Chapter 42.2

"Ah, that was refreshing," Jason said as he came out of the shower, dressed in a shower robe while rubbing his now damp hair with a towel. Alina was still lying on the ground like a dead fish, breathing heavily, and as Jason passed the training room, he called out to her. "Hey, bathroom's free. Take a shower and come down for breakfast."

Alina could barely raise her hand and she instead moved a few fingers to imply that she heard him. Jason smiled wryly but with pride before walking down to the first floor and into the kitchen. As he prepared breakfast for all three of them, Jason's thoughts went back to his plans regarding Katelyn.

He needed to flush the organization before they made their move, but Jason was a cautious man; he wanted more information before doing anything. Most of the mercenaries who survived his previous midnight massacre were now laying low after splitting up into smaller groups. Also, it was almost impossible to glean any new information from them as most were grunts. His only two options now were to ask Silvia or Elizabeth for a new lead.

I do have that lunch meeting with Silvie and Daria today but . . . Jason shook his head as he mulled it over. No, I don't want to add more to Silvie's plate, I've already caused her enough troubles. I'll ask Elizabeth first. At the same time, I could ask her where we stand. Considering that she met Katelyn and Melanie . . . and I've been avoiding her for more than two weeks . . .

As he thought of Elizabeth, Jason subconsciously opened a holo-doc which was his marriage form with her that was lacking her signature. He blankly stared at her missing signature, wondering what he should do about his convoluted love life, about Katelyn, Emily, Elizabeth, and Melanie until Alice walked in while rubbing her eyes.

"Hey kid," Jason picked her up and kissed her before placing her on a seat at the table. "So, what do you want to eat?"

"Waffles! French toast!" Alice said cheerfully and Jason froze before putting his best smile on.

"Oh shi - snap," Jason, halfway through swearing, changed his words when he saw Alice's sharp stare. "Snap. I didn't make waffles or french toast today. But I've got croissants! Hm? With cheese and ham inside, mmmm."

Jason pulled the croissants out of the oven and placed them onto the table before picking one and putting it on Alice's plate.

"Careful, they're hot," Jason added when he saw Alice trying to grab one.

Alice waited impatiently for a minute before gingerly tearing a small piece, boring and stuffing it into her face. The crispy thin slices of salty smoked ham were peppered with creamy cheese and combined with the flaky butter-filled pastry. Alice found herself closing her eyes and humming as she chewed the savory croissant.

"Mmm, yummy! Thank you, daddy," Alice said after swallowing the mouthful and Jason grinned with pride. He was beyond pleased that Alice was deliciously chowing down on his creation.

Shortly afterward, Alina came down and joined them, stuffing her face with croissants as soon as Jason set her plate down before hiccuping and downing a glass of juice to squash them.

"Slowly. Chew slowly," Jason said to Alina chidingly. "You'll get more hiccups if you eat fast and it's bad manners."

Alina rolled her eyes when she realized that Jason was only admonishing her because he didn't want Alice to pick up on her - their - habit of stuffing their faces. However, it was completely too late as Alice was also eating and swallowing just as fast as Alina.

"So . . ." Jason said when he noticed that the two were leaning back in their chairs burping, satisfied with their tribu - breakfast. "Today's the day we hang out with Silvie and Daria."

"Ungh. Do I have to go?" Alina asked while rolling her eyes again. "They're clearly there for you."

"Yeah, no. I need me shields," Jason said sheepishly while gesturing at the two of them.

"Shields?" Alina repeated and Jason nodded.

"Yep, you two will do wonders," Jason said. "A sister and a daughter. That'll definitely help keep the ladies away."

"Can't you just say no?" Alina asked and Alice watched them with bemusement. Her eyes flashed with understanding but she continued behaving like a child, cradling a glass of warm milk in her hands.

"Not that easy, kid," Jason shook his head. "I say no to one of them and it gives hope to the other. I say something to both, and I'll break both their hearts. But if I say nothing and you guys buffer me, then we maintain the status quo. Besides, things are . . . complicated between me and Silvie. More so than it is with other women."

I think, Jason added in his head while Alina snorted and Alice coughed.

'Coward,' a voice inside his head muttered and Jason almost snorted with discontent. Since he weakened his Practitioner powers with Anti-Qi, his connection to his previous incarnations was almost severed. Unfortunately, it could not be completely erased and he could hear the frivolous one's voice echo from far away. 'You run from everything. Women, battles, even the truth . . . I get the last two, but why run from women? Embrace them.'

Shut up, Jason gritted his teeth and said in his mind.

"Oh, alright, alright. I'll cover you," Alina said, unaware of Jason's inner turmoil. "But I might have to ditch you. I've got something going on today with my friends."

"What? You'd abandon your dashing brother and his cute daughter? How could you?" Jason ignored the voices in his head and as he said this tearfully, both he and Alice turned to give Alina their best puppy faces but the latter rolled her eyes.

"Nice try you two," Alina replied. During these two weeks, she quickly realized that Alice was just as devious as Jason, so she quickly grew immune to the two and their skits.

"Well, it was worth a try," Alice murmured as she shrugged and Jason agreed by nodding his head exaggeratedly.

"We'll get her next time."

"She can hear you," Alina said and both of them grinned.

"Alright. Let's get ready and head out," Jason checked the time on his holo-watch. It was close to ten and his meeting with the Grave sisters was at eleven.

After getting ready, the three left the mansion under Ava's watchful eyes and Jason drove them off. After he left, Ava stopped walking and began twitching as a string of codes were emitted from her mouth.

"Whoa," Jason grabbed the steering wheel when the autopilot began malfunctioning, nearly sending the car barreling into the oncoming traffic. He used his strength to keep the car straight while Alina checked Alice who was sitting at the back seat.

"You ok, Alice?" Alina asked Alice before turning to Jason. "What happened?"

"Dunno. Must've been a glitch in the systems," Jason answered with a frown. "A.V.A, you there? Run a diagnostic."

After a moment of silence, A.V.A replied. "Diagnostics reveal an error in the latest firmware update. Rolling back the firmware to the previous update."

"Thanks, A.V.A," Jason said while driving. "But I'll stick to manual override for now. Rollback the update when the car's idle."

Error in the firmware, eh? Jason thought to himself as he pretended to joke and laugh with Alice and Alina. A driving error in the five million dollar custom car system made by one of the best car companies? Not likely.

Must be that hacker, Jason concluded as he recalled how AEM's weapon system had been compromised. He figured that the hacker was trying to enter his systems but A.V.A had pushed back. This resulted in A.V.A's computing system being diverted from driving the car and hence the haywire. Of course, A.V.A wouldn't mention any of this to Jason, not while Alina and Alice were nearby but the former was still able to deduce it all.

It doesn't matter, Jason thought as he pushed aside his lingering thoughts. I trust Ava will get the job done and keep us secure. I just have to focus on what's important. Alice, Alina . . . and Katelyn.