Chapter 15: "Drunken Deep Blue"

Chapter 15: "Drunken Deep Blue"

"What are you holding?" Fox asked Jonathan, his face etched with confusion as he peered at the glass jar tucked under Jonathan's arm.

"Coffee beans. A gift from a colleague," Jonathan said, propping himself against the door frame to change his shoes.

"So you're gaining their trust?" Fox questioned with interest.

With an impatience gesture, Jonathan placed the jar of coffee beans on the kitchen counter. "Don't bother prying; I am under no obligation to report to you."

"fine," Fox said."Why didn't you reply to me?"

Because you talk too much... Jonathan thought.

"My teammates were around, no chance."

Fox choked slightly, rummaged in his pocket, and threw him a metallic sphere. "Here's the intel I found today... good news, I hacked the Coastal Security office network and copied their data. The bad news is, I accidentally damaged the data reader. Now it only has a viewing function; its showing function is out. It contains a record of port personnel movement for the past month. Take a look."

"Not bad, quite efficient," Jonathan praised him in a lukewarm manner. "Do we have a spare data reader?"

"No, we'll need to resupply at the central lab, and update other gear too," Fox said dejectedly.

The central lab? Jonathan recalled reading about it in the mission briefing - the Rick Technology Company's third-floor lab that provided technological support for operatives. Was the "central lab" that Fox referred to actually the Rick Tech lab?

The usual knock-off time for the investigation department was half-past six. Jonathan had arrived home a bit early today; his bracelet displayed the time as forty minutes past seven.

"Let's eat," Fox suggested. "I bought some fresh meat; it's expensive, but synthesized meat just doesn't taste as good..."

Jonathan gave him a sidelong glance. Since when did this man care about the taste of food? Fox was not picky, even if the food was terrible, he would still clean his plate. Jonathan had always assumed he lacked a discerning palate.

Feeling hungry himself, Jonathan headed to the kitchen to cook.

Fox settled down at the dining table, watching Jonathan fill the pot and light the stove with rapt attention. His light pink eyes, filled with urgency, reminded Jonathan of a cat waiting for its owner to open a can of meat.

"Did you receive the message?" Jonathan asked Fox abruptly.

Fox contemplated for a moment. "Are you referring to Red?"

"Mm-hm," Jonathan confirmed, keeping his gaze on the pot of water bubbling away, waiting for Fox to continue.

"Yes, I received it," Fox said listlessly. "He's always like this, waits till the last moment before notifying us about a meeting, claiming he's afraid of leaks if the notice is given too early... He's just like you, overly cautious, constantly suspecting everyone and everything."

Jonathan's thoughts raced as he deliberately said "So that's your view of Red, huh?" The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.

"You're not going to badmouth me to him, are you?" Fox said, sounding wary.

"Do I look like I have time to spare?" Jonathan asked.

Fox studied Jonathan, confirming he wasn't intending to tattle, then admitted, "Working under you is far better than under him. He assigns me tasks that keep me so busy, I hardly have time to eat."

"So, by your logic, you prefer working for me because I provide meals?" Jonathan questioned.

Fox paused, "...Can it be put that way?"

After dinner, as usual, Fox cleaned up the kitchen.

As Jonathan retreated to his room to review the data, he instructed, "After you're done cleaning, water the plants. They're almost dead. The living room floor needs mopping. It would be a shame not to use your super abilities for such a task. Keep an eye on the time; call me when it's time to leave."

The dishes clattered a bit louder in Fox's hands. "no wonder, you and Red are old partners, really good at bossing people around."

In response, Jonathan merely shut the door with a sharp click.

Lying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, Jonathan reflected. So Red was his former partner. How deep did their relationship run? How well did Red really know him?

By Fox's account, Red was extremely cautious. Would he notice anything amiss? Tonight at the Ruby Bar could prove highly dangerous.

Half-sitting against his pillow, Jonathan checks the data reader. It contained detailed records of all personnel tied to the harbor bombings - suspects, frequent visitors, known gang members, and surveillance targets.

Suspects and surveillance targets were in red font. Witnesses and suspicious individuals were marked in yellow, while those associated with the bombing but less suspicious were indicated in green.

A drunken burly man holding a glass of alcohol approached and said, "Hey...*hic*...wanna drink with me...?"

Jonathan took less than a second to consider how to deal with the drunkard. But when the man's hand began to reach for him, he abandoned thinking and punched the man in the nose, knocking him out on the spot.

His nose was bleeding profusely, and he fell unconscious to the ground.

Being strong made things easier, and Jonathan had already learned how to use violence.

No one noticed the minor incident in the corner. Jonathan stepped over the drunk man and walked to the bar.

A male bartender in uniform asked, "What would you like to drink, darling?"

"Give me a Drunken Deep Blue," Jonathan said the secret code.

"Alright." The bartender served him a drink with a grin and whispered, "Floor minus two, Room 206."

"I'm going to go deaf," Fox complained as he followed Jonathan downstairs. "Why did they have to choose this place?"

"You should ask Red about that," Jonathan said nonchalantly, dumping his untouched drink on a random table.

Now standing outside Room 206, it appeared that the second basement level was being used as a wine cellar. There was much quieter here. There were no people coming and going, no dazzling lights, just cases and cases of fragrant wine.

Jonathan grabbed the doorknob.

"Biological information confirmed."

The door opened.

As soon as Jonathan stepped inside, he heard a sarcastic voice from within the room. "You're too early. The meeting doesn't start for another half hour."

A man, heavily made up and wearing a flashy purple suit, sat at the table's end. He was diligently applying eyeshadow to himself. Once he finished his makeup, he pursed his brightly colored lips in the mirror, apparently satisfied with his appearance.

Fox seemed accustomed to the man's behavior. He walked over to the conference table and casually picked a seat.

"Red, do you have any spare data readers here?"

Red twisted around, his eyebrow knitted in a glare at Fox. "No, did you break another one? How many have you broken? I've told you numerous times, these things aren't cheap."

"Unavoidable mission wear and tear."

Jonathan also took a seat, trying his best to look natural.

Red, sitting in an indolent manner on his chair, turned up the corners of his lips towards Jonathan. "Well, how's Fox working out for you?"

" not bad, just a bit Dumb," Jonathan said, offering his honest assessment.

Fox glared at Jonathan, looking rather displeased.

Red, speaking slowly, asked, "How's the undercover life?" His mouth opened as if he was about to say something else, but then he stopped. "Almost forgot, you don't use your old codename anymore... what's your new one?"

Jonathan paused for a moment before responding, "Richguy."

Red: "...?"

He candidly assessed, "A comedic codename like that certainly makes it difficult for people to associate it with you."

Members of other mission squads hadn't arrived yet, so Red, in a contrived fashion, took out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it all over himself. Honestly, the perfume didn't smell bad, but Jonathan was in a highly tense state at the moment. Watching others being at ease was irksome to him.

As Red sprayed the perfume, he said in surprise, "Richguy, you didn't tell me to get lost this time. Have you changed your ways?"

Half genuinely and half to fit his persona, Jonathan retorted, "Your makeup is so ugly, I don't want to talk while looking at your face."

Expecting Red to fly into a rage, he was surprised when Red turned around satisfactorily and continued to spray his perfume to say "Now that tone sounds right."

Could it be that this Red Was Red a masochist?

Once Red finished spraying perfume, he took out a small box and threw it to Jonathan, "Use this when speaking. Your identity needs to remain confidential when facing members of the organization. Since you already have a mask, I won't give you another one. Just stick the voice changer to your throat."

Jonathan opened the box and placed the thin, skin-colored voice changer on his throat. He cleared his throat and immediately, the sound he produced was different from before.

After adjusting the voice changer, the door was pushed open again, and a man and a woman entered.