Under the Veil of Night

Alice looked at the man beside her with a wry smile. "Tommy, you don't need to force yourself if you can't."

Tommy was trying to stand with one of his legs still in bandages. Even though he refused to wear crutches, he could only move his legs one step at the time. With Alice in front of him, he slowed down their pace considerably.

"I'm fine," Tommy waved his hand. "We're going to meet with the others, right? I can't possibly miss it."

"Okay, but be careful."

Slowly, Tommy moved from his position to the elevator. The short journey that was supposed to take a few seconds turned into minutes because of him. Thankfully, no one paid any attention, or he would be extremely embarrassed.

"This is the room," Alice pointed at one of the VIP rooms.

Tommy's lips twitched a bit when he saw several doors have a lot of guards waiting before the door. Those were truly rich and important people. He wondered who was inside when he heard Alice pointed to them.

"That one is Young Master Jason while the other one is Kanae and Clan Head Kevin."

Tommy: "…" they were actually my friends.

He chose not to compare them anymore. It was already good enough for him that Alice's father approved of him, so he would just accept what he got so far.

"Excuse me," Tommy knocked the door and entered. He saw Neo and Lou were typing on their laptop furiously while Mike lay like a dead log on one of the beds. His eyes grew bigger.

Isn't the VIP room supposed to be only for one person?

"Oh, hello Tom. Miss Alice," Neo greeted. He didn't turn his head as he was still busy typing on his laptop.

"Hello Neo," Alice replied. "How's your condition after the battle."

"Aside from the fact that I can't walk for the time being, there's nothing different. Is there any reason for your visit today, Miss Alice?"

"Yes," Alice picked up the remote and turned the television on.

"…This is the rest of what's left from Lima School. It seems that the fierce battle that happened two years ago repeats itself in this place today. The result of the battle is very catastrophic as almost nothing is left. Police officers and people from Black Street are guarding the place, but they didn't leak out any detail…"

She switched the channel:

"Breaking news, we have just found out that the person whom we used to adore, Ferdinand Mowlem, is the one behind the missing children all these years. While the rumor about it has circulated for quite some time, only today that the higher up gives their formal statement…"

Another channel:

"…The destruction of Lima School is linked closely with the disappearance of Ferdinand Mowlem. It's believed that he destroyed the school to erase the evidence about his real target of the missing children. Many of their parents are swarming to the site, trying to find the missing man and ask for…"

Alice turned around to look at Neo. "Someone leaked out the news too quickly and the people were gathering around the school. They're still outside the perimeter, but if they get any closer, they might face Ferdinand."

"Do you think he's still alive?" Mike turned his head. He hadn't fallen asleep yet because the two were incredibly noisy in their typing. It made him rather annoyed that they were typing so much late at night like this.

"We don't know," Lou replied bitterly. "There's no corpse or other evidence that he's still alive either, so we can't make any conclusion."

"There is chaos everywhere," Alice crossed her arm. "Will Ryukalin Clan make their move or not?"

The one who has the most fighting power has always been the Ryukalin Clan. She told them the news because she hoped that they could do something to stop the rampaging fight that spread everywhere like wildfire.

Mike yawned. "That's not going to happen."

"What? Why?"

"Boss has already deployed the men in the Ryukalin Clan to sweep the Black Street in this city from a long time ago," Neo replied. "There's no one left to help with the matter of the angry parents. Besides, the elites are all staying in the hospital."

Patrick and Dean were in the other room not far from here, staying after the battle for recovery. There was simply no one who they could deploy to help.

"What do you mean by sweep?" Alice arched her eyebrows, her demeanor had turned rather fierce when she had something that she wanted.

"Cleaning the place and assign more people there to turn it into a proper place in this city. The small officials in the area have started to expand their area of work as we have been cleaning up the Black Street," Neo replied.

Alice looked back at Neo. Even though Neo didn't mention it to her blatantly, she knew very well what it meant by cleaning up the Black Street. Black Street was the place of the outlaws to live without any law. When they were gone, those people wouldn't have any place to work anymore.

The action of Ryukalin Clan taking over the territory was not for them to govern them, but to change the place.

"I see," Alice murmured. "Clan Head wants to erase the existence of the underworld organization?"

"Not completely erase them, but make them work behind the shadow," Neo shrugged. "If this city wants to develop, it needs a good image and the name 'underworld' is unsuitable. Even though the destruction of many large factions is unwanted, it allowed us to move freer."

"Then what are you going to do with those parents?"

"Nothing," Lou was the one who answered. "The people from Black Street that we manage to call are those who we have swept over the course of time. They're waiting for a chance to live anew, so they will need the money from the mission. After this, they're going to pursue new lives."

Alice looked at the three of them with amazement. Even though many of the events happened without them expecting anything, they were already prepared enough with them all. Really, they were truly amazing. It was no wonder that Ryukalin Clan has always been placed at the very top.

Mike sat down and put his hand on the back of his head. "Boss has a great plan for this city because he wishes that no one will experience the same with him again. As times fly, it's time for the change in this city and he wants to participate in them."

"Is that why Ryukalin Clan always lacks people?"

Mike shrugged. "They're not first rate fighters too, so it didn't matter."

Lou looked at Tommy behind Alice. "Looking at your condition, it's not a surprise for you to not participate in the battle. How long do you need until full recovery?"

"Around two months," Tommy grimaced when he recalled what the doctor said.

"You're weak."

"That long?"

"Are you really Tom from Fiore Group?"

Tommy: "…" stop doubting me like that!

Alice giggled. "It's actually 1 month for recovery, but he needs to participate in a short rehab to make sure that he can move and fight like before. In the end, it's around 2 months."

Neo turned his head for the first time. "You two seem rather close. Has your father approved of him, Alice?"

Alice made a 'v' gesture with her finger. "Yep!"

"Wow, Tom, you're really great!"

"Being wounded didn't matter when you're already getting something like that, right?"

Tommy smiled. Internally, he rolled his eyes. If it was possible, he would like getting the approval without having the need to go through something like this. His body felt painful all over because of the battle before.

Mike looked at Alice. "It's good that you're not wounded from the battle, Alice."

"I have some bruises on my fingers," Alice raised her hand. She got them when she was busy digging the rubbles. Even though she was only helping for the lighter one, it still caused some effect on her fingers.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tommy pulled her finger for him to see. He caressed her fingers when he saw that they were red.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Lou rolled his eyes when he saw the two of them bickering. "There are other rooms for you to bicker around. There's no need to show off your love in front of us, is there?"

"Ah, sorry," Alice blushed embarrassedly. She didn't mean to do that, but Tommy was pretty close with her.

"Is this how you two usually interact?" Neo asked curiously.

Alice nodded his head. "Yeah, but usually Tommy always yells to the other clan members after the approval saying that 'I'm his.'"

"Wait! Don't tell them!" Tommy's face turned red in embarrassment. This girl didn't know what that meant very well because her father was overprotective, but he didn't want others to know that.

"Oooooh," Neo nodded his head in understanding. "I don't know that you're that possessive, Tom."

"I know you're a bit of a pervert, but this is the first time I heard about you being possessive."

"Should I inform Clan Head Nico about his future son-in-law's possessiveness?"

"I'm not a pervert!" Tommy glared at Mike. "And I'm not possessive."

"What are you talking about? If you're not possessive, you wouldn't say those words."

"Not a pervert? Are you sure about that?"

Facing the barrage of questions from the three men in front of him, Tommy wanted to cry. He almost died out of embarrassment just because of them asking him this and that.. On the back, Alice just watched with confusion, unaware that she was the one who started the entire thing.