Chapter 159: Chapter 159

Lucien’s mildly spicy food arrived at the table, and the two had a festive meal.

“I didn’t know you have such a strong tolerance for spicy food,” Lucien said in between chews and bites of food.

“Maybe when you had the life I had, you’d be just like me. Strong tolerance in many things in life,” Brianna answered indifferently.

Lucien gave Anna an apologetic smile, but the latter just shrugged her shoulders. She would usually say there is no use crying over spilled milk. There are so many things she brought with her to present and may be up to her future, baggage from the past which needs resolves, and she got them as her goals. If she minds every little thing that bumps her way, like the simple thoughts of Lucien asking about her tolerance to spicy food, she will end up drowning, so she chooses to ignore those that are tolerable. And so far, no one has been as brave as Lucien enough to probe her with so many silly questions or comments alone. Not even Jack as he knew when to take a halt, unlike this foolish young Michaelson!

But Brianna is also getting used to him. She is no longer feeling any discomfort or annoyance with his presence. Because even when she had done everything to scare this man, ignore him and treat him harshly, he seemed to stick around. In the end, she gave up and let him do whatever suited him.

“Where are we going next?” Lucien asked with excitement. His eyes were almost beaming.

“Why do you seem to think we have somewhere else to go?” Brianna asked back with astonishment.

“Because I have this feeling that you don’t just settle to unwind with spicy rice noodle soup?” Lucien answered with his face showing uncertainty. “Just a feeling, though. Am I right?”

Brianna gazed at the man in front of her. She softly nodded. Her eyes were looking straight to Lucien, but the man could feel like she was looking at the reflections of images in his irises. He just felt and thought that way, but his assumptions were confirmed when she opened her mouth to speak softly.

“Look at your three o’clock direction.”

Lucien did and saw a man with a cap almost covering half of his face.

“Now look into my twelve.”

Again, Lucien did as told. He lifted his water bottle to pretend he was about to drink as he leaned back on his seat to have a better look. But Brianna ordered differently.

“You have to move closer to me, as close as possible with your eyes clearly seeing that direction.”

Lucien smiled mischievously. He reached for a table napkin and moved closer to Anna with his body almost half on the table to wipe the sides of Anna’s lips as if there were stains of food. Had it been a different situation, Brianna would have reprimanded Lucien, but she was bothered by the number of unwanted people surrounding them. They have a team of Lucien’s security in civilian clothing, but this place is a wet market. Many people are around. If any party starts taking their firearms out and shoots, Brianna can protect Lucien and herself, but what about the innocent people around?

“Let’s get out of here!” Brianna pulled a hundred bills and signaled the manager that she was paying. “I will be back for the change later. We’re in a hurry right now. We have to go. Bye!” she still managed to say goodbye as casually as possible. Then walked out of the dine-in with Lucien in her hold, a tight grip on his wrist as her steps became brisk, turning every next corner they would pass by to lose whoever would be tailing them.

But then again, their enemy must have been observing them for quite a while. There seemed to be someone at every end of a corner they would turn to. They managed to avoid some, but Brianna knew somewhere, somehow was bound to bump into them, and so she was cautious to protect Lucien. But Lucien of no difference. He was extra attentive to every spot where an enemy might jump into them or block their way to wherever Anna was leading him to go.

Brianna chose to take a path where not many people would be passing by, although she also made sure it wasn’t empty at all. She could tell from her observations earlier that these men after them are not assassins. They look like gang members who were given orders to take their targets alive to whoever their leader is.

The only thing Brianna considered was the number. They seemed to be more than twenty, if she wasn’t mistaken. Those were the counts she had, but because they were spread in the whole area, Brianna could not make a precise number. She pressed on a speed dial on her phone.

“I’m at the wet market. We are being chased. Send some of our men and inform Don Leon about the situation.”

Brianna did not even let the person on the other line of the phone say anything. She spoke what she thought she needed to say and cut the call. Jack knew her too well to make mistakes in such a situation, so Brianna was confident.

And just as Brianna thought, Jack was awakened. Even though he spent all night digging information about Terrence Clayton, when he heard B’s stern tone, he knew things weren’t so well on the other side of the call. He quickly informed Don Leon, as Brianna had told him. Lucien was more vulnerable in such occurrences, so Jack understood the pressing tone in B’s commands. They cannot let anything happen to the young Michaelson, or the old one will go berserk.

“Enzo, I got a call from B. They are at the wet market and being chased. I am sending our men, but I am sure you won’t stay idle. What do you say?” Jack called Leandro Michaelson’s assistant, Enzo.

“Damn right we won’t, just give me ten minutes and send your men at the garage. I will send our men there as well.”

While their backup was on the way, Brianna and Lucien were cornered. But as there were also market-goers and stall vendors passing by, the goons did not attack directly. Their eyes were menacing Brianna and Lucien, though. They were smiling like hungry Hyenas. They almost look like drooling.

“I wonder how much is your head price to get you?” Brianna whispered to Lucien. She was talking to him with her eyes to the looking-like leader of the gang that was after them. Brianna sneered as she stared at the bearded-ogre-like body built of the man from the opposite direction. Brianna and Lucien were nowhere to go without a gangster blocking their way. But she did not panic. She can see Lucien’s civilian bodyguard walking in their direction with discretion. They saw Brianna’s wink, and they understood that her message said they should walk by like the one that just passed by Brianna and Lucien. That way, they could get into the circle where their target to rescue was standing. Or, if the enemy starts to lift a finger, they can help from behind.

They were only clothed in civilian, but these men were amongst the best of Leandro Michaelson’s private army. They were to protect the most precious person to the Don. There is no way he would send less capable. And so they could easily communicate with Anna.

But before they could walk over to Lucien, one man from behind Anna took a swing of his rounded fist, aiming for Lucien’s left side on his lower back.

“Not so fast, asshole!”

Brianna saw it from her peripheral vision when the man behind lifted his arm to jab on Lucien. It is like a common rule for Brianna to focus on things out of her sight. She can easily counter-attack when her enemy is only right in front of her, but in this scenario, with them being surrounded, her eyes were alert to see almost in all directions possible.

Brianna wrang the man’s arm and kicked him in between his legs with unrestrained strength. She was quite sure the man won’t get up even after a few hours. He would make the number of her enemy count a digit less. He did not faint, but he won’t even make it to walk properly.

While she was attending to protect Lucien, another man from behind her also made a swing of his fist. This time, it was aiming at Anna. But Lucien pulled Anna to stand behind him while he moved forward to catch the man’s fist in his left palm, then twisted it jabbed the man in his ribs.

The riot started with the gangsters attacking Brianna and Lucien all at once, but the ones closer to Anna and Lucien started dropping one by one. And the ones behind them had to catch their members while some were helpless as the man before them fell without obvious reasons that they fell along, down to the ground.