Mercenaries

Ethan and Lily indulged themselves in carnal pleasure for several more rounds until they were both fully spent. Though the confined space of the car posed its limitations, they did not hold back in the slightest.

Exhausted but content, they half dressed and snuggled in the back seat.

It was the final phase of the night; a faint glow touched the horizon, signalling the oncoming dawn.

Ethan's eyes snapped open. His instincts, sharpened beyond normal human capacity, alerted him to an approaching group.

With practiced silence, he unlatched the car door, retrieved his shirt, and stepped out. He slipped it on and buttoned a few of the top buttons, then turned his gaze toward a specific patch of woodland.

Moments later, six men emerged from behind the bushes. Dressed in camouflaged uniforms and tactical combat gear, with assault rifles slung over their shoulders, they were unmistakably mercenaries. And trouble was certain.

Ethan remained unfazed.

Two of the men instantly raised their rifles slightly surprised to see him standing outside the car, pointing them at him. The man at the centre, clearly the leader, advanced cautiously, unsettled by Ethan's complete lack of fear. He could feel an instinctive warning to back away from this man.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Ethan raised a brow. He chuckled mockingly. "Does this land belong to you?"

The leader's expression hardened. "Who are you? Speak. Otherwise, do not blame me if you die."

Before Ethan could respond, another man chuckled and spoke mockingly.

"Boss, it looks like he came here for a little fun… judging by the car, he seems rich and he is not alone. Does not seem dangerous."

Still, the leader's unease lingered. Something felt wrong. Why hadn't the man flinched even once? Why was not he rattled by the sight of six armed mercenaries?

Another of the men leered at the car's rear window and muttered suggestively, "Boss, we have not had fun in days. Why do not we—?"

Though he did not finish the sentence, his implication was clear.

Ethan sighed, cutting the exchange short. "Look… just go. I will be leaving too. I do not care who you are or what you are doing."

"I am in a good mood," he added. "Do not spoil it."

The leader interpreted Ethan's calm as bravado, just a scared man putting on a brave face. He could not associate someone powerful being humble and allowing someone a chance to escape.

The casual attitude, he believed, was nothing but bluff. His initial caution faded.

"Heh…" he sneered. "Looks like my boys were right. You are just a punk trying to look tough."

"You have wandered into our territory," he growled. "You will pay the price for that."

He laughed cruelly. "Do not worry about her. We will take turns with your partner. Just two rounds each."

His men burst into mocking laughter.

Ethan shook his head. "Fools."

He raised his hand and before any of them could react, five diamond shaped shreds, small and conical, launched from his fingers with blinding speed.

Each one found its mark. Five mercenaries collapsed with identical wounds—precise punctures in the centre of their foreheads.

Only the leader remained, frozen in horror.

"You… monster…" he stammered.

"Sometimes it is wise to back off when given a chance," Ethan added.

Before the mercenary could say another word, a sixth shard shot from Ethan's index finger. He fell dead beside the others.

With a thought, the six shards reversed course and returned to Ethan's palm, where they vanished without a trace.

He was not about to leave evidence behind. These diamonds were not of Earthly origin.

A wisp of flame danced from Ethan's fingertip, and in mere moments, the six corpses including their weapons and belongings were reduced to ashes. Not even bones remained.

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Ethan returned to the car, this time settling in the driver's seat. It was time to leave.

About halfway to his hotel, Lily stirred, groggy and sore.

Remembering the previous night's wild encounter, a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Where are we going?" she mumbled as she adjusted her clothes.

"To my hotel," Ethan replied. "Get dressed. And you might want to take a few days off work."

She frowned, about to protest, but Ethan cut her off with a chuckle. "Besides, I am going to own half your company in three days."

Lily blinked in disbelief, then nodded, still half dazed.

The next three days passed in indulgent pleasure. By day, they wandered the city; by night, and sometimes even during the day, they explored each other's bodies. For three days, they immersed themselves in pleasure without restraint.

On the fourth morning, Ethan and Lily arrived at the AI Solutions office. Lily was returning to work. Ethan, meanwhile, was there for Katie's answer.

Ethan knocked once and stepped into Katie's office. She was seated behind her desk, absorbed in her laptop. Calmly, he took the seat across from her. It took a few moments before she finally slid the laptop aside and met his eyes.

"You have corrupted my receptionist," she said flatly. This was the first remark she had made.

Ethan grinned. "Feeling left out?"

He leaned forward and whispered, "You are welcome to join."

Katie showed no visible reaction. She opened a drawer, pulled out the hard drive Ethan had given her days ago, and placed it on the desk.

"I reviewed your work," she said. "And I will admit. I was impressed."

"Well, it was way better than I could have imagined something to be," she added with a sigh.

"You were right. Big business houses would pay more than half my company's value for this."

She paused, sighing as she asked, "If I hand over half my company, what is my role going forward?"

"How do you plan to run AI Solutions? What direction will you take it in?"

"There were principles I had in mind when I founded this company," she continued. "And I can't compromise on them. If you agree to those… then I'm willing to give you fifty percent of my company."

It was for Ethan to answer now.

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