Chapter 3 THE SURPRISE

"But Ken, why would Mr. Smith tell us to come here without any other instructions? He only said he'd leave a clue, but I don’t see anything, and this is so tiring," Mark said, disappointment clear on his face.

Ken often wondered how he ended up with Mark. Though he had a fighting spirit, Mark was never serious about anything.

"Mark, we were told to look out for tracks. Can you please focus on that?" Ken urged him.

"Oh, tracks? Like the red ones we passed a couple of times? They looked weird and funny, too. You should have seen them; I bet you would have laughed," Mark replied, chuckling. Ken stared at him, stunned.

"What?" Mark asked, puzzled.

"We passed a red track, and you didn’t tell me? Oh God, Mark, that was supposed to be our clue!" Ken said, feeling frustrated.

"Can you find the track again?" he asked, trying to keep his cool.

"I guess I could, but those tracks looked so weird. I never thought they were what we were looking for," Mark commented casually.

"Mark, just be quiet and lead the way to the track," Ken said, exasperated.

"That was rude, man," Mark muttered, but he noticed Ken was already angry and decided to behave, leading the way.

They followed the same track and soon heard footsteps. They exchanged glances, preparing for whatever was coming. To their surprise, two figures dressed in black, with masks covering half of their faces, appeared. Despite the masks, it was clear they were female.

Mark looked at Ken with questioning eyes, but Ken was just as confused about who they could be.

Bella and Lisa were equally surprised to see two men, visibly puzzled by their presence. They stopped in front of them, and Bella spoke in a cold tone, "What’s your business here, and who told you to come?"

"Hi, ladies, my name is—" Mark began, but he clamped his mouth shut when Ken gave him a stern look.

"I don’t think that’s any of your concern. Now, move aside so we can pass," Ken said firmly.

Bella eyed the guy with deep brown hair, noticing his black attire, similar to theirs.

"You’ll have to make us move, because we’re not planning on going anywhere without answers," Lisa replied sharply.

"Well, I guess we’re doing this the hard way," Mark said with a wicked smirk before launching an attack on Lisa, who immediately fought back.

Bella stood still, trying to figure out what Uncle Smith—or rather, her father—was up to, but she couldn’t solve the puzzle. She sighed in frustration and noticed Ken staring at her. Their eyes met, and she approached him, thinking maybe this big, handsome guy was scared of her. She smirked, trying to appear harmless as she closed the distance.

"Hey, we don’t have to do this. Just let us pass," Ken said, hoping to avoid a fight with the small woman in front of him. But seeing how well her friend was handling Mark, he knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Mark was struggling to keep up with Lisa, who was smiling like she was playing a video game.

"Answer our questions, and then we’ll consider letting you pass," Bella said sweetly, still moving closer to Ken.

"Then you leave me no choice," Ken said, throwing a punch at Bella. She effortlessly caught his hand and delivered a hard kick to his stomach.

Ken was shocked that someone so small could pack such a powerful kick. He attacked again, but Bella skillfully avoided every punch and kick he threw at her.

Meanwhile, Lisa was still busy with Mark, who couldn’t stop talking. She attempted a double punch, but Mark trapped her hands, turning her back against his chest.

"Who taught you to fight like this? Tell me, because I’m really curious," Mark whispered in her ear.

Lisa responded by driving her elbow into Mark’s stomach, making him groan in pain. As he released her hands, she delivered a hard kick to his face.

Mark was caught off guard and couldn’t dodge the kick in time. The sharp pain in his head was immediate, and when he got up, his mouth and face were bleeding.

"Hey, watch the face, okay? Shit, I guess it’s too late to warn you," he said, wiping the blood away, determined to teach Lisa some manners.

Bella was impressed by Ken’s fighting skills. He was dodging all her punches and kicks, but she knew he was trying to tire her out. Realizing this, she changed her tactics, stopping her barrage of punches and kicks and instead decided to get serious.

Ken was taken aback when she shifted her strategy, distracting him by kicking a brick in his direction while simultaneously landing a punch on his stomach.

He groaned in pain as both the punch and the brick hit him. Mark was also kicked, stumbling backward and nearly falling on top of Ken, whose face was now bleeding.

Bella and Lisa pulled out guns, aiming them at Ken and Mark, who raised their hands in surrender.

"Put your hands behind your back," Bella ordered as she handcuffed both Ken and Mark.

"Both of you are coming with us," Bella said, dragging them away.