"Don't make any noise." Gadge threatened as he leaned in to whisper at Scar. "I got this knife underneath my clothes and... I... have no idea what it is..." His voice shakily trailed off.
"Let go of Scar right now!!!" Red shouted, seeing the alarming scene unfold a few steps from him. He was ready to pounce at Gadge but not entirely confident on his acceleration so he held his ground.
"WAIT!" Scar ordered as he gave Red a sharp stare.
"Continue." Scar whispered as Gadge showed him the knife.
"I don't know why I got this but I think this has something to do with me before I lost my memories."
"You mean, you're the one who hid it?" Scar confirmed. This time, he could feel the cold metallic point of the knife barely touching his belly where his liver was located.
"I think so," Gadge replied with a hint of uncertainty. "Still, I'm not sure if that's the case."
"Then why did you tell me not to make any noise?" Scar hissed, desperately searching for an opening so he could escape Gadge's grasp. However, Gadge limited his movement to the point of immobility.
"We're being wiretapped," Gadge told Scar as he looked around and checked every nook and cranny. "I'm not sure how I got into that conclusion but that's what my instinct is telling me. You know, like when Red reacted subconsciously to the humanoid when he was fighting it... or something like that."
"If that was true, then, someone should've gotten the earpiece from us. Why didn't Jarxen take it if he knew about it? He would've rushed straight through those massive sliding doors and punched Red, or one of us, in the gut."
"It wasn't Jarxen who wiretapped us... it was that guy called Head Cipher or one of his underlings." Gadge continued. "Well, I'm not sure, but what I do know is that Jarxen is out of the suspect list. The scenario you said didn't happen, right?"
Red cautiously approached Scar and Gadge, barely hearing what they were talking about. As far as he knew, Scar might be getting threatened to comply. Because of the distance, Red couldn't surprise an attack on Gadge. Adding to that, he was in the possession of a knife for one reason or the other. Scar looked like he was debating with Gadge. For all they know, the two of them were probably trying to get the other party to lower their guard and then make a move.
"You'd better tell the rest of them. Otherwise, they'll just be suspecting you." Scar said. "I get that we can't talk openly about the knife, right? Next time, just tell us face-to-face. You didn't have to point it at me and risk getting beheaded by Red."
"As soon as we gather everyone, I'll tell you my theories. But for now. We cannot let anyone, especially the eavesdropper, know that we have this." Gadge carefully hid the knife underneath his tattered clothes and reluctantly let Scar go.
Scar looked everyone in the eye and gestured about the upcoming meeting. The unexplainable turn of events got everyone's curiosity and in the end, he managed to gather everyone in less than a minute.
"What's this all about," Red whispered. "And why do we have to keep our voices down?"
"Yeah, why?!" Curl raised her voice. "WHERE DID YOU GET THE AUDACITY TO POINT A KNI... mmmph~!"
Without a second thought, Red covered her mouth with his hand, causing her face to redden. But before Red could warn him about openly shouting, Curl came up with a counterattack to force Red to belligerently let go of her mouth.
Lrlrl~
"That's gross!" Red yanked his hand from her mouth. It was filled with drool after Curl licked it like a madwoman. Curl smugly smiled at Red, patting herself on the back at the victory she achieved.
"Curl, let's hear his explanation first." Freckles tried to convince her.
"So, what is this all about keeping our voice down?"
Gadge scanned everyone's faces, making sure that he got everyone's attention. "That, that, and that section of the wall. They're all bugged. Some sort of listening device is installed there so if you're going to talk about something important, avoid those sections and keep in a low voice."
"How did you know all these?" Blond asked.
"Just a gut feeling." Gadge curled up, too ashamed to look anyone in the eye.
Red heaved a sigh. Listening devices? Knives? What is he talking about? He seemed too idiotic to be on the enemies' side but he might be doing that on purpose... well... in the meantime, let's just observe him.
"Don't worry about it. Glad you told everyone about that. Even if it turns out to be false, it's still a possibility. We have to proceed with caution when it comes to casual conversations." Blond responded.
"Then, how about your knife? Where did you get it?" Freckles pointed at his bulging shirt while asking.
"I don't know. Yesterday, while I was sleeping, I felt a cold and metallic feeling running through my stomach. Turns out, there's a sewed pocket inside my shirt and when I opened it, there was a knife inside and a letter."
"A letter?" Red lit up. He knew that finding such a treasure somewhere would help them remember the past. It couldn't be more convenient!
"Yeah, but there's only one word on it."Gadge scratched his head, pulling a scrap of paper from the hidden pocket inside his shirt.
The piece of paper looked like it had been torn from a book due to the letters on its upper side, mold and dust already settled on it, giving it an antique look. In the middle of it, a huge word was written, all in uppercase letters in red ink.
With their curiosity to the maximum, the whole group looked at the piece of paper with keen interest. Much to their disappointment, the word didn't make any sense at all.