Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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41.
“Are you sure about this?”
Hee-ju leaned forward from the driver’s seat, her expression clouded with concern.
Liam, shouldering his bag, pulled on the leather gloves. The pair he’d taken from Noel’s pawn shop fit him perfectly.
Liam smiled faintly and met her eyes.
“Who are you worried about? Surely not me?”
“What if someone shows up?”
“I watched the last employee leave just now.”
With his preparations complete, Liam fixed his gaze on her.
“Wait in the car. It won’t take more than five minutes.”
“Understood.”
Hee-ju nodded. Liam pulled his hat low and turned to leave, but her voice caught his ankle with sudden urgency.
“Be careful.”
“I like that.”
Yes, he felt better than expected. The fact that she cared.
Liam adjusted his hat brim once more and dissolved into the darkness.
Night had fallen, but the surroundings blazed with light—LED decorations on the department store, the hotel’s endless glowing windows, and luminous garlands on the trees.
Liam moved along the building’s shadows, arriving at a storefront without drawing a single glance.
「OTTIMO」
“‘The finest.’ Too bad their security is anything but.”
No sign of a professional security company. They were arrogant enough to believe no one would dare target a Russian Mafia establishment.
“Or maybe calling in professionals would wound their pride.”
Liam bypassed the front entrance and slipped into the alley. The back door connecting to the kitchen came into view. Picking such a lock was child’s play.
He glanced at his watch. Even without professional security, the restaurant’s breach wouldn’t escape notice until morning.
They’d have some basic countermeasures in place. The CCTV would be running.
“How long before they arrive? Five minutes? Three?”
That would be enough time to pay his respects and leave. He pulled a pin from his bag and inserted it into the lock, turning it several times.
Click—the lock gave way. The moment Liam opened the door.
Whee-whee-whee—
An alarm shrieked to life.
Liam clicked his tongue softly and entered the restaurant. The kitchen was dark save for the blinking indicator light on the gas detector.
Yet he moved forward with practiced ease. When he opened the opposite door, the dining room revealed itself.
The street lamp’s glow filtering through the windows rendered the space in dim silhouette.
He scanned the ceiling and pillars quickly. CCTV cameras were mounted near the entrance and counter.
Liam pressed his hat deeper and shrugged off his bag.
“Two minutes thirty seconds left.”
He didn’t need to check his watch. His internal clock was precise.
From his bag, Liam withdrew the improvised bomb—a crude affair assembled from convenience store materials. It lacked serious destructive power, but it would wreck a few tables.
Compared to what they’d done to him, it was nothing. But he couldn’t leave San Francisco without at least this gesture of acknowledgment, or The Picture Ripper’s reputation would suffer.
Liam switched on the cell phone attached to the device. It was Hee-ju’s old phone, its number now exposed and unusable.
After confirming the detonator functioned properly, he spun on his heel.
“Two minutes.”
He paused mid-stride toward the exit. The alarm still wailed above his head.
Liam changed course for the counter. He pressed the button on the cash register. It rattled uselessly—locked.
He rummaged through the drawers beneath it and pulled out a key.
“Bingo.”
Whee-whee-whee—
“One minute forty seconds.”
The key turned, and the box opened smoothly. The cash inside was modest—tomorrow’s opening float.
“I’ll take this as consolation money.”
He waved the bills at the camera, then retraced his steps and slipped out.
The moment Liam concealed himself behind an adjacent storefront’s sign, two men came sprinting and burst through OTTIMO’s door.
Liam quickly withdrew from the area, pressing the call button on his cell phone. At the same instant—
Bang!
“Aaargh!”
The men’s screams faded behind him as Liam quickened his pace. Around the corner, a car idled, waiting.
He slid into the passenger seat. Without a word, Hee-ju accelerated. The car, headlights dark, vanished from the scene in seconds.
Wee-wee-wee—
A siren wailed somewhere in the distance. Hee-ju waited until she’d reached a quiet stretch of road before glancing at Liam.
By then he’d shed his bag and hat, his expression relaxed as always.
“You okay?”
“Me, or them?”
At his odd echo of her question, Hee-ju swallowed hard. For the first time, she found herself wondering about the welfare of his targets.
“Both.”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
Liam lifted his shoulders with a shrug and continued casually.
“As for them—”
“They’re…?”
“They won’t die. The device wasn’t powerful enough for that.”
They might be writhing in far worse agony, but there was no need to tell Hee-ju as much.
The car gradually picked up speed.
***
Late into the night, Sergei took a call in bed and rose to pull on his robe. The blonde beauty beside him stirred slightly.
“What is it?”
“Nothing serious.”
He replied curtly and made for the study. Before long, a knock sounded.
“Come in.”
The door opened. Andrei entered—a man bearing a long scar along the border of his cheek and neck.
He approached the desk and spoke in a clipped, measured tone.
“Someone planted an explosive device at OTTIMO.”
“When?”
Andrei checked the time. “Fifteen minutes ago,” he answered, then added quietly:
“An intrusion alert sounded at the restaurant. The men we sent to investigate opened the door, and that’s when the device detonated.”
“What lunatic would—”
Sergei’s face darkened with cold fury. His fist crashed against the desk.
“Unknown—”
Andrei fell silent. Sergei’s eyes burned with lethal intent.
Andrei, quick to read the room, thrust out a tablet.
“We have CCTV footage.”
He set it on the desk and pressed play.
A dark shadow moved across the dim screen—not through the front, but the kitchen entrance. The man checked his surroundings, set down his bag, and produced the explosive.
Moving with practiced efficiency, he suddenly pivoted toward the cash register. After retrieving the bills, he waved them at the camera.
“!”
The blatant provocation made Sergei’s jaw clench.
A moment later, his two men appeared at the front entrance. As they crossed the threshold, light flashed. The screen crackled and went dark.
“As you can see, this is professional work. Not a moment’s hesitation. Perhaps the Italian faction is testing the waters to expand territory.”
“No.”
“Sir?”
Sergei’s eyes narrowed as he stared into the void. Certainty dripped from his teeth.
“It’s him.”
“Him, sir…?”
“That lapdog sniffing around that woman—you mentioned him, didn’t you?”
“But—”
Andrei’s gaze darted between the darkened tablet and Sergei. Sergei’s jaw locked tight.
“This morning he slaughtered my men at the Funeral Parlor, and now he plants explosives in my restaurant? The arrogant bastard.”
He fixed Andrei with a chilling stare.
“Find him. Dead or alive, bring him before me.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Andrei turned to leave, Sergei added, as if the thought had just occurred to him:
“You did post someone on the CIA side, yes?”
“Yes, sir. Two men, discreetly stationed.”
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir.”
Andrei left the room. Sergei glared at the closed door before his rage boiled over—his fist slammed the desk again.
Bang!
***
The newly rented car sped along the I-80 Highway. Darkness surrounded them on all sides, the road stretching endlessly ahead.
The horizon vanishing into infinity reminded Hee-ju of her own uncertain future, and she managed only a bitter smile.
“Want to switch?”
At his voice from the passenger seat, Hee-ju glanced sideways.
“Didn’t you sleep?”
“Just a bit.”
Liam stretched his arms and legs briefly, answering in short.
“Get more rest. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
After checking his watch, Liam said, “Pull over.”
“You’ve been driving for four hours already. We should trade off.”
“There’s a Gas Station about a kilometer ahead. We need fuel anyway, and hopefully they have decent coffee.”
“Here’s hoping it’s actually drinkable.”
“Picky, aren’t we?”
Hee-ju shot back. The car continued down the dark road and soon pulled into a Gas Station where dim lights glowed.
“Let’s fill the tank first, then check what they have.”
A brightly lit Convenience Store stood to the left of the station.
Liam climbed out and stretched his long frame. Rotating his neck, he said:
“I’ll pump the gas. You go into the Convenience Store.”
Hee-ju nodded. “Need anything?” she asked. Liam smiled slightly.
“Drinkable coffee.”
“Picky, aren’t we?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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