A.R: 8

In an instant, Rae tugged V back into the boat just as a gun went off, firing what was to be V’s head if Rae hadn’t reacted. Realizing that their plan had been foiled, the intruder revealed themselves, leaping into view. James stood on the docking platform, gun in hand and a menacing smirk on his tattooed face.

‘Thought I wouldn’t recognize you?’ James scowled, glaring Rae dead in the eye, interlocking deadly gazes.

As much as Rae would’ve loved to get into a brawl with James, he didn’t have any energy left: V had drained all that he had. Instead, Rae gave a hard kick to James’ chest, knocking the man into the icy water beneath.

Rae shut the doors and when he had finished, he glanced over at V. She had her face buried in her palms. He hoped that she was crying over the fact that she had grazed the edge of death. In fact, he stood there, waiting for some form of gratitude, but instead she muttered,

‘And James was so nice too.’

‘You have got to be kidding me.’

‘Where are we?’ V questioned as she followed Rae around the unknown city, bustling with people who didn’t even recognize their existence.

Rae didn’t know where they were. However, he was certain that they were somewhere in Asia through the language being spoken around them.

‘Do you speak Indonesian?’ Rae asked as he motioned for V to continue to follow him through the herd of people.

‘Just because I was born in Asia doesn’t mean I can speak every Asian language.’ V snapped, rolling her eyes as she did so, ‘You’re born in Japan and you’re only trilingual.’

Rae grabbed the arm of a passerby, ignoring V’s comment and causing the seemingly busy man to glare at him.

‘Eh? Apa yang kau ignikan?’ The man snarled; his accent thick.

‘What country are we in?’ Rae asked, ignorant to the jumble of words the man had retorted previously.

‘What you mean which country?’ the man growled as he pinched his nose in frustration, ‘This Indonesia. Indonesia, you understand? Indone-’

‘Got it. Thanks.’ The younger male replied, walking away before the businessman could bother him further (but not before he heard the man reply “Anak laki-laki seperti Anda perlu pergi ke sekolah dan mengisi otak mereka yang kosong.”). He turned around, making a mental note to google-translate what the man had said, to find V making a pleasant conversation with an elderly woman.

‘You so pretty! Di mana orang tuamu nona cantik?’ The woman gushed on, stroking V’s hands with such fragility it made Rae believe she was made of glass.

‘You’re pretty too!’ V exclaimed, pushing up her glasses as she beamed down at the woman she hardly knew. The woman rambled incoherent words, V nodding along as if she understood what the woman was saying.

Finally finding a suitable time to make their exit, Rae snatched V’s wrist and strode away, leaving the old woman to stand in the midst of the crowd.

As they walked, Rae explained his plan to V, making sure she got all the basics and details.

The plan was simple: they would gather as much money as they could so they could travel to Japan where they would lay low until the hunt for Rae had died down.

It was, well, meant to be simple.

A Few Weeks Later

‘Which way is she heading?’

He leaped over a rundown car skilfully, continuing his heated pursuit.

‘The southern gate.’ A voice sounded through the earpiece, ‘She already has a getaway car and she’s escaping!’

He couldn’t let her get away – he had a lot of cash riding at that moment. If he had only swung his knife faster when he had the chance; she had been able to roll out of his grasp before he could even brandish his weapon. She had dashed out of the hotel after that briefcase, and all.

‘Is there any route I could use?’ the male asked, speeding up as fast as he could manage, dodging the old cars and scraps littered around the unorganised junkyard. Deeper into the yard, he could see the dark purple hair shrinking further. Despite the girl’s deceivably small figure, she was swift.

‘You can cut off the car before it drives off if you can get over the nearest fence.’ The voice came again, high-pitched and laced with anticipation.

He gave a small nod, even though no one could see him do so, before curving his path. He ran towards the nearest fence and scaled it. By then, he was sure that his target would already be in her getaway car, certain that she had lost her chaser.

He landed on the floor gracefully, rolling into a halt, collecting himself, before speeding off again. He ran, curving around the tall metal fence and as he approached the southern gate, he could hear the faint noise of a car engine.

Pulling out his handgun, he sprinted full speed ahead, weapon locked and loaded.

A generally small-scaled car raced towards him, recklessly turning the corner. The chaser didn’t stop, however, but instead he ran towards the vehicle as if he planned to have a collision with it. Which, partially, he did.

The black Sudan’s engine revved as it sped up, the driver with full intentions to run the lean man over.

But, alas, he wasn’t an ordinary man.

Just as the car was sure to send him flying – or flatten him – he leaped into the air, shooting both the target and her getaway driver while airborne. As the vehicle drove beneath him, he rolled off the trunk, landing in an ungraceful position.

‘What just happened?’ The voice from the earpiece spoke again. He rolled his eyes as he stood up, dusting off dirt and soothing his scratched elbow and back.

‘Nothing.’ He mumbled, strolling over to the battered car, ‘Tell our client that we can meet tomorrow.’ Rae muttered, flicking specks of blood off his already dirtied hands.