Back at the mansion.
Jesselyn walked into one of the many rooms in the mansion. She furrowed as she looked around the completely normal room. She heard a sound from the room, a suspicious one, and went to check it out.
"Who's there?" She said out loud. "I'm not in the mood for whatever it is you're trying to pull." She walked further into the room and noticed pieces of broken glass below the only window in the room.
She narrowed her eyes as she stared at the pieces of glass. She reached for a gun which was in her belt the whole time and quickly turned around, aiming the gun in front of her. "Who's there?" She queried.
The room was bright, and everywhere could be seen clearly, everywhere but a single corner, and she could see a silhouette there.
"Show yourself, or I'll shoot," she threatened but the figure didn't comply. The former storm agent took a step forward, tightening the grip on her gun. "You think I'm bluffing, huh? I'm going through some horrible shit right now and…" before she could complete her words, she felt a cut in her neck.
Her body went numb for a split second before she regained her senses, just in time to dodge what looked like a chained rope.
The object flew directly past her face, giving her a clear picture of what it was. It was indeed ropes. Ropes which were tied together like a chain.
The rope contracted back into the shadow and popped out again, aimed at the former Winter Weir agent. This time it moved so fast that the Weir couldn't register its movement until it had wrapped around her wrist. The light in the room suddenly sparked and turned off.
.
.
.
The Ferrari parked in front of a tall and even more advanced building than all the others he had seen until that moment. The dark-haired man stepped out of the car and looked up at the building. "ALKAN," he read out the sign on the building.
"This is one of the sub-organizations of UNEAD: the security organization of Earth. ALKAN is where all the thinking takes place." Yvonne stood next to the dark-haired man.
Just like the dark-haired woman mentioned, UNEAD is the security organization of Earth defending it against internal, and external situations. Among the sub-organizations of UNEAD are: UNION: controls the political aspect of earth. Nator: deals with and upgrades the technology of the planet. Ealien: produces special military personnel which is distributed among the countries on the planet. ALKAN, and finally Dato.
The earthlings believe that with all these organizations symphonized together, they create the perfect defense system that no one will be able to penetrate.
"Shall we?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
The duo proceeded through the automatic door which opened immediately they approached it, giving them way to enter.
As they walked through the hall, everyone they walked past either stopped and bowed till they passed or saluted with their hand to their forehead.
They stepped into an elevator and Starla punched in the floor they were headed to. "Sorry about that," she apologized.
"About what?"
"The salutations and bowing," she stated. "It's a law that was set by the Head of Earth. I've tried so hard to pluck it out but I failed, he's such a stubborn man."
"Why am I more interested in knowing about the 'Head of Earth'?"
Yvonne chuckled softly. "Fair enough," she said. "Where do I even start?" She pinched her jaw and hummed. "Okay. Well, unlike your planet, we don't only have three countries, there are about two hundred or so."
The dark-haired man's eyes widened in surprise. "My god. Isn't that too much? How is the head of earth supposed to manage things then?"
"Each of the countries has a ruler, the president, who takes care of matters while abiding by the laws of UNEAD and the H.O.E. himself."
"So like the Prime and the People?"
Starla stayed quiet for a couple of seconds before shaking her head no. "I'd like to think it's better than that."
The elevator door opened and the duo walked into yet another room in the ALKAN building.
The room was very large with a lot of people walking around, performing their various duties. On one part of the wall in the place, a large television that kept showing a series of codes and information the dark-haired man couldn't quite comprehend was placed.
Starla led him further and into a small compartment with only a long table and chairs round the table in the middle. On the chair was Ada who smiled as she noticed him and a few other people he didn't recognize.
The dark-haired man sat next to Ada who leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Be careful with that one, she bites sometimes," she said, gesturing to the head of UNEAD.
"Miss Starla, isn't that the Weir?" One of the men sitting around questioned.
Yvonne looked at the dark-haired man and back to the speaker. "Yes, is there any problem?"
"You do realize what this room is, right? You can't just bring an alien here, that's utterly unacceptable."
"What do you think the H.O.E. will say if he finds out you walked a Weir into this room."
"It doesn't matter what Marcus says, let's just get on with the matter on hand."
The dark-haired man sighed and got up on his feet. "I could leave if my stay here will cause any trouble."
"Not at all, you stay."
He nodded and leaned his back on the chair, pairing his eyes with the man who raised questions about his stay in the room.
"Where's Six?"
Just as she finished her sentence, the door flung open and a man who commanded attention with his striking presence entered the room. With chiseled features and a strong, square jawline, he possessed an air of confidence that radiated from him effortlessly. His piercing red eyes, framed by thick, maroon lashes, held a hint of mystery, drawing others in like moths to a flame.
Tall and impeccably dressed, he had a refined sense of style that accentuated his athletic physique. Broad shoulders tapered down to a trim waist, conveying both strength and elegance. His rich dark red somewhat brownish undercut hair, perfectly complemented his light skin tone and seemed to have a mind of its own, adding a touch of rugged charm to his overall appearance.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized before taking his seat.
Ada glared at him and hissed. "You're always late, it's like you do it intentionally," she bickered.
"Would you believe me if I try to explain why?"
Ada shook her head no and the maroon-haired man let out a small chuckle when his eyes met that of the alien individual in the room. His smile became even wider as he had already realized who it was. "You must be Andy Sprite."
"That's… yes, I'm Andy," Andy stated.
"I'm Six, Eder Six." He extended his hand across the table for a handshake.
"Okay, that's enough talks, Let's get back to the matter at hand. Present..."
One of the men in the room got up on his feet and cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm sure you remember 'Helltiga' and the many heists they've pulled all around Earth?"
"Of course, we do," Six stated. "Pretty hard to forget them especially since all their works were successful." He turned to Ada and shifted his brows up. She shook her head and turned away from him.
"Glad we all still have fresh memories on them," the man stated. "Our sources just found out that their recent heist, the Powerball, is being placed on the market for auctioning in Spain."
"What's a Powerball?" The dark-haired man queried.
"It's a military device that could shut down any electrical device in a 700-meter radius," Ada explained. "Can also control said devices if written correctly."
"How'd you let something like that get into the hands of--- Helltiger, or whatever their name is?"
"They are really good at stealing is all I'll say," Eder replied.
The man presenting glared at the dark-haired man before speaking again. "The auction will begin in exactly fifteen hours. If we don't take action now, some Mafia godfather could have it in his hand, and that wouldn't be good."
"I have a plan," Eder chipped with a wide smile on his face.
"No. Come on Yvonne, we both know that whatever comes out of that mouth of his will only destroy ALKAN's budget. Why is he even here? Shouldn't he be in Ealien?"
The red-eyed man furrowed and threw his hands up. "You haven't even listened to what I have to say."
"Six is right, let's hear him out, first," Yvonne chipped.
"Thank you." He smiled, but it was obvious there was a hidden mischievous intent underneath said smile. "So I was thinking, since it's an auction, why don't we attend it like actual buyers while having the soldiers secure the place? That way, we'll be able to secure the Powerball and hopefully arrest the Helltiga before they escape."
Ada tried but couldn't hide the amazement written all over her face. "I must admit, that is actually not a bad plan."
"You can say that again," he said before leaning back and placing his hand behind his head.
Yvonne shook her head. They all turned to the presenter as he began speaking again. "The bad news is, the event is invites only. The good news is, we were able to secure two invitations."
"That's perfect." Eder Six turned to the dark-haired man. "What do you say, Andy? Are you up for a little travel?"
"There's no way we'll send an outsider on this mission! Everything is at stake here," the man said, slapping the desk with his palm.
"Who else would you send?" Ada probed. "Venus and her squad are on a mission in London, Minus-3 is undergoing extraction, I have medicals in a few hours, and Yvonne has a meeting."
The man pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled deeply.
"So? What do you say?" Starla asked the dark-haired man.
"I mean, who would say no to fun time? And if not anything, I'd say yes just to piss this guy off," the dark-haired man stated.
Yvonne smiled. "Great, you leave in thirty."
"Haha, España, aquí vamos," Six said.
.
.
.
At the mansion.
Jesselyn dodged another attack from the shadow. They've been fighting for a long time but she still haven't seen a glimpse of her opponents face.
She didn't realized the person had lunged another attack until her back was on a wall and she felt a weight on her neck, it was her opponent's hand.
Jesselyn was now certain that she was fighting a male but the little information she just got did nothing to help her case. She felt a piercing pain as what felt like a knife plunged into her abdomen.
She gurgled in pain and tried to push the man away but his grip was so strong she could barely move. He pulled the weapon out and lunged it back into her abdomen, again, and again, until the former Department H could barely draw a normal breath.
She crashed on the ground with her hand pressing on the stab injury and her breathing completely unstable. Her vision became blurry but she could hear as the footsteps slowly walk away from her.
...
ns 15.158.61.23da2
