Madeline paused for a second. A man stood right in front of her, so close she almost walked into him, for a brief second, he just stared. His eyes moved over her face slowly, taking in every detail like he had forgotten why he came there in the first place. Then he cleared his throat and straightened slightly, forcing a casual smile as if he hadn't just been caught off guard.
"Well… this is unexpected," he said, tilting his head. "Beauty, are you lost?" His minions whistled almost immediately, others roared with laughter.
"Boss," one of them called out, clearly amused. "She's exactly your type, isn't she?" The man clicked his tongue and kicked him lightly without turning back.
"Shut up." He took a step closer to Madeline, lowering his voice slightly, as if trying to sound reassuring. "Don't worry… don't worry, we're not bad people," he said smoothly.
One of the men behind him failed to hold back a laugh. Madeline's eyes flickered briefly in that direction before returning to the man in front of her. He didn't seem slightly embarrassed, if anything, he leaned in a little more.
"Hey beauty, why don't you accompany me tonight," he continued, his tone dropping into something more suggestive. "Big brother will take very good care of you." His hand lifted, fingers reaching toward her face.
Madeline watched it come closer with a smile. No one had dared talk to her like that in a while. This was relatively new and now, she simply felt… mildly curious.
The moment his fingers were about to touch her, she shot out her hand and caught his wrist mid-air. Before he could even react, she twisted. A sharp crack split through the quiet street.
The man's scream came right after. "Ahhh—! My hand! What the hell?!" his body folded instantly, his knees bending as he clutched his arm in shock.
The laughter behind him died instantly. "Boss!" The men rushed forward, their earlier amusement gone completely. The men rushed towards her instantly but Madeline didn't wait for them to reach her. She stepped forward and kicked the first one clean in the chest. The force sent him flying backward, his body slamming hard against the old pillar in front.
The thugs upon seeing this froze, looking at her hesitantly too afraid to strike, but one mustered courage and went for it. He had barely got close before she turned, her leg already rising to strike
"Stop! Stop…!"
The boss's voice came out strained, panic creeping in. Madeline paused, her foot hovering inches away from the man's face. "…beauty…no, wait…heroine," he corrected quickly, sweat forming on his forehead despite the night air. "There is no need for all this, we're not here to fight. There's no need for this. We just need something, and we'll be on our way."
Madeline lowered her leg slowly, her expression returning to that calm, detached look, behind her, she felt movement. The girl peeked out slightly, her face pale as her eyes met the boss's. She recognised him instantly.
"Ah…her," the boss said quickly, seizing the opportunity like a lifeline. "Heroine, that girl behind you… she owes my boss quite a bit of money. We're just here to take her back. This has nothing to do with you."
The girl's fingers tightened around the back of Madeline's jacket. Her grip trembled. Madeline glanced at her briefly before looking back at him.
"That's a shame," she said calmly. "I can't give her to you. She owes me quite a bit too."
The men exchanged looks. The boss straightened slowly, forcing his confidence back.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," he said, his tone losing its earlier friendliness. "You only landed that hit because we weren't paying attention. I wouldn't want to ruin a pretty face over something like this."
Madeline tilted her head slightly, as if considering his words seriously. "Mm… I do have a pretty face which brings in quite a bit of money" she said thoughtfully. "It would be troublesome if it got ruined."
Everywhere was silent. The men exchanged looks never expecting that kind of response nor did they expect this little beauty to be quite narcissistic.
Behind her, the girl panicked. "No…no, don't give me to them," she said quickly, her voice shaking. "I'm more useful to you than them. I can help you clear your name. I can bring Lee down." Madeline let out a quiet scoff. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, tapping the screen. A video began to play. All their conversations and all her confessions played right out. Madeline held it just enough for her to see.
"…Seems like you're not very useful after all," she said lightly. "And I wouldn't want to risk my face because of you."
The men smirked, clearly pleased. "See, that wasn't quite hard right? The burly man pulled the girl roughly from Madeline back. Even she knows you're useless," one of them said.
The girl shook her head frantically, her composure breaking completely."No… no, please! You can't let me go with them. They'll kill me!" Madeline leaned back against the wall, her posture relaxed, almost lazy. She crossed one leg over the other slightly. "Didn't you just try to kill yourself?" she asked, her tone almost curious. "Why are you afraid now?"
One of the thugs laughed loudly."This bitch tried to kill herself?"
"She almost..." Madeline made a small slicing motion across her neck. The burly one stepped forward immediately and slapped the girl across the face. The sound echoed in the dead night.
"You had the nerve to borrow, but you don't have the courage to pay back?" he sneered. "Let's see how you beg when we get back." He grabbed her arm roughly and started dragging her toward the van. Looking back somewhat afraid Madeline was going to step in.
The girl screamed, struggling desperately. "Please! Please don't take me! I don't want to die! My brother, he needs me!" Madeline stood in front of the house, watching, unmoved. She even lifted her hand slightly and gave a small wave as they dragged her away. She had a feeling this little girl knew way more than she was telling. The girl's voice cracked as panic took over completely.
"Wait! Wait! I know something! I know who made the call! I know who told Lee about our silhouettes!" Madeline didn't react. That part wasn't hard to figure out. Anyone with a grudge could have done that. She kept watching, almost bored.
Then… "I have the antidote!" "The antidote for the neuro-agent," the girl rushed out. "The one in your legs. Sometimes they stop working, right? That sharp pain, I have the antidote for it!" Madeline's gaze sharpened instantly as she pushed herself off the wall. This time, she walked toward her. Slowly. "If you're lying to me…"
"I swear I'm not!" the girl said quickly, desperation spilling through every word.
On seeing that whatever she said had piqued Madeline's interest, one of the men stepped forward and quickly struck the back of her neck. She collapsed instantly.
Madeline stopped."Gentlemen," she said softly, "I'll need her back." They laughed. "Look, beauty," the boss said, shaking his head. "Just because we went easy on you earlier doesn't mean we'll keep doing that. Walk away while we're still being nice."
Madeline chuckled under her breath. Then her expression suddenly changed. The next second, she kicked the door behind her forward. It slammed straight into the ribs of the closest man, sending him crashing backward. Before the others could react, she moved in fast, controlled with every strike hitting someone. Screams filled everywhere, within moments, they were on the ground, groaning. Madeline lifted her leg, aiming to finish the burly one…
Then the sharp pain came again, harder than before. Her body locked, her leg dropped as the sharp, crushing sensation shot through her limbs, only this time it spread to her thighs. She collapsed immediately. A strained sound escaped her as her fingers dug into the ground. Cold sweat broke out across her skin.
"…not now…" one of the men staggered to his feet, breathing heavily. He walked over and kicked her leg. Madeline's body reacted violently, a muffled sound escaping despite her effort to stay silent. "What's wrong with her?" he muttered.
The boss approached slowly, anger replacing the fear in his eyes. "Stupid bitch," he spat, lifting his leg and stomping down on her stomach."You try to be nice to them and they take it for granted".
Madeline curled in on herself, her body trembling uncontrollably. He raised his foot again… then stopped.
Several cars rushed in from the darkness. Men dressed in black stepped out. "What the hell…?!" one of the men whispered. One of the men in black bent down and lifted Madeline effortlessly, giving a signal to others. Another picked up the unconscious girl. The one who picked up Madeline made a hand gesture to one of the men in black. They moved quickly, within seconds, they were already heading toward the car.
The boss stumbled back, confusion written all over his face as one of the men approached. He had seen the sign he was given. Even a fool would know what it meant."Who are you people?!" The man whipped out a gun and…
The car doors shut, the engine roared to life and just like that they were gone.