Third person's POV
Derek's voice was like a death knell, echoing in Black Fox's ear as he heard the boy's hurried footsteps through the phone.
"Selena, don't do anything foolish! Where are you?" the boy exclaimed.
"Stop! Stop, please!" Black Fox shouted desperately.
The boy suddenly paused. "I thought I heard something. Did you hear that?"
"It's not the time for that now. We haven't found Selena yet."
"You're right." The boy climbed over the railing. He expected to find Selena just on the other side, only to discover no one there. The narrow ledge he stood on was only fifteen centimeters wide, and one wrong move would send him plummeting to his death from the fiftieth floor.
Unaware of the danger, the boy asked, "There's no one here. Are you sure she's here? Have you mistaken?"
"I'm not mistaken." The man's expression darkened, like the grim reaper himself.
"I never had a sister. I've been after you all along," he added.
The boy, inexperienced in such situations, asked with his eyes filled with helplessness, "Why? What have I done to you?"
"Blame it on your brother." The man shrugged.
"Brother? Do you know where my brother is?" the boy wondered, a surprised look in his eyes.
Derek then started to count down, "Three, two, one, say goodbye to him."
Black Fox jerked his head up, speaking with all his might, "I'll talk. I'll talk. Just let him go..."
Over the years, Black Fox had been anonymously funding his brother's education, saving money for his brother's future.
These kinds of people often cared the most about their families.
"You should have done this earlier," Derek said, giving Alvin a signal.
The men on the other end let the boy leave.
The call ended, and Derek administered an antidote. "You have ten minutes to come to your senses."
"I need to make sure my brother is safe," said Black Fox.
"Relax, I'm not one to harm the innocent, especially civilians," reassured Derek.
Once Black Fox confirmed his brother was fine, he began to speak slowly, "I once fell off the cliff and lost my memory. And someone saved me."
"Who?"
"I don't know. I never saw his face. He was gone when I woke up. He made me join his organization; I guess you might have heard of it."
"What's its name?"
"North Star."
Derek frowned upon hearing that.
There were many mercenary groups around the world, but only a few were well-known.
North Star was in the top three. And it was different from Black Wolf Guild in nature.
Black Wolf Guild took any job for money, while North Star consisted of global fugitives.
They were rumored to have robust financial backing and were known to orchestrate terrorist attacks.
Any event linked to North Star was sure to make global headlines.
Why would an organization like this go after Tabitha?
"What was this person's position in North Star?" asked Derek.
Black Fox replied, "I'm not sure. North Star is very secretive. Even when you're assigned a mission, you only learn the target and your team members right before the operation. We don't even know the backgrounds of our so-called partners. I only know he held a high position, which is why he could assign me missions."
"What kind of mission?" Derek pressed.
"To assassinate Tabitha, by any means necessary."
Black Fox thought for a moment and added, "I was the primary executor of this mission. It was not assigned internally by North Star but privately given to me by him. He told me that if I killed Tabitha, I could leave the organization. I... I had no other choice."