"So, you DO have a car?" Liv said, sitting in the backseat of Priest's rusted old car; It was a taxi model car slightly modified with a terrible black paint coating.
Priest avoided her, concentrating on the jam-packed road. Since Priest was a clumsy driver with a lot of accidents to his record, he couldn't afford to lose concentration on the road to answer her stupid questions just because she was bored.
Even though irritated by the negligence, Liv still continued her one-sided conversation.
"Where are we going?" Liv asked.
Priest sighed, ignoring her and continued to tread carefully in that horrific traffic.
"What did the cop said? Why are you driving slow? Look, the path is clear for the car in front of us... Press the horn! Ask him to move—"
"Shut. The. Fuck. UPP!" Priest yelled in anger as he lost control and rammed into the car before them, accidentally. That was his seventh accident in a row.
The driver of that vehicle rushed to Priest's car and started yelling at him. The other drivers also joined the commotion, yelling at Priest and the driver to move aside and settle the issue between themselves.
Priest without options, helplessly listened to the driver's rant, but it was only the least of his problems. He already had been warned off multiple times by the 'Traffic Rules coordinators' but now he had seriously messed up.
Chances were high that his hard-earned license could get cancelled.
"So, you are a shitty driver," Liv calmly added salt to Priest's wound.
Priest spent the last of his savings to settle for the damage and chose to go home by walking, giving up on his breakfast. Liv wore a hands-free umbrella on her head while Priest used his usual red coloured umbrella; because of the rain.
Together Liv and Priest arrived at Priest's own mansion called 'Hell's Mansion' - an old three-story apartment with over fifty houses. The watchman of the apartment rushed inside as soon as he saw the Priest.
"The Devil has come!" he screamed, running through the corridors, alarming the tenant
"What happened? Does he have any anxiety issues?" Liv asked.
Priest sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "Probably because of that rent..."
Both Liv and Priest entered the Mansion.
"Welcome, Sir! Here is the collected rent... not all of them paid though," Kyle, the ever-nervous manager of the Hell's mansion, handed over the money with her shivering hands.
"Haan, yes. Is everything okay here? Did any cocky bastards try to cross the line with you? Are there any creeps still like that?"
Hearing some kind words from Priest struck Kyle like a lightning. Her words trembled, and she visibly blushed.
"No... No... Not at all. Actually... they are more afraid after the last time. They won't dare..." she answered, giggling.
Priest counted the total collection and found it shockingly low.
"Just 10,000 coins? Fine. I'll do it myself..." humming the superhero theme, he grabbed the megaphone in Kyle's desk.
"Ahem!" Priest just coughed and stayed silent, saying nothing.
The door of the first house opened, and the husband, Jeff, was yelling to her wife, Jane.
"We will figure it out. We can't delay any further. The rent is important. The Priest care for us. We should respect his words..." he purposely raised his voice in the last two sentences.
"Ass-licker," Liv muttered.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm so flattered. Wow! What a nice guy you are..." Priest said in a sarcastic tone, mocking the tenant.
"Our budget is tight..." he muttered, placing the rent amount on the desk while Kyle holding her laughter.
"You were spotted by one of our officers last week... in a freaking sex party! Does your wife know that?"
Hearing Priest's words, Jeff's eyes widened, and he grabbed Priest's hands, pleading not to tell anyone. Priest gestured him to get lost.
"Punks. PUNKS!" he growled through the megaphone, and the doors opened in a quick flash one by one.
"Sorry, father. I forgot."
"I thought it will be better if I gave the rent directly to you."
"I was sick. My wife ran away with my dog... wait, dog? No, no..."
"I was out of town."
"I was cuckolded."
"I was in a coma."
Ridiculous excuses and absurd reasons poured in along with the money. Priest, after watching over the tenants for a while, grew tired and instructed Kyle to collect the rest and left to his room to get some rest, taking Liv along with him.
An old purposely hid from Priest's eyes among the little crowd. She was nervous and her face was filled with uncertainty and despair.
Priest noticed her and smiled internally. He suddenly brought her face towards her, startling the lady.
"Mrs. Rao, you don't have to pay rent today..." He whispered in her ears and winked at her, smiling.
Both Liv and Priest entered the smallest house in Hell's mansion, which was more of a small storage room with some extra space rather than an actual house; Priest's house.
As Liv entered, her face blown into a giant disappointment, as she never saw such a shabbier house.
"What happened?" Priest asked. The question itself offended Liv to an extreme level. She frowned at Priest's response and her eyes boiled in rage. Priest realized it late and simply nodded, saying nothing.
The living room was filled with empty snack packs, juice bottles and some left-overs on the floor. Liv looked up to see the fan, which was never cleaned for ages. A pile of old DVDs of vintage classics belonging to different film industries.
"American, Korean, British, Australian, Thai, even from Tamil... That's a lot of movie DVDs in your collection."
Priest hung his coat and removed his shoes. "Those were the last copies available in this day and age... Pretty much every movie these days is a propaganda film backed by the Cults... No art sense at all..."
"You love movies, then."
Priest frowned, tired by the repetitive questions. "Quit trying to analyze me. You won't get through... THIS," Priest pointed at his forehead, indicating that his mental fortitude was too strong for her psychological studies.
"And don't get too comfy here... You are going to stay at Maguire's house, Mehreen will take good care of you..."
"I don't need care—"
"You DO, lady... What's your age? 15 or 14?"
"16!"
"Then go! Take a bath. I'll drop you — No, I'll get you a taxi..." Priest said as he moved to the kitchen carrying a glass of chilled milk.
"What are you doing?" Liv asked, curious.
"Milkshake."
"Milkshake?" Liv asked, frowning at Priest's answer. "What are you? 12?"
"Milk gives calcium. Calcium makes bones stronger... And who needs that more than me?" Priest gently broke the chocolate cookies and added them to the mixer along with the milk. He finally added two scoops of vanilla ice cream and turned on the mixer.
"Hmm... So, you're a good cook, then—" Before Liv completing the compliment, the milk exploded from the mixer, hitting the roof of the kitchen, splashing the milkshake mixture all over the kitchen and the Priest.
"You know what? I'll catch a cab myself... Send the address of this Maguire guy to my phone and... buy a new mixer."
Priest wiped the cream off of his face and splashed some water on it.
"And another thing... Remember your code!" he reminded Liv.
Liv sighed deeply and nodded.
"Shouldn't eat the humans... Don't worry, Sir. Your precious humans gonna be just fine. Chill."
Liv assured Priest and went to the doorknob, pulling it open. She then stopped for a moment, turning towards the Priest.
"And... That's a promise... by the Princess of Ghoul Empire," she added, closing the door.
*Back in Fifth Gate - Ri's Den*
"I don't know what to do... All I could do was embracing their dismembered corpse and cry... Argh!" Mike broke down before his boss, Ri, who was smoking a cigar, teary-eyed but stoic-faced.
"Don't cry, Mike!" she ordered, forcing Mike to cover his mouth.
She stood up from her throne and walked towards her minions, who were assembled on her command.
"We lost not one but five of our own! My five precious children! And your five fellow brothers! We mourn today! Pay our respects! And... And after that! We are tracking down and taking down that motherfucker! And THIS IS AN ORDER!"
The entire army of her minions let out a loud war cry, holding back their tears for their fallen brothers, and beat their chests, acknowledging the order of their queen.
"Now, disperse... Go and support their family... Stand with them."
The men dispersed, exiting the den. Ri signalled her secretary to come closer.
"Arrange a meeting with our government officials... It's time to talk."
"Will they consider our issues as 'issues', mam?" Ri's secretary, Rurika, asked - unsure of Ri's decision.
"They won't listen to Ri, the drug lord...
"But they will listen to Ri, 'The Sixth God' or in a more suitable way, 'The Goddess' who won them a fucking war!"