"...What about the great story of Zack?"
Listening to this long, winded story, I casually asked Flint as the muscled man closed his eyes with pride and joy.
"What do you mean? This IS the great story of Zack!"
Those simple eyes flung open and looked at me. Tilting our heads, the two of us stared at each other for a while before he put down his smile to give a childish pout.
"What's wrong with this story?"
"Zack barely appears in it."
I crossed my arms, a sense of helplessness rising from deep within my chest. Looking at Flint's indignant expression, I shot a glance at Frank. The two of us gently shook our heads.
"No!? He does a lot of things! He's a young scientist who helps Emily. And most importantly, he's a great brother!"
Flint bounced on his seat, his thick arms on his waist as he narrowed his eyes at us.
"You didn't mention his age at all. Not only that, Zack technically didn't do anything in your story."
Shooting back at him, the two of us stared at each other before Flint finally broke eye contact and wilted onto the chair.
"But. But, it was supposed to be the beginning of Zack's Great Story. If this was a novel, the two of them would go on to discover something groundbreaking, and Zack and Emily would publish their findings together, earning great fame and fortune. Then Zack could remain in Dream Research Center and all those idiots who like to talk behind his back wouldn't be able to take projects away from Emily."
Sighing, Flint ranted as he hugged the back of the chair. Looking at his sour mood, I put down my arms and leaned forward to talk to him gently.
"The three of you sounded really close to each other."
Flint perked up, the gloomy thoughts pushed away as he straightened his back and bubbled to us about his two family members. That slightly dumb but infectious smile back on his face as he tilted his body forward to get closer to me.
"That's right! Of course, we're close! Zack is the smartest, kindest, and cleverest person in the world. And Emily, she's the most gentle, kind, and thoughtful person in the world. Back when the three of us first met, even though I was being a brat, she was still kind and offered to-"
"Flint."
Right as the most important part - how Emily met with Zack and Flint - was about to be revealed, Zack's voice cut Flint short. Turning around, I saw the four of them walking towards us with different strides. Zack was in front, his moves screaming his impatience and worry as he sped toward us with a frown.
"Zack!"
Jumping out of his chair, Flint ran over to his brother and stood obediently right next to him. Facing Flint, Zack nodded his head as he shot a glance at us, before signaling for them to leave. As the pair left the lab, Oliver came over to me.
"Did you manage to convince them?"
I whispered into his ear, my eyes drifting from Zack to Jonathan as the gears in my head turned. Our conversation with Flint didn't reveal as much as I had hoped about the two. However, Flint's story managed to capture everyone's natures, especially Emily's and a bit of Zack's, which may help us in the future.
"Yes. Zack was skeptical about a lot of things, however in the end he agreed to join us."
Smiling, Oliver sighed in relief and placed his hands in his pockets.
"Jonathan also agreed to write the research paper. However, since most of the knowledge was on Raven's side, I'll have to assist him in writing it."
At this sentence, Oliver paused, his head drooping slightly as he chewed on his lip. However, he didn't hang his head for long. Turning to look at me, he released his abused lip to give a slightly pained smile, before gesturing at Jonathan, who was standing in front of us with a bored expression.
"Since you were the one who made contact with the Black Market Circle, I think it'd be best if you were the one to tell him about Cedy's request."
I turned my head to meet Jonathan's gaze. It was cold, harsh, and unforgiving.
"Oliver said you had something to say."
Crossing his arms arrogantly across the front of his body, he tilted his head slightly up and looked down at me.
"What is it?"
We looked each other in the eye, and I saw my small stature being reflected in those eyes. I paused and took a deep breath.
"Do you know about the Black Market Circle?"
"Why would I know about some random group that's not from High Street?"
"They're a large and powerful group from Bottom Street. One of their members, Cedy, wants to meet a scientist from High Street."
Jonathan's eyes narrowed, annoyance flickering through them.
"Bottom Street? What does someone from there want a scientist for? I'll say this outright, but most researchers in the Research Centers don't do charity."
"No, Cedy isn't asking you to do charity."
Shaking my head, I gave Jonathan a brief rundown on what everyone told me about the Black Market Circle. Hearing the details, one single eyebrow raised on his face.
"Fine. I'll talk with this Shady. However, not in person. Since they're your contact, you can pass my cellphone number to them. We'll discuss things from there."
Rubbing his fingers on his chin, Jonathan nodded his head before shoving his hands back into his pockets.
"Is that all?"
"...Mmm."
"Then I'll escort you out."
Following Jonathan outside, we exited through the same back door we came in. Turning around, I was about to bid farewell to Jonathan when the door immediately closed in front of my face.
[Talk about rude!]
Speaking out from beside us, Ava exclaimed as she waved her fists at the closed door with a scowl on her face.
"Is that all that's planned for today?"
Heading to the alleyway exit that we came from, Linel asked as he gestured to the red sky. The sun was halfway down, its tentacles spreading all over as the usual blue sky gave way to a bloody red.
"That should be it for today. It's getting late, so there's not much else we can do. I'll try and see if I can meet Cedy in front of the police station. If he's not there then I'll try again tomorrow."
If Cedy was not at the police station, he was probably waiting for a deal at that dark alleyway. However, if I could, I would rather not head there without any adults around.
"If that's the case, then I'll head home first. My parents don't like it if I stay out too late."
Linel said as we followed Sazzy back through the maze of alleyways and to the small road behind the Bottom High Market.
"I can go with you two. The police station isn't that far from my house."
Speaking out from beside Linel, Frank chipped in as we ignored the market and headed straight down from Bottom High Street to High Middle Street. Walking straight, we passed several fancy houses with small gardens and white walls, similar to Jade's house, until Linel stopped in front of one.
"This is my house. I'll see the two of you tomorrow."
We waved goodbye to him, watching him unlock his front door and enter, before moving on.
"I know Linel said that he used to be from High Street but... his house really hits that point home."
"...Same."
We walked away from Linel's 'house', a behemoth of a mansion rivaling Lucifer's mansion. Except the latter one was the leader of his own territory in Bottom Street, while the former was a controversial and slightly popular politician from an upper-middle-class family in High Street. If I had to compare the two based on their social position, it would be like pitting a king against a noble.
The Hank family were the nobles.
"...Didn't Linel once mention that since his father gets demoted to High Middle Street so often, he bought a 'small house' to serve as a semi-permanent residence?"
"Yeah."
"Doesn't that mean that they have a much grander mansion in High Street for their permanent residence..."
"...Sounds about correct."
How much money do the people in High Street have?
Going past Frank's house, we dashed past the front door to prevent his parents from spotting us and headed straight for the police station.
"Do you think he's in right now?"
"I don't know. It's quite late, he might have packed up to head to his meeting place."
We stepped off the path to Middle Middle Market and talked. However, in the middle of our conversation, an unexpected voice interrupted us.
"For you children, the day might be late, however, it's still quite too early for any night activities to begin. The sun has to at least set first before the night can begin."
I froze at that voice. Neck stiff, I turned my head and saw Cedy's smiling face peek out from the front of the police station.
"Cedy."
Forcing myself to thaw, I gave a shaky smile to our dangerous new companion and slowly walked towards him.
"Dan, Frank and ...Oliver. Nice to meet you."
His eyes panned across our faces, stopping deliberately at Oliver. Showing a mysterious smile, Cedy then gestured for us to follow him to the front of the police station. Sharing a glance at each other, Frank and I gathered up our courage to follow Cedy. Beside me, Oliver shot a look at Ava and Sazzy, and the two systems split up. Ava joined us while Sazzy disappeared.
"I'm assuming that since the three of you visited me at such a time, and together with your leader Oliver too, you need something from me?"
Entering the police station, Cedy and the policeman on duty shared several gestures before the policeman nodded and stood up. Exiting the police station without speaking, the policeman closed the door behind him. Leaving us alone with Cedy.
"That policeman..."
"Relax, he's just a normal policeman from Middle Street."
Yeah right.
"So why are you here?"
Cedy asked, even as his eyes jumped straight to Oliver.
"It's about that favor you requested."
Stepping closer to the man, until we were separated by only a couple of steps, I explained.
"So fast?"
Jumping with joy, Cedy took a large step towards me, closing the distance within less than a second.
"We just so happened to talk to him today. Do you have any requirements for the scientist? Or will anyone do?"
I took a step back from the overly enthusiastic man. Noticing my aversion, Cedy didn't take it as an insult. Instead, he also took a step back while shooting me with a large smile.
"Originally, anyone would do. But since you're so fast, maybe I can give you more details."
"I'm planning to build a laboratory in Bottom Street. It'll be focusing on the common diseases there so a scientist specializing in diseases and infections would be preferred. Also, if possible, someone who knows what is needed in one would be nice. Other than that ….."
Cedy squatted down to our height, his face overly animated as he gushed about his plans. Observing him closely, I suddenly felt a piece of paper stuffed into my palms.
"Well, I could probably ask the scientist about the rest. They should know better than me."
Gaze cutting right back to me, he smiled.
"So who's the scientist?"
"A research scientist named Jonathan Atlas. He's the second son of a quite prominant family in High Street."
"Heeh~"
"So what's his specialization?"
"It's uh...uh..."
I paused, my brain spinning as it tried to dig up what I knew about Jonathan. Did he ever say what his specilization was? His picture Raven showed us was of the brain, so was his specialization the brain?
While my voice repeated like a broken record, Oliver's voice suddenly took over from behind me.
"Jonathan Altlas is a research scientist from Dream Research Center who specializes in the chemical effects of drugs on organs."
Hearing footsteps approach me from behind, a warm shoulder brushed past my own as Oliver took reign of the conversation.
"Hmm...he sounds quite useful so I'll still take him. So? How do I contact him?"
"This is his number."
Taking a step forward and standing next to Oliver, I offered the piece of paper that was given to me to Cedy. Swiping it from my hand with a satisfied grin, he stiffed the paper into his pocket and patted it.
"Thanks a bunch."
Standing straight, Cedy walked past us and opened the doors to the police station.
"If you see any scientists that want out of High Street, feel free to point them my way. If they're useful, I'll definately take them in."
With a final wink, Cedy waved at us before disappearing from our sight.
After a couple of minutes, the policeman entered, giving us a little nod and a cheeky mouth-zipping gesture, before chasing us out of the station.
"It's getting late, the three of you should hurry and head home."
Listening to the suspicious police officer, we dragged our feet away from the police station and back to the road leading to Middle Middle Market.
"With this, we're finally done for today."
We paused on the side of the road to heave a relieved sigh, before bidding farewell to Frank. And once his back disappeared, the two of us started the walk home.