Military Chief Office, Conference Room, 12:00;

Rong Xinghe had no idea as to what was happening in Xi Yuan's life. At this point, all she cared about was getting hold of that psychopath, Maksoor Khan. As far as Abraham Ali Fadhil was concerned, the Hybrids couldn't do much about it than to stay low for some time, until Aftaab Ali would fix a meeting for Abram Orlov with him in Afghanistan, that was.

Sitting at the head of the conference table, the woman addressed the group of Special Forces commando officers, the high quality 85" display screen lit up with Country X's map. "I want you all to scatter throughout the entire country's hotspots, the ones where all the anti-nationalists or militant once resided.", Rong Xinghe commanded, her face solemn, "Go civil. No uniforms. Got it?"

"Yep.", one of the officers, Zhang Lei nodded, "We're to get this guy...", the man added, pointing his chin at the photo in his hands, "Maksoor, is it?"

The girl just nodded, "Alive. There's a possibility that this man might be the guy who knows Ahmed Fadhil's gameplan. We need him breathing."

"Understood, boss.", another soldier, Ching Bao replied, his eyes scanning through the copy of the same photo in his hand, "There's a possibility he would have shaved off his beard by now, for the sake of anonymity, of course."

"You're right.", Rong Xinghe smiled at the young man, impressed, "Run a facial diagnosis software over this picture. Try to configure it to our requirements as much as possible. Get the tech team involved."

"Yes, Ma'am.", the man nodded, "Last question, how-"

It was now that Shou Wu, the girl's assistant, stormed into the conference room, interrupting the meeting amid, leaning down to whisper into the woman's ears, "Boss, there's an emergency."

"Not now, Mr. Shou.", the girl frowned. It'd been quite some time ever since Shou Wu had known her, and yet, this was probably the first time he'd disturbed her like this.

"I am afraid this can't wait, Boss.", the old guy insisted. He was too afraid to notice Rong Xinghe's gaze at him.

"Excuse me.", the girl addressed the officers around her apologetically, reverting her gaze back to the man behind her, "What is it?", she questioned.

"President Xi wants to talk to you, Chief.", the man explained, "He... um, seems infuriated."

The second the soldiers realized who Shou Wu was talking about, they exchanged glances among themselves, stunned. If there was one thing Xinguan were admired for, it was the way they respected each other's professional boundaries. Never had they ever crossed that line. Then what on earth could've happened for the Business King to neglect the same this time, they wondered.

_______________________

Military Chief Office, Shooting Range, 12:15;

"What the hell, Yuan?!", Rong Xinghe charged down the huge empty ground, her fists clenched, "What's with the impatience?"

The man turned around, his arms crossed. "I need to tell you something.", he said, his tone much calmer than earlier now that he'd seen her. He understood her rage, of course, he did. He was well aware of what he'd done.

But he needed her, more than anyone right now. He needed her to listen to him. He couldn't keep her in the dark anymore.

The girl was still fumed up, but Xi Yuan's tone demanded to be heard. As if there was a burden on his shoulders he wanted to let go. And that was something she couldn't disregard, whatsoever. In the end, she inhaled a long breath, "Speak.", she said.

"Lately, I've been investigating a matter. Concerning my grandparents' death, and you.", the man spoke up. The girl didn't say anything, neither did she move from where she was standing. Although she'd concluded that this was what Xi Yuan had been hiding from her all this time, she wanted more details. What did he mean by his grandparents' demise and her?

Noticing her silence, the man resumed, "About a week ago, I received a note from Diablos, the 'Werewolf Crew's' leader, asserting that you've worked for his gang once. I had a word with Uncle Chonglin too, about the assassination that night. And... today, I received a call from Diablos..."

Xi Yuan invested a total of fifteen minutes summarizing what he'd been up to lately. About Diablos's claims, and Xi Chonglin's side of the story. He didn't even conceal the truth about how Diablos had talked crap about the time, the nights precisely, Rong Xinghe had spent with him. He had no intent to hide anything from her at this point, even though he knew how worse all of that made him sound, to her.

But Xi Yuan had his reasons to come clean to the girl. He had played this game much longer than anyone. The more he'd hide these things from her, the more he'd be giving Diablos the opportunity to manipulate her later. Lies and betrayals had the ability to ruin relationships to the point of damnation. There was no chance of reviving such relations after that, no matter how hard one tried. And he would never let something like that happen to him and his Xinghe. Even if it meant upsetting her for a while.

On the other hand, the more she listened to Xi Yuan's words, the more she felt a painful sensation running through her body. Bit by bit, her heart was crushing. She was not even sure if this was his fault or hers. Was it him who didn't tell her all of this deliberately, or was it her who couldn't make him feel comfortable enough to confide in her? Or had he, for a second, believed the sh*t that Diablos had been spouting all this time? If the latter was the case, just how pathetic was it all, really? They'd had a relationship for about one year now, for hell's sake!

"Xinghe, I-", Xi Yuan looked at the girl's expression, reading right through her, as he took a step towards her. But the girl stepped back, breathing heavily. Shutting her eyes close, the girl lifted her hand mid-air, gesturing the man to stay put. Next thing he knew, the girl picked up the revolver placed over the table beside her and turned around, aiming at one of the trees far beyond.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

A minute later, the girl pulled her phone out, picking up the call from Shou Wu, "All the three dead, Boss.", Shou Wu reported, his eyes fixed at the bodies next to the trunk bottoms of the European Beech trees, "No ID found. We're on it.", he added.

"Traverse through the entire MCO base.", the girl ordered, disconnecting the phone, as she turned to look at her fiance, "Coffee, Mr. Xi?", she asked her eyes, her lips void of any emotion.

*******************

AUTHOR'S MESSAGE

Thank you so much for the past two weeks of patience, lovely readers. I have had my Practical exams until yesterday. And I nailed all of them! Thank you so much for your blessings.

I love you all so so much!

LOVE_LOVE