Tom nearly collapsed.
Why did they have to eat turkey sandwiches at the Granger's house and now here at Hacker's? So, have I done all this in vain?
Hacker was now regretting a bit. He felt like he shouldn't have let such a mysterious figure into his home.
Although Tom seemed friendly, he was a very strange person.
What if he could read his mind? What if he could kill him and his wife in an instant without leaving a trace? What if he could alter their memories at will? What if...?
The key was that he had invited him in! Hacker had read many fairy tales and fantasy stories, and some of them had this kind of setup. Those dark, malevolent creatures couldn't enter your home unless you invited them in with your own words. But the phrase he had just uttered completely fit the definition of an invitation.
However, when he saw Tom's distressed expression, his anxiety dissipated a bit. Ha, this mysterious guy hates turkey sandwiches as much as I do!
The gap between them seemed to narrow for that reason.
"I added a lot of seasonings; it should taste good," Annie explained, apparently noticing Tom's concerns, with a smile.
Tom did his best to control his expression and then took a sandwich from the plate, stuffing it into his mouth.
Not bad, it actually tastes good.
Annie had shredded the turkey and added barbecue sauce, along with lettuce, tomato, and onion, which made the sandwich taste much more normal.
Hacker also took a bite, eating it with a concerned expression on his face. Although the taste of the sandwich was fine, who could stand eating it every day for an entire week?
After serving them both a cup of tea, Annie respectfully withdrew.
"Mr. Hacker, have you had any problems lately?" Tom asked after finishing his sandwich and taking his tea, throwing his own question at Hacker.
Hacker did have concerns, but he felt he shouldn't reveal them to a stranger. So he responded with another question, "Interesting question, but I hope you can answer a question of mine first: who are you?"
This was what Hacker had learned about interviews—when faced with a question from the other person, he could throw in his own question and successfully change the topic, taking control of the conversation.
Tom knew what Hacker was doing. But he just muttered to himself, "Don't answer a question with another question, damn it!" and let the matter pass; he didn't want to go in circles with Hacker.
"I'm a wizard," Tom replied.
Hacker dropped his teacup. The answer was unexpected but made sense. Indeed, only wizards would have so many strange tricks.
"It's astonishing," Hacker said quietly after a long while. "May I see it? Magic." He looked at Tom while asking.
"Of course," Tom replied. He knew that to gain Hacker's trust, he had to show something real, something that could impress him.
So, Tom transformed into a unicorn. The room was instantly filled with a sacred light.
Hacker: !!!
"A unicorn?" he exclaimed, taking off his glasses and approaching the unicorn Tom had become, examining it closely. He watched it attentively because he didn't know if he would have another opportunity to see these legendary creatures.
In the end, he even dared to touch it. Its skin was very soft and delicate, softer than the finest lamb's wool and smoother than silk woven by the best weavers.
Tom returned to his human form. He was a bit afraid that Hacker might become obsessed with touching him, unable to stop once he started, so he quickly put an end to that situation.
"Now I believe that wizards really exist," Hacker said, a little moved. He didn't expect magic to actually be real.
"What can a wizard do?" Hacker asked curiously.
"Wizards can do anything," was Tom's reply. In his opinion, there was hardly anything a wizard couldn't do.
Hacker's eyes lit up. "Can they, uh, help us get rid of the Winter Palace... no, wait, forget about the Winter Palace, and let's eliminate the person inside the White House...". Hacker pointed his index finger to his throat, making a cutting gesture.
Tom: ...
"In the United States, there are wizards too, and their power is not inferior to ours. Besides, I believe eliminating a puppet doesn't make much sense," Tom was taken aback by Hacker's thought, not because he wanted to use magic to deal with leaders of other countries but because he was surprised to see the United States ranked higher than Russia on Hacker's hit list.
There was a lot of laughter.
But it's true; if he were Tom, Tom wouldn't kill the man in the Winter Palace because he's the biggest informant!
"Oh, I see..." Hacker smiled wryly. "Forget what I just said. Why did you come today? It's not to help me solve the sandwich problem, is it?"
Tom didn't respond; he simply took another sandwich in silence. It was quite delicious, and he was really hungry.
Hacker looked at Tom and suddenly had a brilliant idea in his mind: wizards also live in the lands of England; they should have the right to vote too. If he could win over the wizards, couldn't he gain a large number of additional votes out of nowhere?
Just as Hacker was secretly plotting his plan about wizard votes, Tom responded.
"Mr. Hacker, with your talent and virtues, why couldn't you become Prime Minister?"
Hacker: Pfft!
This time he actually choked on the tea he had just taken.
Prime Minister? Himself? Is this wizard pulling my leg? But after the absurd feeling faded, his heart began to beat rapidly.
The title of Prime Minister Hacker sounded quite nice. Moreover, Tom's words made him feel especially comforted.
"Me? Could I really?" Hacker looked at Tom, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"Of course, you can. Your competitor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eric, was just involved in a car scandal last night. That's a strike against him."
"But there's still Duncan; I'm not his rival." Hacker frowned, surprised that Eric would do something like this at such a crucial moment. It's really unbelievable!
"Do you remember Chris?"
Hacker, of course, remembered Chris's scandal that had been on everyone's lips a few months ago, causing a great sensation in the entertainment industry. At that time, he didn't know where Chris had obtained the information about Chris's actions, but the scandal had become known worldwide.
"Duncan has a close relationship with Chris. I don't know if his intelligence department has investigated it, but if they don't have evidence, I can help you gather proof."
Oh my God! When Hacker heard that, he was shocked. He couldn't believe that his seemingly serious colleague was involved with that despicable guy.