57 Their Connection

November 21, 20XX (Wednesday)

Hidden Island, Greece & Zhao Manor, China

In a large manor hidden on the mountainous lonely island at the Greek coastal regions, the remnants of the group called Arcadia sat in the large circular table. What was supposed to be twenty people when the group was made forty years ago were now only five.

These five members were called; Justice, Hermit, Hierophant, Magician, and Fool. Basing their codenames from the Major arcana of the tarot card; only these five people remained. Magician and Hierophant were the only founding members that are alive. The rest were killed by the incident that happened 26 years ago, killed by the woman named Xue Mu Lan together with the bane of Arcadia named Jerome Bonaparte. Xue Mu Lan had sacrificed herself to save her husband, Bonaparte, and youngest child by detonating a bomb hidden in her necklace, taking with her fifteen founding members of the group.

The three new members are known as Justice, Hermit, and Fool, who were children of the deceased founding members that had been killed. They joined in hopes for revenge and the continuation of the cause. Although they have been reduced into five, their goal for government takeover was still well undergoing. If only that illegitimate Bonaparte is killed then they wouldn't be so hindered!

"You still haven't found that Bonaparte?!" Magician slammed his hands into the table with force and shouted again, "It's been 26 years and you cannot find one single guy?!"

Hierophant sighed as he watched his lower subordinates shiver in fright at Magician's anger.

"Calm down," Fool grinned while picking his teeth with a Japanese kunai, "I may have a lead…"

All eyed turns to him making Fool's large grin widen into something that resembled a Cheshire Cat, "I'm going to China for more information. There's still a kid that Xue Mu Lan left behind."

In Beijing, unknowing of the events that happened in that hidden island, Zhao Yang stared at the window as the sky turned grey. It was unusual to have a storm at this late of November. He adjusted his eyeglasses to prevent radiation from damaging his eyes and then once again tried to hack into the government's files for Wu Mei Li. He needed to know what the connection Xue Chang Min had with his woman.

Although he could just view Xue Chang Min's files, as it was not hidden to him, he needed to have proven evidence to connect their files together for a concrete story. He peaked at the time on the bottom of the screen; 6:11 am. It had been four hours that he had asked Mei Li for a date and in that four hours he had spent hacking away all government files that were kept in Red Lockdown with Level five clearance.

He had wanted to give up when he reached the level four clearance files, only to read about a woman named Xue Mu Lan, who was the birth mother of Xue Chang Min. Zhao Yang was shocked to read that Xue Mu Lan had given birth to one pair of twins and after six years, a little girl with the most golden eyes he had ever seen in a baby. Zhao Yang instantly knows that this baby was Wu Mei Li or is that her real name?

What was more surprising was that Xue Mu Lan was involved in a crossfire between the Terrorist group named Arcadia along with her husband, Bonaparte Jerome, who as an illegitimate descendant of an illegitimate son of the first Napoleon Bonaparte. His eyes had widened when he had read the name of Mei Li's supposed father. If he was successful in courting Mei Li, would he die in the hands of her father? Their most famous ancestor had achieved a vast amount of success in the field of war and battle. What is he compared to a Bonaparte?

He regretted knowing this fact and it had made him want to stop hacking Mei Li's files but then upon looking at the cute baby pictures that were kept hidden by the government, he continued; just for the sake of looking at Mei Li's baby pictures.

"It's worth it," Yang mumbled to himself as he entered codes of defences for his in-coming attack at another firewall. Maybe he'll be done before 8 am, just in time to get ready for the grand meeting that will be held and yet he hadn't slept a single minute. Oh well, pictures first, sleep after.

When 7:30 am came, the CEO heard a beep and his analogue watch, which would be weird for ordinary people but not for the CEO. Zhao Yang pressed the hidden button on the third metal clasp. Suddenly, the analogue looking watch transformed into a small touchscreen with an incoming call. He slides his finger right to receive the call.

"CEO Zhao, Your car is waiting." Secretary Bai said.

"Coming," Zhao Yang closed his laptop and slid it into the hidden compartment at the back of the bed's headboard, locking it with a number password and then began to dress for the monthly meeting of their large group. He changed into a black tux with a black inside shirt, a white pocket square on his left breast pocket and pin of a shield crest underneath a roaring lion. He slicked his hair back, taming the usually hanging loose locks on his head's left side.

Upon going out of the Manor, he saw Secretary Bai opening the car door for him while handing him a stack of paper filed into different folders. They drive off with the soft sound of the bulletproof Rolls Royce humming into the vast grounds of the manor.

Yang opened his phone to text Mei Li, 「I'll be attending a meeting for the whole day, do you need to go to the company? Are you planning to meet with Ti?」

The reply came immediately, 「No, I'll stay here and finish planning for Yue's Banquet. Be safe.」

Yang grinned as he replied,「I'll fetch you for our date at 5 pm later. I miss you, already.」

The Painter's reply was just three emojis that were rolling its eyes.

With a chuckle, Zhao Yang stared at the moving streets before saying to Secretary Bai, "We are far enough, change the identification."

Secretary Bai nodded and opened a hidden part of the car shaft. When the secretary pushed the button inside it, the car's black colour had changed into grey, with the plate number changing as well.

The car speeds up, passing by the large buildings of the metro and into a large warehouse. The two guards in the door scanned their car with a detector that emitted a red light and was softly beeping. When they went inside, there were about more than fifteen expensive cars parked. Zhao Yang strode hurriedly with Secretary Bai following him towards a small door. Entering the door with haste, they went down into a spiral staircase. After two minutes of climbing down the stairs, Yang was greeted with a woman dressed in long traditional red cheongsam guiding him into the labyrinth-like passages with doors that were bobby trapped for those that were not authorized to enter.

Arriving at a large castle-like door that opened only when the pin on his chest was scanned, Yang yawned. His lack of sleep affecting his attention span but not dampening the authority he carried.

"You're late!" Alexandre's merry voice echoes in the closed room.

"Boss Zhao!" greeted the rest of the men with head bowed with their foreheads touching the wood on the floor.

Yang looked in front of him after he had yawned and saw a long table with ten people on each side of the table sitting on the wooden floor while his friends sat on the top with chairs and their secretaries standing behind them.

"I was hacking government files," Yang said while eyeing Xue Chang Min, "I was interested in finding some Pictures of Mei Li."

Hao Chen grinned unapologetic at his teasing tone, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Of course, I even know more." Yang nodded his eyes never leaving Chang Min, "I even discovered that she's such a cute baby with the golden eyes that mirror her father's perfectly."

Chang Min blanched white; Zhao Yang knew of their connection.