Pete's POV (events in the main road)
A hail of bullets hit our car.
"Get down!" I yell to Assistant Lee and Arm.
"Oh shit! You had to care so much about that baby. He's not even yours. You wanted to come to the main road. Now we have two cars full of heavily armed men behind us.
"Of course he is mine!"
"Would you be capable of putting a baby's life in the line, ma'am?" Arm questions Assistant Lee, shocked.
"Do you all need to give me this disapproving look? Damn! You two make me feel bad about myself."
Arm and I keep shooting, but our ammo is incomparably inferior.
"We can't go on like this, Pete. My clip of bullets is almost gone."
"Mine too, Arm...Hey, what are you doing, Assistant Lee?! Why are you turning the car around to face them?"
"They'll kill us if we keep like this."
"What's the plan?"
"Do you know why I was named the White Tower, Pete?"
"Because you are a spy who watches over everything...?!"
"And because I always strike straight ahead, my friend."
Assistant Lee takes two grenades out the compartment, and tosses one to me and one to Arm.
"WTF!!" Arm almost drops the grenade to the ground.
"I'll pass between them...you throw the grenades out the window, ok?!"
Assistant Lee doesn't give us time to respond. She accelerates the car and heads towards the two vehicles in front of us. Although Assistant Lee's car is bulletproof, in some level, the mercenaries' strong weaponry shatters the car's windows.
Those mercenaries clearly don't understand why we're heading towards them.
When the car reaches a speed that makes it shudder, we open our windows and toss the grenades just as we pass between them.
Our car nearly flips over with the force of the two explosions, but Assistant Lee manages to stabilize the car.
She stops the car.
"Are you alright?" Assistant Lee asks still holding the wheel.
"Yeah...are you okay, Arm?"
"My ears ache, but I'm okay."
"We'll have to get off the main road. Soon the police will show up."
"There's a shortcut ahead." I lead the way until we're off the main road.
"Soon we'll be in the hangar. The Jet is ready, Pete."
"Assistant Lee, stop the car." Me and Arm point our guns at her.
"What do you think you're doing, Pete?"
"I appreciate the rescue, but your mission ends here."
I toss her the black velvet box. Assistant Lee opens the box.
"The white knight and the white king invitation card...without this white knight, you won't enter the chess room...nor even locate it."
"If I don't keep these pieces, you won't find me either."
"You've got me..." Assistant Lee smiles at me.
"Get out of the car, please"
"HE won't be happy."
"I don't give a shit to the white king. I don't work for him"
"Well...I do, you know..."
"I read that he is a well-regarded CEO by employees. Is that a lie? Khun Kinn is a good boss, but there are days when he isn't in a good mood either... those days are a nightmare...Khun Noo is..."
Assistant Lee and I turned our heads to Arm.
"Do you know him?" Assistant Lee asks, impressed.
"The unnamed...Lian Wang."
"How do you know him"? I ask, startled.
"Well, Khun Vegas handed me some photos and videos of room 1004...and I was able to identify who was the shadow next to you, Pete. It consumed me hours and hours without proper sleep. I've spent days processing complex algorithms...I almost burned my servers. But it worked.
"That's why you went to the mansion...I thought you were looking for Macau..."
"I was going to give this information to Khun Vegas at the mansion."
"Wow, your husband is really tireless when it comes to you, Pete. He almost found out about Lian."
"Vegas is smart and determined."
"And deadly. He would probably go after Lian... maybe destroy half of our company's building in the process... that would be a headache for me, you know... I'm responsible for Lian's safety. Arm, I liked you, my boy! You are very smart, dear. Have you ever thought about moving to another country...meeting new people...new surroundings...earning more?! I can build a brand-new lab just for you...top technology. We treat our employees very fairly. Sky-high apartment. I can arrange that. What do you say?
"Well..."
"Hey! you can't do this! You can't try to entice an employee of the Theerapanyakul family like this! In addition, Arm is dating Vegas' younger brother. He's practically family. Out of question, right Arm?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! I had no idea. Hmm...the heirs of that family have a thing for bodyguards, huh...you naughty boys!"
Assistant Lee pinch our cheeks, not caring about our guns still pointing at her.
She is practically non-formal with us. Khun Sanya's very methodical secretary gave way to a strong, fearless and cool woman.
"We didn't do anything! Vegas and Macau...well...they are...well...insistent...I mean..."
I feel embarrassed.
"Actually...I don't know if I'm dating anymore...I saw Macau kissing someone else in a dark alley...so..."
"OMG! Tell my about it, babe...How do you feel?"
"I feel kind of hurt..."
"Of course you do! This is so wrong... you should really consider moving to another country, sweetie...I can introduce you to some very attractive and interesting people..."
"Hey!!No!No!No! I'm sure it was a misunderstanding, Arm! Assistant Lee, you're not helping! Now, get out of the car!"
"Okay...okay...could you knock me out?! Hit me in the back of my head?"
"W-why?!"
"Well...I don't want to be scolded...too much. At least let's pretend you caught me totally off guard.
"But we did."
Suddenly Assistant Lee takes the gun out of my hand and points it at me.
"Not really. I mean, you guys are really good...but I have more years of experience. That counts."
"You remind of P'Chan." Arm comments thoughtfully.
"P'Chan...how is he?! He's so handsome...we had a thing in the past...you know...it was brief, but it was worth it"
"Oh...I thought Khun Korn and P'Chan..."
"Arm! What the hell are you saying!"
"Well, I was right about Khun Kinn and Porsche, wasn't I?!... Have you ever noticed how Khun Korn and ...?!"
"NO!"
"Well, you're not very good at figuring out these things, Pete..."
"Yeah, you didn't even know that Arm liked you, Pete... right under your nose..."
There was silence between the three of us...
"Uhhh...okay...yeah...I'm a good spy...who wants to hit me?!"
Assistant Lee returns my gun.
"I'm sorry. I can't hit a woman." Arm shakes his head.
"Me either."
"You guys gotta be kidding me. You can shoot me, but you can't hit me?"
"Well... it doesn't feel right. I kind of like you." Arm says, embarrassed.
"God...that's sweet...I like you too...if you ever change your mind, just call me....I'll give you my number...Do you have a pen?!No?! Alright...you two know I'll find you." Assistant Lee smirks and winks at us "Okay...I'm going to hit myself then..."
"Why are you agreeing to this and letting us get away, Assistant Lee?"
"I'm curious to know how far you can go with your own methods, Pete. Our deceased great master entitled me the white tower ... or the white rook...whatever...for reasons you already know. You've been watched for quite a time, Pete. He entitled you the white knight because he saw a particular characteristic of you. The knight is the only piece in the chess game that can jump over other pieces. The knight attacks its ultimate goal. It doesn't spend energy on things that don't matter. It doesn't attack whoever is in the middle unnecessarily. Khun Korn and Khun Kinn gave you many strategic tasks in the field where we could confirm your skills...including breaking into Vegas bedroom... the rest of the story we already know, right?!...hmm...maybe not you!" She points to Arm.
"This is not important. Let's skip this part."
She smiles again. She seems to know everything about me. Even sordid matters.
"It's a powerful skill for our clan... however... I don't know how long you'll be able to act like this... spare whoever is in between."
"Who was your great master?"
"Good night, Pete" Assistant Lee smiles one last time and slams the gun hard into her own head. She becomes dizzy and drops the gun, then loses consciousness.
We get Assistant Lee out of the car.
"Are we going to run away in her car, Pete?"
"No, it probably has a tracker."
I find Assistant Lee's chess piece on a chain around her neck. I turn the tip of the chess piece.
"Are we going to leave her like this? What if more mercenaries show up? They will kill her."
"Someone will come for her soon."
"What do we do now?"
"Are you sure you want to go with me, Arm?! It will be risky."
"That's alright...I miss fieldwork. It will be like good old times together."
"Mhmm..." I smile at him... "But shouldn't you stay and talk to Macau?!..."
"Shouldn't you stay and talk to Vegas?!"
"He will lock me up...again"
"...those brothers..."
Arm looks really sad. He clearly doesn't want to face his problem.
"Arm..."
"So how do we get out of here, Pete? Walking?"
"Our ride has arrived."
An expensive black car parks in front of us.
"Hello guys! Come in... we have a flight to take."
...
Assistant Lee's POV
Minor family cars' headlights make my eyes blink until they adjust to the light.
The airplane track is still lit and the jet is behind me. Sanya's bodyguards are all immobilized, lying on the floor with their hands on their heads as Vegas' bodyguards point their guns at them.
"I'm going to ask you kindly, Assistant Lee. Where are they?" (In English)
Vegas hands over his rifle to a subordinate and takes out a knife.
His little brother continues to aim his gun at my forehead though.
"Since you asked so politely, Khun Vegas. I can honestly answer you, sir. I turn my head so the back is exposed. "You see this, Khun Vegas?! Quite an injury...your man hit my head and ran away with his close friend, leaving me unconscious alone in the road. They have a close, beautiful bond by the way! Arm offered himself to accompany Pete at all times."
"They are just friends!! Macau shouted annoyed.
"Sure. I didn't say otherwise"
Unexpectedly Vegas slashed the air with the knife right next to my face. If it hadn't been for my fast reflex, he would have ripped a tear in my pretty cheek.
"Tsk tsk tsk...I thought you'd be honest with me since I'm being so nice to you, Assistant Lee. How such a skilled assistant like yourself was so easily taken down. Let's cut the crap, shall we? (in English)
"I must confess Pete's behavior was unexpected. I would bring him here since Pete himself asked me to prepare this jet a few days ago."
"..."
Clearly Vegas facial expression reveals he was totally unaware of Pete's intentions. Pete was very skilled in hiding his original plans.
"Hmm...you seem surprised...you see?! Your husband is full of surprises...He would leave you, Khun Vegas."
Vegas doesn't need to know that Pete would take him together, though.
We want you out of the way, Khun Vegas.
"..."
His impassive face quickly becomes enraged.
Vegas attacks me with the knife, and I dodge every attack until I manage to catch his wrist with my hands, while avoiding a knee strike to my stomach with one of my legs.
Vegas bodyguards threaten to attack me.
"DON'T!" Vegas prevents them from moving.
We keep ourselves tied to each other like this.
"Why don't you just keep asking politely, Khun Vegas? There is no need to go to violence."
"Hah..." Vegas smiles at me. "Who are you, Assistant Lee? Nobody fights like this without being extensively trained for it... and nobody trained like this works behind a desk. Who do you work for and what was your assignment?"
"My mission was to watch over and protect Pete."
"And take him away from us. Just tell the whole story. I'm listening. Who wants him?"
"I bet you know who."
"Give me the name. The real one."
"You'll have to discover it by yourself...but without Arm's help this time. He's really clever, by the way...he got the name for you...pity he's not here to tell you."
"Never mind...you will tell me."
"Khun Vegas think you can scare me...I bet you haven't seen or faced half of what I had in this life. I'm a survivor, sir.
"This we will see together in my dungeon....for now tell me why you want Pete so badly."
"We need his help to find someone."
"Why?!"
"Because he knows this person."
"Couldn't you just ask for his help?"
"It's a little more complicate than that."
"Enlighten me."
"I'm afraid I can't. Besides, your family wants him dead. How could we trust you?"
"That's a lie you're telling him! To deceive him! To take him away!"
"I'm just spiling facts. The assassination order was given by the Theerapanyakul family according to a message Khun Sanya received in the chess room."
"This could have been forged. But if it's true, I'm taking my measures to fight back, believe me."
"Hahaha...believe you?!I'm sorry...this sounds funny...how can we believe you? We believe it was Minor Family order."
"That's a lie!"
"It's not!"
Vegas presses the knife toward me, while I press my hands in the opposite direction. My technique can match his superior strength, but not for long.
"The message says if you kill the knight... the bishop will be vulnerable... and the queen unsupported. It's clearly referring to Pete, me and..."
"Do you know what colors represent in the chess room, Khun Vegas?"
"Pete said something about it..."
"A clan."
"..."
"Each family that is part of the chess room is entitled to only one color."
"All those white pieces refer to members of the same clan...to the same family? Does Pete belong to this clan?"
"A clan is formed by family blood or by contract...even a marriage commitment...or a loyal subordinate promoted to a chess member. This was explained to Pete too.
"Which case is Pete?"
"I can't tell you."
"We don't even know if Pete is really the white knight or just lie after lie."
"He is. I know he's the white knight as much as I know I'm the white tower. Curious thing is what I don't know.
"For instance?!"
"Only the Theerapanyakul family has two colors...one for the main family and one for the minor family."
"Why?"
"That's one thing I don't know. The main family can entitle several chess pieces in the same color. But the Minor family has just one chess piece of this specific color and can't entitle any other chess piece of this color."
"Only the black king?!"
"Our sources found that the order was given by the minor family chess piece."
"All of this is your setup. You gave us the chess pieces! The white knight and the black king! You gave the order using the black king!
"It's not the black king, Khun Vegas."
"That's the chess piece that was given to me!"
"It's the red queen. The red queen belongs to the Theerapanyakul Minor family."
"What red queen?!"
"Is it about this one crystal and diamond red chess piece here?"
A tall, fashionably dressed man, all in red, approaches us holding the Red Queen.
...