Ruben rubbed his temple as he felt it was about to burst, not from ache but from frustration. Kabbo kept whining every time the nurse tried to clean his wounds, making the atmosphere unpleasant. It was similar to the feeling one might experience when a whiny kid cries at the sight of an injection, but far worse! Because in this case, the kid in question was actually 35. His looks could be deceiving, but Ruben had known him for almost a decade now. So he knew Kabbo aged slowly, way slower than his peers, just like any other superhumans. But his childishness never ceased, not even with his growing age. And currently, they were witnessing that very childishness. If this continued, Ruben feared he might start having an actual headache soon.

Fortunately, they had Ian, the most patient nurse on duty. Despite all the interruptions, Ian diligently cleaned Kabbo's cuts and wiped away the blood without any complaints, even though Kabbo was interrupting him every two seconds.

They did not expect Kabbo to have so many injuries that they found during this session. His nose and lips were broken, and he had small pieces of glass stuck in his arms. Kabbo wondered where the glass came from, most likely when he fought those three drunken superhumans. However, he could not contemplate for long as the pain on the back of his head kept reminding him of its presence. His entire body was in agony, and he felt like crying, but he didn't want to appear weak to the others. But funnily enough, his whining seemed no different than crying to the other two.

Ruben rested his chin on his palm and watched Ian move away from Kabbo, sighing heavily.

"You are such a handful, Cab-boo!"
His head shook in a disappointed manner, distinctive gray eyes closing behind his black-framed glasses.

"If it weren't for you, I would have been home by now, hugging my pillow, and fast asleep." he decided to add, emphasizing his frustration for Kabbo's actions.

Kabbo winced as he stroked his swollen face while casting a side glance at Ruben. Usually, he would have put on a cheeky smile for such remarks, but this time his face stayed unnaturally expressionless.

"Well if it wasn't for me, someone else would've been hugging your gravestone by tomorrow morning, Doctor," he replied stoically which Ruben failed to notice as he continued.

"Bullshit! If Renessa hadn't asked me I wouldn't've even stayed back after my shift. Let alone face all these messes."

"How they are my fault?"

"Now please you two! Stop!" Ian returned sharply cutting off both the doctor and his patient. Silence enveloped the chamber abruptly, leaving Ian's footsteps to echo. Ruben noticed Ian had returned with some blades and a razor with him, and some other necessary kits on a stainless steel tray.

He returned his eyes to Kabbo. Taking a prolonged look at his head. Kabbo's hair was anything but short. His thick fringes almost reached his nose as they were now untidied. Making him appear even younger than he already did.

"Gimme those and leave."
Ruben stood up from his desk and reached to Ian. Ian wasn't even surprised. Even tho it was usually his job to do these tasks. But Ruben always insisted on attending Kabbo alone. So, Ian gave him a quick nod and left the chamber.

After Ian left Ruben turned around to face his patient. Surprisingly he found his patient sitting with quite a gloomy face, that one might rarely witness. His brow furrowed.

"You look like you just lost your second kidney. What's up with that sour face?" He asked while putting down the tray on top of his desk.

"Being left alone with you is as bad as losing my kidneys."

Ruben squinted, "Don't be so mean! I am here looking out for you, you know. Is this how you treat your well-wisher?"

"Cut the nonsense Dr. Dorrman, I am not in the mood for your yapping right now. Either shoot whatever crappy job you've prepared for me this time or just continue where your nurse left off." Kabbo's voice deepened. His raven-black eyes fixated on the shriveled man in front of him, void of any emotions.

"God! So fierce! I bet nobody has seen this side of yours. Hmmm....Does Renessa know?"

A vein ticked on Kabbo's temple. He leaned back on his chair and covered his eyes. A vain hope that this would help his years-long suppressed anger to quench. But no, the more he interacted with this old man, the more it riled him up

"Who is it this time?" he murmured. Almost inaudibly.

"Well, actually this time I got a list for you who can boost your performance like crazy Cab-boo! Trust me, if you succeed in catching these fishes your score will break the records."

Kabbo bit his lip, a bitter feeling grasping his heart almost like a sting.

"God! Just what has my life turned into now? A stupid game?"

He thought to himself. An intense urge to punch the face of the old man, who so casually said those cruel words as if they were nothing crept in. But he struggled his best not to let his anger get the best of him. He took long prolonged breaths, to ease his mind. How he missed Renessa now! How he started to regret telling her to leave him alone. If she was here at least he wouldn't have to listen to all of these craps. After all in front of her, this atrocious doctor pretended to be the purest saint.

"You sound as dodgy as always."
Kabbo let out without hesitation. Even though his insides were storming at this moment, his face showed no hints of it, betraying no emotions.

Ruben smirked at Kabbo's remark. Although he couldn't care less about what Kabbo thought of him, it was amusing to see the always smiling, happy-go-lucky Kabbo changing his attitude drastically in front of him.
Instead of commenting on Kabbo again, he walked across the room, opening the disturbingly red plywood wall cabinet.

Kabbo narrowed his eyes. In this pearl white walled room this cabinet was undoubtedly an eyesore. Whoever put it in there definitely had pure evil intentions in their minds. With these thoughts he watched Ruben shuffling through the contents of the cabinet. After a few minutes, he turned around, closing the cabinet behind him, flashing its red door once again.

"Here, take this. It has all the details"

Ruben handed Kabbo a black flash drive. Kabbo glanced at it once as he took it in his hands, immediately the next moment he shoved it into his pants pocket.

"Happy? Now wrap all these up fast." He demanded. His deep voice booming with solemnity.

"Hmm. Sure. Let's start with taking off your shirt, shall we?"

Kabbo jolted up from his chair. He pulled off his dark olive cardigan and tossed it onto the trolly bed right behind his chair. He then proceeded to unbutton his off-white shirt. However, undoing his cuffs he halted for a moment. Looking back at the entrance door he hesitated. There a was subtle beeping sound that came to his ears. A warning that his pacemaker made. It was running out of power. Thus alerting Kabbo how he barely had ten more minutes left. But did Kabbo panic? No! instead, his eyes stayed glued at the entrance. Because he knew Renessa was on her way. She'd make it in time no matter what. She always did after all.

Ruben followed Kabbo's gaze. Despite not being able to hear Kabbo's pacemaker's escalating alerts, he at least understood who Kabbo was expecting. A small smile made its appearance on Ruben's wrinkled lips.

"What? Waiting for her? Do you wanna strip in front of her now?"

Kabbo's gaze turned cold, he redirected it to Ruben. Making sure Ruben understood how he didn't appreciate the joke. But Ruben didn't get the hint or maybe he deliberately acted not getting it. He maintained his smile, refusing to stop the teasing, until Kabbo finally took off his shirt and revealed his bare back to him.

After glancing at Kabbo's back Ruben let out a very exaggerated gasp. Fixing his big square glasses, he took another closer look and scoffed.

"Wow! More earnings for me, huh?"

Kabbo looked back from over his shoulders and then peeked at his own back or at least tried to.

" 1, 2, 3,4 ....uh 5 bruises! They've gotten quite dark too."

He slowly touched one of the spots of the bruises. Trying to put a small amount of pressure on them. But to his surprise, he found that the skin of Kabbo's back had gotten very hard.

He pressed again. This time with more pressure, but no! His fingers didn't dig in the slightest. He then flipped his hand. Knocking on Kabbo's back with his knuckles, how one would knock on a door. A resonating echo was heard as the back of his hand came in contact with the skin. As if he was knocking on a metal. Kabbo gritted his teeth throughout all these as he felt intense pain with every single touch of Ruben.

"Your Self-defending instincts aren't getting any better huh? It reacting so late." Ruben muttered. The smile from moments before was nowhere to be found.

"As if I ever had any control over it," Kabbo replied. His hand patted his chest to check and found indeed the skin of his body had petrified like a rock.

" Hmm... Look at your skull, it's as solid as anthrenium now. I can't staple the laceration like this. Your skin needs to go back to normal."

"I don't have time for that." Kabbo sighed. Ruben's eyes widened with realization. "Now that you mentioned it where is Renessa? She'd been gone for long. Your pacemaker's power must be going down right?"

"Yeah, It's giving me those annoying beeping sounds. Looks like I can last only 10 more minutes now."

Kabbo said in a very nonchalant tone. To which Ruben frowned.

"Quite calm you are, even at the death's warning."

Kabbo let out a humorless laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Thanks to you Doctor, I go through this torture so often that I've gotten numb to the thought of dying."

An awkward silence descended between them, the tension in the air palpable enough to be cut with a knife. However, Ruben decided to ignore the situation by turning away. He walked back to his desk and took a seat, leaning back on his rolling chair and gazing up at the ceiling.

"I understand your hatred Cab-Boo. Even tho I'm not the one who made that device ...."

Kabbo cut him in," But you were a part of this project. So you can't call yourself innocent."

"That's exactly why I'm trying to help you Cab-boo! I do care about you! Do as I tell, young man. I can improve your situation."

"It's Kabbo!"

"Huh?"

"I said it's Kabbo! Not Cab-boo!...Cub...Bow! Not a booing Cab."

"Ah... that... I..."

"Nevermind! Leave this conversation here." Kabbo straightened his back. The annoying warning of his pacemaker had faded abruptly. Meaning Renessa had been detected nearby by its radar.

Loud footsteps of someone rushing came to their hearing soon and next, the door slammed open.

Both Kabbo and Ruben turned their head to look at the door. Renessa was at the entrance of the room, half bent, panting vigorously.

"Thank God! You are ......here A.K! I....found you in time!" she spoke in between her gasps.

Kabbo twitched his lips a few times, trying to put on a smile. Crossing his arms around his body, he hugged himself. Striking an awfully dramatic pose.

"Don't look! Turn back!" He shouted, his deep voice pitching high. As if suddenly he was in a great state of panic.

Renessa straightened her back and looked puzzled. Her eyes scanned Kabbo's funny posture and his flushed cheeks. A snicker threatened to come out of her lips but she held it in.

"What? What are you even trying to hide?" She tried to sound unconcerned but only to be met with another of his yells.

"Shut up and turn around! Please!"

A laugh almost slipped off, but she tried to mask it by clearing her throat.
"Ahem! Ok! God! Why so dramatic?"

Renessa turned around with an amused smile on her face. Unable to maintain a blank face. Kabbo looked at Ruben once, his gaze yet distant and cold. He then turned to the trolley and discreetly picked up his shirt and slipped into it.

While buttoning up, he continued, "I'm not being dramatic. It's normal! How can I let an unmarried girl look at my bare body?! Unacceptable! Totally unacceptable, I have to safely keep my chastity for my future wife!"

"Does that mean, a married girl watching you is alright?" Ruben probed in. To which he expected to get a scowl from Kabbo, but Kabbo just played along.

"No!" he acted as if retaliating. "That's even a bigger no! Why would she even look at me? She has her husband to look at!"

Both Ruben and Renessa laughed. Kabbo's this little act almost could make Ruben forget their conversation from earlier. It was amazing how now they both could pretend as if they got along so well.

"Can I turn now?" Renessa who was still standing at the door facing outside asked.

"Yes, you can, just remember lady don't barge in like this ever again."

"Of course, Sir! I'll not do it again! Ever!"

"Where were you exactly until now?" Ruben asked as Renessa walked in.

"Sorry, I was on an important call. So didn't notice when you guys moved in."

She mouthed Kabbo a 'Sorry' and he nodded with a smile.

"How's his condition Dr. Dorrman?

Ruben picked up the razor from his desk and walked to Kabbo. With a grim voice, he replied, "At least he won't die from these." " Come again?"

"His injuries are bad for us humans. But luckily he's not like us. so it'd not take him long to recover from these. If he follows what i suggest he'd likely recover in 3 days."

"Oh! That's... that's great!" a sigh of relief escaped Renessa's lips.

"That's great and all, but the issue is..."

Ruben took the back side of the razor and lightly hit Kabbo's arm a few times, creating a knocking sound.

"As you can see, his survival instincts just kicked in. As he has no control over these muscles we don't know how long it'd take for this Dragon skin to wear down. Can't staple his skull at current condition."

"Is stapling necessary? " Kabbo murmured with a pout on his face.

" If you don't wanna get well soon then, no! We can simply let it fester."
Ruben snarled.

"What are you saying A.K.? We can't leave the wound open."

"I just wanna go back already. Blackmail is waiting for me you know."

"Blackmail?" Ruben looked relatively confused. Renessa exhaled and attempted to quell his curiosity.

" That's his cat."

"What the hell? You named your cat Blackmail?"

"Yeah! You got a problem with that now?"

"Well, no. On a second thought, it's perfect! That's definitely something you'll name your cat."

Ruben scratched his temple, thinking. "This leaves us with only one way. And I'm pretty sure you are not gonna like it Cab...I mean Ka...bbo."

"Are you planning on giving me Emerg-Ve?"

Ruben shook his head in affirmation. Kabbo refused immediately," No way! I hate that pill. It makes me act all funny."

"See? I knew you'd react like that. But if you don't take it then know that we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

"Is there nothing else Doctor, which may have lesser side effects? Last time when he had it, he laughed for 2 hours straight, then brooded for the next two days." Renessa pressed the bridge of her nose, recalling the old memories. Her face twisted into a grimace as if whatever she was recalling was physically painful.

"There are alternatives sure, but most of them are shots. Which ain't gonna work on him."

After a brief moment of silence, Kabbo let out a heavy sigh and said, "Fine, let's just get this over with."

He dropped himself back on his chair. His face dripping with distress. Renessa wanted to say something, but she changed her mind immediately. She remained silent while Ruben brought the said medication to Kabbo.

Kabbo with a frown stared at the pill for a while. Even the pure sight of it appeared revolting. A blackish-brown stadium-shaped pill that eerily reassembled cockroach eggs made him reluctant to bring it anywhere close to his mouth.

"You sure no roach is gonna hatch from this thing?" he said, looking at Ruben. Who returned Kabbo with quite a weary face, "Rest assured, no Cockroaches were harmed during the making of this medicine."

" How fortunate!" he said once he took a sniff of the pill, with a face delighted like a child.

"It smells like nothing! I remember it used to have this very offensive smell. Or is my nose not working?"

"Kabbo! You already had it before. Why are you fussing so much now?"

"Guess what? Last time it was you who plopped it into my mouth. I was already half-dead, dare I say, I didn't have the strength left to see this pill's true beauty?"

"Then would you please do me the honor of repeating the history?"

Saying so, Ruben took the medication from Kabbo's palm and forcefully fed it to him. Kabbo, dumbfounded, swallowed it down and grimaced.

"Ok, now it tastes offensive." he gagged for the awful pungent taste that spread all over his mouth.
He chugged down some water, trying to wash away the taste off his tongue. But instead, the places where the pill had touched started to get numb.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Wonder stood at the door with quite a complacent expression. Once his eyes met with Kabbo he smirked. He walked in with his smile and stretched his palm towards Kabbo, a gesture of asking for something.

"Show me your MM a bit Ahsan?" His smile faded for a moment while he asked, but again it reappeared right after.

Kabbo narrowed his eyes, brainstorming the possible reasons behind it. " Is it about the gunshot?" he asked. "Certainly!" his smile reached ear to ear.

"It wasn't me, I know the law, my dear." Kabbo returned with a similar smile. Wonder still refused to retract his palm. "At least show me your gun."

At that moment Renessa initiatively put her gun over Wonder's palm, joining in the conversation of the two men.

"It was me, I was the one who shot Blake Ytres."

Wonder side glanced at her and took her gun. Releasing the magazine he checked its ammunition and indeed found two rounds missing.

" And here's mine, yet fully loaded." Kabbo handed Wonder his mag next, seeing what Wonder's face brightened.

"Great! This saves us the trouble. I worried you'd land in hot water if it was you."

"Oh come on, who doesn't know it's illegal for a superhuman to use arms against another superhuman? I bet even Maria knows that much." Renessa blurted out.

"Umm... Renessa, I don't think Maria knows that. She's just..."

"She does," Wonder interjected, making Kabbo's eyes protrude in shock.

"What the...! She's only five, why does she even know that?"

"Coz I told her!" Wonder replied nonchalantly. On which Kabbo's nose flared.

"What kinda of dad are you? Who teaches their five-year-old such stuff?"

"Well, it's for her own safety, I plan on starting her firearms training soon, so she needs to know some basics."

"She's only five dude! You, superhuman parents, are just weird. It's her age to learn how to draw butterflies not how to shoot people!"

"You are so cute, aren't you A.K?"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ahsan, it's not just any other country, it's Burden Mount. Here people learn how to defend themselves even before they start to learn how to walk."
Although Wonder was talking about such heavy matter, his expressions were the total opposite. He rather looked quite amused. Which didn't go unnoticed by Kabbo.

"You look awfully enthusiastic, what's in your mind Wonder?"

Hearing Kabbo Wonders smile deepened. He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and started searching for something through the screen.

"You finally noticed huh, well actually I got something here. Someone left me a message for you."

"Who?" Kabbo asked in a curious tone.

Wonder was about to give his phone to Kabbo, but right before Kabbo could take it he retracted, "Not sure, but the way she talked, most likely an admirer of yours"

Kabbo halted. Looking at Wonder with skepticism pasted on his face, he scoffed.

"Yeah, sure! Whatever you say. Now show me."

"No, seriously I'm not kidding." Wonder moved a bit far so that Kabbo's hands couldn't reach him. Renessa crossed her arms, inquiring, "What did she say, Wonder?"

Wonder's smile widened as he cleared his throat and said, "She asked me, 'Excuse me, do you happen to know an extremely tall, dashing, handsome IAS officer with black hair? He has a radiant smile like the sun and a pair of eyes like black holes...'"

"Yeah, that's definitely how people talk! I believe you." Kabbo said in a mocking tone, and Wonder finally gave in, laughing maniacally, "Sorry sorry, your face is something to look at now Ahsan. Here, take it. "

Wonder finally handed Kabbo his phone. On the screen Kabbo saw a memo written in Bangla, surprising him quite much. It had been years since he had read anything in his mother tongue, bubbling a weird feeling inside his heart. However, his eyebrows knitted quickly as soon as he started reading the content of the note. Which read-

"It was quite a surprise to see you today, Mr. Kabbo. Honestly, I never thought you'd still be alive and kicking, let alone running into you here in Burden Mount."

Kabbo bit his lips. So it's her!

Mr.Kabbo? He started pondering if he ever had told her his real name. But as far as he remembered he didn't. Perhaps she found out later. And of course, she wouldn't have imagined him to be alive, how would she? She wanted him to be dead more than anyone after all.

"And what's more, you're a superhuman now? Should I congratulate you or give you my condolences? I don't know. Are you okay? Never mind that. I doubt you would be after seeing me. However, we need to talk. There's something not right with your Myriad meter. It was an extreme occurrence for it to go into SDS. If you want to know more about it, contact me."

There was a contact number written under the note. By judging its digits it didn't seem to belong to any local operators. Rather it appeared to be a number belonging to the neighboring state, Preslenia. Kabbo's heart pricked at the thought of that name. Preslenia! his second home. He was only 12 when his family shifted from Dhaka; Bangladesh's capital to Preslenia's business city Cartozzte. So it was pretty much where he grew up, making it have a special place in his heart. However, at the age of 25, everything changed. His life changed, and his place changed, his country, and even his genes. And these all were because of this one woman, Hridita. Or should he call her by her new name, Nishi Eumireqa?

Kabbo's finger moved swiftly on the screen of the phone. Erasing everything written on the note. Not a single word was left behind as he returned Wonder his phone with an empty scratchpad.

Seeing the emptiness of his screen Wonder pouted, "Eh? Why did you delete it? I wanted to keep her number."

Kabbo frowned, "Were you even able to read what she wrote? And why'd you keep her number?"

"No, but at least I understood she wrote a contact number at the end, she was kinda cute so...."

"Who are you? And what did you do to our Wonder? Renessa this creep has to be an imposter!"

Kabbo turned towards Renessa hoping for her to agree with him. But Renessa was unresponsive, standing there with quite an unamused demeanor.

"Who was it, A.K.?" Her gray eyes burned with suspicion. It was obvious she realized things one or two. Kabbo took a moment to think. Then, sighing, he tried to avoid the matter. "Nobody important. Just an old acquaintance."

She looked unsatisfied with his answer, yet did not ask anything else.
Kabbo felt a pinch on the backside of his hand. He turned and found Ruben pulling on the skin. His skin had started to loosen up slowly. Making Kabbo partially dizzy as well. He leaned his head back on his chair. Trying to relax.

"Hope this time I won't go punching people around," he murmured to himself.

Ruben got his razor and blades ready and positioned himself behind Kabbo's chair. He then began shaving the area surrounding Kabbo's head injury with great care. Even though Kabbo's scalp was still rock hard to the touch, he felt less pain than he had anticipated while the blades made contact with his skin. His senses were gradually becoming muddled, and his body was starting to feel numb in certain areas.

Renessa turned her attention to Wonder, who was still standing with them, and wondered if he had any further questions.

"Are you leaving now, or is there anything else you would like to know?" she asked.

Wonder spoke in a hushed tone, his gaze fixed on Ruben as he worked.

"To be honest, there are many things I wanna ask. For instance, where is Ahsan's MM? Why did you and Ahsan come to the hospital in the first place? Who was that woman exactly? I want to know all of these, but I know Ahsan will avoid answering them. And asking you, Renessa, would be pointless, wouldn't it?"

Renessa didn't attempt to deny what he said. Kabbo wouldn't tell Wonder about their situation, and even if he did, Wonder wouldn't understand. Renessa couldn't provide any clarification either, as she didn't know or understand much about the situation herself.

She rubbed the nape of her neck, her finger stroking the little bump in the middle of it. This was the place where the microchip controlling Kabbo's pacemaker was implanted. It had been many years since she became the host, or rather the trigger, for Kabbo's pacemaker. Throughout all this time, they had to stay close to each other, whether they wanted to or not. This created an unexplainable barrier between them, an unknown hesitation, or perhaps even distrust that they were unable to overcome despite their long time together. There were so many things about her that she could never tell him, and there were so many things about him that she might never learn. It was all part of their circumstances. They both had their own goals that couldn't be shared.

Suddenly, her phone rang, and she quickly took it out of her pocket. As she looked at the name displayed on the screen, her eyebrows furrowed. She pressed her lips tightly together and swiped her thumb to the left, rejecting the incoming call.

After a few seconds, Renessa's phone rang again. It was the same person who had called earlier. Once again, she rejected the call. However, the caller was persistent and continued to call her repeatedly. Despite Renessa's repeated attempts to decline the calls, they kept coming in - one after the other.

Ruben snapped at the end. He shot her a glare and said, "Pick it call already Renessa, it can be an emergency if they are calling so many times."

"Sorry, I need to excuse myself for a little while."

Wonder stepped aside giving Renessa space as she headed out of the chamber. Kabbo's sluggish gaze followed her, noticing the infuriation within her movements.

Ruben picked up the skin stapler, proceeding to staple Kabbo's wound, But Kabbo's cold hand held his wrist and stopped him.

"What?" Ruben asked. But without any words, Kabbo stood up. He headed towards the door, his footsteps staggering, as his limbs were temporarily paralyzing. His left arm was fully dead. He could not move it, so with his right arm, he pushed away Wonder's hands which tried to stop him.

"Where are you heading Ahsan?"

"Kabbo? You'll fall, wait."

"Two minutes!" Kabbo signed with his right hand fingers causing Wonder to stop in his tracks.

As he walked out into the corridor, he looked around for Renessa. He had a feeling that something was off, and he discreetly closed and latched the door behind him. He knew that if his suspicions were correct, it would be best for them both if Wonder stayed out of it.

He walked slowly on the left side of the corridor, taking short unsteady steps, hoping to find Renessa. He figured that if she wanted to avoid people, she would have gone this way. The right side of the corridor led to the E.R., which was bound to be crowded. On the other hand, the left led to the elevator and stairs.

Kabbo abruptly stopped in his tracks as he heard a hushed, stressed-out voice of Renessa. He leaned his back against the wall, staying close and avoiding being seen by her. He felt a strange sense of guilt for eavesdropping, but he also wanted to alleviate his suspicion. This was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Suddenly Renessa cursed at the person on the phone, drawing Kabbo's attention back to her.

"Stop fucking with me you asshole! I'm believing no shit you spew right now."

There was a momentary silence. After that Renessa let out a suppressed growl, "Shut up! What do you mean by you have nothing to do with his MM? Do you think I am buying your damn words anymore? I was a dumbass that I decided to follow your plan, and for that, I almost killed him today."

Kabbo's chest tightened. A bitter smile appeared on his lips, even tho his heart throbbed in pain.

"If I knew even for the slightest that you'd go this far to sabotage A.K I'd have never come out tonight. I'm telling you, do something like this again, and I'll make sure that that smug face of yours never appears on the list of 'Fathers' again."

"Don't you dare to call me again!"
Without listening to whatever the other person had to say Renessa hung up. Still fuming she struggled to catch her breaths.

Kabbo staggered behind her, clearing his throat. It was intentionally loud, startling her was the intention. Appalled, Renessa jolted back, facing Kabbo standing behind her with his usual soft smile. Seeing him her face paled, eyes open wide in fear.

"So....was Zed and yours plan successful?" he asked, mockery dripping from his tone.

Renessa stared at him blankly. She was at a loss for words. Unable to assess the situation. She then slowly lowered her head. Trying to hide the overflowing fear welling up in her eyes.

"Renessa? Don't you perhaps have something to tell me?" he added. Still, no words came out of Renessa's mouth. She kept her head hung, refusing to look up.

"I'm listening, Renessa. Please tell me something, anything!" he pleaded, hoping that she would explain her actions, no matter how vague they might be.

However, as Renessa struggled to provide an answer, his heart began to tremble. His suspicions had been correct all along - every mishap that had occurred that night was part of a plan that Zed had constructed, with Renessa working for him and...deceiving him.

"It's fine! It's...fine!" Kabbo uttered.

As his voice trembled, Renessa looked up at Kabbo who kept muttering, seemingly trying to convince himself of his own words. Their eyes briefly met before he looked away, saying, "Let's go home," as he sluggishly dragged his now numb foot and forced his heavy body to walk back to where the others were.

Renessa watched silently as he left, doubting every decision she had made. She felt overwhelmed by despair, hatred, and regret. She wished she hadn't been so foolish as to trust Zed and fall into his traps. The damage that had been done would take a long time to fix, or maybe it couldn't be fixed at all. She feared the worst.

When Kabbo returned to Ruben's chamber, both Ruben and Wonder shot him with looks that asked hundreds of questions. But Kabbo felt tired. Too tired to care about their curiosity. Rummaging through his pockets, he took out his car keys. Then he tossed it towards Wonder. Wonder caught it midair, looking back at Kabbo for some answer.

Kabbo tried to speak but his voice came out sore. The medication was almost shutting his every function.

"Drive me home, Wonder. Please!"

Ruben protested immediately.

"Hey, What about your treatment?"

"There's no need for it, I'm going back now"

"What?"

Kabbo threw Ruben a dirty look, shooting imaginary daggers at him.

"Did I stutter?" Kabbo said.

Ruben was dumbfounded for a moment by his sudden aggressive behavior, he was not someone to lose his cool, especially when an outsider; Wonder was still with them.

Unaware of the severity of his bad temper both Ruben and Wonder attempted to persuade Kabbo to get himself treated first only to get him to lash out extremely in the end. He threw a hard blow with his right fist at Ruben's desk, cracking the glass of it. Blood drew out of his hand, yet he let not Ruben touch him. With gritted teeth, he kept repeating, how he cared about nothing else and only wanted to head back.

After realizing there was no way of convincing him, Ruben decided to step back. Leaving no room for any more conversation, Kabbo limped his way out. Wonder followed him closely. Once they were on their way out of the corridor, they bumped into Renessa. Ignoring her Kabbo walked past him without a word.

"I'll wait for you," Wonder whispered to her as he left with Kabbo.

Renessa went in to see Ruben, who was now wiping blood stains off of his desk with some tissue papers, his face grim as he was lost in deep thoughts.

Once he noticed Renessa's presence, he pulled out his prescription pad and started scribbling on it. After he was done he tore the page and handed it to her, sighing deeply.

"I'll not ask what happened, but right now he is quite overwhelmed by it. Most likely Emerg-Ve has a part to play as well. So, better not try to converse with him right now. Once he calms down tomorrow, give this to him. If possible bring him to me again."

Renessa nodded with sealed lips. Seeing her disheartened expression Ruben smiled softly, giving her a sudden pat on her head.

"Don't think too much, it's just a temporary outrage. He'll be back to his usual self once its effect goes down."

As Renessa walked out of the hospital, she saw a worried Wonder. He had been checking Kabbo's pulse, who was sitting unconscious in the passenger seat of his car.

Wonder muttered, "Ahsan passed out," as soon as he noticed Renessa approaching.

She looked at Kabbo with a gentle expression and then turned to Wonder. "Don't panic, it's just the sedative that Dr. Dorrman gave him," Renessa explained.

Wonder blinked his eyes for few times. Gradually relaxing.

“By the way, Do you know his apartment's password?” he asked.

A silence fell between them as they figured none of them knew that information. After a few moments of thought Renessa tried to suggest something, but even before she could open her mouth Wonder declined.

“Nope, not happening!”

Renessa furrowed her brow and said, "But I haven't even said anything yet."

Wonder interrupted her, saying, "No need to say anything, I can already tell what you're going to say just by that sigh of yours. And the answer is no - you can't bring him to your apartment."

Renessa protested, "But..."

Her colleague cut her off, saying, "No buts, lady. I'm a single dad and my daughter is my only family. I don't want Ahsan to come after me when he wakes up and turn my daughter into an orphan."

Renessa pressed her lips into a tight purse. Wonder would definitely take Kabbo with himself then. But she couldn't leave Kabbo alone. She needed to stay close.

“Fine! Then I'm coming with you” she demanded firmly. Wonder raised his brows, partially surprised by her response. “You coming where?”

“To your house. I'm quite worried about him. I’ll feel much more at ease if I stick around.”

“Man! You're making things hard for me, Renessa. I was just planning to dump him down the gutter on my way back.”

“Sure! Let's dump him together then.”

She hopped into the back seat of the car. She quickly closed the door, not giving Wonder any chance to disagree. Wonder chuckled to himself as he took the driver's seat and fastened the seatbelts for both Kabbo and himself. Looking at Renessa through the rearview mirror, he asked, "Care to bring Blackmail along? I'm sure he would be panicking tomorrow for his beloved daughter."

Renessa sank into her seat, closed her eyes, and replied, "Yeah, we definitely should!"

If you liked this chapter then please consider giving it your votes. I'll truly appreciate your reviews as well.

Have a great day ya'll! ^^