Aiden arrived four minutes later, his breathless form standing beside Athena, who still had the gun trained on Heronica and Cole—she had finally pried the latter’s name from his mouth by kicking his wounds.
A hint of amusement danced in her eyes as she glanced at Aiden.
"Wow..." He muttered, taking in the scene unfolding before him.
"You sure took your time..." Athena mused, dropping her hand to her side, flexing her fingers to ease the growing ache that had begun there. She knew Aiden was here now, and with him, the situation was bound to remain in their favor.
"Four minutes out, Athena," Aiden stated, his tone laced with concern. "I had to run here. Who are these people? Old rivals?"
Athena’s smile twisted, a mixture of amusement and venom on her face. "You wish."
She shifted her aim to Heronica first, her eyes never leaving the gang member’s face. "This is Heronica. She is part of the gang. The one who donned the features of an old woman to trick me into captivity, the one who cut my thighs, smiling as I shouted in pain..."
Athena’s smile grew, her eyes flashing with a cold intensity. "You are really going to pay for that. I’ll make sure of it."
Heronica’s face remained impassive, her lips pressed tightly together as a response. The source of thɪs content is N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt
Beside Athena, Aiden’s expression darkened. "And who is that?" He asked, his voice gruff with tension. He took a step forward, his eyes scanning the area before refocusing on Athena.
"That’s Cole. A colleague of hers. They were here to spy on me, have been tailing me since..." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t even know. It means they must have put a tail on the kids and some we don’t even know about."
Aiden’s jaw clenched, his hand dipping into the left pocket of his coat’s inner lining, producing a familiar pistol. He aimed it at the two gang members with his left hand, using his right to pull out his phone and dial a number.
"Get here soon. I’m sending you an address." His fingers flew across the screen as he typed out a swift message.
When he finished, he glanced at Athena, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "Why didn’t you tell me you had seen her before pursuing her, what if something had happened?"
Athena’s face scrunched up, a look of apology on her face. "You were busy meeting and greeting. There was no time to inform you. It was a split-second decision."
Aiden sighed, choosing not to pursue the topic further.
Athena, on the other hand, let her eyes linger on Heronica—whose eyes kept darting around the field—a cold glint in her gaze. "Don’t even bother straining your eyes looking for help. You are ours now. Too bad, you hadn’t anticipated us catching up to you. Too bad there’s no..."
She hesitated for a moment, recalling the specifics of the conversation she had with Master Shen. "No ’Nightshade’ in your mouths. You two are here to stay." She chuckled, a hint of cruelty in her tone.
As she laughed, Heronica’s eyes darted frantically around the area, her expression shifting from defiance to panic.
"You don’t know what’s coming for you," Cole growled, a snarl on his lips.
Athena’s gaze locked onto him, a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes. "Oh, big man, just bother about yourself first and what’s coming for you and your girlfriend."
Aiden’s voice cut through the air, a warning tone to stop Cole’s rant. "Listen to the lady."
Five minutes later, a van pulled up on the other side of the greenery, its engine rumbling softly.
Aiden hurried over to the rusted gate, which he knew hadn’t been used in years, and let it swing open, after handing Athena his pistol to add to the one she was still aiming at the criminals.
Without a word spoken, safe for a greeting to Athena, the two agents who had emerged from the van walked up to Heronica and Cole, binding their hands and feet with the electric slave cuffs. They then dragged the two gang members into the van without hesitation.
As they shut the van’s back door, one of the agents turned to Aiden. "Where should we keep them?"
Aiden’s expression remained neutral. "In safe containment two. I’m sure they’ll find better use there."
The agent nodded, and Aiden turned away from them to Athena. "Since that’s been taken care of, let’s head over to Master Shen’s private residence. They’re looking for you."
In the living room of Master Shen’s private residence, a flurry of unexpected faces greeted Athena: Master Shen’s wife, his five children - two boys and three girls - a lawyer, and ten more individuals she had never seen before.
Athena’s eyes scanned the room, taking in the ten unfamiliar faces. "Who are they?" She whispered to Aiden, her voice barely audible.
Aiden’s expression remained neutral, his eyes scanning the room as well. "They’re his closest relatives. I don’t know why they’re here."
As they walked towards an empty two-seater sofa, Aiden whispered, "We should tread carefully. There’s something off about this gathering."
Athena nodded, her eyes still scanning the room.
"Welcome, Athena and Aiden. We’ve been waiting for you two for a while," Master Shen’s wife said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Athena’s lips twisted into a polite smile. "Apologies for that. I had some business to take care of." She clasped her hands together. "Can you get us the will, please? We have somewhere to be."
Master Shen’s wife scoffed, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "Such rudeness. Late, and still making demands."
Athena remained unfazed, her gaze never leaving the lawyer.
"As you wish, Athena." The lawyer smiled, a soft, reassuring smile, before opening the briefcase in front of him. He brought out a single sheet of white A4 paper, completely blank on the back side.
The room fell silent, the faces of the gathered individuals exchanging confused glances.
"Shouldn’t there be more pages?" Master Shen’s son asked, a look of disappointment on his face.
Athena and Aiden shared a glance, their expressions mirroring each other’s confusion. What was Master Shen trying to accomplish?
The lawyer swallowed—signalling Athena that something huge was about to drop—cleared his throat, took a deep breath before beginning his reading.
"To everyone present for this will reading, know that I respect you and, of course, love you all, from the depth of my heart. And for that, I hope you respect my wishes for how my properties will be shared, without making a fuss."
"...the academy, which is so dear to me, will be managed by my daughter Athena Caddels, and my young friend, Aiden Hunt."