Chapter 439: What A Worrywart
The group that had arrived early idled around the beach house while waiting for the others.
Those who needed rest took short power naps, but without any word from Red, Tank, Vodka, or Ashley, none of them could truly relax.
Khan remained on the deck, nearly finishing an entire pack of cigarettes as he waited.
"You should get some rest."
Rum’s voice suddenly reached him.
Khan turned toward the entrance and found Rum leaning against the doorframe.
"They’ll be fine," Rum said.
"I know they will," Khan answered almost immediately before looking away. "I just can’t sleep. Jet lag, maybe."
"Jet lag?" Rum snorted, clearly amused by Khan’s excuse.
By now, Rum had gotten a pretty good grasp of Khan’s personality.
The two had spent a lot of time together before Ashley took Khan with her to work as Lucian’s proxy.
Silence settled over the deck for a while before Rum spoke again.
"No news is good news." He stepped outside and joined Khan by the railing. "I don’t know if Red already told you this, but during missions, we all carry a distress signal."
Khan raised a brow.
"The watch?" he asked.
Rum nodded.
"I guess Gin forgot to explain it. We didn’t have much time, and he was probably too busy admiring those damn computers in Madam’s secret office." He chuckled. "Those watches aren’t just there to tell us how much time we have left."
"Or maybe he assumed you already knew," Rum added with a shrug. "He probably forgot this was our first mission together."
Rum pointed at Khan’s watch.
"There’s a hidden button. If things go south and you think the mission has failed... or that you might not make it back... you press it."
Khan instinctively lowered his gaze to the watch still strapped around his wrist. It looked like an ordinary analog watch. Nothing about it stood out.
"If that alarm hasn’t gone off," Rum said, rocking his head, "then everything’s fine."
He grinned. "Red and Tank would definitely press it. Even if they’re dying, those guys would at least let us know."
Silence returned for another moment before Khan let out a quiet chuckle.
"Are you all always like this?"
"Hm?"
"Nothing.." Khan paused. "But I’m curious."
He looked at Rum. "If that alarm ever did go off... what would you do?"
Rum tilted his head.
"It never has." He thought about it for a second. "But if it did... officially?"
He scratched the back of his head.
"We’d probably say we can’t wait for them and move on." He looked back at Khan. "But I can’t speak for everyone."
Rum’s smile slowly widened.
"If that thing ever rings... I’m going there. And I’ll show those motherfuckers exactly who they messed with."
Khan chuckled and nodded. That answer didn’t surprise him.
Rum loved chaos; he thrived in it.
Anyone could see that.
Just look at him now.
The man looked as though he’d been reborn after bathing in his enemies’ blood.
Oddly enough, Khan found it reassuring.
Just then, the sound of rotor blades echoed overhead.
Both men looked up, catching sight of a helicopter that was approaching.
"See?" Rum smirked as he spotted Ashley and Red leaning out, waving enthusiastically. "Those guys are fine."
A subtle smile appeared on Khan’s face.
He watched Ashley wave one arm out the door, looking more like someone returning from a field trip than a dangerous mission.
"I’m glad," he whispered. "...that she’s okay."
Soon, the helicopter landed on the beach house’s helipad.
Ashley, Red, Vodka, and Tank stepped out before casually heading inside.
The others stirred awake at the noise, lazily confirmed who had arrived, then promptly went back to sleep. This time, peacefully.
"Ugh..." Red threw himself onto the couch and propped his feet on the coffee table.
"Don’t bother me." He yawned and closed his eyes. "I’m sleeping."
Vodka, on the other hand, stretched his shoulders.
"I’m taking a shower." He glanced at Red. "Wash before you sleep. You smell like shit."
Without waiting for a reply, Vodka jerked his chin at Rum and Khan before disappearing deeper into the house.
Tank arrived last alongside Ashley. As usual, he didn’t say a word. He merely nodded at Rum and Khan as a greeting before walking away to get himself a drink.
Ashley, however, stopped in front of the two men.
"Is everyone back?" she asked immediately.
"Yes." Khan nodded. "Everyone made it back safely."
Rum suddenly beamed. He jumped excitedly and raised both hands in a peace sign.
"Want to hear what I did?"
Ashley hummed thoughtfully.
"Tomorrow, maybe." She smiled tiredly. "I’m exhausted."
She reached over and lightly patted Rum’s shoulder.
"Good work." Her gaze shifted to Khan. "Both of you."
Then she continued walking.
"Get some rest. I need everyone up early tomorrow."
Rum frowned deeply as he watched her leave. Then something caught his eye.
"Huh?" He narrowed his eyes at the faint red stain on the floor. However, he didn’t dwell on it and headed inside, where Red had just thrown himself onto the couch.
"...Fuck it." Rum immediately flopped down beside Red on the couch.
"Hey, Red," he nudged him. "Want to hear about my mission?"
Without opening his eyes, Red answered,
"I flattened them with a bazooka." Only then did he crack one eye open and glance at Rum. "Beat that."
Khan, who had been listening, furrowed his brows. He looked between Rum and Red.
"Did all of you eliminate your targets?"
As far as he knew, only he and Warriyo had received direct assassination orders.
The others were only supposed to disrupt operations.
Rum and Red turned toward him at the same time.
"...Didn’t you?" they asked in unison.
Khan blinked. "Well, that’s our mission, not yours."
Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted Tank returning with a glass of water for Ashley.
Tank stopped walking when he noticed all three of them staring at him.
Tank: "???"
"Hey, Red," Rum muttered. "Do you know what Tank and Madam did?"
Red shook his head. "I was too busy blowing shit up." He yawned. "We didn’t exactly have the energy to chat on the way back."
He glanced at Tank. "Not like he talks much anyway."
Rum turned back toward Tank.
"Tell me you executed that so-called Father." He leaned forward. "Or did you let him live?"
Tank blinked. Then quietly shook his head.
"Damn it!"
Rum and Red immediately assumed that meant Tank had simply followed Ashley’s original orders—to delay operations instead of eliminating everyone.
What Khan meant, however, was something entirely different.
He hadn’t killed the priest.
Ashley had.
Technically, he wasn’t lying.
Khan looked at the group gathered around him before letting out a quiet laugh. Earlier, he’d been worried about his own team. Somewhere along the way, he’d started worrying about everyone else’s too.
Now that they were all back, he finally relaxed.
Khan leaned back against the couch.
Within seconds, he was asleep!
Little did he know, the moment he nodded off, Red, Rum, and Tank quietly gathered around him.
The three stared down at his sleeping face.
"Is this guy smiling in his sleep?" Red wondered aloud.
Rum and Tank both scrunched up their noses. Then, at the exact same time, Red and Rum muttered,
"He’s like an uncle. What a worrywart."
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