The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

81 Hand Over The Mission

Emma pulled the motorbike pedal carefully. Slippery roads were not really suitable for motorbikes. But, she had no other choices. For example, just like what she had just discovered. It turned out to be true that the place called the boats spare parts shop were actually just a cover to hide Hell Gate’s headquarters. It turned out that the main door was also in a small alley.

But Emma was a bit disappointed when she found that there was no sign of Kei Matusmoto in the bases at all. She intended to find him to avenge him for killing Roger. Even though Emma didn’t intend to kill him, at least she wanted to beat him to his last breath. At least the man would fall into a coma in Emma’s hands. With that, she would only be satisfied.

Emma opened her laptop and searched for a website address in an internet browser. Yes, every night, Emma always checked whether the porn website was accessible or not. She wanted to make sure that the pesky website didn’t come back up. Even now, Emma still couldn’t sleep peacefully because she was afraid that there still were girls trapped in Hell Gate’s prison.

“I have to wipe out all the bases immediately,” Emma muttered by grabbing her head with both hands.

“Hey!”

Emma looked up when she heard someone calling her name. She smiled at the man who was now intending to sit in the chair next to her. Emma looked at the now occupied chair with a sad look. Usually, Roger was sitting there. It was his seat.

“Trying to accept the death of someone important in our lives isn’t easy. I understand how you feel, Emma.” Said Calvin. He understood what Emma was thinking as she looked at the chair he was now sitting on. “Roger Timothy’s passing was too sudden. It’s natural if you miss him.”

Emma smiled sadly, then looked away from the chair with a long sigh, “Roger.. means a lot to me. He had taught me a lot, even after he left this world. May he rest in peace.”

Calvin nodded slowly, “How’s Poppy Castonia?”

.....

“Poppy is still depressed. And as you know.. the whole campus is now avoiding and sneering at her. But at least, she’s back in active ballet again. Kathy and I are trying to be around her so she doesn’t get caught up in the bad guys again.” Emma answered.

“Yes, that girl is indeed innocent. Actually, being innocent is kinda cute, but it’s quite dangerous in this kind of environment. Luckily, there are you who can take care of her now.” Said Calvin.

“Well, I don’t think she wants to be innocent by purpose,” Emma replied with a disapproving face.

Calvin grimaced awkwardly by scratching the back of his didn’t itch head, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to judge her. It seems that.. I said something wrong..” He cursed himself in his heart. Truly, he had never seen Emma surrounded by such a sinister aura.

Emma sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck, then she shook her head, “No, Calvin. I should be the one apologizing. I’ve been emotionally unstable lately...”

“It’s okay, Emma. You just lost your best friend. I understand.” Calvin smiled with a face that still looked awkward.

“Oh.. Do you know anything about the website that is currently popular on campus?” Emma asked, looking for a glimmer of information, as well as ending the awkward atmosphere between the two of them. He knew that Calvin was usually around like an eagle to spy on the activities of the gangsters.

“The website where Poppy used to work? Well.. Who doesn’t know it now..” He answered with a slightly annoyed face. It seemed that Calvin also didn’t accept that such a thing happened to Poppy. Then, he thought something, “Oh.. Do you probably know, does Poppy have a relationship with Roger?”

Emma furrowed her brows then nodded somewhat dubiously, “As far as I know, they’ve been friends since kids. But apparently, because Roger didn’t want Poppy to get in trouble by people who bullied him, they never seem to be in touch on campus.”

“I thought so. That’s why Roger died at that building site. The guy who’s in prison now is a member of Hell Gate. So it’s true that Roger was there to save Poppy. That’s because the website is Hell Gate’s gold mine.” he thought to himself for the conclusion.

“You.. you know?” Emma asked directly. Then, she immediately shook her head by cursing herself in the heart and corrected her question, “I mean, you know that far? Are you sure it’s true?” Emma asked, playing dumb.

Calvin nodded, “Jita Kyoei and I have looked into it. We also know that the building that is said to be the office of the seafood company is actually the headquarters of the Hell Gate gangster group and Donny is working with them. Because of that, he trapped Poppy into it.” he explained. Then he sighed, “Even, I just found out about this. If I had known a long time ago, Roger would still be here right now..”

“Calvin.. You’ve done so much. You really are a hero. Roger’s death has nothing to do with you at all. You don’t have to blame yourself for that..” Emma held his shoulder with a sad face. “Calvin.. Now I understand your feelings. It’s very painful when someone we care about is hurt by someone else. In this case, Roger and Poppy are the people I care about. And it feels like... I won’t be able to forgive those gangsters. Before, I once thought you were naive for risking your own life to destroy the gangsters. But now, I’m ashamed of you for ever thinking like that.”

“It’s okay, Emma. I’m used to being said to be crazy, stupid, and naive. But people’s words won’t let me down.” He smiled, then put his hand on Emma’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, Emma. I will avenge your grudge. No.. not only me. This time, I was assisted by Jita Kyoei. We will destroy Hell Gate. There will be no more girls with the fate like Poppy.”

“Thanks, Calvin,” Emma said sincerely.

“But, actually we are facing a little confusing problem.” He muttered with a thoughtful face.

“What’s that?” Emma asked, giving her the same confused look as Calvin.

Those said, if we were interested in talking to someone, then we tend to follow their facial expressions subconsciously.

“We got information that there is a mysterious man who always wears a black helmet. He finished all the members at Hell Gate’s main headquarters that night. That man also beat Donny and Brian to the hospital. We think that man is Roger’s friend. However, we still don’t have enough evidence to justify that presumption.”

Hearing Calvin’s explanation, Emma gulped secretly before responding, “Is.. is that so? It’s pretty strange how a person acts mysteriously like that. Haha..” She tried to cover up her increasing heart rate.

Calvin shrugged, “We’re still investigating who that person is. Looks like he’s also eyeing the Hell Gate group. Yesterday, we saw him just coming out of the group’s branch headquarters. He was riding a black bike. As reported, that guy was also wearing a black helmet that day. The full-face type.” he explained.

Emma didn’t know how to respond anymore. All she knew now was her identity was in trouble. She really didn’t expect the men to be able to find information so quickly and in such detail. But, come to think of it, they were actually on the same mission.

‘Should I continue my intention? What if I bump with them and my identity will be exposed?’ Emma thought to herself.

“Eum.. Emma..” Calvin wiggled his palms in front of Emma’s face.

“Oh.. Sorry,” Emma woke up from her muse.

Calvin chuckled, “You don’t have to think about it, Emma. It’s all our problem. Oh, then.. Come to think of it, isn’t this coincidence really funny? Before this big case blew up, you just asked me where I used to download porn videos. It’s as if everything was tied up in red string with the matter involving Poppy.”

Calvin’s words made Emma stunned, then she forced a laugh, “You’re right. It’s all like a coincidence, right? Even though I don’t know anything about that matter. You know.. I’m still new to Handway City. I don’t know anything here.”

“That’s why you should always keep yourself out of trouble, Emma. What happened to Poppy could happen to any girl, including you. That’s why we’re going to protect you from thugs like Donny and Hell Gate. Leave your grudge to us. We’ll make sure to take good care of it.” Calvin said seriously.

***

That late afternoon, Emma sat on the side of a small river called Yellow Bridge, which was located near Ahmed Street. The water on its surface was already frozen. As it turned out, in Handway City it wasn’t easy to get a sunny day like this in winter. Therefore, Emma intended to watch the sunset while calming her agitated heart and mind.

She sat on a wooden park bench perched on a small ground beside the river where the grassy ground was covered with thick snow. Emma was accompanied by a cup of hot coffee with Jazz music playing sweetly from her earphones. The sun was still quite high. She had enough time to relax before heading back home when the orange glowing sun finally changed sessions with the full moon.

‘Should I just leave it all to Calvin and Troy? That way.. I don’t have to risk that my identity will be exposed, right? I can go back to a normal life, focus on ballet. If the all-powerful Jita Kyoei had stepped in, could anyone really stand against their power?’ Emma thought with a troubled face.

Then, she sighed, “But if I do that... my heart feels like...”