Ella, the assistant, desperately tried to hold back the crowd, but Kelly Gray, the boss, was still struck by the impact. She didn't know who had harshly pinched her, leaving a yellow-brown stain on her white work jacket that emitted an unpleasant odor.
Coming from a good background, Kelly Gray had never experienced such chaos and turned deathly pale, feeling as if she would be overwhelmed at any moment.
Suddenly, a deep male voice came from behind: "Come here, this way!"
When Kelly Gray turned to look, she saw a young man in a tight T-shirt, leading several people as they charged out of the House of Beast.
Bruce cooperated with Martin to forcefully clear a path, helping Martin reach Kelly Gray.
Martin pushed away the person who was lunging at him, but more people kept coming. He grabbed Kelly Gray's arm with one hand and the arm of a brown-haired woman around forty with the other, shouting, "Hurry up, let's go!"
Kelly quickly ran towards the House of Beast.
Martin protected them as they headed back, taking advantage of the commotion to scratch his left neck with his right hand.
Once inside the door of the House of Beast, Kelly Gray still unsettled, yelled, "Close the door! Shut that damn door fast!"
Their own safety far outweighed the concerns for colleagues still battling outside.
Seeing that all his people had returned, Martin, with Bruce's help, closed the door and locked it from the inside.
"It's madness, everyone's gone mad."
Accompanying them were five other people, including the forty-year-old Rachel, who was terrified: "Those people are all lunatics."
At this point, Martin said, "It's chaotic out there, will you stay here for a while?"
Sirens sounded outside as a large number of APD officers arrived.
But Kelly Gray would rather die than go out again, following Martin in: "Yes, that would be good." She saw the bar and the liquor cabinet: "Could I have a sweet drink?"
Bruce lined up six glasses and poured peach schnapps into them.
Martin took out a small pack of wet wipes, handing them out to everyone. After giving one to Kelly Gray, he stood beside her and opened the final pack to wipe his neck.
Kelly Gray wiped her hands and the spots where she had been grabbed, smelled the pungent odor on her jacket, took it off, and tossed it aside. Suddenly, she heard a grimacing sound.
She turned her head and saw that the young man who had saved them had three prominent scratch marks on his neck.
"Thank you," Kelly Gray said, her panic subsiding slightly while she asked, "Are the injuries serious?"
Martin smiled: "Just scratched by someone, no big deal. Actually, we should be the ones thanking you, you were defending us."
Kelly Gray was deeply impressed by this handsome man who spoke kindly and had gotten hurt trying to save her.
Ivan came over, took a look at Martin's neck, and cursed: "Who did this to you? I'll beat him into a pig's head!"
Martin wanted to kick him and kept the thought in his head, saying, "It's too crazy, I didn't expect things to get like this."
Bruce handed Ivan a trash can, told him to gather up the used wet wipes, and throw away the trash instead of acting the fool here.
After drinking half a glass of the sweet drink, Kelly Gray's thoughts began to clear, and she asked, "Why are they targeting you?"
Martin told the truth: "This afternoon, those people suddenly gathered outside the club."
Kelly Gray frowned in thought.
Martin selectively told the truth: "I know Mr. Andrew from your side, and Mr. Andrew told me that if there was any targeted action against you, to inform him immediately, so I called Mr. Andrew."
Kelly Gray remembered Andrew, a long-standing employee of her company.
Martin moved his neck slightly, wincing in pain, "Sorry, I didn't expect things to..."
Kelly Gray waved her hand, "It's not your fault, the path to freedom is always difficult."
"Yes!" Martin felt helpless, "We didn't provoke anyone, yet those obstinate and crazy guys attacked us on their own initiative."
Rachel, who had gone to the porch, came back and said, "APD has gotten the situation under control, Kelly, do you want to go out and take charge?"
Hearing about going out, Kelly Gray felt a million kinds of reluctance inside her.
But she couldn't voice that, with Rachel and several other ordinary members there.
Abandoning her companions would affect her leadership.
Kelly Gray was secretly annoyed, unsure if Rachel had done it on purpose.
Martin, observant, had his suspicions and took the initiative to say, "I suggest that you all don't go out, the conflict that just took place will lead to many brothers and sisters being detained by APD, you are the core strength, once detained by the police, who will actively rescue those people?"
These words coming from an outsider's mouth were completely different from Kelly Gray saying them herself.
One person who had accompanied Rachel to the porch immediately said, "Yes, many people have been detained by APD, we can't let them be held overnight."
Kelly Gray looked at Martin with a hint more of appreciation in her eyes and asked, "Does the club have a back door?"
Martin replied, "Yes, it's in a quiet alley."
Kelly Gray took out her phone and dialed a number, "I'm at the House of Beast on West Strip, send cars over, two of them, to the back door."
Rachel said no more.
Considering the situation that evening, Kelly Gray got up and walked towards a deserted area, nodding at Martin, "Let's talk privately for a moment."
Martin followed her to the other side of the stage.
Kelly Gray asked, "What's your name? Are you in charge here?"
"Martin Davis, just call me Martin."
"Alright, Martin, tonight's incident is going to have a big impact." Kelly Gray was planning to push the narrative, "There will be media interviews after this, do you know what to do?"
Martin spoke earnestly, "You stood up to protect the House of Beast, to protect the innocent, you were compelled to defend the House of Beast and forced into self-defense."
He emphasized, "You are heroes!"
Kelly Gray was completely composed now, "Good, remember your position."
Martin immediately said, "I've always been on your side."
"Let me introduce myself." Considering the importance of Martin, Kelly Gray gave him her business card, "My name is Kelly Gray."
She stressed, "Before any interview with reporters, remember to notify me, I will have someone assist you."
Martin asked, "Are reporters going to interview us tonight?"
Kelly Gray said, "I will arrange for someone to come over as soon as possible."
Soon, the cars to pick them up arrived at the back door of the club, and Martin, together with Bruce, saw Kelly Gray and her group off.
With no one else nearby, Bruce said, "I underestimated you, you've actually managed to play out the old-school hero saving the beauty to a new level."
Martin shrugged, "Cliché means it's a classic that works."