Andrea's phone rang at 4 AM local time. It wasn't their usual sleeping hours, but they were dreadfully tired. It did not matter what time it was in China. They wanted and needed to sleep some more.
She seized her phone from the bedside table and saw it was Hanxi calling. "Hanxi, what's up?"
"I am Gustavo's brother. How dare you take his life! Come to the lighthouse and let's settle the score! Don't worry. The two men you left guarding the lighthouse are still alive. If you do not come, you know exactly what will happen to them," a man with an unfamiliar voice said.
Andrea felt her blood rising, hearing this man's words. She woke her husband, shaking him lightly with her hand as the strange man continued to talk, "Don't think about bringing your husband with you. Unless you want him dead."
"You are simply courting death! kill my husband dead? We'll see about that!"
"I want you to pay for what you have done to my brother! Come immediately!" The man hung up the phone, leaving no chance for Andrea to probe any further.
"Babe, who was that?" Lu Fang queried as he slowly sat up, just having woken up.
Andrea figured she could take care of this herself so she lied, "It was Hanxi. He said he was so hungry and wanted me to bring him some food."
The man frowned. It was still dark outside.
"It's technically breakfast time in China, babe - "
"I'm your husband, but you are lying to me," Lu Fang bluntly said, sensing there was more to what she told.
She looked down and let out a sigh before telling about the call she received. Naturally, Lu Fang did not allow her to go on her own. They left without a word, merely sliding a note on the other room, informing Lu Wei where they were headed to.
When the couple arrived at the lighthouse, they were stunned to see three SUVs parked outside, their lights were beamed to the direction of the cliff, roughly about twenty meters from the lighthouse. Just yesterday, they struggled to rent a small compact car but apparently, there were modern cars on the island.
"How disappointing, you still brought your husband," said the unknown man who was wearing a mask, standing at the edge of the cliff.
The couple glared at the other armed men; they were all wearing a mask. There were six others, some holding up a gun towards them.
Andrea sneered at him and said, "Why are you wearing a mask? You did not say this was a masquerade party."
"It's already dark outside. Are you that ugly that the night could not hide your hideousness?" Lu Fang added.
"Mocking me, I see. Even on the face of danger," the unknown man replied.
"Where are my friends?" Asked Andrea.
"They are tied up, hanging on this very cliff," the man said while laughing. He slowly walked away, suggesting that Andrea and Lu Fang have a look.
Lu Fang carefully studied them. They were dead tired. Their postures and breathing gave it away. On top of that, their clothes were completely worn. He saw one man had a cloth wrapped around his arm.
Hanxi and Han-joon had already weakened them. Bringing three SUVs, they obviously had more companions. He bet some of their colleagues were completely injured or worse, dead.
As they walked, Lu Fang whispered to his wife, "Babe, we can take them."
"Okay. In the count of three. Three!"
Andrea grabbed her handgun from her back and shot one of them in the arm. She then purposely fell to the ground and shot the other two on their vital points.
Lu Fang took a second to realize his wife did not follow the right counting but quickly caught up, ran to the masked man closest to him and grabbed his gun. He wrapped his arm around the man's neck and with Lu Fang's vigorous hold; the man was out of breath in less than a minute.
One other scoundrel tried to shoot at Lu Fang but instead, shot his colleague, one whose body Lu Fang used as a shield. Realizing the man he held was now unconscious, Lu Fang threw the body towards another opponent.
He saw the other man run towards the SUV and drove off. Thus, he focused his attention on the person lying on the ground and started delivering his powerful punches.
While her husband was busy, Andrea went running to Gustavo's brother. The said masked man fired at Andrea, but she was quick to dive and roll to her side.
Strangely, Gustavo's brother immediately announced, "let's go! Let's retreat!"
The man she shot in the arm ran and got on one SUV. Together with Gustavo's brother, they hurriedly drove away.
Andrea frowned, disappointed how short the fight was, but she could not blame them. They had no chance.
She quickly ran to the cliff. Sure enough, Han-joon and Hanxi were tied down, hanging at the very edge. A rope was holding each one of them from falling, tied from a huge boulder not too distant from where they stood.
Andrea gripped on the rope and as she pulled up Hanxi. "Babe, help me out!"
The moment Hanxi was up, they shook him actively and removed the tape on his mouth.
"Man, I feel dizzy," complained Hanxi as he remained squatted on the ground.
Andrea quickly went to pull up Han-joon. Lu Fang was about to follow when he saw another masked man holding up a gun, pointing out to him.
BANG! BANG!
Lu Fang closed his eyes anticipating pain to follow but as he opened his eyelids, he felt nothing. He quickly turned and saw no one standing behind him.
"Andy! Andy!" He screamed at the top of his lungs when he realized it was Andrea and not him who received the bullets and fell off the cliff.
Lu Fang was about to jump in and follow Andrea, but Hanxi managed to hold on to his feet. He fell on the ground face down.
"It's still too dark! You won't find her!"
Hanxi's argument was reasonable. He turned to look up at the old lighthouse but knew the light would not directly face the waters below. The sun has yet to rise. He would find nobody if he jumped outright, but he couldn't, he couldn't just let it be.
Hanxi crawled on top of him, holding him back. "Lu Fang, It's dangerous! Think about it! My sister is a good swimmer, she can make it!"
"Let go of me, Hanxi! Let go of me, I say!"
Hanxi continued to hold solidly to Lu Fang, even encircling his legs around him. He kept reasoning, "Think about the twins, Lu Fang. Who'll take care of them if you both end up dead!"
He tried to recall how the cliff looked like below. There were some rocky areas while there were some that had direct water access. If Andrea fell on the rocky side and he jumps to find her, their twins would be orphaned altogether.
At that point all Lu Fang could do was cry. He cried and cried, shouting his frustration, unable to go after his wife. His heart ached, feeling he already died just thinking of the possibility.
"Andy, please. Please be alive."