The man

"I'm coming home," he said shortly then he immediately turned off his cell phone.

After passing through a large gate, his eyes were filled with the sight of a magnificent old house. It took 1 minute for the car to get in the yard of that big house. When he arrived, he was not greeted by his family or approached by the guards. Still exactly the same as before, he was never truly accepted in this house.

The person driving the black car came out with a small suitcase with a thickness of about 15 cm. He pulled up the hem of his shirt to check the time. And then he relaxed his neck muscles as if he had just come from a very long journey. Occasionally massaging his shoulders for a moment while remembering the building he hadn't seen for a long time. His memory was vague, whether this was due to fatigue or simply his memory was fading because he rarely came home.

"Is your boss inside?" he asked from a distance towards the guards who were standing near the door of the house.

The guards holding the weapons looked at each other. Instead of answering the question, they looked back at the front as if no one had come and talked to them. 

"Bastard.." He muttered in annoyance. Those bodyguards' eyes trembled and looked alive but they ignored him. He removed his big hand from his neck, grabbed his suitcase and stepped closer to the guards. He knew that the guards had noticed his arrival but they were trying hard to ignore his presence by staring at something else. He squeezed the bodyguard's collar, "My question wasn't clear enough? Tell your boss that I have something he needs." he asked hastily.

"I am so sorry sir -uhuk," the guard said with difficulty while coughing because his neck hurt. The guard let go of the rifle in his hand then grabbed the hand that was gripping his collar. That man's grip was too strong.

"Forgive our insolent attitude earlier, sir. We were taught to not let anyone enter the house." said the other guard as he panicked when he saw his friend cramped and tormented. 

"Then you know what to do," said the man with a cold gaze without removing his hand from the other guard's collar.

"Y-yes sir, I will immediately convey your message." that guard said quickly as he rushed into the house.

"I.. I can't breathe.. Sir please sir," the guard muttered in pain and then the man immediately let him go. 

The man himself was stunned to see the guard coughing non-stop. He felt like he didn't use much of his strength but look what happened to the guard.

"Sorry," he said quietly while stretching out his hand, intending to help the guard to get up. But the guard crawled back from him, holding his neck and took a heavy breath as he kept his distance from that man. "I- I'll announce your arrival right away sir, I am very sorry." the guard said quickly and then ran away from him.

He stood up straight again and slipped his hand back into his trouser pocket. He wiped the guilt from his face and let the guard follow his friend's steps. It has always been like this, always. He didn't understand what made them so afraid. 

"What a sight.. seeing you come back and almost kill my man." the mocking voice made him turn his head.

A blonde man came to him with 10 armed men. "It's been a long time, Nick. How are the others doing?" he asked and then again, he didn't get the answer that he was expecting. That blonde man aimed for his head and then the other armed men followed him right away.

"Get out of here. Right now, before my father knows you're here. He is not going to see you, so get lost." the blonde man said firmly.

Everyone expected the man to raise both hands in surrender. There is no other way to survive than that. However, the man removed his suitcase carefully then went back to massaging his neck while trying to understand what had just happened. He was held at gunpoint by his co-workers with various kinds of guns. Then his half-brother kicked him out before he took the time to greet his father. It seemed everyone hated his presence.

"I came here just to hand over my mission," he said calmly, referring to the suitcase beside his legs. "Also, I heard that your father is dying so I came home for a while. I'll be damned if I don't see the last moments of the person who cared for me." he continued as he kept his sharp eyes remain wary.

The blonde guy tightened his jaw, "What a good son. You remember him only when he was about to leave his position as leader of NYX. You are here to take over my right and for those reasons, I want you to leave as soon as possible."

The man remained calm and said, "And my answer would be no." 

After hearing that answer, Nick pressed his index finger, firing a bullet onto the floor in front of his older brother's feet. Forbid him from entering the door of the big house.

That bullet didn't make the man point his gun back. He just stared back at the man who used to call him a big brother. Now he only saw a person who really hated his existence. Nick looked furious and he understood why he was like that. Nick sees him as an opponent and maybe an enemy. 

He knew his life was now in danger. One stab on his chest could stop his heartbeat and one bullet through his head would be a free ticket to hell. Yet, that man remains his calm expression and attitude. He continued his wide strides to cover the distance with the blonde man. The other man who was pointing a gun at him took a step back instead of helping Nick. Hesitant to attack, unlike Nick who was brave and at the same time careless.

"If you want to kill me so badly, why don't you just shoot me in the head?" he said as he pointed the tip of that gun at his forehead. 

The others looked at each other, they didn't expect this kind of reaction. A normal person would surrender or beg for his life but not with this man. He challenges the would-be mafia leader to put a hole in his head. What a lunatic.

"Shoot me, this time don't let your bullets be wasted" he challenged again.

Nick stared into the man's eyes for a long time, he was considering his decision. However, he can not move his finger. "I know your little trick, I can see that needle." he said as he saw a transparent deadly needle right beside his neck vein. He looked around for help by glancing at his men but they were all afraid as much as he was. Nick swallowed hard, not wanting to appear timid and intimidated by someone who was bigger than him.

"You know that bullets are faster than your poison."

The man curled his lips, "Maybe, but the poison will torture you. Once it pierces your veins, it will make you short of breath and you will slowly die. Oh wait, I have another idea. What about dying with an itch? Which do you prefer?"

Nick held his breath, he tried hard not to move so that the needle didn't penetrate his skin. The man whispered, "If you don't wanna die, just shoot me. You've become soft, weak and soft-hearted. Oh yeah, I forgot, you've never killed someone before."

"Shut up stranger, I can actually blow up your brain."

"Then do it. After all, I'm just a stranger to you. Come on," the man raised both hands. Throwing away the threat of Nick's life casually as if he wasn't afraid of tomorrow.

Nick held the gun quickly with both hands. He was so ready to pull the trigger. Then he remembered all his grudges and hatred for that man. Just a light touch on the trigger of the gun, that's all he needed to kill the man. It's been almost half a minute and he decided that he couldn't do it. There was something that made him doubt.

Tired of waiting, the man sighed and moved his hands nimbly until the gun moved into his hand. Then he pointed the tip of the gun at Nick, right at his forehead. Just like him a few seconds ago.

"You could really die if you hesitate, Nick. Determine your enemies and friends, that way your decisions will never be wrong." he said as he returned the gun to his owner.

Nick breathed a sigh of relief. The man with a suitcase looked at his wrist, where his Louis Vuitton watch makes his appearance look even more charming. He put on his jacket, "Looks like the old man has been busy. I will leave this thing with you, I have to go now." He said nonchalantly then he started to walk towards his dusty car.

"I am not done talking to you bastard!" Nick screams out of anger. He can't stand the ignorance of that man. 

That man finally stopped his feet and then turned around his face towards Nick. It turned out Nick still had the courage to shout or curse at him. Nick grew up spoiled by excessive praise and luxury so it's no wonder why his attitude is like that. He raised his left eyebrow and waited for what the blonde guy meant. 

"Seeing your aloof attitude these past few years makes me suspicious." he said irritably and then continued, "You're just a piece of crap who tried to destroy my reputation. Do you yourself realize that you no longer accept it here? You've gone for too long and out of reach until I doubt— We doubt, do you still remember us?"

The man still remained silent, listening to Nick's words carefully, as did the other men.

"I know you don't need that much time for small missions like stealing and smuggling antiques. You were doing something else during that time. I know, you've been working as an actuary. You've been secretly studying since you were a teenager and working in a high-rise building. Acting like an innocent ordinary person, you disgust me."

"Finally," the man interrupted, "You admitted that you sent spies to watch me. So where is this conversation going?" he told Nick to finish what he was talking about immediately.

Nick scoffed, "Damn, it is always hard to catch you off guard. I respect your decision not to kill my men." and then he threw the gun to the left and was immediately caught by his men. 

"I knew you would be like this. You are gonna leave us behind when we need you the most, again. Forget about where you've come from and maybe, stab us in the back. I am talking about betraying, if it is not clear."

Every single man in front of the door of the house suddenly glared at him. They all whispered to each other about the truth and guessed what would happen if that man really betrayed them. He was their boss's right hand man. He became the most influential person at NYX and played an important role in their organization.

Nick is the only one who didn't panic, he smiled full of joy as he found they are all on the same page as him.

The man sighed, "I was expecting something important, but it turned out to be talking rubbish. Instead of discussing these useless things, use your time to train physically or study. You're all wasting my time."

Nick snatched the dagger from his subordinate's hand. His patience ran out, he took a stance and threw the sharp object straight at the man's back.