Luna picked up the pace on her motorbike and made a run for it.
Her pursuers were also quite dedicated to the job, on her tail even after making several turns on the streets.
One was speeding to run away while the others were speeding right behind the first seemingly trying to surround the former on all sides.
After speeding for what seemed like ages because of the tense atmosphere between the two parties, Luna arrived in an empty warehouse somewhere far from District 41.
The warehouse was in District 35 and it was quite far from the route that was needed to get to NG Headquarters.
The warehouse was in the process of getting rebuilt but the construction has been stopped for a few months now due to some transaction issues.
Besides the main entrance, all access to the warehouse was blocked off since there were many materials that could be hazardous for people.
When Luna saw the warehouse, she slipped through the entrance and started hiding but before she could do much, the people chasing her had already made their way towards her!
Luna started to panic. She was new to this.
These men were not the regular hooligans that she beat up to save her brother nor an average heavy middle aged man like she met in the hotel!
They were professional mercenaries or in this case, assassins?
She can't afford to give the USB up, but they could still kill her in the process of getting the USB!
'Ah f*ck!'
She didn't have time to hide before the 3 motorbike riders plus the partners that were riding with them rushed over to her side. Immediately surrounding her in a circle, leaving her little to no way of escape.
"Hand over the box." One of the first motorcycle riders spoke up with a strong and authoritative voice. His words left no room for negotiation.
"Never!" Luna would also never back up. She had taken in this mission for her family and she wouldn't give up halfway! Her eyes glared at the six men surrounding her.
This was her chance to get the money she needed to save Lillian! Without it, she didn't know if she would have enough time to gather the money needed for Lillian's surgery!
"You should just hand over the box. It makes our life so much easier, no?" Though his words sounded gentle and coaxing, the man's voice was much colder and excreted more dominance than before.
Before Luna had the chance to respond to his threat, multiple 'thuds' of car doors closing were heard followed by rushed footsteps.
The six men that had surrounded Luna parted and allowed the additional six men to enter the circle.
The man who was speaking with Luna walked up to the man leading the incoming group and spoke up in a loud and clear voice laced with irritation.
"Boss! She isn't handing over the box!"
When the 'boss' heard the subordinate's words he let out an amused sneer.
"If she isn't handing it over willingly then take it over forcefully. No need to be so gentle."
The boss of the group of men stared at Luna's eyes as he spoke and his words had an amazing reaction from her causing him to let out a hearty chuckle.
He watched Luna's eyes cower with fear and hesitation.
Luna wasn't one to give up though. Her mother's life was on the line!
"I'll never hand over the box!"
The twelve men heard her words and started laughing. She looked so weak and fragile that they were wondering why their client had paid such a high price to hire them for the job.
Nonetheless, it meant more money for them and if the job is too easy they can just bear with it.
Money is more important than fun.
Without giving Luna any time to prepare, all of the mercenaries except for the boss came at her all at once.
She was dodging left and right, up and down but punches and kicks still fell on her body.
If she tried to land a punch, another would take the chance to hit her vital spots.
With their well-coordinated collaboration, strength, and speed, Sophia was getting hit all over her body.
The punches and kicks that she had managed to land on the men were all in vital spots yet even though she hit with all her strength she barely took down one man, let alone eleven men at once!
Within the span of five minutes, Luna was on the floor taking kicks one over the other. Her whole body was curled up in a ball, and her hands over her head.
Each kick held power and her body was already numb from the pain despite only being hit for a few minutes.
The boss watched Luna get beaten black and blue until he felt that it was boring and a waste of time since Luna stopped screaming.
As she received the numerous kicks, no matter how much strength was used the most she would let out was a loud grunt.
Watching someone get beaten with little reactions was very boring so the boss decided to stop. After all, their main goal was to get the USB from her and deliver it to their client ASAP.
"Alright, enough." His voice was not loud but the eleven other men had heard it and stopped beating Luna, silently waiting for his next words.
"Get the box, we're leaving."
"Yes, Boss!"
Searching her body they found the box in her leggings pocket and after checking that it held a USB, they left for their respective vehicle before driving away from the warehouse.
Luna's body lay on the floor in the same position that they had left her in for a long while before a low groan was heard within the silent warehouse.
Her whole body felt heavy and sore. Even the slightest bit of movement required a tremendous amount of energy and brought her extreme pain.
Despite everything that was going on, Luna got up from the floor. Slightly crawling, she got herself to lean on the wall of the warehouse entrance.
Her eyes seemed lifeless and her gaze hazy as she stared into nothingness.
Her mind empty and her body in pain.
Sachi watched her lean on the wall for over an hour when the sun had finally set and the stars had started to shine.
Seeing that Luna was still in a daze and staring into the darkness, Sachi couldn't take it anymore.
"Master!"
"hm?" Luna was brought back from her daze, her voice was hoarse and barely audible.
Sachi shook his head slightly before calming down his emotions. "Did you really have to do that?"
Luna turned her gaze to face Sachi whose gaze accused her of many things.
With a cold and irrefutable voice, Luna responded back while staring right into his eyes.
"Yeah."
Sachi was speechless. He opened and closed his mouth multiple times like a fish out of water, trying to find the right words to say to her.
"You could've just avoided their trail!"
His voice cracked and was filled with an enormous amount of accusations. His eyes were watery, and he used it to his advantage to make her feel guilty. He avoided her gaze and looked the other way.
Sophia let out a soft sigh because of Sachi's actions but instead of comforting him, she spoke out the harsh truth.
" 'Luna' wanted to do something. Besides, we were going to come to the area for the 3rd mission anyway."
Sachi looked into her eyes. "Did you really have to let them beat you up? Couldn't you just avoid them and come here afterwards to finish the mission?! Why are you pretending to be dumb right now?!"
Sachi's words brought about great accusations and although Sophia felt sorry that she had worried Sachi, she felt nothing for this absurd situation besides numbness. She didn't know what to feel, she was just doing what seemed like the right thing to do.
She stayed silent, letting Sachi cry out his pain and worries while she stayed in the same leaning position and continued staring into nothingness.