The Black Swan Behind

314 A Thank-you

Calvin’s gentle action was immediately followed by the other guys, so that now the girls could sit comfortably because their previously exposed smooth thighs were covered.

“I’ve put the camera on the safest spot where it’s hard to be seen. We’ll be watching Dragger’s base 24 hours until the day of our attack,” Emma said.

Troy nodded slowly. “Would you need our help to keep an eye on that? To be honest, I’m feeling a little bad because your group is already working on too much,”

Emma looked at Troy for a moment. “Well, it doesn’t matter, Troy. But if you do feel that way, one or two of your guys can help us watch over the camera,”

Linda nodded. “Well, having to stay awake from night to morning is not really liked by our girls. Staying up late will make our eye bags darken,”

“Then let us replace you,” Martin replied as held up his thumbs while grinning widely.

“Anyway, how did you get a picture of James Kade and the information that all members of the Black Hole have the same tattoo?” Troy asked Emma.

“One of my friends told me. He is the guy behind the 37.1 AM radio channel.” Emma answered casually.

Hearing that, the guys were stunned, especially Calvin whose face was completely shocked.

.....

“You sure?” Calvin asked with widened eyes.

“Don’t tell me that he is part of the Black Swan too?” Troy asked.

Emma shook her head. “He is the craftsman who made our masks and costumes all along. We also just recently found it out and I won’t mention his name because he is very introverted. But, he has a networking group with very many members. They roam the internet world and are closed people who often become targets of bullying like Roger.”

“Let me guess. The guy created the network and the 37.1 AM radio broadcast because he couldn’t stand the way those thugs were treating him?” Ian asked.

“Exactly, Ian. They can’t fight them back physically. But their abilities can really help our work. Because we have the same goal, he was willing to help Black Swan.” Emma explained.

***

On this sunny day, Emma sat on a wooden swing at the playground near her house. It seemed that this might be the only day in the next few weeks when she could relax. However, she did not spend this free day alone.

Emma flinched when something hard and cold pressed against her cheek. A chuckle from a male voice sounded from behind her, making her laugh because she knew who he was.

“You. Sur-” Levi immediately stopped his words when he saw Emma’s face when she turned to him.

“Gosh! What happened to you?” Levi asked quickly.

Emma knew what Levi meant. She immediately held the side of her lips at a glance. “It’s nothing,”

“It’s nothing? Are you out of your mind? Your lip is badly injured like that. Did you get hit by someone?” Levi kneeled in front of Emma with one hand holding down the swing that the girl was sitting on.

“You’re ridiculous. How could someone dare to hit me…” Emma replied, glancing in another direction to relieve her nervousness from lying.

“It sure looks like a punch wound, Emma. Don’t you think I’m an idiot! It’s obvious,” He looked at Emma sharply as if he could penetrate what was in Emma’s mind. “Tell me; who hit you?” his voice became very deep.

Emma cleared her throat, then took the ice cream in Levi’s hand. She knew that the matcha ice cream was for her. “I’m not lying. I had a little accident during my morning jog, a cyclist hit me.”

“How is it possible that being hit by a bicycle can cause a wound on the corner of the lip like that?” Levi frowned.

“That’s possible. You didn’t see the real events. This does sound strange and absurd. But, it really happened,” Emma said while opening the ice cream wrapper.

“Emma,” Levi grabbed one of Emma’s hands to make her focus more on their conversation than on the ice cream which he was sure only she used as a distraction.

“Not everything has an explanation, Levi. Can I ask you to trust me on this?” Emma asked with a deep look at him.

Levi stared at Emma’s light brown eyes for a long time, then he nodded with a sigh. “Fine. Even though it’s hard to believe, I will do what you ask,” he answered, rising to his feet and sitting on the swing beside Emma.

“Thanks,” Emma said with a chuckle as she put the beautiful green ice cream into her mouth, “Mm… this is so sweet,”

Even though she looked relaxed, Emma heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. She felt guilty for lying to Levi and even forced him to believe her words. She had no other choice but to do what she just did.

In fact, Emma had covered her face, which still had some bruises, using a lot of make-up foundation. Levi only saw wounds that couldn’t be covered by makeup. Just Imagine if the man saw the bruises on Emma’s face. Maybe he’d go berserk like Godzilla.

“How have you been all this time? How was the test you told me about? The thing that made you scared and worried,” Levi asked.

Emma nodded slowly then smiled broadly. “One of the biggest things I feared has happened,”

Levi’s eyebrows rose high. “It was? Was it fatal?”

“Very,” Emma answered without dimming her smile.

Levi’s face turned confused. “Your face doesn’t match what you’re talking about, you know?”

Emma immediately laughed. “That day, I experienced what I had always been afraid of happening. However, after going through it, I realized that it wasn’t as bad as I imagined. In fact, the thing I least wanted to happen gave me a new chance,”

Emma’s explanation made Levi also smile happily. “I told you that the image of the pain will hurt more than the pain itself. I’m happy you could prove it yourself,”

Emma nodded, then let out a long sigh. “I went through a lot of things that were both surprising and interesting. I can’t imagine if my spirits were dimmed at that time. Maybe that would make me eaten by fear,” She looked at Levi with an even brighter smile. “I asked you out today to thank you. I’ll treat you to an all-you-can-eat meal anywhere,”

“Well… That’s an interesting reward. But, can I exchange it for something else?” Levi asked.

“If that’s not weird, then fine,” Emma answered.

Levi then snorted. “What do you mean by Weird?”

Emma chuckled. “All right... What’s that, Levi?”