9. TRUST

Daren punched the man in the face with all his might. Not once, but twice in a row, leaving a very clear mark there.

The man bounced a few meters and cursed in frustration. Daren smiled triumphantly. It was common for him to beat men who were even bigger than him.

The Daren of now was not the Daren of then. The current Daren had no fear whatsoever, not even of the grim reaper coming close.

The man wiped fresh blood from the edge of his lips. Losing to a stranger was a humiliating defeat for him.

"You bastard!"

Damm!

Before the man could reply. Suddenly, gunshots rang out throughout the room.

Those remaining there then scattered to save themselves.

"Shit! Who opened fire?" Daren swore harshly. His focus was no longer on the man, but the shot that had just been fired.

His eyes darted around quickly. Searching for someone who might be the mastermind of this coincidence.

"There he is!"

Daren caught a glimpse of a shadow dressed all in black, running in the opposite direction.

Damm!!!

The second shot was fired. Daren clutched his head with both hands, shielding himself from the possibilities.

His focus on the figure was broken. The shot into the air this time, did not come from the figure he had just seen.

Daren turned his body clockwise. This room was deserted. There was not a single visitor here. Except for him.

"Is this a trap?" thought Daren, guessing at the possibilities.

Come to think of it, couldn't shots be fired from two different directions? Chances are, someone had given the order to mess this place up.

"Daren!" Joshua arrived a few minutes later.

"Are you okay?" he asked, breathing heavily.

"I am, okay. But this place is a mess."

Daren looked around. Tables and chairs were scattered on the floor. Joshua took notice.

"I heard gunshots from outside. Shortly after, people came out of this place," Joshua said and Daren interrupted to confirm his guess.

"Yes. Two shots. I saw a black shadow running in that direction. However, just as I was about to chase after it, suddenly the second shot was fired," Daren explained cautiously.

After that brief incident, Daren increased his awareness of his surroundings. Could that black shadow still be here and hiding somewhere?

"We'd better get back. Xena will want to hear this report."

Daren nodded in agreement. "We should investigate this matter further. It looks like word of our arrival in the District has gotten out to EAGLE EYE," he guessed.

Joshua ignored him. However, what Daren said was exactly what he thought.

EAGLE EYE, had sniffed out their arrival to District S01.

***

Meanwhile, in a separate place.

"Sir! We have done what we were told, sir."

A man knelt down and bowed his head behind a figure in a suit who was standing facing out the window.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" the man in the suit asked flatly and did not move from his position.

"Yes, sir. We just made a mess over there, like we were told to, sir." The man raised his head slightly. His position was still as before. On his knees.

"You can go!" said the man without turning away.

"Yes, sir." He immediately took a few steps back, before actually leaving the room.

"Apparently you didn't heed my warning, Xena," he grinned meaningfully.

***

"Did you manage to find the manager?" Xena asked seriously.

Daren shook his head. "The manager didn't come to the restaurant today. A waiter told me that."

"Not coming?" Xena's brow furrowed. She folded her arms across her chest. She gave Daren a sharp look.

"Looks like it was all planned," Daren said with conviction.

"There's no way two things happened at the same time. The manager wasn't there, and then there was a shooting. I'm sure someone planned all this. It's as if the events were set up to be a brutal attack."

Daren also explained. He had seen a shadowy figure running fast, in the opposite direction. Only then, the second shot was heard. Not long after, the surroundings became quiet. As if, the visitors there were people who were deliberately paid to make noise? Daren thought so.

Xena stroked her chin. "Your guess makes sense, Daren, but we don't know who ordered the shooters?"

"Yes, Miss. That is also the big question in my mind. Should we solve this problem first or should we continue with our plan?" asked Daren very seriously.

Xena glanced at Joshua, "how about it, Joshua? Do you have any other ideas? I want to hear from you, Joshua."

Daren also looked at the man who had saved his life.

Joshua sighed heavily. "Our original purpose in coming to this place was to seek information regarding EAGLE EYE's headquarters. The failure of the original plan has brought us closer to a new fact..."

"Facts ... yes..." Xena nodded her head. Suddenly she seemed to have a new conjecture.

"All right. Order the others to find out about the shooters in the restaurant. Soon we will catch this figure!" Xena ordered with a meaningful smile.

"Okay!" Joshua and Daren replied simultaneously.