BOOM!
"Fuck!"
Baldy rushed to the window of his office just in time to see the armory building explode into pieces.
His eyes widened, and his heart seemed to stop for a second.
The announcement earlier had concerned him, but not enough to make him panic. Even when Scott hung up on him, he hadn’t been too worried.
Why would he be?
It was only one person.
Judging by the voice over the speakers, it was just one woman.
Even if there were more intruders, they had an entire base filled with trained soldiers. But now that everything had escalated and half the base had descended into chaos, Scott’s mockery during their last call echoed in his head.
"That bastard..." he hissed. "Is he starting a coup? Has he really lost his mind?"
His throat tightened at the thought that Scott might already be here.
"No. No, no." Baldy shook his head and slapped himself, trying to get a grip. "If it were him, he wouldn’t need to do all this."
If Scott truly intended to stage a coup, he would have simply entered through the main gate and marched straight into Baldy’s office without resistance.
He could have pulled the trigger, taken Baldy down, and ordered everyone in the base to follow him—with or without using Marshal’s name.
Either way, this wasn’t how Scott operated.
"That man always gets things done as quickly and cleanly as possible," Baldy muttered, staring at the flames consuming the building nearby. "But everything always ends up like this whenever he’s with that little bitch."
The moment the words left his mouth, his expression twisted.
Then, the corner of his lips curled upward.
"That little bitch who never learns her lesson," he chuckled under his breath. "Don’t tell me this is her doing."
He stared at the chaos outside before bursting into laughter.
"This is that little bitch’s work?" He shook his head, and all the panic he had felt moments ago suddenly vanished. "That little mutt finally lost her mind, huh?"
Baldy pushed himself away from the window and strode toward the telephone.
"Your father is going to fucking skin you alive, bitch."
He dialed Marshal’s private number.
Scott didn’t know it, but Marshal had given Baldy a direct line for emergencies. Under normal circumstances, all communication went through Scott.
Baldy had been saving that privilege for an occasion exactly like this.
He believed that if he rarely called, the big boss would have no reason not to answer when he finally did.
The line began to ring.
Baldy smirked, his eyes gleaming.
"She’s probably ripe by now," he murmured, licking his lips. "No one will care what happens to her before she dies, right?"
He laughed while the phone continued to ring.
And ring.
And ring.
*****
"Oh, God! Marshal!"
Carmella’s hysterical cries echoed through the room as she sat beside Marshal, who had collapsed on the couch.
"Scott, are you insane?!" she screamed, turning her anger on him as he stood nearby. "I told you not to give him any more bad news!"
"Excuse me, Madam," one of the doctors said politely as he tried to revive Marshal.
"Oh, God!"
Tears streamed down Carmella’s face as she hurriedly moved aside to let the doctors work.
It hadn’t even been a full day since Scott informed them that Marshal had lost at least one billion in a single night.
And now there was more bad news?
"Are you certain you don’t need help?"
"Scott?! Why are you answering this one?!"
"I see," Scott nodded calmly. "Then, I’ll be waiting for good news."
Marshal cracked one eye open and looked at him. "Who was that?"
"It was Baldy," Scott answered promptly, still holding Marshal’s phone. "He said they might not be able to send reinforcements."
"Why not?"
Scott drew a long breath.
The doctors around him immediately tensed.
By now, they had noticed that Scott always inhaled deeply before delivering terrible news. Almost instinctively, they all moved closer to Marshal.
"They’re under attack," Scott said, watching Marshal’s breath hitch. "But Baldy claims he has everything under control."
Marshal closed his eyes as his temples throbbed. He raised a hand and massaged them slowly.
"He’d better keep his word," he breathed. "If that bastard lets them succeed, he’d better die there, or I’ll butcher him myself. I didn’t fund that base and place part of our operations under his care just so he could let it all be blown to pieces."
Scott studied Marshal quietly.
The doctors exchanged surprised looks, thinking he had taken the news rather well.
But only a moment later—
"If they..."
"Sir! Sir!"
The doctor lunged forward and caught Marshal before he toppled off the couch.
Scott merely shrugged.
"Take them both to the hospital," he said. "Madam Carmella too."

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