Standing outside the school gate, a teenage girl with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes was waiting with a letter in her hand. She drew the attention of nearly everyone who saw her in a long light blue dress and with her hair tied back. Tapping her foot impatiently, a glance at her watch told her it was eight o’clock.

“Is he not coming today? If he can’t handle that small bit of pain, why does he train his body?” Her chilly voice mumbled. Assuming that Lefu was not going to appear, she strolled into the school, where a crowd of boys was staring at her through the window. As the girl stuffed the letter into her bag, many boys groaned as they didn’t get to see who the lucky bastard was.

When the clock hit 8:05, the first bell of the day went off. All of the boys scrambled to their classes while the girls just laughed at them rushing in. Entering her English class, Clare took her seat and began to drift off into space, since she had already learned this material a few years ago.

After hearing the teacher drone on about adjectives and complex sentences for an hour, nearly everyone had been put to sleep. When the bell rang, the students clambered to open their eyes and rush to their next class. Grabbing her bag, Clare headed in the direction of the school office, in order to find out what had happened to Lefu.

“What can I do for you?” The old secretary asked from behind her desk. Looking around the office, Clare saw a few trophies from the football team’s past championships. With a glance at the desk, she saw stacks of paper and files before her sight landed on the nameplate: Ruth Solems.

“Mrs. Solems, could you tell me why someone named Lefu didn’t show up today?” Clare politely asked.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t give out another student’s information, miss,” Mrs. Solems said with a friendly smile.

Lifting her head, Clare looked straight into Mrs. Solem’s eyes, and Clare’s once-blue eyes turned deep red. Looking into those scarlet orbs, Mrs. Solem suddenly felt very sluggish, and soon the light in her own irises dimmed.

“I would like to know why student Lefu wasn’t here?” Clare asked again in a stern tone.

“Right away,” Mrs. Solems said, rapidly typing on the computer. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled up Lefu’s records. Looking under the reason of absence she read,

“Last night he witnessed a gruesome death and needed the day off to recuperate.”

Hearing that it wasn’t related of his injuries, she let out a small sigh of relief, but wondered when he witnessed the scene. Clare turned the screen around and began reading into his file, and searched the news for current deaths. Finding the article about the death of the Logging Company Heir, she quickly concluded what he had witnessed from the time frame.

Looking back through Lefu’s file, she managed to find his address. Exiting his file, Clare swung the screen around and looked back into the secretary's eyes. The light inside her old eyes began to grow bright, and she soon woke up confused.

“Thanks,” Clare said before leaving for her next class.

“No problem?” Mrs. Solem replied, perplexed.

Clare left the office and made her way to her science class, where she sent a text to her driver Bill to go investigate Lefu’s house. After she sat through her last class, the final bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Exiting the building, she got into a BMW.

“How was your investigation?” Clare coldly asked.

The chauffeur handed back a folder containing numerous tabs, with the name Lefu Delano printed on the cover. Inside the file, Lefu’s entire profile was listed out, from his school life to his favorite food. Flipping through the folder, Clare took a quick glance to learn what type of man he was.

“Head to his house. We need to take him to father,” Clare commanded as the driver exited the school parking lot. Cruising down the road, Clare continued to read through the file. When they stopped at a red light, a light knock on the window interrupted her. Her face contorted in disgust when she saw who the source of the sound was. It was the boy who had been chasing after her everyday for two years: Ted Block.

She turned her head to look at the driver coldly, silently accusing him for not warning her. Looking into the mirror, all he could do was smile wryly, as he didn’t have any control over the situation. He hadn’t noticed Ted until he knocked at the window.

“Hello Clare, do you mind if I catch a ride with you?” Ted’s unclear voice traveled inside while he tried to open the door, only to discover that it was locked. Tapping the window a few more times, he demanded, “Unlock the door, Clare.”

***

The car drove away when the light turned green, leaving behind Ted, who could only sourly watch as the car sped away. Walking to the sidewalk, he began heading towards the bar down the street known for underage drinking and prostitution. He walked over to a dark corner after entering the bar, where a man with scars on his face was sitting, a few girls surrounding him.

Quickly waving the girls away, he faced Ted, who looked at him angrily.

“Young master Block, what can I do for you this time? Last time, it got four of my boys locked up and waiting trial.” The man spoke with a hint of displeasure laced into his voice.

Glaring at the man, Ted simply replied, “How was I supposed to know that your boys would shoot out the Primrose CEO’s tire?”

The two men scowled at each other, before suddenly breaking out in laughter. Grabbing the seat at the end of the booth, Ted signaled the bartender for a few more drinks. Returning to their chat, the man inquired, “So what do you want me to do this time?”

With a cold glint in his eyes, Ted requested, ”Jimmy, I want to you set up the damsel in distress situation for me. The target is Clare Zurie.”

Hearing the name Zurie, Jimmy’s smile stiffened. Kevin Zurie was responsible for the loss of four boys from his gang. A quick glance told him that Ted wasn’t joking, but the thought of declining still crossed his mind.

“I would like to help you, but if any more of my underlings end up arrested, I will become a laughingstock.”

As if expecting this answer, Ted pulled out his bag and poured stacks of cash across the table. Seeing the hundred dollar bills, greed surfaced in Jimmy’s mind as he scanned the cash. He estimated it was almost twenty thousand after stacking the wads of cash.

“There is twenty-five thousand, and there will be another twenty-five after the job is done.”

The greed controlling his body, Jimmy asked, ”What time should I have the boys ready?”

Hearing his agreement, an evil grin appeared on Ted’s face as he began explaining the details about how they were going to execute the plan. While they were discussing the plot, their prospective victim was currently standing in front of a building labeled Delano Gym.

Gazing through the window, she saw that a karate class was beginning. After opening the door, she was greeted by a middle aged woman with her black hair tied up in a bun. She scanned the desk, spotting brochures about different martial arts they teach and about their gym.

“Can I help you with anything, young lady?” she politely asked.

“I was wondering if Lefu Delamo lived here?” Clare asked.

“Are you one of my son’s friends? It has been such a long time since he talked about having a friend, and such a pretty one at that,” the woman said in surprise.

Glancing at her name tag, Clare learned that this woman was Lefu’s mother, Violet. With the realization of their relationship, she began to see the similarities between them, as both had black hair and gray eyes. ‘He certainly takes after his mother. Their skin both look so soft.’ Clare thought for few seconds.

“No, I’m not one of his friends. My father wants to meet him in order to apologize for what happened yesterday,” she stated.

Still smiling, Violet spoke in a domineering fashion, ”If he wants to apologize, then he can come in person.”

Feeling the overbearing pressure, Clare felt like a predator was looking down on her. She replied with a trembling voice, “I will be leaving now.” After speaking, Clare sprinted out onto the street, and quickly got back into her waiting car.

“Is everything alright?” her driver asked after seeing her run back in a panic. “Do you want me to go in?”

“No, don’t!” Clare shouted in panic. Looking back through the folder, she felt that there was more than what was compiled. After scanning through the documents, she finally found the information about his mother, only to see that she had worked as a nurse before meeting Lefu’s father and retiring. Now, she worked as a financial advisor, and desk clerk for the gym.

‘That’s impossible! How can she have such an overbearing aura, and yet she never fought anyone before?!’ Clare shouted internally before placing the documents down. She wondered how she was going to get Lefu to come with her after how she had acted.

After thinking for a few minutes and not coming up with anything, she ordered her driver, “Gather a few friends. We’re going to kidnap him.”

***

A few hours later, outside Lefu’s 3rd floor apartment window, four men dressed in black were climbing the fire escape quickly but silently. The four men stopped when they arrived outside of Lefu’s bedroom window. Carefully unlatching the window, they slid into the room and quietly looked around for their target.

Down below, Clare watched the men from her hidden BMW. Bill was stationed nearby to keep her protected while a few of her guards went to kidnap Lefu. Across the street, Ted and five gang members were walking out of the alleyway when Ted spotted Clare’s BMW, with only a single guard nearby.

“Is today our lucky day?” Ted nearly shouted in surprise after spotting his target, and with such a perfect chance. Pointing toward the car, he began to whisper a few words to the men following him. They nodded their heads in agreement before separating from him.

They walked down the street a little ways before they crossed over and walked towards the BMW. Looking at the gangsters for a few seconds, Clare just rolled her eyes and redirected her attention back to the apartment where her men had just entered, awaiting Lefu’s capture. As for Bill, he watched the gangsters out of the corner of his eyes. He had noticed them even before they crossed the street.

An obese teenager wearing a few gold rings and with a bandana on his arm pretended to look around, before staring at the BMW. He instantly became mesmerized after seeing the girl with deep blue eyes and a frosty look through the rolled-down window.

“Our friend Chris took a liking to you, so get out of the car and come with us,” a lanky teenager in a t-shirt and shorts demanded. He looked to be seventeen, with a small cut running across his neck.

Hearing them order her, she glanced at them before turning back around. The nearby Bill approached the scene and stood between them, giving off an overbearing aura. Looking at the man with muscles almost three times the size of his, the teenager turned pale.

“Did you want something from the young miss?” He asked in a low voice.

“M-m-my fri-friend to-to-took an in-interest in her,” the lanky teenager stammered while pointing at Clare, clearly afraid.

“Don’t be afraid Carl, there are more of us than him. We can take him.” A short, chubby gangster behind him whispered, bringing Carl’s courage back up. With his courage regained, his attitude did a complete 180.

“What are you waiting for? Just beat that man up!” Chris shouted from his hiding spot behind a nearby lamp post.

“Really now,” Bill answered, muscles rippling underneath his shirt as he tensed. Looking at the moving mountain of muscle in front of them, the gangsters turned to run away.

“AAAAHHHH-” Accompanied by a splat, the sound of bones cracking made everyone present cringe. Looking at the source of the noise, they saw a man wearing black crawling, with a broken bone sticking out of his leg. Behind him, three shadows soon met the same fate as him, falling three stories.

From the third story window, a deep voice suddenly roared,

“How dare you try kidnapping my son!”