Chapter 42 - Aftermatch Of The Beating

The cigarette in Tom's mouth froze. He had to fight with all his might to keep his expression the same.

'Who knows who's watching?' he thought, taking a whiff before taking the cig to his hand.

"That's so..." he commented just for the sake of saying something. Cleo's Dad looked at him with a mix of worry and curiosity.

"What now?" he asked after giving Tom a short moment to think.

"Exactly what we came here to do," Tom cut the discussion short as he threw the half-finished cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with a stomp of his shoe.

There was no more reason to stand outside. Waiting for his people to interrogate - or at least pretend to do so - the man and watching them punish him for the actual crime he committed were two different things altogether.

"Bring him to me," Tom ordered as soon as he re-entered the shop. His face was just as still as it was before, even though he no longer had to shoulder the burden he believed himself to carry before.

Tom's men didn't hesitate even a second. Before he could as much as blink, the beaten-up employee was already lying at his feet.

"Was it worth it?" he asked, leaning over the man's bloodied face.

"F-fuck off," the employee spat out blood and saliva alike.

"A valiant effort," Tom said, looking down at the small splash of mixed liquid on the floor. It barely reached a third of the distance necessary for the man to spit at him. "But it's futile," he moved his eyes back at the man.

For a moment, a contest of stares ensued. Yet, before long, Tom raised his back to a straight position before looking at his men and nodding gently.

Now that he took one more look at that man's face, he could leave the rest to his people. But instead of leaving the place, Tom simply stepped back.

Once again, the beating ensued. Sadly, the bulk of Tom's people couldn't enter the fray. After all, only so many could beat him up at once.

"That will be enough," Tom suddenly announced. The middle-aged man was hardly recognizable. His face turned into a swollen pulp, covered in his blood and snot.

But he didn't die yet.

"Boss...?" Tom's people stopped their beating at once. The killing aura continued to linger around them, yet they ceased the torture.

'That makes two points at once,' Tom closed his eyes for a second. 'They don't mind calling me boss, meaning I should have some control over them. And this means...' Tom thought, startled by the notion.

"He will pay three times the cost of Marvin's treatment. But we can't kill him, not yet." Tom calmly looked back into the stares of his uncles and brothers.

It was strange to stop at such time. Tom's currently held command of the family. It consisted of members from the special ops, who all retired and settled in roughly one place.

"We are not some thugs or, even worse, a mafia," Tom suddenly smiled and raised his hands up. "He caused our brother harm. We caused harm to him in return," he said as he lowered his hands. "But if we kill him, we will openly turn into criminals," Tom continued while catching intense stares of his people.

'As much as I would love to kill that bastard right here and now,' Tom thought, tightening his fists.

Then, something struck.

It was something as random and natural as a stone falling down the river. Yet another element of the background music of the world.

Tom's vision tunneled. His body froze. Only his eyeballs retained the right of mobility.

This feeling lasted only for a short moment. Then, in what seemed like a second, Tom woke up back to reality.

He moved his eyes towards a particular spot, one that he could barely notice from his perspective.

High up the road, on a small hill, there was a forest.

Yet, Tom was now absolutely sure that there was someone there, watching the commotion.

'Wait, what if...' a sudden thought, a passing notion.

'What if they bought this guy in advance to see how we would react?' This thought struck Tom like lightning from the sky.

He came here, hoping to direct the attention of the Online Hub away from his real plan. He was ready to sacrifice an innocent man just to cover his tracks.

As it turned now, the man was actually at fault. This could only mean that Tom's belief that Online Hub targeted the family would be plain out wrong.

Yet, there was this third option.

What if Online Hub bought the man? What if this was all staged?

Tom had to use every last ounce of his willpower to continue his cold and unbothered act.

This was all just a feeling. Tom didn't see anyone in that forest. It was obviously too far for human eyes. Even this lapse of concentration could be something as silly as an insulin problem.

Tom's sudden realization all came from something elusive. Something indefinite and was nothing more but just a possibility.

'But that doesn't mean I can ignore it,' Tom whined in his thoughts.

"Hey," Cleo said, approaching Tom from behind. "How did you know?" she asked.

"A hunch, more or less," Tom smiled and turned his head to look at the girl. "Aren't you going to ask..."

"No." Cleo shook her head. "I don't know the entire picture, I...-"

"I have a bad feeling about right now," Tom said with a tired smile. He shook his head before looking directly at the forest. Precisely in the spot where he believed someone was watching them from. His face was elated.

"Huh?" Cleo twitched in surprise. But she was a smart girl. Noticing Tom's weird mix of daunting words and relaxed expression, she didn't allow herself to jump in excitement. Instead, although slightly flawed, she managed to keep her face straight.

"I see," she replied shortly, taking the same thoughtful stance as Tom.

"I would like to just say my farewells and return silently, but... I don't think it's an option now," Tom smiled at the girl.

"Okay," Cleo suddenly cheered up.

'No, I don't buy it,' Tom thought, looking at the girl. Her eyes had this sense of cold and merciless aura she once had while keeping her act.

'I see,' Tom twitched. His stare melted down a bit. He didn't expect Cleo to show her fake side anymore.

"Let's keep it low," Tom said, moving his hand up and rustling Cleo's hair. Yet, even though her real self was cheeky and caring, Tom still found it weird.

'Maybe it's because I'm already used to her other persona?' he asked himself before shaking his head and looking somewhere random in the distance.

'But still, that doesn't explain this feeling,' Tom thought, squinting his eyes a little. 'It felt...'

"It felt like the haste skill.'