Zodiac Sigh!
Author's Note: --
Chapter 14 – Lion vs. Bull
"You'll see." He said calmly.
"May I see the rest of the cards?"
"Certainly." He permitted.
Shizuru flips all the remaining cards at the table. The four of it shows a soaring eagle, a bear clawing his way, a raging bull and a small but sneaky rat. What kind of man Sakyo is? What in the world he was doing? What does he want? What kind of strategy he was up to destroy the enemy?
Sakyo confessed something to her. "For now, you would not understand why I am doing this. It is early to say and I don't want to divulge my plans to you."
"You don't trust me, aren't you?"
"I do trust you however, when it comes to preparing a war, I trust no one but myself."
An air of disparity emerged from both of them as she analyzed Sakyo was getting mysterious by the minute. She wanted to ask more questions but she cannot. He maybe right, he was surely up to something in his sleeves. There is another thing that she considers it disturbing, his blue eyes are getting intense.
It was so intense that she can feel the flame of his wrath coming out from his darker side. If only she can see and read auras, then she knew he was few steps away from explosion.
Sakyo approaches from her front as she startled from his action. What is he going to do this time?
"Shizuru, everything will be over."
She does not know what he is talking about.
No words can describe the depth of his emotions as he embraced the off-guard female. She is having a confusing time whether Sakyo is a soldier ready for war or a mystic lover.
Whatever that is, she is enjoying it. Love is such bizarre thing to explore when you are emotionally incline, which drizzles your lonely heart. There was no space in between them as Shizuru made her moment memorable by paying him back an embrace.
"You deserve better." He whispered.
She could not help it but asked, "What do you mean?"
He loosens his arms from her body to get a closer look at her eyes.
Is he trying to kiss me?
Instead of a kiss, he went back from his table to get something from his drawer. A sound of 'thud' met their ears as he gave her…
…a teddy bear!
Not just an ordinary teddy bear as she glanced at its neck. Stunning and sparkling topaz gems aligned perfectly to the white gold bracelet.
"Do you think this is too much?" she doubted.
"In my vocabulary, there is no such thing as 'too much'." He claimed but deep down inside…he just can't do it.
Thirty minutes have passed as Sakyo contacted his butler that he will not be coming home tonight. Louie acknowledges his call since he decided to stay at the office to do some 'extra work'. He also instructed his servant that he should bring his clothes at early morning. He did affirm his orders by taking down some notes.
Sakyo pushes down the red key from his cellphone to end their short conversation. He removes his suit and hangs it over his chair. He stares down at the monitor without even blinking his eyes.
His successes and failures had brought this man formidable, as he will remember those things by heart. Mr. Butajiri marches quickly in his place that Sakyo will least expect it…but he was wrong.
True enough, he did catch him by surprise when he attacked the company's security systems. It costs him dearly but money is no object as of this time. He somewhat figured that he used spies to undermine his company. There are so many people committed those crimes for the past three years but one of them stands out.
It was his former secretary, Jin Ito.
He doesn't need the police's help to solve crimes since he knew each employee psychologically on how they act and behave. Although, he never read their individual reports but the interview gave him a general idea of whom they are. Personalities really stood out among the crowd.
Sakyo uses his art of the general to utilize his campaign. If he wants war, then so be it…let there be war. The purpose of war is not battle at all. No company goes to war to fight. It goes to war to attain its purpose. It may be that a nation must destroy the enemy's army to achieve this purpose. However, the destruction is not the end; it is only the incidental by-product or the means to the end.
Goliath Company is like an imperial power with avaricious lust for more wealth and more power. Additionally, that it has always exhibited base ideals and disrespect for the underprivileged. Evidence he cited were from his former employees who cried out their disappointments and woes over Mr. Butajiri. Sakyo knew that Shizuru has a lot to say about him. He understood that she wanted to forget all the miserable conditions that she went through but it gave him a clearest idea of what was happening among his subordinates. The veteran CEO despises all of them and he has no gratitude for them.
He tapped the pen unto his table as he began to plan his next move. He saw a device lying down quietly. This device is the brainchild of the company…he called it 'shadow skill'. It is a hardware, when downloaded completely; it will trace every computer in his company and the others as well, to scan their last activity. He programmed it by himself in case this situation happens…and it does. For instance, if someone maliciously garnered all the passwords, all it can do is to disguise itself as a friendly program. By that time, it detects corrupt work and suspends the user from doing it further. Moreover, it will create a report and sends immediately to the nearest police station to where the person lives.
If in case the police found the program, it will automatically save from the computer's profiles. After that, 'shadow skill' will disappear without a trace.
Sakyo is psychotically clever.
He knew exactly who stole this counterpart program, 'master key'…
It was not just Jin Ito but also someone else from his company…
…and that person has a thing for him.
Mr. Butajiri and his newfound allies were celebrating in a French five-star restaurant. They all ordered the entire expensive epicureans that have in the menu. Jin Ito chooses the nineteenth century French wine to give each other a toast of victory. Meanwhile, the mysterious person carefully counts the money that it salvages from internet banking.
They demand to the restaurant manager to stop accepting clients. All they want is to focus their attention only to them. The manager has no choice but to follow his orders as he signaled the waiters to serve them with utmost hospitality.
He loved being in command as he realize that these are the price of being filthy rich. He can easily attain to what his heart desires. It is the most evil motto and yet, it is the most pleasurable to experience. Jin opened his container to pick up his exotic cigar. He feels like he is the boss of the mafia where stealing is a virtue.
A greedy laughter makes them the devil's children in which business for them is like hell. They committed every single sin such as lies, wrath, and lust. Of course, bribery is included. Mr. Butajiri loved bribing his political clients to the point that they are willing to lick his feet down to the ground. He had such an enormous power when he had money. He also has charity foundation, which unknown to the public, every penny goes into his pocket.
As all of them are busy chanting and eating, one of the waiters, disguised as a police, gave his fellow officers a signal to surround the area. A group of police, waiting outside, quietly moved their feet to the ground with the entire arsenal in their hands. Additionally, the chief police already had a warrant of arrest in his hand. When everything is settle and clear, the whole unit storms the restaurant with the bewildered clients. Mr. Butajiri attempts to escape but it was too late. The chief officer hand him over the paper signifying that he needs to follow orders without bail. Jin Ito and the mysterious person are facing an arrest, as they were part of his evil scheme.
At the far corner of the street, Sakyo can clearly see the whole scenario from his car. Mr. Butajiri's hands were handcuff as the chief escorts him inside the car. His two associates followed him next as he knew they were the ones responsible for computer theft. It was almost midnight, as he shows no sign of sleepiness. He extracted revenge to those who foolishly attempts to destroy him. They are the ones who truly deserve his justified wrath. After all, it was a fair game and he did not violate its rules.
Just like his sun sign, the lion is the undisputed king of the jungle.
He plans to have a meeting tomorrow with his legal counsel on what necessary steps to make. The future is predictable when he intensively study the current events. His instincts also played an important role. A sixth sense should develop further as it gave him a mental power to invade a mind. Indeed, the mind is the most complex organ when discovering its capabilities. However, when revealed, certainly it was the most powerful war tool of all.
Shizuru was sitting at her study table, trying to analyze Sakyo's cards from her mind. There were a soaring eagle, raging bull, angry lion, sneaky rat and a clawing bear. Does Sakyo love animals? That idea quickly exits out from it.
She remembered the sentence that came out from his mouth.
"For now, you would not understand why I am doing this. It is early to say and I don't want to divulge my plans to you."
Could it be the plan that he was talking about are the animals themselves?
If her analysis is right, then it must be it. The soaring eagle means that he should search his rival's plans. The clawing bear means that he should confront him. The sneaky rat means that he should attack his rival by secrecy. The raging bull means to use his strong points to overthrow the enemy. Lastly, the angry lion means to destroy his rival…until nothing remains.
What a strange and unfortunate event happening before her eyes!
She wrote her findings unto her notebook fast. Her ideas are on fire as she raced against the fading memory. She made a brilliant discovery of his plans. It was like authenticating an archaeological artifact from the two thousand year old tomb. When one freely decides to follow the mental clues completely, it takes preference over other plans.
Sakyo's words do not create any incompatibility between him and the lion, but rather it highlights his overall personality. His words of war cannot take precedence over the words of command. To follow his cognitive strategy means there should be an unfettered emotional detachment.
How smart he is and at the same time…
…she does not understand him.
Truly, men are the complete opposites of women, who intellectually, incline to control the matters of the world. They are rational indeed. Although they are some men who are sensitive and emotional, it dominates their character. Sakyo has charisma, too and she loved every bit of it.
She massages her head, trying to ease her aches and pain.
The thought of his image did not escape from her mind.
Why did I keep thinking about you? Why am I so worried? Worst, why am I acting this way?
Could it be that I was falling in love with him?
She decided to sleep as she turns off the light from the table. Slipping herself beneath the blanket reminds her of the vivid dream. She took one of the pillows and kept it tightly in her body. It gave her a sense of security as the night stood still over the silent city. A fragmented piece of her puzzle will finally integrate for tomorrow's aftermath. Although her body rests from tonight's exhaustion, her eyes could not get close to doze. She waited for few more hours until it finally rested to sleep.
-To be continued-