C3 Chapter 3

Gun taps Dezrail's shoulder as he enters their office. Dezrail is busy decoding something when Gun caught his attention on it.

"What is that?" Gun asked in astonishment before slumping down on a couch and taking a goblet over the center table before pouring the wine. Dezrail got a piece of paper from their last mission. It contains a code or something he didn't understand.

"It's a code. I'm trying to decode this shit but I can't find any clue." He said. Crumpled papers scattered all over his desk even on the carpet. It has been written almost in a notebook.

"That old man is torturous big time!" Gun swallowed the wine in his goblet. Mr. Alexis Santiago is one of the powerful syndicate leaders in the underground society, the one Dezrail got killed the other day. Its job is to bring drugs into the country which is inevitable especially and they are in an underground society full of dirty jobs. But their organization is the one who cleaned all the mess or viruses inside their territory. Every day their Boss’s desk is full of documents with the amount of mission coming.

"He's already gone; all we have to do is to decode this shit so that we can learn what their next move is after I eliminate their Boss." Dezrail laid the piece of paper on the table where his friend was.

AsO2 BO3 BO3 PbO2

AsO2 BO3

SnO2

ZnO2 MoO4 C2H3O2 C2H3O2 HCOO BO3

"What the hell is this code?" Gun exclaimed. They don't know what kind of code it is.

"That's what I'm asking myself too. I never encountered this kind of code." Dezrail commented to his friend.

Their mission is already complicated; it has become even more complicated because of what is written on a small piece of paper.

"Bring it to our Intel, Dezrail," Gun orders.

"They already saw it, but they also don't know how to decode this thing." Dezrail answered.

"How about Aqueros?" Gun asks him.

"He's not here you know, he's staying at Middle-Class hideout." The two young men let out a loud sigh, wondering how they would know the contents of that code. They are running out of time!

"What did that idiot think and still hang out there? Let's call him!"

****

Ernaline is shakingly feared as she enters the room where the guys are waiting for her to audition, she wants to run away but she is already here and there is no delay.

"What's your name, Miss?" A guy named Kyle Lee Yoo asks her as she stands in front of the platform while nervously holding her guitar. It feels different when you are in the middle of the stage and someone is watching you. It was as if she just wanted to go home and hide in her room because she was so nervous.

"E ... Ernaline Ashleigh Montenegro," she answered in shock. The man who asked her the question nodded and did not speak again and was busy scanning the paper he was holding.

"Why do you want to audition?" Ernaline stared at the man next to a person who looked like Espasol because he was so white. He is a bit scary because of his serious face. It's like her brother - looks like a robot on the outside but her brother has a soft side and this guy she doesn't think she will like as a person - his name is Senri Daeyl Kuruzaki.

She didn’t know there was an interrogation first before diving into the real audition of why she came here. It's her first time in such events; you know that Ernaline Ashleigh Montenegro is a loner.

Ernaline straightened up. "W… well it's a personal purpose. I want to introduce my music. As you can see I'm a little bit songwriter and I know how to play some instruments but my favorite is a guitar"

Ernaline caught the attention of the four men in front of her while her brother's friend Calvin just smiled at her.

"A composer? Cool!" Said of a man who looks like a bad boy because of his black piercing - he is Timothy Jasper Lee. He folded his arms in front of him as she looked at Ernaline.

"Start when you're ready, Ashleigh," Calvin replied.

Ernaline nodded shyly before starting to strum the guitar. Ernaline felt the trembling of her hands as she tuned the guitar. One of the staff reached for her seat, she immediately thanked him before sitting down. She cleared her throat as the microphone placed on the mic stand was pointed at her and began to sing.

Ernaline did it slowly singing and playing the guitar. It's an acoustic version and her favorite genre is ballad songs. She didn’t know why but it was her finger’s chosen tune.

The people around Ernaline listened intently. This is the first time she sings in front of other people. She lowered her gaze to her fingers constantly moving. Regardless of the eyes who are staring at her.

Ernaline's song ended with no one spilling around. She felt even more embarrassed because she was not ready for what they would say. Ernaline heard a sigh but did not look up at them. She just remained bent over and stared at the tip of her shoe as she hugged the guitar.

****

Calvin cleared his throat after Ernaline finished her song.

"So what do you guys think?" Calvin looked at his companions at the table.

"Can I ask you something, Miss Montenegro?" Kyle said referring to Reiden's sister. Calvin turns his gaze in front and thinks what Kyle will ask her.

"Did you happen to know Mr. Reiden Montenegro, he's a CEO of the Montenegro Empire," Calvin creased his forehead because of Kyle's question. He already said it to them about her, why asking her so suddenly?

"He's my brother." Ernaline Ashleigh answered. Kyle didn't utter a single word after asking her. Calvin saw a glimpse of a spark in Kyle's eyes as the result of his confusion.

"Maybe we need a songwriter Cal, I don't like Senri's taste of music, and it's a little bit sad," Kaizen said as he gazes his attention to him.

"You think so?" Calvin answered.

"Rock music isn't my thing Jasper," Senri said out of nowhere.

These guys have a different taste in music, so Calvin wondered how these crazy people clicked on each other.

"Alright then, can we have her as your new vocalist? The question is will your fans accept her?" Calvin asks them.

Senri is the one who answered. "Even if our fans wouldn't accept her as a new leader and vocalist of our band, we don't care though as long as we can continue to produce our music."

Calvin nodded, Senri is right. Music is the only thing that they need but it's still more important for those people who enjoy their song. He wouldn't mind if this was what his friends wanted. But why did the former vocalist of the band leave them on the air without even saying goodbye?

"You can start next week Ernaline as their new vocalist. Don't worry; your contract signing will be tomorrow so come back here in the morning, okay?"

"You're in Miss Montenegro, see you tomorrow."

Ernaline could not process the discussions of the men in front of her. This is how it feels, the joy that envelops her as if she is on cloud nine. Calvin also kept repeating in her mind that she was accepted and that she had to come back the next day for the contract signing as the new Black hands' vocalist.

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