After interrogating Jacky, Eddie and Marcus went back to the former's office to talk about the incident.
"So Lucas attacked the boys because they attacked him first, according to Mr Chan." Marcus said, "Are you sure your brother didn't attack first, Eddie?"
"I have no idea." Eddie replied, "I'm going to ask him when I get back home. I can't believe he's creating trouble again."
"It must have been hard on you." Marcus pated his partner's shoulder, "Having two brothers that don't support the Master from the start and give you trouble all the time."
"I'm used to it. They don't like listening to me anyways, especially Lucas."
"So, what are you going to do if you found out he attacked them first?"
"Well, he'll be in the probation room. I don't have the bravery to give him a death sentence. I need to convince the Master that this is just a very small case."
Immediately, after he said that, his phone rang. Eddie slowly whipped his phone out and gulped upon looking at his screen.
"Who's it?" Marcus questioned. Eddie answered the call with a quivering voice, "H...h...hello, M...Master?"
"Why are you stuttering my name like that, Eddie?" The Master asked, "Have you been doing things behind my back? Or hiding things from me?"
"No, Master!" He answered without hesitation.
"C'mon, I was joking, Eddie. Come to my office. I've got to discuss a matter with you. It involves...your brother."
"My b...bro...brother?"
"Yeah, Lucas. That's his name, right? Am I getting his name wrong?"
"N...no, Master."
"Just be in my office in five minutes, alright? Don't be so tensed up. We're like friends, you know?"
"Y...y...yes, Master." Eddie then ended the call and facepalmed himself.
"What did the Master call you for?" Marcus asked.
"He said it's about Lucas." Eddie sighed, "I really hope it's not about the case that happened earlier today."
Thomas, Penny, and his mother sat at the table for their dinner. On the dinner table, there are dishes of broccoli, steamed fish, fried egg, and a big bowl of soup. The three of them ate with spoons and chopsticks.
"Finally, Thomas. A day that you're not making me worried." His mother said, "Many things happened these past few days, but I'm sure glad I get to have a meal with you two."
"I'm really happy to eat meals together with my boyfriend and his mother." Penny then pointed at Mike, who is standing outside the house, "But who is that guy?"
Thomas and his mother peeked at the window and realized that Mike is standing still outside the house, looking at them.
"Thomas, who is that?" His mother asked, "Is he a stalker or something?"
"He might be." He replied, "I met him at the supermarket earlier on. He bumped onto me, I picked his name card up, and then I gave it to him and I walked home."
"So that means he followed you all the way home?" Penny asked, "Should we just report to the police?"
"Let's give him a chance. I'll tell him to scram off first. If he doesn't do that by then, we'll ring the police up."
Thomas got up from his seat and walked out of the house. He then went to Mike.
"Mr Porter, I don't know who you are, or where you are from." Thomas told him, "You followed me all the way to my home, and that's pretty creepy. Please go back to your home and do something more meaningful. I hope you don't come around my house anymore, staring at me or my family members, because that is really disturbing. I give you an hour to go away. If I still see you here after an hour, I'll call the police."
Mike just continued to be still and did not respond. Thomas waved his hand at Mike's face, "Hello, do you understand, Mike?"
Mike, yet again, did not reply, his eyes fixed at the living room.
"I take that as a yes." Thomas said before retreating back into his house.
"Did he listen to you?" Penny questioned, "Did he say anything at all?" She and his mother looked at him, waiting for an answer.
"He did not say anything at all." Thomas replied, "He just stared at you two while I'm talking to him. And he stood extremely still. Like he didn't even sway or move an inch. Just look at him..."
Just as Thomas was about to point at Mike, he had disappeared. Thomas was shocked.
"Did he run off?" His mother asked.
"He'd better." Penny uttered, "He knows we're going to report him to the police if he continued staring at us like some pervert."
Thomas leaned back on his chair. The past few days have been quite chaotic for him. Being late for class, sleeping in class, getting shot, and now a stalker following him to his home. These are all the things that he don't usually do or had not experienced before. He wondered if any more bizarre events could happen.
Jason is pacing up and down in his living room while stroking his chin. He has been doing this since he had finished eating dinner.
"What am I going to do?" He thought, "Is there a way I can hide it?"
He took a biscuit and started eating it while he is thinking. Someone then tapped his shoulder, making him jump in shock and spitting out the crumbs. He turned around and saw Kizuna.
"Kizuna! You scared the hell outta me!"
"Daddy, are you free now?" She asked, "Can I discuss about the events that happened yesterday morning?"
Jason nodded his head, "Please let me know."
"I told Thomas-chan to bring the groceries back to our home because I needed Dr Mario to fix my arm at the Robot Gathering Centre." Kizuna elucidated, "I gave him our house key, and after that, he got shot by an intruder with a tranquilizer dart. Thomas-chan was found in your room. When I came back, I took out the dart and let him rest on my bed."
"You didn't tell me you had a broken arm." Jason looked at her, "Why didn't you say it to me? I could've fixed it for you. You know I can come back from my work to fix you."
"You're in work, and I didn't want to disturb you. Anyway, the intruder broke into our house. That's trespassing, and it's a crime. We have to report this to the police."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"We got cameras in each of our rooms, the kitchen, and the living room, right? We can use the footage to help us identify the culprit." She suggested, "We can send all these to the police, and I'm sure they'll find the trespasser in no time."
"But that guy did not steal anything, didn't he? He came into our home, shot Thomas, and then ran away. Give him a second chance. At least he didn't take anything away from us."
"Daddy, trespassing is a crime!" Kizuna exclaimed, "We should be reporting him to the police! The tranquilizer dart could've killed Thomas-chan if the dart wasn't the right weight for him!"
"Alright, alright." Jason said, "Let's take a look at the cameras. Why are you so concerned about Thomas, anyway?"
"He's my friend. My only friend."
Jason shrugged his shoulders and brought Kizuna to his room. He took out his phone and they both looked at the footage of yesterday morning. They started looking from Kizuna's room.
As Thomas is looking through Jason's room, a man hiding behind a wall outside the room took out a tranquilizer gun and slotted a dart in it. As the sun shone on Thomas, he quickly aimed the gun at Thomas and pulled the trigger.
"What was Thomas doing in my room?" Jason asked.
"I don't know." Kizuna replied. She rewinded the footage and looked at the living room this time. As Thomas stepped into the house, a man was behind him. The man then slid across the floor quietly before hiding behind the sofa as Thomas closed the door. All the while, the man's face could not be seen.
"How can a man be this fast?" Kizuna asked. She then fast-forward the footage to after the shooting. The man walked down and left the house through the main door.
"I can't recognize the face of the guy." She said, "Do you, Daddy?"
"I don't, too." Jason replied.
"Daddy, please submit this to the police." Kizuna said, "I know this guy will receive a death sentence, and I kinda hate the Master, but we can't let this intruder sneak into our house any longer. I really don't want him to die. I, too, wanted to give him a chance, but he just committed a crime, and the rules in this world..." She then sighed before continuing, "...You know what I mean, Daddy."
"Alright, I'll send it over to the police department." Jason said, "I'll see what they can do about it. Go back to your room first, okay?"
"Alright." She hugged Jason, "Good night, Daddy."
"Good night, Kizuna." He patted her head. She then skipped happily to her room. Jason lied down on his bed and stared at the sky.
Eddie came back from a long day of police work. He is tired and restless, and wants to take a nap. However, he knows he still needs to question his brother about the fighting case this morning.
He walked into the house and saw Lucas on the couch, watching a television show while munching on some potato chips.
Eddie took the remote control on the sofa and switched off the television.
"What's wrong with you?" Lucas asked irritatedly, "Why do you always have to turn the television off as I'm watching it? Are you blind or something?"
"I'm here to discuss a very important thing with you, so you'd better listen carefully." Eddie folded his arms, "You know what you did this morning. Admit it."
"Did what? I found a job and I went to work this morning."
"Don't lie to me, Lucas! You've beaten up five kids. Am I wrong to say that?"
"So what if I did that?" Lucas stood up, "All I did was teach them a lesson. They've been disturbing my employer's place almost everyday. They were rude, and were trying to beat me up."
"Report it to the police then, or at least to me!" Eddie responded angrily, "Why the hell must you go and beat the shit out of those boys? They're fucking kids, they're young, for fuck's sake!"
"Report and let me get beaten up by them with baseball bats? Are you nuts, Edd? Can you use your damn brain?"
"Beating them up is a crime! It's an assault on them! You could get the death sentence like Charlie! You're lucky the Master repaired you for free, paid your debts off and didn't give you the death sentence!"
"Because it was self defense, you fucking idiot!" Lucas shouted, "The Master, the Master, the motherfucking Master! What has he done to make you his damn dog? You're always talking about the good points of him. It's like you're sucking up to him. What good does it give you? He killed our brother. He was hanged all because he was trying to save me. He was trying to get money to pay for my treatment."
"He was a pickpocket." Eddie retorted, "He knew the rules of the world now. A person who commits a crime gets the capital punishment!"
"At least he had the heart to try and find the money to help me! You didn't even bother to ask anyone for help! You didn't even care about the two of us!" Lucas shouted back, "You've only thought of ways to praise that son of a bitch in front of us, yet he didn't help me until the last minute, when I was about to die and my arms and legs needed to be amputated! You think he's good? I think he's an asshole. What do you think will happen to those kids? He will not kill them. Trust me. He will never honor his own words. I'm done talking to you."
He then stormed into his room and locked the door. Eddie sighed and walked into his room, shaking his head.
Eddie remembered him and Charlie running to the Master when a critically-conditioned Lucas was in the emergency ward. Eddie and Charlie begged the Master to help Lucas, but the latter refused, stating that if they don't have the money, no operation would be done on Lucas.
A few days later, after Charlie was arrested for pickpocketing, Eddie went to the Master and pleaded him for leniency towards Charlie. The Master told the police officer that it is Charlie's fault for the crime, and he has to face the music for it. At this moment, with Charlie awaiting death and a badly injured Lucas in the hospital, he went down on his knees and cried in front of the Master and his workers. The Master dismissed him and told his workers to bring Eddie out. In the end, the Master did help Lucas by fixing him personally, and waiving the hospital fees.
Eddie just couldn't get it why any of his brothers could understand his pain. He did try to help them, he made an effort to help them both, but they don't seem to appreciate it. Instead, they always criticize the Master. They find fault with him. Although the Master has not helped Charlie, he has certainly helped Lucas. Eddie couldn't understand what his brothers are thinking.
Kizuna sat on her bed and looked at her phone screen. She scrolled to her chat with Thomas.
"Thomas-chan, would you like to come to my house to watch another robot movie?" After she typed that, she erased it all. She continued typing and erasing.
"Why do I want Thomas-chan to keep hanging out with me?" She thought, "He clearly has a girlfriend, and yet I keep asking him to come over to my house. He has his own life too. Could it be..."
She widened her eyes for a while before closing it, "I don't think so. I'm just excited whenever he comes. He's my only friend in this world. He's also very kind towards me, and is humorous at times. Of course I would want to hang out with him. He's such a good friend to talk to. I'm just excited for him to come over."
She then typed a simple message to him, "Thomas-chan, when are you free to hang out together? - Ai-chan" She switched on the television and watched some shows as she waited for Thomas's response.
The next morning, Lucas brought out his luggage and got out of the house. He didn't want to live with Eddie anymore. If they couldn't get along well because of the Master, then he saw no point staying.
Lucas went to the food court to work. After the previous day's incident, he's pretty sure the boys wouldn't come back to disturb him, Jacky, or the food court anymore. At least for now, until they recover from their injuries.
When he reached the food court, he saw Jacky placing the cash from the cash register into his wallet and placing all the chairs on top of the tables.
"Uncle Jacky, isn't the food court supposed to be open today?" He questioned, "Why are you removing all the cash in the cash register?"
Jacky looked at Lucas before walking to him, "Lucas, my boy, the food court is closing."
"Closing?!" Lucas was taken aback, "Did you just say closing?"
"I'm sorry, man." Jacky sighed, "The police approached me yesterday because someone took photo of you beating the teenagers. It circulated around the internet, so now everyone sees you as a bully and me as an useless bystander. My reputation is then ruined, and most of my old friends won't come to my stall now because now they think I promote violence by letting you whack the teenagers up. So, I'm closing up this food court, and you're fired."
"But then I'll have no job to do!" Lucas retorted, "And I have no place to stay too!"
Jacky then took out some money and passed it to Lucas, "Two thousand and five hundred dollars. Money is the only way I can help you now. I can't provide you a place to stay. My wife and I stay in a very small house."
"Thanks, Uncle Jacky." Lucas kept the money in his pocket, "I shall get going first."
"Lucas." Jacky said, "I just did a little research on you. You were the spotlight a year and a half ago, when the Master fixed you. Now, your brother's dead thanks to the Master too. Do you hate him?"
Lucas clenched his fists, "Of course I do, Uncle Jacky. He ruined my family."
"You know, Lucas, I hate the Master too." Jacky admitted. Lucas turned back and looked at him.
"His rules are pretty ridiculous." Jacky continued, "My son also died thanks to him. In fact, he was the first person to be slaughtered under that jerk's new rule. He also promoted buying food through the internet instead of food courts or stalls. He wanted me and my family to die."
"Didn't you riot?"
"Me? Riot? I don't have the spirit or energy to do so. My wife and I live life as it is now. But I do know one friend who hates the Master much more than you. He started a riot group, and wishes to kill the Master."
Jacky took out his phone and sent a contact to Lucas.
"Simon Costner. He's the leader of his own riot group against the Master. He got lots of supporters, and most of them get jailed up every time. I have no idea where he might be now, but you can go to his house. He lives around Garderner Street. Pay him a visit."
Lucas looked at the contact while he nodded his head.
In Thomas's house, he is about to leave for school. He closed the curtains and zipped his bag before running down the stairs to the main door. He opened it and saw Mike standing outside once again, staring at him.
"Are you..." Thomas couldn't believe it. He rubbed his eyes, thinking that they might play a trick on him, but sure enough, Mike is still standing there. Thomas stormed to him.
"Mike Porter, I have already told you to scram off. Why are you still here?" Thomas asked angrily, "If you don't leave within ten seconds, I'll call the police."
Mike did not respond. Thomas counted to ten before taking out his phone to call the police.
"Hello, police. I want to report a case." He turned around and talked, "There's this man named Mike Porter. He's standing outside my house, acting like a creep, staring at my house and my family members, and right now, he's still..."
As Thomas turned back, Mike had disappeared. Thomas was puzzled. He ended the call and looked around his surroundings to find Mike, but he is nowhere to be found.
Thomas decided to ignore Mike as he is about to be late for school. He closed and locked the main door before he went to the bus stop. When the bus arrived, he got into it.
As the bus drove off, Mike opened the curtains in Thomas's room. He looked at the bus going off before looking at Thomas's room.
In one of the police probation rooms, Simon is sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. He is counting his fingers when one of the guards opened the door.
"Time for a toilet break?" Simon asked, "But I've just went to take a piss ten minutes ago. You think I can pee again without water?"
"It's not that, Mr Costner." The guard said, "You have a visitor."
"A visitor?" Simon asked, "Who can be so kind to come and see me?"
"The visitor is named Lucas Lee. He claimed that he is your friend."
Simon's eyes widened in surprise, "Lucas Lee? As in, Eddie's younger brother?"
