Free Web NovelChapter 104: Problem (1)
"Tell your boss, thank you for the information. I would love to one day meet the man who has been helping me in the last few years. Will there ever be a time he will come to the town? I don’t have much but I would like to pay him for what he is doing," Harold started looking around for a bag of coins he was keeping as his savings for a rainy day. If the Hamiltons ever tried anything drastic to get rid of him, this was meant to be the funds to help him rebuild.
Seeing what Harold was doing, Derek stopped the man since Vincent did not need to take payment from him. "Please stop. What you are doing with your newspaper is already more than enough. My boss is the one who’ll like to compensate you because of how risky this is. I will speak to him about you wanting to meet but some advice Harold, stop digging around on us," Derek picked up a sheet of paper from one of the stacks.
His name was circled on a piece of paper when he first entered the shop but he ignored it. Though they were working together against Minnie, Harold was still a human, and Derek didn’t trust them. "Minnie might have failed in trying to kill you but if you keep trying to learn more about my boss before he is ready to meet you or you ruin his plans, you’ll find yourself hunted by a group of individuals who won’t let you get away so easily. Understood?"
"Understood," Harold agreed. He had placed the paper with his suspicions of Derek somewhere and lost it a few days ago. How the man had found it so easily was a mystery. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Don’t look so surprised that I saw my name. I catch on quickly to those things because it means I will have to work even more in the future thanks to it. I hate people who make me have to work more than I need to, which is why I have a love and hate relationship with my boss. Your fingers are trembling. I hope it is out of excitement for your paper tomorrow and not out of fear."
"It is the excitement Derek," Harold lied, placing his hands behind his back. He must remember never to drop his guard around Derek ever again since he hardly knew anything about the man.
"Then I am happy," Derek smiled, placing his hand on Harold’s shoulder to calm him down.
"To see Minnie’s name be tarnished?"
"Of course not," Derek frowned, removing his hand. Why did everyone always guess wrong? "I’m happy this damn job is over and go back home. It takes a lot of energy for me to travel all the way over here and if I want to see my wife tonight, I’ll have to leave before getting anything to eat. I might even have to run back to get there in time for dinner. Goodbye," Derek muttered, opening the door to walk out. Today had overall been a depressing day.
"What a strange man," Harold said to himself when Derek left. He looked at the paper once again about Minnie’s affair. "We’ll see tomorrow if this will work against that woman."
As Derek left Harold’s shop, he cracked his knuckles preparing for the long run back to the wolf community. He started his journey back but instead of passing by where the guards were stationed, he decided it might be worth it to go the long way which was through the trees where fewer guards roamed.
Going between a dirty space between two shops, he picked up on someone speaking. "Come with me and you can have a new life off the streets. Don’t you want food and a roof over your head for your younger sibling? Trust me, I can help you."
Derek hid behind a wall when he found that it was a man trying to get two young girls, probably orphans, to follow him somewhere. ’He has his shady attire on and wants them to trust him?’ Derek mentally said. He watched the older of the two girls push her younger sister behind her. "How can someone leave their young children on the streets?"
"Dammit! Come with me right now while I’m being nice. Do you have any idea how much money they are charging for young orphaned girls? Stop trying to resist when you’ll just die on the street anyway. No one wants you so come with me for whatever the Hamiltons want," the man grabbed the older girl’s hand and pulled her against him.
"If you want to live, I suggest you release her hand right away," Derek revealed himself now that the problem had escalated. "They don’t want to go with you so leave them alone," he approached the trio. He hated people like this who took advantage of the weak. With so many guards around, why were none of them helping the two girls? Wasn’t protection what their king kept promising?
"Whoever the hell you are, back off now when I’m being nice. I run these streets so these children are mine," the man pushed Derek back away from the two little girls.
Derek licked his lips and laughed to hold himself back from punching the man. "Are you their relative? What on earth gives you the right to say you own them? Let go of her hand before you make me more pissed off than I already am. I hate people like you who try to take advantage of others who can’t defend themselves. That was my last warning."
The man threw the older girl on one side, pissed off he had to deal with someone who couldn’t mind their business. Some of the guards who spotted what he was doing ignored him and minded their business. This man should do the same. "I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget," he pulled out a tiny knife from his pants. He didn’t intend on anyone taking away his meal ticket.
He lunged the knife towards Derek’s neck but was stopped when Derek caught his hand. "You..." freewebnøvel.com
"Seriously, can’t you be more calculated with your attacks? I saw you kept looking at my neck which gives away where you’re going to strike. The effective attacks are the ones your opponent can’t predict like this," Derek raised his free hand like he was going to slap the man but used his foot to knock the man off his balance while he was distracted by Derek’s hand. Dereks twisted the man’s arm and took the knife away."Sometimes a nice little distraction works really well. You need to go back to training, sir."
"Fuck you! Ugh," the man groaned when Derek twisted his hand further.
"See, I’m not really sure that is possible. Hey, watch your language in front of children!" Derek smacked the top of the man’s head. "Are you girls alright?" he asked the girls now that he was in control of the man.
The older one nodded and ran to her younger sister’s side to check her condition.
"What did you want to do with them? How is Hamilton involved?" Derek released the man’s hand a little so that he could respond. Hearing the Hamiltons wanted children was a pretty interesting topic. Why did they hire this man to take children off the street in secret?
"Like I’ll tell you."
Derek sighed, having to do this the hard way. "You asked for this," he said right before pushing back one of the man’s fingers until it broke. "One, two," Derek started counting as he broke one finger after the other. In the end, he had to cover the man’s screams to not alert anyone of what they were doing. "Shush! It’s just a few broken bones. Care to tell me before I start breaking your entire arm?"
The man shook his head as tears filled up his eyes. "I-I don’t know what they want with the children. I swear, I swear. Each time they wanted some I just took the children off the street and got paid. It’s the Hamiltons. You know they wouldn’t tell me anything."
"True," Derek agreed.
"Now let me go," the man sobbed thanks to the unbearable pain of his broken fingers.
"See, I can’t do that. Since you told me this piece of information, the Hamiltons will kill you if they find out. And if I let you go, you’ll go back to taking children when I’m not around so that means I have to kill you. Death is inevitable," Derek shrugged, stabbing the man in his neck with his own knife. He placed his hand over the man’s mouth once again until life slowly disappeared from his eyes.
Derek then laid the dead man on the ground along with his knife. He slowly turned around afraid the two girls would be scared of him now but they didn’t look affected by the death which took place right in front of them. "What on earth have the two of you seen in this world?" he muttered.
