Chapter 5 (Part 1)

“Aaah!” That loud cry of a man filled an abandoned building.

“Did I not tell this motherfucker to be quiet?” A man wearing a black coat and tie shouted in disgust, then punched the bloodied face of the man crying while sitting tied to a wooden chair.

The chair the man was sitting on nearly fell over due to the vital force of the blow that the man in the black coat delivered, but his two male coworkers were quick to grab hold of it and stop it so that it wouldn’t fall entirely. Then the guy holding the left side of the wooden chair grabbed the crying man’s hair and pulled it upwards so that it would meet the eyes of the man in the black coat.

“How can you be so fucking loud when you’re crying but become quiet when I ask? Do you just want me to make you quiet forever?” The man in the coat asked, terrifying the bloodied man.

The man, whose face was swollen and bleeding, spoke in a shaky and tiny voice, “Have mercy on me, Jaguar... Please give me another chance.” But the man couldn’t finish his plea anymore because he was showered with punches again by the man in the coat, but this time the man was not punching his face but his stomach, which almost made the bound man’s eyes spit. The man in the black coat then said, “That’s not the answer I want to hear!” And again, he punches the tied man.

“That’s enough, Jaguar.”

The man in the coat stopped punching and turned to the man who spoke.

“But boss—”

“I’ll handle him, Jaguar.” The man spoke in a cold and dangerous voice.

The man in the coat named Jaguar immediately backed down upon hearing what the man he called Boss said.

The man Jaguar called Boss then stood up from the plastic chair he was sitting in and left the dark part of their building. And the moment the Boss came into the light, the man in question immediately froze, and fear filled his face.

“You don’t have to look so scared, Mr. Santos. It’s just me, your friend. When did I ever hurt you?” Asked the Boss. He turned his gaze to the two men restraining the chair and pulling the hair of the bound man, Mr. Santos, and said, “Let go of him, boys. You’re scaring our good old friend.” The two men then quickly did what their Boss ordered before retaking away from Mr. Santos twice.

“Hunter,” said the bound man.

The Boss, Hunter, smiled at Mr. Santos and said, “So you still remember me?” I thought you had already forgotten since we haven’t seen each other for...” Hunter looked at Jaguar, who was just a few steps behind him, and asked, “How long was it?”

“Three months,” Jaguar answered nonchalantly.

“Right. Three months.” Hunter said before looking back at Mr. Santos, who had not frozen anymore but shaking in fear. “Three months is quite long, isn’t it, Mr. Santos? You know, I’m a little sullen about our relationship. Because after everything we’ve been through, you just ran away without telling me. And you did not only run away, but you also brought my money and my possessions with you.” Hunter clicked his tongue while shaking his head. He then held Mr. Santos by the chin. “Not only that, but you also tired my men looking for you. They spent three months looking for you, and it turns out they couldn’t find you easily because you already had someone other than me protecting you. You were already under the protection of the Delgado Group, weren’t you?”

“N-no... Hunter... I-I’ll explain...”

“You will explain? Go ahead. Explain to me now. Explain to me why you had to take my money and my possessions. Explain why you chose to work with the Delgados and betray me after everything we did together. Was it money? The protection? Or did they threaten you and your family?”

Mr. Santos’s eyes widened quickly after hearing Hunter’s last question.

“So they did threaten you. What was it? Did they tell you they’d kill your wife and your daughters?” Hunter asked again in a serious voice.

Mr. Santos swallowed, and his knees trembled. Hunter’s face and even the way he speaks scream danger.

Mr. Santos knew how dangerous Hunter Ramirez was. When he first met him two years ago, he knew that Hunter was not the person he should fuck with.

Mr. Santos met Hunter when his shipping company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Hunter offered him help in exchange for letting their group use his company however they wanted. And because Mr. Santos has no one else to turn to, he agrees to Hunter’s proposition. He forgot his conscience, and he sold his dignity and integrity.

He was initially scared, but as his business grew and gained notoriety, he ultimately succumbed to greed and allowed Hunter to take advantage of him. Since then, he has established a good relationship with Hunter, and Hunter even began to recognize him as his friend.

Everything is going well. Both Mr. Santos and Hunter’s businesses are doing well. But everything turned into chaos when the Delgado group barged into his home and threatened him with using his family if he didn’t do as they said.

Afraid of his family getting involved, he did what the Delgado group asked. He told them everything he knew about Hunter, his group, and his businesses. He then ran away with his family, bringing the money he was supposed to give Hunter under the Delgados’ protection, as they promised him. But it’s only been three months since he ran away, but Hunter and his men have already found him, and he is now at Hunter’s mercy.

“Based on the expressions on your face, I can tell that I have asked the right questions,” Hunter spoke again. Hunter shook his head again. There was regret on Hunter’s face, but Mr. Santos knew that that regret on his face was nothing but a fake, that it was just a disguise.

Mr. Santos was aware that Hunter only treated him as a friend because he still needed him, but now that he has betrayed his trust, Hunter will surely abandon him, and there is a good chance that he will not be able to leave the abandoned building where they are anymore.

“I trusted you, Mr. Santos. Being betrayed by you has never crossed my mind. After all, I made you fucking rich. I made you the person you are right now, and this is how you repay me? What a useless fucker.” And before Mr. Santos could beg again, Hunter’s fist had already landed hard on Mr. Santos’ cheek, causing two of his teeth to fall out and making him almost pass out.

And Hunter wasn’t satisfied yet. He repeatedly punches Mr. Santos until the man’s blood splashes everywhere, and the chair he sits on is already on the edge of falling.

Mr. Santos has wholly lost consciousness, but Hunter did not stop hitting him. He kept punching Mr. Santos, letting out all his anger towards the man who betrayed him, and no one among his men dared to intervene, even though the original plan was not to kill Mr. Santos until they got all the information they needed from him. And that was because they knew better than to stop their Boss when he was mad. Or else they will have the same fate as Mr. Santos.

Hunter’s men thought Mr. Santos would end up dying, especially since Hunter didn’t seem to have a plan to stop hitting the old man. But someone suddenly appeared to stop Hunter from his madness, and it was none other than Leon, Hunter’s consigliere.

Leon then said, “That’s enough, Boss. We still haven’t gathered any information from him.”

Hunter stopped punching Mr. Santos, and he looked in Leon’s direction. And just like that, all of Hunter’s men started to swallow simultaneously when they saw the expression on Hunter’s face. Their body hair also stood on end, which only happens occasionally.

Hunter looked like a demon who was about to kill someone, and that someone could be Leon. But Leon didn’t even faze and had that same cold expression.

Hunter gave Leon a hostile glare. “Are you telling me what to do, Leon?”

“I am not, Boss. I am simply stating a fact. Besides, you have an appointment today, don’t you? You can’t let a woman wait.” Leon promptly answered without batting an eye.

Hunter froze, and so did his men.

‘Woman? Did the Boss get a woman?’ Jaguar asked in silence. And the rest of Hunter’s men have the same question too. But before their question could be answered, Hunter acted again, and it was not to go back on punching Mr. Santos but to ask for a towel to wipe the blood on his hands.

After wiping his hand with a towel, Hunter turned to Jaguar and said, “You do the rest. Just make sure that bastard is still alive and his tongue’s still intact enough for him to answer our questions.”

Jaguar only responded, “Yes, boss,” and then nodded.

“I’m leaving. Come with me, Leon,” Hunter said again.

Leon immediately followed Hunter while Jaguar and the rest of his men stared at Hunter with shocked faces, still wondering if their Boss had gotten a woman.