Chapter 16: An Incident (2nd Part)

A couple of fluorescent tubes gave light to a massive room, shadowing most of its aisles in darkness. The space was similar to an amphitheater, rows of fluffy foam seats, good air conditioning, a singular gigantic screen at the front of every given aisle alongside a huge table with each corner adorned with chairs of their own. Currently, there were no people inside the room, save for a few respectable figures who sat in the center. Each wore bows and ties, though one of them opted to wear a white sleeved outfit. Its fabric was paper thin, translucent even, yet the man who wore it looked on over the other participants with a raised chin.

“Robert, that kid of yours…”

A slightly chubby man spoke, leaning forward to gaze at the man who wore the thin outfit. In response, the man in the odd getup gave the plump man a nod.

“He should be making his report soon. That being said, it seems that everyone has caught up with the last report rather swiftly. I take that everyone in this gathering is currently preparing their own means of counterattack, yes?”

The plump man snorted and sneered at the man with odd clothing. The latter however, just rolled his eyes at the gesture.

“Please… We are preparing our might to attack these monsters we are studying. Our countries are not as poor as yours to be wearing those rags in this type of meeting…”

“This is a Barong, Sir Greg… And though my country may lack the funds, we are still one of the primary sources of information regarding their movements… It would be best to worry more about that fact rather than your receding hairline.”

The man named Greg reclined into his seat, his belly jiggled whilst clicking his tongue in annoyance.

“Suit yourself! Though that luck of yours will eventually run thin. Let us see how long this guy can last.”

The man who wore the barong cursed under his breath before pursing his lips. The other people who were seated however, began to react.

“Are we not all representatives here who are gathering for information regarding this new faction we have recently discovered? I presume that we need to waste no effort in arguing on contributions here.”

“That much is true. With all the threats they give with their magic… We may be in considerable trouble if one of them ever attempts to go all out.”

The pair who spoke up was a woman and man who shared the general suit and tie get up. The lady was considerably thin, fair skinned, and tall. The man who followed her statement was also tall, in fact he towered over most of the people who sat at the table.

“Even so… I admit that Philippines may be getting a bit full of itself this time. Just because they have someone on the inside does not mean that they should be over their heads, I concur! In fact, I believe that they should be even more tight in securing the safety of their inside talent.”

Another woman spoke up, though she had flowing blonde hair unlike the other woman who had sleek black hair. She was also mildly curvy, most men might even consider her to be voluptuous, though her puffed up chest and raised chin was surely a tough hurdle for them to conquer.

“In any case… I see that most of us have already gathered here, and while we may be equals in our own regards that represent each continent that we live in… I believe that we should not belittle the Philippines’ contributions on this operation. We only have three of those children acting as our intel and we cannot afford to lose them… That being said, their continent definitely has to take accountability for caring for their own talent… especially with how forward he has been recently.”

The last participant at the table raised his voice. He gazed at everyone who was participating whilst delivering his statement. Most of the people involved who were squabbling began to quiet down when he spoke, particularly because of his wrinkled skin and fleece white hair that was beginning to thin out.

“Yes sir… Though rest assured, our Robert is doing his best out in the field for our sake…”

The old man just nodded to his statement

“That he is…”

But then, a phone rang. The ringtone originated from the man wearing the Barong. He pulled it out without a second thought before placing it on the table as the rest of the group leaned in closer to listen in.

“Father…”

“Robert, are you fine? I’m glad to hear that you are safe.”

“Sheesh, the other students here could never take me out, even if they tried. Though, the base has become livelier recently, especially with the emergence of a new face. Heck, the guy even has the attention of the principal. Not to mention, the opposing faction to this circus has begun to make their move as well.”

With that exchange, the table grew uneasy. Some jolted up in their seats, others just let out a sigh. The man named Greg even began tapping his fingers on his side of the table.

“You mean…”

“Yeah, the old businessman who took me in started his own moves. Something about crushing humanity, though I am taking my own efforts to dismantle their plans. In fact, I am currently preparing for an intercept on our part, will report back as soon as I am in the clear though.”

Greg slammed his fist on the table though. His face was now brimming with sweat and his teeth were clenched tightly.

“Y-You imbecile! Are you provoking both parties to attack us?!”

“Haah?! And who gave you the permission to be the boss of me. This entire damn plan was a compromise on my end so that we can live much safer in the foreseeable future. Though, I plan to slowly dismantle parties from the inside, like I said…”

The voice from the loudspeaker silenced the plump man. Greg could only shake his head and groan.

“Returning to the topic at hand, I will meet a group of people crucial for the operation in a few hours. These people are involved in operations for both factions, so if I can cripple them, their operation planning may take a bit longer than usual and I am certain you all want that extra time.”

“For sure, but young man… Are you even certain about the accuracy of your claims? We cannot afford a red herring at this point in time. Not when the world outside is in constant disarray and crisis.”

This time, the old man spoke. Hearing his voice, the phone’s loudspeaker fell silent for a few moments.

“So even this brat has no way to confirm if what he heard was correct! I knew it!”

“Shut your trap, Sir Greg… If you have the time to gather kilos with that weight of yours, then your best interests should lie in cross examining whether my claims are true. Collaborate with other countries or something to at least gain information on how the enemy is moving outside of my claims…”

Hearing the muffled complaints from the loudspeaker silenced the proud Greg. He immediately fell back to his seat and sighed. The rest of the table though, attempted to keep in their laughter.

“In any case, to answer Sir Aren’s question, I merely tried to listen to school rumors. Obeying that Wyzen’s commands also helped me grasp some of their movements. Though to be honest with you, even I could not see past the mire of information being flung around inside the facility right now.”

“And why is that?”

Another participant interjected. It was the lady who wore her hair into a bun. She tapped her thin fingers on the table as the voice from the loudspeaker cleared their throat.

“There has been an uproar regarding the new recruit named Pyre Benitez. It has been barely over a few days since he joined, yet somehow, he managed to stir himself into a lot of troublesome situations. Adria told me that he lacked control over his powers though I only ever saw him twice so there is no way to confirm that… In any case, people have been speculating whether he is involved with Wyzen or not, though my directives from the old coot would confirm my suspicions soon enough?”

“Those directives being? Please clarify these terms to us.”

“To meet up with other parties within campus who are involved with the current operation that he launched, countering that of Xion’s prior operation. We will attempt to sabotage the protection force tasked by that Principal so that Wyzen’s forces could easily obliterate them alongside the people on that ship. It is a simple plan, but I reckon it would be effective enough for those kind idiots in our facility.”

Nodding to the voice’s statements, the woman pursed her lips and reclined on her seat.

“Are there any more questions? It is getting late and I could not afford to run late to the meet-up.”

The council at the table was silent, no one uttered a word and so the young man at the other end of the line continued to speak.

“Ah right, I can send you some technological blueprints once I return later this evening or whenever I can return… My ability allows me to research non-stop here it’s not even funny!”

“Is that so? That will be well appreciated Robert… Thank you.”

“Mmm… It’s fine. Just pull me out of here soon and send this place packing to kingdom come. They have nothing against bombs or explosives here, at least there was nothing I could see during my time here.”

The man in the barong chuckled for a few moments before wiping his eyes.

“If only it were that easy… Striking that place can prove to be troublesome, but I am sure you already know that.”

“Yeah… just shut up old geezer. Wait for me out there, alright?”

“Will do… son.”

A single beep ended the call. The man wearing the barong silently pocketed his device and sighed before looking at the constituents of the meeting…

“Now, let’s discuss how to handle this.”