Only Other Person

The door broke down as the man fitted himself through it. The children hugged their mother, and Delta only used her lithe body to protect them. She would take out her stun gun, but a single charge wouldn’t bring down a big man like that.

However, the big man retreated and stood at the side. A man in an expensive suit walked in from behind the big person. He had long dark hair tied in a ponytail and hidden behind his collar, and his eyes were as green as Delta’s. The most defining feature of his face was the ugly scar on his cheekbone.

“Delta, just stop. You’ll only get yourself hurt if you escape again.” He shook his head at the defiant look on her face. He then moved his head to meet Eine’s gaze through the gap under her mother’s arm. “Oh, are those Foxley and Eine? They look really cute.”

“Carolus, please pretend you didn’t see me here.” Delta took a deep breath and glanced at the other men the man brought to fetch her. “You don’t have to take me back.”

“Are you crazy? I’ve been doing this for three long years. Why should I give up when you’re already in front of me?” Carolus huffed and glanced at the burly men with him. “Don’t let her go, but don’t hurt her too much. If you leave a bruise, I will kill you myself.”

Delta watched the men walk closer to them, slowly closing in to not spook the family of three. Then she pursed her lips and yelled, “Carolus, you should have seen it! I’m Mr. Colton’s wife! You can’t touch me! You’ll attract his ire, and he will crush you in his city!”

At this, Carolus only narrowed his eyes at her. “You think I’m that stupid? Well, maybe I am… if people get married by running into them. Does peppering heads with flower pollen the new binding oath? Fuck, don’t try to be funny, Delta. Just let it happen—”

A crisp sound echoed on the floor, and Carolus quickly jumped at Delta. She also saw that black thing thrown into the room. They both used their bodies to cover the two children from the tatter of the stun grenade on the floor. However, when the people twitched, it only emitted a ‘boom’ sound effect and a flash of colorful lights. It was nothing but harmless.

Still, it distracted the people inside the room. Before the other men could look for the source of the dud grenade, they were shot with non-lethal rounds to immobilize them. 

Carolus got to his feet, carrying Eine in one arm. He took out his gun and aimed at the new group of people sieging the room. However, with three guns aimed at his face, he just stared at the leader. These new people were even sporting tactical gear as if police operatives.

“Threats neutralized.” A feminine voice came from the leader, the one who aimed at Carolus first. She spoke to her earpiece transceiver before holding her gun with both hands. “Drop the girl and stand against the wall. I am armed with live rounds.”

“…what’s this? Did you piss someone else, Delta?” Carolus slowly lowered his gun, but he only stepped back until he reached the wall. He bent to place Eine down. “Don’t freeze. Run back to your mom.”

Delta looked at the people coming in to fetch her and her children. She didn’t know who they were, but as long as her children were safe, she would negotiate with the person in charge. There was only one person who could have sent a group like this after her. Yes, aside from her, there was just one person who knew she was being followed by some men.

The mother carried both of their children in her thin arms and moved out of the room with another person in tactical gear. She didn’t manage to get their luggage, but at least they still had their lives.

When the operatives changed to live rounds in a swift movement, Carolus dropped a smoke bomb in the room. The leader fired in his direction, but he jumped out of the building. The leader tried to chase him, but the man had already vanished. She frowned at the empty alley, the sound of silenced bullets and men groaning echoing behind her.

“Captain, these are not normal thugs,” another person whispered to her. “Who was that woman? Why are they after her?” 

The person sighed. “…why are we collecting her?”

The captain only hummed before looking at the other person. “Leave it. Let’s just report to the base and deliver the package as soon as possible. We don’t want to keep him waiting.”

…

Delta heard the commotion that followed their departure from the room. However, she only glanced back while wearing a somber face. These people in tactical gear were not above killing Carolus’s men. It’s just that if that meant saving her from them, she should be thankful at least.

Soon enough, they were asked to get inside a black armored van. It didn’t have proper words painted on it, but it could camouflage as a special police van. Delta got inside after her kids, and they sat on each of her thighs and hugged her just the same. However, she didn’t mind; she even held onto them tightly.

The mother then lifted her face and smiled at the person across her in the back of their van. As she thought, the captain was a beautiful woman with dyed purple hair. She even looked like she had been on this team for so long, judging from those muscles in her shapely arms.

“Thank you for using a strange imitation instead of the real thing.” Delta started, remembering how they did not throw a real stun grenade at her… at her kids.

“Hurting you is a breach of our assignment. If your children suffer because of us, the boss will not spare any of us.” The captain only eyed the weak-looking woman across her. 

Even from just one gaze, Delta could feel how this woman seemed to loathe her. Delta just lowered her head and kissed Eine’s and Foxley’s faces. She couldn’t let them be scared because their almighty mother couldn’t keep them away from people like this. After that, she just made them sleep against her.

The soft and weak visage of the mother made the captain frown. She knew their boss too well, and for him to be interested in such a woman was a miracle. It’s just that nothing that happened in this city escaped her ears, especially about her boss. The captain just looked at the floor of the van as if sighing in resignation. How could he have hidden such a thing from them?

“Captain, we’re entering the property,” the driver spoke to his transceiver, the report received by everyone who had their earpiece.

“We’re already here. Keep your hands to yourselves and don’t do anything suspicious.” The captain looked at the frail woman, and Delta only nodded. She then woke up her kids.

When the back of the van opened, Delta found herself in the backyard of a huge estate. She didn’t know where they were exactly, but this was certainly incomparable to the one she saw before. Then her gaze focused on the captain urging them to walk. Eine and Foxley held onto her hands as they followed the scary-sounding auntie, but their mother’s smile was enough to make them feel safe.

Inside the estate, Delta froze as she saw the kitchen. Boxes of oranges were at the side, and a man was eating slices on the island. He then looked at her with bored eyes.

Delta blinked. “Mr. Colton, did you buy all my oranges from the stall?”

“You wouldn’t have to sell all these if I bought all of them, right?”