Mak gives the Time Stormer a quick glance. A pre-emptive smile forms on his lips. "Perfect!" He chuckles softly. "Just the reaction I expected."
My gaze rests questioningly on Mak, unable to fathom what's going on in his mind. Suddenly, he locks eyes with me, his hands gripping my wrists.
"What... What's this?" I ask, confused. I try to break free, but Mak's grip on my wrists is too tight. When I don't relent, he presses his body against mine, denying me any chance of escape.
He chuckles. "What do you think I want?" His voice sounds amused, with an unfamiliar edge. While he's always been an idiot, his voice used to sound kind. Now, it's hard and assertive. "I want some fun!"
I gulp audibly. Suddenly, I feel uncomfortable in my own skin.
"Keep your filthy paws off her!" Moriphos shouts. He tries to break free from the guards, but his attempt is thwarted by a shock that runs through him.
He drops to his knees beside the men.
Kyle watches the commotion, rolling his eyes. "First, the guy ruins the fun, and then he joins in," he snorts. A smirk forms on his face. "But you'll leave us something, won't you?"
"Forget it, kid!" Mak laughs loudly.
"Hey, have you two lost your minds?" the other guard interjects. At least someone still seems normal to me. "If Marto finds out, we'll all be in big trouble!"
Although, it could also be that he's just afraid of the overseer, I think to myself. Once again, I try to free myself, but Mak doesn't give me a chance.
"Now, back to you, my dear." Mak seems to ignore the other men. His lips draw closer to mine as I look at him, bewildered.
What's going on? What is he trying to achieve with this?
His lips touch mine. Unlike his harsh voice and rough demeanor, this kiss is surprisingly tender.
The whole situation confuses me so much that for a moment, I don't grasp what's happening. I just stare at him in confusion, not understanding why he's doing this.
His lips part from mine, and the grip on my wrists loosens until he sets them free completely. Slowly, his hands wander to my waist as I continue to stare at him, still bewildered.
The smirk on his lips now looks very arrogant, just like his tone when he says, "Admit it, you enjoyed that!"
It was a mistake for him to release my wrists. His response to his remark is met with a resounding slap across his face.
The room suddenly falls silent. Everyone looks at me in surprise, especially Mak. He rubs the sore spot on his face with his hand.
"Just let me have a moment with her, and I'll teach her a lesson!" Kyle laughs. He looks amused as he gazes at me. The guy probably hopes he can make up for lost time. But I don't think Mak is that kind of guy. Or maybe he is?
But Mak doesn't even acknowledge the guard. His gaze is solely fixed on me.
After a brief silent pause, confusion turns into anger. He takes his hand off his slightly reddened cheek and clenches it into a fist. "Tch, some women would do anything for a kiss from me!" he says angrily.
Moriphos has watched enough; he stands up. First, he pushes Kyle away, then his comrade. Both are taken by surprise and now lie on the ground. Moriphos slowly approaches us.
"And you, little girl, react like this," Mak protests with a slightly sulking tone as a chain wraps around his neck.
Moriphos pulls the chain, attached to his arms, and chokes Mak with it.
One of the guards tries to intervene, the one unfamiliar to me, and tries to shock Moriphos, but Kyle holds him back. A joyful grin spreads across his face as his eyes amusedly watch the scene.
"Stop that!" he says. "It's nice to see this braggart get his comeuppance!"
At first, I'm unable to do anything. I just stand there, shocked at both of them. Even though Mak has been a real jerk at times, fear rises within me. Surely, this wasn't what he planned.
His hands frantically try to grab the chain to release it from his neck, but he fails. Instead, Moriphos tightens it even further.
"Please, Moriphos, let him go," I beg the Time Stormer.
From the fighter, even though the man in front of him appears to be a guard, he looks at me. For a moment, the Time Stormer seems puzzled, then his gaze fills with anger towards Mak again. "So this guy can continue to harass you or do worse?"
Mak's attempts to grab the chain become more panicked, but he fails, and instead, Moriphos tightens it even more.
"Please, Moriphos," I plead again. My fear for Mak increases. Moriphos looks so angry; I wouldn't put anything past him right now.
Again, Moriphos' gaze shifts to me. "Why?" he demands to know.
Suddenly, Mak turns to the side. With full force, he elbows a specific spot on the chest of the man behind him. Exactly the spot where the knife injured him.
Moriphos screams in pain. In doing so, his grip on the chain loosens. It's a chance Mak immediately seizes to free himself.
Gasping for air, he stands there, his gaze angrily fixed on the other.
It soothes me that Mak is no longer being choked, but it also worries me. I've seen how Mak can fight. Moreover, both of them look as if they'd like to throttle each other.
"Damn bastard!" Mak gasps. Without even thinking of conserving his strength, he immediately rushes at his opponent. Moriphos does the same. He grits his teeth against the pain and advances toward the fighter. His right fist aims for the opponent's face.
Mak quickly dodges downwards and counters with a punch to Moriphos's stomach. Hit, Moriphos staggers back a few steps, his gaze fixed on the fighter, filled with hatred.
"Give up!" Mak gasps; he's still clearly affected by the time when the chain was around his neck.
Anxiously, my gaze shifts between the two. How will I ever separate them, I think to myself. Kyle just stands there, amused by the spectacle, and the other guard doesn't seem inclined to intervene either.
I take a step towards the two of them, even though I have no idea how to stop them. At least I want to try.
Mak seems to understand what I intend to do. "Don't get involved!" he snaps at me, briefly glancing at me. A momentary lapse in attention that Moriphos immediately seizes upon. His fist lands on the opponent's face, precisely between the lip and chin.
Mak stumbles back a few steps, his eyes fixed angrily on his opponent, who attacks again. This time, Mak dodges the blow, once again attempting to counter, but Moriphos deflects it with the chain this time.
While Mak's attack misses, the Time Stormer sees his chance once more. He swings and delivers a powerful blow to Mak's midsection.
Mak gasps from the blow and staggers forward a few steps.
Moriphos steps forward. He once again prepares to strike the opponent's face, but the fighter evades again, this time by going down on his knees.
Mak props himself up with his hand from the ground, swiftly kicking his opponent's feet out from under him. Moriphos loses his balance. As he falls, his head hits the ground. He lies motionless. Only a groan escapes him.
Did Mak plan this? I wonder. I feel so sorry for Moriphos. If I had known how it would end, I would have declined. I never wanted to be bait for something like this.
I want to go to him, see if I can help in any way, but Mak's warning glance makes me hesitate. It's only now that I notice he hasn't just retained the mark on his neck from the fight; his lip is split from a blow as well.
The fighter stands next to the man on the ground. Slowly, he leans down to him. His hand grasps Moriphos's hair and pulls his head up. "How well do you think you can protect her in a few days?" Mak whispers in his ear so the others can't hear. "If you want to protect her, you won't succeed by dying on your pride." After finishing this sentence, Mak delivers one final blow, knocking Moriphos unconscious. He releases the opponent's hair, and his head falls to the ground. Then he turns to the two guards. "Get him to the infirmary!"
Kyle steps forward demonstratively in front of Mak. "What kind of guy are you anyway?" he inquires, his gaze challengingly fixed on the dark-haired man. "You're hardly a guard!"
"Yes, I am," Mak retorts. He wipes some blood from his lip with his hand. "But only for a short while." His gaze shifts to the Time Stormer lying on the ground. "Get this guy to the infirmary already!" Then he looks at me. "The guy's tough; don't worry," he says with a smile on his lips.
My gaze sadly drifts to the floor. This is the last thing I wanted to happen to Moriphos. He's always been so nice to me, and now, partly because of me, he's lying here on the ground.
"Why should we follow your instructions?" Kyle asks. Now he has Mak's attention. At first, the fighter looks confused, then suspicious. "We could get Marto, then you'd be out of here in no time."
"Oh no! Don't even mention it to the old man!" Mak rolls his eyes and doesn't seem intimidated by the other's threat, rather bored. "He might just keep poor old me down here until he leaves the station."
"But certainly not until I leave the station," comes a voice from a hidden bend in the corridor that I hadn't noticed before. Marto steps out, his gaze fixed on Mak.
While the two guards flinch, the fighter turns to the overseer with a radiant expression. "Ah, you show mercy because I'm such a nice guy."
Marto bursts into loud laughter immediately. Slowly, he approaches us. "Kid, if I could boss you around, I'd stay here until it's no longer allowed due to my age."
"Don't tell anyone, especially not Otscharsan, otherwise, there's a good chance you could do that!" he calls out, laughing.
"Even though it's quite nice here," Marto admits, shaking his head lightly. "There's someone I'd rather spend my twilight years with than the guys here."
Mak smiles kindly and understandingly at the old man. I, on the other hand, don't understand anything about their conversation. The only thing I notice is that they seem to have a very good relationship with each other.
Marto briefly looks down at Moriphos, then turns to the two guards. "Take him to the infirmary!"
Unlike Mak's, the guards immediately obey his command. They lift the Time Stormer and leave with him towards the elevator. Once they're gone, Mak leans against the wall and sighs as he sits down on the floor.
Marto sits down beside him, placing his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Kid, someday you'll encounter someone stronger than you."
The fighter just nods towards his neck. "That guy was close, but I'll watch out for myself."
"I know a few who would mourn if you weren't around anymore." The old man says this with a smile on his lips.
Mak crosses his arms behind his head and leans against the wall, laughing loudly. "I know, most of them would be female."
Not only arrogant but also very self-assured. I can't help but chuckle at his remark.
"Tell me, kid," Marto suddenly looks very serious. "Last time, you managed to skip work thanks to Gasard, but today you surely have no one to save you."
A grin, extremely anticipatory, spreads across the old man's face.
"First, I have to help her." Mak gestures to me, then sighs dreamily. "After that, I'll let the poor guy be fussed over and pitied by our nice ladies at the infirmary."
"As I know you, that's probably just an excuse again," Marto opines. "You'll work with the guards, and I'll help the girl briefly." With the end of this sentence, he stands up.
"You'll regret this!" Mak mutters as he gets up.
Marto comes to me, a smile on his face. He seems like a nice guy and appears to be okay with how he handles Mak.
"What kind of difficult task have I relieved the poor guy of now?" he asks me.
"Hey, didn't you notice that ten of the men are missing?" Mak grins.
"I haven't had a chance to check today," Marto admits.
"Well then, just take them to Akara for now; the rest is up to you!" With that, Mak bids farewell.