66 Breakthrough 1

In spite of her being unconscious, she heard a whisper that rang in her ear as her body trembled. Beaver looked back and was met with Emersyn's red eyes. However, they were burning like inferno. The blaze in her eyes didn't disappear nor wavered in the slightest.

Emersyn looked back from where the whisper came from. She couldn't do anything as she still couldn't move her body with all the aches she felt.

That word… however, was etched inside her mind.

'... Blanche---'

Her body trembled again and felt chills ran through her spine.

"Phoenix? What's wrong?"

"Blanche..."

"Ah. Those are very troublesome people to the Voltaire. A great threat that we wouldn't even dare be caught under. Though… I heard that we will one day confront them once we get the necessary arrangement."

"Mm..." then she succumbed to her lethargy.

Beaver walked and walked until he spotted a rundown building and entered it haphazardly. Once everything was cleared, he set down Emersyn on the old dilapidated sofa. After he settled her, he went to the kitchen and turned on the light as it flickered. There were a few bugs on the sink and there were spiderwebs on all four corners of the room. When he was fetching some ingredients in the well preserved refrigerator, there was a sudden white noise on his ear where his earpiece was attached.

"Alpha to Beaver, the mission is accomplished. I need you to give me details about your side once you arrive in HQ."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you with Phoenix?"

"Yes, sir, but she is currently unconscious."

"That's fine. I saw her performance in the CCTV. I only need your side of the report when you both went outside. See you in HQ."

"Yes, sir."

Then the line went silent. He retrieved his earpiece and settled it on the wooden dining table as he sighed.

"Hmm… sandwiches… they might be spoiled… oh, not yet. Good. Hmmm… milk… not spoiled, great. Damn it. Why do they buy ingredients when they could buy preserved food in a can. I don't know how to cook!"

Anyway, he preheated the microwave oven and put the sandwiches inside then closed it. He waited for a minute then the oven notified him that it was done. When he settled on the floor in front of the television with a sandwich and milk on hand, he turned to look at Emersyn and sighed. He got up once again to heat up another sandwich for the woman in case she woke up.

Minutes later, Emersyn was woken up by the sound coming from the television. There was light in the kitchen and she could identify the silhouette of the man who was with her. She called, "Beaver?"

"Hm? Oh yes. Phoenix, glad you're awake. Have some sandwiches."

"We have ingredients in the fridge, but I don't know how to cook," he looked at her, "Cook some for me if you are planning to cook."

"Alright."

When Emersyn entered the kitchen, Beaver suddenly stood up when he remembered that he still hadn't cleaned the kitchen. After all what he experienced with women in Voltaire, they were all afraid of some type of bugs, insects or spiders. Despite them being very scary women...

"Phoenix!"

"Yes?" Emersyn replied as she thoroughly cleaned the sink and the kitchen area.

"Wha---" Beaver could only watch.

"What is it?"

"... nevermind," then he left.

Emersyn tilted her head then proceeded cleaning. Once she was done cleaning, she opened the fridge and retrieved ingredients for a heavy meal. She cut the meat into bite pieces, vegetables, then stir fried onions and garlic in a large pot. For some reason, at the middle of her cooking, she could feel a pair of eyes watching her every move. It wasn't hostile, so she let it go. When everything was already made, she tasted the soup through a small plate. Her eyes went wide as she realized it was so delicious that it couldn't be compared to her normal cooking. She glanced at the fridge where the ingredients were and then at the pot where it contained almost 15 servings.

"..."

"... you done? I'm… uh… already so hungry," Beaver said through a meek voice.

"..."

"Phoenix?"

"Please clean the plates and utensils."

"Yes, ma'am!" then he hurried off to do what was told.

***

"Hum! Hum! I would really recommend you to the head chef! No! You're more capable than him! How come we haven't recruited you in the kitchen… anyway! Ugh! This meal is to die for! I would eat this once more before I die."

"Alright."

"Thanks, man… you're so good… I want to eat whatever you cook; even if it looks horrible."

"..." What is this man saying?

"Ah… I really love this..."

"Your earpiece has been vibrating nonstop, Beaver."

"Hm? … alright, I'll take it."

"BEAVER!" It rang loudly.

Beaver immediately distanced the earpiece away as he winced.

"Sheesh! Calm down!"

"Ha… you finally answered, you damned brat! Can't you just equip your earpiece all the time?!"

"Damn it. Okay. I'm sorry, sir. What is it?"

"There are witnesses and the members who infiltrated the laboratory are being hunted down. Besides… we got the Blanche behind us."

"..."

"And Phoenix is their top priority."

Beaver covered his face with his palms and sighed in frustration. "What is going on now, sir?"

"We are lying low for now. No more huge missions for the time being. But if it is important and needs to be done, we are taking actions even under threat. In the matter with Phoenix, we don't have to be extra vigilant since her picture isn't widely spread with the masses. However, that might be the case in the Blanche. Just be cautious enough to bring her to the HQ. The Emperor is going ballistic since we caught wind of this."

"When do we leave, sir?"

"In three days. You also have to be careful, your face is widely known by the police, since you came under the jurisdiction of illegal work. You are one of the security personnel the laboratory recruited, correct? There are about five security personnel that went missing and they are searching for it."

"Hmm… I see now, sir."

"I'll see you in three days."

"Yes, sir."

Then the other line went silent.

"... so, basically, in three days, we would be together before we go to the HQ."

"Is there any more you have to say?"

"Well… I have to be careful since I am being searched. While you, on the other hand, are being searched by the Blanche. There weren't any clear indications as to why, but you have to be careful too."

Emersyn settled her fingers on her chin then nodded. "So, I am the only one going to the convenience store, huh..."

"... what?"

"We are out of stock now. I have to buy ingredients soon. Do you have any money?"

"..." he suddenly looked at the plate Emersyn used, it was as if licked clean, then to his own plate.

"... someone must have left a credit card here for general purposes. Let's find it."

"Sorry, but I am still hungry. Find it, please?"

"... okay."

When he found the credit card on the second floor, which was empty, Emersyn already finished the whole pot of soup. He was taken aback when he looked at the clock and it had only been thirty minutes since he started looking.

"Hey… you sure you don't have indigestion?"

"What do you mean?"

"You ate a whole pot of food!"

"It's kind of normal though? I always had to eat extra large helpings for my growing body."

"... you're already 24, Phoenix. What 'grow'? You're nuts."

"Hmm… but why do I have the confidence that I will grow more?"

"Remove that in your head. You won't grow anymore."

"You'll see, and I will make you pay for it."

"Sure. One bank account."

"Deal."

"What about you?"

"Two bank accounts."

"... are you that rich? Aren't you supposed to be only a decoy?"

"..."

"..."

Emersyn scratched her chin and looked back in her memories. "Oh yeah… I only have about 450,000 in my bank account."

Beaver facepalmed as he shook his head. "I have three million. What will you do about the excess?"

"I will cook for you for about two years."

"DEAL!"

"..." wasn't that too fast?

"Okay! Two years of cooking for me! Go into my room. I had a kitchen installed there. Since, sometimes, I have to deal with paperworks and skipped meals."

"Mhm..."

"What about the time limit?"

Emersyn smirked and said, "One year."

"... aren't you too confident?"

"Then, six months?"

"... weren't you supposed to be increasing the limit than to decrease it?"

"Six months it is."

"You're crazy..." Beaver said as he shook his head.