Chapter 7

Mingkit Mansion has a size of 700 square meters that is standing on a land with a thousand of the same unit of measurement. The estate has one main house at the center, a garage beside it, and a two-floor shed at the back. Despite its grandeur, its walls have been mute witnesses to congregations of the darkest nature.

There is silence inside one of the rooms, which is as big as a library. It has an ornate wooden table at the center, and behind it, a window where light passes through and into the room. In front of the table are eight foamed chairs dispersed evenly into two parallel rows, all facing the table at the front: a setup like eight pupils facing their teacher. Instead of plain walls on both sides, shelves with six tiers clustered one above the next are there, all filled with books of different titles.

“He is not answering, Mal, and you’ve already called thrice now,” said Non, the man who sits in one of the chairs at the front. He is talking to Maledict Mingkit – the master of the mansion – and his name clearly fits his person.

Nicknamed “Mal”, he is a young blood who heads a band of hooligans. He likes to be called Mal rather than his full first name. He is the son of Nefario and Nona Mingkit. Mal has all the beauty of his mother, Nona, yet all the cunningness of his father, Nefario. Despite being a tricky but striking lad, Mal never double-crosses or blackmails anyone: what he talks, he walks with nothing in between. This in his character makes him a formidable leader, which erases the thought that he is too soft to lead their group.

“Besides, why do you need to call Sebastian? You already know the result of the conference they participated in, right?” continued Non.

“To reiterate our agreement,” answered Mal. He dials Dr. Seb’s number again after going busy the previous times. However, he gets the same result: multiple rings, no answer, and the line going busy.

“Maybe he had a change of heart, Mal,” said Jed, another thug in Mal’s roster who sits opposite Non.

“There is another word for that in our group – treachery,” said Mal.

Mal picks up his phone and dials another number, but this time, it was not Dr. Seb’s. The name that goes with the number is Ren Krittanai.

“He knows too much to let him run around free,” said Mal while the other line is ringing.

“Ren here,” said a male voice on the other line.

“Mingkit Mansion. One hour.”

“I’m on my way.” For Ren, it is a command that needs following to. He is having a Whopper when he receives the call from Maledict Mingkit. It did not take long for him to finish his food, as only about a quarter of it remains. After downing the last bite and two gulps of his soda, Ren stands up and goes out of the fast-food. He stops for a while outside to make a phone call.

“Sawadee krap Ma,” said he.

“Sawadee N’Ren. Are you at work now?” answered an elderly female back to him.

“No, Ma. My shift at the school is done. I just had lunch now. I called to check on you. How are you?”

“I’m fine, nong. I just had lunch as well,” replied the sweet lady back at his son. “You still have an entire afternoon free. Where would you be?” she continued.

“I’ll go to my part-time, mom,” he said. At this, Ren lets out a little cough.

“Are you sick, Ren?”

“Of course not. This is maybe because of the pickles in my lunch.”

“Okay. How will you get to your next work? MRT?”

“No, Ma. I have my bike with me.”

“Take care driving, and for goodness’ sake, drive below 40,” Ren’s mom pleaded. She knows that when his son and his motorbike are together, speed limits are non-existent to them.

“Where is the thrill on that,” Ren said with a little laugh, but his mom immediately rebukes him. “Okay Ma. I won’t overspeed,” he reassured.

“Take care nong. Your dad would have been so proud of you,” his mother told him as a closing.

“I love you Ma. Yes, he would have,” Ren said, coughing again. His mother doesn’t hear it because he immediately covers the mouthpiece as soon as he feels the pressure in his lungs.

“I love you too, Ren. Don’t exhaust yourself too much.” answered his mother. She hangs up the call afterwards.

It is a short and simple conversation of a son to his mom; it is also part-truth and part-lie. Its truth part is that Ren is a teacher: he is a licensed instructor in a driving school, and he has been invited, at times, as a proctor by the Transportation Department to evaluate examinees trying to acquire a driver’s license. The lie is the part-time job, as he is a full-time driving instructor. Despite it being a lie, he has two sources of income: the first one is his monthly salary as an instructor, while the second one, however, is from being a hitman.

Ren was able to finish college with a degree in Automotive Engineering. However, two years into it, his father fell to his death while painting a wall of an office building. It was determined as an accident without any foul play, and as such, the employer paid their family a hefty amount of money for damages and loss. However, due to his education and other debts that they had to settle, the money they got easily diminished. As a result, his mother had to do two jobs just to afford his education. One day while he was out looking for a job, just weeks after he graduated, he had to do a thievery to fund himself for that day. Unbeknownst to him, and maybe by chance, Maledict Mingkit was nearby and watching him. Amazed at how stealthily he got a lady’s wallet, Mal approached him and offered him work in his group. Ren agreed. It was still not a full-time job as he was only contacted if needed, although, he earned more than what someone with a legal employment made. With Mal’s gang, Ren was trained for jobs like heists, espionages, to assassinations. When Ren was not called for a training or job, he would apply for a lawful employment. It might have been that the hands of fate were at work one day because he was able to secure a job as a driving instructor. However, he did not think of parting ways with Mingkit, as he knows that it was like signing his own death sentence if he did.

Whenever Ren has a mission, he gives his mother a call for a small talk, but the moment he tells his mother the lie about his other job, he will always do something involuntary like a cough, a sneeze, or a light rub on his nape. This sort of masks the guilt of lying to his own mother and on what he is about to do. All along, she only knows about his driving instructor job, but she is completely oblivious of his involvement to criminals. To date, Ren has been an accomplice to a number of theft that Mal’s group has carried out and has assassinated five persons. With the call he got today, that five in the tally may increase by one afterwards.

After the call with his mother, Ren proceeds to the lot where his motorbike is parked. He keeps asking himself “What will it be for today?”; “Who is the target?”; “Is it someone I know?” as he puts on his gears. With all the missions that Ren has been a part of, he has been somewhat immune to the feeling of guilt. However, there is only one guilt that he may never be invincible to – if the mission involves someone he knows, or if someone else aside his target gets implicated and killed. As these thoughts traverse his mind, he closes his eyes to focus. Afterwards, he puts on his helmet, the last bodily gear he wears, and speeds off to Mingkit Mansion.