Wrapping Up

It took them about two weeks to finally clean up all that was connected to Raul and his little enterprise.

Alex was correct to state that once the hit on the warehouse was discovered, the rest of the rats would scurry about and hide.

The keyword here, of course, was 'discovered'.

Raul's death was kept under wraps and a doppelganger aka MIB agent was placed in his stead instead.

Kyle would never make a move without considering all aspects and he had two options: to get rid of all of the rats in one fell swoop in a large-scale simultaneous attack, or, pick them off one by one.

In fact, their move on Raul was not the first step - but the middle. All of the small fries had already been eliminated but their deaths were done in a way that made Raul think it was a natural consequence of the competition.

Raul had been angry, and even annoyed at the thought of having to replace them, but did not suspect anything.

They were small fry anyway, and there were tons of people who were eager to replace them.

What he did not know, however, was that the ones that replaced them were all Nitocris's men.

There was another reason why they had someone pretend to be Raul. In doing so, they were basically taking things slow: to see whether there were any snakes that they had failed to identify.

After all, Nitocris's rule had been challenged and Nitocris was not happy at all.

He ruled the Underworld with an iron fist but he was also soft when needed - soft, in the sense that he didn't go around eliminating every single person who flouted the rules.

It depended on which rules.

He didn't really care if you made your fortune without giving him a cut as long as what you made conformed to the rules. Though Nitocris didn't have his hands in all of the pies, he still made sure the pies were (relatively) clean.

Nitocris had this reasoning because he knew how the Underworld people were like. If they did all of the work and someone else gets a cut of the money easily, they wouldn't be happy.

Just like the normal working people who grumbled about paying taxes - and how some did all that they could to avoid paying taxes.

So Nitocris didn't 'tax' them for everything. Just enough to keep them in line to remind them who the Boss is, but you don't tax them excessively so that they start resenting you for it.

He also had certain Taboos aka what you could not deal with. For example, prostitution was allowed but not forced or tricking people into it. Drugs were not allowed despite the huge profits it generated as Nitocris hated drugs.

His father had been a big fan of drugs and would use them to control people.

Of course, naturally, people who wanted the quick buck like Raul emerged. Plus, they felt this 'no-drug' rule was ridiculous and some felt it showed how soft the 'King' was.

There was no need for sentimentality in the Underworld.

Only money.

That's why Ice was never short of any 'target practice'.

The Black Dragons (the Elite Assassin Group) and Cerebus (the Elite Force) were there to cut the ones who went out of line to restore the balance.

Occasionally, the hit had to be spectacular to make a point.

By the time Raul's death was made known, his growing empire had already been obliterated and his death was a mystery. All people knew was that he had died, and the death had been particularly gruesome.

Worst of all, there was a very alarming talk going around in the Underworld.

The elimination of Raul had been Ice and Fyre's son's initiation to the Black Dragons.

Though he was not a core member yet, he was already accepted and would continue to be trained by the couple to take over their position one day.

Cinder and his Hellhound, Cerebus.

Which he called Cer for short.

The fact that Cinder's 'partner' happened to be having the same name as the King's Elite Force sparked another rumour; or speculation, so to speak.

Many were talking that perhaps, Cinder wasn't just being trained to be a Black Dragon Assassin, but to actually be its Head - as well as the Head of the Elite Force.

Two elite groups, having one Head.

When Kyle first heard of that rumour, he nearly laughed out loud.

The rich imagination of these people really did take the cake.

It was just a coincidence.

However, unknown to Kyle, if Master Shifu was to hear of this, he would have shook his head. His own Master had told him, 'There is no such thing as coincidences in this world.'

[A/N: Cue foreshadowing music]

As for Alex, well - he truly learned a lot from his first outing with Max.

Based on that, his training with Max at home also had some subtle changes.

Alex discovered a few things about Max.

First, Max really liked to take great big bites, chomping straight to the bone and tearing out huge chunks of meat from his victims. He would immediately spit it out and look at him happily, waiting for his treat.

Max's actions made Alex think of a story he once heard about a man who had put his cat out of the house each time the cat scratched the sofa. It was meant to be a punishment but in the end, it turned out to be that each time the cat wanted to go out, he'd scratch the sofa.

So did Max take huge chunks of meat, just to spit it out, so that he could get a treat?

Not that Alex really cared, but it made him curious.

If Alex could talk 'wolf', Max would have told him yes and no. Yes, he wanted the treat but he didn't take huge chunks of meat just to get the treat.

He actually *did* like taking huge chunks of meat out.

Because it was satisfying to spit it out.

Spitting out a small piece seemed wasteful.

Secondly, Max loved the chase.

The biting bit seemed to be the icing on the cake, but it was the chase that made him really alive. It seemed Max enjoyed toying with the victims.

The more they screamed, the fiercer Max became, growling and snarling as he chased them.

Then, he would even howl after managing to down them.

It was truly a sight.

The boy and wolf pup, beside a mangled body of a man.

One small boy holding a knife in his hand, the blood dripping down while the wolf pup had blood around his mouth, having his two front legs on top of the body and howling - after he spit out a chunk of flesh.

In their mind, the red eyes glowed even more.

So the legend of Cinder and his Hellhound began to rise.

✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿

Before Alex knew it, it was already the end of the year.

Primary 1, or P1, had been a very torturous experience for him and though he was glad that it was over - he lamented over the thought of Primary 2.

It's not like it was any better!

Right now, they were having the end-of-the-school celebration. There were no classes and people were basically eating lots of junk food and having fun.

"Oh come on, Alex," Aurora hit her brother on the shoulder, "Lighten up. It's the last day of school!"

Alex just rolled his eyes and watched as hyperactive kids, high on sugar, were screaming in laughter and running about like crazy monkeys in the classroom.

"Five more years," he mumbled.

"Look on the bright side," Aurora said, as she took another bite of her cupcake, "They're having an Accelerated Class as an experimental study next year."

Alex shrugged non-committedly.

"Father was really dead-set against us skipping grades, so I doubt that the Accelerated Class would come to fruition," Alex said.

"But Papa said it's already ready," piped up Fleur, "And if Papa says it's ready, it's ready."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" he asked, not believing it, "Why would your father tell you about it?"

Alex wasn't trying to be mean, but merely stating a fact. Uncle Sam was the type that kept work away from home, and plus, Fleur was the type that wasn't interested in her father's business.

Fleur pouted and looked at Ziad, "Right, Ziad? You heard Papa say so, right?"

Ziad nodded, "Uncle Sam wanted to know if Fleur wanted to join the class or remain in the normal class."

Alex leaned back in his chair upon hearing this.

Why didn't their parents tell them about it then?

The news about the Accelerated Class had been given to them by Teacher Alba, and Alex had brushed it aside. He had not asked his father about it because he didn't think his father changed his mind.

But if Uncle Sam even told Fleur about it, it means it exists.

Alex pursed his lips.

So why the silence at their side?

His eyes widened when he thought of one possibility.

Was his father not intending to allow them to join it then?!