Chapter 127: Into the Hideout
Clang!
It was worth the sweat and the countless cuts Hajime had to endure. The moment he heard the huge chains clanging as they fell onto the ground, a wave of relief overcame him, causing him to fall down on his rear side as he heaved a sigh. "I... Finally... it’s open..." He raggedly breathed before pushing the door open.
As soon as Hajime rushed out, he was immediately greeted with the cold night air, sending shivers up and down his spine. He quickly sprinted towards the storage where Megumi was supposed to be held hostage. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the only way in was through the windows a couple of stories up. As far as Hajime knows, there were no ladders that tall, so he quickly dismissed the idea of scaling the walls and jumping into the windows.
Well, there was another way in, and that was right through the main door. In other words, in order to get inside the warehouse, he’d have to plow through the kidnapper’s men. And during that process, Hajime could already foresee the debt collectors pointing a gun at Megumi and telling him to give up.
"No way... I have to think up another plan. I’ve already alerted Franz, and he’ll alert the authorities soon. For now, I’d have to stall for as long as possible... and I know I can’t do that without guaranteeing Megumi’s safety first." Hajime muttered to himself as he paced back and forth.
What do I do now?
Hajime realized that he shouldn’t alert anyone of his escape for starters. That was the least he could do in order to stall for time. Quite frankly, he felt stupid since he realized it a little too late. It was one of the most novice mistakes a bodyguard could make.
Retracing his footsteps, he arrived by the entrance to the storage once again and picked up the thick chains that fell on the ground. Without further ado, he started wrapping the thick chains around the door handles. He vaguely remembered how the chains were placed and he decided to follow that memory so his escape would be all the more undetectable. Once he was done with his work, he finished the job by locking the entrance.
"Hopefully they’d get misdirected by this," Hajime muttered to himself, slinking out of there before someone sees him. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
His next planned move was to sneak inside the hideout, but as mentioned before, there was no way in but the front entrance. For the umpteenth time that night, Hajime felt helpless, but that didn’t force him to back down. The countless reminders and words of wisdom his dad had imparted to him when he was a kid started replaying in his mind.
"Yeah, I could always do the hit-and-run tactic. Just focus on one of them, knock him unconscious, and then proceed to the next. I’d be able to sneak in as soon as I can." Hajime said to himself.
Quite frankly, he never had any experience when it comes to espionage. The things his father taught him were mere words, and he was beginning to doubt that he’d be able to carry them out without making a mistake. His chest tightened as he approached the entrance to the hideout— the house that’s connected to the storage.
The first guard came into sight, and Hajime’s chest tightened even more as he tried to approach him. He knew that if he were a mere second too late knocking the guy out, he’d be able to alert everyone in the vicinity with a simple shout.
In other words, there was only a thin line separating Hajime’s success and failure.
Holding his breath, Hajime decided to just go for it. Deep within, he felt the hesitation and the pressure holding him back, but his adrenaline overruled those feelings and he managed to take the first step.
"Uoh~" One of the guards who was patrolling the entrance part of the hideout let out an exclamation but Hajime managed to cover his mouth before putting him on a sleeping hold.
Hajime began counting. After seven seconds, the guard fell limp. A wave of relief hit him as he realized that he was successful in his first venture. He even thought that he might be good at spy stuff like this one— of course, he didn’t dwell on the thought since arrogance would just increase his chances of slipping up.
Finding a nice hidden corner by the edge of the fence, he hid the unconscious guard behind one of the thick brushes that lined parallel to the fence. He had no idea when the guard would wake up, but then again, that was the least of his worries at the moment. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
The other guard walked back and forth in front of the hideout. He didn’t bother putting his guard up since there hasn’t been any disturbances for months now. From time to time, he yawned, and there were even moments when he would return to his seat and close his eyes. Meanwhile, Hajime looted everything he could take from the guard: a baton, handcuffs, and two tasers. Hajime was hoping that the guard carried a grenade or two, or a handgun, but to his disappointment, the guard didn’t have any. It would’ve been dangerous if he had some, though, since Hajime had never held a real gun in the past.
And just in case, Hajime decided to borrow the guard’s uniform. It would provide him with the best disguise. Even if another guard notices him, it would already be too late. After all, he looked like a bona fide member of the group from afar.
To test out his newfound stolen identity, Hajime decided to walk up to the second guard who was stationed by the entrance. Upon seeing Hajime, he sat up straight and cleared his throat as if he was caught sleeping on the job. "Sigh~ Kentaro, what took you so long? I was getting bored over here." He muttered to himself.
Kentaro didn’t speak. He continued approaching the guard which caused the guard to fidget uncomfortably. Before he could say another word though, Kentaro pressed a taser on his neck and turned it on at full power. As the guard slipped into unconsciousness, he didn’t even realize that the person in front of him wasn’t his partner.
"Well then, if you’ll excuse me," Hajime muttered after hiding the guard’s body beside his partner.