"Wow!"
Three days later, on a Friday morning, Kim—who, as usual, arrived early to wait for her best friend in the parking lot—watched as Gwen pulled in. As the two girls stepped out of their respective cars one after the other, Kim grabbed Gwen's arm and whispered in surprise, "The car hasn't broken down yet?"
"..."
Gwen froze for a second and looked at Kim. "What is that supposed to mean?"
'What do you mean 'hasn't broken down yet?'
'My car finally got fixed, and you're already wishing for it to die?'
Kim glanced over at Locke, who was sipping a coffee nearby, and whispered to Gwen, "I thought you intentionally sabotaged the car before so you'd have an excuse for your boyfriend to pick you up and drop you off."
Gwen was momentarily stunned, then felt quite speechless. "Do you take me for Cindy?"
Ever since Cindy and Kahn got together, Cindy's brand-new car—which was worth just as much as Locke's R8—had conveniently "broken down." Now, Cindy arrived at school every day in Kahn's rusty old pickup truck.
She was clearly copying someone's homework.
But...
'I didn't break my car on purpose. It's a used car; having constant issues is perfectly normal.' Gwen thought to herself.
Kim obviously didn't believe her, and even if it were true, she wouldn't have bought it. She waved at Locke as he walked over. "Locke, the dance is tomorrow. Are you ready to pick Gwen up right under Inspector Stacy's nose?"
Locke looked at Kim, seemingly deep in thought. "I'm certainly ready. But what about your date? Is he ready?"
Kim blinked. "What?"
Locke smiled. "Have you told your date just how protective Mr. Mills is of his daughter?"
Kim's face instantly cramped up.
She hadn't mentioned it.
Kim's plan was to go to her father's place Saturday morning, then find an excuse to head back to her mother's in the afternoon. That way, such a confrontation wouldn't happen.
Seeing the expression on Kim's face, the corners of Locke's mouth curled upward.
Bryan Mills. The man whose name was synonymous with "Touch my daughter and I'll kill your entire family." A top-tier retired operative of the Central Intelligence Agency—the CIA, AKA Langley.
Due to the nature of his work as an agent, he was divorced. Bryan Mills had learned his lesson and retired to spend more time with his daughter. Per the court ruling, Kim spent every weekend at her father's place.
And tomorrow was the weekend—the day of the dance.
Kim fled the scene in a panic.
Watching her best friend run off, Gwen looked at Locke curiously. "You've met Mr. Mills?"
Locke laughed. "You can just tell. Every Friday afternoon, the very first car outside the school is always Mr. Mills' black pickup."
Gwen thought about it and lowered her head with a smile.
Then... she thought of her own father, George.
Fortunately, while George had been jealous the past few days, his reaction wasn't quite that extreme. At the very least, he wouldn't be like Mr. Bryan Mills, who would probably ask for a guy's Social Security number the moment they met.
Wait.
Gwen suddenly realized something. Her father was an Inspector. He didn't need to ask for Locke's Social Security number; he could just go to the station, open his computer, and look it up directly.
'Oh shit. Dad wouldn't actually look him up, would he?'
"By the way, is your outfit ready?"
"What?"
Gwen snapped back to reality and looked at Locke, offering a beautiful smile. "What about yours?"
Locke said, "I'm picking it up at noon."
He had commissioned a custom-tailored suit from a specialized shop, flown in from Paris, which was ready today. In a way, this was Locke's first real suit.
The casual blazers he usually wore didn't count, and the suits worn by the Peerless Assassin didn't count either.
Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, closed her locker, and looked at Locke. "My mom said she'll bring my dress home tonight."
Locke smiled. "I'm sure you'll look stunning in it."
"Have you seen my dress?"
"No, but I'm certain that no matter what kind of dress it is, you'll be the most beautiful girl there."
"..."
...
Noon.
Locke returned from the suit shop behind the school, carrying the custom suit that had cost him nearly five thousand dollars.
At the same time...
On his way back to school, Locke received a piece of intelligence.
After being broken out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base by the Brotherhood, Victoria Knox had vanished for nearly a month. Yesterday, she had officially entered the country, and her destination was very likely New York.
However, she likely wasn't here for the Peerless Assassin.
Victoria was probably here for Megan Walsh.
Lately, Locke hadn't taken any contracts. His slush fund was sufficient for now, and he didn't want George running around every night trying to hunt him down. He decided to give George a break. Instead, he spent his evenings at school with Gwen in the competition study group. The points earned from the various test papers in those sessions weren't much worse than the points from outside contracts.
As for why Locke was so certain? It was simple: Victoria had been captured by Megan. Given Victoria's personality, she certainly wouldn't let the matter drop.
As for why she had suddenly shown up now? Perhaps Victoria, while browsing the web, had seen that high-traffic video of a girl beating up a couple in the Midtown High cafeteria.
In the internet age, secrets were hard to keep. Even if you fled to the deep mountains, you might run into someone live-streaming or taking photos. One slip-up, and you're exposed.
But...
If Victoria knew, then S.H.I.E.L.D. would also know about Victoria's entry.
Was Megan about to leave?
No.
My setup has only just begun.
If you leave, what happens to my mission?
Thinking this, Locke parked his car and returned to the classroom. He glanced at Megan, who was sitting in her spot, then returned to his own seat, thinking about how to strike first.
Over the past few days, Megan had been talking to him intentionally or unintentionally, clearly trying to fish for specific intelligence.
But Megan had no idea that her identity had been seen through by Locke the moment she enrolled.
Locke hadn't intentionally played along; he interacted with her as a normal classmate.
You want to find the Peerless Assassin, don't you?
Fine.
I'll give you a chance.
With that thought, Locke operated his device. A moment later, a ringtone sounded.
It was a ringtone distinct from any Locke had used before.
Locke took out the phone, glanced at it, and immediately stood up, walking out of the classroom.
Since entering the room, Megan had been watching Locke out of the corner of her eye. When she heard the ringtone and saw the phone—which was different from Locke's usual one—she froze for a split second, then also stood up and followed him out.
As Megan stepped out of the classroom, she happened to see Locke turning into the stairwell.
She checked her surroundings.
Then, she followed him.
Voices drifted to her ears.
"What? No?"
"Even if you're injured, that won't work..."
"...Fine, then be careful."
"I won't be back. At least, not today."
"Alright, alright, my class is starting."
"..."
Megan's eyes couldn't help but widen.
'Finally caught you.'
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666