Back to Be Mr. Green

4. Harbor Black

Xavier woke up on a soft sheet as a streak of sunlight trickled in through the window. Slowly and reluctantly, he opened his eyes. He blinked several times to clear the hazy vision as he scrutinized his surroundings in confusion. And then, he found himself in an unfamiliar place.

He was in a room that was the size of his apartment, and on a bed that was as big as a studio, with extremely expensive-looking furniture all around.

‘What happened? Where am I?’

Last night, he woke up in a van. He killed the men who were supposed to deliver his body in the 53rd warehouse. Then, he drove the van in order to escape and find his wife and son.

‘But after that, what happened?’

He closed his eyes and tried to recall last night’s event.

When he was driving the van, he felt a throbbing pain that he thought his head would crack open. Xavier held his head with one hand, while the other held the steering wheel tightly. Dizzy, the surroundings turned blurry. He thought it would be better to stop the car first, but he had no strength left to even do that. At the time he was losing consciousness, he heard a loud horn of a truck. Then…

‘Bam!’ 

The van crashed somewhere. His head hit the wheel and his eyes blinked open and close while he was looking outside the broken window of the car. Before he closed his eyes, Xavier saw a man staring at him outside the car.

The man was shouting. But Xavier couldn’t hear his voice well.

And now, he is here.

Xavier opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

It feels like he forgot something important. What was it?

‘Bridgette and Simon!’

He remembered that Cesar will look for his family and harm them!

  

Quickly, Xavier sat up while catching his breath.

“Good morning, boss.”

Xavier flinched as he turned his head to the right. Then, he saw a man sitting on the chair beside the bed.

He has brown hair, straight brows and eyes slanted downwards. His friendly countenance seemed harmless enough, but Xavier knew better. His eyes told a different story.

He didn’t look much like a rich person who lived a gentle and fulfilling life. He looked more of a hungry wolf. When he let out a warm smile, Xavier felt that he had to keep on guard.

“You look like you saw a ghost, dude,” the man said.

No. Instead of ghost, Xavier was looking at a man who he never seen before. And yet, the man acted as if he knew him.

“It’s been three weeks since we last saw each other. Why don’t you speak? I miss hearing your nags, boss.”

They saw each other?

Xavier doubted that.

‘And why does he keep on calling me ‘boss’?’ Xavier wondered.

When Xavier looked back at him, he saw the unpleasantness on his face. He grasped the idea that the man did not have much patience to wait for his answer. So, he opened my lips.

“Who a…”

Like a statue, Xavier stiffed on his position. Nerves went on edge as he held his throat.

‘What is this? My voice changed. It’s lower than my original voice and it’s a bit husky,’ he told himself.

“Boss, you are acting strangely,” the man said.

Yes. Xavier will also agree. Everything is strange. Now that he taken a look into his body, he also noticed that his skin’s color has changed into tan and his build is wider and tougher than before.

‘What happened to my body?!’

Once again, Xavier looked around the room.  He saw a wall-mounted mirror, encircled by a fancy frame. He roused from bed, stood up and frantically dragged his feet off the slumber.

When he stood in front of the mirror, his body froze.

What was reflected in the mirror was surprisingly not him.

The dark red eyes were close to blood under the thick eyebrows, and the sharp jawline boasted a rough masculine. This is not his face, but someone else’s.

Susddenly, Xavier felt his head ached, and he held his forehead with his palms.

“Ack!” he winced.

Now, he clearly recalled what happened last night. After he killed the driver of the van, he saw his reflection through the front mirror and he realized that his appearance drastically changed!

Why?

How?

‘Is this even possible?!’

Looking back, Xavier also did not know how he came back alive after drinking the drug that Cesar gave to him. Even so, seeing his new face made the situation more complicated.

‘Does a drug have the ability to change someone’s appearance?’

The door of the room opened. Xavier was surprised, he almost stumbled backward as he gripped the cabinet behind him.

A teenage boy went inside. When he saw him, the boy politely bowed his head and said, “Good morning, boss!”

Again, he is calling him ‘boss’.

“Are you alright? Do you want me to get you some water?” The young boy approached him but Xavier stepped backward.

“Don’t touch me!” his mellow voice filled the room.

Both the boy and the man with brown hair looked at him in confusion.

Certainly, this was not an abduction. These men recognized Xavier as their ‘boss’.

Within a short period of time, Xavier  realized that they probably mistook him as their real ‘boss’ because of his face.

The problem is, he is not the person who they think he is.

Seconds passed, the brown-haired man opened his mouth.

“It looks like our boss is not feeling well,” he said with a chuckle.

“But everyone is already here,” the young boy replied. “They are all waiting to see our boss.”

The two of them both looked at Xavier. And the moment they laid their eyes on his side, Xavier felt a chill all over his body.

He doesn’t know who they mistook him for. But his guts kept telling him that if he denied it, they might kill him right here and right now.

Xavier thought that the best thing that he can do for now is to pretend that he is really the person  they think he is, and get the hell out of here once the opportunity arrives.

“What do you think, boss? Do you think you can go out now and meet everyone?” the brown-haired man asked him.

Xavier took a deep breath before standing straight. Then he answered, “If they r-really wanted to see me, then I should go. Just like what you said, it’s been a long time.”

The man finally loosened his face when he heard his answer. With a smirk, he spoke, “That’s great. Then shall we go now?”

He tilted his head and showed Xavier his crescent eyes as he asked the question.

Xavier has no idea where they will go. But for now, he will just follow the flow.

He walked towards the door with bare feet. But he stopped when the young boy knelt in front of him. When Xavier looked down, he saw the boy putting leather shoes in front of his feet.

Acting naturally, Xavier wore the shoes. As soon as he finished wearing it, the young boy used the sleeves of his shirt to wipe them and made it shiny.

“Alright! It’s done, boss!” he enthusiastically said. He looked up at Xavier and stared at him like a puppy who was eager to hear praise.

So, Xavier responded, “Thank you.”

The two flinched at Xavier’s words, as if they heard something unusual.

Nevertheless, Xavier ignored their reactions and walked out of the door.

“Good morning, boss!”

Loud greetings of men in black filled the hallway. With his widened eyes, Xavier  looked at the long line of men in suits. They were all bowing their heads to him, and it seemed they didn't have any plan to lift their heads unless he said so.

This scene is familiar to Xavier.

‘Because I was in the same situation before.’

In the Fugito mansion, there is only one master of the house who the servants bow their heads to. That is Cesar Fugito.

As the leader of the house, everyone treats him with respect, as if their life depends on it.

Xavier used to bow his head to Cesar and try his best not to be on the boss’ bad side.

But now, instead of bowing his head and acting like a dog, the people in this place treat him like he is their king.

‘Is this some kind of group?’

He cleared his throat and walked to the center.  He looked forward and, thankfully, there was only one way, which was the straight path ahead.

If he shows them that he doesn’t know this place, they will suspect him.

As he kept moving forward, two men followed right on his tail. The young boy and the man with brown hair.

If Xavier’s guess is right, they probably have a higher position than the other men in black.

“Boss, here.”

One of the men placed a coat around Xavier’s shoulder. He ceased and stared at the white fur with some light gray and black spots.

‘Isn’t this Lynx fur?’ Xavier thought while looking at the coat. Coat made with Lynx fur is really expensive, so Xavier wondered if this is even real.

  

“Boss? Why? You don’t like the coat?” the young boy asked Xavier.

Snapped out, Xavier looked at him.

“You don’t have the time to change your clothes, so I guess it would be better to top it with a coat made of Lynx fur,” the boy explained.

Xavier  looked at the clothes he is wearing right now. It is his usual suit as the driver of the Fugito family. Black suits paired with white sleeves inside. And those white sleeves have marks of blood on them.

He got the blood when Cesar shot Frederick’s leg and the blood sprayed on him.

Quickly, he glanced at the viewer's reaction after seeing the blood on his shirt. However, no one displayed a look of disgust. As if everything is normal.

Turning his head to North, Xavier gulped nervously and answered.

“This is fine. I will change later,” he said, and walked away again.

His breathing turned heavier as he stepped forward to a place that is far from norm.

  

‘Did I go to a dangerous place where it is natural to see dead bodies just like in Fugito’s?’ Xavier answered.

When he stood in front of the railing, he found the answer.

This place was way too different from Fugito’s mansion.

Whether he is in danger or not, that isn’t the current problem. The question is how he can manage to control his expression while looking at the hundreds of people beneath the railing.

Inside a huge hall, hundreds of men were looking at Xavier, as if they'd been waiting for a long time.

His trembling hands barely held the railing to support his weight. Then, Xavier clenched his hands around the railing while feeling the churning inside his stomach.

“Good morning, boss!”

Loud greetings echoed in the large hall, and next, hundreds of men bowed their heads in front of him.

Xavier’s heart thumped as if there was a giant drum inside his chest. He held his breath while he eyed them in shock.

Before he could process what the hell was going on, the man with brown hair leaned towards Xavier and said something that stole his spirit out of this body.

“Welcome back to the Harbor Black Mafia, boss.”