Chapter 3

Meanwhile, Mr. Wolf and Mr. Piranha were also on their side mission. Mr. Wolf received a call from Diane Foxington, informing him that some karaoke bars downtown have been operating illegal activities. With both him and Mr. Piranha's charisma, they could blend right into the club without raising any suspicion.

"So why are we going to the karaoke bar again, Chico? Can you repeat that?"

Mr. Wolf's ears pinned back as they walked along the sidewalk. "Diane told me that some of these karaoke bars are providing 'special services' aside from singing. It's not like a massage or a personal butler but they..."

The freshwater fish arched a brow. "They?"

"Some of the ladies are TOO young to be working, if you catch my drift," he mumbled, barely raising his lips. Mr. Piranha gritted his teeth in anger. From his old home, those things were part of the crime, however he would never take part in it!

They entered a karaoke bar called Dancing Bacon. Too bad this place doesn't have anything bacon-related on the menu, much to the two animals' dismay. Mr. Wolf was talking to the old receptionist, who had a sour expression.

'Geez, what crawled up her butt?' Mr. Piranha thought to himself. He decided to clear his throat if this mission needed him to sing. So far everything looked like an ordinary karaoke bar, with neon lights, vibrations from the sound system and a few people singing in their respective booths. The receptionist gave them their booth numbers before muttering out, "Feel free to use our soda machine..."

Mr. Wolf and Mr. Piranha entered a booth. "So far it looks like a normal bar, Wolf. Are you sure we're in the right place?"

Mr. Wolf nodded, taking out his phone to show him their location. "Exactly where Diane told me. I'm pretty sure there's only one way to find out." He gesture at the wall phone, which could be used to order food. It never occurred to Mr. Piranha until Mr. Wolf made the call. Ordering food at a time like this- then again, his rumbling stomach answered his question.

"Hi! Yeah, could you please bring the Vietnamese roll, chicken shish kebabs and some popcorn shrimp."

"Don't forget bean burritos if they have any!"

Once the order was placed, Mr. Piranha decided to select a few songs to sing. Some in English, Spanish and his main language, Portuguese. When there was a knock at their booth, Mr. Piranha paused his song to see-

He blinked, rubbed his eyes to confirmed what he was looking at in front of him. His level of excitement fell, matching Mr. Wolf's serious and solemn expression.

Mr. Piranha was DEFINITELY not getting those burritos!

...

Mira had finished half of her assignments, closing her laptop to take a break. The room had not changed since she stayed at her university's dorm. The house was still the same except all of her sisters were at their respective work/scholar life, leaving her all alone.

Over time, she learnt how to communicate without raising her voice, or even talk for that matter.

Talking never seemed to do anything good, unless someone like her mother wanted an answer or a few that she could trust. Sighing to herself, Mira began to play a YouTube video on her phone to kill the time.

Lately, there were a few news about the former Bad Guys doing good deeds since the gala. Mira felt a twinged of jealousy when she saw her sister taking photos with all of the members, let alone marry one. The only ones who knew about her marriage were her and their father.

Speak of the devil and he may appear, knocking at her door for her permission to enter. Mira allowed her father to rolled into her room in his wheelchair as she closed the door. Behind her mother's back, her father sent some money to Rani via his personal bank account rather than the shared account he had with his wife.

It was his way of apology to make up for those years of putting everything on Rani before she left for college. Mira doesn't stopped him, if it meant that her father decided to be active for once in his life rather than let her mother walked all over him.

"Are you going to go swimming this afternoon?" he asked, shifting in his wheelchair to adjust his posture. "It might distract you from your grandparents' visit. I just don't want you to push yourself with all of this. You know how your mother is, right?"

Mira merely nodded, her mind was visualising the sea, the scent of the ocean and sounds of people chattering at the beach. However, if she goes out now, her brothers would ask where she would go, resulting in her mother to accompany her to the beach.

If she snuck out from her window, then her mother would question her father on why was he in her room. It was a tough choice to make for the sakes of being on her own. During her time at the university, her mother would always text her to give her an update on her everyday life, from the courses she studied, to the friends she hung out with, etc. Her mother had never done that everyday with Rani or with the rest of her sisters.

Giving her father a small smile, she hugged him before getting ready for the beach.

Before she could step out, her wrist was forcefully grabbed by none other than her mother. "Where are you going? I thought we are going to have lunch together?"

Mira pointed at the door and uttered ,"Swimming..."

Her mother clicked her tongue with disproval. "Of course I will allow it but don't you think it's too much, dear? I think the sun is going to taint your beautiful skin. Not many are fond of women who have too much fun in the sun. Plus, I don't want you to get skin cancer."

Mira opened and then closed her mouth, unable to give an argument. Because arguing with her mother felt one-sided, plus she does not have the same grit as Rani. Always the good girl that listens to everything her elders tell her to do.

The young woman gestured to her stomach, to which her mother clutched it rather...intimately. "I understand, dear. I'm just glad that I have a sensible daughter that watches her weight. That way, you'd be an easy catch for any man that wants to marry you."

Not wanting to hear anymore or imagined the possible future, Mira left without a word.

...

After the mission, Mr. Shark decided to take a dip in the ocean. The hot temperature was enough to cook him alive. He promised Mr. Snake that he would meet him back at the hideout. Said Eastern brown snake slithered away without hesitation.

Now, here he was alone in the ocean.

Most of the fishes swam away whenever he swam passed them. He does his best not to get caught by people who were swimming close to the shores or doing water-related activities such as surfing. He couldn't helped but be drawn to surfers when they were paddling to the waves.

Their silhouettes reminded him of seals.

Why does he think of seals? He saw them as cute things compared to something as bitter as guinea pigs. 'Snap out of it, Shark! Marmalade's behind bars and you're free to do whatever you want!'

He decided to fall back to the old habit of bumping his snout at the surfboard, wondering if people were still afraid of him. After all, he wasn't called Jaws for nothing. He recalled people screaming whenever they caught a glimpse of his dorsal fin breaking out of the water's surface.

With his fearsome appearance and how the world saw him, how could one NOT be afraid of sharks?

However, there was one surfboard that was drifting all by itself with the surfer's legs splayed out. A sense of worry came into him, hoping that the surfer wasn't dead or...

Nudging the leg, it caused a reaction: a swift kick to his face!

The said surfer was scrambling away from where he was. He tried to help but it made the surfer fell overboard from the surfboard. He held back from opening his mouth at who was the surfer:

It was Rani's sister, Mira.

In case you are wondering, there are parents that are very particular about how their child should appear to others, even if they have become independent adults.

I wonder what's gonna happen next?