BIA Ch. 126

It really was a pointless worry. If he did that, his identity would be exposed too. Would he be crazy enough to do such a thing? Besides, if it went that far, Chester would have no choice but to deny it with his life on the line.

To reach a reasonable compromise, he needed to give these guys some breathing room. Isaiah ground out his cigarette butt with the tip of his shoe and deliberately sneered.

“Shut up, you ungrateful little shit. I tolerated your shitty techniques and even your premature ejaculation, and you’re still driving people crazy based on a mere suspicion? I even took half the responsibility, putting up with your fucking possessiveness and location tracking, and now you tell me to get lost because you’re engaged to some rich girl.”

“What…? What the hell are you talking about!”

Chester’s face instantly flushed crimson. The guy immediately rushed over and grabbed Isaiah’s collar with one hand. Seeing him react so violently to the mention of premature ejaculation after looking miserable just moments before, Isaiah could guess where saving face ranked in his priorities.

“And you slut bastard, get your facts straight! I definitely gave you a chance! But you…!”

“Chester.”

Suddenly, a low voice came from behind. Before Isaiah could even turn his head, a hand swiftly reached out and grabbed Chester’s wrist.

“You shouldn’t be rude to my friend.”

It was a light movement, as if brushing lint off a tie. Yet Chester, shaken off by Bran, staggered significantly and took a couple of steps back. He wasn’t usually such a weakling, but perhaps holding a bouquet almost as large as himself, he momentarily lost his balance.

“Chester!”

Chester’s men rushed over all at once to support Chester. Bran’s men stood a step away, putting on serious expressions, but none thought of stopping it or intervening. It was only natural. From their perspective, they were just spectators watching the drama unfold. Besides, a lovers’ quarrel between gay men unfolding in the church backyard. There couldn’t be a more entertaining spectacle. At least, not yet.

“Isaiah, are you okay?”

Mickey asked with a worried face.

“I’m fine.”

Isaiah straightened the collar Chester had grabbed. Bran glanced indifferently at Isaiah and Mickey, then spoke in a casual tone.

“By the way, did you come to congratulate me empty-handed?”

“Of course not.”

Isaiah quickly walked towards Chester. Before the men supporting Chester could stop him, Isaiah snatched the bouquet from his hands and immediately thrust it into Bran’s arms, saying,

“If you don’t want to die, don’t use the back door after service tomorrow.”

Instantly, the atmosphere in the parking lot turned ice-cold, as if doused with cold water.

“You, you, what are you talking about right now?”

It was Chester who broke the icy silence.

“You junkie bastard, are you crazy? Are you insane?!”

The guy screamed, his face pale as a sheet.

“Why, what did I say?”

Isaiah grinned, stuffing both hands into his jacket pockets.

“What, did someone say they stationed a killer there? No, right?”

“Isaiah!”

This time, Manny shouted, his face drained of color.

“Fucking bastard, watch your mouth.”

“You watch yours, moron. I haven’t said anything yet.”

Isaiah glared at Manny and snapped.

“Understand? If you keep quiet, this will blow over like a dog barking in the distance. Don’t make a scene and turn it into a slaughterhouse for the whole town to hear.”

This was a clear warning. Meaning, our side has no intention of blabbing about WD or whatever, so don’t provoke us further and just keep your mouths shut.

“This crazy bastard really…”

Manny was definitely smarter than Chester. Because he immediately backed down, muttering as he wiped sweat from his forehead. Chester’s men just darted their eyes back and forth, gauging the situation, none daring to speak up. Bran’s men were the same. However, the difference in their complexions was clear. Chester’s men were mostly pale-faced, while Bran’s men were flushed red.

Only Bran’s expression remained unchanged. He was just looking at the bouquet Isaiah had given him, smiling leisurely as always. However, his anger could clearly be felt beneath that smile, but it didn’t matter. What was important was tomorrow’s game, not Bran’s mood right now.

“Anyway, that’s that.”

Isaiah said, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.

“I had a dream last night, and it left a bad feeling.”

“What dream?”

“A dream where you got shot coming out the church’s back door. That’s why I’m telling you to be careful.”

“A dream.”

Among the flowers in the bouquet, there was one particularly large lily. Bran plucked it out and chuckled.

“Right. Believing it is up to you, but there’s nothing to lose by being careful, is there?”

“Did you come all this way just to tell me that? If it’s true, I’m very grateful.”

Bran handed the bouquet to the subordinate standing next to him. Then, he offered the single lily he held separately to Isaiah and said, “How about it?”

“As a reward, I’d like to invite you to dinner with our brothers starting now.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

As soon as Isaiah received the lily Bran offered, he snapped the stem. Then he tucked the lily, now shortened to less than a handspan, back into Bran’s breast pocket and said,

“I’ve booked a plane ticket to Virginia.”

“Hmm.”

Bran crossed his arms and slightly raised an eyebrow.

“Does that mean you’re going straight to the airport?”

“That’s right.”

“Alright. I’ll assign you bodyguards so you can get there safely.”

I can do that much for a helpful friend, right? Bran whispered, lowering his head. He called them bodyguards, but it meant surveillance to make sure he didn’t stray elsewhere.

“Not necessary.”

Isaiah deliberately linked arms with Mickey standing beside him and said,

“As you can see, my new boyfriend is very reliable.”

“A reliable boyfriend.”

Bran muttered softly, looking Mickey up and down as he stood next to Isaiah. Then he murmured expressionlessly.

“He doesn’t particularly look the part.”

Instantly, Mickey’s face stiffened. Mickey, who had already been shifting awkwardly and glancing around, unsure what to do like a spare part, belatedly squared his shoulders and pulled Isaiah’s arm, whether he realized Bran had indirectly criticized him or not.

“Let’s go, Isaiah.”

As soon as he did, Chester yelled again.

“Hey, you slut bastard, who’s that gorilla?”

“Mind your own business, premature ejaculator.”

Isaiah spat out irritably. He was truly a hopeless guy. Is that really important right now? It seemed he couldn’t even see the expressions on his own men’s faces. Manny had been so pale he looked blue since earlier, barely able to breathe.

“Anyway, I’ll have you taken to the airport.”

Bran said, looking at the men standing behind him. Samuel quickly stepped forward.

“I’ll take them.”

“See them all the way to the boarding gate.”

“Understood.”

Samuel replied respectfully and approached the two. Mickey said urgently.

“Uh, I won’t stop you if you want to play chauffeur, but we have to take our car. It’s a rental, and we need to return it at the airport.”

Samuel looked at Bran, and Bran asked, “Where’s the car?”

Mickey quickly took the car key from his pants pocket and pressed the button. A black Ford sedan parked on one side of the lot beeped. Bran checked the car model and nodded. Samuel held out his hand to Mickey. Mickey handed over the car key. Samuel took it and addressed Bran again.

“We’ll be going then.”

Samuel got into the driver’s seat of the black Ford. Isaiah and Mickey got into the back seat together, and the car started immediately.

The black Ford quickly left the church parking lot. As soon as the car entered the road, Isaiah asked, addressing the back of Samuel’s head.

“What about the talks with Martino’s side?”

Beside him, Mickey looked aghast. Conversely, Samuel’s expression didn’t change. He glanced at Isaiah’s face in the rearview mirror and spoke in his usual tone.

“We’re set to meet after midnight tonight. Not Martino, but his subordinate Tessio, a capo^[1].”

“Why not meet Martino directly?”

“If Bran isn’t attending, there’s no reason for Martino to come. Tessio is sufficient. He was one of the negotiation members last time too.”

“Who were the members at the last negotiation?”

“Martino, Tessio, Paulo.”

“Who’s Paulo?”

“Their consigliere^[2]. It’s their rule that the consigliere must be involved in major negotiations. We also had three people: Bran, myself, and Hagan.”

“Is Hagan your lawyer?”

“Yes.”

“FBI?”

“No. He’s a legal expert Bran brought in personally for police matters when he started managing the territory. Said they went to the same university.”

“Hmm.”

Isaiah finally leaned back into the seat. Finally free from the barrage of questions, Samuel let out a slight sigh. And when the car stopped at a signal, this time he asked,

“By the way, how did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That the FBI was also involved.”