Tales moved quickly, his footsteps is light and careful against the cold steel of the floor. Every breath was measured in the fear of being noticed....Strange! How come it's so quiet? Like no one's here?!Every corner he passed by was clear before he stepped forward. The building had gone too quiet.No guards.No Jake.Nothing.He should have heard something. The faint buzz of radios informing other guards of his escape, the stomp of boots, anything.But the silence was heavy. Almost Oppressive.Where is he?Where was Jake?The man who never left him alone. The man who enjoyed watching his unyielding facade, the man who wants him to bleed and suffer.Talesâ grip tightened on the bent fork in his hand.The air tasted wrong.As if something had already happenedâor was about to.But he didnât stop.He needed escape and find Raja.He needed to get the hell out of here.MEANWHILE...The office was a war zone.Shattered glass littered the floor. Bullet holes flashed in the walls like some
Raoul stood ten meters away from where is Raja standing, looking at its phone. He was analyzing Raja's expression to predict what will be his next move. That's the only thing he could do since Raja has sharp senses and moving close to him is like announcing his presence. He'll be killed in an instant. He gritted his teeth. Raja had been their leader for a long time but he need to think for himself. His phone was pressed on his ear. His expression was unreadable, calm even. Jakeâs voice filtered through the line. âEverythingâs set?âRaoul exhaled slowly. âI think he's on his way to find Zaden. Youâll have time to move all Father's confidential documents and analyze the vaults left by him.âJake chuckled softly. âGood job. You still have one task left, come here immediately after sorting things.âRaoulâs fingers tapped the metal railing beside him. âAlright.âA pause.âGood,â Jake said. âYouâll get your reward soon.âRaoul hung up. He closed his eyes for a moment. âForgive me,â he wh
The first swing of the hammer crushed Raoulâs kneecap with a sickening crunch. Raoul screamedâraw, high, desperate. His body convulsed violently as he slumped on the floor. But Raja was already raising the hammer again.âWhere is he?!ââI donât know!â Raoul sobbed. âI donât know!"Raja crouched down and stare at Raoul. A question once again occured in his mind. He don't know why this man betrayed him. Hr notice how all of his movements was observe and reported but he didn't know it was Raoul. He just thought that it's one of his men who's lower rank, but to think its Raoul?The hammer fell again, this time slamming into Raoulâs hand, shattering the bones with brutal efficiency. Raoulâs screams echoed off the cold concrete walls, but Raja didnât flinch.âYou told Jake I killed Oliver,â Raja said slowly, his voice low, controlled. âI won't even ask you why you betrayed me. I don't care about that nor I care about you working with him. Just tell me where Tales and I'll give you a painles
Rajaâs boots crunched against the sand as he stepped out of the vehicle, the engine still running behind him. The houses infront of him are mostly made of bamboo and are practically glued yo each other. Slums near the ocean. He surveyed the houses with no light, he walked and walked until... he found it. In front of him, a house stood crooked, its rusted tin roof bent inward, peeling paint clinging stubbornly to the rotting wooden walls. It was the kind of place most people wouldnât give a second glance, and for a moment, Raja wondered if heâd come to the wrong place.But no.This was Zadenâs hideout. His sanctuary. Tucked away in the forgotten corners of his hometown. Raja had expected something more refined, something cleaner. But looking at it now, it made sense.Zaden couldn't care less.Raja approached the door with slow, deliberate steps, his breath steady but his pulse quickening. Without hesitation, he raised his foot andâBANG!The flew violently as he kicked it open. The old
The night air was suffocating as Raja approached the entrance of Jakeâs hideoutâa rotting industrial complex left behind from another era. The rusted metal and broken windows appeared like coarse teeth in the dark. Raja's boots crunched over debris as he stalked forward, carrying a gun and a long knife in both of his two hands, his breathing slow and controlled despite the ache in his battered body. Bloodâdried and freshâclung to his clothes. He looked like a man crawling out of hell. Maybe he was.This was it. The end of the line.He passed the first perimeter silently, his blade and gun glinting faintly in the moonlight. Jake's guards had been stationed like cattle, unaware that the slaughter was coming.He was just announcing himself walking with his head held high, however seems like the security is too lax.Raja didn't waste time.The first man barely made a sound as Rajaâs knife sliced clean through his throat. The second caught the glint of blade too late, a gun halfway raised
Jake had always done exactly as he was told.From the moment he could walk, Oliver had shaped him like a bladeâsharpened his mind, hardened his body, stripped him of anything weak. And he had obeyed. He had followed orders. He had killed. He had smiled when Oliver wanted him to smile, knelt when Oliver wanted him to kneel, and suffered when Oliver wanted him to suffer. Because that was what a son was supposed to do.He was not loved.He was not special.He was a project. A tool. A thing to be possessed and used.Jake learned early that love was something you had to earn. That it wasnât given freely. That if he did everything Oliver askedâif he followed the rules, if he never mess up or doubt, if he obeyedâmaybe then he would hear something kind. Maybe then his father would look at him like he mattered. Maybe his father would look at him with love.So he obeyed.The first time Oliver threw him into a fight, Jake was seven. Small, underfed, shaking. His opponent was olderâtwelve, bigger
Jakeâs resentment festered like an untreated wound.For years, he swallowed the bitterness, forced himself to held his head high in front of Oliver, forced himself to play the loyal unambitious son, even as something in him curdled and rotted with every passing day.He shouldâve given up. He shouldâve accepted it. Raja became Oliverâs favorite. Raja became the chosen one. Raja was the one who mattered.But Jake wasnât built to accept. He wasnât built to be cast aside. He was trained for survival. So if Oliver didnât see him as his sonâThen Jake would make sure Oliver had nothing left to see at all. If he couldnât be Oliverâs greatest creation, he would be his greatest failure.However, that alone wasnât enough to burn Oliverâs empire to the ground. Being a disgrace would only give a little to no impact towards Oliver and the organization. NoâJake wanted to carve it apart, piece by piece, while Oliver was still alive to witness it crumble.And so, he planned.He started with Victor.
Back to the present.The air smelled strongly of blood. It soaked the concrete of the building, pooling around the bodies of Jakeâs men, their throats slit, skulls broken, guts spilling out onto the floor. Raja stood among the massacre with his chest heaving and sweat mixing with the splattered blood that coated his skin. His blade dripped, each drop of blood falling with a rhythmic pat against the ground.Jake on the other hand sighed after his long flashback of memories. He's irritated of why he remembered that now. He look at Raja who's attention is not on him but on Tales. âYou really like him huh,â he mused, gazing towards Tales direction. âDidn't really know you like used products." He dissed.Raja flinches and his aura darkened, but after sometime, his facial expression is relax. "You can't get anything by saying such nonsense, Jake. You still have to die." He says while his focus was still on Tales. His body. His breathing even though it was shallow and faint. Too faint."Oh
Two Years LaterIt was early morning, the sun only just beginning to spill its gold over the horizon, casting soft light on the water that glistened like starlights. Gentle waves rolled onto the smooth, pale shore with a hush-hush rhythm, as though the ocean itself was content, no longer raging.The scent of freshly baked bread drifted through the open windows of the small kitchen. A warm, golden glow filled the room as the sun streamed through the window, catching on the various plants that hung from the rafters. The air smelled like saltwater and fresh herbs, mingling together creating a very fragrant smell.Tales stood at the kitchen counter, his hands moving expertly as he kneaded dough, humming under his breath. The simple rhythm of the task was grounding for him, a reminder of how far heâd come from the chaos that had once filled his life.Behind him, Raja was leaning against the doorframe, watching with a soft smile playing at the corners of his lips. His hair was ruffled becau
"I promise."Talesâ breath hitched, eyes searching Rajaâs with raw desperation. His voice trembled, barely more than a whisper.It wasn't enough. He need more assurance. He needs to know that this is not just a dream.âSay that you love me.âRaja didnât even pause. His answer came fastâlike it had been sitting on the edge of his tongue for far too long. His eyes were shining from the faint street lights as he said those words.âI love you.âThe air between them shiftedâthick, electric, impossible to ignore. It feels like Tales' saw millions of stars in Raja's eyes. His heart beat fast and he can only clench his hands on Raja's chest before surged forward, clasping his hands on Raja's nape. This kiss wasnât soft.It wasnât hesitant.It was fire and hunger and every unspoken word finally released. Their mouths collided with much urgency, lips crashing together like theyâd been starvedâlike they were desperate to claim, to prove, to feel. Hands tangled in hair, fingers fisted in clothes
"Are you out of your damn mind?!"Tales blinked because of the familiar voice. He rubbed his eyes to get a clear view of who it is and when he confirmed who it was, he immediately turned his face away. It's Raja!âWhy are you... hereâĶâ Tales managed to rasp, his voice thick with the weight of everything unsaid, all the pain that had built up in his chest. "You should've just stayed hidden. You tormented me so much and now you appeared and act like a hero? If you don't love me anymore, then don't bother. Do you take me for a pushover?!"But even so... even if I am a pushover âI missed you.Rajaâs gaze softened for just a second, but it was gone almost as quickly as it came. He shook his head, his voice dropping to a more dangerous tone. âYouâre an idiot, you know that? You think drowning yourself in alcohol will bring me back? It wonât.âTales stared at him, his breath coming in short gasps. His mind reeled, trying to process everything. Raja was here. Raja was standing in front of hi
Hah. Hah. Hah. Tales stopped running in the middle of the road as he put his two palms on his thighs. He was out of breath and his sweating buckets. His heart was pounding so much from running and the information he acquired. 'Oliver Ortega, even now, you're still hunting me and making me miserable.'Does Raja knew? Why? Why would he want me to know that Oliver is my father? When he could just bury it for the betterment of us. Even now, the taught of Raja's disappearance seems to bury the weight of the recent information he just acquire.Call... I should make a callâOh.Tales crouch in frustration. He don't have a phone, and even if he had, be don't know Rajas personal number. Still, if he had, he could have ask his unanswered questions. Why hadnât he called? He couldâve at least sent a message, some sign that he wasnât lost to him forever. But he had vanished. Not just physically, but emotionally, disappearing without a trace, leaving him with nothing but the ache of abandonmen
Tales stand up and patted his pants before walking back inside the headquarters. He went into his room and find out that his belongings are still there. He clench his teeth. This hurts like hell. He may not want to admit it but Raja's disappearance leave a bitter taste. He packed his belongings but he stop midway when he heard that he's not alone. Who is it?Is itâIt couldn't be himâThe sound of footsteps echoed down the empty hallway of the headquarters. Tales immediately towards the terrace and looked down from above. His hand grips the rails tightly anticipating the person who's here but to his disappoinment it wasn't him butââTales?âHe blinked, caught off guard by the familiar voice. Then his vision become clearerââRia?âShe stood in the base of the staircase, a little out of breath, holding a paper bag in one hand and a curious look in her eyes. Her long black coat fluttered as she stepped inside. For a second, she didnât move. Then she smiled.âWow. Youâre really here.âTa
A Month Later.Tales had healedâphysically, at least. The bruises had faded, the wounds had closed. He hadn't been discharged, he was just given pain meds and instructions to rest to avoid stress. But resting was impossible.Because Raja never came back.At first, Tales had understood. He told himself Raja was busy. That he was handling his men, making sure they had shelter, rebuilding what was lost.But a week turned into two. Then three. Then a full month.No visits.No calls.No messages.Tales tried to ignore it. Tried to pretend it didnât hurt, that it didnât eat away at him every time he glanced at his phone and saw nothing.But it did. It really did.He hated how much it affected him.How much Rajaâs absence felt like a wound all on its own.Tales feels like waking up in the aftermath of a storm that only he rememberâwhere the sky looks calm, but everything inside him is in ruins. Itâs like carrying around a wave of silence in your chest, every breath echoing against his jumbl
The hospital was colder than Raja expected. Too white and too sterile. The scent of antiseptic seems to clung desperately to his skin, mixing with the dried blood in his body. He hadnât moved from his spot beside the bed since the doctors had taken Tales in.He will not leave. Not until Tales opened his eyes.If Tales were to... No. That can't happen. It shouldn't happen or else he'll really follow him to hell.When he had first stormed into the emergency room, carrying Talesâ limp, bloody body in his arms, the entire hospital had gone silent as if the scene they're witnessing straight out of the movies. The nurses had frozen in place, their eyes widening as they took in his disheveled state."Get me a fucking doctor!" Raja had roared, his voice slicing through the silence like a blade."Sirâ" one of them had started hesitantly."Put him into the bed. Now." One of the personnel that seems like a doctor shouted to gain the attention of the people who's in dazed and is hesitant to appro
Back to the present.The air smelled strongly of blood. It soaked the concrete of the building, pooling around the bodies of Jakeâs men, their throats slit, skulls broken, guts spilling out onto the floor. Raja stood among the massacre with his chest heaving and sweat mixing with the splattered blood that coated his skin. His blade dripped, each drop of blood falling with a rhythmic pat against the ground.Jake on the other hand sighed after his long flashback of memories. He's irritated of why he remembered that now. He look at Raja who's attention is not on him but on Tales. âYou really like him huh,â he mused, gazing towards Tales direction. âDidn't really know you like used products." He dissed.Raja flinches and his aura darkened, but after sometime, his facial expression is relax. "You can't get anything by saying such nonsense, Jake. You still have to die." He says while his focus was still on Tales. His body. His breathing even though it was shallow and faint. Too faint."Oh
Jakeâs resentment festered like an untreated wound.For years, he swallowed the bitterness, forced himself to held his head high in front of Oliver, forced himself to play the loyal unambitious son, even as something in him curdled and rotted with every passing day.He shouldâve given up. He shouldâve accepted it. Raja became Oliverâs favorite. Raja became the chosen one. Raja was the one who mattered.But Jake wasnât built to accept. He wasnât built to be cast aside. He was trained for survival. So if Oliver didnât see him as his sonâThen Jake would make sure Oliver had nothing left to see at all. If he couldnât be Oliverâs greatest creation, he would be his greatest failure.However, that alone wasnât enough to burn Oliverâs empire to the ground. Being a disgrace would only give a little to no impact towards Oliver and the organization. NoâJake wanted to carve it apart, piece by piece, while Oliver was still alive to witness it crumble.And so, he planned.He started with Victor.