Hades decided to stretch his cramped limbs after nearly an hour of endless paperwork and quiet solitude inside his quarters. When he left his office, he discovered that the city had been completely devoured by the night.

The bright light from the headlights that had passed by the main road caused Hades to adjust the way he looked outside in order to avoid being blinded by it. The city lights shone brightly, reminding him that nightlife had finally begun and was waiting for him.

He yawned, Hades thought that the evening was still too young for him to retire home. He climbed into his Maybach Exelero and drove down the bustling intersection of Larkspur, South Carolina.

Hades' after-work habit was to stop by the Orange Flamingo, where he would linger for a couple of hours to drink until he was too exhausted. That's how Hades would run his life after work, so he could simply fall asleep when he got home.

“Is it the same brand, boss?” Miguel, the regular bartender, inquired as he wiped one of the cleaned beer glasses fresh from the sink.

Hades nodded grimly. He secured his usual spot on the counter’s stool. Miguel immediately realized the cue and handed Hades a mug and a bottle. “Four times the alcohol, four times the hops, and four times the flavor.”

“BrewDog calms my nerves down easily.”

“Are you still working extra hours, boss?”

“It's nothing new—” Hades smiled as he added, “—within this solitude, I sentenced myself.”

“What a miserable life when you have all the luxuries,” Miguel remarked. Miguel has earned the badge for taking cheap shots at Hades because he is accustomed to his presence. And as he finished his first glass, Hades doesn't seem to mind.

Their conversation was cut short when another customer sat on the empty stool next to Hades and ordered the same brand.

“Miguel...Miguel…” The man beside Hades with a mature hoarse voice approached Miguel straight away. It was too downright frightening to hear that Hades had kept his annoyance obscured.

“Have you been ignoring my phone calls?”? The man inquired of Miguel.

“There was no reason for me to respond,” Miguel retorted sarcastically.

Hades rolled his eyes inwardly. He was well aware that Miguel's response would incite a feud. But since Hades dislikes violence and fights, he quickly finished another glass and left a few dollar bills on the counter for Miguel before he strided for the door. Hades had foreseen where the conversation would go, and he didn't want to get involved.

“Hey you!”

Before Hades could even took another step outdoors, a man called from behind him. Though Hades had no intention of turning around, the man eventually catched up with him, which infuriated Hades even more.

Hades was exhausted and all he wanted after work was a tranquil drinking spree, but that was abruptly interrupted when this strange person with an overwhelming stinky attitude, like his breath, entered the area.

“You appear to be a newcomer here. Why don't you join me for a drink instead?” the man asked. Hades knew the likes of him.

The man in front of him is nothing more than a drunken jackass who was just plaguing Orange Flamingo.

He ventured to inform Hades. He mistook him for a newcomer to the area, despite the fact that Hades routinely visited around these hours. Hades can't help but be disappointed. He thinks the guy is completely pathetic. He believed that responding to him with even a single word was meaningless and a waste of time.

The man flared up just as Hades turned his back on him again.?

“I haven't finished talking yet. Why are you urning your back on me?” he told Hades, attempting to send a fist that Hades easily avoided.

Hades grabbed his arm and twisted it against his back, then kicked the back of his knees which forced him to kneel quickly on the floor.

“Fine. Now you heard me talk, asshole,” Hades added with a sneer.

In anguish, the man begged and cried. “Please...Have mercy on me. I-I will do everything you say as long as you let go of my hand,” he begged Hades.

Hades placed his weight against the man's twisted arm which exacerbated the suffering.

“Gawd, have mercy!” The man sobbed.

“If I ever see you come around this spot once more, I swear you'll never make it out with an arm again,” Hades whispered beside the man's left ear, “You hear me?” he added. Hades clenched his teeth. He restrained the violent desire he wished to bestow on the man.

“Yes, yes... I'm not coming back here,” the man continued to plead while his face kissed the floor.

Hades soon released his arm. He then landed a powerful kick in his gut that caused the person to scream in agony as Hades marched for the exit.

As soon as Hades reached the streets outside Orange Flamingo, he let out a frustrated groan. He moved his wrist in a circle motion, deep in thought about where he would go now to continue drinking.

Hades sighed.

Perhaps he should have just gone home and drank there instead. At the very least, no one would bother him if he stayed in his room all night.

But, just as Hades was about to get into his car, a woman panted and raced—for what appeared to be her life—collided with him.

“Sir, please help me!” she begs. She appeared anxious, as if she had been running for a long time and was fatigued.

Hades was deafeningly silent. He had no idea what to do with the woman and had no desire to become involved with her. But he can't deny that she really needed some help in her current state.

“What happened to you?” he inquired.

“I have no time left. I desperately need somewhere to hide,” she murmured. She glanced around nervously. Her eyes are welled up with tears.

Hades is quite skeptical. He had no idea who she was or where she was from. He can't just be too sympathetic to everyone. Hades just wondered whether the woman was trying to persuade him that she really needed his help for some ulterior motive.

Hades, on the other hand, was stirred by her presence at some point. She appeared frail and vulnerable. Perhaps it was her excessive running that caused her brown locks to become entangled as she swayed them away from her sweated face. The woman's rich perfume of rose and ambrosia teased Hades' nose. Hades was so engrossed that he shook his head to get his bearings.

Hades refused to give in to his irrational impulses. His doubts about her were striving to overwhelm him, but his compassion for the woman seemed to have won out.

“Please, Sir, I beg you. They're after me, and if they catch me, they'll kill me,” she added.

“Who are these people? And why are they hunting you? Have you done anything—”

The woman cut Hades off before he could continue saying what he was supposed to ask her. Frightened by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching behind them, she hastily pushed Hades inside the car and followed him.

“What the fu—” Hades was about to say something when the woman covered his mouth with her palm and hushed him to stop himself.

The woman sat on top of Hades' hips. She placed a finger before her lips, which pleaded with Hades to be quiet. “Sir, please be quiet. Just this once until they all leave,” she replied as she shut the car door.

Hades was taken aback by her actions. Their current situation made him feel even more uneasy, as the heart of her femininity was pressed against his groin.

Hades altered his stance so that his back was reclined on the car seat, but the woman quickly followed his moves and made it more difficult for Hades to keep his sanity from bursting.