Chapter 136 - Partners

Lina had been thinking about Dr. Hayama's last session the previous night wondering if he had helped her more than terrified her.

She still didn't like him and was uncomfortable around him, but she couldn't deny feeling like he was helping her open a box that would otherwise remain closed, leaving her vulnerable and helpless.

"Yes. I want to do it" she said, looking her husband in the eye, her heart full of determination.

Shen smiled at her. His wife was such a fighter — she never gave up. She made him proud of her everyday.

"This time, though, I want to go with you" he declared. He sensed an uneasiness around his wife. Perhaps it was nervousness and anxiety. None of this was easy for her. But he wanted to be there to hold and support her through it all.

"mmhm" she nodded, agreeing easily.

It was nice to be on the same page with her husband. They'd had a hard time seeing eye to eye since her coma, especially because they had inexplicably wanted to protect each other overzealously.

Now they could do it without another fight. They could support each other as well as protect one another. That was the best feeling. That was a partnership.

**********************

~At the Basecamp~

Kira Lim's helicopter landed late that night at the Lim branch's secret basecamp. Not even the main branch knew about this small army Kira had been grooming for the last few years, since she had become the head of this branch.

Shao Moshi, her husband, walked along the tall, beautiful lady commander. All the soldiers turned to watch the woman they worshipped like a queen walk past, reverence in their eyes.

"They seem to love you here…more than just a boss" Shao commented, a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

"Well, I've groomed most of them since they were teenagers. I don't buy their loyalty. I earn it. Nobody here is stronger than me. Naturally, they look up to me."

What she said was true. None of her soldiers had been 'employed'. Instead, they had been homeless, or lost, wayward, starving — and she had taken them in, changed their lives and made them stronger.

She was more than a boss or an employer. They would follow her anywhere.

Shao had known his wife had been training these soldiers, but he had been fighting his own battles with his brothers, so he didn't know the true extent of her power.

Nor had Kira exposed her hand by using her army to protect her husband when she knew they weren't strong enough. But now…now the time had come.

"With this army…not only will I give you your throne back, but I'll take mine too. This will be the main branch of the Lim clan, not Loren's — with their filthy foreign blood."

The main branch of the Lim clan had been fending off a minority of other branch families that opposed their mixed blood through the marriage to the princess from Country C. They believed in the pure-blooded Lim lineage.

Shao smiled. His wife seemed invincible. With their resources, they could rule the world. Even though he had been off the grid for five long years, he still had some trusted contacts he could use. Furthermore…he had money. Lots of it.

Money his greedy little brother would never get his claws on.

"What's mine is yours to use, Kira" he said to her, quietly.

"I know. Thank you for being my partner. Together, we will achieve everything, strip those rats of all the entitlement they've ever felt."

As they entered a massive tent, Shao was further dumbfounded.

Long tables stood side by side, large cases lay open, and boxes were strewn open.

"Welcome to my armoury" Kira said, grinning widely.

Other women like diamonds and bags, designer shoes and fancy dresses. But for Kira, she only loved one thing.

Firearms.

She picked up a sleek-lightweight sniper rifle and placed it on the table, running her fingers seductively all over it.

"If only you touched me like that" Shao complained pretentiously as he watch his wife dote on her favourite weapon.

"Honey, if only you never missed" she joked back.

Shao laughed loudly. This woman's words still stung with each of her merciless retorts. He was happy to see his wife's spirit had remained untouched through his imprisonment.

"Still your favourite in the toy box?" he asked, knowing the answer full well.

His wife was a brilliant, class A sniper. She was almost unbeatable. Almost.

She frowned.

"Always my favourite. But that person…they're still better than me. Whether man or woman, their identity is still unknown, but I believe they're the only person who could possibly snipe better than me."

Kira's involvement in the world of silent killings was deep. She knew every impeccable sniping victim, but there were the legends of one person that were long a thorn to her side.

The feats she'd heard of that person with the sheer of volume of high profile assassinations they had carried out, she had at first only wanted to meet them. But over the years, festering jealously had made her hateful.

Little did she know, that that man sat in a cell, imprisoned at the Agency headquarters, an institution she'd only heard fables about.

Shao gathered his wife in his arms, circling her waist.

"You're overestimating that person and underestimating yourself. I promise you, once everything is settled, I will find that person for you, so you can prove you're better."

Amidst all the heat they were facing, his bold wife was still childish and competitive. She managed to live in a harsh world. Unlike other women, she didn't care about societal gossip, but focused more on the bulletins of the underworld.

Her network and connections ran deep into ever slum and sewer, in high places and in low, she had her spies everywhere.

She nodded like a spoilt child. After all this was over, and she'd had her way, she would sniff out that person and challenge them.

And win.

~in a prison cell at the Agency~

Tachi sneezed.

Someone was cursing him somewhere.

He wasn't surprised. He'd made a lot of enemies.