The night sky was filled with countless twinkling stars, but due to the city lights, they were outshined. In the uptown of Zen City, where it was known to be a place of life and wealth, where only the top tier celebrities and important people lived, a mansion standing tall and magnificent could be seen with it's black wrought-iron gates.
Laughter echoed from within the mansion, mingling with the soft hum of conversations. Outside, sleek black and gray cars gleamed in the mansion lights, a proof to the extravagance of the people held within those grand walls.
Inside the mansion, Neil sat in the bar space of his house with his cold gray eyes glaring at his uninvited guests. Though he had been called days ago about a man carrying a strange bag into a school in Lumoria, he had gone immediately knowing what could be in the bag as always. It had taken him thirty minutes to defuse the bomb, and had taken him hours to get his hands on the bastard who had planted it in the school.
And after all the stress he had to go through in his flight back to Zen, he had expected to come home and rest for a while before thinking about going back to pretending to be Leo Bennett. However, he hadn't expected to come back to find his subordinates waiting on him to give him their so called congratulations for saving the lives of the children in Lumoria.
His fellow soldiers in the military now surrounded his house doing as they pleased in the name of celebrating him. Neil's mood was far from festive; irritation etched across his handsome features as he observed the men taking liberties in his home.
Liam, who sat beside Neil in the luxurious bar space that held expensive wines, noticed Neil's discontent and offered a reassuring pat on the back. He had known Neil for as long as the first day he was taken to camp. Though Neil was a quiet and moody person in the military, he hated crowded places and liked keeping to himself, but he won't hesitate to hit anyone who crossed him regardless of their ranks in the army. And through out his years at the boot camp, Neil had been known for his temper and determination to do things normal people wouldn't do, just like defusing bombs.
Liam could still remember the first time his friend had defused a bomb at the age of seventeen where his peers were still slacking around at the boot camp.
However, the more Neil got popular in the army, the more enemies he made around his peers. They would do anything to bring him down, just like now in his own house where the soldiers were trying to make a fool of him. Liam sighed, if it wasn't a protocol that a soldier must not hit another, Neil Wayner would have most likely mopped the floors with their mouths at this point.
"Ignore them, man. I can see that Jason brought them all to your house just so you could throw the first blow. And I hope you won't do that considering what happened the last time you threw the first blow." Liam advised, trying to ease his friend's irration.
Neil's gaze remained fixed on the scene unfolding before him, where his subordinate, Jason was deliberately doing and saying things he wasn't supposed to say. "I could've ignored it if Jason wasn't trying to get on my nerves. I am damn exhausted I can't stomach any of their nonsense for long." he muttered, his voice like ice.
Across the room, Jason and his entourage stood before the huge french window that offer the distant night skyline of the city view from the third floor. They stood in groups with wine glasses in each their hands. Disdain was written on their faces and mockery in their words as they laughed.
"He is acting like he's something special," Jason sneered, his words laced with contempt. "It's all because his uncle's a General that's why he was given the rank of a Major General, you know? The only reason he's getting attention is because of his uncle David's connections."
Jason was the one doing the most of the talking while the rest were just listening as they dared not voice their thoughts knowing what Neil could do to them if he were angered. They had once witnessed how he almost beat a commander to death in camp, but because of his intelligence and ability to do things in the military, he had been left off.
However, Jason, the ringleader wasn't afraid of what Neil could do to him and continued to speak, "He's even refusing to meet any of the reporters dying to have him on TV just to make people give him more attention. He's a fucking pathetic soldier, really."
Almost everyone in the military knew of the bad blood that runs between the two ever since Neil was taken to the military by his uncle at the age of thirteen. Even though Neil had worked hard to gain his current rank, Jason believed he had it because his uncle was a General.
Their words cut through the air like a sharp blade, and Neil clenched his fists, his stoic demeanor faltering. He could endure insults, but questioning his integrity and belittling the years of hardship he endured in the military struck a nerve.
Liam, sensing Neil's boiling anger, whispered, "Let it slide, Neil. They're not worth it. Jason is just a loser trying to feed on your anger."
But Neil, fueled by a mix of pride and frustration, couldn't let the insults stand. He rose from his seat and approached Jason and his group with long strides. Before anyone could react, Neil had pulled Jason by the collar and slammed his clenched fist against his nose.
Jason lost his balance and fell backwards clutching his bleeding nose. Neil wasn't done and approached him again, but before he could throw another blow, Liam intervened, firmly holding him back. "Not worth it, Neil. Let him go." He urged, his grip steady on his friend.
Neil's eyes burned with unbridled fury, but he reluctantly yielded to Liam's restraining hold. "Get out of my house," Neil seethed, his deep voice cutting through the lingering tension. "I won't tolerate disrespect under my roof. ALL OF YOU OUT!"
All the men quickly started to leave the house, while Jason, who wiped at his bleeding nose stood up. Arrogance still plastered across his face despite the blow he'd just received, he smirked and retorted, "Enjoy your little moment of glory, Wayner. But remember, one wrong move, and it'll all come crashing down. Your uncle won't be able to save you forever when you make another mistake." With that parting shot, Jason sauntered out of the mansion.
Left alone in the aftermath, Neil returned to the bar space, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Another mistake. He thought as he gripped his glass, the cool surface providing a brief relief from the heat of the moment. Downing the remaining contents of his wine, he tried to swallow down the lingering anger from being reminded of his first mistake that caused the life of innocent people two years ago.
Liam, now standing beside him, tried to reassure his friend, "Forget them, Neil. You've earned everything you have today. Jason is just a jealous pussy."
Neil nodded, though the fire in his gray eyes still spoke of his lingering resentment for Jason. And after a few minutes, Liam also left after his phone went off. He said his goodnight to Neil and hurried out to go deal with his brat of a sister, who was causing trouble at some mall as usual.
After Liam left, Neil was left in the humongous mansion alone. The silence pressed in on him as he continued to drown himself in alcohol. Though, he owned this beautiful big mansion, he rarely used it unless he wanted to have his time alone to think. He was always at the camp or going around doing his job as a soldier.
After his parents' had been killed Fifteen years ago, Neil's life had changed drastically. Life hadn't been easy for him, he could still remember his thirteen year old self walking barefoot on the streets looking for a place to stay and something to eat. He was a boy brought up in luxury. The only son of his parents. But that luxury was taken away from him on that faithful night he'd watched his father's head blow up from a bullet.
Neil shuddered subconsciously as the scene flashed to his mind like it had just happened a moment ago. He felt his body begin to shake as his mind began to replay the scene like a broken record.
There was blood everywhere on the floor. His father was laying in the pool of the blood, and the man who had pulled the trigger stood over his body laughing down at him.
"No, please don't..." He murmured to himself clutching his head between his hands as if to block his mind from going back to that night. Despite the air conditioner in the house, he was sweating like a Christmas pig as he blocked his mind from revisiting that scene.
He fell off the bar chair still clutching his head. Neil didn't bother to stand up from the floor even after he'd successfully blocked out those haunting memories. Instead, he leaned his back against the bar counter and closed his eyes. Even though fifteen years had passed, those memories would continue to haunt him until he'd brought da Kroll to justice and avenge his father and many others death.
Because of those hunting damn memories that refused to leave him, he had failed an important mission two years ago that caused the lives of millions...
Though people might think he was being mysterious just to keep getting the stupid attention he didn't even like, they were wrong. He wasn't showing himself in public and taking credit for everything he'd done because he didn't deserve any of those attention, he was saving people not just because he wanted to do what was right, but because he had his selfish reasons.
And after what happened two years ago...
As Neil was trying to stabilize his mind and trembling body, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He would have ignored the phone if he was still being in disguise, but he dared not ignore it if it was a message or call from General David, his uncle, or even a call of emergency.
He hadn't switched his phone back to the one he used as Leo Bennett, so with a slightly trembling hand, he fished out the phone from his pocket. He saw a message on the screen sent from an unknown number. He unlocked the phone and tapped on the message.
[I saw what you did today, Neil saving those children and teachers lives. You're a hero, you know? I just want you to know that you deserve to be recognized for your heroic actions and you deserve more than you give yourself credit.]
Who was this person? He thought with a frown. He thought to ignore the person just like he'd ignored all the unknown callers and messages he'd gotten today. But then thinking of how he didn't want his mind to wander to any unwanted past memories, he replied to whoever the person was.
[I don't need any recognition. I just did what anyone would do.] He replied and was about to put his phone away when it vibrated again. The person had replied to him.
[But not everyone does it. You risked your life. Why do you shy away from being appreciated by the world?]
Because I don't deserve it. Neil thought to himself with a bitter expression. However, he replied to the person with; [Because every life is precious, and it's not about me. It's about making sure they have a chance at more moments in life, and more memories to share with their loved ones. No one deserves to die.]
Neil didn't know why he was even replying to this unknown person, perhaps he was too drunk and too alone in a huge mansion with nobody but himself and his past ghosts. He wasn't the type to sit and chit chat with some random stranger, or to even reply text messages. But he found himself staring at his phone screen waiting for another message from the unknown person.
[I don't know why you hide yourself, and I know you may not want it, but you deserve thanks. You gave someone a second chance, a chance to live, to love, to be. That is more than anything, Mr. Wayner.]
He replied to the person again, [ I don't need thanks; I need people to care for each other. If my actions inspire that, then that's gratitude enough for me.]