Villain Retirement

Chapter 1189: The Lane Couple

The Lane couple.

They moved to the rural town of New Salem two years ago. It was a town where everyone knew each other, literally. It was a population of less than 500 people, and anyone would notice if there were any new people within the vicinity.

And of course, a couple like Riley and Hannah caught everyone's attention as soon as they arrived. They were in a fancy sports car, with barely any luggage—just a suitcase and a duffel bag.

Most of them thought they were only passing through the town, but there were many other places in the county to stop by, which were more accommodating and traveler-friendly. Their town was as bare as their luggage.

They all watched them eat at the diner, and to the surprise of everyone there, instead of heading to a motel, they headed to one of the farmhouses that had been on sale for more than a decade now.

And the rest was history.

The couple sold their car and traded it for a truck and a bicycle, and they quickly became at home with the rest of them. Despite how they looked, they were an incredibly normal couple.

That was, until one day, a couple of drunk travelers started making a mess during their Karaoke Thursdays at the bar. No one really treated the group seriously and laughed at them—it wasn't until they started getting violent and started waving a gun that they realized… they were living with supers.

Not just normal supers, but powerful ones.

And it wasn't until one of them pointed the gun at Hannah that they were also living with very dangerous individuals.

She grabbed the men's guns in what seemed like a single second, melting all of them and leaving only a single gun, which she used to to hit all of them with—but when one of the men pulled out another gun and actually fired it at Hannah, that was when they realized that all of them were going to be safe from now on.

The bullet literally stopped just an inch away from the muzzle, and Riley casually plucked it out before placing it on the counter.

Suffice it to say, they all scurried away like rats after that. The people of New Salem became scared of them after that, but not for long, as aside from trying to protect each other, they never again became violent.

None of them has even seen the two use their powers again.

But now, two years later, another traveller was trying to hit on Hannah. Surprisingly, Hannah only raised an eyebrow at the man before chuckling and shaking her head.

"Can't see the ring?" Hannah raised her hand to show her wedding ring, with several tiny diamonds that Riley compressed from coal.

"Impressive ring," the man smiled, pulling back his long brown hair as he stared Hannah in the eyes, "But I just want to buy you a drink. I'll even buy one for your husband. Which one is he?"

"The one behind you."

"Hmm?" The man turned his head back, only for him to almost jump from where he stood at the first sight of Riley's incredibly pale face, "Jesus!"

"No, Riley," Riley muttered before he handed a glass of drink to Hannah, "And I already bought the drinks on your behalf. I hope you do not mind—you can pay it later."

"You—" The man looked at the bartender, only for the bartender to nod and raise his finger—silently telling him that he already had a tab even though he himself hadn't even had a drink yet.

"Thanks for the drink, champ." Hannah smirked at him, raising the shot before gulping it; only slightly wincing before returning to the drink she was already enjoying before he approached her, "You don't have to worry about the bill since Riley here really only drinks water, which is free."

And without even letting him respond, Hannah took her drink and pulled Riley away from the bar, opting to sit at one of the tables instead to watch the karaoke session starting in a few minutes.

"If I were you, boy. I'd take my chances elsewhere," the bartender scoffed, chuckling at the stranger while switching off the TVs to prepare for the band, "I've never seen those two not together, and they've been here for two years. Now, my missus and I have been married for twenty-six whole years, and I barely know her. You see? But those two looked like they literally grew up together with the way they know everything about each other—it's like they don't even need to speak."

"Huh…" The man glanced at Hannah and Riley one last time before finally taking a seat at the bar and ordering a drink, "...So, those two have only been here for two years? Where'd they come from?"

"Why are you asking?" The bartender's eyebrows lowered at the man, "You a cop?"

"Do I look like a cop?" The man lowered his head, letting his long hair fall onto his face, "My name's Hank."

"Well then, Hank. As long as you're not a cop, you're free to see the sights. What are you in town for?"

"I'm not, the town's just along the way…." Hank narrowed his eyes before subtly glancing back at Hannah and Riley again,

"...I think."

The night ended quickly; they usually are shorter in small towns, but they felt long enough that Hannah immediately fell onto the bed as soon as they got home. As for Riley, he just watched her sister sleep for a few moments as he always did before lying beside her and closing his eyes.

And soon, morning came again.

Riley always woke up first. He prepared breakfast by hand and left it on the table before he did whatever he intended to do that day. Be it tending the farm, getting firewood, and making sure there were no animals within their property. The last part wasn't that hard, as even insects tend to avoid their property.

This was Hannah and Riley's everyday life for the past two years—extremely normal.

Two years of just being normal people, not even trying to blend in, but belonging.

But of course, things change.

"You're… Riley, right?"

While Riley was putting up the last of his crates on the back of his RV, Hank approached him from the path. He waved at him, gesturing to Riley if he could approach.

Riley nodded before tightening up all the crates to make sure nothing would fall.

"Did you need something from me?" Riley asked as he removed his gloves.

"I came here to apologize for last night," Hank awkwardly chuckled, "And… to ask a few questions. I'm Hank, by the way."

"I know who you are… Detective."