On the other side.
At 8 PM, Rosemary and Horace made their entrance at the auction.
"Which one’s Sam?" Rosemary whispered to the person sitting next to her.
With hundreds of people packed into the dimly-lit venue, spotting anyone was like finding a needle in a haystack.
"I heard he’s desperate for a kind of dicine. Whoever’s hounding after the herb, that’s him." Horace shared, his brow furrowing in confusion, "Boss, what’s this dicine? What’s it good for?"
It was a strange na, one he’d never co across before. At Horace’s question, Rosemary’s eyes darkened, "It’s for tonifying kidney, interested?"
"Why would I need it? My kidney’s intact!" Horace replied, only to then ponder, "There are tons of kidney boosters on the market, why’s he so fixated on this one? To the point of hitting up the black market."
"It’s not just any booster. Combined with certain substances, it can boost a man’s sexual vitality overnight. Ahem, but it wrecks the body; it’s banned. Use too much and you get hooked, just like those
illegal substances."
Horace got the gist. No wonder it was a black-market item, it had that kind of power. Wait a sec, how did the boss know all this? She’s too savvy.
The auction kicked off.
The first item up for bids was so porcelain, the kind looted from graves, the sort that couldn’t stand the light of day. Interest was scant, and the bids were even scarcer.
Then ca the herb. With few in the know about this dicine’s purpose, the bidding was sparse; until at last, soone snatched it up for 2,800 dollars.
It was a man in the back of the seating area. He wore a battered old cap and dressed like a blue-collar worker, utterly unremarkable. When the staff brought the paynt code to him, he scanned it, grabbed his prize, and left.
"2,800 for that ugly thing," Horace clearly felt it was a waste.
Rosemary stood up and followed, her voice low, "If that herb is turned into what I ntioned, it could rake in over 100 grand."
"What did you say??" Horace’s eyes bulged, incredulous and yet he couldn’t help but add, "But he doesn’t look like soone who knows his way around a lab."
"Ever heard of teamwork? Or maybe he plans to flip it, sell it to so big pharma for a high price?"
Rosemary walked down a side path, leaving the seating area behind.
Perhaps wary of attention, Sam headed out the back door after the auction. The back door opened to a field of knee-high weeds, unlit and desolate; the darkness seed to swallow everything whole.
No sooner had Sam stepped out than figures rose from the weeds, ard and aiming at him. Steward had brought his n to catch him.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Sam didn’t know who they were, only that he was in danger and tried to flee. But Rosemary and Horace quickly caught up from behind.
"Take him," Steward commanded, and his goons moved in.
Rosemary saw them trying to snatch Sam and imdiately took hold of him herself.
"You again?" Steward hadn’t expected this girl to show up everywhere, "Are you in cahoots?" Last ti at the Demon Ring, this girl had caused a ruckus at the boxing match, letting Sam escape in the chaos.
Now, she had Sam in her grip. Could it be, they were really on the sa side?
"Who the heck are you?" Sam struggled, shocked by the grip of the young girl. He hadn’t expected a teenage girl to pack such a punch. There was definitely more to her than t the eye!
"Boss, what do we do?" Horace was taken aback. Another crew had shown up, eager to snatch Sam from them, and they were well-ard, while they were completely unard.
Suddenly, a swarm of henchn spilled out from the auction house. They were all under Steward’s thumb, working together from the inside out, all to ensure they walked away with Sam tonight.
Now, Rosemary and Horace found themselves surrounded on all sides.
"Boss, maybe we should just let them have him for now and we can nab him another ti," Horace took one look at the situation and realized escaping from their clutches was going to be nigh on impossible.
"Your friend’s got brains." A smirk was curled into Steward’s lips, "But today, none of you are getting away."
He’d been hunting her for two days, and now she’d waltzed right into his hands. Tonight, she was going down too!
"Talking tough, huh," Rosemary tossed Sam to Horace and struck fast.
Steward didn’t expect to be looked down on by a re girl. The last ti they’d t, he’d been lenient, sparing her his worst out of a twisted sense of chivalry. But not this ti. He had his pride as a man to
reclaim!
He countered her moves swiftly, and the two were locked in a fierce battle. As the others saw that Sam was with Horace, they moved in, "Hand him over."
"Boss, boss," Horace swallowed hard, realizing all eyes were on him. They had ford a circle with him at the center, steadily closing in. He watched helplessly as they cocked their guns, barrels aid
straight at him.
Horace thought of a phrase: no way out. Even if he had wings to fly, he figured they’d shoot him full of holes.
After Rosemary took Steward down, she saw the crowd surrounding Horace. She grabbed Steward, took his gun, and pointed it at his head.
"Move an inch closer, and I’ll shoot him."
The crowd hesitated, their nimble boss Steward, now helpless in the grip of a girl. And Steward looked beaten up, utterly pathetic.
Steward had lost face. He had never expected the level of her competence was way higher than him.
Last ti soone dropped a smoke shell and she ran away during the chaos. He hadn’t really confronted with her personally, and now.
He couldn’t only admit that there was always soone better than him; he underestimated her.
"Steward." No one dared to make a move, fearing for their boss’s life.
But Steward still had so nerve left in him, "Don’t be afraid, she won’t shoot. Today, we’re taking them all down. What are you waiting for? Move!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Rosemary pressed the gun even closer to his head, and even pulled the trigger, her presence icy and nacing.
"Buddy, I’d shut it if I were you. Our boss here, she’ll really send you to et your maker." Horace, holding onto Sam, offered his advice sympathetically, "Maybe you should tell your guys to back off. We
just want this guy; no need to end your lives."
"This guy, we’re taking him." Steward had already botched things up last ti; he was dead set on capturing them now, "Not just him, I want you two as well."
"You’re overestimating yourself," Rosemary pulled the trigger, the bullet whizzing just over his head, threading through his hair.
The crowd gasped, even Steward nearly lost his composure. Seeing strands of his hair fall to the ground, he felt his knees weaken.
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