4. The Arena

“Did you watch any news program lately?”

Andrew had come out of the car and welcomed by his cousin’s random question, while Max parked the car. He leaned against the wall next to his cousin.

They were in the vicinity of a building called the Arena owned by their friend, Evan. From the outside, the building was like other ordinary one floor building. Only those who had granted the authorization to enter the building knew that down below it had more than one floor.

“No, Henry. Unlike you, I have so many works to do.” Responded Andrew which made Henry rolled his eyes.

Henry ignored the remark in-between joke and insult. “Grandfather called me, telling me to be more careful.”

Andrew lifted one brow. He couldn’t relate what the news program had anything to do with being more careful.

“Well,” Henry continued. “I saw news program, I think it’s kinda bizarre and nonsense. How can they come up with such idea about the crown prince for a news program like that?”

“Because they think it’s funny, mocking the crown prince.”

Henry played with his phone. “They’re not mocking the crown prince. They make—”

A light foot step from their opposite side interrupted the conversation as both men turned their head sideways.

“Hi Henry.” Max greeted with a smile. “I see Andrew invites you too, to grill the thugs that hurts him.”

Henry frowned. “Actually, Evan told me to come to the Arena because Andrew has four chickens to be grilled.” Then he turned to Andrew with eyes turned wide. “They hurt you, how? Are they a trained assassin? Because regular thugs surely cannot touch you.”

When Andrew said nothing, Henry’s eye shifted to Max for answer whose head was shaking but mouthed, ‘No idea.’

Max inserted a card into the thin line slot, then a box with numbers from one to nine showed. He pressed a combination of numbers. A typical sound of thick metal sliding door shrieked right the second after the last digit been pressed.

Once the three of them inside, deafening sound of alarm welcomed them, making them froze on the spot. Then noisy hurried foot step climbed the staircase towards them, at the same time they heard someone yelled something about the gun.

“What happened?” Asked Max to one of Evan’s man who came first.

The man and his friend who came after didn’t have a chance to answer as a loud slam from the metal door downstairs startled them, then another step climbed the staircase followed by a roar of a man whose voice they knew very well.

“I SAID NO GUN, YOU BUNCH OF COWARD WORMS!”

“Everything’s not okay, Evan?” Asked Andrew when Evan appeared at the top of the stair.

“Your chickens trying to escape, they hurt my man.” Evan grunted. He motioned to his men to followed him.

Andrew and Henry walked side by side following Evan, while Max walked behind them. They knew where Evan led them to.

Shortly, they walked in to a huge luxurious room where in the center of the room, there were two armchairs and one long sofa placed in such a way, so they could watch the floor to ceiling screen comfortably. A polished mahogany desk stood solidly by the door.

Andrew sat at the end of the sofa, while Max went somewhere without telling him, but he didn’t mind at all.

“I’m starting to feel these chickens are really trained assassins.” Henry concluded as he sat on the plush armchair.

Evan scorned at Henry’s remark before he took some cordless communication devices from his desk then handed them to his men. He instructed his men to go back downstairs, catching the runaway chickens, while he looked for them in the big screen and relayed their position through the devices.

“Assassin? No… Trained? Yes.” Came Evan late respond. He took the other end of the sofa. With one tap on the thin tablet in his hand, the big floor to ceiling screen turned on.

Since the floors downstairs had circular design which to those who unfamiliar with the building would surely get confused and lost. That was what happened with the thugs or they preferred calling them chickens.

The eyes of the three men glued on the big screen, displaying all rooms in the underground in real-time. Since there was no blind spot area in there, it wasn’t hard for the chickens to be found.

After Evan told his men where the chickens been hiding, Max came.

“I know Evan doesn’t want us bringing any gun, but this is for your protection.” Max presented a gun in front of Andrew.

Andrew took the gun even though he didn’t get Max’ point by protection. Examining it briefly, fully loaded, then he put the safety back on.

“So, it’s true then. You’re hurt.” Henry smiled playfully.

“You’re hurt?” Evan puzzled as he looked sideways. “Did you try to save a cat or something?”

Max was still standing near Andrew, and he could sense that Evan’s question triggered the wires in Max’ brain to be clicked.

“I think it’s a girl…” Henry concluded. He didn’t miss the slight change in Max’ expression.

“A girl?” Evan’s voice raised a little in shock. He looked at Andrew, hoping for an explanation.

“Let’s see what’s your men do with my chickens.” Andrew changed the subject as usual.

Henry laughed, he already predicted Andrew’s reaction.

Meanwhile Evan felt dumb, hoping Andrew would share his story. Soon, the big screen showed a real-time of the interrogation room by Evan’s single tap on his tablet. The four thugs, each of them was tied on a metal chair.

On the other hand, Max felt guilty as he took few steps back. He didn’t dare to be near Andrew at the moment.

“I showed their pictures to the entire organization members across the country, no one know them.” Evan told his friends. “I wonder who they are. What about you, Andrew, what’re you gonna do to them?”

“I just want to teach them some lessons.” Andrew shrugged.

“Okay, let’s go downstairs. But can you leave the gun here?” Evan saw Andrew slipped the gun into his back pocket. “I want to question them alive.”

“You don’t trust my patience?” Andrew’s brows lifted.

When they reached the interrogation room, Evan’s men were stretching thin wire on the thugs. The wire horizontally hooked them into long roll where the wire end connected to a machine that controlled the electricity current level on the wire.

“You…” The man in the once white tee-shirt recognized Andrew.

“You recognize me. Good.” Said Andrew calmly.

His friend sitting next to him recognized Andrew too. He smirked. “Hope my knife gave you a very painful cut.”

“Because of that,” Henry was behind the machine. “he wants to teach all of you some unforgettable lessons.”

“Before that,” Evan went closer to the machine, pressing a start button. “I wanna know who’s your boss.”

All the four tied man turned quiet hearing Evan’s question. A low current rushed through the wire. The more minute they were quiet, the more Evan turned up the current. He kept on turning the current up until all of them shivered by the shock.

“Stop it… I’ll tell you.” Said the man on the third chair weakly.

“No…” Cried the other three men.

“Start talking!” Evan ordered.

“We’re mercenary, currently unemployed.” Told the man.

“Why’re you came to this country?” Asked Evan.

“What were you doing in the cemetery the other night?” Andrew snapped impatiently at the same time, this was wasting time, he thought.

“What?”

Rolling his eyes, Henry repeated Andrew's question. “What you guys doing in the cemetery the other night?”

“We’re just passing by.” Answered the man in the once white tee-shirt. “We didn’t know the girl was with you, we wanted her bag.” Then he added with a smirk. “And some fun, if possible.”

The event was fast, Evan and Henry didn’t even notice when was Andrew pulled the gun as he already smacked it on the thug’s face harshly.

“Say it again. I can’t hear you.” Said Andrew dangerously, cocking the gun in his hand.

With bleeding face, the once white tee-shirt man sneered. “Shoot…”

Andrew’s eye turned cold. Keeping his distance, he pointed the gun to the man on the third chair.

“Andrew…” Evan warned.

Too late. Andrew already pulled the trigger.

BANG!