《Greg Tales》


 1 Greg Shepherd: The Job Hunter!

    The Land of free; the land of opportunity; at least that was what defined the wonderful country of USA. But that was before the civil war occurred. The pro-president and anti-president factions collided in which it seemed like the anti-president faction was emerging victorious. But the tides changed when the president sided with a vicious organization and gained the power of the supreme leader. He died soon after, leaving his son in charge. But he made a law that bans the use of firearms to the people of USA. In the streets were the MC live in, he could see many arrogant outsiders carrying arms, but he himself wasn''t allowed to. And thus began the journey of Greg Shepherd, the job hunter and his friends.


    ********************************


    Our MC is wearing a grey t-shirt with black pants. He has a black perm too. He is lying in the sofa of his rather congested room reading a comic book. A girl of approximately sixteen years is dozing like a cow near him. Enters a boy who looks rather bland for a teenager.


    "Greg, Greg! Get up! We got ourselves a job!"


    Greg Shepard, our MC, lazily looked at the boy who brought the news.


    "What did you say, Sean?"


    "I said we got a job! Hey Kelly, you gotta wake up too!"


    "Mmm¡­ Let me sleep some more¡­"


    "Apparently, the reward is pretty big!"


    Kelly was wide awake after hearing about the huge reward. "Really? Now I could buy all sorts of things!"


    But Greg was cautious. He wasn''t so interested in doing heavy work!


    "Wait, what''s the job? Its high risk, high reward in this business¡­"


    "Apparently there is no risk. We just have to find a cat."


    "You''re kidding, right?"


    Sean dawned a poker face. "No!"


    "No?"


    "No¡­"


    "Really?"


    "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF?"


    Greg scratched his head. "But, it doesn''t make sense. High reward¡­ For a cat?"


    Kelly had a different view. "Well, rich people does some pretty stupid things."


    "Okay then, let''s show what the job hunters can do¡­"


    Greg took the black trench coat and stood near the door with Sean and Kelly. He, then proceeded to pick his nose. Sean felt disgusted.


    "Excuse me, but can you stop that please?"


    **********************************


    "Wait, why are we still here?"


    "What do you mean? We were here just seconds ago¡­"


    "But¡­ The stars above means that the scene is converted, right?"


    "Shh¡­ Don''t say things that triggers the fourth wall!"


    "Then I would probably lose my prominence!"


    "Isn''t it enough that you are the MC? Selfish old man¡­"


    "Don''t you dare-"


    Kelly was frustrated by Greg and Sean''s silly fight. "STOP!!! I want the money, fast. Saddler needs a new collar-"


    "By the way, where is Saddler?"


    "SADDLER!!"


    Saddler arrives; in all fours; heavily panting; drooling; as if he wants it¡­ No; he is not a masochistic pedophilic old man drooling over a young girl; he is a dog, damn it!


    "There he is¡­"


    "Should we take him, Greg?"


    "We would never see the cat again then¡­ You wait here, okay?"


    "Bow"


    "Good, let''s go! To the car¡­ We need to rush there."


    "But-"


    They rushed into the car. But it was a very damaged old car. They were unable to even start the engine.


    "-it would be better to walk than ride in this piece of shit!"


    "Language, Sean! You two¡­ Get out and push-"


    "Already on it! Sean, are you gonna sit there with Greg? Come help me!"


    After a mile of pushing, the car starts; and they went to their hunting ground!


    "Stop! We''re here."


    "Get out, then."


    They got out; they saw a big mansion; and literally thousands of people outside of it! They were amazed by that sight.


    "It was never an exclusive contract, huh-"


    "Rich are sure mad! For a cat? I would''ve agreed if it was a dog!" Kelly loved dogs, by the way!


    Greg tried motivating them due to his excessive greed for money. "Guys, don''t lose focus. We''re here to win the money which I''m gonna fuck up later. Let''s get a move on-"


    They started walking towards the mansion. Someone calls them from behind.


    "GREG SHEPHERD!"


    "HARRY THOMPSON!"


    Harry Thompson, the guy who wore a police uniform looked at Greg as if he''s a sworn enemy of his.


    Greg and Harry simultaneously shouted, "YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!"


    "Okay¡­ Stop it, you two¡­ Oleg, help!" A man who looked like Harry''s senior tried to stop the mess from happening.


    "Kevon! Harry! Oleg! Why''s the police force here?"


    Well, Sean knew the police force around that region very well, especially their head, Kevon. How? That''s the stuff for some other chapter!


    Greg was ruthless at the police force; the main reason being the existence of Harry. "Guess that they don''t even have enough money to maintain a police force¡­ How could they? With all the pizza eating that Mr. Potter does!"


    "Like you''re the one to talk, Sweet toothed asshole!"


    "You!!"


    Enter Oleg; he didn''t want Greg to have a piece of Harry. "Okay! That''s enough¡­ Hey, Greg the hunter!!"


    "OLEG!! HOW ARE YOU?"


    "Fine! Stop fighting, okay¡­ It''s my job to fucking kill this potter idiot!" Well, Oleg didn''t want Greg to hurt Harry so he could do that himself.


    "Two sadistic bastards; What a great combination!" Harry said as he saw the bloodlust in their eyes against him.


    Meanwhile Sean wanted Kevon to give him an answer. "Kevon! You didn''t answer my question-"


    Well, we''re here to train the rookies! Catching a cat could prove to be a great exercise. And if we could get some money, that would be an added bonus!"


    Kelly didn''t like Kevon''s idea. "Greg, let''s move away from these shits¡­"


    "Kelly! Don''t call them shits! They are the freaking useless crapheads with no use for anyone!"


    "That''s it! You''re dead! You''re dead, you ass!"


    "Try me, potterhead!"


    "Greg!! Let''s go! Sorry Kevon!"


    Sean pulled Greg away from Kevon and guys.


    "Good for them that you pulled me away! Or I would''ve made a joke out of nation''s police force!"


    "Yea, yea!"


    Just about then, a woman places her hand over Greg''s ass and grabs it!


    "WHAT THE!!"


    "Hey Greg!"


    "Sarah!"


    "How you doin''?"


    "No one! And I mean no one, grabs my ass without my permission!" Greg gave a kick straight into Sarah''s face. Cheers to equality in novels!


    "Oh Greg! That''s it! More! Beat me more!"


    "Not in front of minors, you sick freak!" Sean screamed.


    "I know, right!" Greg exclaimed while he continued kicking the hell out of Sarah''s ass


    "I was talking to you, you crazy old man!"


    "Oh, sorry! There is a chance that this might cause an uproar now! Our novel will probably get disqualified out of the writing prompt contest after the very first chapter! But its basically a prologue right? I can be better in the later chapters!"


    "Well, I don''t mind you doing this to me-" Sarah screamed.


    "Oh, shut up you two perverts!" Sean exclaimed with a disgusted look in his face.


    "By the way, you brought your elite squad for the cat hunt too¡­?" Kelly asked Sarah. Sarah might not look like it, but she was the leader of a highly trained squad meant for war.


    Sarah got up after the thrashing given by Greg. "Of course! This can be a good experience too! Especially with Greg here to beat me up!" She gazed at Greg with a lot of lust in her eyes.


    Greg couldn''t handle her behavior. "I am confused! I would so love to beat the shit out of her. But a masochist like her- It''s not worth it! You are pardoned for now."


    "A sadist and a masochist! You guys really are a match made in heaven!" Sean proclaimed, with the disgust still in his eyes.


    "Really¡­? Did you hear that, Greg?"


    "Don''t be so happy, you numbskull!" Exclaimed Greg as he striked her into oblivion.


    "Aahhh¡­ I love you too! Sarah screamed as she vanished to a very long distance.


    [NOTICE: THE WRITER AND GREG SUPPORT TOTAL EQUALITY! DON''T BASH THEM. EQUALITY RULES!]


    "One after other¡­ I am meeting people I just don''t wanna meet-"


    A butler entered into the scene. He rings a bell to grab everyone''s attention.


    "Excuse me, can I have your kind attention please? Today, we gather here to do a very important mission. To find my mistress'' cat."


    Greg turned towards Sean and Kelly, "I feel stupid already!"


    "And I am pretty sure of the capabilities of everyone present here!"


    "Well, I saw three four- year kids over there; But, still... I understand what you''re saying!"


    "But the people gathered here are far too much than we imagined"


    "Bastards looking for easy money!"


    "Dude, we are for easy money too¡­" Sean interjected on Greg''s comment.


    "But, we''re drop dead broke, right?"


    "So, here is the catch. After each hour, the reward money will decrease by ten percent."


    The crowd gave out a displeased cry.


    "Should''ve expected that-"


    "But, If you''re able to capture the cat in the first hour, the reward will be doubled-"


    Crowd cheered on that proclamation.


    "So, that means that we just have to kick some serious ass from the beginning!" Greg said with his fists clenched.


    "When are we going to catch the cat then?" Kelly asked childishly.


    "Don''t get stuck with the metaphor-"


    *************END OF THE CHAPTER*****************


    "Wha¡­ Wait¡­ Stop¡­ Was that the end of the chapter? What''s up with that lame ending? Where''s my defining moment? Where;s my signature punchline? I am the main character! GIVE ME SOME RES..."


    The author decided to omit the rest of Greg''s vulgar language. Yet, Greg insisted on bashing some more!


    "YOU''VE GOTTA BE KIDDING! WHY ARE MY LINES GETTING DELETED? THIS IS UNFAIR¡­ BULLSHI¡­."


    Omitted.


    ***********END? NO, TO BE CONTINUED***********

 2 The Cat Hun

    "So, that means that we just have to kick some serious ass from the beginning!" Greg said with his fists clenched.


    "When are we going to catch the cat then?" Kelly asked childishly.


    "Don''t get stuck with the metaphor-"


    ***************************


    "I see what you''re trying to do here, you chimpanzee of an author! Trying to sprinkle salt on my wounds!"


    "Greg, don''t get angry at our author!"


    "How can I stop swearing at that stupid ass, Sean? After the humiliation that he made me endure-"


    "But he''s still writing this chapter right?"


    "Maybe its because we became insanely popular overnight! I''m a charming MC after all!"


    "No, I don''t think we did got popular! Actually, thank our author! At least he''s giving us chance to have a chapter two-"


    "Wait! This is an auxiliary chapter, right? Maybe he''ll stop writing Greg Tales after this! Shit! After I went into all that trouble to get a novel in my name-"


    "That is, if we don''t get popular."


    "If we get popular, I get to keep the series? Readers, what the hell are you waiting for? Give that greedy chimpanzee what he wants so that we could keep going!"


    "You are a greedy bastard too, Greg!"


    "I know! Readers, vote and add this to your collection! That damn chimp, making me advertise the novel inside a chapter. I will kill that guy when I get a chance!"


    "Greg, don''t you think that we went too far on breaking the fourth wall?"


    "You''re right, back to the main story then!"


    ***********************************


    Greg looked around. Everyone looked greedy.


    "These peasants! Everyone are greedy bastards! They are after that money and not the safety of a cute cat!"


    "Greg, why are you drooling then?"


    Greg suddenly noticed his drool and wiped it off in an instant.


    "What are you talking about, Sean? Where?"


    "You don''t have to act foolish in front of me, Greg! I know your greed."


    "Actually, that''s one thing I appreciate about you, Sean!"


    The butler cleared his throat from the background.


    "Everyone, I hope for your victory. And your time starts now!"


    Just when everyone heard the whistle from the butler which signified the beginning of the so-called ''Cat Hunt'', they had a bloodshot in their eyes.


    "Greg, why''s everyone''s eyes red?"


    "Oh, Kelly darling! When will you understand? Finding the cat isn''t just the only thing that''s important for this hunt. The ground''s too small for these people to hunt for the cat. So, obviously they are going to reduce the number of participants."


    "Are we going to do that too,Greg?"


    "Sean! Baby boy! Get a hint! How long are you going to keep the idiotic straight man character on check?"


    "I have nothing to say to you, old geezer."


    "Good! Sean! Kelly! Got the tools, right?"


    "Yup"


    "Let''s get straight to it, then!"


    Kelly and Sean went directly to the trunk of their old unstable car and took a big bag.


    "Oh! Baby-baby! How long has it been since I touched my tools! No, I''m not talking about my gonads!"


    Greg looked pleasantly at the contents of the bag. It was right about then, when someone smashed a bottle on his head. Greg was apparently uninjured. It just agitated him more. He looked back at the man who did that.


    "Oh boy! I wish you didn''t just do that! And what''s up with the bottle! Lame! You know what? You''re going down first! Sean, give it to me!"


    "Here!"


    Sean threw a weird gun-like thing to Greg. The man across Greg panicked in an instant.


    "What the hell is that? Is that, like, a futuristic gun?"


    "This is the future, dumbass! And guns are banned, remember?"


    "Then-"


    "Well, see for yourself!"


    Greg pulled the trigger of the gun thingy and something shot out. The man who got shot was blacked out just like that.


    "What''s this?"


    The friends of the bottle smasher surrounded him while one picked up the ammo of that gun.


    "Wait, isn''t this-"


    "You guessed right. Behold, the indestructible Nokia 3310! And a Nokia launcher I personally prepared!"


    "Greg, copyright!"


    "What is that Sean?"


    "We can''t use the product name, Greg!"


    "Well, the author''s the only one who''ll get in trouble! So don''t worry! Anyway, are you that guy''s friends?"


    "Yes."


    "Then, you''re next!"


    Greg then proceeded to bombard the ammo into those people. He, thus wiped out all around him.


    "Sean! Kelly! Pick up the ammo!"


    "On it!"


    "Shit! Out of ammo already!"


    "Guys, did you hear that? He''s out of ammo! Let''s attack that maniac now!"


    "HAHAHAHAHA! Did you think that the Nokia launcher was my only weapon?"


    Everyone who ran towards Greg realised their mistake. But it was a little too late.


    "NOW YOU DIE!"


    Greg grabbed the neck of the first man who approached him. He took something from the tools bag that he had around his neck. It was a toy gun.


    "WHAT?"


    He then placed the toy gun onto the man''s mouth. He then pulled the trigger inside and choked the heck out of that man with the toy bullets.


    "Crap! Did you see that? That man''s dangerous!"


    "NO, YOU CAN''T! HAHAHAHA!"


    He caught the poor guy who was running by his neck.


    "HELP!"


    He grabbed the shoulders of the poor guy and-


    "Peek-a-boo!"


    Greg took the tape gun from his bag and taped him all over. He then pushed the poor guy into the ground.


    "No one takes a step forward or else your ass gets whopped!"


    Well, there weren''t anyone who actually dared to step forth. Greg kept the tape gun back into the bag and took a glue gun and shot the glue at the poor guy''s leg.


    "Hahaha... SUFFER! SUFFOCATE!"


    But nothing happened. He waited and waited but nothing happened.


    "Wa....it a min...ute. And-"


    A little of the hot glue poured out. It slowly proceeded towards that poor guy''s legs.


    "Its here! Its here!"


    That glue finally poured into the guy''s legs! The guy gave out a scream. But a tape was over his mouth. He couldn''t even give out a proper scream. Greg laughed sadistically at his misfortune.


    "Dude, that guy is EVIL! How can he-"


    "I can''t even watch him suffer. Poor guy!"


    Suddenly a group of ninjas jumped at Greg.


    "We''ll kill you."


    They barged at him all at once. Greg fought each of them valiantly. He even fought for a brief time with his bare hands.


    "Two remaining! You guys are pretty fun!"


    Greg charged at one of those two ninjas. The one whom Greg was charging pulled his comrade towards him and made him receive Greg''s punch. The ninja was knocked out. The other one drew a sword and thrusted it to Greg''s hip.


    "Oh, you played dirty! I LOVE IT! Well then, let me play it dirty too!"


    Greg pulled a water gun and sprayed it into his eyes. The ninja started screaming.


    "Pepper spray! You don''t know the trouble I went to for actually making this masterpiece. You know ninja-guy, you did hurt me pretty bad. Its only fair to give everything back in ten fold."


    Greg took another triggered object from his bag. It was an ear gun.


    "What''s that? An ear gun?"


    Everyone were baffled on what its purpose was. Greg caught the ninja''s lips and placed the ear gun in between and shot the hell out. The ninja''s lips was pierced. Blood flowed out like the water fall of Niagara.


    Greg continued decimating everyone who was at his eye''s reach. The last man over there trembled in fear.


    "Dude, don''t you think that your method is too gory?"


    "HAHA! You think this is gore? This is nothing! You should''ve met me when I was called the Torture Master!"


    "Wait! Isn''t this torture already?"


    "Nowhere close!"


    Greg knocked the last man out cold. That was when Sean and Kelly approached him.


    "Greg! The police found that cat. Let''s catch them before they cash in the cat."


    *********************************


    "YOU POTTERHEAD!"


    "ASSHOLE!"


    Well, the two sworn enemies met at last. Harry had the cat in his hand. And Greg wanted that.


    "Let''s fight."


    They both drew their weapons. Greg had the now-fully loaded Nokia launcher and Harry had a fucking AK47. Well, even though guns were banned in US, the police force were allowed to use arms as they were the government''s law enforcers.


    They both fired their shots out. They were numerous explosions in the middle. The cat, though, was peacefully strolling towards these explosion. Kevon, the head of the police got worried.


    "Oleg, stop the fight between those two. Its getting uncontrollable.


    "Yes, sir!"


    Oleg went towards the police car and took something. A grenade; Oleg took a freaking grenade and threw it at them both.


    "What is this? Oh my-"


    "A GRENADE! A FUCKING GRENADE!"


    The grenade exploded and that left Greg and Harry slightly injured as they avoided most of the blast power.


    "Oleg, what the hell?"


    "Sir, you asked me to stop the fight between those two. I did."


    "I can''t blame you though. Its my fault to ask something thoughtful from you!"


    "Thank you, sir."


    "That was not a compliment."


    Meanwhile, Greg and Harry wanted to tear the guts out of each other. But Sean stopped Greg.


    "Greg! Stop!"


    "What? No! I wanna kill that shithead!"


    "Greg don''t! Let''s escape!"


    "Why? I don''t understand!"


    "The cat died from the explosion!"


    "Goodbye Harry! Goodbye Kevon! Goodbye everyone. Sorry for disturbing your peace. We won''t interrupt anymore. Let''s go Sean and Kelly."


    "What the hell is happening?" wondered the whole police force as they saw Greg and party vanish into the distance.


    The police force later cursed the hell out of Greg when they actually found out about the truth! They suffered grave consequences. That too, for a cat!


    ******************************


    Greg''s house;


    Greg received an email.


    "Huh, an email from BigBooblover67890. Wait, I know who that is! Chimp, isn''t that you? What do you want?"


    "Greg, how many times do I have to tell you not to call our author a chimp?"


    "Well, it doesn''t matter. Let me read... WAIT, WHAT?!? No one knows who we are?!? And we gotta introduce ourselves again? And the chapter 1 of volume 1 will only arrive if people love the other two chapters? Readers, again, what are you waiting for? Vote for Greg Tales! Comment your voices against our idiot author for the way he''s treating me, his main character! And maybe add the novel to your library. Quench our greedy author''s thirst if you love knowing about us. See you soon... Or will we?"

 3 Meet Greg! Our Good for Nothing MC!

    "So, this is our first actual volume, huh?"


    "Yes Greg! You can bask in the glory!"


    "FINALLY!"


    "Well, didn''t you have something to say?"


    "Thank you Sean, for reminding that. Readers! We got our real first volume. And in these chapters, we will go a bit back; back to the beginning. So enjoy!"


    *******************************


    Hunter; The world''s most popular job site. Millions of people were already the members since its arrival. The job varied from small to big; temporary to permanent. Some enjoyed great success from the jobs they were able to secure through this, while some, well, sucked at it! But there were a small portion of the world''s population who just wanted money from time to time, just to have their ends meet. Basically, they did odd jobs. The creator of this site called those people- Job Hunters.


    "So, what have we got today? Lawn mowing? Nah! I want something exciting! Let''s see- Be a crash test dummy? What kind of a job is that? Buy one dummy for that, you dummies! Oh! It pays well! But, I can''t use my tools over there. You know what? None of today''s jobs suits me! So, I''m going to take an off day-"


    "Not that easily!"


    "Crazy old woman? How did you enter my apartment?"


    "Greg, did you really thought that I don''t have a spare key for your apartment?"


    "Eww, woman! Are you a stalker or something? You are weird!"


    "Don''t mislead people like that- I''m just your landlord!"


    "What people?"


    "Wh- The ones that you''re talking to- The Rea-"


    "I''m just kidding, old woman! And a fun fact, just because you can sense them, ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE THE FOURTH WALL BREAKING STALE, YOU BITCH?"


    "Hey! I''m an old woman! Give me some respect on that respect!"


    "You don''t deserve respect!"


    "Ah! (sob) Go on! After all that I''ve did to you-"


    "The emotional blackmail won''t work on me, you stupid woman!"


    "Well then, leave the apartment then! You haven''t even given the rent for months. I''ve extended the timeline month after month- but I never got the money! If you leave the apartment, maybe I can extend my business over this floor too. HEY! Where''re you going?"


    "WHAT? I CAN''T HEAR YOU!"


    Greg had already reached his old nearly broken down car. He got inside, started the car and went on his way.


    *


    *


    *


    *


    If you thought that''s what happened, you couldn''t be more wrong. Greg started the car, but he heard nothing from the car.


    "Come on! Start, damn it! Don''t go limp on me, baby!"


    Well, that wasn''t a surprise. After years and years of neglecting, overuse and smashing, that was meant to be. Greg lost count on how many times he made it to do over and over again. How could it be in its best shape? It was manhandled by the sadist that was Greg.


    "Oy! Are we still talking about the car?"


    Of course, we are!


    "Stop there, Greg! Wait, you thought of escaping in the car? Well, I''ll take my time coming down then."


    "Don''t you dare make fun of my car, you old hag! You know what? Screw you! You''ll go to the depths of hell!"


    "I''ll be taking you with me, Greg! Just wait for me to come down. You''ll get the taste of hell-"


    "Come on, my sweet heart! Do it for daddy! Start! Start!"


    It was as if his prayers were answered. The car started and Greg escaped his landlady''s clutches.


    "Screw you, old hag! HAHAHAHAHA!"


    "Wait up, Greg- Oh, he''s gone. That shithead, he would never change."


    "Excuse me, are you Othwyn?"


    A woman who looked like twenty-five approached the landlady. And yes, Othwyn is the landlady''s name, however weird it is.


    "Yes, and who are you?"


    "Do you know a man named Greg? People said that I could know about this man by asking you."


    "Oh my, are you one of those girls that he cheated? He could be a bit of an asshole. Forgive his behavior. He''s got no manners!"


    "No, no, nothing like that!"


    "Thank god! Well, if you''re looking for Greg, he escaped from here just now. What is it? I could pass him the message."


    "I''ll wait. This is something that I should say to him face-to-face."


    **********************************


    Tyler Hendricks; many considered him as the future of US military. Of course, that was like fifteen years ago when US was not handed over to other countries by the idiot president. Fifteen years went past and now, military meant shit. They were the lap dogs of some foreign countries. Tyler, who showed his passion towards his home country was awarded the rank of Sergeant Major.


    "Sir, the prince has arrived!"


    "Wait, I''m coming."


    Prince Jugem; he was the prince of a small country over unknown location who was considering to come to America as a foreign exchange student. But the thing was that Jugem was known for his stupidity far and wide.


    "Really! These are hard times. A sergeant major escorting a blockhead!"


    "Yo, uncle!"


    "Uncle? Dude, you look almost the same age as me. Now, where''s the stupid prince?"


    "Hey!"


    Someone jumped in.


    "Don''t call our prince a stupid idiot who know nothing about the world and a bitch who constantly babbles his mouth about something even though he know nothing! That is rude!"


    "Bodyguard, I didn''t think he went that far!"


    "Wait! That''s the prince? He''s gonna be a foreign exchange? Isn''t he a bit too old?"


    "Well, (whispering) he''s over 26! But he''s so stupid that his father couldn''t tolerate him. But he''s still the crown prince! This idiot!"


    "Wait, I''m just 27 though!"


    "Really? You look young for your age, Mr?"


    "Tyler!"


    "Mr Tyler! I wish this stupid prince had half your looks!"


    "Did you say something, bodyguard?"


    "No- nothing, my prince."


    "Let''s get a move on then!"


    "Yes, my prince."


    Just as the prince set his foot on the road, an old shabby car swept him up.


    "PRINCE!"


    "Oh man! I can''t have that idiot die under my surveillance."


    "Hey! Man in the car! Did you tried to kill the prince? That was lame! You should have rammed him with a truck!"


    "Oy, are you even the prince''s bodyguard? Officers, take this bodyguard and the prince away and give the prince some treatment. Wait! Before that, capture that damn person inside the car."


    The officers tried capturing the man in the car. But everyone who tried were taken out, one way or other.


    "What are you guys doing?"


    Tyler went towards the man. Well, the man inside the car was indeed Greg. When Tyler saw Greg, he took a step back. Was he afraid? No. But he was able to sense that Greg was dangerous.


    "Do we have any problem, officer?"


    "No-"


    "What the hell, man in the car? Attacking the prince- I will tolerate. But you attacked a few of us too- and I won''t tolerate that!"


    "Oy! Don''t be stupid, bodyguard! Don''t do-"


    Tyler didn''t even got a chance to stop that man. Greg sprayed pepper spray from the water gun. The bodyguard screamed.


    "HWAH! JUST WHO ARE YOU, MAN IN THE CAR?"


    Greg stepped out of the car. He wore his tools bag around his neck; he had the bag in front, near his abdomen. He placed his water gun back in the bag and took the nokia launcher.


    "WHO AM I?!? I AM FUCKING DORAEMON!!!"


    Greg proceeded to shoot out the nokia phones all over the place. Everyone looked defenseless when Greg rampaged all over the place.


    "Shit! I''m out of ammo."


    Greg kept the launcher back in his bag and proceeded to pick the ammo back. Currently, Greg was in a vulnerable state. But no one attacked him. Why? The only people left standing were Prince Jugem and Tyler. Jugem was pissing his pants while Tyler didn''t dare to stop this monster.


    "Whoo, I got the ammo back! So, can we continue?"


    "Wait! We don''t have to fight! You''re permitted to go!"


    "Oh? Thanks!"


    Greg went back to his car but soon came back.


    "Excuse me? Can you help?"


    "What is it?"


    "Can you please push my car?"


    "Well, okay."


    "Gee, thanks!"


    Greg went back to his car again. But-


    "NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? FIGHT HIM! DON''T PUSH HIS CAR!"


    It was Jugem.


    "You know, prince? I''ve been meaning to do something for a long time."


    "What is it?"


    "HERE!"


    Tyler slapped the heck out of Jugem''s face.


    "SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP, YOU STUPID PRINCE!"


    "WHAA! That hurts! This will become a national issue! You will pay!"


    "I DON''T CARE!"


    Tyler slapped Jugem again. Jugem cried.


    "HEAA! I''M NEVER RETURNING TO AMERICA AGAIN!"


    Jugem ran away. Greg went back on his way. And Tyler stood there in the middle of the road. Finally, he did something that he could be proud of. He was a proud American now!


    *


    *


    *


    *


    By the way, Tyler was fired from his job!

 4 Sean: The generic boy wearing glasses

    After the events that unfolded during the peak of the day, Greg went back to his apartment. He stood in front of the building.


    "Shit! I should get in my apartment secretly. That old hag has crazy ears!"


    Greg decided on that and stepped on the wooden steps. It made a faint noise that no normal human could ever hear. But Othwyn was not an ordinary woman.


    "Greg, bastard! You came back!"


    "You really are a crazy bitch, old hag!"


    Greg turned around and was about to run.


    "Idiot! Wait! I''m not going to ask for the rent- for now!"


    Greg stopped.


    "How can I believe that statement?"


    "There''s a guest for you. She''s been waiting for you since morning."


    "She?"


    "Yes, its a woman! And its a serious matter."


    "Serious matter? What is it?"


    "It would be better if you heard the news by yourself."


    "You aren''t tricking me right?"


    "Mrs Othwyn is saying the truth, Mr Greg."


    The woman from the last chapter makes an appearance.


    "PAUSE!"


    The whole scene paused.


    "Yo, chimp author! Its a webnovel right? Are you supposed to introduce a character like that? Give her a proper introduction; play with the words for a bit!"


    [Got it!]


    "Very well! PLAY!"


    The woman who was seen talking to Othwyn earlier that day stood in front of Greg.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I really do have something important to talk to you."


    "I see. What is it?"


    "It would be better if you''re sitting somewhere."


    "Wow, it seems important."


    "I''ve been saying that for the last few minutes."


    "Okay, let''s go inside my apartment."


    "Very well."


    "By the way, what''s your name?"


    "My name? Its Olivia."


    ********************************


    "Here you go. I''m seated now. So, what''s it about?"


    "What I''m about to tell you might shock you! Please don''t do anything reckless."


    "I understand. Now, what is it?"


    "Well-"


    "Well?"


    "You have two kids!"


    "Huh?"


    "Two kids; and you didn''t even knew that they existed till now!"


    "Huh?"


    The chair in which Greg was sitting, fell back. Olivia and Othwyn went to check on him. He was knocked out.


    *****************************


    "Greg? Greg?"


    Greg opened his eyes. He had no memory of the shocking news that was given to him yesterday. At least, he thought that the news was just some sort of nightmare.


    But Greg was able to confirm that the events from last night was indeed true when he saw Olivia waking him up.


    "You! Wait, if you''re here- that means.... last night-"


    "Yes! You have two kids!"


    Greg sat up on his bed. His face looked like he was thinking something.


    "Humm. I see. How old are they?"


    "The boy and girl, both are sixteen."


    "Twins, huh?"


    "Yea, but they''re quite opposite to each other."


    "You know, I expected one or two such cases. But not this early. I expected this situation in my late 40''s."


    "How many women have you slept with, scum?"


    "Hey! Don''t judge a person whom you''ve just met without knowing the situation."


    "So, what''s the situation?"


    "Well- I... was horny!"


    "God! You know, I''m not quite fond of the fact that you are the children''s father!"


    "By the way, what''s your relationship with my kids? I don''t remember sleeping with you. Let me check once again!"


    He took a giant ass book from the corner. The title was ''The women I''ve slept with''.


    "Your name... starts with O, right? O- Olivia! Are you Olivia Bernard?"


    "No."


    "Then I''m stumped!"


    "You haven''t slept with me."


    "Not yet!"


    "Shut up, scum. And let me talk."


    "Okay."


    "Well, I''m their caretaker."


    "Caretaker? Then who''s the mother?"


    "That''s a private information that the mother of the children is not willing to share."


    "Then, what the hell am I supposed to do?"


    "The mother of your children wants you to take care of your children."


    "Why now? Why not before?"


    "Well, the illness has worsened and she''s bed ridden."


    "Illness?"


    "She''s been suffering from a fatal illness and the situation worsened recently."


    "What''s the disease?"


    "I''m not entitled to disclose that info too."


    "So, I''m not supposed to ask you anything!"


    "I guess so!"


    "And I''m to look after the kids?"


    "Yea."


    "Nice! Very nice!"


    "I''m personally against the fact that the kids are going to be taken care by such a scum! But its the mother''s wish!"


    "Wait, this isn''t ''How I Met Your Mother''. You don''t have to say ''the mother'' again and again!"


    "How am I supposed to mention her, then?"


    "I don''t know! Call her Alien X or something. It sounds more cool!"


    "What!?!"


    "What happened?"


    "I''m not gonna call her Alien X. I''m gonna call her the mother, if you like it or not."


    "Very well! I don''t care."


    "I see."


    "Well, can I see them?"


    "About that-"


    ********************************


    "So where is he?"


    Greg and Olivia were hiding behind an electric pole near a restaurant.


    "Why are we hiding tho?" Olivia asked.


    "Well, its my habit to observe the target first."


    "So, you''re a stalker?"


    "Shut up and point me to him!"


    "There, that''s Sean!"


    "Sean, huh? Not a bad name. So is that him?"


    Greg pointed to a smart looking guy sitting in one of the tables. He was surrounded by girls.


    "What? No! He''s over there-"


    Olivia pointed her finger towards the table in the far corner. A kid wearing glasses was holding the cup of tea with both his hands and was sipping the tea slowly- that was Sean.


    *****************************


    "Yay! I got my own introductory chapter! Saw that, Greg? Yet, I wasn''t featured much in this chapter. But that means that I''m getting another chapter, right? HAHAHA! Even you didn''t get two chapters, Greg!"


    "I don''t need two chapters, idiot! This whole webnovel revolves around me!"


    "You are so self-centered.... But, you''re right!"


    "Sean, I''m sad!"


    "I knew it! I knew already that you will be sad because I''m happy!"


    "Not because of that, dimwit!"


    "Then why?"


    "You do know that we got an end segment in each chapter where I''ll answer readers questions, right?"


    "I heard the author mention it once!"


    "Well, I guess people aren''t interested to talk with me or ask questions!"


    "Don''t worry now, Greg! I''m sure they''re listening now! Just announce it once again!"


    "Okay! I, Greg, will be answering your questions at the end of every chapter! So, if you got any, blast them right at me!"


    "Greg?"


    "Yes, Sean?"


    "How are we supposed to end the chapter now?"


    "LIKE THIS!"


    *********END OF THE CHAPTER***********

 5 Sean: The generic sidekick

    [???????????????????? ????????????????????]


    "What are you doing, Greg? Why are you knocking our computer?" It was Sean who asked this.


    "Well, it''s been over six months that our chimp of an author has abandoned us without any chapter."


    "Greg, it seems that he was busy with his studies. Cut him some slack! But it seems that he''s back into the business. Did you saw that Normal-taro was updated yesterday?"


    "How dare he? He should''ve returned with Greg Tales!"


    "Greg, we barely have 6000 views. Taro is more popular."


    "Now that I think about it, your introduction chapter was the last one, right?"


    "Yea, what about it?"


    "You brought our downfall then!"


    "WHAT?!"


    "And you have a part two for that, right?"


    "Yes?"


    "Oh God, this novel is doomed!"


    "WAI-"


    [Note: The previous events unfolded in this novel''s previous run. All the grammatical errors along the initial six chapters were also directly transferred from its initial run since the author wanted the readers to feel the progress, aka, he''s too lazy to correct himself.]


    *****


    "Well, that''s your kid, Sean."


    "HE IS MY KID?" Greg was astonished by the fact that the timid Sean was his kid.


    "Yes, you scum. Is there any problem with that?"


    Greg sensed immense hatred and disgust from Olivia''s tone and expressions. He decide to refute his statement.


    "No, not really!"


    "I see. Well, aren''t you going to talk to him?"


    "Do I have to?"


    "It''s your wish. If you don''t want to-"


    "Will I be set free from all this?"


    "No. You will wrongly accused of a debt of ten million and prosecuted."


    "Well, I already have a huge amount of debt!"


    "Okay then, if you don''t want to, you can go. But you will be charged of sexual misconduct."


    "What?"


    "I have Intel that you destroyed a woman''s face after she refused give the money she held in her hand."


    "What? No! She was a fucking thief who stole the money from a convenience store. Don''t re-brand that negatively."


    "Well, if not that, I have several major to minor cases that I could put on your head."


    "You really do have no intention in letting me go, huh?"


    "Ah, you found out."


    "Ha, let me go talk to that kid then."


    Greg gets up and walks towards the restaurant.


    *****


    [???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????????????]


    Random background artist 1 came to the table where Sean was quietly sipping tea and glanced over him.


    "Hey kid, this is our table."


    Random background artist 2 and 3 echoed his voice.


    "This is our table."


    "Step aside kid. You are in our territory."


    Sean stood up. His glasses just shone for a moment like the glasses of protagonists shine.


    "You got up, huh? You wanna fight kid?"


    "We might not look like it, but we are high ranking government officials. Remember that before you pick a fight with us." Random background artist 2 sounded a bit enthusiastic.


    "..."


    "Ho! You guys are government officials, huh?" No, it was not Sean who said that, but someone from behind. Well, as per the clich¨¦, it was Greg.


    "Do you have any problem with that, scum?"


    "Why is everyone calling me scum nowadays? Anyway, I always had a bone to pick with you government officials."


    Background artist 1 was rather annoyed. The arrogance shown by Greg was not to his like.


    "You know what? We three are gonna destroy you first. Then we will get to the kid and destroy him too"


    "..."


    "Bring it on then."


    Background artist 1 and 2 ran towards Greg simultaneously. But it all ended in an instant. Greg took out his patent pending nokia launcher to blast two Nokia phones in their foreheads. And that was it. Background artist 3 looked dumbfounded.


    "What? 1 and 2- what happened to you? Ah, you monster! I will complain to the police!" And background artist 3 ran away.


    ".... But I was just going to give them the seats." muttered Sean.


    *****


    "Kid?"


    "Yea?"


    "Sean, right?"


    "Yea"


    "I''m Greg. I''m your.... you know..."


    "My father, I know."


    "Ah, you know... This is awkward..."


    Police sirens were heard from distance. It seems that the background artist number 3 has called the police.


    "Ah shit, the police. When did they became so efficient? Sean, let''s go!"


    "Huh?"


    *****


    Olivia saw Greg and Sean rushing from distance towards her.


    "What happened? Did you two bond? Hi Sean."


    "Hey Olivia."


    "Stop your hi''s and hey''s. Olivia, we need to go. The police are chasing us."


    "What?"


    "It''s nothing. I just fought some people in there and they called the police."


    "I knew it. I should''ve never believed in you."


    "It''s not the matter of belief now. We need to escape. Let''s get in the car."


    "That banged up vehicle? I think not. Let''s use my car."


    Olivia pointed to her car. It was a mustang. IT WAS A FUCKING FORD MUSTANG.


    "Oh boy!" Greg exclaimed. He walked towards his own banged up car and whispered-


    "Oh, my baby! Just this once, I''m gonna leave you here. Daddy''s got to escape. I''m sorry!"


    Greg ran away from his car and got into the Mustang. When he grabbed its steering wheel, he felt an adrenaline rush.


    "Oh baby, here we go!"


    *****


    That crazy adrenaline of Greg''s sure reached its pinnacle. He was driving the Mustang so fast that it was nearly going to break down. But the police sure kept their pace behind him.


    "Which crazy bastard is driving that police car?" Greg thought. The guy who was driving the police car was indeed a crazy guy.


    "You scum, how long till they stop chasing us?"


    "Woman, you jinxed it!"


    "What?"


    "Look ahead."


    They had already reached the shipping port. Greg had no choice but to stop. He stepped out of the car. The police car stopped too. The police officer who was driving stepped out. He was-


    "HARRY THOMPSON"


    "GREG SHEPHERD"


    [???????????????? ???????? ????????????????????????]


    "YOU PIECE OF SHIT"


    "BASTARD! I FINALLY GOT MY CHANCE TO PUT YOU IN... And the kid!"


    "WAIT!"


    "What?"


    "Sean has nothing to do with this. It was all me."


    Sean''s eyes (not glasses) shone for a moment.


    "THAT IS NOT FOR YOU TO SAY!"


    Harry rushed forward with his gun. Greg took his stance with his launcher.


    "COME ON POTTERHEAD!" Greg screamed.


    The way that these two were approaching each other, it looked like they were sworn enemies. Anyhow, it was sure to be a bloodbath.


    "..."


    However, something strange happened. A shadow as swift as air itself got out of the police car and actually refrained Greg and Harry from fighting. It was the police head, Kevon. He wasn''t the police head for no reason.


    "Harry, you do know that Greg is right, don''t you. Little Sean there near that beautiful lady... Greg, what''s her name?"


    "Olivia"


    "What a beautiful name..."


    "Get to the point, uggo"


    "Hey, don''t call our head an uggo!"


    "Hrm hrm... Anyway, Greg don''t worry. We do know that Sean had nothing to do with the fight. We have CCTV footage and witnesses to prove that."


    "Then why did this asshole attack me?"


    "Shepherd, I will not lose an opportunity to crack open your fucking skull."


    "Well, as a superior, I sincerely apologize for his behavior. However, Greg, you did attack two government officials. We have to take you in."


    "Well, I did expect that."


    "Let''s go then."


    "Okay"


    Kevon and Harry (unwillingly, since he wanted to kill Greg) handcuffed Greg and took him to the car.


    "Miss Olivia! I will bring Greg back safely, don''t worry!" Kevon shouted.


    "Another scum" Olivia thought as the police car ride off to the sunset.


    *****


    "Oh, I guess it was a mistake from the part of your mother to let that scum take care of you. Sean, you are a good kid. I don''t want you to get involved with that man."


    "It''s fine Olivia. I like him." Sean said as he set his gaze upon the police car.

 6 The Daily Lives of NYPD Boys!

    "Hey, Greg!"


    "Hey!"


    "Hey!"


    "Hey, there!"


    "Wait, who''s talking?"


    "How would I know?"


    "What?"


    "What?"


    "Oi, stupid author, get your shit straight!" screamed Greg. He was visibly angry.


    "I won''t support you this time, author!" Sean echoed Greg''s opinion.


    "Yea, now I can focus back to my job." Sighed Greg as he leaned back to read his comics.


    "Wait a minute! Who was the third person then?" Sean wondered.


    ***


    In the last chapter: Greg got caught by the NYPD. Is he alive? (Spoiler alert: He is.)


    [Few hours earlier]


    Slow paced footsteps echoed throughout the newly reformed NYPD police station. The officers who were training out in the yard stopped their training; the guy who was vigorously chomping down the food down his throat- actually stopped chomping for a moment; the prisoner, who escaped his cell just moments ago, conceded his defeat; the guy who was masturbating to porn magazines in the store room- ¡­well, he continued masturbating.


    The people around here gave a lot of respect to this man. All of the officers came running for him. They were really proud to be a part of this NYPD squad, led by their glorious chief, Kevon¡­ who was walking down the corridor naked.


    "CHIEF, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!?" A relatively new recruit screamed.


    But the people around that young man knew what was going on. They knew that chief has always been a good-for-nothing drunkard with a teeny bit of poker addiction.


    "We came here for nothing. Our chief is still that worthless asshole!" The self-proclaimed Grenade Master Oleg expressed his dissatisfaction.


    "Well, a man can never change within a day!" The somewhat exhausted chief said. There were dark circles around his eyes. His voice sounded frail compared to other days. He was not even close to being the glorious chief of NYPD that everyone talked about.


    "Ah, let me guess. You went to the bar; drank some cheap shit; went to the casino to try out your luck and failed miserably. You were then stripped off your belongings and thrown out of the casino. Am I right?" A fairly tall guy with relatively good looks walked up to the chief. He is regarded as the most feared person of the NYPD police, the deputy chief, Harry Thompson.


    "How is it that you know me so well, Harry?"


    "This isn''t a one-off thing, is it? I have seen this for a long time now."


    "Ah, it''s like you know everything around here¡­" The wobbly chief grinned at his deputy.


    "Of course! I''m the eyes and ears of this police department!" The proud deputy stood firm.


    "Ha-ha! That you are-"The naked chief of NYPD fall flat on the ground. No one helped him back up, not even Harry. They were too grossed out by their chief''s naked ass.


    ***


    [About two hours later]


    Kevon finally got himself back up on two feet. He wore his uniform and strutted down the corridor. There he was, in all his dignity- the chief of the New York police department. Every single police officer were up on their feet, giving the much deserved respect to their beloved chief. Kevon got into his office where he was joined by Harry.


    "Harry, what''s the news today?"


    "Sir, the notorious criminal Konner King is yet to be caught. Other than that, the streets are peaceful as usual." Maybe he jinxed it, because bad news came by pretty soon enough.


    "SIR! I''VE GOT BAD NEWS!" The young officer that we saw earlier chapter was panting.


    "What is it, Yuka?"


    "Sir, someone attacked three government officials!"


    "Shit, who even has the balls to do such things in my jurisdiction?"


    That was the moment when, Harry Thompson, Deputy Chief of police, gave out a wicked smile.


    "I know of one asshole who could do such thing."


    ***


    [Few hours since the last chapter; Greg is in NYPD''s custody]


    "So, Greg-"


    "Chief, give me an opportunity to question this asshole!" A passionate Harry gave out his plea.


    "Harry, I can manage-"


    "Sir, please don''t deny my request!"


    "Oh, I see. He is yours then!"


    "Kevon, No! I love you! Don''t leave me with him!" Greg exclaimed. However, to his anguish, Kevon left him with Harry.


    "Sorry SWEETHEART, but he has left you now. There''s no one that could save you now." The evil in Harry''s face was clearly visible when he spat that out.


    "What are you gonna do with me, you fiend!"


    "I AM GOING TO TORTURE YOU!"


    "NO, PLEASE DON''T!" Greg pleaded.


    But Harry was relentless. He enjoyed seeing Greg plea.


    "¡­You know what? It seems like I''ve no choice."


    "Finally!"


    "Pull out your thing. Let me at least lubricate it before you put that thing up my ass!"


    "WHAT? NO-"


    "Okay, that''s enough cheap R-rated comedy for now. Harry, you can go. I guess I''ll handle him." The chief came back to the interrogation room.


    "But, sir-"


    "Just go! I don''t think you can hold on to your temper yet."


    "YES, SIR!" Harry exited the interrogation room. He was a bit frustrated, but he understood what his chief meant. That fucktard was not someone you can handle if you have a hot head.


    "Kevon-Chan! Dais Ki desu!" Greg proclaimed giving out a weird kissy face.


    "Greg, let''s get to the point. Why did you attack them?"


    Greg face had a transition from goofiness to seriousness at an instant.


    "What do you mean, why? They attacked my boy!"


    "Your boy? That means Olivia is-"


    "Chief! Don''t stray away from the topic." Harry was heard shouting.


    "Oh shoot!"


    "Don''t worry, Kevon! She is his caretaker." Greg said, much to the relief of Kevon.


    "So, that kid is your son?" Kevon asked.


    "I think so!"


    "But, your public record shows that you have no kids!"


    "I know! Even I just knew it yesterday!"


    "Wow! But however noble your thought was, what you did is still a crime."


    "I see! Then I would happily accept the punishment." Greg gave out a radiant smile. He really cared about the boy.


    "Not so soon, my friend!" A voice was heard out of nowhere. The officers were baffled. They had no idea whose voice it was.


    That was when a huge truck rammed into the walls of the interrogation room. A guy who had the scenic beauty of a mature woman opened the door to reveal himself.


    [Greg and Harry simultaneously]


    "YOU!"


    "Are you coming, old friend?" It was the most notorious criminal of the land of America that the police have been searching for years. It was Konner King!

 7 Konner King and the Merry Boys

    "It''s been a long time, hasn''t it? The cover art changed in the meantime, did you notice? Oh, and by the way, the auxiliary volume is now the volume one. The chimp needed the word count. And hello there, new and old readers¡ªwelcome back and I can still guarantee you nothing but hope that this time, the relationship between us will be longer. And I''m totally not sad that people didn''t remember me¡ªbut that means I''ll have to make myself memorable!" Greg screamed at the empty wall in his apartment with a slight hope in his tone.


    "What the hell are you doing? Have you gone insane?" Olivia made her entrance out of nowhere, which made Greg look like a retard. But, what can we do about that, right?


    "Shut up, Chimp! Guys, hope you enjoy it!" Greg waved goodbye as he ran away from his apartment, feeling shameful of himself. Apparently, he does feel shame!


    ***


    Upon Konner King''s spectacular entry, the entire police station entered a frenzy¡ªwell, everyone except the guy who was masturbating. He just kept on masturbating per usual.


    While many ran through the station trying to find the handcuffs and misplaced guns or grenade launcher, in Oleg''s case, Harry didn''t waste any time dashing towards the notorious criminal of the neighborhood. However, the grace in his face reflected on his form too. Konner was able to skillfully avoid every attack that Harry launched.


    "Hey there, Greg! Long time no see. How are you doing?" Konner waved his hand like crazy. This split second stupidity was all that Harry asked for. He packed a solid punch on Konner''s beautiful face, sending him off to quite a distance.


    "Hey, don''t underestimate me!" Harry roared as he clenched his fist tighter. The warning shot had been fired. Now the battle began.


    Konner said nothing quirky; he rose up and he had a nasty look on his face. His sense of balance was a little lost with that punch. But, he didn''t care. He rushed towards Harry and engaged in a fist fight. He gave back the punch that he received, but was surprised to see that Harry was still standing. From then on, it was a series of exchanging blows with each other.


    The punches resonated throughout the police station. Many officers stopped running around and spectated the fight and awed at the fact that their vice-captain stood toe-to-toe with the King himself.


    A few amongst them saw this as an opportunity to capture Konner and headed towards the fight. But Kevon stopped them. "Wait, it''s his fight. Let him do his thing." Many raised their voices in displeasure but Kevon assured them. "Well, if Harry can''t finish him, which would just mean that he''s an incompetent policeman."


    Even while fighting, Harry made out what Kevon said and got furious. "What? How dare you¡­" But this time, Konner was the one who took advantage of Harry lapsed judgment as he gave him a punch to the gut that leaved Harry floored.


    "This is what you get for talking while we''re on a fight." Harry got the taste of his own medicine as he held his gut tight. "Now, time to deal with these guys." Konner took out a gun and shot fire at them. Luckily, no one got injured. But little did they expect a hoard of people gushing into the station upon hearing the gunshot.


    "Everyone, take stance! It''s the merry boys!" Kevon shouted as rushed head first towards them. The others followed. And a huge brawl ensued.


    On the other side, Konner was quick to follow up on the attack. In the meantime, he ordered few of the merry boys to lead Greg safely back to the warehouse. However the merry boys were distressed.


    "But, leader¡­"


    "No ifs and buts. Just do it. We''ll do the talk later." Konner knew about the internal displeasure of him favoring Greg. But he chose not to mind it and headed towards Kevon.


    "Boss, no! I''ll get to him!" Harry coughed as he got up. He wanted to continue his fight with Konner.


    "Yuka, throw me the gun!" He commanded and Yuka didn''t even hesitate for a second. Harry fired a few shots as soon as he got hold of the gun. However, his stance wasn''t stable enough and hence the trajectories were all a miss. Konner grabbed the opportunity and a bullet thrust into his leg in no time.


    Everything happened in quick succession that the captain couldn''t even order a single thing. Seeing his subordinate on the ground with a bullet in his leg was enough to drive him to a frenzy. Everyone had the same sentiment, except Oleg¡ªhe was happy that Harry got shot; he threw the grenades for his personal pleasure.


    Konner felt overwhelmed by the pressure exerted by the police squad. But just when he felt cornered, a news came to him. "Leader, Greg is gone!" Konner was relieved, since that would mean that the guys he assigned did the task successfully. Now he had no reason to stay put; he immediately withdrew.


    "Fuck! Yuki, follow them; and don''t lose their trial." Kevon assigned one of department''s speedsters to chase them down.


    ***


    Harry opened his eyes. He somehow lost consciousness after getting hit on the legs which made him feel pathetic. He felt like he should''ve followed up with a few more shots. His mind was troubled.


    "You up?" It was Kevon. He stood beside Harry the entire time. He felt relieved as well as the rest of the department¡ªexcept Oleg¡ªhe just clicked with disappointment. Harry slowly raised his middle finger towards Oleg.


    Meanwhile, Yuki returned from his chase. But he was unable to follow them. As a herd or not, the members of merry boys were more than capable of slithering away. It was not surprising that they escaped.


    But Harry had a bigger question in his mind. "Cap, where''s Greg?"


    ***


    A triumphant return with no casualties; Konner thought of it as a win. He even had Greg in his hand now. It was certainly a victory for him.


    "Guys, today was a victory. We got Greg in our grasp now and we won''t let him go. So let''s head to the warehouse soon." Konner commanded his troops.


    "But leader¡­" A voice was heard from behind. Konner decided to explain his intentions with saving Greg, when he realized that the person assigned with bringing Greg to the warehouse was still with them.


    "Hey, what''re you doing here? Where''s Greg then?" Konner was confused.


    "Leader, Greg escaped while you engaged on a fistfight with the vice-captain." The guy explained.


    "Eh?" Konnor was dumbfounded.


    ***

 8 Greg on fire! Not literally

    "What the hell is this?" Greg stared at the computer with a weird expression in his face. It looked like he was happy for some reason¡ªand some people would find his happiness face as absolutely disgusting and hence it is just a weird face and not a happy one.


    "Why the fuss? And keep it down, it''s really annoying!" Sean came by the computer to look at the thing that made Greg startle.


    "Look at this! There''s actual people reading GT man! I see a bit of traffic today. Me likey!" Greg exclaimed, seemingly loving the way he ruined ''like'' into something disgusting.


    "Of course, there would be people reading it if there''s an update! So, let''s not scare the new guys away with all this and let them enjoy the read." Greg didn''t receive Sean''s suggestion well as he smacked Sean''s head with a comic book.


    [P.S: Neither Greg or the Chimp endorses child abuse. This was just a friendly banter between two mates.]


    "Well, Sean! You got to give the people what they came for, right?" The showing off and basking in the glory ensued on Greg''s behalf, which Sean really didn''t like.


    "And they came for¡ªyou?" Greg didn''t pay any attention to Sean''s sarcasm and continued prancing around like a gorilla.


    "Okay! Now that you''ve seen me in my full glory, I''ll let you read the rest. And by the way, I''m totally fine if you guys hate Harry¡ªI encourage you on that!" Greg bowed down thanking all of the newly existent commentators and readers.


    ***


    "How the fuck did you miss him? He was right there!" Konner was visibly angry. There was just this one task and the merry boys ruined it. Now they had to redo it over again. But this time, he was thankful that he didn''t have to raid the police station again.


    "Leader, what are we supposed to do now? How are we going to find him? What if he''s on the run?" A merry boy, concerned with his leader''s anger, asked.


    "Hey, don''t bombard me with all these questions! And by the way, he''s not the type to run away after an arrest. Some might call it bravery, but let''s be honest here¡ªhe''s just too lazy to run. As much as I know him, I''ve got a rough idea about his whereabouts. So, let''s get going!" He marched his band of merry boys, singing jolly little songs to where Greg supposedly was.


    ***


    "Konner''s gone; Greg''s gone; we just got fucked!" Harry let out a sigh. It was not a good day for the NYPD¡ªespecially Harry. He couldn''t inflict pain upon Greg, couldn''t beat Konner¡ªtwice, did let Greg escape and to top it all off, got shot which placed him on the sidelines for a good few weeks. It was plainly disappointing.


    "Well, let''s just put Greg aside for a moment and focus on the big thing¡ªthe King was here and we let him escape unscathed. That was a shame." Kevon shook his head. He was frustrated by his minimal involvement in the fight. "So, right now, we just have one thing to do¡ªfind Konner King and destroy him to the extent that even his merry boys won''t be able to recognize him." Kevon rallied his troops as their voices soared through the building.


    "We need to find Greg and we need to do it soon!" Harry proclaimed even after the fantastic rally that Kevon lead against Konner. It seemed like the hatred towards Greg was etched deep in his mind.


    "Hey calm down, will ya? Konner is the top priority now; so don''t worry about Greg now. We''ll just get to him later." Kevon wasn''t very keen on dampening the mood that he built up.


    "Wait, I''m not talking about that! Look, Konner attacked with a very clear objective¡ªsave Greg. Well then, if you have to find Konner, then you''d have to find Greg!" Harry replied which confused Kevon even more.


    "Well, Konner did escaped with Greg, didn''t he? If I''m not wrong, that''d just mean that Greg and King are together, right? Then didn''t we just say the same thing?" Kevon asked Harry, not knowing what he said wrong before.


    "That''s where the contradiction begins. If you have to find Konner, you might''ve to find the super-secret base of his that no one knows. But if you have to find Greg, just go to his apartment. Even if he escaped with or without Konner, he''d just go to his apartment to see that Sean kid. The Shepherd I know is too lazy to step a foot out of his crib, by the way." It seemed like Greg''s laziness was known far and wide, from the policemen to the merry boys.


    "But, if he''s not there, wouldn''t we be wasting time?" Kevon asked. He didn''t wanted to waste the precious time that could be utilized to find Konner.


    "Trust me on this, chief!" Harry said with glimmering eyes. Kevon decided to trust him this time. He took his squad to Greg''s apartment.


    ***


    Greg had nowhere to go, other than the old apartment that he lived in. And hence, Harry''s prediction was right on queue. Greg took the key to unlock the door before he noticed that the door was already opened. He got himself inside and saw Olivia and Sean inside. The concerned Sean rushed towards him. "Greg, what happened out there? I heard about the blast in the department. Did you do it?" He asked.


    "Hell no! That was just some stupid idiot and his troop picking a fight with the police." Greg walked towards the desk to take a lollipop and started sucking it like crazy.


    "Hey, is that how you address your benefactor?" Konner entered through the front door, flinging it open.


    "Well, how else am I going to address a stupid idiot?" Sparks flew between Greg and Konner as they spoke.


    "Wait, who are you?" In the midst, Sean was the confused one, not knowing Konner''s identity.


    "I''m Konner. I''m an android sent by Kyberlife." Konner introduced himself very similarly to that one game he played as a teenager. But all he got was an awkward silence. "It seems like you didn''t understand the reference. I''m Konner King. Some call me King Kon¡ªlet''s just stop with the puns. Anyway, I''m the leader of merry boys."


    "Merry boys? You mean the biggest anti-president faction right now?" Sean was amazed yet a bit concerned. The anti-president faction was a considered a terrorist group by most people.


    "Why is the leader of merry boys here?" Olivia was the one who raised the question.


    "I don''t know. Ask him! He''s the one who keeps on denying my invitation to join the merry boys." Konner''s response shook Sean to the core. To think that his father was sought after by the Konner King, was just amazing and terrifying at the same time.


    "Fuck you! I''m not going to join a group whose name seems like something that a pedophile would name themselves. Ah Sean, stay away from him." Greg dragged Sean away from Konner.


    Konner laughs. And just when he was about to say something sarcastic, Kevon and his crew came through the door that Konner left open.


    "Wow, Harry''s prediction was right on point! Catch him, crew!" Kevon ordered. But it only took a split second for Konner to escape through an open window and do some cool parkour.


    "You''re not going to catch him when he''s on the run." Greg said as he looked over to Konner escaping towards the horizon.


    "I know. But I can always catch you." Kevon was about to handcuff Greg, before he saw Sean''s sad face and Olivia consoling her¡ªOlivia¡­The captain''s sense of reasoning were long gone. The few officers like Yuki and Oleg who didn''t chase Konner for some reason, caught a sniff of it. "Unless, you co-operate with the police."


    "Co-operate? How?" Greg had doubts in his mind.


    "Well, if he''s so keen to get to you, I''m sure Konner will try to meet you again. So, if we are to monitor your every move, we might be able to get to him. And don''t worry, we''ll be like ninjas¡ªyou won''t even know that we''re onto you." Kevon replied.


    "I see. But how do I benefit from this?" Greg questioned again.


    "Remember that case we filed against you? Yea, that''ll be wiped out¡ªalong with every other cases in your name. Your slate will be completely clean." Kevon put forth a tempting offer.


    "Intriguing. Guess I''ll just accept!" Greg shook Kevon''s hand.


    "So, normally I would''ve posted Yuki or even Harry to this assignment¡ªbut this time I''ll personally carry out this mission!" Kevon was proud to say that.


    "I didn''t ask that." Greg wanted Kevon to leave now since the agreement was done between them.


    "Ah, I told you so that you don''t have to worry. Neither does little Sean or beautiful Olivia. You are all under my protection." Kevon patted on each of their shoulders.


    "Don''t care, uggo!" Olivia slapped Kevon''s hand off her shoulders which Kevon seemed to enjoy quite a bit.


    Seeing the captain''s increased enthusiasm, the subordinates could only sigh. "Yuki, you do know what this means, right?" Oleg asked.


    "Yea, our poor old cap is smitten." Yuki gave out a long sigh.


    There was no saving him now!


    ***

 9 Finding Kelly

    "Hey Sean, look at this!" Yet another day of Greg sitting in front of the computer, waiting for some movement to occur in the web novel in which he occupies the titular role¡ªa really normal thing to do.


    "Now, I''m the one who is busy doing the chores, so whatever it is, better be important!" Sean placed the broomstick down on the floor and walked towards Greg.


    "Remember when we just had one review for our novel? We remember you 4ola_aina! But look at this; we have four reviews now." Greg posed triumphantly towards the wall beside him for no apparent reason.


    "Eh? That''s amazing! Let me read it." Sean partook in the joyous moment and started to read the reviews. Then he suddenly stopped. "Wait, what is this?"


    "What? What?" Greg pushed his head back towards the computer relieving himself from the victory pose that none seem to enjoy.


    "Read this¡ªA good read, but it reminds him of G*ntama? Wait, now that I think about it¡ªaren''t we too similar to G*ntama?" Sean questioned.


    "What? I''m way cooler than G*ntoki!" Greg proclaimed not knowing the weight of the words that he spouted out.


    "Who are you even kidding? G*ntoki is the coolest character ever. Look, the author even admitted using him as an inspiration for you character!" Sean explained as he browsed through the comment section of one of the chapters.


    "Damn you, fucking chimp!" Greg screamed in agony. He swore to beat the shit out of the chimp if he ever introduced his own character to the novel.


    "Sean seems like S*inpachi and Kelly is like K*gura. The author to lack in a bit in originality department. Man, every word he said seems to be right." Every word Sean read made him more insecure.


    "Why do you have to nitpick the words? See, the review also praises the work too. It ain''t that bad, you know? Look at here, it says that the novel is fun!" Greg pointed at the positive comment that the review had. But Sean didn''t cheer up.


    "But, isn''t he right? Are we just a piece of copyright infringement or even a fan fiction¡ªno, we have different names. Well, aren''t we a plagiarized copy¡ªwell, most of the premise seems like an original copy. We''re just like those singers who seek inspiration from other songs, huh? Depressing!" Sean''s face was down. Greg had no ways to console him, so chose to cover up instead.


    "By the way, what happened to Taro?" Greg asked, trying to deviate the point.


    "Taro? Yea, I don''t know. And I don''t care." Sean still looked gloomy.


    "Hey, aren''t we taking up a lot of space? Look, if we''re like G*ntama, then we are! Well, at least people know what to expect from us¡ªa run down version of it. So, let''s not get depressed and give the people what they want." Greg patted on Sean''s shoulders and waved his hand towards the invisible wall.


    [P.S: Taro is the main character from the chimp''s now paused novel The Life of Normal-Taro. If you want to know more about him or read some cheesy lines and awkward romance build-ups, I suggest you read that. Or if you want to enjoy nothingness, there''s always Greg!]


    ***


    After all the fuzz with Konner and Kevon, everything settled for a moment. Greg was seen in his couch reading his favorite comic when he took notice of Sean who sat across him awkwardly. He stood up and faced Sean. "Are you hungry?" Sean nodded his head. Greg walked over to his refrigerator to show off his plethora of diabetes inducing food. He took out a piece of molten lava cake and offered Sean which he gladly accepted. Greg took one for himself and enjoyed the moment, completely forgetting the fact that Olivia is still here.


    "Hey, aren''t you forgetting someone?" Olivia pointed out her presence.


    "Oh, why are you here anyways? Sean''s in my custody now, right? Look, I''m okay with you checking his status from time-to-time, but if you are to stay here¡ªwell, you are not allowed to." Greg visibly looked annoyed at the sight of Olivia for some odd reason.


    "Fine! If you want to hoard your lava cake, its fine by me. Anyways, I''ll checking on you daily¡ªor weekly, depending on my mood. And if you got the kids in any trouble¡ªaren''t you going to find your daughter?" Olivia asked.


    Greg had finished his lava cake and so did Sean. He immediately took a lollipop and offered one to Sean too. Sean politely declined since he remember the crazy sucking that Greg did before. After inserting a lollipop in his mouth-hole, he gazed at Olivia. "Yes, we are. And don''t worry. I won''t need your help¡ªI got Sean now!" Greg smiled at Sean while Olivia scoffed and exited the room.


    "Okay, Sean. Let''s find your sister then." Greg said and immediately placed him back to the couch. "So, do you have any idea where she is?"


    "No. When our mum said that we''ll be meeting our father, she rushed out of the house saying that her father is a piece of scum and she would never like to meet him." Sean explained. Meanwhile, Greg wondered about how his daughter was able to find his character without ever seeing him.


    "I see. You got any leads?" Greg asked while he dawned his reading glasses and picked up a notebook.


    "Well, she''s a little on the dangerous side. So, I suggest that we start the search from the notorious parts of this town, if any." Sean replied as he got up which forced Greg to get up too.


    "Okay, let''s head to the car then." Greg started walking towards the car. Then he remembered that his car was in the worst shape. And since they were only two, they decided to bicycle their way through the town. Kudos to the eco-friendly Greg.


    ***


    As they bicycled through the notorious part of town X, they heard the screams of agony from a corner. They rushed towards the scream to see tens and hundreds of people running towards them. They looked scared. Greg decided to stop one. "Hey, what''s going on?"


    The man''s eyes showed fear¡ªpure, unaltered fear. He tried to run, but Greg''s hold on him was good and hence decided to spill the beans. "The demon is here, man! I thought she was just a rumor¡ªturns out she''s for real. She looks like a kid though. But not the innocent type¡ªshe literally beheaded a person with her bare hands. That was crazy. Sure, we pickpocketed some people, but we don''t wanna die! And I suggest you turn around too. She''s too dangerous!" And then the man ran away.


    "It''s her! Let''s go!" Sean said as they went against the screaming crowd. Meanwhile, Greg felt thankful for the fact that he has the MC luck trait rather than the unlucky one, since they were able to get his daughter''s trail on his first try.


    They rushed pretty quickly through the crowd that they were unable to find out when the crowd ended and when the real roads began. They even failed to notice a girl on the road holding a WLKM .50 cal multi barrel machine gun in her bare hands like nothing. She stopped the cycle on its track with her feet and dropped the gun to take out a shotgun which she stuffed into Greg''s mouth. "Where do you think you''re going, huh?"


    ***

 10 The Demon, the King and the Devil

    Another one of those extremely normal situation when the main character of a web novel surfs through the page of his own. Greg continued his expedition through the page. It was a really productive day for him¡ªhe changed the cover of the novel, he changed the nickname of the author to chimp, which the author couldn''t refute since Greg threatened to walk out, he managed to bring up the ratings for the novel- 4.7 out of five was indeed too sweet. In general, he was excited. And as always, he called out Sean to show off his hard work and the results.


    "Greg, we shouldn''t do this often. There is a slight possibility that the readers wouldn''t like this engagement." Sean pointed out.


    "Don''t worry, Sean! Remember what I told you, we''re just giving the people what they want. And if they don''t want it, they just need it." Greg sounded like the clich¨¦ arrogant bastard in a few animes that the author have watched. "Anyways, look at this! We got a rating, we got a new cover¡ªthings are looking good!"


    "Yea, you''re right. By the way, I read that review of yours." Greg acted puzzled as Sean pulled out his phone. "Greg is a cool character and others are a bit lacking. Greg is great; Greg is awesome¡ªif you said Greg is God, the self-praising would''ve been complete. But you really trashed us over there." Sean clutched his fists. Greg felt a chill in his spine.


    "Ah, Sean. The virus¡ªit has really made a lot of people worry, huh?" Greg tried to deviate the conversation.


    "Yea, I hope everyone is safe. But you are not allowed to change subjects halfway. Now, tell me. What am I supposed to do with you?" Sean glared at Greg.


    "Ah, shit. Looks like we don''t have enough words to do this shtick. You do know that the Chimp is really punctual with the 1.1-1.3k word limit, right?" Greg chuckled nervously.


    "Well, he''d be fine with extending the word limit for just once, right?" Sean said as he approached Greg. [Chimp approves] "See? He approved." Sean''s face twitched as he spoke.


    "Hey, Chimp! This isn''t fair! No!" Greg screamed as Sean pounded on him.


    [I hope everyone are doing fine in this stressful times. Be safe and wash your hands.]


    ***


    With the shotgun in his mouth, Greg had nothing much to say¡ªrather, there was nothing he could say. The girl was dead serious in pulling the trigger, so if he were to pull off some lame joke, he was sure to die. So, he chose to remain silent. The one that opened his mouth was Sean.


    "Kelly, it''s me!" Sean waved at her. The argument between them took place a few days ago and both of them deeply regretted it. So, when they actually saw each other after these few days, they were really happy. Kelly ran towards Sean, even though Sean was just two steps away from her, and hugged him. She forget about the fact that she had her gun on someone''s mouth¡ªat least, Greg felt thankful for that, as he threw away the gun.


    "How are you doing, brother?" Kelly asked.


    "Same as last day we met." Sean replied. "By the way, this is Greg. He''s our¡ªfather." Sean introduced Greg when he was preoccupied in looting the fallen bandits. Greg simply waved at Kelly.


    Kelly said nothing. She walked over to where the DP-12 shotgun was thrown by Greg, picked it up and started firing the entire sixteen rounds towards him.


    It couldn''t be said that Greg didn''t anticipate it¡ªmore like he was waiting for it. Then he realized anticipating and waiting are the same thing and felt extremely dumb. But in the face of certain death, Greg didn''t falter. He somehow managed to avoid all of the shots aimed at him. Kelly was beyond surprised. Sean became horrified, surprised and expressionless all in one go.


    "Your shots aren''t going to reach its target¡ªthe hatred; you bear too much hatred towards me. Your mind is not calm." Greg said as he approached Kelly.


    "Shut up!" Kelly screamed as she took her pistol and started shooting at him. Greg still evaded the shots¡ªmost of them, as he caught one right under his knee. Sean saw this and tried to stop Kelly. Kelly threw Sean aside like Ali*ity threw her cat over her head. It took her some time to realize what had happened. She wanted to apologize but didn''t. "So, you''re with this traitorous asshole now, huh? You know what? Fuck you two. I don''t care." Kelly scoffed and walked away.


    Sean, who was just slightly injured with a bruise, walked towards Greg who was now on the ground. He checked upon Greg and then called a taxi to the nearest hospital.


    ***


    After a few hours, Greg was discharged since it was a distal injury from a pistol. If he had got injured by the shotgun, it would''ve been a whole different beast. Greg was thankful for that was not the case.


    "What are we supposed to do now?" Sean was concerned. He had no idea how to deal with Kelly.


    "What else? We''re going to find her yet again." Greg replied as he paced around, testing out his injury. It seemed fine. "We can''t let her do any more of that. She is on the edge now and that would just cause danger to everybody."


    "We''ll just follow the initial plan then." Sean decided to check out the notorious places as they did before. But surprisingly, they were all calm. There was no sign of attack. They were confused.


    "Hah, a dead end. What shall I do-" Greg stopped his monologue midway as he saw the guy who ran away from Kelly previously. He was the one who talked about the "demon" and now he carried a machine gun in his hand supposedly in a hurry. "Hey, are you supposed to carry a gun out like this? We do have a no-gun policy, remember?"


    "Fuck! Why the hell are you two here? Look, I know you''re strong and all, but I''ve this gun now and I won''t hesitate to-" He wasn''t even able to complete his sentence when Greg took away his gun to point it back at him.


    "Okay, now. Tell me. Where the hell are all the thugs?" Greg politely asked.


    The man sighed. "The demon girl that I talked about¡ªthey somehow captured her. Everyone''s gathered in Y-alley in X-town¡ªthey''ll kill her publicly."


    "When is this happening?" Greg asked.


    "Anytime now. I would hurry if I were you." He replied.


    Greg tossed the gun back to the man. "Try to lead a better life from now on. You seem like a good guy. Don''t be a nuisance." Greg said before he and Sean ran towards the destination.


    ***


    Y-alley in X-town. Most of the notorious criminals were present there. If the NYPD knew, they would''ve had a field day catching these criminals. Kelly was tied up to a post and the criminals stood around her. A woman in her thirties started to speak up. "The resident demon of X-town; the one who caused havoc amongst the crime community within few days. Finally, you''ll get what you deserve. Eat my bullet! This is retribution!"


    The woman pointed her gun towards Kelly who had her eyes closed. It was not such a bad way to die¡ªshe considered it as a victory in the battlefield. She braced for what was about to come.


    "Excuse me? My daughter doesn''t really like BDSM, so how about we do that to someone who actually likes it?" It was Greg who interfered.


    "Eh, so you like bondage play?" Sean asked.


    "Well, I tried for an epic punch line, but failed! Never mind that, how do you know what BDSM is?" Greg raised questions against Sean''s knowledge.


    "That¡ªwait, they''re coming!" Sean signaled at those pouncing towards them.


    Greg cracked his fingers as he looked at Sean. "We''re going to have a talk over dinner, young man!"


    Every single one of them were equipped with weapons. Some with long range and some with short range guns. Greg had nothing on him. But he smiled¡ªand that was a sinister one.


    "I came here after hearing about the public execution. I never would''ve thought you''d be here too!" Someone interfered. It was Konner King. He had his merry boys with him.


    "Well, things we do for family." Greg smiled as he answered Konner. Konner smiled back.


    "Merry boys! Get ready for a fight!" Konner screamed as they ran towards the ones attacking Greg and Sean. The place was a battlefield. The two sides were equal in power if you weren''t considering the monsters¡ªKonner and Greg. Those two were enough to rough shot through the entire bandwagon of criminals. Somehow, the way they move was completely different from others which left Sean in awe. Moreover, they were smiling!


    "Monsters! You two are monsters!" The lady screamed as she took her shotgun and pointed it towards Greg and Konner. But the intimidation itself was enough for her to concede her defeat. "Now, you aren''t going to hit a lady, are you?" She played out her trump card¡ªbeing a woman.


    "We are not monsters. Better if you call him devil. And as of me, I''m just a benevolent king." Konner answered. "And you''re right. A king never hits a woman¡ªhe has his dignity to maintain. But the same can''t be said about the devil."


    Her smile wore off as she got hold of the jaw cracking blow from Greg. His eyes still had the bloodlust. To this day, people in the crime syndicate piss their pants when they hear about a certain devil in X-town. And the day ended up in the history books as the battle of silent alley, since the police didn''t even noticed a battle of such proportions until after the battle. And thus, the battle didn''t technically end up in the history books, but in the minds of every criminal in X-town that they should now mess with the demon since the devil may come to kill them.


    ***


    "Are you okay?" Greg asked while he untied Kelly.


    "Thank you." Kelly said. "But that doesn''t mean that I forgive you!"


    "Fine. I''ll leave you with Olivia, if I''m the problem." Greg knew that it would take time to build a bridge between himself and his daughter.


    "Wait, do you have any mattress in your apartment?" Kelly asked while she looked away from Greg.


    "No, but I do have a couch." Greg replied.


    "Buy a mattress for me and I''ll consider living with you two." Kelly pouted as she looked towards Greg.


    Greg gave out a pleasant smile. "Sure, let''s buy that today!"


    "Okay, I''ll be going then. And also, please reconsider my offer." Konner was about to take off from there before the police arrive.


    "Sorry, my answer would be no. But thanks for today, man! I really appreciate it." Greg hugged Konner. Konner was surprised since this was the first in a long time.


    "Wow! By the way, who are these two?" Konner asked. "I remember seeing this kid back when I was at your apartment¡ªSean or something. But, who''s the girl?"


    "Oh, you''re right! This is Sean and Kelly. They are my kids." Greg replied as he placed his arms around their shoulders. Kelly didn''t quite like the gesture.


    "Eh?" Konner was dumfounded, yet again by the actions of the man named Greg Shepherd.


    ***

 11 The Missing Case

    Greg was in the top of the world¡ªor someone who knows about the past few days of his would think so. But Greg was concerned. Two extra people in the household meant more expenses. And Greg can''t handle heavy expenses with his lifestyle and job. He dwelled on that thought while reading the new issue of his favorite comic.


    "So, what do you do when you''re not out here reading comic books?" Kelly, who sat beside him awkwardly, asked.


    Greg looked at her, but chose not to reply since she was disturbing his reading time. Kelly couldn''t hold on to the mistreatment. Seeing the flares of anger in Kelly''s eyes, Sean, who was cleaning the apartment, headed towards Greg. "I think it''d be better for you if you answer her question."


    Greg saw what Sean saw and held out his phone, "I get job requests and I do them." Kelly took his phone and surfed through it. Greg had an app dedicated to himself. Seeing Greg smile weirdly¡ªit was creepy in her eyes.


    "What is this?" Kelly showed him the glaring lollipop symbol in the app.


    Greg took the phone back. "It means that I have a job. Sorry, I have to go." Greg placed the comic back on the table nearby and hurried.


    Sean noticed Greg''s hurry. He wanted to know what kind of jobs Greg does. "Wait! Can I come with you?" He asked.


    Greg thought for a moment and agreed. He offered Kelly to come along but Kelly declined. But thinking about how she''d be lonely, Kelly decided to go along with them. And surprisingly, the car started moving on the first try as they headed towards their destination.


    ***


    Ten minutes north of their apartment was the destination. Greg was the first to get out¡ªhe decided not to properly park or even turn off his old car since he trusted his car to break down if he did so. The amount of diesel lost would just be a small price to pay. He thought of buying an eco-friendly car, but he erased the notion from his head since he was flat broke.


    Greg knocked on the door and they were welcomed in by the maid of the house. The client, who was seated in the couch, asked them to get comfortable as well.


    "So, missing person. How is he related to you?" Greg asked.


    "He''s my son. Been missing for a few days. Initially, I thought he was just partying with friends, but it''s just too long now. He''s never gone anywhere for these much days." He explained the situation.


    Sean listened to it alongside Greg, but Kelly wasn''t interested. She was walking by the hallway, when she saw a cute big dog. She went towards the dog, but the maid stopped her, saying that it was dangerous and that the dog is hostile towards everyone. But Kelly didn''t care as she got close to the dog and patted his head. The client witnessed this scene and was amazed.


    "I''m really sorry for my daughter''s behavior." Greg apologized for Kelly''s action.


    But the client didn''t mind. He was just baffled. "No! Don''t apologize. This is so bizarre. The dog doesn''t interact with anybody and yet it seems comfortable with your daughter."


    Kelly continued playing with the dog when another one came in. "what are their names?" She asked.


    "The one near you is Saddler. And the other one is his mother Lily." The client replied. "Lily is really friendly though."


    Kelly gazed at Lily and saw the marks in her body¡ªas if someone bashed her. She felt that in Saddler''s body too, but chose not to ask. "Saddler''s kind of a dumb name, isn''t it?"


    "Ah, my son named it. So I wouldn''t know!" The client laughed.


    Greg stood up; so did Sean. "Okay, I guess we got all we want. But I want to ask you one thing. Is your son involved with any kind of drug dealings?"


    The client was distorted for a second. Greg felt the uneasiness coming from his client. The client laughed it off. "No! Nothing like that, I reckon. You were about to go, right?"


    "Yea, let''s go Kelly." Kelly stood up on hearing Greg''s voice and they headed towards the exit. The client bid them farewell as they got into the car.


    "So, what do you think?" Sean asked Greg who seemed to be lost in thought.


    "Eh? Well, we will be having a long day checking all those illegal drug trafficking in the city." Greg replied as he revved the engine.


    "But the client said that his son doesn''t deal with drugs. Then why?" Sean questioned Greg.


    "Are you stupid or what? Didn''t you see the slight hesitation while he replied to that question?" This time, it was Kelly who taunted Sean. He felt ashamed and chose not to talk anymore.


    "It seemed like you noticed it too." Greg smiled as he looked at her. Kelly looked away.


    "How are we going to get the info on drug dealers and stuff?" Kelly asked, still looking away.


    "Well, I do have a group of people in mind." Greg smiled as he hit the accelerator.


    ***


    A peaceful day in the vicinity of NYPD. No crimes were reported that day¡ªno crimes were reported in the past few days after the altercation of the crime lords with the devil himself. Yuki was happy. Even though Oleg and Harry were in each other''s throat, since Harry is injured, the intensity of the fight was lower than the other days. Everything seemed fine, until the old car that wreaks havoc showed up in front of their gate. At that moment, he knew that it was going to be a rough day.


    Greg honked several times at the gate until Yuki let them in. The three of them got out of the car to receive a hostile welcome. Rather, Oleg was the only one who seemed normal.


    "How are you, Greg the hunter?" Oleg asked as he welcomed him and Sean. However he stopped at Kelly. "Something about you irks me!"


    "What the fuck do you want? Wanna pick a fight, huh?" Kelly got to his face. Oleg''s face twitched without rest.


    "Couldn''t ask for more!" Oleg smiled and pulled out a gun. Kelly grabbed Yuki''s gun from his holster. They both had guns pointed at each other. Yuki ran away.


    A fight ensued in NYPD''s yard. Kelly and Oleg were in each other''s throats. Some concerned officials went to report it to their vice-captain. Others didn''t care, since Oleg was powerful and they were sure about his easy win.


    However, they were wrong. Both of them had equal footing¡ªhell, Kelly was one step ahead in pure strength, while Oleg had some pretty sick skills.


    "Hey, shouldn''t we stop them?" Sean was concerned. Kelly was fighting a police official. It was bound to cause them trouble.


    "Let the kids fight." Greg wasn''t concerned for some odd reasons.


    "GREG SHEPHERD! Why the fuck are you here?" Harry heard about the fight and came in his wheelchair to see someone destroy Oleg, but seeing Greg just pissed him off.


    "Wow! HARRY THOMPSON! How''s your injury, huh? Crybaby!" Greg laughed at him. Sean didn''t understand why his family was so hostile towards the police.


    "Someone give me a gun! I want to blow his head off." Harry screamed. No one dared to give a gun to the man in the wheelchair. Greg laughed and poked Harry''s nose. Harry jumped at him from the wheelchair and scratched his face. They both rolled around in the ground, one upping each other by scratching their faces. Everyone around were unsure on how to stop these fights, including Sean.


    "What the bloody hell is going on around here?" A thunderous voice emerged which stopped all four from fighting. Yes, it was the man with utmost dignity and respect in the department. It was their captain, Kevon¡ªbuck naked.


    ***

 12 Rampage

    "So, what do you want?" Kevon finally asked after all the fuzz were cleared. He wasn''t naked anymore¡ªsince his subordinates forced him to wear the uniform due to Kelly''s presence. The NYPD in dystopian era didn''t enrolled females because the females were a different competing sector. So they had the freedom to act rowdy in their department vicinity. Occasionally, females like Kelly enter into the fray and they had to discipline themselves.


    "Well, I''d like your help." Greg replied. He had multiple bite and scratch marks in his face. Harry didn''t spare much of him.


    "Idiot, I know that! What do you want in particular?" Kevon opened the door to his office to see the guy who masturbated in the toilet. He seemed to have changed his position. Kevon couldn''t believe his eyes. He closed the door at once, waited for a bit and then opened again. And this time, he disappeared. Kevon thought of it as a misjudgment from him.


    "I''d like to take a look at the files on the drug trafficking around here. You know, the places where the deal takes place and where they sell it and all." Greg answered as he let himself be seated. Sean and Kelly decided to do so too.


    "As much as I''d like to help you, we''re police officers. We''re not supposed to give out undisclosed information to civilians like you." Kevon shrugged his shoulders signaling that he''d be of no help.


    Greg said nothing. He looked at his phone, then looked towards Sean. "Hey Sean, look at this! Konner King sent me a message. Now, just imagine if I''m to tell him that I''m interested in joining the merry boys and who knows¡ªhe might just send me the co-ordinates!"


    "Enough! I know what you''re trying to do¡ªand it is working! Just ask Yuki; he''ll give you the files." Kevon looked frustrated as he had to obey Greg''s orders. "And by the way, next time, inform me when you come in contact with Konner by any means."


    "Thank you, Kevon-chan! I wuv you!" Greg made a weird kissy face, which even made Kevon spooked out. "Oh, and look at your closet. It''s not good of someone to do the five knuckle shuffle in the presence of a female!" Kevon looked at his closet to see the masturbator¡ªit wasn''t a mirage.


    ***


    After meeting up with Yuki and gathering the info, the squad headed towards every possible location where the missing person could be. But, they had no luck whatsoever.


    "Fuck! This is the fifth location already! Are we gonna find something following this lead?" Sean got frustrated.


    "First of all, Sean¡ªlanguage! Second, it''s just the fifth place; there are¡ªone, two¡ªcrap, there''s just two places left!" Now, Greg was the one not knowing what to do. Kelly chose not to talk, but observe.


    "That''s exactly my thought! We should''ve believed the client." Sean said.


    "Wait, something would come up." Greg replied as he focused on something in the distant. "Something did come up!" Greg rushed towards a man sitting in a garden bench in the distance. Sean and Kelly decided to follow him.


    "Yo! So, how''s life without crime?" Greg asked to the person in front of him¡ªthe guy who helped them get to Kelly.


    "Difficult. I''m not getting any jobs, due to my background." The man replied as he slanted back towards the bench.


    "See, I can help you in that case¡ªonly if you help me." Greg put forth his suggestion.


    Sean didn''t agree to this. "Greg, are you sure about this?" Greg nodded his head in assurance. Sean decided not to pest about this any further.


    The man was keen about this too. "I''m listening." He was a bit suspicious, but keen nonetheless.


    Greg placed all the police records and the missing person''s photo beside the man. "This guy¡ªwe need to find this guy. So, tell me if you''ve seen him in any of those places in the police records.


    The man looked at the photo closely. "Wait, isn''t this the resident druggie in XYZ club? No wonder why you didn''t find him! XYZ is an underground club that conducts all sort of crime¡ªand this guy, I''ve seen him there for sure. As a matter of fact, he''s always there."


    "Where is this XYZ club?" Greg asked.


    "Wait, I''ll write you the address." The man wrote the address and gave it to Greg.


    "Thanks." Greg bowed and then gave him a card. "Call this number and ask for Othwyn. Tell her about your struggles and problems in looking for a job. She''ll help you on that."


    "I''ll keep that in mind." The man placed the card in his pocket. "By the way, my name is Sam."


    "Greg." They shook hands.


    ***


    So, the three of them reached XYZ club. Sean and Greg seemed happy, for different reasons¡ªSean was happy since they were about to find the person while Greg hadn''t been to a club in months. Kelly personally didn''t care and chewed bubblegum and blew it up.


    They got in to the club¡ªeven Sean and Kelly, who were under-age, got in due to lax security. They didn''t quite understand why the police didn''t find this place yet. Inside, it wasn''t that difficult to find the person they wanted to find since he was the one sniffing various drugs from unhygienic places of naked feminine body¡ªhe was easily visible. Greg had to shut his kids'' eyes from that, but they slapped his hand off. Sean got a nosebleed in the midst.


    "Don''t you know that doing drugs are bad?" Greg came up to him and lifted his face up from where it was previously situated just to confirm the identity. There was no mistake.


    However, the guy was seriously pissed off. "Huh? What the fuck are you doing?"


    "Well, we''re here to take you to home." Greg replied.


    "That stupid old man doesn''t learn, does he? Sending bunch of hooligans¡ªwell, the girl looks good. Want me to sniff your panties?" He gave off a perverted look.


    Kelly didn''t gave a shit to his remarks. But for Greg and Sean, this was insulting.


    "Don''t go saying stuff to little girls, you pedophile!" It took a split second for Greg''s fist to reach the guy''s face. A bit more power, and he would''ve been sent to the oblivion.


    The guy was flabbergasted as he saw the blood flowing out of his nose and mouth. A few good teeth were to be discarded too. "Ho waye you yu that? Boryguars, ayak him! [Roughly translated to- how dare you do that? Bodyguards, attack him!]


    Enter two big bodyguards. They rushed towards Greg. Just then, they heard a pop¡ªit was from the bubblegum that Kelly blew up. She interjected into the mix and blew a hard punch on both their faces. Within seconds, they were lying flat on the ground. Kelly was no longer bored or disinterested. She was on a rampage.


    ***