Chapter 259 - Chapter 259 (1/2)

Side Story 16

9. I'm going there to meet you right now (2)

Once more in the United States of America, somewhere in the quiet suburbs on the outskirts of a city. A black saloon car gliding smoothly on a certain road finally arrived at its destination – a small, but cosy and inviting house, with a red roof.

Tap, tap, tap.

The ones climbing out of the vehicle was the Director of the CIA, David Brennan, and his two bodyguards. The director studied the red-roofed residence for a little while before issuing a new order to his underlings.

"You two, wait for me here."

"But, sir..."

Since these two agents were charged with protecting him, that order was a rather difficult one to accept, but the director's attitude remained unchanging.

"It's fine, it's fine."

He waved his hand dismissively towards his underlings trying to dissuade him.

"Madam doesn't enjoy noisy visits like this, anyway."

Leaving behind his entourage by the car, the director walked alone towards the front door and began fixing his attire. Once he felt satisfied by his grooming attempt, he cautiously knocked on the door.

"Madam? It's me, Dav...."

Even before he could finish introducing himself, the door opened up and a young African-American child peeked his head out. The director recognised Madam Selner's grandson and crouched lower to match the boy's eye level before patting the kid on the head.

"Is your grandma home?"

"She's been waiting for you, bearded uncle, for a while now."

David Brennan looked at the child pointing at him and couldn't help but chuckle gently.

But, of course. Just who was the woman he came here to speak to?

The psychic, the prophet, the real 'Esper'.

Didn't matter which title was used, none of them would sound ill-fitting to Madam Selner, the world's pre-eminent soothsayer. That's who he came here to see today.

Of course, it wasn't as if he trusted her words in the beginning.

But then, she began solving serious problems that even the CIA, an organisation at the peak of the cut-throat intelligence world, had given up on with preternatural abilities, and the director had no choice but to stop suspecting her gift there and then.

She was the real deal.

'A true superhuman...'

So, predicting his unannounced arrival for someone like her would be easier than, say, changing the channel on TV with a remote.

Guided by the grandchild, the director was led into the sitting room where the Madam was waiting for him with a cup of warm tea on top of a coffee table. He politely greeted her.

"It's been a while, Madam."

"Good to see you, Dave."

The director raised his head.

The last time he stepped in here was about a year ago; he took a look around at the interior decoration of the sitting room that hadn't changed since his last visit before carefully parking his butt on one of the couches.

"Madam, you probably can't imagine how difficult our work has become ever since you announced your retirement."

One could say that the information on the past was of no value compared to the information on the future.

The CIA reaped a great deal of harvest by cooperating with Madam Selner, so the sense of loss the agency felt after she retired was indeed well above one's imagination.

The director might have spoken with a smile as if he was cracking a joke, but his genuine belief, hidden beneath the surface, could be heard if one paid closer attention.

Too bad, the Madam spoke composedly as if she was tiding a young child throwing a tantrum for more cookies.

"Dave, I've already told you this, haven't I? I can no longer see the future after that person arrived."

"Ah...."

Was she talking about that story of the 'God of Death' again?

The director could only smack his lips wryly at the exact same answer she gave every time he asked her.

It was the story about how her powers became useless after an existence powerful enough to twist destiny as he saw fit had descended to this world.

The director forgot what he wanted to say next after remembering her reason for retiring, one that defied one's attempt to understand through logic.

"...."

And so, silence weighed down between these two people.

David Brennan wondered how he should go about breaking this awkward atmosphere before his nose picked up on the enticing aroma of food.

"Madam, were you in the middle of a meal?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Actually, I have been entertaining another guest."

"Ah…. I see."

She didn't enjoy meeting with people, yet she was with another visitor?

The director tilted his head slightly, but soon enough, made up his mind to stop beating around the bush. The smile on his face vanished next.

"In that case, I shall get right to the point and get out of your hair as soon as possible."

When he said that, though, the Madam replied as if she was waiting for him.

"The answer to the first question is a 'yes', and for the second one, a 'no'."

"H-hang on...."

The director could only form a flustered expression when his questions were answered even before he had a chance to say them out loud. She grinned refreshingly.

"You wish to ask me how I knew about your questions if I can't see the future anymore, am I wrong?"

"....Well, no."

"Dave. The answers you seek from me are actually the matters of the past. I simply took a glimpse at a portion of the past and provided you with a suitable answer."

"Oh. Ohh..."

The director nodded his head, a soft moan leaving his lips. She carefully continued on.

"Well, then. Shall I provide you with proper answers to your questions?"

David Brennan pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed the sweat on his forehead.

"Of course. Please go ahead, Madam."

She then began with her explanations.

"That's right, Dave. I know just who it is that you wish to find out about."

Her answer to the first question was 'yes'. However, her answer to the follow-up question was 'no'.

"Unfortunately, I will not divulge any information on that person to anyone."

"But, Madam!"

The director's voice suddenly grew louder. He wasn't trying to threaten her or anything like that. It was just that his agitation got the better of him and he ended up shouting out.

"If it's you, Madam, then you should already know what he has done! We can't just let someone like that run around without a respo....."

It was at that moment that the Madam herself shouted out as if she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I'm choosing not to say anything precisely because I know!"

This must've been the very first time seeing her like this.

The director didn't know what kind of expression he should form now after being confronted by the Madam's angry expression for the first time ever. Too bad for him, though, her angry voice didn't stop there.

"Director, are your eyes just for decorations??"

"Madam!"

"Didn't you see the footage contained in that USB drive, then??"

"..."

Indeed, he did see it.

He saw the sight of a single human being not even taking a step back while standing up to those frightening giant monsters. The power that man possessed was scary and incredible, but it did rescue humanity back then.

"Would you believe me if I told you...that event wasn't the first time?"

The Madam formed a serious, nay, a grave expression, and the director's own expression froze up instantly.

"...."

There was another incident like that in the past??

The moment the director thought of humanity facing extinction-level threats multiple times in the past without him knowing about them, his entire body began shuddering uncontrollably.

But when he pondered it some more, he realised that such a case wasn't so surprising anymore; even this event had been classified as a top-top secret by the U.S. government and, besides an extremely small number of people related to the matter, no one else knew just what happened or who did what on that particular day.

If that was the case, could he really come out and say with full confidence that no similar things happened in other countries as well?