I Fooled The Goddess Into Pitying Me-Chapter 47: Operation: Get Laid (1)
Jack walked into the house, wondering who could target Angela. He had no reason, but still, his mind went back to the last interaction they had. Yet no matter how hard he thought, nothing seemed out of place back then.
It couldn’t be Anna, right?
The letter Anna had left behind appeared in his mind. She had left in a hurry, and Angela got kidnapped the same day. It could be a coincidence, but Jack wanted to consider all possibilities. But after thinking a bit, he didn’t think it was Anna.
Yeah, it isn’t her. She wouldn’t try such a thing after our talk last night.
Even though Anna was a bit jealous, she wouldn’t go as far as to kidnap Angela just because something had happened between her and him.
This left him with two possibilities. Either someone was targeting him through her, or it could be those Claws whom Jack had messed with before.
He had a feeling they weren’t to be messed with, but since Angela did just that for his sake, they could’ve retaliated against her.
"Do you work with Jack?"
Granny’s voice snapped Jack out of his thoughts.
I forgot they can’t talk...
Inside, Juan was helping Granny as she served tea to his enforcers. Everything looked normal, but Jack had to disturb it.
"Granny," Jack said. "When was the last time you saw Angela?"
Granny looked up as if trying to remember.
"I haven’t seen her since last night. She said something about meeting you. I was about to ask you where she was since that brat didn’t call me in the morning like she usually did. Why? Is something the matter with her?"
"It isn’t anything serious. Just a minor inconvenience I have to deal with."
Usually, Granny would have inquired more, but this time she just nodded. Perhaps she understood Jack wasn’t in the same world as them, and didn’t bother learning more. The less they know about Jack’s work, the better it would be for them.
"Alright," she said. "Just don’t forget to eat something while you’re out. You’ve become skinny in just two days."
Jack nodded and turned to leave. Barco and Takeshi stood up too, ready to move, but Jack stopped them. Well, just Barco.
"Stay here," he instructed. "Takeshi is enough for this."
Jack was worried if someone was targeting him, they could target Granny and Juan as well. That’s why he left Barco behind. Although he didn’t explicitly say it, the mute brute understood and sat back down.
Granny looked worried as they left, but she didn’t express it. Instead, turning to Barco.
"You youngsters are quite busy, huh?"
Barco shrugged in reply. He was already forty-six years old. How could he know what the youngsters did?
—x—
Inside the car, Jack pulled out his phone and showed the message to Takeshi. It was Jack’s first time dealing with such a situation, so he asked someone who was experienced in the world of crime.
"How do you think we should approach it?" Jack asked.
The moment those words left his mouth, the car came to a screeching halt. Jack’s head slammed into the windshield, hissing in pain as he caressed his head.
"The hell are you doing—?"
Before Jack could continue, Takeshi typed something on the phone and showed it to Jack. The latter read the plan while rubbing his head and his eyes widened.
"Isn’t... this a bit much?" Jack asked.
He wasn’t the crime boss that Takeshi remembered. That’s why his brutal plan took Jack by surprise.
Takeshi thumped his chest once and gave Jack a look that he should trust him. Then he leaned in, opening the door for him. Since the kidnappers wanted Jack alone, Takeshi dropped him right in the middle of the road.
Jack only had a foot out when Takeshi sped away to prepare for the confrontation.
"...I have a feeling I should have asked Barco for help instead."
Sighing, he pulled out the contact information of the cab driver and called him in.
Look at me, a millionaire using a discounted cab to deliver a ransom.
—x—
The cab stopped in front of an old, run-down building at the edge of the city. It looked like something out of an 80s movie. The warehouse was at some distance, run over by nature.
Small plants emerged from the countless cracks in the building, while broken liquor bottles and cigarette buds lay strewn everywhere.
On closer inspection, one could also see the rusted, broken windows and graffiti covering the walls. A single hinge held the main gate in place, which too was rusted.
"Boss, you sure you want to do business here?" the cab driver asked.
Jack nodded, tapping the card for the fare. He could tell the driver he was there to rescue someone, so chose to lie instead.
Even then, the cab driver was worried about the location, wondering what business the young man had to do there.
When Jack told him where to drop him off, the driver instantly refused. No one wanted to go anywhere near a hideout of the Claws.
Forget about the discount. Jack had to pay him triple the fare just to get there, since it was his only way to move after Takeshi dumped him off.
"Leave, and don’t linger around," Jack said, closing the gate.
Even though the cab driver had a thing for scamming him, Jack still didn’t want him to get involved in the mess that was about to go down there. But his worries were unfounded.
"You don’t have to tell me twice," the driver said, speeding away.
People want to earn money, but only a few want to risk their lives for it. The cab driver wasn’t one of them.
Jack watched as the cab disappeared in the corner. Almost simultaneously, several men appeared around him. They were hiding behind the wild bushes and trees.
Well, at least they thought they were hiding. Even the Cab driver knew they were there and that’s why he hurried away.
"So... is this the part where you knock me out—?"
Whack!
The words had barely left Jack’s mouth when someone hit him on the head from behind, knocking him out.
