Feeling cheated, Uriel called for the waitress to settle the bill as soon as possible, he didn't want to spend one more minute inside that restaurant near his nasty 'friend' whose intention had been to embarrass him at every chance. At this point he had no hopes of the hot brunette coming back to pay for dinner, let alone to take him on a Mapple corp. expedition. Worst of all, Mark made sure to bring all of the ones who participated on his meeting, including Cassandra, to humiliate him even further.
"Where do you think you're going? I told you I called Mister Flanagan, he's on his way to clarify the situation. We can't allow any information about our expedition to become public before it takes place and even if she's a scammer, somehow she knows about it." Mark said. Even Cassandra seemed a bit impressed by the fact that Mark had a direct line with the Mapple corp.
Flanagan, who apparently was close enough to the restaurant to arrive in less than two minutes, showed up in a business attire before Uriel had the chance to escape. As soon as he entered the restaurant he rushed to the table and Mark told him about the 'breach of security'.
"I can't let any of this pass, If my boss finds out there's a breach of security I might even get fired. You, what do you know about the expedition?" Flanagan asked Uriel, but the young student chose to remain silent. "I'm asking you a question, if you don't answer I'm allowed to apprehend you and take you to our headquarters for further interrogation. This can be considered industrial espionage and it's a very serious crime." Flanagan persisted, but Uriel didn't budge.
The truth was that Uriel didn't know how to answer, he was still trying to wrap his head around the facts. He didn't know this 'Nika Garcia' from before, all he knew was that she had been attempting to contact him for a long time over the phone and that she claimed to belong to the Mapple crop. If she was a scammer then Uriel didn't have anything to fear by sharing any information, but things were different if she was for real.
If Nika was actually a part of the Maple corp and Uriel told any details about the expedition, especially something as important as the structures that are supposedly hidden below archaeological sites, he would indeed become a breach of security and that might get him into trouble.
The moment seemed to last for an eternity. Uriel was sweating cold at the pressure exerted on him. Just being the center of attention at such a high end restaurant was bad, but he didn't miss the fact that he was surrounded by hunters who were ascended and, at least one of them, was a heavenly rank. If things got physical, an evolved like him wouldn't stand a chance.
"He won't answer any questions and he won't do anything he doesn't want to." Nika appeared without anyone noticing, which was something incredible considering how much she stood out.
"That's the woman! She's the one claiming to be a Mapple corp. employee!" Mark rudely pointed a finger at her. "Now that Mister Flanagan is here you're both screwed." Mark said with a shit eating grin.
"Flanagan? He's just my driver." The brunette chuckled leaving everyone stunned in place and Mark reddened in both anger and shame. His best contact within the Mapple corp. was just at the level of a bodyguard and he knew it well. Flanagan used to be a small time businessman who made a lot of dealings with his father before the arrival and they had a long lasting friendship, but after Flanagan acquired a trait he was lucky to be considered strong enough to be recruited by the Mapple corp.
"Please forgive my insolence Miss Nika, I think there's been a misunderstanding that I'll be glad to correct as soon as possible. My apologies Mister Sage, I did not know who I was dealing with." He bowed deeply in front of Uriel, then he directed a murderous glare at Mark who now was cowering behind Cassandra.
"Now I see what's the security breach misunderstanding. I'll ask you to not disclose any information about the expedition as you won't be taking any part in it." Nika told the group of students from Mark's group.
"Why!? I even gathered all these people! Won't you please give us one more chance? For my father's sake." Mark begged understanding now that Nika was way higher up in the Mapple corp. ladder than Flanagan. "Why would you even bother with that loser anyway? I can..."
Nika glared at Mark and cut him short. "Listen up, daddy's boy, and listen well because I'm not repeating myself. I came all the way here to take Mister Sage with me. Don't call him a loser in front of me ever again, next time you disrespect him I'll show you how 'important' your father is." She spoke slowly, emphasizing her every word as if trying to teach a kid how to speak. Then she grabbed Uriel by the hand as she headed towards the exit.
"How dare you speak to me like that? What do you even see in that Urinal guy? Hey! I'm talking to you!" Mark exclaimed In a last effort, trying to grab the woman's wrist, but it ended in Nika turning around with a powerful roundhouse kick, revealing her well built leg through the modest side cleavage on her tight fitted dress.
Although she dressed in a ladylike manner, and her side cleavage that revealed her leg emphasized her allure, the only reason she wore that outfit was in case she needed to kick someone in the face and it was more comfortable than a regular dress. Now she was really glad she chose that particular dress for the evening as Mark was knocked out cold, his jaw was evidently dislocated and his face was swollen like a balloon, but despite the incredibly flexible and sudden kick her dress didn't rip.
"Do you not care about any possible consequences? Mark will probably try to get revenge on you." Uriel asked as he followed the Nika outside the restaurant.
"Consequences? What consequences? I can make his father come begging for forgiveness to you on his knees any day you like." She shrugged.
"Please stop, Miss." Cassandra called for Nika.
"Yes?" She lifted an eyebrow as she turned back to listen to what the beautiful student had to say.
"I was invited to the expedition by that guy, but I don't have any connection to him. All I want is to be able to participate and be of help." Cassandra, the heavenly sword, was acting humble for once. Even if she joined the army, no one could miss the chance to participate on a large scale expedition funded by the Mapple corporation.
Nika didn't reply to the heavenly student, instead she asked Uriel. "Would it be ok to bring her along? we were trying to hire a bodyguard team for you after all and we thought you would appreciate bringing people your age too." Her words left everyone present stunned in awe. The incredible opportunity they were offered by Mark was only to be the bodyguards of a mere evolved and yet they acted as if it was a top secret mission. Nevertheless, it didn't make the chance to get in contact with Mapple corp employees any less attractive.
"I don't think she's the right person for the job." Uriel replied thinking back on how Cassandra let him be bullied in front of her without batting an eyebrow. Nika and Uriel were now finally able to go outside.
The flabbergasted students, along with the shocked Cassandra, couldn't understand what the hell had just happened. The only thing they could see were the effects the short interaction caused, Cassandra was left speechless after getting rejected, Mark was all swollen in the floor and the rest were confused and didn't know what to do now that their leader had been knocked out.
A few minutes later a smooth engine purred and then roared away fading into silence.