BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

"I'm sorry, boss..." Howell turned away from him angrily as soon as he heard these words. The thief slowly stepped back, out of reach of Howell's anger.

After some time had passed, Howell spoke again: "I gave you only one mission; take a stupid child... How the fuck could you fail this way? You even lost three team members!" Zachary shrugged helplessly and answered honestly.

"The kid played it smart, boss! He created problem after problem. He called the teachers; damn, he even called his friends. He even knew we were targeting him and asked questions about his employer's death. Death can testify!" Zachary said.

"Is it true?" Howell asked the master assassin. "Indeed, the kid showed remarkable intelligence. He is indeed very clever," Death calmly replied.

"Boss, I had no choice but to escape and accept our defeat. I could do nothing in that situation," Zachary bowed down on the ground before the man. His eyes looked at the floor while begging for forgiveness.

"You are so pathetic," Howell snorted coldly before continuing. "I essentially made a foolproof plan; all you had to do was follow it, and everything would have been easy! Do you know how all of this humiliates me? Do you know how much money I had to spend and how many favors I had to ask for to give you that opportunity?!"

"Sorry, sir!" Zachary apologized immediately. He couldn't bear to hear Howell's rage any longer.

"Sir! It's not my fault, I swear! It was the kid!" Zachary added. In all of this, Howell said nothing to Death, making the thief angry; he was with him, knew what happened, and was at fault too. Why didn't he say anything to him?

"This wasn't your first failure, am I right?" Howell asked. "No, sir..." Zachary nodded quickly and answered truthfully once more. However, his boss still needed to be finished.

He then said, "I am going to give you another chance. This time, do not fail me!"

"Yes, sir! I won't!"

"Good. I will let you know when your last opportunity comes. Now get out of here." After saying those words, the leader of the Crystal Cross Gang kicked Zachary out of the room.

After that, Zachary left without looking back. However, he was enraged not only because he had failed but also because of Death and Erik. Mainly due to the latter; all of this happened because of him.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" The thief screamed when he got outside. He ran into the Crystal Cross Gang bar, cursing himself repeatedly. Once inside, he sat on the chair near the door, where nobody else was sitting.

"Hey! Hey! What's wrong, Zachary?!" The waiter asked. "Nothing! Nothing! I just had a bad day!" Zachary paused and asked, "Can I have a glass of rum?" The man, shortly after, brought him what he asked for, and he started drinking.

***

"Now, tell me what really happened," Howell said to Death.

"Well... what Zachary said was essentially true. The kid was very resourceful; he threw giant trees at us, and after a short while, a huge group of thaids arrived. To be honest, they had been led there by another kid. I think you might know him..." Death said.

Howell sighed. Nathaniel McConnel was the only kid he knew who went to the Red Palace. He had heard stories about the young boy from his father, who seemed to have a knack for getting himself into trouble and didn't have an outstanding personality. He had been described as being erratic, very prone to violence, and having a nasty temper, always looking for someone to pick on and never able to show restraint. In this regard, he was very similar to his father, another colossal prick. However, Howell was the leader of the Crystal Cross Gang, and the mambas, the gang Matthew McConnel led, were under his command.

"It was the son of Matthew McConnel, right? The leader of the Mambas..."

"Indeed..." Death replied. "What a coincidence... So he has connections with the kid... Interesting," Howell mumbled.

"However, the kid cost us greatly. The man who requested this kidnapping is a very important one, and we made a bad impression," Howell added.

"I'm aware, but there was nothing we could have done. I couldn't shadow-hop with the kid so that I could do nothing about it," Death said.

"All right. So, what happened next?" the boss asked.

"We killed most of the Thads; Zachary even let some of them go past him and attack the kid, but somehow he and his friends killed them all. They fled through the woods, and we lost track of them shortly. Afterward, we found them, but the teachers came. Matthew Rook was among them..."

"Ah... that mother fucker..." Howell said. It was clear he was aware of who the teacher was. Master Rook was a well-known man in the city due to his exploits in the military and the fame he gained as a teacher at the Red Palace.

"Yes, sir. We tried to fight our way out, but they outnumbered us. One of their men killed Greg, and then everything went south. It was impossible to complete the mission at that point..." Death, lastly said.

"Ok... I need to report this whole incident to the client. He did expect the kid to be taken today..." Howell said.

"All right. All right," Death said. "In the meantime, what should I do?" he asked.

Howell thought about it for a couple of moments and then said, "Nothing for now; there is nothing more we can find out about the kid, and our organization can't get the kid inside the Red Palace. However, stay alert since there could be an opportunity soon."

The master assassin nodded silently. "All right, sir," Death agreed. He then left the room, and Boss Howell stood up and walked toward the desk, where he picked up his phone. He dialed a number, and the phone started ringing after a couple of moments. Soon after, Shade picked up the phone, but he already knew that, for whatever reason, Howell called; it wasn't anything good.

"What happened?" Shade said. "I'm sorry, sir, but the quest failed..." Boss Howell said.

"Ah... Fuck... Frank, this was a very important mission..."

"I'm sorry, sir, but the kid was trouble. He was totally different from what we knew. He was stronger than expected; even what we knew about his power was wrong." Shade grunted quietly. He didn't say anything and waited patiently for Howell to continue speaking.

The man explained what Death and Zachary told him, and Shade nodded. "Ok... I understand," he said.

"If things are like this, there is nothing that can be done... The client is a patient type, so I don't think there will be problems... But I will tell you this: I won't accept another failure," Shade said.

"Yes, sir..." Howell said. "So, how many casualties?" Shade then asked.

"Just three: two assassins named Slice and Laser and a high-ranking thief called Greg," Howell reported.

"It's a shame ..." Shade said. He paused and said, "Frank, I want you to investigate everything related to the boy again. Find out how powerful he actually is, and if possible, do it in a week. If you succeed, I will pay double your salary and also reward you handsomely," the boss ordered.

"Understood, sir!" Frank responded immediately. He was always loyal to Shade, and it was a shame he disappointed him as he did today. The two finished the conversation, and Howell hung up his phone.

His face was pale, and he looked exhausted, which wasn't surprising considering the situation. He leaned against the wall behind his chair and exhaled loudly before sitting down on the edge of the desk. A few seconds later, he felt something cold touch his back.

He turned around slowly and saw his assistant standing beside him, her eyes staring intently into Howell's. She wore a white robe over black leggings and boots. Her hair was long enough to reach her shoulders, and she held herself straight.

There were no other details visible apart from the fact that the woman had blue eyes. "You look tired," the young woman commented. "Yeah... well, that damn kid caused a lot of trouble," Howell said. His assistant nodded slightly, and the two sat silent until Howell spoke again. "Anyway, why did you come here?"

"Yeah... that... the fact is that there is a problem, sir..." the woman said. "Oh, fuck... Now what?" Howell asked.

(AN: Guys, I want to tell you now that some of the future chapters will heavily revolve around the militaries. I apologize for this in advance; I imagine you would like to see what Erik is doing. Still, it is essential to show their POV since it is crucial to understand a couple of things about the situation.)