Chapter 166:

"Nice way to greet your sister.", the girl stood up and smiled at him. To be fair, she was most likely the most beautiful woman Ace had ever seen, objectively speaking, that did not stop him from feeling a light repulsion at the warmth he saw in her eyes.

Instead of feeling like the comforting hug of a mother - as was most likely intended, it seemed more like the fires of Tartarus, savouring at the chance to grill him alive.

"You look as handsome as ever, even more - if that was possible. You have grown up to be a fine man, I am sure you are considered to be quite the catch in your friend group.", she smiled brightly, but to Ace, it just seemed as deadly as the glare from the Sun - if he was standing less than a metre away from it.

He smiled back, as real as he could make it, which pretty much meant it was, and went up to hug her, "Well, this is certainly a surprise, we shall see if pleasant quite soon I assume."

"I most certainly hope so, now brother, sit, I have heard that the lobster here is to die for.", she smiled, and motioned for him to sit in front of her, and for Samantha to sit at the head of the table.

'Interesting,', Ace thought, 'I assumed she would have taken that seat herself - asserting dominance from early on. But I guess she truly wants to appear nice - unless… No, there has to be a reason, keep your mind straight, you got this.'

They made some small talk as they ordered their food, and it did not take them very long until almost ethereal-looking plates of seafood were presented by the waiters, each uniformed in attire that cost almost as much as what they were wearing themselves.

The lobster glistened, its red shell, with melted butter over it, glistening and giving off a mesmerising glow. It looked inviting, and for all his self-control, Ace could not wait to try it.

They ate calmly, and while they did engage in small talk, catching up with each other, the atmosphere was overwhelming, they were each scoping each other out, attempting to pry into the minds of the other. His grandmother was behaving interestingly, she was playing a more laid-back role within the seemingly non-existent conflict, simply watching, and waiting...

***

"Let's catch up soon!", she said, "I know that you will be quite busy - so will I, but I really want to talk to you about something.", she said, this time, a slight trace of worry visible.

Ace was surprised, "That was insanely rehearsed - if it was fake, but microexpressions… You are not supposed to be able to control them, unless she just has that innate talent. Regardless, if she is being so forward about it, it is most likely important, so I'll agree.'

"Of course, just tell me when you have some time, and we'll do something cool.", Ace said, speaking much like a younger brother would to his nice, older sister.

"I will look for it.", then, with one last 'kind' smile, she left.

***

"Alfred, I need your help, right now.", Ace said, speaking to the air.

"Of course sir, how may I help you?", the recognisable British Accent resounded around the room.

"Find out everything about my sister, where she has been, the likes, dislikes… Everything, even if it seems fake. Sort it out by your predictions of its validity. I need to know about everything, even what she thought would be useful to put as 'fake' data. Also, you have access to the forum through the subroutine, so try and find whether she is on there, try the standard method first, and then try the more extreme one if necessary. Above all, try not to get caught, and if you do, make sure it is not traced back to me. Good luck."

"Yes sir, no time period?", Alfred said, politely, whilst also toning it to make it seem like a harmless reminder.

"No, this is far too important for you to skip anything due to the remaining time, simply process the data and update the folder as necessary. The sooner the better, but no rush, we will most likely be here a while."

"Yes sir, I will keep you updated."

"Thank you."

***

On the other side of the Ocean

Undefined Location, known simply as Bunker 37

"Have you found her?", a gravelly voice asked, and a much younger one - female this time, answered, "Yes, she is well-situated, though, it will not be easy at all to get here there, in fact, it might even be almost impossible, the risks might outweigh the rewards.", the warning was light, and yet it was still there, it was clear the owner of the gravelly voice did not like it, but regardless, he did seem to take it into consideration.

"I understand, but still, find out the plans and all that you can, just in case. And also,", this time, the voice got much deeper, a clear sign of warning, and a sense of bloodlust and anger permeated the ambience, coating everything in a thick, layer of wrath, "When it comes to her? Nothing outweighs it."

***

Somewhere on a snowy peak,

"She has already been found, the hunt will be on soon.", an old man spoke, as he leaned back on a wooden rocking chair, he had a piece of grass hanging from the side of his mouth, and he looked as calm as one could be.

A woman smiled and nodded, "Yes, we shall see what she does, and only act once we have a surefire way to win, until then, we shall remain calm, watching, observing, stalking, waiting for our pretty to slip up.", the woman had a smile on her face, and the old man chuckled, shaking his head in mirth.

***

"So, the old man and the crazy bast*rd are already on it? Well, I guess they would be, but still, let's just wait and see her move.", a woman said, one that seemed to be as old as time, her eyes were shining, as if reflecting the moon she was standing under. Near her, there was another young lady, drawing calmly, with a pleasant smile on her face. She looked at the woman, and smiled lightly.

"Yes, you are right,", the woman said, as if she had just had a telepathic conversation with the girl, "We should not count anyone out, even the smaller ones, any of them could cause an upset, much like 'he' did back in the day.", the woman said, a happy, reminiscing smile appearing on her face, clearly, the root cause being the nostalgia she was feeling at that moment.