"Cleo?!"
Kiba was startled, to say the least as Simon muttered the name of the conspirator. His mind automatically associated the name with Felicity’s elder brother.
"No, Cleo is not a unique name," Kiba gathered his wits back, "There must be another Cleo."
He refused to believe the elder brother of Felicity would plan for her demise. He has witnessed Cleo being quite close to both Felicity and his parents. For Cleo to conspire against Felicity and even his father wouldn’t make sense at all.
"Who is Cleo?" Kiba asked.
Simon shivered on the table as the palpitations grew stronger. He was in no condition to reply under the heart seizure.
Kiba placed a finger on Simon’s chest. A stream of golden energy flew from his finger and passed inside Simon. The energy opened up the clogged blood vessels and normalized the blood pressure.
Ssss
Simon felt the pain subsiding and the dizziness fading. His senses rejoiced at the escape from death and torture. The survival instincts he has suppressed forever now once again were active. They wanted him to live at any cost.
This was something totally against what he was taught in Lizenea. It was like his body wanted him to betray the teachings of Lizenea and live no matter what.
"I have to live!" Simon found a new mission in his life. The close encounter with death changed him into a new being.
"Snap out," Kiba’s cold voice ringed inside his mind, "Answer my question."
Simon opened his eyes and saw Kiba standing with a cold expression.
"I have a condition before I answer----"
Before Simon could complete his words, an elbow slammed into his stomach. His stomach caved in as the ferocious force ravaged through his body.
BANG~
The force transferred to the table and shattered it into pieces. Simon fell on the floor, struck by metallic splinters throughout his body.
"Urgh," Simon felt his inner organs dislocated. He couldn’t believe how things turned worse suddenly after he found a desire to live.
He raised his head and his eyes meet Kiba.
"You think you have the right to bargain?" Kiba asked.
"I-I," Simon didn’t dare utter his thoughts. He glanced around and noticed his comrades still suffering under heart seizure.
"If not you, they would answer," Kiba moved forward, "So answer before I change my mind."
Simon opened his mouth to agree.
BANG~!
Even before he could utter a single word, he saw a foot stomping towards his chest.
KA-CHA~!
The sound of bone cracking apart was loud and crisp. Blood flew from his mouth and chest like an arrow.
Simon was so terrified by the unexpected attack that he didn’t even dare to scream. He couldn’t understand why would he be attacked when he was already answering.
"Now you can answer," Kiba retraced his leg.
"Y-yes, thank you," Simon didn’t dare speak any more unnecessary words, "Cleo Weisz."
Kiba’s expression turned grim. Earlier, he thought the name was not uncommon so it could be another Cleo instead of Felicity’s brother. But now even the surname was the same.
Kiba waved his hand and a virtual screen popped in front of him. The sensors in the villa and underground facilities were sensitive to his gestures. Every part of the villa and lab was filled with a virtual console system which he could activate any time.
He clicked a few options on the screen and an image appeared in front of Simon. The image was of a black-haired man in mid-twenties.
"You mean this guy?" Kiba enquired.
"Yes," Simon hastily nodded.
"You dare lie?" Kiba put a hand on his forehead. He didn’t dare believe it was really Felicity’s brother.
After all, blood is thicker than water.
"I-I’m not lying," Simon quickly said.
[[Sir.]] Claudia interjected before Kiba could ask any more questions.
"Yes?"
[[He is most likely answering truthfully.]]
Kiba’s expression turned worse. It was one thing for Simon to say he wasn’t lying but another for Claudia to make such observation.
"Why would you think so?" Kiba turned around and returned to his chair.
[[The data chips we retrieved from their communication device has information of encrypted calls. While I couldn’t make out the identities of the callers due to encryption from both ends, I was able to understand the algorithm. And using this, I checked emails which Arnie received for poisoning Lady Felicity. The combination of two checks confirm a common link which originated from Lady Felicity’s house.]]
"Damn," Kiba clenched his fists tightly. He couldn’t think of any excuses to believe otherwise.
If it was any other person, he would have taken action when the name was first mentioned. But this name was linked with Felicity’s family so he has to be fully sure before he decided on any course of action.
"Take care of things here," Kiba said as rays of white light enveloped him.
[[I will, sir.]]
------
Weisz House was located outside the central district.
The house was two storied with dozen room and multiple facilities. The lavish design and the grand scale truly matched with the status of a senator.
Inside a bedroom on the second floor.
Cleo was sitting on a chair with his attention on multiple computer screens. Two screens showed the latest news while the rest displayed social media reactions.
"There have been strange developments in City Heart Hospital," A blonde female anchor said, "The hospital staff and patients faced a suffocating pressure around 4 am. No casualties have been reported so far."
"Senator Patrick Weisz and his wife Kyla have reached the hospital just now to check on the condition of their daughter. For those who are joining us now, their daughter was a survivor of the explosions which occurred yesterday evening."
"The hospital staff is reporting Dr. Arnie has disappeared from hospital premises," A middle-aged journalist said, "His disappearance is shocking, to say the least."
"Fuck," Cleo gritted his teeth, "What happened to that bastard?!"
He closed the news screen and took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Could he have been caught?" Cleo contemplated, "Even if he is caught, he doesn’t know anything about me so there is nothing to worry. But Felicity..."
Cleo moved his eyes on the screens which showed the social media reaction of the general public.
[Never thought our city would suffer explosions. Let us pray for the departed souls.] - Coolstar.
[More than 3000 innocents died due to those terrorists. The should be hanged.] - RockFist
[They need to be mutilated and then fed to dogs.] - Little_Sunshine
[No! They should be put out in the streets and we would take care of them] - ForestLover - [The government is truly useless so far.]
[True. The response of mayor has been just lip service] - AngryYoungMan- [Old leaders need to be replaced by young blood.]
[We need leaders who can understand our pain and take strict actions] - Powerboy20 - [Only then can we destroy the Nation of Terror.]
[Have you guys heard about what happened to Felicity?] - TragicWarrior - [She is paraplegic.]
[OMG! Poor girl!]
[If I was her then I would rather die.]
[Don’t say that! Felicity remain strong!]
[Her father is a senator so he should fight for some strict actions against terrorists]
[He is old so we can’t expect anything from him just like mayor!]
[Speaking of the mayor, Felicity’s brother is contesting upcoming mayoral elections.]
[What?
[Isn’t he the same guy who was crying in front of the hospital after learning his sister could never walk again?]
[Yes. It is him. He was torn by the plight of his sister.]
[I checked his interviews and he came out strong against terrorism.]
[We need to vote for him! He would surely take revenge for his sister and the general public!]
[He can definitely understand our pain! My vote is for him!]
[+1]
Th1s chapter is updated by n)ovel/\bin/\
[+1]
"Haah~ At least, some good news here," Cleo thought. He switched off the screens and lied down on the bed with a smile on his face.
"You seem rather happy."
"What?!" Cleo jumped in fright. He hastily turned towards the window and noticed a golden-haired man sitting there.
"Kiba?!" Celo obviously knew about him even though he has never met him.
"Any sane man would be broken after knowing the state of his sister," Kiba jumped from the window and entered the room, "But then again I forget something basic thanks to my feelings."
"Forget? What are you talking about?!" Cleo asked.
"Generalization is bad, " Kiba answered.
As he took a step forward, an invisible force field covered the entire room. Behind, the window closed up.
"Humans forms generalized opinions due to emotions and the culturing from the society," Kiba shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, "A mother is supposed to be the sacrificing figure in the family. She would stay starved to fed her children and husband.
"A father is supposed to be an inspirational figure who teaches his children through his struggles. He is strict but yet firm believer of his child.
"Then there is a sister who is supposed to a combination of angel and devil. She is the closest confidant with whom one shares the most unique bond," Kiba closed his eyes and smiled from the heart, "The only generalization I agree with."