Celestine’s mind raced with silent contemplation, trying to make sense of the stranger’s claims.“Why Archer’s blood?” He asked, furrowing his brows.The mercenary smirked, his previous surrender replaced by a scornful expression. “Perhaps, you don’t know what a mercenary means. I was just to get his blood, what for? I don’t know…”Fred exchanged a glance with Celestine, both making a silent note of that clue.“Who hired you?” Li demanded, his voice breaking the eye contact between Celestine and Fred.The mercenary’s smirk faltered slightly, as he turned to face Li. “You can have my name, but my loyalty to my employer remains.” He said softly. Without a stress, Celestine knew that was his final say.A surge of frustration coursed through him but one look at Li’s face, and his confidence returned.“I’m not very reasonable, Mr. mercenary…” Li began, the corners of his lips lifted in a half smile. “You see, I myself, am a mercenary… and my employer demands answers.”Celestine shot a quic
The tires of Celestine’s car screeched in the air as he made a sharp stop in the parking lot of Sterling Groups Hospital. The fading sunlight cast a soft glow on the walls of the hospital as he approached with a fast speed.His mind raced with apprehension, as he neared the hospital entranceway. Finally stopping in front of the large doors, Celestine grabbed the doorknobs with two hands and pushed it with all expectancy.His expectations were instantly cut short when he realized the doors were locked. Celestine’s heart sank. He ran around the building, in search of another entrance with no success. He had turned around the large building about two times, when a voice suddenly called out from the intercom at the security.“You’re not allowed to be in this premises as the government authorized a total shutdown…”Celestine felt enraged by his comment, “A total shutdown?” He fumed, racing to the security house.“Who is there? If you can hear me, I need to speak with someone. This is priv
The activities of the evening had just begun. In the Drunken Badger, one was right to say, the day had just started. The Badger wandered around like a lazy king in his palace, chattering and smiling with almost everyone. They all wore normal expressions, their wide smiles reaching their ears. Celestine turned around, scanning the gradually crowded room with suspicion. He didn’t seem to find anyone staring particularly at them, neither did he see anyone who didn’t seem to fit in the room. If anything, he was the outcast here. Dressed in a suit, with lines of frustration masked on his usually baby face. Mercy’s sudden touch on his shoulder startled him, shifting his attention back to her from his silent hunt.“Aren’t you being too obvious?!” Mercy scolded, “Just take my word for it, they’re onto us.”“I just want to know who,” Celestine replied, “You say someone’s watching, someone’s listening. I believe you, I just want to know who, why?”Mercy released a sigh of frustration, almos
Celestine glanced at Mercy and his heart clenched as he noticed her shrunken expression.He didn’t know if it was Fred’s subtle taunts that cut down her size or if it was the daunting awkwardness between them. “I need a cold shower,” he said abruptly, stirring the silence.“Won’t you introduce her? Who’s she? We don’t need more people we do not know Celestine.” Mariah said, her voice tinged with concern.Celestine caught his patience slowly slipping by, he had to get away for a minute to recollect himself.“Mariah, I wouldn’t bring anyone into this house if I didn’t trust them enough. I’ll meet you at the dining table.”With that, he walked away, leaving them confused and concerned.“Did anything happen on the way back home?” Mariah asked, turning to the fair lady.Still shaken by the evening, Mercy only managed to respond with a soft nod.“What is this? A new feature? You used to be cunning and haughty, what happened to you?” Fred teased, his voice losing the calm that Mariah knew t
As Celestine hurried out of the house, footsteps echoed behind him, calling out his name. Finally, he stopped turning towards the approaching figure. “Celestine, you don’t have to do this,” Fred pressed, “If it is because she will lead us to Archer, there’s an even better way.”“Yeah? What way is better?” Celestine asked, squinting his eyes quizzically. “Master Woods.” Fred replied, “You can trust him, he made Archer into all of this. He would never turn his back on him. I’m certain that he’s doing everything he possible to get Archer out of there.” “I do not doubt that Master Woods is on our side. But he’s your Master, not mine. In some ways, you can say my Master is Archer, and in this situation, Archer would choose Mercy’s safety over any assumptions.“ Before Fred could say another word, Celestine hopped into his car, taking along with him a guard of the house. Mercy had barely made it a few blocks away from the mansion, her mind filled with fear and despair. A flood of repre
Celestine came to the dining table, surprised to find it empty but with food laid out. He quickly sauntered to the kitchen, calling out for his sister. "Mariah!" His voice returned without a reply, and Celestine sighed softly, going back to the dining table. He settled on the chair, and noticed that she had made breakfast for four people. "Oh, shit!" He exclaimed, suddenly remembering that he had a guest in the house. He buried his hand into his breast pocket to bring out his phone. Just then, Fred walked in, looking disheveled like he had just woken from sleep."You're already dressed? To where?" He asked, settling down on the seat across him."To the Palace of the young Prince Bullock. Wake your brain too." Celestine quipped. "I've been awake for two hours now, practicing my kenjitsu. I didn't miss a single step so my brain is awake too..." A moment of silence passed between them, each person brimming with words.Finally, Fred spoke out, his voice calm as usual, "How sure are y
Chapter 133The convoys bearing no labels nor logos of Sterling Groups pulled up in the garage of the Sullivan's business company, Celestine's heart sank as he stood at the entranceway wondering what he might find. However, he was more worried about not finding anyone at the company. He suspected the operations of the company had come to a halt since the day of the gruesome incident.Mercy stood beside him, observing his anxiety. "Here," she said, offering him black shades.Celestine raised an eyebrow at her strange suggestion but took it anyway. Together, they added the dark shades to their elegant appearance, creating an illusion of both assertiveness and a carefree attitude.Mercy extended her hand to him, "Play pretend," she muttered.As Celestine placed his hands on hers, their reflection in the mirror gave a picture of Bonnie and Clyde, or more accurately Dan Brown's Professor Langdon and Sienna.A sly smirk graced his lips as the image of them played in his mind. With a new
Celestine barged into the house, red in the face, murderous in the eye. Fred and Mariah exchanged worried glances, their gazes flickering from Celestine's furious face to Mercy’s indifferent expression.“Let me guess, it was a mistake?” Fred quipped. Mariah turned towards him, shaking her in disapproval. “Stop it, Fred.”“No, let him be… he was right, and I made a fool of myself trusting you.” Celestine fumed.“Celestine, what really happened?” Mariah asked calmly, gazing at him with curious eyes.“I don’t want to talk about it,” he fumed, storming past the living room, leaving Fred and Mariah looking at Mercy with suspicious eyes. The room held its breath as Mercy sought the words to explain the situation. Yet the more she thought about it, she realized if she said anything, they would misunderstand her.Unable to withstand their piercing gaze any longer, she cleared her throat softly. “I’ll be in my room,” she said, backing away. As soon as she disappeared into the hallway, Mariah