Billionaire's Bodyguard

Ch 7. Where's the package?

Rey tried to calm his breathing which had already started to race. He stood in a ready stance.

"What's going on here?" Rey's voice came out softer than he had hoped.

The man at the very front, with a small triangle-shaped tattoo below his left eye, didn't answer. He just nodded toward the two people beside him. "Search him."

The two men in question immediately stepped forward with hands already ready to reach out. Their steps were fast, without hesitation.

Rey had no time to think further. He scanned his surroundings quickly, then chose his target.

A small gap between two men standing a bit apart on the left side of the group, close to one of the room doors.

He ran forward.

The two men at the front also immediately ran toward Rey, swinging their hands almost simultaneously.

Rey suddenly ducked, letting both punches pass over his head.

Rey continued by jumping, his right knee kicking hard into the chin of the third man who hadn't had time to raise his hands.

The man was thrown backward, crashing into the fourth man behind him so both fell to the floor.

The fifth man swung his long piece of wood from the side. Rey dodged to the side, his body immediately slipping between the waists of the fifth and sixth men before they could react to him.

The man with the facial tattoo, who turned out to be standing near the emergency door, had already taken a ready stance. He opened his stance slightly, his hands clenched in front of his chest, waiting for Rey to come at him.

But Rey didn't attack. When the distance was only three steps left, he jumped sideways doing a wall jump, his foot pressing hard against the corridor wall, and using it as a foothold to leap past the tattooed man.

He landed slightly off balance accompanied by pain in his knee, but immediately grabbed the emergency door handle and pulled it open.

Rey immediately went down the stairs, jumping three or four steps at once. The sound of shouting and pounding footsteps above his head echoed in the narrow emergency stairwell.

The hotel lobby was still the same as when he entered. Quiet, stuffy, and only the receptionist behind the desk. Rey ran toward the glass door and pushed it.

The door didn't move.

Rey pushed harder, but still no result. He turned toward the reception desk with ragged breath. "Hey! Why is the door locked?"

The man behind the desk just stared at him. His expression blank, like someone who was bored. He didn't answer, didn't move.

BRAK!

The sound of the emergency door opening loudly. The men came out one by one, this time with expressions more furious than before.

They immediately surrounded Rey in the area between the main door and the reception desk.

Rey looked around quickly.

The large glass window beside the main door was fitted with thick steel bars, impossible to break through.

At the right end of the lobby there was a narrow corridor that might lead to a kitchen or loading area, meaning there might be another exit there. But Rey would have to get past the men once more.

Rey prepared to run toward that corridor.

But before his feet could move, something hard struck the back of his head.

The world around Rey spun, a stabbing pain spread from the point of impact through his whole head, and warm blood began flowing at his right temple.

His vision blurred, and in that state he saw a fist approaching quickly toward his face.

BUGH!

Rey fell, his vision blurred. The next punches and kicks were immediately felt by Rey all over his body, and the man could only lie weakly feeling all of it.

"You all are so noisy," said the receptionist, putting the beating stick down under the desk.

In the middle of his helpless condition, Rey vaguely saw the men opening his bag. One of them pulled out the black plastic package.

Rey's mind immediately drifted to the conversation with Ethan the day before.

"What if I end up losing the package?" Rey had asked at that time.

Ethan slowly exhaled his cigarette smoke. He was silent for quite a while before finally answering in a flat tone. "Just consider that package ... the same as your life."

On the hotel lobby floor, Rey imagined Mother Margareth's face at the hospital with an oxygen tube in her nose.

Then he imagined Emily in the kitchen of their house, standing in front of the stove with a tired face but her hands still continuing to fry the batter.

"Failed on the first job," he thought amid his fading consciousness. "I'm truly a loser."

Total darkness enveloped Rey as his consciousness completely faded away.

The tattooed man cursed loudly while throwing the black plastic package to the floor. A small gray object fell out of it and rolled away.

"This is a rock," he said with a voice full of restrained fury. "Damn it, he was just a decoy."

He turned to his men with a sharp look. "Everyone out! Find the real one, right now."

Five shophouses from Hotel Sakura, in the lobby of a more modern business hotel, Ethan had just said goodbye to someone as he walked out of the lobby.

Not to a colleague or client, but to the empty lobby room, only to make it look like he had just parted from someone in the lobby.

Sunglasses covered his eyes, the dark blue casual suit he wore looked expensive, and a cigarette hung from his mouth. His appearance was like a businessman who usually came for some matter.

On the same street, several men who had just left Hotel Sakura walked quickly. Their eyes stared at everyone they passed, including Ethan who had stopped briefly to light his cigarette.

One of them even stared at Ethan for a few seconds before finally continuing on his way, perhaps because Ethan's appearance didn't match the description of the "courier" they were looking for.

Ethan slowly exhaled his cigarette smoke, then walked along the sidewalk in the opposite direction without hurrying.

In a nearby area, Rey woke up with throbbing pain in almost every part of his body. He opened his eyes and saw the afternoon sky beginning to dim above him.

He was no longer in the hotel lobby, but on the sidewalk, leaning against an old wooden cart that smelled like garbage.

Several black plastic bags full of trash were scattered around him, and the smell made anyone want to vomit.

He tried to move, the muscles in his thighs and shoulders felt stiff and sore, likely from the jumping and kicking movements earlier that he hadn't done in a long time.

He sat up slowly, his hand feeling his head and sensing the trace of blood that had already dried in his hair and at his temple.

What confused him, his bag was still hanging on his shoulder. He opened it with trembling hands, his wallet was still there, the small amount of cash still inside it, his phone was also still there and even still turned on.

They hadn't robbed him at all.

"Why?" he muttered to himself in a hoarse voice. He stood up, bracing his weight against the cart, his steps staggering as he tried to walk away from that place.

His mind was focused on one thing. The package was gone, he didn't know what was inside it, but Ethan had already said that the thing was the same as his life.

Now the package had been taken by someone else, and he had no clue at all about who they were or how to get it back.

He walked without a clear direction, along the small street around the still-busy market area. His head was still spinning, and every step made the pain in his cheekbone more noticeable.

Suddenly, a white expedition van stopped right beside him. Its side door opened before Rey could react, and a strong hand pulled Rey's arm and yanked him into the vehicle.

Rey panicked, his body preparing to fight back, but the voice he heard made him stop.

"Easy, friend."

"Ethan."

The car door closed hard and the vehicle sped off immediately. Rey stared at Ethan sitting beside him with an expression full of questions.

"What happened?" Ethan asked. His voice flat, no clear emotion.

Rey swallowed, his throat felt dry. "They ... there was a group of men. They were already waiting for me at the hotel."

"And then?"

"They attacked me." Rey lowered his head, not daring to look Ethan directly in the eye.

Ethan was silent, the air inside the car felt heavier than before.

"Where's the package now?" Ethan asked, slowly.

Rey lifted his head. His eyes were empty, full of exhaustion and guilt. "Gone."

The expression on Ethan's face changed completely. Both his eyes widened, in disbelief.

***