William's Revenge

PREPARE YOURSELF

"How was your first day, Liam?" A crisp timbre sounded on the other end of the line. No need to ask, Mr. Leo should already know by tracking the GPS on Liam's phone.

"Quite entertaining, Captain." Liam replied simply. He didn't want to say much or conclude anything for the shady-eyed man yet.

"That's quite a distance, isn't it, the chase? If I look at the distance from the airport, it's more than 6 kilometers."

"Yes."

"Where are you now?" Mr. Leo diverted the conversation. This was because he knew that Liam wouldn't be able to talk any further on the topic.

"Can't the captain track me?" Liam asked back.

"Max is away on a date. So, I can't monitor you at the moment." Max was a hacker and also the mainstay of Mr. Leo's team. So apart from Barry Cafe's great tasting food, Mr. Leo and the team had another work-related agenda. Mr. Leo is a figure who upholds the principle of the proverb once rowed, two or three islands are surpassed.  

"I'm looking for a fitness center."

"Oh, I see. Okay, I'll hang up now. Liam, remember, take care of your body and don't forget your nutritional needs. After today's incident, you will definitely work even harder."

The phone line was disconnected. Liam put his cell phone in his pocket. It was still five o'clock in the afternoon. At dawn, he had just arrived. All his gear was still in the car. After checking the weight at the fitness center, he would find a place to stay while his cover was blown.

After-work hours made the highway twice as crowded as during leisure hours. Armed with the address on G****e Maps, Liam plans to head to the most comprehensive fitness center in the city. He intends to measure his muscle mass, fat content, and BMI.

***

Liam carried his important belongings from the car to his new boarding room. The distance between his current residence and Adimas' house was about ten kilometers. He intentionally looked for a place to live far enough away from Adimas' residence. If Liam's identity was revealed, Adimas and his group would need a long time to reach him, while for him, long distance was like a pause to make a decision.

In her eighteen-square-meter dorm room, she began organizing and arranging her essentials in the closet on the right. She placed the picture frame containing the photo of her and Ando on the nightstand beside the bed. He placed it there so that before and after falling asleep, he could look at the photo so that the grudge in his heart would not fade easily.

After packing up his things, Liam went to the nearest convenience store. It took less than fifteen minutes. Knowing that his muscle mass had dropped drastically, his fat content had increased, and his BMI showed that his body weight fell into the less-than-ideal category, he tried to improve his posture. He bought chicken breast fillets, protein milk, eggs, and vegetables for his daily intake.

 Liam bought quite a lot of the food. The owner of the boarding house provides a waist-high refrigerator in each exclusive room. Because it was exclusive and close to a shopping center, he had to spend more money. However, his living expenses are fully covered by the unit, so he doesn't bother about that.

Arriving at her boarding room, she stood in front of the mirror, then took off her clothes. From the reflection of the mirror, he saw that his body was far from healthy. His stomach was almost shrunken, the muscles on his chest were no longer visible, and his arms did not display the biceps and triceps that they used to.

He remembers that event. The event where he saw Ando's terrible condition for himself. His right hand was cut off and five bullets were lodged in his body. Adimas seemed to want to show that he was very strong. Ando's left chest, right chest, abdomen above the navel, left thigh, and right thigh had bullets lodged in them. Liam's chest pain recalled the incident.

The twinkle in her eyes returned. From the reflection of the mirror, he saw for himself how the faintness of those eyes seemed to make him so pitiful. Especially with her current condition, a thin body and a pitiful face.

"Ando's death must not have been in vain!" he told himself.

***

Andini cowered alone. It hadn't been twenty-four hours since she had been in her childhood room until she was a teenager. The walls seemed to speak to her. About the memories filled with happiness when her mother was still there and always by her side.

He walked slowly. Her eyes scanned the entire room. The pink walls had not been changed by her father. Everything still looked the same. The layout of the furniture and personal belongings was the same as eight years ago. She gently wiped the surface of the study table that was positioned facing the window to the balcony. Fine dust clung to her fingers.

Her feet took another step. The glass door that connected her room with the balcony a moment in front of her, she slid slowly to provide enough space to walk there. The fresh air she used to feel every day was no longer the same. From above, he saw the buildings and the city of his birth begin to change. People's houses could be seen with the naked eye. In the past, Adimas had provided binoculars so that Andini could see the houses of people who were said to be their neighbors, distant neighbors.

Adimas' house is far from residential areas. This is because he doesn't want his family life, his business, and his activities to be known by the public. If possible, those people don't need to know anything. Even someone two hundred meters away from his residence was forced to make a detour. There were several bodyguards standing guard there.

Time has changed things a bit. Andini no longer needs binoculars to see life outside.

She opened a drawer in the dresser that also served as her dressing table. Inside the drawer, there were two photo frames containing pictures of her with her mother and father. On the back of the photo, the date and year she turned seven years old was written. The little girl's face in the photo was as happy as if sadness had never visited her and loss had no way to visit her.

Andini sobbed. She cried as she stroked the photo of her mother smiling sweetly while looking at the camera that was about to photograph them. That smile was so expected to return.

"Mama," he called softly. Her chest trembled, rising and falling with her efforts to endure the growing pain and tightness.

This long night was hers. While in Singapore, Aunty Eka's presence made him forget his longing for Melisa. Her childhood photos, as well as her old cell phone, were deliberately kept away by Aunty Eka so as not to make her sad. And now, even though time has passed quite far, eight years, Andini still cries like a child who really misses her mother.