I Control Life and Death

Chapter 005

"Ma'am!"

The four burly men rushed to the woman's side. They greeted her and glared at me with well-trained coordination, their eyes burning with cruelty.

"What are you doing?" My mother stepped in front of me and intervened.

"Out of my way, bitch! Or I'll take you out with the trash, too!" The woman pointed her fingers at my mother's face.

"How dare you say such a thing!" my mother retorted, perfectly giving off the energy of a hen protecting her chick.

"I do dare, and I'll do more than that too!"

The woman harrumphed. "Get them! Whatever happens, is my responsibility."

"Yes, ma'am," the four men affirmed in unison.

They rolled up their sleeves and began to advance on us.

I balled up my own fists in response, readying myself for a fight that could break out any moment now.

"What are you boys doing? This is the eldest daughter of the Gleesons. Do you really intend to lay your hands on her?"

Mr. Faulkner tried to defuse the situation, but he was immediately interrupted by a raucous voice from behind the men.

"Eldest daughter? She's just some whore who got dumped!"

These thoughtless words ignited my wrath.

"You son of a—"

My eyes locked onto Kevin with single-minded fury. All I could think about was how much I wanted to kill him.

How dare he humiliate my mother this much?

"Oh ho! It seems I made her little bastard angry. I'm so scared!"

Kevin's mockery drew a wave of laughter from his sycophants.

"Good. I'm glad you're scared." With steely determination, I strode toward Kevin. "You yourself may not understand why yet, but I can teach you."

Unfortunately, the four men soon became obstacles in my path.

"Out of the way! This is your final warning," I called out.

"Didn't you hear him? This is your final warning. So, what are you still waiting for?"

Kevin's voice was a bit closer now. "Get his ass! Ten thousand dollars if you make him bleed, twenty if you break his legs, and thirty if you stop him from ever breathing my air again. That clear? I'm not gonna repeat myself here."

The quartet of strongmen was evidently encouraged by the cash reward. One of them threw a punch at my face right away.

I grabbed his wrist and twisted it upward before smashing my other hand into his abdomen.

After a thorough transformation, I had become incredibly strong and agile. My movements were almost reflexive in nature, with my body moving before my mind did.

Ker-crack!

That sounded like a rib.

"Aiieee!"

The unlucky victim of my attack clutched at his belly as he knelt to the ground, screaming like a pig.

A swift kick to the side of his head knocked him right out.

The crowd behind him fell utterly silent. It was so quiet that you could probably hear a pin drop.

Everything had happened in the span of two seconds or so. It was too fast for the audience to fully internalize what they had just witnessed.

"You see what I did to him? You better move, or you're gonna share the same fate."

I pointed to the guy on the ground, then jabbed my thumb at his three comrades.

The three remaining men traded a look with their fallen friend, unsure of how to proceed.

By now, Kevin was worried about his safety. "Get him! He can't get all three of you at the same time. Consider your bonus doubled!"

"Get him!" the three men repeated—and did exactly what their employer asked.

"I gave you guys a chance to leave unharmed. Too bad you're throwing it away, huh?"

I swept my leg into the man closest to me, then bounced off him and did a pirouette in midair. When I landed once more, the remaining two were also incapacitated.

Not to toot my own horn, but that was a pretty sweet butterfly kick!

All in all, I had taken down all four of Kevin's thugs in a minute flat.

Absolutely everyone was left stunned with bewilderment.

Great! The way to Kevin Gleeson was clear.

It was time for him to pay for insulting my mother!

Punishing him would also serve as a good example for the others, a visceral incentive for them to start treating my mother with respect.

"H-hey… what are you doing?"

Kevin shrank back at my approach.

"What do you think?" I shot back as I continued toward him.

"D-do you know what'll happen if you… c-come anywhere near me, you b-bastard?"

"Ha!" I laughed out loud at his trembling voice.

Not only was the question completely rhetorical (and wrong), it became the total opposite of threatening the moment it came out of this stammering kid's mouth.

Actually, David and Kevin were both rich kids. Was that why they liked to ask stupid questions all the time?

In any case, I was hardly going to humor him with a reply.

"H-hey, I'm warning you, too… My grandpa is the Mr. Chalmers. If you touch…"

Slap!

My hand made contact with his face before he could finish his sentence.

"So what if I touch you?" I smirked. "See, I just did it."

"You're done for! Oh, you stupid mutt! Your life's over for real now!"

Kevin flared with angry embarrassment. He seemed to forget his predicament for a second as he raised his hand toward me.

"Really? I appreciate the free forecast, but you're doing quite a lousy job at it. By the way, thanks for making this easier for me."

I casually caught one of his outstretched fingers in my own. Slowly, I bent it in an unnatural direction.

"Ow! Ouch! Stop, you're going to break my finger!" Kevin yelped in pain.

"Let go of my son, you mongrel!"

I heard a shrill shriek behind me. The woman who had sicced her proverbial dogs on me was running—jogging, really—toward me herself.

"Scram!" I shouted angrily, right into her face.

Shivering at my terrifying volume and expression, she trembled and nearly fell.

"B… boy, you should let go of my son. We can talk things out after that." The woman's tone was much politer now.

"Talk? The time for talk is over," I sneered. "You should have thought of that way earlier!"

A bit more force against Kevin's finger was enough to make him howl a second time. "Ow! Aaah! Stop, please! My finger is literally going to break at any second now!"

The woman knit her brow with anxiety. "What do I need to do for you to let my son go?"

"Apologize to my mom first. You don't have the right to talk with me otherwise," I said.

"Apologize? But…" The woman hesitated for a moment.

I tightened my grip around Kevin's finger and pulled down hard.

Snap!

"Aaaaaah! My haaaaaand!" Kevin wailed like a banshee.

Obviously, breaking his finger had brought him excruciating pain.

"You bastard!" the woman cursed as she rushed forward.

I grabbed a different finger on the same hand. "Keep going, lady."

"No… don't… please don't break any more fingers…"

By now, Kevin was pale with fear.

The woman became teary-eyed at her son's predicament. "I'll apologize. Just let him go, and…"

She turned to my mother with a curt "Sorry!" then turned back as soon as she was done.

"There, I've apologized, okay? You can let him go now."

"I'm afraid our definitions of an apology may be a bit different." I stared her down with considerable disapproval.

"But I did what you asked me to do! Why are you being so unreasonable?" the woman roared.

Crack!

My hands answered her.

I had broken another one of Kevin's fingers.

"Aaaaah! My finger… my fingers… they hurt like hell…" Kevin moaned in an anguished voice.

He was a far cry from the spoiled brat he had been a few moments prior.

"Kevin!"

Tears streamed down the woman's cheeks, but I was only halfway through.

It was time for the third finger!

Noticing my eagerness to continue, Kevin's mother blanched. "No! No more fingers! I'll apologize again!"

She bowed deeply to my mother. "I'm very sorry, Helen. It was wrong and hurtful of me to have been so cruel to you. Could you please ask your son to let Kevin go?"

Her words were sincere, but were they good enough…?

My mother was far more easily swayed than I was. "Maybe you can let him go, Will."

"All right, mom." I smiled obligingly as I complied with her suggestion. "Let this be an abject lesson in respect. If there is ever a next time, I'm not going to stop at just two fingers anymore. Remember that."

My words were as much for Kevin as they were for the others nearby.

My mother had worked so hard to raise me. I was not going to put up with any disrespect directed at her, especially if it came from her own family!

The woman dashed to the now-free Kevin's side.

I began to head back toward my own mother, but I barely took a step away when I heard a thoroughly vicious voice. "Give my uncle a call, mom! I want revenge! I have to get revenge!"

"Revenge?"

I tilted my head sharply. Kevin and his mother both quavered with instinctive dread.

"N-no… that's… he's just a kid. Please don't take anything he says seriously."

Kevin's mother hurriedly explained, then screamed at the servants on the side, "What are you standing around for? Call a doctor right away!"

"A doctor? Is someone hurt?" A baritone voice sounded from downstairs.