Chapter 248
The four of them sat on the sofa in the living. Briar and Ashton sat on the left, while Jabari and Jasmin sat on the right, creating an atmosphere of confrontation.
Ashton sat there with his arms crossed. He did not even have to speak; the blank stare he gave the two of them was unsettling enough.
His
presence was just too intense.
Jabari and Jasmin did not dare to look up under Ashton’s stare and kept shrinking back into the sofa.
Briar gave Ashton a subtle nudge, signaling him to stop scaring them. Any more and Jasmin would start crying.
Ashton finally looked away.
Briar quickly asked, “Jabari, is there a reason you two are sneaking around my doorstep this early to ambush me?”
As she spoke, she frantically shot glances at Jabari, who was looking up at her, warning him not to misspeak.
Although Ashton had thoroughly scared him, Jabari still knew what to say and what not to.
Seeing Briar’s nervous expression, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Oh, it is like this. We have not had much to do these few days and just wanted to travel around. My wife heard you were back in Qathana, so we came to hang out with you…”
“Come up with another excuse. This one isn’t convincing.” Before Jabari could finish, Ashton cut him off coldly.
The others were speechless.
Indeed, such a meaningless excuse might fool an ordinary person, but it was hard to convince Ashton.
Jasmin looked to Briar for help. “Briar, we really came to find you…”
It was true they were looking for her, but they could not reveal their intentions in front of Ashton.
Briar shook Ashton’s arm. “Ashton, stop scaring them. They won’t hurt me.”
Ashton said, “I know they won’t hurt you. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be conscious enough to be talking to us right now. But I’m still very angry.”
Briar felt a little guilty, as she could tell who Ashton was angry with.
Jabari’s expression suddenly turned serious, as if he was done pretending. “Briar,” he said, “the intel you sold our base last time was extremely helpful. We came to buy more information from Hacker Alliance.”
Ashton glanced at Jabari, his expression unreadable.
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Chapter 248
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Hearing Jabari’s sudden, all–business tone, Briar raised an eyebrow. “Alright, you want to buy intel? As it happens, I have exactly what you’re looking for, concerning that secret laboratory and its human experiments…
Briar wasn’t the only one investigating the secret laboratory and Ben, who was backing it; the DDC Vanguard was also on the case.
In recent years, several of the base’s mercenaries had vanished mysteriously. The investigation eventually revealed they had been taken to a secret laboratory to be used as guinea pigs.
Ashton frowned. “You’re investigating the secret laboratory, too?”
Relieved that Ashton’s attention was successfully diverted, Jabari breathed a silent sigh. “The man’s persistence was even harder to handle than his terrifying combat skills, he thought.
“Yes, several mercenaries from our DDC Vanguard Base have gone missing. So far, our investigation only indicates they were likely taken to the secret laboratory. And, as you know, Briar has been investigating this for the past few years… That’s why we’re collaborating.”
Jabari desperately tried to redirect Ashton’s suspicions. He couldn’t let Briar’s secret identity as the elite instructor for the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base be exposed on his watch.
Otherwise, the unreasonable and overprotective Louie would beat him to death.
Briar chimed in, “That’s right. I did work with DDC Vanguard, but we lost touch after I returned to Dasmieca. I’m guessing they came to my house because they heard something from Ian.”
Jasmin nodded quickly. “Exactly. Our people spotted fan in Qathana, so the base sent the two of us to contact Briar secretly. Who knew she’d be hiding a man at home…”
“Since you’re here to discuss a collaboration with Briar, go ahead. I’ll leave you to it.” With that, Ashton actually stood up and went upstairs.
Jabari watched in astonishment as Ashton left without a fuss. After a moment, he asked, “Briar, is your man really that gullible?”
Briar retorted, “What do you think? He didn’t believe a word of our nonsense. He’s only playing along for my
sake.”
‘How could Ashton possibly be that gullible?‘ she thought.
Worried, Jasmin got up and sat next to Briar. “When we leave, is he going to brutally interrogate you? I’ve heard the methods used by his 121 Overseas Mercenary Organization are even more terrifying than our base’s interrogation techniques.”
Briar smiled and shook her head. “He won’t go as far as brutally interrogating me. He’ll just be harder to coax.”
“Alright then,” Jasmin said apologetically. “We were careless this time and didn’t think it through. We’re sorry!”
“It’s fine. Let’s get down to business. You two are treasures at the base, so what brings you to me this time?” Briar didn’t dwell on the topic and cut to the chase.
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Chapter 248
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Speaking of business, Jabari and Jasmin became serious. “Briar,” Jabari said in a grave tone, “just a week ago, another five mercenaries from our base disappeared for no reason.”
“A week ago? Isn’t that exactly when Ashton and his people captured Hayden?” A dark glint flashed in Briar’s
eyes.
Jabari nodded. “Yes. Louie is already investigating it himself, but he didn’t tell you, likely because he didn’t want to burden you. But the men have been missing for a week, and as the head of the base’s external communications, I have the right to ask you, as an involved party, for clarification.”
Briar opened her phone and showed Jabari the information she and Ashton had uncovered about the Garzas and the locations of several secret labs.
“Although I suspect things may not be what they seem, I’m still willing to share this information with the base,” she said.
She was investigating the Garzas to find the truth behind her mother’s death, which shouldn’t be directly related to the missing mercenaries from the base.
However, just as Jabari said, the recent disappearances of the base’s mercenaries coincided with the time she took action against the Garzas. This was more than just a coincidence.
“I’ll notify the base immediately and have them follow up on the information you provided. Hopefully, we can find some other clues.” Jabari immediately took out his phone and started calling people at the base.
After some thought, Briar sent the information to their small WhatsApp group and tagged Louie.
Jasmin said, “Ian must have told Kameron the news. I just hope they’re fast enough.”
AD
