Stephan hesitated for a minute before picking up the phone.

"Yes?" he said curtly while he gripped the phone hard.

"Stephan, Stephan, Stephan," Donnie chided, "I don't quite like your tone of voice. You should be careful about my temper. I may just take out my displeasure on these two cute little buns of yours."

Stephan took very deep breaths, and then in his most cordial voice, "Yes, Mr. Donnie. What can I do for you?"

Donnie's laughter came through the phone, making Stephan grit his teeth.

"Much better," Donnie said, "Such an obedient one. Far better than your wife. Oh, sorry. I should say, dead wife."

"You…"

"Ah ah ah," Donnie warned with a slight laugh, "Enough playing around. For now, you'll be our runner. There's a bit too much heat lately, so you'll need to do the deliveries for us."

"For now," Donnie continued, smiling at the other end of the phone.

"Instructions will be sent. You are to delete it after you receive it," Donnie said, "If you get caught doing the runs, your lips remain shut. I don't have to tell you the consequence of loose lips, right?"

Without expecting an answer, Donnie put down the phone.

He snickered, thinking about the perfect scapegoat.

The heat was getting to be a bit too hot right now, so he had to eliminate the trail. Give the authorities something to bite on, and they'll take the bait eagerly. Once the situation cools down, they'll start again.

Donnie gnashed his teeth.

That stupid woman really made things troublesome for him. X didn't like uncertainties and loose ends. Just because he couldn't retrieve the thumbdrive, he had to resort to this stupid thing to make sure everything gets buried.

Then, Donnie smiled.

Once the father was gotten rid of, he could always vent his anger on the two kids. Just thinking of how much fun it would be to slowly torture them and hear them pleading sent shivers of pleasure down his spine.

Ah, young kids were always the best.

He started dialing another number.

Once it was picked up, he merely said, "Get ready to extract the kids when needed."

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It took Kyle a bit of time to calm down and Sayuri's heart ached for him.

She had never seen him so vulnerable before. The fact that he was so open with her, and did not shy away from expressing his weakness in front of her, hit her in so many ways.

She was touched that he was so open yet, it also hurt because she knew she may not be able to hold on to him.

She looked up at him and wiped his tear-streaked face, smiling softly, "Even when crying you look so handsome."

Kyle laughed a bit at that, and stepped back, going to the kitchen. He washed his face, and wiped it dry with the handkerchief he had in his pocket.

Turning around, he was about to say something when his phone rang.

Seeing that it was Stephan, Kyle cleared his throat first before picking it up.

"They've asked me to make a delivery," Stephan said softly as Kyle could hear the keyboards typing the background.

Obviously, Stephan was doing work at the office while having the phone on hands-free set.

Kyle went to full work-mode immediately. Taking long strides out of the apartment, Kyle said, "Send me the details and delete all records of this."

Even though Stephan's phone was the encrypted one that Kyle had gotten for him, he wasn't going to take any chances.

Sayuri followed him silently, listening to the conversation.

Kyle didn't have a good feeling about the whole situation.

The file he had on Donnie was sparse but what he had didn't look good. The kids were here under his protection, which was fine but once he started the operation, he wouldn't be around much.

He didn't like that thought and the dreaded feeling that arose.

Once he reached their apartment, Kyle started rummaging through his closet while having his phone on speaker mode.

"Zero, increase surveillance around the in-laws of Yang," Kyle directed, "And secure a team to send Kay and the kids to Country Tz."

[Kay] Kyle called out gently [It has begun. Please take the kids with you back home]

Kay, who was still patting Joseph on the back as he just sat there, was startled. She was supposed to go back next week, and Sam was holding the fort with Beatrice. Things were fine back home under their efficient teamwork, so there was no hurry for her to return.

And with the kids?

[Danger?] she asked.

[Donnie has started making a move] Kyle explained [I can't quite put my finger on it, but I don't feel easy leaving the kids here. They'll be better protected back home. We have both MIB and Big Bro Nic]

Home ground was always the best place.

There were too many things here that were not within his control.

The underworld was one of them and that variable was something that was too risky to ignore.

Dealing with a potential ninja was already bad enough.

[Got it] Kay replied [When?]

[Now]

[KYLE!] Kay nearly hit Joseph hard out of shock [That's too sudden!]

Kyle disagreed [They'll adapt to it. You don't really need to pack other than the essentials. Just buy everything back home. Their passports are being done right now and Zero is preparing to send you guys to the airport in an hour]

Kay's head reeled at how fast Kyle was arranging everything.

Which only meant that he really felt immense danger right now. She sighed, and patted Joseph on the shoulder.

"Come, let's go to my home country," Kay said.

Joseph looked at her, confused, "Huh?"

"You and your sister need to do something different. A holiday, away from everything," Kay said, "I'm sure your Mum would love that rather than seeing you sad."

"Okay."