Decision

A black CR-V stopped in front of a grayish-white three-story building. Shortly after, a man in his forties got out of the car. He wore sunglasses and walked into the building in front of him.

His feet stepped firmly. His loafers clicked to a rhythm. At twelve o'clock, there was a staircase that would lead him to the second floor.

He climbed the stairs. Arriving at the top, his eyes scanned the row of room doors visible from the front of the corridor, where he was currently standing. His gaze fell on the room on the right side of the third row.

A moment later, he approached the room and knocked on the door several times.

"Andy, can we talk?" the man said. His ears perked up, trying to hear a voice from inside but he heard none.

Inside, the occupant of the boarding room would have heard. He had no intention of opening the door. If he stayed a moment longer, the man would surely leave.

The man knocked again. He was sure that someone had heard him inside.

"I know you're inside."

In his room, the resident did not move. It remained in its position, curled up next to the nightstand. Trash was scattered on the floor. The room lights were intentionally extinguished. The curtain tightly closed the window. Not a speck of light was allowed in.

The occupant was not seeing anything. The room was dark, black, and dense. Closed or awake, the color received by his pupils remained the same.

Pain prevented him from being happy. There was no room for her, all the space in her heart had been filled with loss.

"Andy, should I break in?" Mr. Leo sighed. He had been in front of Andy's room for fifteen minutes. He was losing his patience.

             Mr. Leo leaned his back against the door of the room. His eyes looked up as he sighed several times. He was at his wit's end.

             He tapped his right thigh with his forefinger as he thought hard. What words should he say? Or did he have to break down the door he was currently leaning on?

             A man in his early twenties crossed the hallway and passed Mr. Leo who was still standing at the door of Andy's room. The man observed. Staring at Mr. Leo meaningfully.

 "I haven't seen Andy out for three days." The man explained. From the look on Mr. Leo's face, it was clear that the man saw anxiety.

             Strange thoughts began to arise in Mr. Leo's mind. Was it possible that Andy was gone and had committed suicide?

             Mr. Leo finally grabbed hold of the door handle, pushing it up and down as he shook the ash-colored door. "Andy, if you don't come out, I'll break down this door!"

             The forty-something man began to gather strength, grasped the doorknob, thrust out his right shoulder and prepared to break in. His mind counted down. Three, two, one.

The energy is ready to be channeled.

            Suddenly, the door opened.

             Mr. Leo was surprised. It was very dark in the room. Andy's appearance surprised him even more. His eye bags were very thick, the pair of eyes looked sad, the hair was messy, and Andy's face seemed to have aged as if he hadn't seen him for several years.

            Their gazes met each other. There was an awkwardness that made Mr. Leo mute suddenly. He didn't expect that Andy had changed so drastically. His body was very thin and his skin color looked pale.

             "I was wrong. As Captain, I failed to protect the team," Mr. Leo regretted. "Instead, I have a plan, this time I guarantee it will work."

             "Captain, I already--"

Before Andy could finish speaking, Mr. Leo interrupted. "Please. Give me a chance to explain. After that, the decision is yours and I won't bother you anymore."

***

Mr. Leo and Andy were sitting across from each other at Barry's Cafe. The only cafe close to where Andy lives. On the table were two lattes. He looked at his member's eyes intently.

"I apologize. As Captain, I failed to protect my own team." Mr. Leo apologized a second time.

Andy was silent. He looked down, staring at the surface he was standing on.

"The world hasn't ended," Mr. Leo encouraged. "We can avenge Ando's death."

            Andy's head shot up. Now, it was his turn to stare at Mr. Leo intently.

Mr. Leo reached into his pocket for his cell phone, and his thumb swiped across the screen as if looking for something important to show Andy.

Andy briefly looked at the photo of the teenage girl that Mr. Leo showed him and then looked at it with a question mark.

"The woman in the photo is Andini. Adimas' only child."

"So?" Andy asked for more explanation.

"We caught Adimas by using Andini."

"I'm not interested in retaliation involving children, Captain," Andy interrupted.

"That is an old photo of Andini. She is now 25 years old. I'm not asking you to hurt her. I'm asking you to be her bodyguard."

Andy's eyes widened. What he heard just now made his anger explode. Spontaneously, he kicked the table. He no longer cared about the figure in front of him who was his senior for the past five years.

"Captain, I'm supposed to protect the child from the person who killed my brother, is that it?!" Andy's eyes lit up, as if ready to pounce on anyone in front of him without exception.

 "Please listen to my explanation first," Mr. Leo tried to reduce Andy's anger which was beyond his expectation. He was at a loss for words. He should have been able to string together a more appropriate sentence.

"I asked you to spy on Adimas by becoming a bodyguard for Andini. From an informant, I learned that their relationship is not good. The death of Adimas' wife has made their relationship tenuous - almost like they're not father and son. That was Adimas' weakness. Behind his respected power in this country, all humans are destined to have weaknesses, right?"

"I can't do it, Captain."

"Andy, please consider my offer carefully."

"Just give this task to someone else."

"Are you afraid?"

Hearing these words, Andy's emotions became uncontrollable. He kicked the table so hard that the two lattes in front of him almost spilled out.

"Ando is dead. Right now I'm not afraid of anything! If the Captain coming here is just to make me even more emotional, then it's better for him to leave!"

"If you're not afraid, why don't you want to?" Mr. Leo was not out of ideas.

"There's no point in fighting and hunting Adimas down if he can waltz into court after his arrest. I just want to kill him with my own hands!" Andy's hands were clenched so tightly that the veins in his wrists bulged.

"You can kill him."

"You can kill him on the spot." Once again Mr. Leo tried to reinforce his words to Andy. "You can kill him. I won't stand in the way. I need you right now!"

Andy was silent for a moment. The thoughts in his head both rejected and agreed with each other. Involving a child in a parent's crime is certainly not the right thing to do. However, deep down, he wanted to kill Adimas and watch him die on the spot. He wanted to see Adimas die with both eyes.

"I'll wait for your answer tonight. I will sacrifice anything to make your wish come true, Andy. I already consider you as my own son."

Mr. Leo got up from his chair and left Andy still sitting there.

***

After meeting with Mr. Leo, Andy returned to his room and still left the room dark. He suddenly reached for the cell phone that had been sitting on his bed without him even holding it for the past three days. There was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

 He opened the folder and saw a picture of her with Ando, the brother he loved more than himself.

The river slowly flowed, soaked her cheeks, and spilled over. His mind changed. He did not care about the wrong view of involving children in parental crimes.

"Captain, I am ready to carry out my duties."

The message was sent. Andy turned on the room light and prepared to take revenge as his goal.