Away from the busy parts of Slough, out in the sticks where there were more open fields and greenery, stood a large house placed behind a gated driveway. Inside that luxury home, not too long ago, Mayor Clove had been informed about the sudden absence of his daughter.

“What the hell do I even pay you for, huh?! You’ve not only failed to properly protect her, NOW YOU’VE ALLOWED HER TO GET ABDUCTED?!” The Mayor shouted and banged his hands on the table in front of him like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

He was breathing heavily due to all the shouting he had done. Ben Clove reached into the side of the suit that he wore that barely fit him these days. The middle-aged man had been gaining a lot of weight ever since he had taken on this job. Bringing out some pills, he took three of them at once and waited for them to do their job.

“Sir, please understand that we are doing the best we can, you blaming us is not helping the situation.” The man dressed in black replied. One would expect some worry when being shouted at by the mayor, but the man with the dragon tattoo crawling up his neck was taking things nonchalantly.

The one sitting opposite the mayor wasn’t just anybody, D was the head of the Rising Dragon gang, one of Slough’s five small-time gangs. Ever since the mayor’s election, they had been cooperating with Ben Clove. In fact, it was mostly due to them that the mayor was able to keep his promise of protecting the high street of Slough, as it was part of their territory.

“One, it was a school day, we were waiting to pick her up at her usual time, the time that she should have been leaving. In fact, we always come an hour early to search the area, and make sure nothing suspicious is seen during that time.

“Yet, this happened little after lunch, and in school of all things. We aren’t allowed to bring guards inside, and we thought that perhaps the school would be adequate to at least stop gang members from attacking. Not that we ever imagined that somebody would ever do this. I admit this was a fault on my part.” D replied, not bowing nor sounding apologetic in his voice.

“I don’t want to keep hearing your excuses!” Ben shouted. “I want solutions to the problem. Why have you not acted yet? It doesn’t take a genius to know that it could only have been the red colour gang who took her, so just get in there and pull her out!”

D simply shook his head there without even giving it a second thought.

“We would have a hard time against the red colour gang on their own, much less now that they have fused with the remnants of the grey colour gang. Attacking the colour gang is the same as offending the Grey Elephants. As one of the biggest gangs in Slough, they could crush our gang if they wanted to.

“Please relax, sir, your daughter will be safe. She’s too valuable as a hostage. I’ve already put in a request to the Grey Elephants leader. Once I get a reply, I will let you know.”

Hearing these words, Ben couldn’t take it any more. The mayor leaned over the desk and attempted to pull on D’s shirt, yet the gang leader simply leaned back to avoid the middle-aged man’s grab, until he felt his back hit something solid.

Turning around, he could see a young man, staring back at him with a sharp stare. He wore a tight sports shirt and his head was towering over him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do it for you, Dad.” The young man spoke up. He was none other than Jayden Clove, Ben’s firstborn son and one of this country’s Top 50 Altered fighters. He casually lifted D by the scruff of his shirt with a single hand.

For the first time, D looked panicked, and grabbed onto Jayden’s hand, trying to push it away, but it wouldn’t budge at all. Eventually, Jayden threw the man against the wall so hard that it left a small dent on the other side.

“You guys had one job, yet you FAILED to protect my sister. I should wipe out your whole gang for that alone!

“Dad, let me deal with the situation.” Jayden requested with his hand on his chest. “I promise to find Xin. There is not a gang in Slough or anyone that I would come across that I can’t handle.”

———

The sound of dripping water was the first thing Xin could hear as she slowly regained consciousness. Her body felt slightly sore all over. When trying to move her hands, the high school girl discovered that she was unable to. The same held true for her legs, only her head had been spared, not that she could do much with that alone.

‘They tied me up on a chair. It feels like one of those interrogation scenes in the movies.’ Xin thought to herself, trying her best to keep her mind from the bleakness of her current situation. The teenage girl might be a strong fighter, but that was in a normal situation, not when she had been abducted. Right now, she was beginning to feel very scared.

Looking around, she could hardly make out anything. There was barely any light, only a little that shone in through the cracks of the roof above her. The flooring was crooked, with wooden panels sticking out and more. Judging by the fact that they didn’t tie up her mouth, she imagined that wherever she was, it would be far enough away from anybody willing to help her.

“HELP!!!” Xin shouted as loud as she could. There wasn’t much else she could do, and it was at least worth the shot. Indeed, it did achieve one thing. Soon, she could hear the sound of footsteps from the dark approaching her… followed by an annoying giggle.

“Ah, it’s so nice to see you like this.” Stepping into a patch of light, Xin could make out a familiar face, though she had already recognised who it was by the annoying sound. The red colour gang leader Riv was standing by Tiffany’s side, his smile just as big as the high school girl’s.

“I wish I could say the same.” Xin replied sarcastically. “You know, I wasn’t too sure who set things up for me yesterday. For a moment, I even gave you the benefit of the doubt… however now I just gotta ask… Are you really this stupid?”

The taunt might have gotten to Tiffany another time, but seeing Xin unable to do anything but taunt her, made the class diva cackle.

“You seem to have yet to realise your own situation. Why don’t you cry for help again, see how that works for you?” Tiffany made fun of the abducted girl. “I told you, Xin, you chose the wrong girl to mess with! And today you’re finally going to pay for everything you did to me! Not just you, but your whole family will as well!”

“I wonder how much the mayor will pay for his sweet little daughter. With a large sum, we’ll even be able to get out of this place.” Riv commented. “It will be nice to live with you in a Tier-2 city, Tiffy!”

“Of course, darling, that’s the plan!” Tiffany held onto the side of Riv’s arm.

It was then that Xin started to laugh at herself.

“Haha, you did all of this for money? No wonder, you never accepted my apology. At one point, I actually felt bad for the things I did to you, even though it was an honest mistake. If you just wanted revenge, you could have tried to get me back at school, but you’re asking for money and trying to involve my family.

“You said I messed with the wrong girl… you have no idea.”

*****

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