Bad Luck

He didn't remember? Wouldn't it be the same as suddenly losing his parents?

Laquisha batted her eyelashes before shrugging her shoulders. "The point is… we get to understand the little critter."

Noah only nodded as he continued to eat. However, he started to wonder when he actually last saw his parents. It was like they were there one day, and he woke up in New York with his auntie the next. What was his last concrete memory of them?

A lot had happened from when he was ten until he became twenty-five. All these fifteen years, he didn't bother to have a direction cut out for himself. He only attended school and looked for a job because his auntie said so. When he was living on his own, his auntie left him alone and cut ties with him without any excuses.

The worst part was that… he didn't even take it badly.

Noah felt like he was starting to get dizzy. He closed his eyes and began to have flashes of very vague images. It was all red with no figures to be made out. If it was the old him, he would have puked from the churning of his stomach.

It was like he was seeing flashes of carnage done by hellhounds. Strangely, it wasn't as clean or merciful as Caliga and his spawns.

"…ah… Noah!"

He flicked his gaze at the woman who was gesturing at the door. He looked over his shoulder and saw Rosanna peeking from the door. The man then used his hand to give her an invitation gesture. However, she didn't budge and continued to hide by the door.

"Oh, well…" Laquisha shrugged and continued to eat.

"Maybe she'd eat when we're done." Noah got tired of calling her before finishing his food. "Did they say when we will be sent to Boston?"

"No. It seemed that they were having trouble with SCC. It was the tycoon backing them up who wanted to hire you, but the SCC didn't want to have an assassin within them." Laquisha shrugged her shoulders. She had someone relaying information to them, and she had to check for him since he never popped out in their chats.

Noah eyed at her. 'SCC?'

He had heard about this group in the news, and they were so prominent in Boston that even the world knew about them. They were a non-profit group run by a business tycoon who would offer security for everyone who didn't feel safe. All the money collected was distributed to different charity organizations.

However, the big companies knew that this facade was fake.

SCC was a big syndicate hiding underneath the good face. No one would be able to hire muscles for free without the muscles getting money. It was said that drugs and arms were traded for their cooperation. However, SCC was so polished in its programs that they could silently terminate muscles who had tendencies to harm their clients instead.

Perhaps they knew that a Shadow Hand would be sent to them, and that would cause trouble with their operations. A Shadow Hand was not one to settle with second-best when it came to payment. However, they might not have heard of the Hand's name yet.

Sleepydog was so notorious for not receiving payment. As long as there would be bodies to be buried, one could have Sleepydog in the mission. That was why he was the one assigned to this organization in the first place.

Either that, or they thought anyone who was only there for the kill would not be logical and would damage their reputation.

Nonetheless, it wasn't Noah's problem. It was the organization's decision to speak with SCC. It was also them who wanted to recruit Bomberman instead. If they were being rejected by SCC, it was not Noah's loss still.

Ding! Laquisha heard a notification pop into her smartwatch. She took a second to check and snort at the report she received. "Damn, they're already sending me in." She flicked her eyes at Noah. "They also said SCC finally agreed to have you. Are you taking Rosanna with you?"

"Does she want to go?" Noah hummed. They couldn't leave a child like this on her own. Moreover, Laquisha's deployment wouldn't be suitable for Rosanna. Noah had no choice but to convince her to come if need be.

"Mm. SCC likes to protect—at least its naive staff does. Maybe you could wind up a story to make them look after her while you're not around." Laquisha turned to look at the child hiding behind the door. "What story would be believable enough?"

"The truth," Noah answered as he got to his feet. "Her mom's killed by her dad, and he wants to take her. There are no problems created if we used the truth."

Laquisha only snorted with a smile. 'The truth… right.'

…

When Rosanna heard that they would be taking her somewhere else, she felt the need to escape. However, seeing that the big brother had so many black scary dogs, she didn't say anything anymore. She decided to come with Noah.

As they walked out the door to leave for their mission, the three people saw Mephisto leaning against a big bike. It was purely black, sleek and shiny, expensive and classy. Everything about it was black aside from the headlights; even the rim was painted black.

Rosanna's eyes lit up as she ran towards the man who kneeled down and caught her wobbly run. "Mephy! Mephy!"

"Hello, dear. Are you okay staying with Noah?" Mephisto laughed out as the child hugged him and cried at his shoulder.

"Mephy, black dogs are so scary…" Rosanna sniffed and held onto him tighter. "When is Mama coming to fetch me?"

"Oh, it won't be long…"

Mephisto's eyes then darkened. He flicked his gaze towards Noah who only shook his head. The demon only carried the child and presented the bike to Noah. "I figured you'd need a ride suitable for your stay in SCC. Don't worry much about them; the business tycoon shouldn't be a problem for you."

Noah ran his hands on the bike and stared at his reflection on it. It seemed alive. "Mn, is he a witch?"

"Hardly. He only had dealings with the organization and some witches at the side. He'll know you're a witch in one glance though." Mephisto shrugged his shoulder before handing Rosanna to Noah. "You take care of the cupcake now."

"Don't worry. She'll be safe." Noah only said so to soothe the child.

In reality, she would be in constant danger that Noah was prepared to have the majority of the hellhounds watch her when they get there. He was used to having Caliga alone so it's time for the daddy to get some work.

His eyes also shot straight into Mephisto's eyes, and the latter gave a smile. Of course, Mephisto would be looking out for them as well. Nadin Jaeger was somewhere in the country, as well as some more witches of Satan. There was a chance that they could locate Rosanna outside Appalachia.

Noah put on the helmet that came with the bike and placed Rosanna in front of him. The peripherals of the bike came with a vest where he could fit and strap the child against him. He fitted her helmet gently, the child only staring at Mephisto who was smiling back at her.

Why couldn't she stay with Mephy instead?

Ah, yes, he said her daddy would be able to take her away if she did. Mephy and her mother wouldn't like that.

Laquisha eyed at the black bike and realized that it was not a real bike. It was an entity that shifted its shape into a bike. She only shrugged her shoulders as she put her helmet on as well. She eyed at Noah through the window and revved her motorbike.

Vroom! Vroom! Both Hands revved their rides and just waved a salute at Mephisto as they went. No smoke blocked Mephisto's face, but his smiling face fell as soon as they were gone. From the distance, he watched Noah's bike being surrounded by hellhounds as they made their way to Boston.

"You didn't ask the director to assign Noah in SCC, did you? I thought you're trying to make use of him properly?" Mephisto almost hissed, but a clawed hand clad in pitch-black skin patted his shoulder.

"No need to feel pressure about this. I didn't influence anyone to put Noah in SCC; it just happened that SCC was the one who asked for a Shadow Hand." The man in a white ensemble chuckled, seemingly oblivious of the sourness in Mephisto's face. "Listen, Mephistopheles. We're not the only ones weaving the threads of fate."

"Are you saying they are also interested in Noah?"

"No, no. He's just being used by them. You'll figure it out soon." Asmodeus only laughed out again before humming as he looked behind them, seeing how Hyacinth cowered at the presence of the King. "The familiar in this cave is too weak. Get someone to energize her."

Mephisto turned to the cave and only spoke seriously, "Mammon should be in charge of this. Maybe he'd give something as a reward to his witch. I doubt we should mix so many things up… unless you want Satan to notice."

The King only brought his hand down and stroked at his hair collar. "My dear Mephistopheles, he had already noticed. That's why he summoned his Bomberman to fetch her, remember?"

"So they were bound to be pitted against each other?"

"No. It's just bad luck for one of them, that's all."