Revelations and Rescues

I'm no longer in service, young man. I left the agency a long time ago. I'm Agent A—or I was; these days, I only use my civilian name. What are we waiting for? We need to get going. At that moment, she removed what she was wearing in front of him, causing him to collapse, red with embarrassment, as he caught a glimpse of her in her underwear while she opened a suitcase containing a custom-made special suit. Gat had his hands over his face, trying not to look.

While she changed, she said:

"Don't be embarrassed; I've gotten used to changing in front of others because of the missions I've had." Then she asked him why he was in the city or why the agency had sent him there. He responded, still covering his face to avoid looking:

"I'm searching for the Oceans group. According to reports, they're hiding somewhere in this area. And well, seeing that you haven't been informed or don't have much information, I'll tell you that Agent B Twelve was injured in his latest mission facing this organization, and his condition is critical," commented Gat.

"Oh no! Poor Nick!" Adia replied with concern. "He seemed like a good, restless young man, but he always made me laugh, and now to be left immobile..."

"Gat, I see you know the agents' names."

"Well, kid, I only know the identity of some of them. For example, I didn't even know yours. You can't be very good," she said sarcastically.

Gat grew slightly irritated and removed his hands from his face, but then remembered why they were there and restrained himself. The room seemed to heat up with his frustration.

"Alright, I'm ready. You can look now," she said.

When he lowered his hands, he saw the outfit she was wearing: a fitted navy-blue uniform with a bright gem in the center of the chest, a skirt of the same color, black boots, and mitt-like gloves in brown with embedded gems. Additionally, she held a staff similar to a wizard's, with a glowing stone at the tip. The young man was surprised to see her in that attire, blushing slightly. She said to him:

"Aren't you bringing your combat uniform?"

"I don't need any of those things," he replied proudly.

"Alright, let's go."

They went down the stairs and instructed the robot to prepare the vehicle. The four of them, along with the robot Tron, got into the vehicle and headed to Elena's house. When they arrived, her father was in the living room with some papers, talking to himself. Elena called him by name, and her father turned to look at her, saying:

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I thought I was going to lose you, just like I lost your mother."

"Like my mother? Dad, you never told me my mother left us," Elena responded, confused.

The father noticed that his daughter wasn't alone; she was accompanied by two other people and a dog. He asked:

"And who are they?"

But she wasn't going to say anything until he revealed the truth.

"Father, what are you hiding from me?" Elena reproached him firmly.

Adia intervened, introducing herself:

"My name is Adia, and this is Podbe." Gat looked at her, wondering why she hadn't mentioned him. Noticing this, she added, "Oh, and that's Gat."

"Good, now that we've introduced ourselves, you can tell the girl the truth, and that way we can help her find Aiden," Adia stated.

The father, realizing then that his daughter had done what her boss, Zeus, had ordered, looked her in the eyes and said:

"It's alright, sweetheart. You're not to blame; you didn't have another choice. Those damn…"

"You see, my wife didn't leave us," he continued, "but the company I work for made her disappear, and they told me to say that to everyone who knew me, including my daughter."

Elena began to cry, and the others in the house felt her sorrow. Gat cleared his throat and interrupted, asking which company he worked for, cutting through the tense atmosphere. The father explained that he worked for Radar, a global enterprise dedicated to creating technology and new scientific advancements. However, he knew that not everything was ethical; this company broke several laws and committed criminal acts in secret. His wife, a journalist, had uncovered this, but he never reported it out of fear of retaliation against his daughter. Now he couldn't stay silent any longer and had to do something.

"Well, you can start by telling us where the company is. There's a boy to save," Adia commented with determination.

"But I want to know what you did at that company and why they needed Aiden," Gat expressed curiously.

Elena's father didn't know who to answer first, but he began addressing Gat:

"I was part of a project called Odysseus."

"Odysseus?" the others asked, intrigued.

"Yes," he replied. "The Odysseus project was responsible for finding test subjects with high skill levels, seeking their hidden powers through unorthodox methods. They captured people from all over the world with false promises like modeling contests, health issues, and things like that. Generally, they said the younger, the better. If they've taken an interest in the boy, it's likely Zeus sensed something in him."

Adia thought to herself that this project sounded similar—or exactly the same—as the Nebula Project. "It can't be; that mad scientist died back then. Maybe someone else is continuing the research," she repeated to herself, refusing to believe that this dark project could resurface. Gat snapped his fingers because it seemed like Adia was lost in thought.

"Are you with us?" he asked her.

To which she responded loudly:

"Yes!" startling everyone present.

"Thank you for the story, sir, but tell me where that company is, so I can bring Aiden back myself," Adia said decisively.

The father explained that it wasn't easy to enter and leave the place; it was heavily guarded. Moreover, the building was a facade; the real danger lay below, in the seven underground levels. They probably had the boy at the deepest level.

"I'll get him out of there—don't worry," she assured confidently.

"Well, I see you have a lot of confidence in yourself," the father remarked. "I'll tell you where it is, but if you'd do me the favor of taking me with you, it's time to put an end to that place once and for all."

Adia agreed but made it clear that Elena had to stay behind because she couldn't protect so many people.

Elena gathered her courage and insisted that it had been her fault and that she needed to go to apologize to Aiden personally.

"I'll take care of protecting the young lady," Gat said. "And what about the dog?"

Podbe growled loudly at him.

"I think that answers your question—he's willing to take the risk," Adia remarked.

With no other choice, everyone got into the vehicle and set off toward Radar.