The sky had gone dark and the moon had shown its beauty. The stars that accompany it in the sky danced as they twinkled, captivating those who gaze upon them. Unfortunately for one unlucky man, in an alley in a relatively populated area, there lays the man with his legs tied to his arms behind him. Truly an uncomfortable position for anyone, especially for the inflexible man.
He was surrounded by two individuals; a woman with purple hair tied into twin ponytails in her early-twenties while wearing a black denim leather jacket, pink inner shirt, tattered jeans, and combat boots, and a man with shaved curly gray hair in his thirties, wearing a gray shirt and blue jacket, brown pants, and black shoes, twirling a lollipop in his mouth.
"Stop pacing Qui, you know this was out of your control, I'm sure- " The man commented after pulling out the wet lollipop from his mouth.
"Don't even think of continuing that Vee, we both know Boss won't forgive me, especially when this shit got involved with Miss Ligaya," The woman - Qui - hissed as she spares a look to the terrified man on the ground, "This. . This piece of shit!" Qui cursed as she sends a heavy kick to the man's exposed stomach, "I. Fucking. Told. You. Asswipes. Not. To. Go. Near. Rizal's. Park. For. The. Day!" Sending heavy blows using her leg with every word, filled with anger.
"Qui, calm down. You know Boss won't like it if you teach him yourself c'mon," The man - Vee - coaxed as he carefully advances towards the angry woman, "Oly said-"
Before Vee could finish his sentence, a gun - with a blue crystal floating in the middle, instead of a barrel - was suddenly aimed directly at him, a firm finger planted on the gun's trigger, "That's 'Ate' Oly for you Vee. Don't you dare test my patience."
Vee smiled, placing his hands up to surrender as he looked at Qui. He never minded showing respect to Oly despite being six years older than her, he is after all the last one to be taken in, "I'm sorry Qui, it won't happen again. I was just trying to get you to think about something else, my mouth must've slipped." Vee explained with a smile, lollipop being held between his fingers on one hand.
With a sigh, she holstered back her gun and took her foot from the unconscious man, "Whatever." Qui grumbled as she headed to the opposite wall, leaning her back against it while thinking about what could happen. The two spent a few more minutes in silence, aside from the occasional sounds coming from Vee's lollipop sucking.
A car parked at the alley's entrance, breaking the lingering silence in the air. From the driver's seat, a woman in her early twenties got out of the car, having dark red hair tied in a ponytail while wearing a stereotypical secretary's uniform. She headed to the nearest backseat and opened the door.
From there, Nulla stepped out, but instead of her usual covered appearance, she now has her hair tied up into a ponytail, revealing her shaved undercut and pierced ears. The absence of her glasses made her eyebrow piercings more noticeable and her long brown coat now hangs inside her arms while her hands nested inside her pockets. Her sleeveless turtleneck blouse revealed her ethnic tattoos embedded in her toned arms that extended a little past her elbows. Her entire appearance and demeanor screamed 'dangerous', 'delinquent', and 'underground boss' as she headed inside the alley where Qui and Vee had bowed a perfect 45 degrees in front of her.
"Good evening Boss!" The two greeted in unison while maintaining their bow. Nulla walked past the two and headed straight to the man, with Oly and a woman with long black hair and a black dress in tow.
Upon reaching her destination, Nulla used her foot to lift the man's face towards her, "He's unconscious." She pointed out nonchalantly.
Qui and Vee flinched, not daring to stand straight without Nulla's signal, "He fought back Boss. We had to rough him up a bit when detaining him." Qui explained, clenching her fists in hopes to calm herself down.
After a few moments, Nulla handed her coat to Oly - which the latter gracefully accepted with both arms - and squatted by the man, "Who owns him?"
Qui swallowed the largest ball of saliva in her mouth, wetting her lips out of nervousness, clenching her fists tighter to stop herself from trembling, "I-I do. . Boss. . ."
"Arbus huh," Nulla held the man's chin, moving it from side to side to examine his face, "You knew about my meeting with Laya right?"
"Y-yes Boss. . "
"Yet he's here."
"B-boss. . . He's. . . H-he's a defector Boss!" Qui closed her eyes shut, spouting whatever reason she thought that could probably save her from being punished at the moment.
"Defector? So Arbus is too much for you." Nulla stated, noting her latter sentence as she covered the man's nose and mouth with her palm, leaving a little space in between. She then gathered air in the little space available before continuously pouring it into the man's nose and mouth.
Qui's eyes widened upon hearing Nulla's statement that she trembled upon thinking on its implications that she looked up from her bow and took a step towards Nulla, "Boss, no! Th-that's not what I-!"
Oly's look made Qui stop in her tracks. She pursed her lips together tightly as she resumed her earlier position. Soon after, the man started coughing which led to him gurgling and eventually convulsing on the ground. Nulla's hand planted firmly on the man's face despite his best efforts to resist. Only when the man's pupils had started to go behind did Nulla ceased her air removed her hand. The man coughed, gasped, and wheezed as he attempts to stabilize his breathing, hoping to get his lungs to function normally again.
"He went for Laya, Jequirity," Hearing Nulla utter Qui's full name made everyone present in the alley shudder. Her cold and indifferent tone as she stood from her spot made everyone realize just how mad she was during the earlier incident, "Regardless whether it was intentional or not, it doesn't change the fact that he went for Laya. This incident made me wonder how big your crystal has gotten Jequirity."
At this time Qui froze out of fear, refusing to think about what would happen to her if she didn't pacify Nulla enough to pass a lighter judgment.
"Director- "
Before Oly could finish her sentence, Nulla looked at her, equally freezing Oly as she choked on her words on the spot out of fear. Nulla's eyes were filled with nothing but coldness. Its usual shine of familiarity, whenever she looked at them, was long gone, like it never existed in the first place.
Mentally asking for forgiveness towards Qui for not having done more, Oly lowered her head and silently hoped for the mysterious woman to speak up for her beloved 'younger sister'.
"Just suspend her for a month Null, no need to rip her heart out. I'm sure after tonight, she wouldn't think about allowing this to happen the second time. Laya would be sad if she knew she can no longer be with her, Ate Jay."
Silence covered the area that lasted for what seemed to be an eternity for the bowing individuals until Nulla broke it with a tone far less powerful than the last, "Any destination in mind Oly?"
Hearing that Nulla listened to the woman made everyone present unconsciously breathe a sigh of relief. Clearing her throat and straightening her posture, Oly brought her watch in front of her and pressed it. Holographic screens hovered in the air, showing numerous pictures and texts,
"Victory Corp's latest advocacy is the integration of the Indigenous Myths in Mindanao. With your permission Director, we can send Qui to Mindanao and add manpower to decrease resistance. If she can successfully round up the conservatives, we can then easily start introducing Myths to our ranks. Arniel and the others need not hide any longer."
Oly explained while swiping and tapping the holographic screens in front of her. After letting Nulla hear her thoughts, she pressed her watch once more and the screens disappeared, waiting for Nulla's input.
Nulla returned her hands to her pocket, looking more relaxed than earlier, looking down at the trembling body of the frightened man, "Take over the conservatives in North Korea and force them to seek international power. Although they're starting to have some talks with the South, it's still too slow. If we can gain power in their politics, we can gain access to their dungeons. You have six months," Nulla dictated as she placed her foot on the man, poking his arms using the tip of her shoe, "Oly, I'll have my dinner in the basement. Bring this cattle to my dining table as is, I want it cooked raw."
Satisfied with the outcome of the night, Nulla headed back to her car with the woman following behind her.
Oly bowed perfectly as Nulla passes by her, "Understood Director Manalo." Once Nulla has seated back inside the car, she closed the door and looked back to her subordinates that she treats as genuine siblings, "Vee, take care of Qui alright? And kindly prepare Director's dinner with you. I hope this doesn't happen a second time." Oly entered the driver's seat, closing it behind her, and drove off into the night.
Once the car is nowhere to be seen, the two fell on their asses, as if a huge weight has just been lifted from their bodies, "That was intense. . ." Vee commented with light and nervous chuckle, understanding full well that nothing that transpired earlier was a laughing matter. He looked over at Qui who was covering her face with both hands, trembling, "C'mon Qui, let's get Boss her dinner." He offered, patting Qui's back before standing up, dusting himself off before heading towards the man who was doing his best to crawl away from them.
