruination is knocking on your door." Xander said, raising his hand in the air.

Before James could so much as comprehend his sentence, one of Jordan's men who he had left behind fell dead, blood trickling down the back of his head.

At the exact moment, the C4s on the container blew up one by one, further lighting up the explosives beside it. In a matter of seconds, before James could even recover from his shock, the drugs were on fire, their fumes spreading in the air and the embers flying in different directions as if they were escaping from these white monstrous packages that destroyed lives in the matter of minutes.

The phone slipped from James's hand as he ran to the fire in panic, yelling at his people to get water. But to his utter disbelief and horror, his men started shooting at Jordan's men leading to the break out of a gun fight.

"No! What are you doing?!" He screamed, sweat trickling down his face as if a bucket of water had been dumped on him. A bullet hit his leg amidst the chaos, making him fall to the ground quite hard.

"Traitor!" One of Jordan's men cursed, pointing his gun at him.

James shook his head frantically, clear panic in his eyes. "No! It was him! Xander Knight did it! I'm sure-"

Another bullet his his shoulder. This one was from Liam who was trying hard not to just shower him with the rest of the bullets. He clenched his hands tightly, taking a few steps back from the sniper, afraid to loose his self control.

This bastard was one of those who made his brother a stranger to his own parents. He was the main reason Xander's relationship with their parents got strained.

He couldn't let him die that easily. He had to suffer ten folds of the pain Xander suffered.

James loved drowning himself in luxury. They'd destroyed every single asset the Wallace family owned, they destroyed the Wallace family's legal businesses with Jeremy's help. They even hunted down every single member of the Wallace family, only leaving James.

Now, his last hope of getting money, his last hope to pick himself up was burning up just like his life, the hot flame of pain scorching him from the inside. Just like it had to Xander.

"That's it?" Jeremy asked as they walked back to their car. He couldn't believe Xander had planned all this last night at the spur of a moment. It was as if he was in a hurry to finish up his revenge. One was already down. And James was the second. Now all that's left is the third one from the Callaghan family. Xander's greatest tormentor.

"The Villins will do the rest."

_________

She didn't hear from him at all the next day.

After Xander and his family left, Alexandra and Xander had chatted away the whole night, staying up until 3 am. So it was pretty obvious why he hadn't replied to her texts. That's what she thought at first.

She kept checking her phone again ang again, as if that could miraculously get his text. But it never happened.

Thinking he was probably busy with something, she went downstairs to the living room. Her mom was grading the papers, sitting with her legs stretched on the coffee table and her dad was typing something in his laptop, a cup of cold coffee on the armrest of the couch.

She took a seat beside her mom, peeking at the papers. "Need help?"

"It's fine. I'm almost done." Sophia flashed her a brief smile, tiredness showing in her eyes.

Alexandra turned her attention to the news channel on the TV, having lost it's attention by George. As she was about to change the channel, George suddenly said, "Let's go to the amusement park."

"The amusement park?" Alexandra asked in bewilderment. George shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. "We should spend more time together, as someone said." He smiled at Sophia.

She gave him a skeptical look as if she had difficulty in believing that it was George who spoke. When he gave her a brilliant smile, she nodded. "Okay."

"Awesome! Let's go." Cole jumped on his feet. He shoved Alexandra towards the door, trailing behind her. "Come on. Let's go before they change their mind."

Alexandra was actually feeling quite excited as Olivia wasn't going to be there this time. Even if she wouldn't talk with her dad, Alexandra felt really content that Olivia's screechy voice wouldn't annoy the heck out of her. It would be really peaceful and they could actually enjoy something for once.

"You're not gonna stop us from getting on any ride we like." Cole demanded, looking at Alexandra for support. She nodded. "Yup."

"But-"

"Please." Cole pleaded. "Alexandra and i will stay together while you guys go enjoy the rides for old people. I wanna go on the roller coaster."

George cleared his throat. "Who says I don't want to go on a roller coaster as well?" He raised his eyebrow at Cole through the mirror.

"You go after we go."

"No, I'll go with you." Geoge said stubbornly, fighting a smile.

Cole scowled, crossing his arms on his chest. They argued back and forth, George having fun messing with him and Cole getting worked up. Alexandra and Sophia shared a smile. It really was good to spend time like this, without any disturbances.

Listening to the music playing in her headphones, she put her hand by the window, enjoying the gentle breeze fanning her face. She hadn't heard from Xander at all today. She did text him first, finally giving in but there was no reply from him.

'Maybe he's still sleeping.' she thought, trying not to let disappointment creep in her chest. They weren't even dating yet she was already missing him.

Dating...she had googled what that Gardenia meant last night right after he had left with his family.

'You're lovely.'

That's what they meant. There were also other meanings such as an untold love or prosperity in a relationship. But this one stuck to her. A slow smile crept up her lips, these new feelings blooming like a rose through the thorns of her insecurities and demons.

As Alexandra stepped out of the car, she roamed her eyes over the different rides and stalls, freezing particularly over the giant wheel looming over at the centre of the vast property.

She felt Cole grab her hand and pull her along. "Come on! Let's escape before they see us."

She was about to follow him when her eyes passed a familiar sleek black sports car. She took a double look at it's number plate.

NY- 19-L-03-K

She stopped dead in her tracks.

That was Draco's car. Did this mean he was here?! Could she see 'him' again? Adam Taurus?! Her heart raced at that thought. A strange fear gripped her heart, slowly squeezing her heart with its claws. What if something bad like the night of the explosion happens now?

"Lexi! Come on!" Cole yelled, snapping her out of his thoughts.

She ran to him, trying to get a grip on herself. "Where should we go first?" She asked, holding his hand so he wouldn't separate from her in the crowd.

"The roller coaster obviously."

It had a huge line. It would probably take an hour or half to get to their turn. Cole groaned in annoyance. "We should've come earlier."

She hummed, looking around for any ride that had less people. Seeing an ice-cream stall, she tapped Cole's shoulder. "Save my spot. I'll go get us ice-creams."

"Okay."

As she was paying for the ice-cream, her phone rang. She let out a breath of annoyance as the name Julian flashed on the screen instead of Xander. Taking the two ice-cream cones in her hand, she made her way to Cole.

Her phone rang again. She ignored it and handed Cole his ice-cream. As she was about to start eating hers, she heard her name being called.

She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her jaw clenched, she turned around to face Julian standing a few paces away from her, his arm around a girl from their class.

"Why weren't you picking up my call?" He asked with a frown, walking towards her, dragging the girl along, who seemed pissed off.

"I don't want to talk to you." Alexandra stated through gritted teeth, her annoyance slowly morphing into anger. "Leave me alone."

Julian shook his head, guilt chear in his eyes. "Not until you forgive me."

Alexandra felt like throttling him or punching his face. Nothing could fix what he did that night. She felt disgust crawl up her skin by merely looking at him, those memories she'd repressed rising up to the surface stubbornly like a plastic in water. They could never drown properly, not when the culprits were constantly fishing it out no matter how much weight she'd tied to it.

Alexandra glanced at the girl beside him who was standing with her arms crossed, annoyance clear on her face. "Can you please drag this asshole away?" Alexandra asked her bluntly, surprising her.

"Alexan-"

"Of course." The girl gave her a pleasant smile. She took a few steps towards her, reaching close to her ear. "I believe you." Was all she said before she literally dragged him away, flashing Alexandra a wink.

Alexandra remembered that she was a new exchange student. She had seen her a few times in her classes but she never bothered to get to know her. Alexandra was not a people's person.

They waited for a few more minutes until it was finally their turn. But the moment Cole was about to climb in the seat, a loud sound of explosion pierced the air, followed by the panicked screams of the people.

She felt her heart drop. Another bomb blast?!

Geipping Cole's hand tightly, she ran towards the direction of the parking lot. Few more explosions shook the ground, their sound along with the clank of the roller coaster, now in pieces, reaching her ears.

The horror of what could've happened if she and Cole had been in the roller coaster felt like someone had poured ice cold water on her, sending a chill down her spine.

"Where are mom and dad?!" Cole yelled over the screams of the crowd. He was on the verge of panicking.

Alexandra pulled him with her, trying to find a way through the crowd. "Let's get to the exit first. Then we'll call them." They ran behind the huge pirate ship that was now on fire to avoid being pulled by the crowd.

Seeing a pathway leading through the stalls and other rides with less crowd, Alexandra and Cole followed it. She called their dad while Cole dialed their mom. The moment she heard George's voice, her relief immediately turned to terror as a man wearing a mask covering the lower part of his face pointed a gun at her the moment they turned at a corner.

She immediately pushed Cole behind her, shielding him with her body. The man took a step closer to them, his grey eyes emotionless and cold, almost looking lifeless. "Come with me obediently or he's getting it." The man said, his thick British accent a reflection of his eyes.

She felt Cole tighten his hold on her hand. "No. Please don't go." His voice cracked and Alexandra couldn't bring herself to turn around and look at him. She had to get him away from here at any cost. Squeezing his hand one last timez she let it go.

Raising her hands in surrender, she walked forward. She purposefully stepped on the stone on the ground, tripping herself. She fell on her knees, loosing her balance, her previous wound hitting the ground a little too hard. Fisting her hand on the ground, feeling the rough sand peck at her skin, she immediately threw it up in the direction of his eyes the moment he stepped forward to help het up.

Pushing herself off the ground, she shoved the man towards the burning ship. "Get away from here!" She yelled at Cole who hesitated at first but seeing the desperation on his face, he ran towards the exits. Alexandra took off in the opposite direction, hoping to divert the man's attention from Cole.

She heard footsteps and gunshots behind her as she ran with tears streaming down her face. "Hey! Stop right there!" Someone yelled at her as she took a sudden curve.

Running as far as her feet could carry her, she took another turn, trying to make her way to the exit.

As she was about to pass the haunted house, she felt someone grab her hand suddenly and pull her inside. The person put his gloved hand on her mouth, muffling her scream and encircled his other hand around her waist, pulling her back to his chest.

"Shhh. It's okay baby. You're safe now."