After I got out of the car, I glanced behind me expecting Razi to be there, but she was still sitting inside. I opened the door and said, “Why the hell are you still sitting around for?”

“I’m waiting for them to go inside first.” She noticed a few members of her family walking toward an elevator and delayed her exit.

“Get your ass out of that seat and grow a fucking spine!” I had to raise my voice at Razi when I caught her lingering in the vehicle. She was too afraid to come out and face reality.

The reprisal protocol of the Enslavement Rubik’s Cube forced her to comply by stirring a heat wave in her chest. She coughed up enough smoke to taint her breath.

“Alright, I’m coming out. Don’t torture me, goddammit.” Razi got out and joined me in front of the car. “Are you happy now?”

“Very much so. Now lead the way.” She was the highlight of the event, so I told her to act her part while I pretended to be her bodyguard. “Go on.”

“Right, follow me.” Razi donned her confident persona and started strutting down the path leading to the elevator. Only me, her and another man were inside.

The operator who knew where to bring the guests for the event placed a special card in a slot then selected a private floor. When the lift came to a halt, the operator directed us where to go.

“Follow that path straight ahead and you’ll see others waiting at a bronze door.”

“Ok, thanks for your directions, sir.” Razi smiled at him.

We stepped out of the lift into a golden corridor. “Is all of this made of real gold?” I softly inquired.

Razi heard me and said, “Yes, this private floor is the hidden jewel of Prime Head. The first time I came here with my father, I was surprised to learn that the walls and most of the fixtures were made from gold. You should see the toilets here. They are extremely elegant and comfortable to sit on.”

“Tsk, these rich bastards love shitting in gold. Staining such a precious ore with their stinking ass. It must have caused a fortune to build all of this.”

“I agree. But the figure you are thinking of is considered pocket-change to the heads of Prime Head.”

“Pocket change, eh?” Hearing this made me consciously activate my Value Meter to find out the value of the objects around me. “What the heck?” I was shocked by how much these items cost.

‘That diamond vase is valued at 27.3 million Crowns and that gorgeous fish tank is worth 3 mil. Not to mention this tiled floor… one block of tile costs 568 thousand Crowns. Combined with the rest in view that’s a total of 34 million Crowns. Goddammit, this place is loaded. It’s a shame I can’t steal these items with my Value Meter. Else I would have stripped the entire building bare.’

“Hey, Smoke Pac, are you ok?” Razi caught me drooling over the shiny objects and thought that something was wrong with me.

I quickly snapped out of my daydreaming and answered her. “I’m fine. Just distracted for a sec. And one more thing, don’t call me Smoke Pac around others. I don’t want anyone figuring out my identity.”

Razi complied. “Alright, so what do I call you?”

I thought about a suitable cognomen. It took me seconds to come up with one. “Call me, Pink Diamond.”

“Pink Diamond?” She looked me over from head to toe then questioned, “Did you come up with that name because of how you are dressed?”

“I did. So what?” I glared at her.

“Nothing.” Even though she pretended not to care, I could hear the laughter bubbling in her tummy.

“Just focus on what we came here for.”

Razi and I walked along the corridor until we came upon the bronze door that the operator spoke about. A bunch of rich snobs were standing around there; about 11 of them waiting for the doors to open. I listened in on their conversation as I got closer.

“Why are the doors still locked? Did we come too early?”

“Nonsense, we came right on time. It is Manager Kim who is late.”

“Should we get somebody to contact him?”

“I’m sure he’ll be here shortly.”

“My feet are killing me. I’m tired of standing here.” Said a middle-aged woman who carried more pounds on her bones than a pig.

A blond youth spoke to her, “You’ve only been standing for 3 minutes, aunty Clary. I’ve been here much longer than you and I’m not complaining.”

“That’s because you are young, Charlie. I am a grown woman.”

Charlie remarked, “It has nothing to do with age. You just need to lose some weight and get fit then you’ll be able to stand as long as you want.”

“You disrespectful little shit. How dare you call a grown woman fat?” Clary’s face became twisted with anger. She wanted to discipline the youth who wouldn’t back down.

“Why are you so upset, aunty? Did I hit a nerve?” He mocked her with his cartoony smile.

A geezer reached out his wrinkly hand and slapped the youth on the back of his head. “Pipe down your mouth, you damn brat and apologized to Clary.”

“Ok, I apologize, aunty.” He turned to the old man, “But you didn’t have to hit me so hard dad.”

“Stop your whining and act like a man.” After being scolded by the geezer, the youth didn’t say another word.

Razi pinched my shoulder and gestured up ahead. “That old man is my uncle, Bensen. The one I told you about. That’s his son beside him; the cousin that I most detest, Charlie. That big body woman there is aunty Clary. He’s my other uncle, David. That’s Diana, Pearl, Mitch and his wife June. I don’t know who those other people are.”

“Oh?” Razi was feeling shaky in the knees as we approach her family, but my command made her fears subside briefly.

“Thanks, Smoke Pac… sorry, I mean, Pink Diamond.” She clung to my shoulder for more confidence boost. My first reaction was to pitch her to the other side of the room, but I allowed her to cling to me for the time being because more important matters were at hand and I didn’t want to ruin it before it started.

“Hey, you guys look who it is?” A grown man in the group pointed out Razi’s presence. I didn’t catch that one's name.

“It’s Darius’s little girl. I didn’t think she would actually show up.”

“Why wouldn’t she? She is his only daughter after all.”

“The one that we know of. Who is that man by her side? I’ve never seen him before.”

“Hmm… he looks familiar.” The geezer thought he recognized my identity, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

“Well, if it isn’t my favourite cousin in the world.” Charlie gave a fake smile to Razi then came forward and tried to disrespect me.

“Why is your henchman dressed in pink, Razi? Is he queer?” This bastard bent his neck around my appearance. “He looks macho but damn, he dresses awful. Ha-ha-ha! Did you pick him up from the street?” While grinning his teeth off, he reached out his hand to interact with Razi’s hair.

“Don’t touch me!” She swatted away his hand with all her strength. This caused his arm to bruise.

“Ouch!” Charlie cried out when he felt the pain, moreover, recognized the livid imprints on his wrist. “You hurt me you bitch!”

Charlie became violent and tossed a punch at Razi’s face, however, I caught his hand and made him kneel before me. “Don’t ever do that again, you little shit, unless you want to die.”

“Huh?” When Charlie saw how serious I was, he turned his head and hollered out for his papa to save him. “Dad help me!”

“Hey, you! Get your hands off my son!” The old fart came rushing over with his commanding tongue letting loose. When he saw that I wasn’t complying, he glared at Razi and said, “Young lady controlled your guard dog if you don’t want to be thrown out of here.”

“Pink Diamond, let him go.” Razi pleaded with me to unhand the snobby punk.

‘The slave commanding the master?’ Although I disliked being ordered, especially by a weak woman, I heeded Razi’s command and set the little punk loose. He ran and hid behind his old man like a scared puppy.

“Dad! Dad! That queer man threatened me. Do something about him.”

“Quiet!” Bensen shouted at the incompetent product of his sperm then gave his attention to me. His eyes were like fire trying to burn away the bushes of my identity. “You’re quite an aggressive man. I can tell by looking at your eyes. Have we met somewhere before?”

“I don’t know. You tell me…” I avoided giving a direct answer because this geezer was very skilled at identifying when someone was lying.

Of course, I knew who he was. Old Bensen, Big Red’s eldest brother, otherwise known as the high-risk gambler, West Streak.

In the past, when Big Red and I were new to the business of the criminal underworld, Old Bensen taught us the trade in gambling. We went to various casinos racking up a high win streak until we were eventually blacklisted and almost got murdered.

This was how I acquired the early capital I needed to start my clubbing business. In those days, I looked a lot more like a beta male who used to work a nine 9 to 5 job for a company that didn’t give a rat’s ass about its workers. But now I am a fucking alpha who radiates raw primal masculinity, an apex predator amongst men.

I still remember the damn name of the company, Bridge Conglomerate. Sharp Stepper had a connection with them. ‘Soon I will figure out what that is and make them pay the ultimate price for their betrayal and theft of my property.