Chapter 22: A Harsh Warning
"You are too greedy, Valois," Petrov said suddenly, his heavy voice breaking through the sound of crashing waves.
Xavier raised an eyebrow, his hand moving to roughly pull Agatha’s jacket closed. "Greedy? I call it business efficiency."
"Efficiency?" Petrov spat on the asphalt. "You control art, weapons, and data. You monopolize everything until there are no scraps left for us old players."
Petrov paced slowly, his hand toying with his holster.
"But it's not just that. You are too arrogant, Boy. You refuse to cooperate and block this port route for drugs. And you hold our dirty data on that server as a threat."
Xavier smiled cynically. "I have principles, General. I don't sell that poison. And if you're afraid of that data leaking, it means you have too many sins."
"Shut your mouth!" Petrov snapped, his face turning red with rage.
"Consider this a warning from all of us, Valois. You are still young. Don't lift your head too high if your neck isn't hard enough. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down."
Petrov grinned cunningly.
"How about we change the deal? I take all these goods as compensation. And you... you die as a consequence."
That was the code.
"Xavier! Get down!" Agatha screamed.
Agatha lunged at her husband, embracing him and twisting their positions so her back became his shield.
BANG!
The sound of a gunshot shattered the silence.
"Argh!" Agatha let out a stifled groan.
The large-caliber bullet missed Xavier's head, but it slammed into Agatha's upper arm and grazed her back. Fresh blood immediately seeped out.
"Agatha!" Xavier shouted in panic as they rolled onto the asphalt behind the cover of the car.
"Attack!" Petrov yelled. "Finish that arrogant Boy!"
Chaos erupted. Petrov's six bodyguards fired blindly. Frans immediately leaped behind the hood, returning fire with precision.
Seeing the firefight break out, the nerve of the other two buyers crumbled instantly. Mr. Laurent and Senator Dubois screamed in panic. They scrambled into their armored limousines, fleeing the port as fast as possible, their transaction forgotten.
"Dammit! The car was just painted!" Frans screamed hysterically while shooting one bodyguard right in the forehead.
Behind the protection of the car door, Xavier saw Agatha's blood. His face paled, then transformed into a mask of pure rage.
"You're shot," Xavier hissed.
"Calm down, Xavier. Two o'clock... Sniper..." Agatha grimaced. But strangely, her eyes didn't betray pain, but a dangerous flash of excitement. "Finish him..."
Xavier grabbed the long-barrel rifle from the back seat. He stood without fear amidst the rain of bullets.
BANG!
One clean shot. The sniper atop the container plummeted to the ground.
While Xavier focused on aiming, one of Petrov's remaining bodyguards ran in from the blind spot. He unsheathed a commando knife, intending to stab Xavier's exposed ribs.
Xavier didn't see him. But Agatha did.
Agatha rose. She didn't scream. She smiled crookedly. The stinging pain from the gunshot wounds in her arm and back acted like gasoline fueling her adrenaline.
As the bodyguard lunged, Agatha didn't dodge. She welcomed him.
CLANG!
The sound of metal clashing rang out.
Agatha blocked the bodyguard's commando knife with her silver rose dagger. Her strength was extraordinary for a wounded woman. Their faces were inches apart.
"Nice to meet you," Agatha smirked, enjoying it.
The bodyguard was shocked. He saw Agatha's hazel eyes glinting playfully, as if this were just a game.
"You want to stab my husband?" Agatha whispered softly, her tone seductive yet lethal. "He's busy, Darling. Play with me."
Agatha shoved her dagger forward, forcing the bodyguard to stumble back.
Instead of killing him immediately, Agatha danced. She let the bodyguard attack again.
Slash!
Agatha dodged with fluid grace, letting her dagger slice the bodyguard's thigh. Deep enough to cause stinging pain, but not fatal.
"Too slow," Agatha taunted.
The bodyguard growled in anger, attacking blindly again.
Agatha chuckled. She parried the attack, then deliberately kicked the bodyguard's knee until it snapped.
CRACK!
The bodyguard fell to his knees, groaning in agony.
Agatha stood before him. Blood from her arm dripped onto the floor, mixing with her enemy's blood. She savored the moment. She twirled her rose dagger with her fingers, then pressed the cold side of the blade against the terrified bodyguard's cheek.
"Does it hurt?" Agatha asked, her breath hitching not from exhaustion, but from excitement. "Relax. This will end quickly."
"You monster..." the bodyguard hissed, trembling.
"My name is The Rose," Agatha whispered.
With a swift movement devoid of hesitation, Agatha buried her dagger into the bodyguard's neck.
THUD.
Blood splattered onto Agatha's face. The bodyguard collapsed instantly.
Agatha pulled her dagger out slowly. She wiped the blood splatter from her face with the back of her hand, then licked a drop of blood from the corner of her lips. The scent of iron and roses hung heavy in the air.
Xavier, having just finished shooting Petrov's knees, turned just in time to see the sight.
He saw Agatha standing over the corpse, smiling with a bloody dagger in hand, while her own blood flowed from her arm. The sight was terrifying, but to Xavier, it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.
"I told you," Agatha said with breathless lungs and glittering eyes. "This knife is very silent."
Xavier froze for a moment. His heart raced, not from fear, but from a mad admiration. His wife was a beautiful monster.
He ignored the corpse and turned to General Petrov, who was now alone and trembling.
BANG! BANG!
Xavier shot both of Petrov's knees without mercy, ending the resistance.
"ARGHHH!" Petrov screamed, falling prone.
Xavier walked closer, kicking Petrov's gun away.
"You said the nail that sticks out gets hammered down?" Xavier whispered coldly. "Unfortunately, I am not the nail, Petrov. I am the hammer."
Xavier turned away, leaving Petrov howling in pain. His priority was only one thing: his wife.
"Let's go home," Xavier said firmly to Frans. "Frans! Get the car ready!"
"Copy, Boss! Left mirror is broken, but the engine is safe! Crazy, the Lady Boss is terrifying!"
Xavier lifted Agatha into the car.
"Wait," Agatha held him back weakly, though her eyes were still wild. "My payment."
"You are wounded!" Xavier snapped, worried.
"That gun," Agatha pointed to the corpse of the bodyguard she had just toyed with. At the corpse's waist was a gold Sig Sauer P320. "It's a limited edition. Get it for me."
Xavier growled in frustration. "You are truly insane."
"Get it, or I'll get down and get it myself."
Xavier signaled Frans. Frans ran to grab the gold gun and tossed it to Agatha. "Here, Madam Psycho! New collection!"
Agatha hugged the gun with a smile, but a second later, her eyes dimmed. Her body swayed.
"Agatha!!" Xavier shouted.
Agatha fainted. Her body gave up from losing too much blood.
The car sped away from the port.
Throughout the ride, Xavier pressed on Agatha's wound in panic, resting her head on his shoulder while continuously calling her name.
Upon arriving at the penthouse, Xavier carried Agatha straight to the bathroom. Agatha’s consciousness returned slightly; she groaned softly.
Xavier had no time to be gentle. He tore open Agatha's crop top, revealing his wife's skin now covered in blood. With hands that trembled slightly but remained deft, he cleaned the wounds. He removed the bullet lodged in her arm and stitched the graze on her back with care, then wrapped the wounds in bandages.
"You disobeyed my order," Xavier said coldly, his voice hoarse from holding back emotion.
"If I hadn't, you would be dead," Agatha replied, her voice weak.
"You enjoyed it," Xavier accused softly, staring into Agatha's weary eyes. "You enjoyed the pain. You played with your life."
Agatha stared back, not denying it. "Adrenaline is the best anesthetic, Husband."
"You're crazy," Xavier whispered, then hugged Agatha's waist tightly, burying his face in his wife's neck. "But you are mine."
Agatha stroked Xavier's hair with a weakening hand.
"Pay your debt. Information on my family."
"Tomorrow morning. Rest now."
"I haven't changed my clothes," Agatha protested, looking at her torn top.
"No need. Just rest."
Xavier carried Agatha to the bed, laid her down carefully, and then spooned her from behind. His arm wrapped protectively over Agatha's stomach, who was now only wearing her undergarments.
"Goodnight, Husband," Agatha whispered before her consciousness faded again.
"Goodnight, Wife."
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers from Paris, a different atmosphere enveloped an ancient villa on the outskirts of Palermo, Italy.
In a dimly lit study, Luigi Volskey sat holding a glass of red wine.
An assistant entered. "Report, Don Luigi. There is strange movement from Xavier Valois' network in Paris. He is digging up data on Leonard Volskey."
CRASH!
The wine glass shattered.
"Leonard?" Luigi hissed. "We don't know his objective yet."
Luigi fell silent. A bad premonition covered him. If Xavier was looking for Leonard, it meant the scent of a rose had been detected.
"Find out what Valois is doing," Luigi ordered coldly. "And find out what weapon she uses. If there is a trace of a rose... it means my little niece is truly still alive."
Luigi stared into the dark night with a cruel smile.