The Reincarnated Hitman

Chapter 10: Rent Is Due

"And then Volt dashed in and saved us all," Eli said with excitement.

He was currently back home, sitting across from both Liam and Lea, eating as he continued to ramble on about the hostage situation at their school.

"Really?" Liam let out as he leaned his cheek on his hand with an expression of interest.

"Yeah!" Eli continued, "he was so fast, like, you couldn’t even see him move. And then he went through the whole building and took out all the bad men.."

"Incredible," Liam said, "he really did all of that."

"Yes, yes," Eli confirmed enthusiastically, "he even carried me out."

Lea, meanwhile, was silently looking at her rice before she suddenly spoke up, "I overheard the officers saying something about a bullet knocking them unconscious."

She then looked up and towards Liam as she said, "I think someone else was there first."

"That’s unlikely," Liam answered with a smile, "after all, Volt was the only hero the HA sent."

The two were silent looking at each other, almost as if mentally communicating, before Lea added, "Maybe the person’s not a hero."

"Volt didn’t save us?" Eli asked, seemingly a bit confused, especially given that Volt was the one who had led them out of the Gymnasium.

"I think it was bi—"

Knock! Knock!

Before she could complete her words, a knock on the door cut her off.

"I’ll get it," Liam said as he stood up and then walked towards it.

Opening the door, he came face-to-face with exactly who he expected, Mr Han, their landlord.

And from his expression, Liam could tell that he was clearly not happy.

"Mr Han!" He said with the kindest smile he could muster, "What a coincidence, we were just talking about you."

He then wrapped a hand around the old man’s shoulders before he had the chance to say anything.

"Come in, come in."

The fifty-year-old landlord was caught off guard by the kid’s behavior and by the time he realized what was happening,

He was already sitting at the dining table with a cup of tea in front of him before he fully processed how he’d gotten there.

Liam sat across from him with a pleasant expression, as he waited for the landlord to take a sip of the tea in his hand.

And he did.

Mr. Han opened his mouth to say something, but

"I know, two months is a long time," Liam started, "and you’ve been extraordinarily patient and we are genuinely grateful. Not many landlords would have shown the same consideration."

Mr. Han chose to remain silent, he had come here to deliver an ultimatum, but somehow, he was now drinking tea and being thanked for his consideration.

"I also want you to know," Liam said, "that today specifically has been an unusual day."

"The school," Mr. Han said, already having heard the news.

"Yes," Liam nodded, "thanks to the situation, I couldn’t make it to work today and unfortunately, I have been fired."

"Liam—"

"But that doesn’t mean I have no intention to pay you back," Liam quickly cut the man off again, "after all, I already got a new job...just that it’ll take a while before I get paid."

"What are you saying?" Mr Han finally managed to get a word in.

"If you could just give me a week more, I’ll make sure I pay what I owe plus next month’s rent," Liam answered.

Mr Han went silent as he considered and Liam hoped that the tea in his hand would do much of the convincing.

The landlord knew that Liam had been worth the patience; after all, he was a kid doing his best in a genuinely difficult situation, while never making excuses and always, eventually, coming through.

Mr. Han took another sip of his tea.

It really was very good tea. He observed before he set the cup down and stood up.

"One week," he said.

"No more than that," Liam stood up with him.

The landlord looked at him then at the kids before asking, "About what happened, are you two okay?"

"Yes""Hmm" both Lea and Eli nodded and the landlord nodded in satisfaction.

"Good," he muttered, "then I’ll take my leave now."

"Thank you very much Mr Han," Liam said as he walked him out the door and shut it behind him.

He then turned back to two very different reactions from his siblings, Eli seemed to be holding in his laughter whilst Lea looked at him with suspicion.

"You got fired and got a job on the same day?" Lea asked.

"Basically," Liam nodded before walking close to her and ruffling her hair, "don’t worry about it."

Lea slapped his hand away and arranged her hair which he had made a mess of causing him to chuckle.

"What type of job was it?" Unwilling to let go of the topic, she asked again.

"Something that pays well."

She looked at him with increased suspicion, but she decided to let go, instead, she asked, "Will you get hurt?"

Liam finally realized that she was just worried about him, after all, the three only had each other, no one else.

Not even a relative was willing to adopt them, hence the reason why they ended up under the care of a fourteen-year-old....after some legal gymnastics.

He crouched close to her, looking directly in her eyes as he said with a smile, "I’ll be fine, promise." frёeωebɳovel.com

Lea was silent for a while before finally nodding and letting go of the subject for now.

Eli looked between the two for a while before suddenly asking, "Is big brother’s new job to become a villain?"

After all, that was the only logical way he could get hurt, at least to Eli anyway.

"No," Liam let out a laugh as he stood up, "big brother is not becoming a super villain."

"See," Eli said, turning to Lea, "then there’s no way big brother will get hurt."

He seemed proud of clarifying that and even Lea herself couldn’t help but laugh.

"I guess you’re right."

Glad to see that the atmosphere had turned light-hearted, Liam walked to the living room, leaving the two still on the dining table.

About the rent.

Was he completely certain that Sable would get him a job within this week? No, absolutely not.

But he could just borrow some cash from the man and pay him back when a contract comes.

After all, he was certain that the agent would at least do that much for his very first hire... especially with all that Liam had shown.

Speaking of the devil,

The phone in his hand suddenly started vibrating and he looked at the screen only to realize that it was an unknown number.

Answering it, he placed it on his ear and said, "Well, that was fast, I was hoping you’d take at least an entire day before gaining info on me."

"I’m fairly certain you know of my connections already," Sable’s voice came from the other end, "so, was it truly a surprise?"

"Not really," Liam muttered.

"Though I must say," Sable continued, "what I found out was completely different from the image I had of you in mind."

"It almost seems as if you were a different person until your actions today."

"I guess a lot can change when the lives of your siblings depend on it," Liam answered with a shrug.

Sable was silent for a while before chuckling, "I guess."

"Now then," Sable’s voice suddenly turned completely serious, "for the reason I called you."

"I have a job for you."