After winning his fight, Ace headed toward the captain's cabin in the ruined ship. He walked through the same corridors as when he went to the arena and finally reached his destination. He opened the door and saw Park counting money.
Park looked up and pulled out two stacks of bills."It's rare to see you so excited during a fight," he said with a tone both careless and intrigued."He was strong," Ace replied in a decisive voice, before taking the money and leaving to return to the orphanage.
Once outside the hangar, he checked the time on his cracked-screen phone. It was 12:17 a.m. Ace stared at the display a little too long, his expression shifting from fatigue to anger. His anger came from the fact that he couldn't take the subway home and would have to walk ten kilometers to get there.
After a few seconds of feeling sorry for himself, he pulled a pair of earphones from his pocket, put them in, turned on some music, and began walking toward his destination.
Ace walked for two hours before reaching the orphanage. Nothing noteworthy happened along the way, apart from a few muggers who wanted his money and the stabbing pain in his ribs.
Once in front of the orphanage, he slipped inside quietly so as not to wake anyone. After closing the door, Ace began making his way toward his room when a sudden flash of light blinded him. He shielded his eyes, dazzled by the glare, when a rough voice suddenly rang out:
— Ace, is that you?
Hearing the voice, Ace recognized Johnny.— Yeah, it's me, old geezer, he answered irritably.
Franky turned off the flashlight he had pointed at Ace and said in an irritated tone:— Yeah, it's my son all right. Who else would insult the guy who stays up all night waiting for him?
Ace smiled at that and walked to the kitchen, accompanied by his adoptive father dressed in pajamas. Once there, he turned on the light, opened the fridge, and pulled out a plate of pasta wrapped in plastic. He unwrapped it and set the plate in the microwave. Then he sat down at the table and dropped the two stacks of bills in front of him.
Johnny noticed the money and sighed. He looked away and focused on Ace, who sat at the table. Johnny had founded the orphanage because he had been unable to have children with his wife, who had died of cancer. He considered every child in the orphanage his own. So seeing one of them put himself in danger for his sake tore at his heart. He wasn't naïve; he knew Ace's methods for making money weren't legal.
How could a fifteen-year-old make $20,000 in one night otherwise? But he also couldn't tell him to stop, because if he did, the orphanage would have to shut down. And what kind of parent throws his children out on the street because of his own shortcomings?
— Don't worry about me, Dad. I'm doing this because I want to, and to pay back my debt, Ace said in a calm, reassuring voice.
Johnny kept his eyes on him for a moment before sighing and heading off to bed. Ace watched him go with a smile, just as the microwave beeped.
He stood, opened it, and pulled out the plate of pasta, devouring it with a wide grin. Then he made his way to his room, slipped in quietly, and closed the door behind him. He crossed the room carefully, not wanting to wake the other kids, then lay down on his bed and began to drift off.
In the middle of the night, while the entire orphanage slept, a man slipped outside. He walked up to a van parked across the street, opened the trunk, and said in a professional tone:— It's set.
He was speaking to a man covered in scars, far too muscular for his officer's uniform. The man smiled and pressed a button. A second later, the orphanage exploded.