Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Greg was locked up all by himself, unable to move. Conner strolled over, sizing up the seemingly ordinary guy. "Who would've thought you're from The Silent Ring? You've been undercover for ages, snagged second place in that national computing contest, and swiped a bunch of state secrets. I've got to hand it to you. But I'm even more impressed that you single-handedly took down over a dozen of The Silent Ring's operatives. Bet your folks would be furious if they found out!"

Greg strained against his ropes, his anger bubbling over. "Don't get too full of yourself, Conner. In this digital era, you're all just ants. Thinking you can take on The Silent Ring? You're dreaming."

Conner nodded, sharing a knowing look with his sidekick. "Well, seems like he's done his research. He even knows who I am."

After a bit of joking around, Conner got a little serious. "My brother lost billions because of you. Sure, that River Dog's loaded, so it didn't hit him too hard, but his wife, she's a real penny-pincher. My brother wanted me to teach y'all a lesson, which would've meant taking you out."

"But then there's my missus, a cop, who wants me to play the good guy. So,

taking your life is off the table, leaving me in quite the pickle."

"Boss, just to clarify, Ms. Annie isn't your wife," his buddy pointed out.

"Enough with the nitpicking," Conner snapped. "Fiancée, okay?"

He pretended to mull it over. "The digital world is something, but if you had no hands, would your brain still be of any use?"

Greg's eyes went wide with fear. "What are you planning?"

Conner nodded. "Yeah, let's do that. Someone, chop off his hands."

His sidekick was stunned. "...Boss, you really want to chop them off?"noveldrama

Conner paused. "Think that's too lenient? Maybe we should throw in his feet too."

"Conner! You wouldn't dare. I'm a prized asset of The Silent Ring. If you touch me, they'll make you pay... Ah!"

A scream pierced the underground facility.

Conner, sitting back in a nearby

chair, lit a cigarette and took in his surroundings. His eyes landed on a fancy black chair on the stairs. Taking a drag, he exhaled slowly. "So the big boss of The Silent Ring used to park it there, huh? Looks like it's worth a fortune. Wonder what we'd get for it on the market."

"Money's not the issue. It's living long enough to spend it," his sidekick remarked.

The underground was steeped in dread and darkness, but Conner didn't bat an eye.

Meanwhile, over at The Silent Ring's HQ.

"What?!" Kon shot up at the news, storming out from behind the curtain to confront the messenger.

The subordinate reported grimly,,

"Mr. Kon, the six operatives we sent to fetch Greg have disappeared. One got nabbed by the cops, and the other five... ended up in Andre's hands."

Furious, Kon slapped the subordinate. "Useless!"

The subordinate didn't dare flinch, just took the blow.

Kon turned away, his jaw clenched tight with anger. "What a move-the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' They set us up to go after that guy, tick him off, only to sneak in and nab our people@ight under our noses."