Now, Swiftrain was a professional, and to catch a hitman of his caliber, they needed to think like him. Since he valued his safety before all else, he wouldn’t do a hit that would expose him or risk getting captured. That’s why, in such a scenario, where the sniping spots to choose from were very limited, they needed to go an extra mile to lure him into a false sense of security.

And that’s also why they chose Levi’s mountain resort as their stage. It’s because this only sniping spot was easy to gain access to and usually crowded, both of which would lure Swiftrain into thinking that he would be able to pull the hit off safely.

This west skyscraper contained many public facilities such as restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues such as cinemas and VR stations. And its rooftop was a famous tourist viewing spot with telescopes, benches, fake greenery, and a café bar. Countless people visited the roof throughout the day, and when the night fell was exactly when it would reach its peak traffic.

It’s because this rooftop might be one of the best places on the planet to observe the beauty of the night sky. It was high up in the mountains where there was no pollution, smog, or countless city lights, making the stars and nebulas appear especially bright. The mountain was north enough for the sky to occasionally have fascinating light phenomena such as the aurora borealis. And best of all, due to the altitude, this beautiful sky was forever perfectly clear, with not a cloud in sight – that’s because the rooftop was above the clouds.

When the weather prognosis was ‘clear skies’, one could stand on top and look at the entire world below their feet. And when the weather was cloudy, one could still stand on top of the world, gazing into an endless sea of clouds below.

When Levi offered this resort as the perfect place to stage their plan, his first thought was, ‘it not only fits all the criteria, but it is also perfect for keeping my baby safe!’ And his second thought was ‘Ah! So romantic! Perfect place to eat my ripe cabbage! ❤’.

❤ (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄

Blackie hated to admit it. Really, really hated to admit it. But Levi was right on both accounts.

And thus, this fine day, Noah, Levi, and their entourage took a private maglev train to this beautiful mountain resort. And then, under several layers of Shields, they made their way towards their destination – the east skyscraper, which contained a high-class hotel and its related facilities.

The receptionist recognized Levi immediately (due to the virtue of the other being the owner of the place), and proceeded to transfer the electronic keys to their rooms to everyone’s communicators.

Levi eyed the confused Trey, who was the only one who didn’t get a key, and explained with an upturn of his lips, “Apologies. When I made room arrangements yesterday, I wasn’t aware you’d be coming. Thus the rooms I rented out for the other staff are full.”

Trey didn’t like where this was going, and indeed Levi’s continuation proved his feeling to be absolutely right, “You’ll have to bunk with inspector Fynn.” Levi smirked, “His room is twelve floors and two wings apart from ours.”

Fynn was, of course, a part of this operation. He had even arrived a day ahead of them and was by now probably camping in the surveillance room.

However, though Fynn was here and very much active in this elaborate ploy, terrorists couldn’t catch wind of it, or everything would have been for naught. If this was a real bachelor party, Fynn, who was barely an acquaintance, would have no place on it.

Thus, to keep Fynn out of sight, Levi got him and his colleagues rooms that were in a totally different part of the hotel. Not only would they not cross paths with Fynn when having lunch and dinner, but they weren’t even using the same hotel entrance and elevator!

How would Trey guard his young master’s chastity at night if he wasn’t even in the same part of the building?! Forget guarding his virginity; even if a horde of orcs stormed over to gang-rape his young master, let alone a grunt, he wouldn’t even hear a single one of their heavy stomps!!

Trey’s head snapped to look at his young master for help, only to see that Noah wasn’t even paying attention! While Trey was conversing with Levi, his charge had been eyeing the pure white snow outside with glittering eyes!

Noah wistfully gazed towards the skiing equipment rentals, then finally looked over towards Levi and Trey, with his lovely pair of pleading eyes, “Are we done here yet? When can we go out to play?”

Trey stood there feeling totally defeated by his own little boss of all people!

“We’re done, we’re done,” Levi cooed, “We can go play right now!”

The receptionist caught Levi’s impatient glare, and within two blinks, before Trey could recover from his stupor, his communicator dinged with a notification that it has received an electronic key.

Very satisfied, Levi gave Trey a heavy pat on the shoulder, “It’s a bit far from us, but no matter. It’s just sleeping.” And then, with a skip in his step, he trotted over to his baby’s side.

Noah speechlessly side-eyed his brother-in-law. Ever since they left Concordia, this brother-in-law seemed to be in great spirits, only one step away from happily humming a tune.

Was his brother-in-law actually really looking forward to this bachelor party? But why? Wasn’t it a fake party with all the invitees being trusted subordinates or law enforcement officers?

Something clicked inside Noah’s head, and abruptly it all made sense! The reason why his brother-in-law had previously insisted on not having a bachelor party wasn’t because he didn’t want one, but because he didn’t have anyone to have it with! As a loner, he didn’t have any friends or close brothers!

Levi might not like people or parties, but not having this once-in-a-lifetime event must have left a bad taste in his mouth! You can’t NOT have a bachelor party! It’s like a rite of passage, a tradition, an important step that absolutely can’t be skipped! Not having it would forever leave a stain on this otherwise grand wedding!

It was like one of those things. You know, like when your friends throw you a “surprise” birthday party that you totally don’t feel like having right now. And then you are there, at the party, wishing it would be over quick, thinking how you’d prefer to be lying in bed right about now. By yourself and a good book.

But what would happen if no one threw you a birthday party? Sure, you’d be lying in bed, reading a good book. But you’d be alone, on your birthday. Gorging on ice cream while bawling your eyes out, feeling like you have no friends, and no one cares about you.

Noah nodded his head in understanding. Yeah, this must be just like that! It was one of those things you don’t like, but not having them is even worse!

Poor brother-in-law! No wonder he is so happy now that he gets to have this party after all!

It might be a fake party, but this is something no one will ever know besides the people involved.

Author Note: “…Gorging on ice cream while bawling your eyes out, feeling like you have no friends, and no one cares about you.”

If anyone is feeling like this in the future, remember that there are people who care for you and love you! I, for one do.

I might not know you personally, but I care. I write what I’d enjoy reading, so everyone who enjoys my work is a friend I’ve yet to meet!