Chapter 187: A Shoot-Out

Words : 1066 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Chapter 187: A Shoot-Out "Those men are still following us," Athena texted to Aiden as the latter talked with the hotel manager, who happened to be an old friend of his. Aiden, hearing the ding of his phone and sensing Athena’s sudden, purposeful closeness, excused himself from his friend’s speech for a second and looked at his phone, maintaining a calm composure when he saw the message. He didn’t even turn to look at Athena or the men she was referring to. Rather, he kept a concentrated gaze on the phone, as if he was still reading the message. Were the men here to kill them, or just capture them? He wondered, finally letting a furrow to mar his forehead. They had first noticed they were being followed a few minutes away from the Hidden Spoon restaurant. If Aiden were to take a guess, the followers had checked in at the restaurant, but because they didn’t know the code word to pass through the waitress, they had chosen to wait outside for them at a separate spot. And so, he had seen them finally, tailing his car, on the way to the hotel; the men were in a black Cadillac with tinted windows. "Is there a problem? Do you have an urgent place to be at?" His friend asked him, having noted the slight furrow lines. Aiden nodded slowly, pleased his plan worked. "Yeah, that was a work message. I will see you around..." The manager nodded, shook his hand, and gave a short wave to Athena, whose hand was tucked inside her coat. She returned the wave with her left hand before the man left them to their devices. "Let’s go to our suite. I’m not hoping for a shootout here," Aiden said, nodding toward the elevator as he finally took a good look at the men who loitered around the hotel’s reception. They pretended to be busy in a way that amused Aiden. Didn’t their senders give them proper information on who they were supposed to tail? One man pretended to read a newspaper—though it was upside down, a dead giveaway. Another was pointing out something to a kid. The next was flirtatiously engaging a waitress. All five men sported black trousers but wore different colors of shirts. "Do you think they will follow us to the elevator?" Athena asked, walking leisurely with Aiden toward the lift. "We will have to see about that." Once they entered the elevator, Aiden consciously waited a few seconds, a smile touching his lips when the five men suddenly rushed into the elevator. They gave respectful nods to Aiden and Athena, a form of greeting that the two reciprocated, barely holding back their laughter. Stuck to one side of the elevator like a couple, Athena leaned slightly, with her chest, against Aiden, her hand still hidden in her pocket. Hence, the five men were oblivious to the position of her hand, just as they were oblivious of Aiden’s comfortable grip on the head of his gun, nestled against the denim of his pants, concealed by Athena’s body. Then it happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, the men were pretending to be strangers, and the next, they drew their pistols, aiming them at Aiden and Athena. "What’s the meaning of this?" Athena cried out with an exaggerated whine, pressing against Aiden as she smoothly pulled out her own gun, thrill coursing through her veins at her neat little weapon. "Sorry, fine lady, but you offended someone that you shouldn’t," One of the men in a green shirt replied, his gaze trailing over her lustfully. "And who is that? I don’t remember offending anyone," Athena replied, maintaining her facade of terror. "We can’t say, but you took the person’s stuff." The same guy responded. "There should be a mistake somewhere..." Athena began, but she was interrupted by a taller man in a brown shirt. "I think we should stop with these games. According to him, these two aren’t new to martial arts and guns. I’m sure they’re just buying time and making plans. Let’s just kill them and get out of here. Get your head out of the clouds!" He snapped, disdainfully tapping the first guy on the head. The first man pouted and cocked his gun while the others followed suit, ready to unleash chaos. But Athena, also tired of the charade, was done playing. With startling speed, she swerved away from Aiden as he lifted his weapon. In a fluid motion, he aimed and shot the first guy right between the eyes, right before Athena sank a bullet into the heart of the second man. The remaining three men froze momentarily, disbelief washing over their faces as it all unfolded before their very eyes. "We are two against you three, but don’t doubt that we can take you down at lightning speed. Who sent you all to kill me?" Athena demanded, blowing casually the smoke from her gun, while Aiden maintained his aim on the middle guy. The three exchanged glances, horror growing at the piles of their fallen comrades. Gritting their teeth in anger, they began shooting sporadically, their bullets scattering in a haphazard frenzy. Anger propelled them, convinced that in the confines of the elevator, at least one bullet would hit its mark. Yet, before the thought could settle, Athena spun through the chaos, dodging the flying bullets like a wraith, while hitting her mark. Aiden followed suit, targeting the second shooter with unerring precision. The last man faltered, realizing he was the sole survivor. "Are you going to tell us who sent you for your freedom?" The last guy in a yellow shirt scoffed at Athena’s question, his bravado waning as he lowered his weapon. "You’re going to kill me anyway," He muttered, resignation settling in. "No, we won’t. You can try us," Athena replied, her voice steady and commanding. The man, less bulky than the rest and likely the youngest, sighed wearily. "Bolin. We work for Bolin Shen." Athena’s brow furrowed slightly, surprised at the quickness of Master Shen’s first son. "He has a gang now?" He nodded. "Not really. Just a small group of us that do his bidding." Athena considered his words for a moment before responding. "I see. You can go," She said, pointing her gun toward the elevator doors. "When we have left for our floor."

Chapter 187: A Shoot-Out

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