Chapter 148 - 148 148. "A Chance Encounter With Mother and Daughter Pair"

148 148. “A Chance Encounter With Mother and Daughter Pair”

********

…..

…..

” ” Speech,

‘ ‘ Thoughts,

…..

…..

Later Evening on the same day,

Erick Dahl scrutinized his men, who stood in unison before him, all ready for the task ahead.

.....

“I want to be certain that you understand the goal,” he spoke, his voice stern yet assertive. “Are you clear on who we’re targeting?”

The answer came in unison, each man’s gaze determined and resolute.

“Yes, Sir!” they replied, their voices reverberating with conviction. Erick nodded in approval, and before he led the way to the Capital city, Hoshimi. Erick took out a large map of the city and highlighted five different routes.

Erick pointed to the city map procured from the manager Nellore, outlining their route of entry. He specified which directions Leader Shun and the other four should take, so as to avoid raising any suspicion and swiftly reach the NHC headquarters.

“Leader Shun, you and ten of your men take this route after entering the city, and Merial, Monan, Cortel, and Rodrick will be taking this, this, here, and that respectively. Wait for my signal to advance inside the HQ, so that we can strike without leaving any loose ends,” Erick commanded in a confident voice.

“Good luck!” Erick’s voice echoed in the air as Leader Shun, Merial, Monan, Cortel, and Rodrick each led their own team of ten men on their mission to reach the NHC building. Cheers and claps of encouragement resounded as the five groups set off in different directions, ready to take on the task.

“You too, Erick-san/ Erick-sama!” Five of them called back, their voices ringing in harmony as they nimbly moved across the terrain. With the sound of their footsteps gradually fading away, Erick stood there, watching them until they disappeared from sight.

“Now then I should also get going and finish with this business asap, but before that, why do these fucking bastards don’t understand that harassing a woman and helpless child isn’t a bravery!” Erick muttered and showed a slight anger on his face before he disappeared from his position.

……

At the corner of Hoshimi capital city,

“Hehehehe!” one of the thugs laughed. “Miss, why are you wasting your beauty away in this forsaken place? It’s not every day when we offer a chance for someone like you!”

The young mother was a vision of beauty, her slender frame and mature charm oozing out of her faded clothing. Her five-year-old daughter was equally lovely, like a pretty little doll hidden beneath dirt and grime. It was no wonder then, that a group of four thugs had come to harass them both; a chance to leer at a beauty that was wasted in this slum area.

The mother cursed her bad luck, wishing she had never crossed paths with these vile scoundrels. She had endured enough of their daily harassment and couldn’t bear the thought of them stealing away the little they had left.

“Stay away from us, I beg of you!” she pleaded, her voice trembling with fear. Holding her daughter close, she tried to make herself seem small and insignificant, in the hopes it would stop the thugs from taking advantage of them.

But the rogues had other ideas. “You can’t afford bread at the end of the day, so why not accept our offer?” One of them said, his voice full of cunning. “We can provide you with a proper meal and your daughter will never go hungry again. What do you say?”

The mother refused, stronger now in her conviction. “No! Please, leave us alone. What could I possibly offer you?”

The thugs continued to press her, but the mother held her ground, determined to protect her daughter from the evil clutches of these no-good hoodlums.

“Waa….waa..!” Cry of a little girl.

The third hooligan snuck up on her, snickering at the woman’s plight. She tried to run, but the fourth hooligan caught her, trapping her in his cruel clutches. Her daughter screamed in terror and the cruel hooligans laughed, their wicked eyes crinkling with delight. “Hehehe! Miss, what now! Do you still wanna run away from us!” they jeered. The woman was powerless against their malicious strength.

The thugs snickered and chortled, relishing the sight of the mother’s anguished face and the daughter’s terrified expression. “Oh, how sweet,” one of them said with a sneer. “Let the little girl go, eh? What makes you think you can order us around like that?” He stepped closer, and the mother recoiled. “We ain’t no charity, lady. We do whatever we want, and you’d better remember that.”

The other thugs roared with laughter, hooting and jeering at the mother’s desperate plea. One of them stepped forward and grabbed the daughter’s arm, squeezing it tightly. “Now, now, nice and easy. Don’t make this messier than it already is.”

The mother’s eyes welled up with tears of rage, her face contorted in a mixture of despair and anger. She knew there was nothing she could do. All she could do was look on helplessly as her beloved daughter was about to get dragged away.

“Bang!” “Thud…thud…thud!”

“Ahhh!” “Thud…!”

She stared at the mysterious figure in front of her, unable to believe the situation before her. The man had single-handedly subdued the thugs, and now stood between her and her crying daughter.

“Mama…waaaa!” Her daughter’s plaintive wail brought her back to reality, and she hurriedly moved to comfort the small girl.

“Shuush! Little girl, don’t cry, here take this chocolate, and don’t make your mother worry!”

The man’s voice was gentle and almost hypnotic. He took a chocolate bar from his pocket and kindly handed it to the child, who immediately stopped crying.

“Who are you, Mr.?” She asked abruptly; he had already begun to turn away.

“Erick…Erick Dahl,” was his reply, and with that, he was gone. If it weren’t for the unconscious forms littering the floor, she would have thought the whole encounter had been a dream.

She had been through so much pain and misery in her life, but in those brief moments when their eyes had met, she felt an indescribable sense of contentment and security. It was almost as if he had been sent from the heavens above to rescue her from this seemingly endless cycle of despair. She had a feeling that if she could just find him and thank him, she could finally start building a better future for herself and her daughter that was free from the darkness she had been living in for so long.

…..

…..

********