CALM BEFORE THE STORM

A deafening silence reigns inside the executive room of the MDA building. The moment was so tense that, when the tip of the gun pounded on the table, making a sound, they both jumped except for a man sitting majestically holding the gun and leaning his massive frame against the swivel chair, both legs were crossed beneath the table. His cold gaze was piercing and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

Klauss, Mischa, Laurel, and the twins, Leroy and Lyric sitting on the sofa were restless, fixed their eyes on the gun Mort was holding. They gasped whenever it was pointed at one of them and with just one click from it someone will surely die in instant. None of them attempted to talk to the Boss as they were overwhelmed with fear of the gun would fire at them.

"What is happening to him?" Mischa asked Klauss in almost a whisper who stood next to the girl's side without taking his eyes off the gun in his Boss's hand.

"....." Klauss remained unmoved and just shrug.

"Ask him." Mort's spoiled brat sister, Mischa insisted and elbowed Klauss on the side. The silver-haired man looked at her brazenly.

"I wouldn't dare. If you want to go extinct, why don't you ask him?" Klauss said as Mischa's nostrils flared, lips squinted into a thin line, and narrow her eyes on him.

"I hate you handsome bastard." Mischa curses while looking back in her brother's direction who was still quiet with no small amount of emotion in his features and seemed to be in the middle of deep thinking.

"How about the twins to get rid one of them?" Laurel suddenly butts in as Leroy and Lyric turn to the tomboyish maiden hanging their mouths open in disbelief at the same time.

Lyric was about to diss her when a sound of crack from Mort's thick glass table interrupted them due to the excessive force of pounding the gun on the table which silenced everyone and unconsciously, the secretary asked.

"What is up, Boss?" Klauss asked, rose from the seat and standing properly. Mort shifted his seat to the secretary's direction and the gun pointed at him to which Klauss step back in fear. 'Oh, crap!'

"Someone's bothering my mind." Mort coldly replied, eyes devoid of any emotion. He is emanating dark auras around.

"You mean you want to kill someone?" Klauss curiously asked.

"No." Mort's grip on his gun tightened making his veins visible in his masculine hand which Klauss stopped without leaving his nervous stare at the gun pointed at him. " I want to give someone a gift," Mort added.

Everyone exchanged glances at the green-eyed man's words, trying to grasp everything that Mort had just confessed but Klauss caught their attention.

"What about a coffin or weapon?" Klauss suggested that Mort's gaze went blank and staring him apathetically, giving him enough to shiver.

"It's Sumire. I want to surprise her on her birthday." Mort said and the deafening silence reigns again. It took a few more minutes before Laurel decided to break the silence. She was deeply surprised by what this hunk said.

"It's a human thing to do," Laurel uttered, cannot believe what she hears made Mischa turn her back on her. 'The last time I checked, he's not human,' her mind clouded in thoughts. Laurel was about to say when Lyric suddenly interrupted her.

"I heard that women adored a man who gives his whole heart. Instead of giving your heart why don't you just kill hundred of men and carve their hearts out, give it to Sumire as a present and sign of your affection?" Lyric humbly suggested that Mischa unbelievably stared, rolling her eyes at the same time at him while Laurel couldn't help but scoffs at what she heard and crosses her arms on her chest.

"I don't know if you're kidding or you're just brainless and plain stupid." Laurel mockingly said as Lyric turned to her, grinning from ear to ear.

"I won't be here sitting next to you if I don't have a brain." Lyric's sarcastic response. Laurel's cold gaze greeted the poor young guy while bitchily raising an eyebrow at him.

"How about you shut the fuck up before I cut your tongue off." The maiden's serious threat makes Lyric sit properly next to his twin. Suddenly, Leroy raises his hand, eyes twinkling like he has a great idea in mind. Everyone's attention turned to him.

"How about you propose to her?" Leroy suggested to Mort who was looking now intently while pointing the gun at him. Klauss immediately shook his head.

"Don't give him an idea," Klauss fakely coughs, trying to grab his Boss's attention. "How about you ask her what she wants as a gift?" Klauss added that Mischa rolled her eyes again.

"That surely would be boring." The young lady groaned in frustration as no one come up with a good idea. 'Tsss, why do I have to be surrounded by old people.' Mischa sarcastically uttered in her mind and Klauss's critical gaze dawned on her.

"Since you were so smart, kindly share your suggestion, young missy." Klauss sardonically asked and Mischa met his judgmental look dawn at her with poise and confidence.

"My suggestion is worth a million dollars, darling." The young lassie sassily said once flashed her smirk and winked at Klauss making the man frown.

"How about you? What do you want to give Sumire?" Laurel asked Mort a serious question that everyone calmed down, waiting for the man's answer.

"My life."

While arguing over what to give as a gift for Sumire inside Mort's executive office, a maiden who has everything. Sumire is busy working with Trevor and their manager preparing and organizing the surprise party for the production team and colleagues that she and Trevor work with and starred in the recent movie project.

"It's funny. Instead of surprising you, you're the one who throws a surprise party on your special day. How thoughtful of you." Trevor said, bursting into deep chuckles while lending a hand to the maiden arranging things on one of her real estate properties she owns where the beach party will be held. The beach is a veritable paradise! On the other side are Eiryss and Shun preparing the alcohol, lighting, and music, both were busy.

"I'm not happy on my birthday, so I'll just make other people happy." The maiden responded while her pair of obsidian eyes darted on the modern embellishment above. She was climbing into a ladder supported by the man from below. Sumire hates her birthday. Dearly.

"Is it okay with you?" Trevor asked assuredly as Sumire turned to him and smiled beautifully.

"I won't be doing this wholeheartedly if it's not okay with me." The maiden replied. Trevor reaches her waistline to help her down from the ladder and Sumire holds onto his shoulder making Eiryss smile silently, elated watching them from afar.

"How about your family? Don't they have a surprise party for you?" Trevor asked curiously when Sumire finally descended on the sand dunes.

"The last time they surprised me it caused so much chaos and left our visitors traumatized," Sumire replied as she gently wipe off her sweat running down her neck exposing herself in Trevor's sight.

"What do you mean?" Trevor asked. Sumire's plum lips form into a vile smirk.

"I opened the big present full of frogs in the center of the elites," Sumire said that she couldn't help but burst into laughter when she remembered that horrible yet satisfying scene.

Trevor was stunned and stare at her for a few seconds before snapping back to his senses. "I won't ask further what happened. I already pictured it out," said the young man who chuckled slightly. "So, when was the last time you were surprised on your birthday?" He added that Sumire slowly calmed down and get rid of the small tears that formed on the side of her eyes. That memory amused her. Truly.

"Five years old," Sumire replied and recalled the threat she had made to her parents. 'What a day to remember.'

Summer. It was warm and sweet, the blue sky was serene as the sea. The Massoullève family hosted a birthday party for their unica ija, Sumire. Wearing tuxedos and fiery dresses to impress the family, the businessmen, political elites, and royal families were mostly invited on that special occasion. The party went smoothly and the guests enjoyed it. The air of tranquility didn't last long when the adorable little girl descended from the golden stairs and a big present came in, chaos reigning and wrecking the place.

"If you surprise me on my next birthday, I'll make sure to bring your nightmare into reality."

The five-year-old Sumire standing calm, cool, and collected, she was cutely dressed in vintage green and had a vintage ribbon in her hair. She was holding one of her mother's hated creatures, a frog in her hand as she looked at her mother nonchalantly. Lunaire shivered in fear and disgust clinging tightly, buried her face to her husband's neck, Chaise. Right after the party, her mother definitely will have a series of nightmares. Shrieking and screams filled the place as the horde of frogs dominate and scared the guests away. Sumire ordered the frogs to ruin her birthday hosted by her parents.

"Baby, please put it down. It's dirty and poisonous." Chaise said softly to their daughter, who innocently presented the frog to her parents. The little girl raised an eyebrow at them without a hint of nerve.

"Promise me you won't do this ever again. Or do you want to sign an accord with me?" Sumire said in a commanding tone once display a long list of agreements in front of her parents.

"We promised." the couple swore together in front of their daughter at the same time. Lunaire shrieks and burst crying as the frog climb up to her. Chaise quickly brings his wife upstairs leaving their daughter in the middle of chaos.

Young Sumire was left smiling while biting the black diamond apple while watching the guests running and screaming around in fear and disgust.

'I didn't think my threat will work, but I couldn't care less. The outcome is in my favor.' Sumire was smiling naughtily from ear to ear that Trevor keep staring at her.

They were interrupted when Eiryss and Shun arrived at their place to help them finish the rest of the work. They chatted happily and finished till dusk. Everything is set perfectly. That same afternoon while Sumire was watching the setting sun on the serene blue sea horizon, her midnight hair gently stirred by the west zephyr wind. Trevor appeared behind her with a large ribbon box and handed it to her. Sumire humbly accepted it and genuinely smiled while Trevor had a hint of guilt flash in his eyes.

"My gift."

...........

From the Brethren city’s prison cell, Narco is transferred to a famous and isolated prison home for the most dangerous prisoners around the world known as the La Isla del Diablo or Devil's Island, a secluded island infested with sharks and ferocious predators. A place where Death is inevitable if prisoners attempted a daring escape. Access to visitors is strictly forbidden.

It was no brighter inside than the gathering gloom of dusk. The place was filled with muttering, swearing, yelling, and eerie whispering behind the cold filthy metal bars. Everything is dark. Each prison cell is classified into threat levels. It ranges from Level 1 to Level 13 according to how dangerous the threat posed by a prisoner. Narco was imprisoned in LEVEL 1, but when he go berserk and start violently killing and torturing the prisoners, he was sent down to LEVEL 2 and later dropped to LEVEL 3. Just like what he did to the upper level, Narco caused so much chaos that the warden couldn't stand it anymore. And in just a blink of an eye, Narco found himself in LEVEL 12. The golden-eyed man grinned evilly as he was close to his mission.

"This is a piece of cake." Narco grinned from ear to ear. His clothes were soaked in sweat and both hands were stained in blood. His hair was sexily disheveled and matches his well-sculpted face even after the gritty murder. His golden eyes glistened in deviltry and dawn coldly at the pile of mutilated corpses. Narco almost annihilated all the inmates. An evil smile formed on his lips. His mission is at LEVEL 13th.

The warden was about to bring him to the most dangerous level of the prison cell, when Yakov Levin, his Boss, suddenly came and bailed him out. Narco looked coldly at Yakov when he got out from CELL 12.

"You're welcome," Yakov said unenthusiastically as Narco playfully smirked. When they reached the rooftop of the building where Yakov's helicopter was waiting, he gave Narco the black card written in gold.

"My invitation."