After a few more days, the ti has finally co and we brought in the largest group we could in a mission that could take several days.
A few things happened in those days that felt like a blink of an eye and whether they'd be significant or not would remain to be seen.
In which case, it was now a few hours to midnight and everyone that I'd be bringing along was right in front of .
It starts with my team: Kaley, Tatiana, Cynthia, Jared, Ibarra, and Mikhail. Followed by Artem's team: Katya, Bogdan, Igor, Marina, and Natasha. And Mark and Marvin's team which were composed of a mix of soldiers and civilians who passed our tests.
Furthermore, we had special imports who were Jose and Lawrence.
With that said, we also had a few people we brought in to serve as our crew and it was composed of the engineers who worked on our boat and so of the soldiers Jose knows that knows a thing or two about Mariti Industry.
And talking about Mariti Industry, we had a more special import who was actually a fucking Marine.
It was Johnny.
It didn't take a lot to convince him to co with us though the old dudes would be a mber short for a few nights. Well, I've been seeing Andrew Sr. and Damian coming over a few tis so maybe it wouldn't so bad.
Oscar and Matthew wanted to co so badly for different reasons but we can't just all co to the party. It was for the sa reason we didn't take all of our best soldiers and even all of Artem's squad, even Lois.
We need to have people back here in charge and we need to have people who could defend this place.
Besides, most of the people I'd be bringing with will stay on the boat since it also needs people to look after it.
With that said, Johnny was even wearing his uniform but I was still holding the captain's cap in my hands. He was eyeing it so intensely it almost hurts but I walked up to him with a final offer.
"C'mon, old man… just say it and I'll hand this over. If not–"
Johnny cut off as he growled, "YOU LITTLE SHIT! FINE! LOOK AT ! I'M THE CAPTAIN NOW!"
"Nope, I need the accent."
"HAAAAAAAA! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! HOW'D YOU SWIPE MY CAP OFF OF MY STUFF?!"
"I'm not gonna fucking tell you. Are you gonna say it with the accent or not?"
Johnny looked like he was gonna burst a vein but once he actually tried, it was fucking spot on. It even prompted applause from everyone present and everyone else who were here to send us off had a mix of reactions.
"Now give back my cap!"
I tossed it towards him without issue, "Here, it's spot on but it's just off while you're wearing that uniform…"
"WHY'D YOU MAKE DO IT THEN?!"
"Because it's funny?"
Johnny almost lost feeling in his leg, "Jesus fucking christ I forgot you're like this and I'm gonna be with you for a few days…"
Everyone had a short laugh once more though everyone who ca to send us off had talks with the people they care for. They were obviously family and friends it just so happened that Oscar was just waiting for the bit of Johnny and to stop before approaching us.
"Kid. Co back in one piece, alright?"
"Yep. Always will, old man."
Oscar looked around first before he dragged to a slightly private space before whispering in a hushed tone, "And u-umm… Give Irene that package, will you? I snuck it in with your bag… You know, her eyes only… D-Don't even think about opening it and taking a peek, alright?! I'll fucking–"
I instantly waved him off, "N-Not another word, I'll just give her the package and be done with it. I don't even want to imagine what's inside it…"
"You better! A-And u-umm… s-she might… y-you know… s-send a package back so I'm… I'm–"
I cut him off once again, "Please… I g-get it… Everything for you since you stayed behind… Stop acting like a teenage kid trying to send his first love letter…"
"Wha– It's not a fucking love letter!"
"I didn't an it lite–"
"W-Well, i-it does have one with my–"
"Old man! Stop telling what's inside it! Let's end it with a love letter and move on!"
"Shit. Alright, alright… I don't want you to know my moves…"
"Sure…"
"Oh yeah, Matthew has been aning to talk to you. Rember that ti when–"
"I know that ti. What does he want?"
"Hmm, you two better talk it out. Man-to-man, alright? Kaley's his daughter for fuck's sake, don't you think he has the right to be protective– overprotective of her? And don't tell you didn't go over the top too. If my daughter was dating you instead, I might've said the sa thing... Besides, he's already that way the first ti he ca in here. To , he's just staying in character…"
"..."
"Kid, listen to . Just put yourself in his shoes for once and maybe you'll understand where he's– every father should be coming from. It's only natural… Marisha might love you but it's us fathers who are the most afraid to let go… It's not like he told you to break it up with her, right? Can you even rember the whole conversation or were you just too fucking pissed at that ti you ended the conversation as fast as you could?"
"..."
"Kaley even took your side– and she's kinda supposed to but that hurt Matthew a lot. He's been talking about it ever so often… He's just looking out for her and he gets yelled at for caring. You know it's just gonna get more stupid and awkward the more the two of you let this go on, right?
"..."
"Kid, are you even listening?"
"I am… It's just really stupid he'd think of that way."
"Jesus, kid. It's not like he's the one letting his daughter be with soone who just butchered a bunch of animals. Before you say anything, I'd probably do the sa thing but as I said, just think of it from a father's perspective."
"I'm not a father, yet."
"Don't get quippy with or I'll smack the shit out of ya. Talk to the guy."
"Hmm, fine. You're right, we gotta bury the hatchet before it gets too stupid and awkward."
"Whew, that's good. Stay here and I'll tell him after he finishes talking with Kaley."
"Sure, old man…"
It didn't take long before I saw Matthew walking up to but we just leaned on the bar and stared at the ground for a few minutes without saying anything. We could still hear the chatter from a few away from our position though the silence we were in was deafening.
It would've continued for a lot more if we had the ti but our buffer between getting to Batangas was getting shorter. It would've been ideal if we did this a few days before or yesterday but I guess so people liked to do things last minute.
"Are we gonna talk or are we gonna keep admiring the floor?"
"We should talk…"
"What do you wanna say? You're the one who asked for this…"
"I… I… I know we ca off on the wrong foot last ti we talked but the things I told you about what I felt back then were true… I ant every last word of it…"
"..."
"The first ti I saw you– you know, when you're still both in high school– It didn't even cross my mind that you'll change so much… I an, people change– I've seen it… But I didn't think you of all people would be… be like this…"
"Thanks? I don't know if that's praise or an insult."
"Take it as you will. I said what I said. But…"
"Hmm?"
"I talked to Kaley, I talked to Olivia, I talked to Oscar, Johnny, your aunts, your uncles, your family, your friends, and my wife… they all trust you. I an– who wouldn't, right? A kid the sa age as my daughter doing all this? Who would've thought?"
"Again, I don't know if this is praise or an insult…"
"Che. What I'm trying to say is… Like everyone around you, I trust you– Heck, the mont I saw my daughters safe and sound, running out to when I ca to your place, I already trusted you then and there… However… I saw what you did to those bastards but– To , it's not about what you did to them that… scared … It's… what you were when you're doing those things…"
I shook my head as I frowned, "So, after all that talk… it all boils down to who I am?"
Matthew saw my expression and went right up in my face, "Are you playing dumb with ? If you are, I'm not buying it."
"I'm not playing dumb with you. If I am–"
I was still in mid-sentence when Matthew scoffed and shoved hard. After that, he pointed at with gritted before shouting at the top of his lungs.
"DON'T YOU DARE PLAY FUCKING DUMB WITH ! I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHAT THE FUCK I'M TALKING ABOUT!"
"THEN FUCKING TELL BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"
"YOU FUCKING DO! IF YOU CAN'T EVEN BE STRAIGHT WITH WITH A FUCKING SIMPLE THING, HOW CAN I FUCKING TRUST YOU?! IF THAT'S HOW YOU FUCKING ARE WITH , WHO'S TO SAY YOU'RE NOT DOING THE SA THING TO EVERYBODY ELSE?! HOW MANY THINGS HAVE YOU BEEN LYING TO MY DAUGHTER?!"
As soon as Matthew said that, sothing in my head just snapped as I threw a right hook at his jaw. However, the next thing I saw was Matthew throwing a fist that was coming for my face. I didn't think he'd recover so fast and he also acted the mont I was just about to withdraw my fist.
I barely avoided that punch by twisting my head to the side but it managed to cut open my cheek when it grazed .
"IS THIS WHAT YOU AN BY BURYING THE HATCHET, HUH?!"
"WE'RE BURYING SOTHING ALRIGHT!"
Matthew and I traded blows one after the other and he only managed to connect because I was fuming mad. It was supposed to be a simple talk that would end in a simple handshake or maybe a hug, but a fucking fistfight wasn't sothing that I expected.
It didn't take long before I was being held down by Mikhail and Ibarra while Johnny and Oscar ca to Matthew's side.
My cheek was still bleeding from the cut and I'm sure that the right side of my face would be swollen tomorrow, but Matthew's right eye was closed shut and he was bleeding from his mouth. I didn't know if he lost a tooth or not but I'm pretty much open to make sure he fucking did.
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU TWO FUCKING TALK ABOUT?! I LEFT YOU TWO FOR TWO SECONDS AND YOU DID THIS?!"
"IT'S YOUR FUCKING 'BUDDY' WHO STARTED IT!"
"WELL, YOU FUCKING ASKED FOR IT! IF YOU CAN'T TAKE A–"
"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID FUCKS! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU TWO?! HOLD THEM DOWN! SMACK THEM IF YOU NEED TO!"
The people holding us down started to hold us even tighter when we tried to break free but the next thing we saw was a burning slap that ca at our faces. We didn't even see it coming and it just stopped us in our tracks. Furthermore, the people holding us down were also stunlocked even if they weren't on the receiving end.
It just happened at the sa exact ti and almost the sa exact words were used by two different people in front of us right now:
"YOU DOOFUS! WE'RE ABOUT TO LEAVE AND YOU DO THIS?!"
"YOU DOOFUS! THEY'RE ABOUT TO LEAVE AND YOU DO THIS?!"
Raising our heads to see the perpetrators, it was Kaley and Marisha who had a hand on their waists, glaring us down with watery eyes while threatening for another slap.
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