Mell was busy analyzing the footage captured from the City and was doing his research about the crime scene when he heard a loud knock coming from the door of his office. He sighed annoyingly as he personally instructed to these pathetic White clan never to disturb him at all costs. And here they were blatantly disobeying his command.
"What?!" He yelled in a loud and authoritative tone that made the knocking on the other side halt immediately. A minute of silence reigned once again as the security official spoke again.
"Sir Mell, we are terribly sorry for the ruckus. We know you specifically told us not to interrupt you-"
"And you have the nerve to disobey my command right in front of my face." Mell didn't even bother hiding his mean voice at all as he was seriously pissed right now.
"I just wanted to tell you that Ash group wanted to speak with you. And they said they had an audience that would definitel
"Fancy meeting you here, Mell . It's been ages since we last see each other. Did you miss me?""Alexander. What a great coincidence to see you again. What did I do for you to grace me with your oh so mighty presence?" Mell said with deep sarcasm that made Alexander chuckled at his reaction."Still the same as ever. So serious, uptight and tempered. As you can see my friends here need your help. For old friend's sake, please give them what they wanted.""And why would I do that? Oh!" Mell then laughed as realisation dawned on him."Tell me, are you the said victim of their failed operation, Alexander? My! So that's why you are helping them because you're in a relationship with Ash. I should've guess so. After all, men like Ash is your perfect combination. But I regret to tell you, I am afraid I cannot do that. You see Alexander, we know the authority rules and laws when we attempted to become wa
"I knew it you can't resist me, Mell. You love your friend so much you're willing to be a badass to help me." Alexander smirked at him as he replied that made Mell rolled his eyes in reply."Oh hush. What harm could it done for a little coffee? Plus not only are you guys damn tired of this whole fiasco. Ever since this morning I've been stuck on investigating the incident in the City. So for my old friend's sake, let's have a truce and have a break." Mell said while everyone just stared at Alexander, as if asking for his approval if it was okay to join him. Alexander nodded and gave a gentle smile to them. All of them finally gave in in Mell offer. They knew they should grant his little wish if they wanted to get the footage from him.Ash was carefully examining the two pictures on the monitor, his phone suddenly vibrated that startled him from his deep concentration. He picked up the phone to see who the caller was. It was his
'What did I tell you? Never trust too easily. Now my feeling has been confirmed. Alexander and Mell are part of the Black Wolf's Clan. Mell was the mole in the Clan. And I have the feeling that Alexander came in our life to become the Balck Clan spy.' Ash instinct suddenly voiced out as they were investigating the evidence gathered at the crime scene.'You have a point. But with Alexander, I am still not that sure about it. Don't get me wrong, I am starting to raise suspicion on him. He helped me solved the case and it seems he really have some knowledge of crime and mystery. But it made sense, if he was Mell childhood friend and he was forced to be in Mell way of living, then he would surely adapted Mell ability. We all know Mell is one of the best warrior in the authority.'"I guess one way to find all of these mysteries out is to befriend and confront our enemy, don't you think? Now, I dare you take risk, give him some infor
It was past 8pm when Ash felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He was taking a sip of his coffee in an attempt to calm himself after the nerve-wracking deciphering of code and mysteries he'd done a while ago. And, most of all, he'd decided to take a little break, as he knew he would be partaking in a human chess game sooner or later. He tried to ignore the vibration of his pocket as he thought of a strategy on how to confront Mell and Alexander without them actually suspecting him of his true motive or being insulted by what he was about to do. He really didn't want them to feel offended, as if he were accusing them of a crime wherein he didn't have any concrete evidence.He didn't want to become as judgmental as the authority.The phone in his pocket let out a series of vibrations once again and Ash finally decided to just take the call. He could tell this might be important, seeing as the person on the other line was still trying to get
"Rose, wait!" Ash shrieked into the phone, making his sister hiss in pain at the sharpness of his voice."Really, Ash. I'm still here. I can hear you perfectly fine.""Oh. I'm sorry, Ash. But, is- is ell still there?" He tried to sound nonchalant about it, but deep inside he was silently praying that Mell was still there."Yes. In fact, he's still chatting with Alexander. You know what, Ash, it's really weird seeing Mell so carefree. I mean all this time he's been tense, uptight and too serious about everything. Plus our meeting in the afternoon wasn't really pleasant. But after all of that drama and us heading off to the coffee shop, the tension quickly evaporated and we were surprised to see another side of Mell," Rose explained and Ash could sense both the delight and amusement in her voice."I see. Well, I guess that's a good thing. I bet everyone shows their carefree and true self with the people the
30 minutes later, Ash heard a series of knocks on his door while he was organizing the documents he'd collected and examined a while ago. He set his laptop on the couch as he stood up and headed towards the door. When he opened it, the smell of hot pizza made his stomach grumble as Rose waved it ever so slightly before his nose."Good evening, Ash!" Ash group greeted with grins on their faces. Ash stepped aside to let them into his apartment. The group immediately crashed inside, running through the dining room and opening the pizza. They grabbed a handful of bites while Ash, Mell and Alexander were still by the front door. Normally, Ash would scold them for their behaviour, but he found himself not caring. He knew it was kind of a tradition of theirs. Even though they'd say they'd bring Ash some takeout food, they would order extra pizzas for themselves.Ash stared at the two men outside his door. Alexander smiled and leaned closer to him,
"So, what do we have in here,Ash?" Mell inquired as he sat down on one of the chairs while Alexander moved towards Ash and joined him in seating on the couch. Ash leaned forward as he gave the first four photographs they'd gathered from the Black Clan' attack on Los Angeles and the most recent ones from the city another glance over. He asked Mell to interpret and decode the mysterious notes while watching his reaction. And, as expected, they reached the same conclusion."I see. It seems Alexander really was right. Your deductive skills are pretty impressive. It's no wonder you became an elite solider, Mr. Fraze.""Thank you, Ash. You're very talented as well, seeing as how you deciphered it in just, what? A day? That's pretty awesome." Mell smiled as he tried to please the young man in front of him. Ash only nodded in affirmation. He suddenly stood up and walked to the side as he leaned on the wall, making the two men turn their heads to loo
The City's secret gate has a three-phase locking system. The first phase is composed of an ordinary gate with a key. The second phase of the security system projects a virtual screen to key in the required security code for access. The third and final phase of the security system is a list of high profile authorities who have been granted permission to enter by the authority. Their faces and biometrics are recorded in the central database for the program's basis to finally grant the trespasser access or not.The last phase of the security system is strictly confidential information. Only the lists authority side butted in as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.''Fantastic'your face. Do you have any idea what danger we're in right now? You just blatantly told the enemy that we have our own program running to gather the confidential and secret information from all across the internet. You just revealed to our
The four of them stood frozen as their eyes shifted back and forth between Ash and Seth. The room was filled with silence as they digested the information about what was going on."The Queen of the Shadow Clan? What the hell is going on, Ash?" Ash released a heavy sigh as he shared a knowing look with Seth. Seth nodded as he went into his room and grabbed his laptop."Okay, before we begin this, shall we all take a seat while Seth is gathering up his things?"The four of them stared at Ash in confusion before they nodded reluctantly and went to find an available seat. After a few minutes a pair of small, quick steps rushed downstairs. Seth came in as he sat on the chair near the table and set up his laptop. After sorting out the information he gathered he turned his laptop to the audience. Four sets of eyes stared at his laptop and widened their eyes as they recognized the symbol.The f
Five hours have passed since Ash let Rose and the group roam around the city. He walked to the kitchen room of the apartment they rented and poured himself a cup of black coffee to make his system more alert. He just woke up from his sleep. The moment Alexander left, he immediately went to the nearest bedroom. The breeze of hot, humid air was making him weak. At first he thought he would enjoy the cold air around Wausau, since the city is covered with hemi boreal forests, not to mention their location is near the great Wausau River. But then he was wrong, he forgot to check that the temperature around the city during May is rising fast to higher temperatures. And because the heat was weakening his body, combined with the exhaustion he feels on his mental and emotional state, he allowed himself to finally have some sleep.But he didn't regret it at all. It was the best five hour sleep he had in his life, considering the tough situation they're in. And now
"Afraid I might change my mind?" Ash said before he heard the door slam shut. Ash was about to stand and turn around to head for the bed when the door slightly opened once again and there revealed the figure of Alexander."Are you sure you aren't coming, darling? It's boring to be here all alone, you know. I assure you, you will enjoy touring around Wausau.""Thank you for being thoughtful, Alexander. But really, I am fine. I seriously just want to sleep today. I am tired and exhausted. Maybe some other time, if we will have one. I promise then I won't be a killjoy anymore and join the fun. It's just that right now—"Ash statement was interrupted when he suddenly felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him."I know. I know you're too stressed today, Ash. But please don't push yourself. You can share this burden with us, you know. We're all in this together. And your sister is right, you need to loosen up. This case takes a to
The next morning, everyone was busy as bees as they unpacked their things, setting up the tools and the information they gathered for their investigation."Ah! God I am dead tired! You know, we all deserve to have some break. We will not start commencing an operation until tonight. Why don't we gift ourselves with roaming around the place and enjoy it during the mean time? It would be a waste if we don't get to enjoy the beauty of Wausau." Rose whined as she sat on the sofa and let out a heavy sigh."No can do, Rose. I am sorry that your first case is nothing but a shitty one like this. But as soon as possible we need to stop the Balck Clan. By tonight, I want us to be fully prepared in case something will happen.""Ash I know how serious and critical our mission is. But can't we have some breath of fresh air? I think anytime soon I'll combust from suffocating on everything that's hanging around my head right now." Rose h
Thankfully, their seats were not too far from each other, they only need to turn around or tap on their colleague in the front row. The seating arrangement inside the train is composed of two columns, with an aisle of the center. 3 people can occupy per row on the right column while two people can occupy per row on the left. Since majority of them are already in a relationship, they chose the 2 person per row."Well, I doubt you both are still single. But for technicality purposes, let's say we get a 3 seat row because obviously, we already have couples in the group. Either of you wouldn't want to become a third wheel for the lovebirds, right?" Rose teased as she threw them a wicked smile when they were reserving their seats on the internet.Ash couldn't help but groan when of course, he is paired with Alexander in the seating arrangement, seeing as they're the only ones who are still "single"."Hey, how lo
Ash couldn't help but groan at the thought. He dropped his head in defeat when he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his forehead."Ouch!" Ash yelped as he massaged his forehead as it bumped into the front seat."Why so glum, plum?" Ash eyes widened as he heard the beautiful melody of Alexander silky voice. He lifted his head again and took in the exotic beauty of Alexander. He was wearing a white thin shirt with its three first buttons hanging open. It was so thin that Ash swore he could make out his lean torso. He wore black spiky pants that matched his spiky hair that was covered in silver glitter. All in all, Alexander was just as breathtaking as ever."Nothing. I guess I am just too stressed up nowadays." He said flustered as he could hear Alexander footsteps coming towards him. Not a minute later he was embraced with a warm pair of arms and a blush stained his cheeks when he felt a light damp around his forehead, signali
Ash certainly forgot about Alexander as well as their confrontation until he appeared on Thursday morning with five big suitcases with him. They were momentarily speechless because of the amount of baggage Alexander had to bring to go to Wisconsin. It's as if he's going for a trip around the world, not for an investigation."Ah, Alexander, just so you know, we are not going on a vacation trip. We are going for an investigation and mission. It's not that we will stay there for weeks, or months. We might even just stay there for a day or two, depending on the results of the mission. So I don't think you really need to bring so much stuff." Ash said as he raised his eyebrow nervously, he was a bit hesitant to voice out his concern to Alexander, afraid that he would be the object of his wrath. It happened to him once when he interrogated Rose about bringing way too many clothes on their 3-day field trip and Rose gave him a very col
He sighed in defeat and let his shoulders down as he apologized to his siblings."I—I am really sorry. You guys don't need to suffer from this kind of cruel situation. You don't have to do it, you know. I can handle it. Plus, technically you're not adult warrior yet so you don't need to feel obliged to join me. I—""Cut the shit, Ash!" Ash gulped as he took in the deathly glare he received from both Rose and Simon."We already told you, didn't we? We're all in this together, Ash. Don't let that bastard falter your perception of yourself and our group. And no matter what you do, you can't change our decision. We are friends, goddamn it, you are my brothers Ash, and I, no, we will not leave you no matter what!"Simon screeched as he gave his brother a murderous look. The last thing he wanted is to be angry with Ash. He knew about Ash inferiority complex an
The past week had been such a wreck that Ash even managed to let the confrontation slip from his mind. They've been looking through the internet for transportation and accommodation options to be able to travel and stay in Wausau, Wisconsin where they can save the most money. Aside from that, they also had to bring some gadgets, maps and other tools they needed for investigation. Not to mention they needed to prepare for their basic needs, like food, personal expenses and weapons for fighting, and some extra medical supplies in case they got injured during the middle of the mission.Fortunately, Seth managed to convince their parents to give them some money to support their mission. It was never a problem reaching out to their parents for support as they loved their children more than the authority. But the hardest part was to give some support to them, without the Authority knowing. It was hard when all of their personal savings, accounts, assets and pr