"Hey! What the hell are you guys doing!?" Terenei ran at Lucky and Jehnid as they moved Rex out of the garage.
Lucky, who was in the driver's seat, looked at the man right outside the door. He flung his hand out of the window, saying, "Can't you see? We're taking the bad guy out for a stroll."
"A stroll?" Terenei gasped, tilting his head to see Jehnid in the front passenger seat. "You're going too?"
"It's just a stroll," said Jehnid. "So, I don't think taking Rex out would be a problem."
"But I haven't finished fixing it!"
"You only needed to put on some screws," Lucky remarked nonchalantly. "So, I put them just as what this guy said."
Terenei gasped, looking at Jehnid in disbelief. "You know I hadn't looked inside it."
"You've been working on it all night." Jehnid blinked innocently. "I ran it in the scan. Rex is 80 percent okay."
"80 percent," Terenei repeated, aghast. "Did you hear what you just said just now?"
"I think he did, but I'm not sure if you did," Lucky uttered, only to lean back when Terenei glared at him. "Fine. I'm just the driver guy. I don't want to get in between the mechanic and the other mechanic. Round 1, go."
For some reason, Lucky heard the sound of a bell ringing at the start of Terenei and Jehnid's banter.
"We never deploy our mobile lower than 98 percent." Terenei rested his arm against the window. "90 is considered low, but 80? Are you out of your mind?"
"This stroll is meant to increase Rex's defense the lower its health percentage is," Jehnid argued calmly. "We're not going to clear out an area."
"No." Terenei shook his head. "I'm not letting you go. I'm the mechanic and I tell you, Rex isn't good for anything."
"You are overreacting."
'Uh, oh.' Lucky raised his brows as his mouth fell open, his back almost fusing with the seat. 'That is not the right word in this situation. I should get out of here.'
But since Terenei was standing on the driver's side, Lucky couldn't get out. He was forced to stay in the middle and listen to this banter unfold.
"Overreacting?" Terenei's laugh was low and short, his eyes glinting. "Jehnid, by saying that, I take that as you undermining my decision as Rex's main mechanic."
"It's just a stroll."
"And a stroll here also means risks of meeting any monsters out there."
"I know what I am doing, Terenei."
"And so am I." Terenei hissed. "I said Rex is not good to go and you're not taking it out."
Jehnid's frown deepened as the fire in Terenei's eyes blazed. Lucky cleared his throat, darting his eyes between the two.
"I don't want to get in between the two of you —"
"Shut up," Jehnid and Terenei uttered in unison, glaring daggers at the innocent Lucky.
"Sorry." Lucky zipped his mouth, accepting that he would be sandwiched between them until they found a common ground.
"I'll finish Rex tomorrow," said Terenei after a moment. "Once I finish, you can do whatever the hell you want."
"Then, the purpose of my research is useless."
"Jehnid."
"Terenei, I am doing this for the sake of us," Jehnid reasoned solemnly. "Our workshop has always been looked down on by others and I don't want that anymore. You and I knew that Rex and the rest of our mobiles are better than just for scouting tools."
He paused as he took a deep breath. "This guy right here had proven what you and I could do. I don't want to waste time."
"Do you think I am wasting time?"
"Well, you got the time to test your luck in a woman." Jehnid shrugged. "If only you used that time to fix Rex, then we're not having this conversation."
"Are you kidding me?"
A layer of frost coated Jehnid's eyes as he continued. "If you truly care about Rex and our department just as much as I do, then walk away."
"You little piece of shit…!" Terenei let out a low growl, balling his hands into a tight fist. But before he could say anything else, a familiar smug voice reached them.
"If this isn't Terenei?"
Terenei turned his head to the truck's rear, catching a few men standing several steps from them. The anger in Terenei's eyes slowly changed into annoyance with slight hostility.
Curious, Lucky peeked his head out and looked back. There, approaching them, were three men. Unlike Jehnid and Terenei's dirty clothes for working in the workshop, the men looked more groomed. The three of them had this uniformed smirk on their faces, looking at Terenei as if the latter was below them.
"I didn't want to, but I went here when I overheard someone fighting," said the man in the middle, his long golden hair tied in a ponytail. "It seems Jehnid is getting ahead of himself just because Rex met a Visitor. If I were you, don't let Jehnid do what he pleased. An eighty percent battery health isn't good for an old mobile like Rex."
"Haha!" the man on his right scorned. "I heard it was just a fluke."
"Mobiles like Rex and the rest are supposed to do transport safely and also for a safe scouting," said another man in the same contemptuous tone. "Just because you got lucky once, don't push it too far. After all, whatever you're planning — forget it."
"That is right." The blonde nodded in agreement, taking a step closer to Terenei. "Why argue when you have us, the engineers of the gatekeepers, to do the job much more effectively?"
A glint flickered across the blonde's eyes as he smirked maliciously. "Don't overstep because soon, that Visitor will leave for the Metro and you two will be back to where you were."
Terenei's face turned gloomy while Jehnid's face darkened, not saying a word as the blonde left while laughing out loud. As for Lucky, he kept his eyes on the man and his lackey.
"Hey," called Lucky, eyes still on the blonde's back. "You two made up now?"
"Yeah." Terenei glared at the blonde. "That bastard… Jehnid, let me work on Rex first. We can test it out in a few hours. I'll be coming with you."
Jehnid didn't even spare the blonde a look, keeping his sharp eyes on the windshield. "Sure. I'll fill up Rex's tank. I changed my mind. This isn't just going to be a simple stroll anymore."