FireArms' Deal

Raven was sitting crossed leg on couch. She was reading a book while drinking tea…at the least color is same.

Ting.

Elevator opens and Ethan comes out with an excited expression. He skipped steps and spun around as he moves toward her. She already noticed him but didn't raise her head. She kept her focus on his book.

"R-a-v-e-n, I have brought your precious information~"

Ethan put several pages in front of the table. She raised her head and looked at the pages then at him.

"…sigh…You also need to decode it."

Raven returns her gaze to the books. Ethan turns silent. Just what he was supposed to decode now?

"Their conversations were in codes, you need to decode it first if you want to understand it. I don't need to say it but I will say again…you are the employee here. They must have given some clue during conversation or some ways that can help in decoding."

Ethan looked back at their conversation. He suddenly flinched as he remembers something. The western man gives a paper bag to the lady. It looks like a book was inside it. That was the clue!

"So, Mr. Memorizer. How come you forget things so easily? Is it some occasion?"

Raven didn't look at him and keep her gaze at the books but sarcasm in her voice can't be more obvious. Ethan kissed his lips at frustration. He makes silly mistakes at important moments!

"…Are you angry?"

"…I am not."

"Of course you will…Huh, not! Why?"

"It's because you already got the key. You just need to find lock which I am sure you will."

"…How I am supposed to?"

"Figure it out yourself. You also need to save time for your study so it will be better for you to do it faster."

Ethan sits in front of her. He starts thinking about ways to get the book. The red-brown beauty was the one with the books. Did she leave some clues about her where about?

"Payment!"

Raven didn't say anything but keep her head down but Ethan didn't care about her ignore. He needs to infiltrate the café and get his hands on her I-link info. Raven throws something at him. He caught it perfectly this time. He has been keeping his guard up all this time due to her sudden throws! It was her I-Pad!

"It will help you with tracking. You need all the details mentioned there in fill in the blanks, use it to track her."

There were details needed but Raven should have given him knowing that he will found all the details. So, it should not be a problem.

*

Ethan was walking across the front of house while giving it a side glance.

Ethan didn't waste any time and put the gun on the head of manager of café and get the information. He also has him ingest the same medicine that he had given to Chris. It makes people forget everything about past hour. It has limited use as you can't use it on people above F-Rank but it works like magic for others.

He needs to create a strong distraction that may give him enough time to enter and escape this house. He had already done it though.

Boom.

An explosion rang out and black smokes moves toward the sky from back of the house. A window in the house opens and a beautiful red-brown beauty comes out. She looks around and then at him. Ethan kept a neutral expression and pointed toward the smoke. Lady turns around and saw the smoke rising toward the sky. She jumps out of the window and went to check out the smokes. Ethan didn't waste any time and start climbing any rake, ledge or extension clumsily from the wall to climb the house and reach the window.

Ethan went inside and his vision fall toward the study table. There was an open book lying on the table with some empty while some written paper spread besides it with pen. It seems she was also decoding it.

"Just at right time!"

Ethan picks up the book and all the paper and put them in his storage. It will help him with decoding and his vision fell toward the dustbin. There was a ball of crumbled paper bag, lying inside it. It confirms the fact that it was the same book.

!!

His Danger sense rang and he jump sidewise toward the left room connected to her room.

Chizz.

There was a hole on the house wall. Ethan peeks from the other room and notice that woman has come back and her arms were crackling with lightning. She was actually practicing a Lightning Magic Art!

Chiizz.

Another attack was launched toward him as she noticed him peeking. Ethan stops peeking and hide inside. Ethan ran toward the moment attack passed through, his feet shake as he noticed she was also running toward him. She slows down and stops herself and points her hand toward him. Both of them were 2m apart from each other as she stands in her place while Ethan keeps running toward her.

Quick Draw.

His pupils widen as his vision slow down. He can see her arm crackling with lightning. All Lightning tendrils are converging at her hand forming an attack.

He put his hand on his back to grab the handgun. Her attacks launch toward his head and he ducked his head at last moment and dodged her attack. He slides on the wooden floor and pulled the gun, holding it with his right hand while taking a crouched firing stances. He aimed at her knees.

Bang. Bang.

Ethan fired two shots at both of her knees and keeps sliding toward her. Her legs gives away and she fell on her knees. Lightning tendrils on her hand start dimming before vanishing entirely.

"Aaah."

She screamed and raised her head only to see Ethan standing in front of her while holding his handgun by barrel.

"…I hate hitting women."

!!

She didn't understand what does he means when something hit her head. Her heads spins, eyes closed and she falls unconscious. Ethan grabs her head and slowly lay it down. He pulls the vial from Raven and drop few drops at her tongue.

He jumped out of the window while slowing down his falls by grabbing any extension he can.

Ethan ran toward the alley and looked for any camera or anything related to it. He switched his clothes in hurry and changed his face mask. Raven had given him like tens of face mask that he can change with and it is also reusable.

He took a deep breath to calms his heavy beating heart. After his heart become normal, he fixed his expression and walk to other way of alley.

*

Raven was sitting on the couch while her hands hold a glass of wine. She was not looking at glass of wine but the sky outside.

It's 6 p.m. Ethan was still outside. She knows that he will only come back after decoding it completely.

'Did he not make out?'

Ting.

'Or not.'

An androgynous figure comes out of lift. He tiredly walks toward the couch and fall over it.

Few stapled pages scatters on the table in front of the couch.

Raven put the glass down and looked through it. It took her time to read through all of them and finally raised her head.

"Good work."

Ethan tiredly raised his gives her thumbs up which fall as soon as it rises. Ethan turns his head toward her and looked at her. His vision was tilted vertically as he looked at her. This angle let him admire her beauty in few different ways but he didn't do it for long as he knows she didn't like it.

"Raven, did you know the details of what happened today?"

"No."

"Did you know I will win against her if I fought?"

"…I know you will only fight her when you have obvious advantage so knowing is not a good word. I would like use word predict, I predicted that you will have no trouble today."

"…I did have trouble though."

"You can't blame me for stupidity."

"…"

"I know what you are thinking."

"Why are you interested in firearms deal?"

"It's not necessary for you."

"…Ok."

Ethan turns his head to other sides and closed his eyes.

"…When do you want me to wake you up?"

"An hour will be good. You are not planning to wake up me with water, do you?"

"…"

"…were you really planning to?"

"Is there better way to wake someone up?"

Ethan can't help but lifted up and turned his tired body to face her. He suddenly loses all his interest to take a rest.

"Since we are at topic, why do you avoid touching me?"

Ethan has notice some times when she extended her hand toward him but stops just 10cm away from him. His mind is telling him that there is only one reason why someone doesn't want to touch someone. He doesn't want to believe it though…

Raven has treated him nicely until now. She is strict and a little distinct but that doesn't mean she hates him or anything. He just doesn't want to believe but-

"It's not what you think."

Raven has noticed his depression so it was easy for her to tell what he is thinking. Ethan has no background at all. He won't show it but he has some inferior complexity toward other. It is not in term of talent or anything but he see himself as someone lower than other in term of status.

"I just hate other people touch. That's all."

Ethan looked at her for some times, waiting for her to continue but she didn't raises her head again. Ethan was hoping that he might get to hear about her mysterious employer's past but it seems gate closed as soon as it opened. Ethan starts thinking about possible reason that she might have suffer.

Just like Ethan feel sleeps as his minds keeps it thinking on.

*

A week has passed since Ethan has stolen the book. She had regularly asked him to steal these messages. Ethan had figured out at first but now he is confirmed that all of this messages where transaction. Weapon Transactions. Not just any weapon but enhanced weapon one!

Enhanced weapons are designed stronger weapon that depending on their rank can kill people at higher rank. There are not very efficient but as long as you have money; who cares about efficiency anyway.

All those transactions are from different dealer and different customer while he had a feeling that it might be related to same group or organization.

All this time, Ethan got some action and he believes that he has gotten better in using handgun at close range. It's also kind of fun and cool.

Beep.

[From Lucas]

'A message from Lucas?'

[Hello, My lonely friend]

[What the hell did you just call me?!]

[L-O-N-E-L-Y]

[You probably want me to ask you what you were doing]

[Since, you asked, I don't mind telling you. Hear me out! I went to a birthday and guess who I stumble into]

[It's Alice, isn't it?]

[I wished I had. I meet her! Ethan, her!]

[Who?]

[Saintess Candidate!!]

[Is that so?]

[You don't sound so excited?]

[Well…I always say this but dreams are nice but you shouldn't forget about reality because of it.]

[…]

[Let's forget about that then. Anyway, I am planning to go to a famous restaurant, will you come? Its sells the best lobster in entire Human Domain! It's been a while but I have been carving it for some time. I thought I will also call you.]

Ethan knows that this guy just wants to brag about something that may have happened recently. But again, It's not polite to reject a friend's request.

[Sure, in condition you will pay and won't ask me for weird favors later]

[Done, Tomorrow 6 p.m., Central Walk.]

[Ok]

That was fast. Ethan thought he will respond against his condition but he literally ignored it! He wants to talk more but Lucas just went silent. He felt hurt being ignored like this.