107. Happy to work with you again
"Well, well, well, what do we have here... Isn't this the great Mr. Lex Spifer"
"What can this little girl help you with?" a dirty blonde-haired young woman. Asked sarcastically,
"Haha," Lex laughed it off, "of course, I came to help. It's for my one and only girl... friend and Supporter Rae" Lex arrived at Crimson Eagle's branch on Valentine's City and immediately got a warm welcome from Rae.
"Tch," Rae clicked her tongue loudly. "You even change from Mio to Aria like used clothes. Then you even abandoned Aria. So what am I a Clothes that only hang in the wardrobe? Could get from you" by this time, there is heavy pressure around Lex and Rae. They looked like samurai with Katana drawn at each other's throats.
The other workers were staring at them intensely. Many wanted to stop them but didn't have the ability to do so. They even couldn't get closer to them. They could only pray that nothing irrecoverable happened.
"I can wear it anytime if you want," Lex replied flirtingly. Then their Mana reached their peaks, and the pressure around them intensified. Some already run away, some looking for their superior who can stop both Lex and Rae. Some were immobile as their legs went soft.
Everybody thought they were about to attack each other then…. *boom, they all vanished.
""Pfftt""
""ahahaha"" leaving only Rae and Lex's laughter echoing in the room.
"We really need to stop this habit," Lex said. "Look, they all scared silly because of you" he looked around the other Crimson Eagle.
"It's Mio who started it. But even when she's not here, we keep doing it. It's tough to erase a habit," Rae replied and sighed for herself.
"It really shocked me the first time I saw you play along with her."
"Well, they didn't have a rule prohibiting me from joking, so… why not" Rae smiled cheekily.
"Still… aren't your words a bit too nasty today? you made me look like a scumbag!" Lex protested.
"It's a fact," She said curtly as she looked at Lex with a cold gaze.
"I won't deny that… However, I'm sure you still have a grudge against me for rejecting you last time, isn't it," Lex said "if you wanted me to wear you, don't be shy. Just told me directly, I won't ever reject you," Lex teasingly said.
"In your dream! You acted like a Casanova, but you're still a virgin, pfft~!" Rae replied, then some other workers who had recovered themselves, also trying their best to hold their laughter.
"Did you forget I'm a teenager? At least I'm a young virgin much better than an old virgin," Lex said as he didn't want to lose while pointing at Rae with his eyes. Sadly, his words resulted in a hook on his stomach by Rae.
"Urgghh," Lex groaned in pain, while the others could not hold their laughter anymore and laughed out loud.
The next second, Rae and Lex nodded at each other after achieving the result they wanted. Their expressions changed immediately.
"Tell me the situation," Lex said.
***
After deciding what to do, Lex didn't waste time and immediately asked permission from the Bentley couple.
Surprisingly they didn't let Lex go so easily. Lex had to explain his reason, or they won't let him go.
Lex didn't have much choice. He told them about what happened on his first OutMission. Of course, while avoiding exposing Crimson Eagle's secret.
For a moment, Layla hugged Lex. She understood how he felt. Like Lex, She also once held similar hatred in the past. She didn't tell him to let go or forgive. She only told Lex to take care of himself. And finally, Layla and Paul permitted him.
Like that, Lex also told his close people like Kate, Ella, and Maya.
Kate was very dissatisfied with him. Lex didn't say much, and he only gave her a deep hug to compensate her.
Maya was on the verge of tears. Lex reminded her how 'he' was also like this the last time she saw 'him.' After seeing that, Lex patted her head to calm her down.
Maya really wanted to jump on him and hug him and never ever let him go. However, she understood she couldn't do that. For one, it was Lex's own decision. For another, Maya herself was still confused about their relationship… (are we brother and sister? Do I think of him as a brother? Do I think of him as Lex or as a replacement for Max?).
Then surprisingly, only Ella didn't show any specific reaction. She just accepted it and got the same treatment as Maya. This time it was Lex who was confused. With how clingy she usually is. Lex was sure for her to at least jump on him, but… it didn't happen. She acts like usual, as usual as how they said goodbye every night when Ella needed to return home.
(….) Lex was embarrassed by his own imagination.
Still, that didn't change Lex's mind. He determined to dig out whoever was behind that incident then he made his way toward Crimson Eagle's branch, where Rae located
***
Inside, a building looks no different than the rest of the buildings in its surrounding. That's where Crimson Eagle's branch is. The interior also doesn't have much other than a typical office.
Lex and Rae were having a meeting in the meeting room. Rae explained the situation up till now. Long story short, The culprits behind these kidnappings were random. Sometimes, it was an ordinary office worker, and sometimes it was also a homeless old man.
The only commodity the culprits have is an inhumane strength.
"They made me remember you," Rae said
"me?" Lex replied and confused
Rae nodded "you also have inhumane physical abilities."
"Mm," Lex fell silent, "Am I the same as them? I never knew the reason behind my abnormal increase in physical abilities... another thing I had to investigate," Lex murmured.
"Anyway, let's continue," Rae said, waking Lex up. "Even without using Mana, their physical ability is cut above the rest. Even frail-looking homeless people could exert great force. Also, all the culprits and the victims were those who didn't have a connection to the Hidden World."
Lex frowned when he heard that "each and everyone?" He asked to make sure he didn't hear it wrong.
Rae nodded. "We also thought it was strange, but that's the truth. Most likely, they spend years gathering information before they make a move," Rae speculated.
"And there must be something that made them move now." Lex continued her words
"Yes," Rae nodded, "these incidents only started a few months at most. We still didn't know much about them as we were unable to catch those guys. On the other hand, those culprits knew we were hunting them, but they never stopped their activities."
"So if we need to catch them before we could decide our next move," Lex said
Rae nodded again. "However, Those guys were still on the basic level controlling their Mana. However, their physical ability and a bit of Mana control were enough for them to escape from our net. Only the fastest among us can catch up to them. But our people who could catch up were unable to fight against those culprits, which only resulted in more casualties.
Lex was dumbfounded hearing what Rae said, to which Rae replied with a dry smile, "it's a simple small branch… they don't have as much power as Main island."
"W-" When Lex was about to say something else, he was immediately cut down by Rae. She already expected what Lex wanted to say "We also can't ask for help from Mainland. Too many members gathered will not look good in the eyes of others. We don't want them to think that we're preparing for war. It would be dangerous if someone using those opportunities bared their fangs towards us."
"These branch workforce was all we have. That's why I asked for your assistance, you already lived in this city, and with your scouting skill and ability, we should be able to easily catch the culprit behind this incident," Rae explained.
Lex nodded his head and understood what she was trying to say. "I also have a few businesses left with whoever is behind this, so I'll help," Lex said and offered his hand toward Rae, which she took immediately.
"Happy to work with you again," Lex said.