Trouble In The Red District (5)

Kim stood, smiling, her mind was obviously affected by Carl. He turned around again, once he saw her silly expression, he smiled. He was glad he made a move, if he had remained in fear and doubt, they'd probably not be like this. He was really happy he gave them a chance, he did not let the past stop him from doing what he wanted. They may not really be together, but this was progress, she kissed him back and she did not try to run away too. "Don't just stand there, come over." He said as he put rice in the rice cooker before he opened the fridge, he took out soup and some side dishes to heat.

As he prepared lunch, he occasionally glanced at her. They had totally forgotten about the attack earlier today. As he busied himself, his phone rang, he set the things aside as he asked Kim to excuse him. He walked to the center table before picking up the phone, it was none other than Allan. He contemplated for a few seconds before answering, "Boss." He heard Allan say. "What's wrong?" Asked Carl. He knew Allan would never call him without reason and since they recently had a meeting concerning their business, he knew they were aware of how to carry out those instructions so he was sure something must have gone wrong. "Boss the thing is, we forgot to inform you about something important." Reported Allan. It was their duty to inform Carl of every relevant thing going on in the country but they failed to do so, now the threat was at their door. Allan felt uneasy with the new development especially after they were attacked. Carl remained silent, waiting for Allan to expand. "Actually, a few weeks ago, a few men came from the capital." Carl was not sure why Allan was saying that, it was normal for people to move between the states. Thinking back to the attack, he wondered if they were responsible. He sat down on the couch before urging him to go on, "And?" 

"Well, the thing is they've been trying to take over the major gangs in the city." Carl frowned, why was he informed of this only now? Without waiting for Carl to ask the question that was really bugging him, he gave him an answer, "They came in differently with different reasons, so we did not find it suspicious."

"Did they succeed in taking over any?" Carl inquired. "As of now, just one, they are still trying to take over the others by force so it's taking them a while and today a fight broke out between them and a local gang in the red district, the leader of the local gang was shot in the process. The members are extremely loyal to their leader, so the following days won't be peaceful. Although the police are already involved, I think they are trying to cover up the situation because the news is reporting something different from what is going on. The people from the capital probably have a powerful backing." In a breath, Allan had summarized all that was happening.

Hearing that the following days would not be peaceful, Carl glanced at Kim, she was in the kitchen, preparing their lunch. He sighed, this is probably because of the elections, one name came to his mind as he thought of the situation, the Stans. It's probably them, that's all he could think of, why else would Chamberlain be in the city? Allan was expecting Carl to reprimand him for only reporting about the event now, he waited but the scolding did not come, he was met with utter silence. "Hello?" He said, wondering if his boss was still there. "Just keep an eye on the situation, report any change to me." He said before hanging up.

After that he searched for news related to the shoot out today. He was not really surprised that the news reported otherwise. It was normal for the government to want to maintain peace while ensuring safety. They probably did not want the people to panic. He took out his laptop to check for CCTV records since the fight happened so close to them, he was more alert. He remembered that he was supposed to look for a house but he kept pushing it aside, it was probably time to move out from here before the situation turned worse. 

Not surprising, there was no footage, the CCTVs were not even functional. "Come over, the food is ready." He heard Kim call out. So he closed his laptop before going to the kitchen. "Sorry." He apologized for not preparing the food even though he said he would. "Not a problem." She said, pulling up a seat. He picked up his cutlery and began eating, not long after, he raised the suggestion, "What do you think about moving?" Kim was not too comfortable, this was her house, she had worked very hard to be able to afford, it was of sentimental value so she was quite hesistant. "I'm comfortable here." As if he already knew she would reject his suggestion. "It's not safe here." He simply stated. "I know but I've been living quite fine here, is there really a need?" He knew she was quite stubborn but how could she even choose to live in danger just to keep her pride. He knew it was all about her pride, she was probably worried she would not be able to afford a house elsewhere. "The incident today.. I don't want to see you like that again, it scared me, so just consider it." He said, hoping to convince her. At the mention of it, she dropped her cutlery, it left a bad taste in her mouth. "I'm not trying to force you, just think about it, if you don't want to move, we will stay here together but you have to learn self-defense." He was getting the hang of communicating with her, always suggest, never force your opinion on her. If it doesn't work, back it up with reason and evidence. The key point is to always agree with her.