"Which hand?" Maxen asked, snapping his eyes up to the leader sitting across from him.
After Maxen ordered the rest to leave, some people he wanted to have a talk with stayed. The people who stayed were Maxen, Remo, Luke, Cosette, Amie, the now-conscious leader, and Henry. He didn't have to wait for long since Remo knew how to wake up those who passed out by splashing water on them.
"Huh?" the leader's face was a bit bruised, confused at the question Maxen asked.
"Which hand did you use?" Maxen clarified, tipping his head in Luke's direction who was sitting next to Cosette. Cosette was sitting next to Maxen while Amie was sitting in the opposite corner.
The leader let out an "uh…" darting his eyes from Maxen to Cosette and Luke. His heart thudded under Maxen's interrogation, intimidated by the equal calmness and coldness Maxen was showing. He reminded him of those guys in the higher-up of the gang.
"Which one did he use?" this time, Maxen asked Henry.
Henry flinched when Maxen's attention turned to him. "Uh… I don't know."
"I see…" Maxen rocked his head. "So that's how you want to play it."
Maxen shifted his eyes to Remo, jerking his chin at him. He didn't say anything, but Remo nodded in understanding. Without a moment's notice, Remo took a large step and grabbed the leader's arms, pinning them on the surface of the table.
"What are you —" surprised, the leader's breath hitched as he caught a silver glint from across him. His dilated eyes moved to Maxen, only to see the knife Maxen taken out.
Not just the leader, but also Cosette, Luke, and even Amie were shocked. All they could do for a moment was watch Maxen stand up, wide-eyed.
"I'll just cut both," announced Maxen, eyes fixed on the leader. "Do you understand?"
"Oy!" the boss yelled in panic, moving his arms, but to no avail. Remo was strong, pinning his arms down. The boss gazed up at Remo, only to realize he might lose his hands tonight from this guy he didn't even know.
"Hold him still." Maxen fished out a handkerchief from his pocket, draping it over the leader's arm. "I don't want unnecessary blood from staining my shirt."
"Sure."
"Oy, oy!" The leader's arm shook as his palm turned white. "What the hell are you thinking, eh?"
"I just told you I'd cut your arm." Maxen blinked almost innocently. "Did I not make myself clear?"
The leader's complexion turned pale as his eyes shook, staring at the indifferent expression on Maxen's. It wasn't that the leader wasn't exposed to violence, but never in his life did he imagine he would lose his hands tonight. Not to mention, that knife was far too small to cut anything! He could imagine the pain of getting amputated slowly and surely.
"Don't struggle," said Maxen calmly, leaning over with the knife in his hand. However, he stopped when Cosette suddenly tugged the hem of his suit. He gazed down at her, only to see her wide eyes and shaking head.
"Max…" whispered Cosette. "... what are you doing?"
"Teaching him a lesson."
"Oy, Maxen, what are you — bro, why are you letting him do this?" Luke chimed in, gasping as he glared at Remo. Remo was acting as though this was normal and was even willing to hold the leader down so Maxen could start cutting!
They weren't a part of a gang! Why would they do this?
"Because I can't hurt you two." Maxen's answer took Cosette and Luke off guard. They could only stare at him blankly. "Cozie, Luke… you two understand that I will never hurt you, right?"
This time, Maxen's relaxed expression turned solemn. "However, that doesn't mean I can't hurt others. Especially if I see traces of you getting hurt."
His eyes lingered on the bruise on Cosette's shoulder and on Luke's cheek. The corner of Luke's lips also had cracked. But compare to them, their opponents inflicted even bigger wounds and bruises.
"Max." Cosette clutched Maxen's suit even tighter, shaking her head. "Please, don't do this."
"Max, I know you're doing this for us. But it's a bit…" Luke glanced at the leader, who seemed to be rooting for the two of them. "... this is illegal. I don't want you to become a criminal because of us."
"Then stop putting yourself in danger." This time, it was Remo who spoke in Maxen's stead.
Both Cosette and Luke turned their attention to Remo, only to see the disapproving look on his face. Remo mostly didn't care about anything as he would just usually follow the three of them. Even when they hang out together, he was silent and the observer type while Luke and Cosette would banter nonstop.
"Cozie, Luke, do you understand that if we didn't come, his situation could be yours?" Remo continued, rendering Cosette and Luke speechless. "This guy had more people outside. If we didn't come on time, this guy can be sitting across from you while thinking of how to hurt you both."
Cosette and Luke couldn't refute that. If Remo and Maxen didn't come, the two of them would be in so much trouble. They could only think of the worse outcome and terrible scenarios.
Amie pressed her lips into a thin line as she watched Remo scold Luke and Cosette. At this point, Amie was so sure the two of them were here because of her. They got in trouble because of her, and thus, it was her fault.
"Please don't get angry at them." Amie mustered a lifetime of courage to speak to Remo — the person who scared her the most. Her breath hitched when she glanced at Maxen, but she steeled her heart. "It's my fault. Please don't scold them anymore."
"I never said it was not your fault." Maxen's voice turned colder, making Amie shrink in her seat. "It is your fault. If something terrible happened to them, I would've killed you on the spot."
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