Hours later...
Reaching Ravah was not easy. There was no direct transport to the territory. Anyone with business there needed their own private vehicles to reach a point near the territory. From there, they had to et a contact and only then travel into Ravah.
This was to avoid getting shot on sight or mistaken for a hostile enemy.
After all, Ravah had its own special place in the world of black-market trade.
So even those with long-standing dealings found it complicated to enter. For outsiders with different agendas, the difficulty multiplied tenfold.
Thus, the mission group had to take a different, safer route. More than half a day had passed since they left the Order, and they still had not reached the island. There were multiple drop-offs and pick-ups, regrouping with the Bellemonte n waiting at one docking point, and then moving on toward the final stop before Ravah.
"Haha!"
As the small boat approached the docking point, everyone heard a loud call from the front. Instinctively, the squad turned their heads and saw a lean, tall man waving both arms high in the air.
"Haha!!"
He wasn’t laughing — he was calling soone.
"Haha?" Scarlet muttered, narrowing her eyes toward the front of the boat. "Who is he calling such a weird na?"
There, Haji stood beside Baby and the captain. The grin on Haji’s face was the sa unshakeable smile she had failed to remove earlier.
"There," Haji said with a light chuckle, nodding to the small ship’s captain. "It’s safe."
The captain nodded. Baby, towering over most of the squad, scanned the surroundings. They had left the Order at dawn, but here, the sky was still dark — and because the area was isolated, it looked even darker than normal.
They were close to Ravah now. So, everyone’s guard was up.
"Haha?" Atlas repeated quietly, glancing at Lola for answers.
Lola shrugged. "That’s what they call him. Funny, isn’t it?"
"Strange, I’d say," Atlas whispered, both of them waiting as the boat drifted closer.
But before the ship even reached the landing, Haji hopped off the deck and leapt onto the wooden platform.
"Yo!" Haji opened his arms wide.
The man welcod him enthusiastically, hugging him with a loud slap on the back. Their hands smacked each other’s backs twice, then clasped as they pulled apart briefly—only to hug again.
One look was enough to tell that these two had a strong bond from the past.
"Haha, you have no idea how surprised I was when you called!" the man laughed, gripping Haji’s shoulder with a light shake. "How are you holding up, buddy?"
Haji smirked. "Alive."
A brief silence hung between them before the man nodded.
"You are, man. You are. Good to see you, Haha."
Soon, the entire squad — along with the Bellemonte n — disembarked and stood on the sa landing where Haji and the man reunited.
Haji stepped aside. "Right. These are the people I’m going with."
The man’s eyes skimd over the group, but without interest. He expected never to see these faces again, so he didn’t bother rembering any.
He turned back to Haji.
"Ravah?" he asked.
Haji nodded. "Yep. Ravah."
"Haha..." The man drew a deep breath, then placed a hand on Haji’s shoulder and pulled him aside, turning their backs to the rest of the squad. He leaned close.
"Haha, I know you asked to take you and these new friends there," he whispered. "But I don’t know what’s going on. That boss of yours — Vito — must really want you dead to send you here again."
Haji let out a shallow laugh. "I’m out of Vito’s leashes."
"That’s what I’m saying—huh?"
"That was once upon a ti," Haji replied, tilting his head. "Vito didn’t send . I’m not here under anyone’s orders. I decided to be here."
And that was true.
Haji wasn’t ordered to co — he simply knew Ravah, and since he was with Lola, he naturally took the job. No problem. Besides, he was bored at the manor.
Deep creases ford on the man’s face as if trying to decode sothing. "What did you say?"
"I said what I said." Haji slapped his back lightly. "Co on, Billionaire. Just do what I asked, or I’ll be dead."
"But didn’t you just say you’re out of that psycho’s control?"
"Out of that psycho’s leash," Haji corrected, tipping his head to give this old friend of his a signal. "But not the one belonging to a lunatic."
Billionaire furrowed his brows and looked back toward the group. His eyes scanned the faces, then froze.
There, standing among them was her.
That one mad lunatic he wished to never see again.
Lola — or as he knew her, Looney.
His face twisted, chest tightening bitterly. Lola tilted her head, gave him the quickest, politest smile she could offer — but Billionaire imdiately turned away, pale, wide-eyed, pulse thundering.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he hissed at Haji, smacking his back aggressively. "Why would you bring that lunatic here again?!"
Haji winced. "That hurt, man—"
"Co here and listen to !" Billionaire grabbed the back of Haji’s neck, pulling him close to whisper sharply. "You know what she did the last ti she was in Ravah! She’s not just going to get you killed — she’s going to get killed too!"
He continued nagging at Haji, reminding him of the disaster Lola caused last ti as if Haji had conveniently forgotten.
"She can’t be here," he insisted. "The second soone finds out she’s in Ravah, the whole — and I an WHOLE — territory will hunt you all down. She almost sacrificed you to save her own skin!"
While Billionaire lectured him, the squad watched the pair mumble urgently.
"I don’t trust him," Scarlet muttered, eyeing Billionaire from head to toe — he looked like he ca straight from a chanic shop, grease still on his clothes and skin. "And he’s supposed to take us to Ravah?"
Izu glanced at Scarlet, but his attention shifted when he saw Atlas turning to Lola.
Lola raised her eyebrows at her husband.
"Is sothing wrong?" Atlas asked, glancing at the two n whispering. "What are they talking about so urgently? I hope it’s not a problem."
"I don’t think so..." She cleared her throat, darted her eyes between Haji and Billionaire, then smiled sweetly at Atlas. "They’re probably just catching up."
Catching up on the disaster she had left in Ravah.
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