BIA Ch. 114

As Isaiah placed the gun with the slide pulled back onto his chest, Chester glanced at it sideways, then belatedly licked Isaiah’s blood from his own lips.

“By the way, is this blood?”

“Yeah. Welcome to the world of HIV.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”

After shouting with a flustered face for a moment, Chester realized Isaiah was joking and calmly said,

“Well, since I’m infected anyway, let me do it.”

It seemed like asking to ‘do it’ was practically stuck to this guy’s lips. When Isaiah looked at him with a fed-up expression, Chester, perhaps embarrassed himself, flushed red and snapped angrily.

“It’s the last time anyway, we could do it just once.”

“What do you mean, last time? There are still two days left.”

“You said you’re going to Virginia today!”

“I’m coming back tomorrow.”

“So, are we going to do it tomorrow?”

“No.”

Isaiah answered immediately. Chester glared at Isaiah with an I-told-you-so look, then wiped his face with his palm. Isaiah watched Chester quietly before finally sliding the pistol’s slide back into place and speaking.

“Chester.”

“What.”

“You seem pretty relaxed?”

D-day is the day after tomorrow, yet he didn’t care who became the boss, only thinking about how to get laid. Just a month ago, this was the guy who chain-smoked with trembling hands whenever the topic of succession came up. Seeing him act so relaxed even two days before, it was clear he knew he was going to become the boss.

“Why wouldn’t I be relaxed? The conclusion is practically already decided.”

Chester didn’t deny it.

“If I become the boss, Bran can never attack me first. He has no justification.”

That was true. And that was exactly what worried Isaiah the most right now. Smashing Chester’s head wasn’t difficult, but he feared the aftermath Bran would have to face if he succeeded. Perhaps the remaining Kalisipa subordinates would try to oust Bran under the pretext of breaking the ‘Brotherhood Oath’.

Conversely, Chester could attack Bran anytime. If Bran became the boss, Chester could attack him under the pretext of reclaiming his stolen position. If he himself became the boss, he could kill Bran under the pretext of eliminating a threat. Chester had the justification for it. The blood flowing in his veins, the surname attached to his name—that was his justification.

“This was a game I was bound to win from the start.”

Gone were the days he nervously bit his nails; now that it was clear he would become the boss, Chester acted utterly arrogant. Watching him, Isaiah felt anger rise within him for no reason.

“Yeah. Congratulations, papa’s boy.”

Finally, Isaiah stood up, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He expected Chester to snap back immediately, but surprisingly, Chester said nothing. He just quietly watched Isaiah head towards the bathroom. With uncharacteristically melancholic eyes.

Isaiah left the Taten Building at two in the afternoon. Chester was with him. After Isaiah finished showering and came out, the guy had remained sitting on the sofa, lips tightly sealed, then suddenly insisted on driving him to the airport himself.

“I can just take a taxi.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll probably ditch your phone again and sneak off somewhere else halfway.”

“My flight’s at four. I don’t have time for other things.”

“Just shut up and get in.”

Since Chester was stubbornly insisting, and arguing further felt tiresome, Isaiah decided to just ride in Chester’s car. However, as soon as he got into the passenger seat, he closed his eyes. He intended to strike the back of Chester’s hand if he tried anything funny, but whether he sensed it or not, Chester focused solely on driving. Of course, he ran his mouth intermittently—mostly delivering grand explanations about the Kalisz’s vision and his own plans for reorganizing the group, things Isaiah had no interest in—but anyway, both his hands remained firmly on the steering wheel.

“…So, if I establish a foundation, I’m thinking of listing a few friends who helped me this time as directors.”

“I see.”

Isaiah replied perfunctorily, looking out the window. Just as he thought it was about time they reached the airport, a wide space resembling a runway came into view in the distance.

“Loyalty is important in this business, after all. If you receive help, it’s right to give back just as much. Don’t you think?”

“Right.”

“I’ll treat them unimaginably well. I’ll take care of them enough to make them think they did the right thing siding with me instead of Bran.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”

Whether he killed or took care of the people around him was none of Isaiah’s business, but Chester acting like he was already the boss was extremely annoying. As Isaiah deliberately showed his disinterest by staring only out the window, he felt Chester glancing at him sideways. He was just timing his exit, thinking of getting out whether they were in the middle of the road or not if Chester said one more word, but fortunately, the car entered the airport grounds. As if suddenly rushed, Chester spoke quickly.

“So, what I’m saying is.”

“I’ll get out here. Thanks.”

Isaiah immediately unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

“What? No, hey, wait a second.”

Chester shouted, seemingly flustered. Isaiah pretended not to hear and crossed to the sidewalk. Ignoring the honking from behind, he walked quickly towards the airport building. Chester followed, honking for a while, but eventually gave up and sped off when the cars behind him started causing a commotion. The moment Chester’s car disappeared from view, Isaiah entered the airport building.

Leaving early because he wanted to get away from Chester as soon as possible was good, but now there was too much time left until boarding. After completing the check-in procedures, Isaiah found a seat near the boarding gate and immediately took out the smartphone Bran had given him. He fiddled with it for a while, then tried calling, but as expected, there was no answer. It was probably a busy time for Bran. Isaiah left a message saying he was departing for Virginia soon. He waited for a reply, just in case, but no message came by the time he boarded the plane. It was the same after he got off the plane.

Feeling a bit drained, Isaiah hailed a taxi. Even as lovers, I’m still the only one getting anxious. After briefly fiddling with the silent smartphone with a bitter feeling, Isaiah quickly put the phone in his pants pocket and straightened his posture. Since a while ago, a black sedan had been repeatedly appearing and disappearing in the side mirror. The car was a common Ford sedan, but the driving skill was not. Not only did it merge skillfully, but it also boldly crossed lanes, seemingly ignoring traffic signals. Moreover, with this level of driving skill, they could easily overtake, but whenever they got slightly closer, they would cleverly fall back, maintaining a certain distance, which bothered him.

“Excuse me, could I change the destination?”

Isaiah changed his plan to go straight to the hospital and headed towards Charlottesville instead. Even after the taxi entered Highway 29, the black sedan continued to follow.

Probably guys Chester sent. He had thought it was strange for that paranoid bastard to let him go so easily anyway. Normally, he would have struggled desperately to follow somehow. If he couldn’t come himself, he was the type to send Manny at least. But surprisingly, he only said to have a safe trip; it seemed it was because he planned to attach these rats.

Isaiah quietly watched the Ford sedan, which had once again appeared at the edge of the side mirror. Naturally, he couldn’t see the driver’s face.

It would be better if it were Ted and Exley.

Isaiah thought, lowering the car window and resting his arm on the frame. Since they’re guys I’ll kill in two days anyway, I’d rather get rid of them today without the extra trouble.

Of course, he intended to take them out even if it wasn’t those two. He had let Chester run wild because it was bothersome, but the guy didn’t know his place and his antics had gone too far. It was necessary to show him what happens when he pulls stunts like this without permission.

The taxi soon entered a residential area of Charlottesville. Typical of a neighborhood where many retired rich old folks lived, it was as dark as midnight even though it was just past eight in the evening. Because even the streetlights had been replaced with dimmer ones under the pretext of not disturbing the old folks’ sleep, the surroundings were even darker.

When the taxi stopped in front of the house, Isaiah paid the fare, including a generous tip. Before the taxi even left, he opened the front door and went inside. Without turning on any lights in the house, he headed straight for his room. He opened the walk-in closet inside the bedroom and took out the M24A2 from the third shelf of the storage cabinet. There wasn’t much choice since the M24A2 was the only assembled firearm, but he had assembled only this M24A2 for ready use in the first place because this model was a versatile rifle suitable for both long and short-range engagements.

However, the choice of ammunition required more caution. Dark evening, quiet residential area, short-range target. Based on these three conditions, the 300 Winchester Magnum might seem appropriate, but if the sniping occurred within 100 yards, the target’s head would surely be blown off. And in a rural area like this, the police response time often depended on the condition of the corpse. Therefore, it was better to make the cleanest possible hole. Isaiah filled the magazine with 7.62mm small ammunition. Finally, after attaching a suppressor, he put on night-vision goggles and left the bedroom.