[Edward POV]
The deafening silence hung heavy in the air as the spies and I locked eyes in a tense staring contest. "So, silence is your strategy?" I asked them mockingly.
I pondered the various villainous roles I could play in their story today. Perhaps a Joker-like figure, trying to break them down psychologically and disregarding the rules. Or a Bond-esque villain - intelligent, yet just the right amount of cockiness that would eventually lead to his downfall. Or maybe someone like Thanos, burdened by a greater purpose.
The stillness was finally broken when Chuck spoke up, "Umm... What are you going to do to us?" After our interaction before, Chuck didn't think I was a villain. He just thought that I was a pissed off teenage kid.
"Other than letting us go? He doesn't have any other option. Otherwise, he'll need to kill us, or let the agents outside deal with us." Casey interjected trying to struggle out of the chain.
In that brief moment of Casey's interruption, I came to a realization. I was never the villain in this story - I was the victim. And nothing would be more devastating to these people who thought they were protecting the country than a kind, sympathetic victim. A victim that doesn't deserve what was happening to him.
And also, I was too exhausted mentally to actually play the role of a villain, which was a first for me.
"Trying to take the upper hand, are we?" I smirked at him. "You've got guts, at least. Can you even try to pick the lock? Do you even know how it works?"
Chuck glanced at the lock, and muttered, "Wait. There's no keyhole. But–"
"That's something only I know about." I chuckled. The agents were surprised, but Casey was still rebellious, "I'm sure it's simpler than we think. Considering you can only take out people by using dirty tricks."
I chuckled at his words and retorted mockingly, "Isn't that what you always do? That's like…your entire job."
Sarah shot a glare at Casey for a moment before turning her attention to me. "Mr. Newgate. I understand you're angry, but we're just following orders–"
"Oh no, I get that," I cut her off. "That's the only reason I haven't thrown you to the sharks outside. I'm a very understanding man in that regard."
"So you'll let us go–" Chuck tried to talk, but I interrupted him.
"Want to know why you were being sent here?" I posed the question to them in a casual manner as I took out my laptop.
"We already know–" Sarah tried to interject, but I stopped her with my finger and said, "The true reason you were being sent here?" The agents were silent, knowing that the question I posed was quite dangerous to their situation, and also their job.
I let out a low chuckle. "Allow me to enlighten you," I said, stepping forward. "As you know, your mission is to steal my blueprints for the new communication technology - a revolutionary advancement that could change the entire industry."
I pulled out the diagram and held it up for them to see. I wasn't stupid enough to show them any major information, just the gist of it.
"Wait. Before you continue." Chuck interrupted my presentation. The other two agents and I looked at him weirdly. Chuck let out a dry cough and said, "Sorry. It's just, you know my identity, so will it interfere with your consideration for the beta tester for the League of Legend game. Cause I got till the interview–"
"You can say goodbye to that." I interjected him, causing him to exclaim with disappointment.
I continued, ignoring Chuck, "I've already arranged cooperation with the Department of Defense. In fact, we're going to sign the agreement tomorrow. So tell me, Major Casey, why did they send you here to steal it from me? Is my price really so high?"
Casey remained silent, his jaw clenched. Chuck tentatively spoke up, "Is it...not a fair price?"
"On the contrary," I said, shaking my head with an exaggerated look of betrayal. "My price is quite reasonable - cheaper than what others would demand, in fact."
Sarah's brow furrowed. "Then...is this a test? Did they send us to see if we could handle it ourselves?"
"Nope," I replied, popping the 'p'. "They already know my capabilities. But there's another option you haven't guessed yet, haven't you?"
The agents fell silent, expressions tense as they considered my words. Finally, Chuck spoke up, his voice wavering. "They sent us here on purpose–"
"As leverage." Sarah finished his sentence.
"I ain't know nothing about the leverage part, but they did send you here on one purpose." I added on, continuing as they ruminated on their tumultuous thoughts. Being an agent, they precisely knew what the department was capable of. So the more vague I was, the more they would suffer.
I broke their thoughts after a while, "There is one thing I do know off." As they looked at me again, I said, "There's a political war going on within the government. It has something to do with the president and the opposing faction and we were drawn into it."
"And that is okay with you?" Sarah asked nudgingly.
"Well, I don't want to be someone's chess piece. I'm not an obedient person like you guys. Especially Chuck who is working for the government even when they are killing him."
"Killing him–" Sarah's eyes shook, however Chuck didn't understand me.
"It's a complex game of politics and ambition." I shrugged. "Money is certainly a factor as well. As long as there's trouble tonight, they can push the agreement back, and negotiate more background deals before getting to the signing process. You're the easiest piece they can use, so they send you. You won't get into trouble anyway. I'm sure they are already preparing for your extraction."
"And you calculated this yourself?" Casey asked, his stoic face has a hint of admiration.
"Well, I guessed it would happen like that. But I'm guessing they also wanted you to succeed in stealing the tech. That way, they could just do to me what they did to Chuck's dad. Just wipe me out of existence." I replied casually.
Chuck was startled, "You know my dad?"
I nodded, "I know him. I met him on the web before. He's a great guy. Did you know he invented touch screen technology? You should've grown up a multimillionaire Chuck. Too bad his inventions were stolen. Isn't that ironic? You're trying to do to me, the same thing that Ted Roarke did to your father."
Chuck lowered his gaze guiltily. Casey and Sarah were silent for a while before Sarah asked, "What do you mean the government is killing Chuck? Are you referring to the fact that we brought a civilian with us to a mission?"
"Oh, that. I'm actually talking about the Intersect in his head." I said as I pointed at my noggin. "You don't really think that forcefully inserting memories and the 'flashes' Chuck has are good for his brain, do you? With every flash, a surge of electrical energy would be generated inside his brain, deteriorating it. This is just my estimate, but Chuck has only a year left before he becomes deranged."
"What?!" Chuck exclaimed with disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm lying?" I smiled softly at him. "Too bad. I kinda like you too. I'll attend your funeral later."
"Anyway, back to the original topic. What should I do with you guys?" I looked at them with a slight head tilt, my hand was propping up my chin. My eyes suddenly lit up and said, "So, how about this. I'll let you guys go, and in return, will each of you do me one small favor?"
"Just like that?" Chuck asked with shock.
"I think having your hair cut in front of a group of teenagers is punishment enough already." I said with a chuckle. Sarah turned to Chuck and muttered, "That's what happened to you?"
Casey and Sarah glanced at each other as they considered my offer.
Seeing them still hesitant, I said, "Because I know you guys can't give up on the mission just like that, let me make this simple for you."
I pressed delete on the schematics and all the relevant data I have on the new project, shocking all 3 of them.
"They can't ask you to retrieve something that isn't there, right?" I smiled softly. "Besides, after this, there won't be any contracts with the government anymore."
"What do you mean?" Casey asked sternly.
I shrugged and said, "Did you really think I'd still cooperate with them after they tried this shit? It's not like I don't have any other options."
The moment they decided to pull this type of crap, I had already terminated all of my intentions to cooperate with them. I guess that's why I threw out Agent Smith before. Well, with the Saltzman consortium as my backing, I could still enter the market, albeit the progress would be a little bit slower. Not to mention I had one foot inside Microsoft's management circle with my AI research, so you see, my options weren't limited to one.
"Wait." Sarah asked with a face full of shock, "You're canceling the cooperation?"
"Yes." I replied casually. "Being someone's chess piece is such a shitty feeling. So I'm pulling the board right from under them. Let them fight on their own." I added.
"But you guys don't have to worry about that. You're just simple pawns. I won't hold anything against you. Rather than worrying about this, you should worry about how you're getting out of here." I smirked, "The entire house is surrounded, and there's no way the agents outside are letting you go."
The agents looked at each other before Sarah spoke up, "What kind of favour do you want us to do…"
…
[General POV]
Selena glanced at Taylor who was in a bad mood. Hesitating inwardly, she couldn't help but ask, "So, you saw that–"
"They were just hooking up! Nothing more! It's not like there's a rule that says you can't hook up with your friend!" Taylor's eyes were glaring at Selena intensely.
"But they were holding hands–"
Taylor shuts Selena up by pushing some chocolates into her mouth. She saw the slight messed up hair of Edward and Haley as they got out of the room. Unless she was an idiot, it was easy to imagine what happened in there.
Her mood worsened as it had been a while since she came to the party, but Edward– her ex, hadn't even come to talk to her. Constantly glancing at the stairs, Taylor didn't even realize that she had finished almost an entire plate of fruit.
Thinking that it would be desperate of her to go and find him herself, she had to pass the agonizing minutes by distracting herself with food and drinks. However, she didn't touch any of the chocolates as she wanted to look the best she could in front of Edward.
"He came back." Selena whispered excitedly to Taylor as she saw Edward walking down the stairs.
Taylor and Selena widened their eyes as they saw the sight. Agent Casey was wearing a tight fitting Superman outfit, Sarah wore the Wonder Woman outfit, Chuck wore Shazam outfit, and Edward had already taken off his costume as it was after midnight.
None of the spies could easily get out of people's eyes not, making their job to disappear from the party even harder.
"Oh my god. You guys are awesome. Smile!" An Oompa Loompa staff member took the trio's pictures before they could even react, and then disappeared among the crowd.
"Damn it." Casey muttered with dissatisfaction. "I knew we shouldn't have taken the deal. I'd rather die with honour than sell my dignity like this."
"Hey." Edward walked slowly to the girls and greeted them. Taylor smiled as Edward looked at her, and before she could open her mouth, she fell in disbelief as Edward was blatantly checking out Selena's body.
"What the fuck." She mumbled to herself, intense anger broiled up inside her.
[Edward POV]
As we walked to the party, I glanced at Chuck and chuckled. Given that there wasn't an actor by the name of Zachary Levi in this universe, it was nostalgic for me to see Shazam again.
"What?" Chuck asked in confusion, his lips curled up as he saw my smiling face.
"Nothing. I'm just looking forward to your performance." I chuckled before I turned to Selena and Taylor. Sighing inwardly, I prepared myself to meet my ex-friends with benefits after the whole incident happened.
"Hey." I greeted Taylor who was wearing her cheerleader uniform. Then, I glanced at Selena, checking if there were any side effects from the medicine I gave her. There were no signs of bloated hands and legs, and her eyes were normal.
After checking that, I turned to Taylor again. However, she had a face full of disbelief, which confused me. "I thought you were supposed to be in Chicago. Did you fly here just for the party?" I asked with a casual manner, which seemed to ignite a fuse inside her, and she exploded.
"Join. The. Party?" She enunciated menacingly. Crossing her arms together, she got up close to me,"Do you really think I'd fly over 1700 miles, just to join a party?!"
"Well…" I inhaled a sharp breath and muttered, "This is awkward." I looked at Selena jokingly, which prompted her to giggle. Taylor glared at Selena and then me, "You must be disappointed that I come huh? Otherwise you could shoot your shot at my best friend."
Selena chuckled wryly and tried to mediate, "There's no way he'd do that. By the way Edward, why have you taken off your Batman costume?"
"Oh. That thing is made of latex, so it seals in the sweats and all. I took it off and took a shower." I replied casually.
"A cold shower I guess? Considering you didn't get any yet." Taylor mocked.
I ignored her words and said, "By the way, you look cute with your short hair."
Probably wasn't expecting the sudden compliment, Taylor's face froze and she touched her hair. She almost smiled before glaring at me angrily again, "Don't change the subject. You checked her out!"
"Why would I want to take a shot at Selena? I kissed her the day before. I already know what that feels like!" I joked.
"WHAT?!" Taylor exclaimed with a high pitched shout.
Selena looked at her worriedly and said, "For the film– FOR THE FILMING!! THE WIZARDS SHOW!" The latina turned to me angrily and asked, "Why are you purposely making her angrier?"
"I tried to make her calmer but she just wouldn't take it. So…" I trailed off, speaking in a playful manner. "Also, it's my right as an Ex-boyfriend. I can piss her off anytime I want."
Taylor shot a glare at me before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Selena. You said you wanted to talk with that dude. Go talk to him."
"Which dude?" Selena was confused, but Taylor pushed her away. Selena was in disbelief and retorted, "You know I didn't hang out with my cast friends because of you."
"You can do that now." However, Taylor didn't even look at her as she was saying that.
I muttered, "That was cold."
"Anyway, how are you?" She asked with a slight head tilt, with pity in her gaze.
"What's with that look? Do you think I'd be depressed after you were gone?" I muttered with disbelief.
"Yeah, cause you have a lot of girls to be your pocket pussy to try and replace me?" Hiding her sarcasm behind a kind smile, her sentence shocked me inwardly.
Maintaining a poker face, I shrugged and said, "You just made me kinda want to start doing that tonight. Let's see, who shall I do today?"
With a slight 'Hmph,' she snapped, "Maybe Selena since you're keen on checking out her body in front of me."
"Oh thank you for the suggestion. It takes loads of things out of my mind since there's a lot of girls here that came specifically for that."
"Don't flatter yourself. You're not that hot."
"I am that hot."
"You're not. You're barely mediocre."
"Well even if I was 'mediocre', and I'm adamant on the hot part, bitches love guys like me. Tall, handsome and with money to boot."
"You're still not that hot, and you're not a trophy. Besides, that only happens in movies."
"Trophy fuck is real. Hot guys are targeted by those thirsty bitches all the time! And I am hot."
Luckily our argument didn't really grab the attention of anyone else at the party, otherwise I was sure people would start looking at us weirdly. It didn't take very long before Taylor huffed away back to Selena while I went to talk with Maggie.
"Wait. You already changed?" Maggie asked with disbelief as she saw me wearing my normal clothes.
"Yeah, it's not Halloween anymore." I replied. "For some reason, I'm feeling extra sleepy now too." I muttered as I yawned. Vanessa looked at me and said, "Great. So I can take this thing off." Bending slightly to grab the hem of her dress, Vanessa pulled it over her head, taking off the white ghost dress and the black wig at the same time. Then, she fixed her skirt and the blouse she has underneath, before fixing her tied up hair too.
"Wait. You have an outfit underneath?!" Maggie looked at Vanessa with disbelief. Then, she looked at herself wearing the tight Spiderman outfit. "Well now I look silly."
"Don't be. Silly is your middle name–" Before I could finish, Skyler Samuel, the young actress who kissed me before after my song, approached me.
"Hey. Edward, I have a question." She lightly touched my arm as she stood in front of me, in a very close distance. "What's your horoscope sign?"
"Well, what do you think I am?" I asked back with a chuckle. Well I don't believe in the whole astrology bullshit, but if I found a pretty girl who did, I wouldn't try to put her down. Besides, if I found her horoscope sign, I just needed to pair it off with one compatible with it to hit– But I digress.
She smiled and said, "Hmm…You look like Leo. You're cute, funny, charismatic–"
I pretended I was shocked and said, "How did you know that?"
She was excited and basically was jumping as she said, "Really? I got that right? Wow, we're really really meant to be together! – I'm a Sagittarius. I'm sorry, I'm so happy."
"Really? I don't believe you. You might be just saying that to trick me into bed." I joked.
She smiled and blurted out, "I'm really not. But if you want, I can prove it to you–"
Her eyes widened and her face blushed as she said that. I smiled at her, but then, I shuddered as I could sense I was being gazed at by a predator. I turned only to see Taylor standing a few meters away.
"He lied. He's not a Leo. He's an Aries." She exposed me. Maybe she thought that it would make Skyler back away from me, but instead, Skyler said, "Oh, it's fine then. Aries is still compatible with Sagittarius."
Taylor: …
Me: …