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/A few seconds after Dale left the underground garage…/
/Step.../
"..."
A man walked out from behind one of the columns…
He was wearing a black coat that went all the way to his legs and covered a portion of his neck as well, black leggings, and black shoes.
He had a mask on his face, covering his jaw and nose, and also a pair of black sunglasses that seemed to glow in faint blue light from time to time.
His face had a long scar from his forehead to his nose, passing through the middle of his eyes, although that was fairly hard to see in the dark.
After making sure there was no one else around, he started walking out of his hiding spot.
"Brime Prime, reporting. Over." He suddenly said in a low and deep tone
As he talked, he approached the broken concrete blocks on the ground, crouching near them.
"..."
'It's as if this cement block was hit by a heavy caliber bullet.'
'At least, this is what most would think, the truth however...'
His brows sharpened, and his expression became tense.
'A portion of the cement got pulverized, the block itself did not resist and broke into 3 big pieces, and the area of impact got shattered into... Many more.'
'The impact also had a degree of penetrative force, given how the supportive block underneath was split into two big pieces, and the smooth concrete floor was shattered, creating a 10 cm wide hole.'
'This is the strength of a mechanical anti-material rifle.'
/Buzz.../
The moment he inspected the block, the communication divide inside his ears started buzzing, and soon enough, an old voice replied:
"I can hear you loud and clear, did something happen inside? Over."
"Yes, Prime-Omega has left Zone-Ht, likely making his way toward Zone-Hn…Over."
As he said that, he started to collect samples of the stone, grabbing a few pieces and putting them inside a small plastic sack he took from within his jacket.
But he was smiling slightly if that could be seen at all under his mask.
'It hasn't even been a day... Looks like my deployment wasn't for nothing this time.'
'Had it been one of the other Omegas... Then maybe... Hah.' He thought as a half smile formed on his face
'It wouldn't be that bad to see them failing once in a while.'
"The world is changing." He said in a low voice after he finished collecting the samples
'What an interesting kid...'
"What? So suddenly… This is unlike the reports." The old man said after he processed the scarred man's words
"It just had to be now of all time... Over."
"I likely know the reason for that… I'll be sending in the recording I made of this whole event, I can't quite put it into words, albeit I'm sure you understand once you see it. Over."
'Sorry to burst your bubble kid, but orders are orders...'
'Having dreams of being a power in the shadows can't always be done, though I applaud you for trying to remain low-key.'
'At least he shows some promise, contrary to the other recruits who dream too much instead of facing reality.'
"Understood… I have received and confirmed your recording, Brime Prime. Over."
"..."
The man remained in silence as he looked at the cement block.
"I'll be now relaying your new orders, stay put and continue protecting Zone-H, but be ready to move out in case of an emergency. Over."
/Buzz!/
His glasses flashed in blue light and a series of words flashed in front of his eyes.
After reading through it all, the man got up from the ground, saying:
"Understood, orders received, Brime Prime moving out. Over."
He turned around and walked into a maintenance staff door, disappearing deeper into the apartment complex.
As he walked amidst the metal tubes and valves, under the old blinking lights on the low ceiling, he thought:
'We'll meet one day... Prime-Omega... Dale Houston.'
'You've got what it takes to change things, however, can you follow through with it?'
This wasn't the scarred man's first time tailing after a high-priority target, and it wouldn't be his last.
'For now, I'll abide to my orders and make sure that your parents... Are safe and sound.'
/Step step.../
…
/At the same time, somewhere nearby…/
In a dark room, the man on the other side of the call sharpened his eyes as he heard Prime Brime's last words.
"Hm…"
'That boy didn't move at all for the past few hours, only once leaving… Why did he have to move now?... Was there a trigger for it?'
'The perimeter is still being secured, and our security net has been breached, could it be that...'
'It's too risky for him to be outside... Will I have to move and completely break the agreement?'
'No, under any circumstances, I cannot move, worst comes to worst I may have to spend a considerable amount of resources to fully employ "them"...'
'Even if I have to pay a hefty fine for partly breaking the agreement... Dammit it all, if this had happened back in Japan, it would've been fine, but I'm on American soil right now.'
'Thankfully, we're on Neutral terms, one of the reasons I managed to move my forces so quickly... But it would be foolish, however, to change this status quo in the middle of their territory.'
'I'm already pulling some strings to be here, any extra actions would put me against the wall.'
'This situation is already enough for them to employ their armed forces, it would be terrible to clash under a misunderstanding.'
'And Americans are known to use even the smallest of excuses to get their points and interests across, spilling their blood in their own territory would be more than enough for them.'
'I know because I am one too.'
/Shua.../
"Is something bothering you sir?" Asked the assistant as she poured him some coffee
"Yes, that boy has started to move."
"You mean Prime-Omega?" She asked surprised
"Who else?"
"Please sir… Stick with the codenames…" She replied annoyed as she gave him a serious look
She then turned her head to the side, gazing at the outside through the window...
"But if he has started to move… We'll have to set up a Squad to tail him…"
"No." The old man said as he grabbed a small tablet, downloading the video he just received
'The Squads would be incapable of trailing behind him without him noticing.'
'If his senses are as high as I predicted, we may suffer a backlash from him if we were to overstep our boundaries.'
"So what should I do sir?"
"Have a small team of our most silent scouts tail him from far away, just to make sure no harm befalls him."
He pulled a chair from the side and sat on it as he played the recording.
"In that case sir, if something happens, we may not be quick enough to react…"
But she suddenly stopped talking, paying attention to the recording…
"Is this?..."
"The video recording Brime Prime just sent me."
She saw the perspective of a man going silently behind a young man…
He was always 10M behind him, no more, no less.
The young man seemed oblivious to his existence, which was strange, considering how cautious he was being...
Eventually, the young man went underground, grabbed a cement block, and…
/CRACK!/
"?! It can't be…" She said with a ghastly expression
"..."
While the assistant's face became pale, the old man remained serious…
Once the video ended, he got up from his chair and said:
"... As you can see, he won't need our help, instead, prioritize remaining unseen, this is the most important thing to pay attention to."
'I won't commit their mistake, I promised this to myself.'
'Now more than ever, I have confirmed what I came here to do, and learned that I was wrong…'
'He may be more than what I can handle... The first "Adapter" of this generation.'
'And not just a small, forgettable one...'
His face turned to the only window of the room.
He smiled widely and said:
"We cannot afford to lose ground this time."
"?!"
These words rang deep in the woman's mind.
'He is… Taking this situation this seriously?...'
'Someone who has maintained a neutral position for the past 5 decades… Will he finally break it this time?...'
'I knew this time was coming… But to be so soon…'
She turned to look at the tablet, thinking about what she saw.
'It isn't purely due to him… But he is the spark he was looking for…'
She shook her head.
'That is irrelevant now.'
'What matters is that I'll have to change the way I handle things.'
"Understood sir, I'll make it happen." She said with a nod
She turned around and started to relay orders in front of a computer while the Old man sat on a small couch, thinking deeply as he drank his warm coffee.
"This time, it looks like things are going to escalate further than what I'm capable of handling."
'It's time to pull some special strings, it's sooner than I predicted, but it doesn't matter, I never did this with the profits in mind.'
'My son… I'll have to contact him also, and soon. He'll need any help he can get if we want everything to pass by smoothly.'
'Especially when his children have their own set of problems… And "priorities".'
'One is childish, but that is mostly due to her not understanding the scale of things at play, she has what it takes to carry on, but I'm getting tired of trying to set her on the right course…'
'She's also too naive to be presented with the truth.'
'While the other one is… A disappointment to say the least… No, that's too harsh.'
'The right description would be… Someone who does not understand how incapable they are, yet tries to act as if they are…'
'He needs to realize his shortcomings first before trying to aim higher, otherwise, he'll only be building a sand castle.'
'He thinks he's something with that little club of his… His naivety needs to be fixed. His ignorance isn't a problem, but his arrogance is.'
'Once he sees the world for what it truly is, that problem would vanish, but the other one wouldn't, it may even be reinforced.'
'But then, without the club, what does he have?... Perhaps he himself understands that and is trying his best to turn that into his own strength actively... But I wouldn't be so sure of that.'
'He wants recognition, but he won't find any from his blockhead of a father and brute mother... While he is too afraid to come to me, once again due to that blockhead of a father.'
'I cannot even begin to imagine what that son of mine is passing through trying to deal with those two... But he is reaping what he sowed... No...'
'I am the one who is reaping the results of my own choices...'
"What a troubling scenario." He mumbled to himself as he tapped on the table
'At least I can think of some ways to fix his behavior… But for that bratty girl…'
'The only way I can think of to fix her attitude would be to tell her what's at stake…'
He shook his head.
'But that's not an option.'
'Yet, if I don't do so, how am I supposed to have her work and try her best?...'
The old man thought and thought until he remembered her request.
'If I can't have her protect herself… Then I just need her to stay next to people that can do that for her…'
'If I'm lucky, she may end up getting some motivation from all of this.'
He nodded to himself.
'Looks like it's the only way.'
"Would she change if she got herself a boyfriend?" The old man asked himself ironically
'Sigh...'
He turned to look at the young lady next to him, that was currently talking nonstop.
"Larissa, pass me my international cellphone, I need to call someone." He said with a small smile
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Notes
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