After minutes of talking with Vanilla regarding their work, Travis ordered one giant sundae — that one sundae milkshake from the menu that reached skyscraper proportions, or smooshing scoops between two churros for an ice cream sandwich. Vanilla had no idea but Travis ordered it only for her, as thanks for her hard work. Travis was then smiling while looking at Vanilla, eating the sundae after it was served to their table.
It didn't take long after their meeting for the two to part ways. Travis drove down to the Front Group headquarters, which was located in the south and had served as their hideout for several years. Vanilla also drove to the Head Group headquarters in the north. The people who had been spying on the two of them earlier began to move and followed Travis, while only three people followed Vanilla. Those disguised as vendors, ordinary citizens, and others rushed to a parked vehicle on the street to follow Travis.
The classical vehicle Travis had used was very noticeable and could be easily spotted, so the spies threw no sweat to track Travis' car. It was easy for them to follow him. Until they had turned to an intersection street, Travis turned right as the traffic light was still in a go-sign. The opponents rushed their two cars ahead just to catch up on the green light. It was in rush hour and traffic was as extreme as their speed. Fortunately, the opponents went through and managed to turn right. However, a seemingly out-of-nowhere site appeared when they turned to the right road. There was an unexpected train rail — they had no idea a train would pass through this area.
The place appeared to be anew. Earlier were several vehicles driving on the road, and now a residence entrance? Travis stood across the train track, smiling, beside his classic vintage car. And there were a slew of houses a distance behind him. The spies came to a halt and did not cross the train rail simply as they had run out of time — the red crossing railroad sign blocked them whereas a train was about to pass through. And so, they were left curious as Travis gently smiled at them, waving his hand. It was their defeat. At that moment, the train passed as fast as the speed of the electricity. Along with that was the vanishing of Travis in their eyes. After a moment, he returned to his vehicle again and continued driving to his destination.
***
"Sir, you're here."
A man in his twenties, Johnn Cole; code name "Organ", greeted and assisted Travis after he had arrived at the security control room, where the Front Group Agents were controlling their plan and guiding their other agents seen on the cameras. Travis then appeared to be taken aback by what he saw. Everyone in this room appeared to be collaborating.
One agent strolled in, almost colliding with a colleague sloppily carrying a loose stack of forms and documents. "I'm sorry," both of them said. The stressed body language and stiff posture of the worker summed up the atmosphere of this control room: busy. Employees quickly poked and prodded the tiny keys on their keyboards, occasionally shifting their gaze toward their monitors every few minutes, the desks evenly distributed throughout the space. Papers were strewn about, and pens dropped to the floor unnoticed; it was a disorganized mess. They seem to not recognize Travis, but it was what he wanted.
"What are the updates?" asked Travis to Organ.
He concentrated his attention on the numerous computer and television screens arranged against the wall. The size of each screen varied. Some were enormous, while others were about the size of my head. The majority of the monitors displayed various news programs, while the rest displayed radars, charts, and other data obtained by the company.
"Currently, it's 12:30 at noon. Agent Kite is playing date to the son of the President of The Orions to gather information to spy on their organization."
Organ had been the Front Group's Vice President since its inception. He was also the one who contacted Travis about the documents pertaining to Zeus' case earlier. But, in any case, he was the one who had thought of this plan, in which one of their agents had to seduce the son of The Orions' President for two possible reasons: to provoke The Orions, or to act after they'd let their guard down.
"Wow, that's Agent Kite right there." Travis focused his gazes on one of the monitors focusing on the lady wearing a red slim dress seducing a guy in a suit inside a restaurant. Her name was Amanda Gray; code name "Kite". She was appointed to be the one to do the work as the other agents would guide her through monitors, audio speakers, and earpiece records, and the other colleagues in the restaurant would have to wait for the right signal to act. "She really has this unique ability of hers. How about the Charioteer Team and the Ram Team?" Travis turned to Organ. "Any updates about them?"
"Rest assured, sir. Earlier ago, Agent Sky planted a microphone transmitter piece in The Orions' main office to spy on how they were able to hack the system of the Auriga Team. As for the Ram Team and The Charioteer, detective William and James have taken care of it together with the Auriga Team and the Aries Team."
"W-William and James?" Travis jumped on his spot as if taken aback, widening his eyes. "They're here already?"
"Yes, sir. Actually, they've already arrived before you came here. And I think they're going to call you soon at the garden beside the fountain."
William and James were the two detectives who were not part of the Elites or the Headman's organization. They had been working entirely on their own, with no assistance from them. They intended to communicate with each other on occasion, however, because Travis and the two detectives had known each other for a long time.
After hearing the news, Travis immediately took his phone from his pocket and opened it to check the time. But, to his surprise, he noticed a slew of miscalls notified on his screen coming from both callers, William and James. Travis looked at Organ, then back to his phone, then back to Organ, and repeatedly. Until Travis said, "Well, then... gotta go!" And so, he rushed his way to the back door of the room and hurriedly ran towards the garden to meet the two detectives.
Members of the Noblesse were apparently higher than doctors, lawyers, detectives, or even police officers. For many years, the Noblesse had been regarded as the highest social class in every country. But in Travis' case, he looked up to each of them, in fact, all of the people as equals, including himself; he didn't use his title to brag or gain anything selflessly. That could be why he was chosen as Headman — he is a humble individual.
Upon holding his phone while running, Travis called William who had eventually called him two times more than James did. "H-Hello, brother William!" Travis stuttered.
"Don't brother-brother me, you little shit!" yelled the man on the other line. "Come here! What trouble have you done with the Elites? Come here or I'll come at you and kill you myself?!" The man's name was William Verlice, forty-two years old, and a broken man who smokes cigarettes nonstop. He had been a detective for over twenty years now. He's known for his short-tempered personality, but a genius when it comes to puzzles.
"Yes, yes. I will be there soon." Travis put down the phone and put it inside his pocket to rush over to the said destination.
"Hey, go easy on that kid." On the other hand, another man sitting at the facade of William, spoke while eating the cookie set above the wooden table in between them, "He's still young and yet he's the Headman." His name was James Huxley, three years older than William, and a fine man but broken as well. Unlike William, James does not smoke and is always promoted in every mission he is assigned to.
"I don't care!" William shouted. "Ahh, shit. I was even having fun with the girls in Hawaii. But that Travis ruined it by one call." With those words of his, he had no intention to betray Travis. But knowing his short-tempered personality, what he blurted out made sense.
"What can we do though? His organization really pays us well. And it's a pretty large sum, man." James poured a whiskey into his glass and leaned against the bench, crossing his legs.
The garden bench was made of simple planks that were joined together and painted forest green, with the legs being sections of the trunk still covered in bark and the top being a fine long plank varnished a deep soulful green. It sat there rain or shine and did exactly what it was supposed to do: it lifted them off the ground to admire the view.
The sweet aromas that waft through the summer air, the sound of birds, and the tinkling of wind chimes. The garden was always a little brighter. It was as if the gift of the skies was magic, shining the world to reveal what had always been there, nature in her humble brilliance. Buttercups turned to gold, the grass became the shade of every dreamer's meadow, roots were quenched, and soil was renewed. And then there were bursts of birdsong, their hearts rejoicing at the occasion of the day.
"Sigh. What a total bullshit." William put down the glass on the table and stared at the ground. "I envy him, really. With such a young face and young age, everything about him physically is young. And yet he's managing several organizations! What the heck is that? And he's even richer than me who's only detective-detective for fun. I am although a detective, but I am broke!"
"Shut your trap, William." James sighed. "Being a Headman isn't easy too, you know. He had to go through things just to get there."
William poured a drink into his glass. "Get where? To the top? Ah, what a load of crap. That's why several years later after the war, I really didn't compete with the kids who wanted to be an Elite and a Headman. That's a waste of time."
"Hah, that kid. I remember him before. We were teenagers at that time, and he was still a kid as well. Ugh, I was terrified with that kid, man." James had his face into a serious one.
"Yeah, I saw it too." As well as William. He appeared to get serious when he remembered Travis before. "Those eyes of him."
"Hey!" And for the awaited moment, Travis had finally found the two of them.
"My beloved William and James!"