Chapter 211 - Surrounded (2/2)

”Do I need to be concerned about it?” asked Balthazar.

”No, he is quite close to the family in ways you don't know. No doubt of his loyalty,” said Glen smiling as if he had heard a joke. ”Just considering it a foolish decision to use him as you probably wanted to use it to avoid being monitored by the family, but it is more or less the same.”

Balthazar slapped his head as he realized the folly of his actions the past few days. Probably everything he did was forward to Winston or Arthur. He hardly knew Bruce and was only introduced by Albert as someone who worked closely with Walter. He began to wonder if this was the thing that Winston wanted to talk to him about when he remembered that Winston asked Bolena to bring him to his office.

”I make a joke of myself, haven't I?” asked Balthazar as he sat down on a chair and gulped in the glass of whisky in a single shot.

”Depends. If you did this to avoid Winston worrying for you and hide it for that purpose, it is probably fine as Bruce wouldn't go ahead and inform him about your activities. But Arthur is probably aware of it,” said Glen.

”You sure?”

”I am. Bruce just talks with Winston casually but there are little to no deals or transactions between them and he never considered it important to inform the patriarch but the table would be advised of any actions that would be detrimental to them. Anything necessary he lets the table decide and inform the patriarch,” explained Glen. ”He also stops his men in the ShadowCard from taking any actions against the table of Ouroboros. You can consider him a guest member of sorts.”

”Hmm. That's a relief,” said Balthazar calming down. ”You are a member of ShadowCard?”

”Yes. A gold level agent. Trying to go to Rhodium level, specializing as bodyguard and extraction specialist,” said Glen proudly. It could be considered very good for a youth his age. Moreover, the two things he decided to work on were considered some of the hardest things as they were specializations where he needed to not only fight and protect himself but also another target. Such missions were considered to be ones that posed the most danger and had a high chance of failure as one had to check for multiple ways of attack and often fight against multiple groups of attackers.

”Oh! So, am I your test for the bodyguard specialization?” asked Balthazar.

”Could be. If a danger arises and it is actually tough enough to be considered so. I will be recording the events in my suit once we leave the planet. I didn't do it presently as Asklepian is comparatively a safe zone for you, especially after Max's escape. The security had been tightened and I am only the first line of your defence,” said Glen.

”Wouldn't it be a problem if I join under Bruce and want to become a member of the table?” asked Balthazar. This question had been troubling him ever since Glen told him about a ShadowCard commander existed in the family.

”It is not much of an issue. It could also be that Bruce is considering you an option for his successor,” said Glen. Though he sounded serious, the words felt like a joke when Balthazar heard them.

”That is ridiculous. There are D.i.c.k and Barbara. They are both already involved in security services for quite some time. They would obviously be a better choice than me,” said Balthazar dismissively as he considered it a joke.

”Not at all. Their specializations are more oriented towards technical skills and operation from a safe zone. That would make them excellent advisor for a security organization but only as long as the leader protects them. They are not suitable to be leader as they would not be able to hold command over other agents and I don't see it happening anytime soon,” explained Glen.

”You might not think much about it, but from their point of view, you are already a competitor. Especially since Bruce is paying attention to your activities. D.i.c.k may appear all friendly and nice, but he is a schemer. You don't think that he became what he is from nothing just through luck, do you?” mocked Glen feeling that his cousin was still quite naive sometimes.

”I will keep it in mind,” said Balthazar as he also remembered D.i.c.k telling him that he was a specialist at infiltration and has an amicable personality which makes others let down their guard. He didn't know if D.i.c.k was actually being nice to him and genuinely wanted to befriend him or was confident enough in his own skills that he openly told Balthazar about it even though he considers Balthazar a competitor. Either way Balthazar decided that he couldn't let down his guy guard in front of D.i.c.k.

At the same time in another planet in a bookstore, Bruce was waiting for someone while he went through a book. It was one of his usual spots that blocked him from vision of enemies and surrounded by strong walls that could only be penetrated by use of strong explosives. His contact who was usually punctual was already 15 minutes late which raised suspicions as a voice suddenly called out to him.

”Bruce Kane. Have been wanting to meet you for some time now,” said a woman in the local law enforcer uniform. He casually glanced over the book as he checked out the woman. She was dark colored with black hair and a couple of nose rings. Apart from the nose ring, he immediately noticed a few other things about her that didn't conform to the enforcer standards. He knew that she was probably a mercenary in disguise. He needed to know why she was here and how much she knew about him. It was always important to know about his enemy's knowledge to have an upper hand.

”I am sorry. I am the only one in the room. The person you want isn't here,” he replied casually looking over the book he was perusing as he put out an identity card that revealed him to be a Henry Wyatt. It was common and an expected response for an innocent and respected member of the society towards any enforcer.

”You are as much Henry Wyatt as I am a cop,” said the woman nonchalantly. ”I suggest you come with us quietly. You are being surrounded as we speak. Don't put up any futile resistance which might forces us to take any unsavory measures. We have no qualms in killing any of the people here. I hear you prefer to avoid unnecessary casualties,” she said in a confident tone that indicated that she couldn't be fooled by any story which Bruce might come up with. She was completely committed to her mission.