Chapter 581: Meeting the enemy - Part 1

Half an hour later, Maggie stared at the place she had not entered for a while. When was the last time I was here? She wondered and stared at the building. All the memories of her last day at the place came back to her, especially how Frederick Clarke had humiliated her and argued with her before she had submitted a resignation letter to her Valerie.

While on the surface it seemed as though she had resigned, she was still an employee for Valerie had not accepted her resignation. Maggie's name was still in the Intelligence employee database, stating her position and her achievements over the years for everybody else to see.

"Do you really want to do this?" Ian stared at the girl beside him with a skeptical gaze, gaining Maggie's attention on him.

It had taken Maggie a lot of effort to convince her friends to let her go, especially Joshua. The stubborn man was adamant to let her meet the criminal who almost killed him in his attempt to save her, forbidding her to even leave the mansion.

But Maggie knew what she wanted, what Jared wanted, and she did not intend to delay this matter any longer and put innocent lives at stake. Though Noah's men had successfully captured the three men at the basketball stadium, confiscating the canister with the virus, they still had to find the other target locations Jared had in mind.

So what if Valerie agreed to let go of Jared in exchange for information? Given the man's character, Maggie knew that he was waiting for her. And he wouldn't speak a word until he saw her. So, instead of wasting her time waiting for her Deputy to call her to the Intelligence, Maggie had taken the initiative herself.

After a lot of reasoning and assuring, Joshua had let her leave but not without Ian, who had volunteered to accompany her. While Joshua himself wanted to go with her, his injury forced him to back off and Noah and Ronnie still had matters to deal with at the base. And neither among the twins were even allowed to leave the mansion.

Maggie had no idea why Ian had chosen to follow her when she was safe and secure as Jared was locked up for now and she would still have her friends with her when she met him. But she was still touched by his gesture.

With a sigh, Maggie nodded at him and started walking towards the entrance while Ian followed her, keeping a watch around him. This was where Jared had been locked, and his hunch told him that his men were somewhere around, keeping an eye at all that was happening here.

Maggie had already texted Valerie about her arrival, and fortunately for her, her Deputy came to her right away. She had even informed her of the weapons she and Ian were carrying for safety measures. So, she did not dare take a step inside for she knew that they would surely be stopped during the security check. 

Valerie was beyond happy to see Maggie here safe and fine. Although she wanted to speak to her, this was not the time and definitely not the location to do so. So, she just smiled at her and nodded at Ian before she led them inside, completely skipping the security check, stunning everyone on her way.

This was the first time someone who did not work at the Intelligence had entered the office without going through the security check, and this matter alone sufficed to start whispers immediately. But what shocked them more was the woman behind Valerie. Never in their minds had they expected to see Maggie here, like this.

Maggie ignored the shocked expressions on other people's faces. She did not even stop to greet them for she had other pressing matters to attend to.

Ian just followed her silently. Even though he knew that she was safe here with her colleagues taking care of her if matters were to go wrong, he could ignore the warnings and pleadings Joshua had given him. Moreover, he was strongly having an ominous feeling about this, as though something bad would happen here for sure. So, he did not dare let his guards down, observing everyone around him quietly.

Valerie directly led them to the surveillance room, not once questioning Maggie about Ian's presence. Though she was surprised to see him here, she understood that he knew more than she did about this matter and his inputs might help her to solve this matter quickly.

Preston and Ryder were deep in discussion as they laid out the list of all the locations they assumed to be Jared's target. But they did not miss the sound of the door opening and the footsteps that followed after, and they immediately turned, assuming it to be Deputy. But the person they saw made them freeze, and they could stop the astonishment from taking over.

While Preston came out of his stupor quickly and beamed on seeing Maggie, it was Ryder whose reaction surprised Maggie. The man just kept staring at her without even blinking, and she did not know what to make out of it.

'Is he unhappy to see me here?' She wondered and just the thought alone sent her depressed. She could not believe that the man she loved secretly, the man who was yet to know about her feelings for him was not that ecstatic to see her here, and her face fell immediately.

But all her nonsensical thoughts vanished when the man who had not moved from his place rushed to her and hugged her tight, taking her breath away from his sudden actions. He hugged her with such force that Maggie stumbled on her feet to carry his weight on her. But that did not faze her whatsoever for she was too consumed in her happiness on being embraced in Ryder's arms.

All her complaints and her misery after staying at Jared's hideout for months vanished just by being hugged by the man she loved the most.

Ryder did not speak a word for he was still unsure if it was all a dream or if Maggie was actually in his hold. He did not wish to break this moment and continued to hug her.

"Ugh, Ryder. You are suffocating me." Though Maggie was jubilant at his reaction, she was still being suffocated by his hug and she tried to push him away gently. And fortunately for her, Ryder moved back, allowing her the space to breathe.

"You are real?" Ryder mumbled, and his words made Maggie laugh at him helplessly.

"Of course I am real. What do you take me for?" Maggie retorted, only to find him staring at her in shock.

"You are real? Maggie, are you really here?" She understood the sudden shift in his demeanor and nodded at him in response. 

"I thought I was dreaming. Where were you all these days? Why didn't you speak to me? Do you have any idea how worried I was thinking about you?" Ryder's voice rose an octave as he started to reprimand the girl for whom he could not stop being worried since the time she had left Intelligence.

"I will answer all your questions. But not now. We have other matters to attend to before that."

"Since you are here, you must be here with a plan. What are you thinking of doing?" Valerie folded her hands, her face turning serious at once. 

"I am here to meet Jared."