Locke knew the truth in his heart, but the others were completely in the dark.
At the very least, Megan's expression had been one of complete confusion—a look that said, "I have no idea what's going on." She wore the second most important trait of an assassin—the instinct for lying—right on her face.
Gwen shook her head, simply assuming the system had glitched. She then took a moment to explain to Megan some of the unwritten rules that a student—or at least a student at Midtown High—ought to know.
Whether Megan actually took it to heart, Gwen couldn't say.
Gwen sighed. "I heard Cindy and her friends are planning to give Megan a 'lesson.' I just hope they don't go too far."
She was only a student assistant, not the students' mother. She could manage things she witnessed, but she couldn't watch them twenty-four hours a day.
Just like how school bullying almost always happened in the bathrooms.
Gwen couldn't exactly stake out the stalls after every class, and Midtown High certainly had more than one bathroom.
Locke thought for a moment. "Let's hope it doesn't cross the line."
Otherwise, it would be very difficult to clean up the mess.
This Megan Walsh might be a bit foolish as a student, but there was no doubt she was a thoroughbred assassin or agent, trained from childhood.
A few days ago, a thought had suddenly occurred to Locke.
In the files on S.H.I.E.L.D.—the "mysterious organization"—that Red had provided, there was a mention of an agent who had suddenly fallen into a river and gone missing, presumed dead, during the pursuit of Victoria Knox.
Though there was a slight discrepancy in the timing, if that missing agent had chosen to fake her death for some reason and created a false identity to attend high school in America, the timeline matched up perfectly.
Still, Locke found it somewhat absurd.
It defied logic.
Nevertheless, Locke temporarily pulled Victoria Knox off his blacklist and sent her a photo he had snapped of Megan Walsh.
The result...
He had actually guessed correctly.
Locke was completely speechless. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent defects, and instead of hiding in a remote forest, she comes here to attend school? This move was simply mind-blowing.
It was truly miraculous.
After connecting all the dots, Locke didn't know what to say.
But...
No matter how much Megan Walsh lacked student common sense—practically zero—her killer instinct was etched into her DNA.
If Cindy played things too rough, well, whether Cindy survived would entirely depend on whether Megan Walsh's blood was truly cold.
If it were Locke, and someone he wasn't close to played a prank that went too far, he wouldn't mind handing that person a one-way ticket.
A one-way ticket to hell, with a guarantee of arrival.
Just then.
Locke drove out of the side street and turned onto the main road leading to the school. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of something at the end of the road: a van pulling up, a bag over a head, a body being shoved inside—all in one fluid motion before the vehicle roared away.
"Mhm?"
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
Locke glanced at Gwen and realized she hadn't noticed, so he simply shook his head.
Good grief.
They're playing for keeps.
That was a straight-up kidnapping.
Locke thought to himself; the girl who had just been hooded and taken away was none other than Megan Walsh.
This must be Cindy's revenge.
Cindy, with her smooth blonde hair, came from a well-off family. Both her parents were high-level executives on Wall Street. It was perfectly normal for her to know a few "fresh" moves that average high schoolers wouldn't be exposed to.
'I hope Cindy doesn't overdo it.'
The thought flashed through Locke's mind as he drove directly into the campus.
However...
Even if they did go too far, it had absolutely nothing to do with him.
As the saying goes: "Mind your own business and stay out of trouble." Even if things got out of hand, it wasn't his problem.
In fact, it might even be better if things blew up.
Having a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent nearby—even a defected one—made Locke feel a bit uneasy.
He parked the car, put away his bag, and entered the classroom.
"Hi, Gwen!"
"Good morning, Betty."
"Locke."
"Flash."
Locke and Gwen entered the classroom and greeted their classmates. As Gwen set her things down, she happened to hear Cindy, who was sitting in front, loudly plotting with her best friend about how to use the upcoming dance to pull a massive prank on Megan.
Gwen scanned the classroom but didn't see Megan anywhere. She tapped Cindy on the shoulder. When Cindy turned around, Gwen shook her head. "Megan is new here. Don't bully her too much."
Cindy looked at Gwen, her face full of indignation. "I asked the teacher. He said he never changed the seating chart. He checked and found that someone logged into his backend two nights ago. It must have been that little bitch from Canada who changed it."
Gwen was speechless. "Language, Cindy! Watch your language!"
There was no sight worse than a blonde beauty spitting out the word "bitch."
Cindy's friend chimed in from the side: "Don't worry, Gwen. We just want to make Megan look like a fool at the dance. We're planning to turn her into our mascot for the night."
Gwen asked curiously, "This is a formal dance, not a costume party."
The friend chuckled. "What if Kahn is the one who invites her?"
"What?"
Cindy cut in directly: "She tried to steal my boyfriend. I have to get revenge for this. Otherwise, how can I, Cindy, keep my reputation in this school?"
Every school has a legendary sorority.
As it happened, Cindy was a member of Midtown High's sorority—and a high-ranking one at that.
Gwen couldn't help but clutch her forehead. "This isn't good."
After all, the dance was something you were supposed to look back on with fond memories when you grew up.
Cindy shrugged. "It's either this or nothing. If I don't do it, the sorority will step in, and then it won't be this simple. And don't worry, Gwen, my family has a legal team."
Gwen opened her mouth to speak.
*That's your parents' legal team, not yours.*
Gwen tried to soothe her: "Look on the bright side, Cindy. Honestly, if it wasn't for Megan, you might not have felt the crisis and finally confessed to Kahn, right?"
Cindy gave a cold snort.
Locke turned his head and shot a glance at Kahn, who was sitting one seat back and to his right.
Kahn gave a strained smile.
It was obvious.
Cindy was now his girlfriend, and as for his girlfriend's demands, Kahn couldn't figure out a way to refuse them for the time being.
He had wanted to refuse because he wasn't fond of school pranks and bullying, but the moment Kahn said "forget it," Cindy became very upset, suspecting that Kahn had actually fallen for Megan.
What else could Kahn do?
At this moment, Locke also began to sense that something was a bit off.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666