Chapter 423 - BTA Department

The moment that Halia opened the door to the corridor, she noticed the beautiful abstract pattern that was on the walls and the line of mirrors that ran down both sides. Although it was only abstract, the pattern reminded her of the aquarium projection that was on the walls of the bar where she was spiked during her first mission. That night, when she was spiked, Jackson saved her and they ended up sharing their first kiss. 

Halia wasn't sure if Jackson had that night in mind when he designed this corridor, but she loved it nonetheless.

As the others stepped out behind her, they spotted a young blond woman standing in front of one of the mirrors, fixing her hair, and reapplying her lipstick.

It was Hummingbird!

When Hummingbird sensed the eyes that were looking at her, she turned her head in surprise and revealed an awkward smile. "What are you all doing out here?" she asked as she tried to turn them back towards the ballroom like she had something to hide.

However, Halia stopped in her tracks and looked the woman up and down. "You're Hummingbird, right? Are you OK? I heard you've been missing for a while."

Hummingbird chuckled and said, "Have you forgotten how much security is outside and the amount of law enforcement guests you have? We are in the safest place on earth."

She then nudged Halia back to the door and said, "The stars of tonight shouldn't be out here looking for me. Hurry back inside and enjoy the celebrations."

Halia found Hummingbird's actions a little strange. Why did it feel as though she was trying to get rid of them? Shouldn't she be excited to finally meet?

But just as Halia thought this, her mind was interrupted when the door to one of the storage closets suddenly opened...

Out stepped a handsome young Italian man in a black tuxedo. He neatened his cuffs and closed the door behind him. Just as he did so, he noticed the small group of people who were looking his way.

They were frozen in surprise and confusion. Those that recognized him, wondered what he was doing in Macau, and those that didn't recognize him, wondered what he was doing in the storage closet.

Acting on her feet, Hummingbird turned around, clapped her hands together in surprise, and exclaimed, "Wolf! What are you doing here?"

Wolf looked a little fl.u.s.tered, but he quickly spread his arms and yelled, "Surprise!"

Halia looked at the man in confusion.

Seeing her expression, Trisha laughed and explained without any suspicion, "Wolf said he wanted to surprise you guys so I kept it a secret for him."

"I bet you didn't expect me to be hiding in the storage closet!" Wolf chuckled, trying to make everything sound like it was a part of his plan.

Halia and Jackson looked at him in doubt rather than surprise. If he wanted to surprise them, why would he choose to hide in the storage closet in the corridor? What if they didn't come out here all night? Also, when he first walked out of the storage closet, he looked more surprised than they did.

Wolf approached the group and deliberately stood next to Orca instead of Hummingbird. As he came into view, Hummingbird's eyes opened wide and she quickly gestured at her lips. The man's lips were a pink color; the same shade of pink that she was wearing on her lips! Noticing her gesture, Wolf quickly wiped his lips when no one was looking.

However, Orca noticed this and looked at the two with suspicion.

Fortunately for Wolf and Hummingbird, Halia suddenly changed the focus by asking Trisha, "Why are these three here? I thought we weren't supposed to ever meet..."

Trisha glanced at Jackson and said, "I got permission from Captain Wu."

Halia furrowed her brows in curiosity. 

"He said you've been working really hard on locating the last founder of The Organization. I've noticed how hard you've been working too. So, now that our initial BTA tests are over, I requested for an official BTA department to be set up and the higher-ups agreed. Hence, I called these three back to assist you," Trisha explained.

"An official BTA department?" Halia asked. "Does that mean I have to report to the headquarters? I thought we agreed that I would work from home... I don't want to be too far from Laurie...and Jackson..."

After talking to Lily a bit earlier, Halia had realized how important it was to spend more time with her husband and daughter, so this arrangement didn't sound like it worked for her. But Jackson suddenly said, "That's why I made sure you won't have to travel too far from home. Follow me." He then led the group out to the main lobby and into one of the elevators. "I took some inspiration from the resort in the Philippines," he said before he pressed some numbers into a number pad on the wall and scanned his fingerprint on the screen. A moment later, the elevator started moving down.

There were 3 levels of underground parking at the casino. The elevator blinked B1, B2, B3...and then the numbers stopped blinking. They reached the furthest that the public could access but the elevator continued to move deeper underground. Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Right outside the elevator was a circular room with a big steel door at the end. The room was filled with children's toys. Jackson was right about taking inspiration from the Philippines. This setup looked exactly like the illegal casino that Joel Gabriel Santos ran at White Pearl Resort. "From now on, Laurie can play in here while you work on the other side. The walls are made from two-way glass. You can see Laurie, but Laurie won't be able to see you."

After he was done explaining this first room, Jackson walked straight up to the steel doors and scanned his eyes on a scanner. A moment later, the doors swung open, revealing a high-tech headquarter on the other side. "Welcome to Interpol's BTA Department," he announced.