Handler XX: Stock Maestro-Chapter 21: Code Blue

"Ugh..." Trent muttered, irritated looking at Newton’s body.

"You sure this is alright?"

"Of course" Anton turned to him, blowing the muzzle of the gun.

"Eliminate Newton-11— That’s what they said"

Marie picked up a bottle of champagne and poured herself a drink on a glass.

"I’ll need a drink too" Trent scratched his head reaching for the bottle.

She stared at Trent for a while— astonished at how he’d performed but also angry at him.

"No— You’ll drive me home, won’t you?" She turned away with the bottle.

Home... Saying it so effortlessly brought a weird feeling of peace.

Anton winked at Trent as he turned to him, "You’re trying" he mouthed silently.

"Uhm... Thank you— You acted very well" Trent muttered.

"We’re agents— we act"

"What’s the Program going to do about the situation?"

"It’s a simple issue— the old bastard didn’t seem to trust Kraven so much that he didn’t tell them more so we’ll proceed as planned" Anton replied standing up.

"Hi... I’m sorry about coming late" a pilot walked into the jet.

He staggered back as he sighted the bodies.

"It’s no problem" Trent walked towards him, "We were just rounding up. Come in"

The Pilot walked in, legs shaking as he approached them.

"I–I promise, I d–didn’t see anything" he stammered raising his hands.

"Of course... Miles" Anton looked at the name tag on his uniform.

"You weren’t even here, were you?"

"Wrong jet, sorry!" Miles stammered as he backed away.

"Champagne?" Marie chuckled, stretching the bottle forward

Trent grabbed Mile’s shoulder and smiled at him,

"Mr. Miles won’t be able to drive if he drinks, will he?"

Miles nodded, with a smile, declining the drink.

"We’re not the bad guys, dear Miles" Anton chuckled

"Pardon the way they act— they’re just on edge"

Miles ran out of the jet and sped off on his car.

"Hello" Trent spoke into his phone answering it.

"Alright— That’s great. Thank you, Man"

He glanced at Marie as soon as he hung up.

"Can you follow me to check the place? Mikhail said we can come later"

She dropped her glass and exhaled, "Yeah, no issue"

"You owe me an explanation" she muttered quietly

"What?"

"Nothing— I said it’s alright"

Anton laughed as he walked off,

"The couple should take a few days off— You’ve done well"

_____________

"... That’s what happened" Trent concluded, glancing at Marie as he held the wheel.

"A wedding gift, huh?"

She turned away as her glance met his eyes.

"What about the lady? Serta, was it?"

Trent flinched. He didn’t really want to lie but it could be dangerous.

"She invited me into the room for an interview— I was surprised, but it seemed interesting" he replied, chuckling.

She glanced at him. A secretary that knew things about the program? Still not going to tell me, huh?

"Right..." she scoffed, "As long as it doesn’t endanger us or the program"

He clenched his fist tightly on the wheel,

"It won’t— I promise"

If it ever seemed to turn against him, he’ll have to...

He exhaled. No dumb thoughts.

"Whoever got this car had excellent taste" he laughed softly, stepping on the gas.

"A bonus for working so hard"

"I’m taking this one too— apology gift" she chuckled, looking out the window.

"Ugh... Alright" he chuckled

"I’m sorry" he muttered quietly.

"It’s alright, Golden boy"

________________

"You’ve got a monster" Mikhail laughed pointing at the car as they stepped out.

"A friend gifted me— do you have any like it?" Trent laughed as he closed the door.

"It’s nice to see you again, Miss Kimberly— Thanks for arranging this so fast"

They all exchanged greetings.

"Why are you guys outside?"

"I just got here" Kimberly replied, "M–Mikhail stepped out to meet me"

"He already knows, Hun" Mikhail laughed.

"Congratulations— do invite me to the wedding" Trent chuckled

"O–Of Course"

Her face flushed with red as she turned away.

"Congratulations" Marie said to her.

"Thank you... Should we head to the place now?"

"Perfect"

_____________

"Wow" Trent exclaimed as Kimberly drove into the place.

He stared outside the window from the backseat where him and Marie sat— Mikhail with Kimberly at the front

"The manor belonged to a former Senator— his children decided to sell it"

"A senator?"

"Yeah... Died less than a month ago and they’re already selling it. How sad"

"The lawyer is waiting for us inside with one of them" she exhaled.

They got off the car as she parked. A butler and maid stood outside waiting.

"I thought you said everything was ready" Trent asked as they walked towards them.

"They were going to be laid off— wanted to meet the new owner"

"Hello" they greeted with a bow as Trent approached them.

"These are Xander and Mia" Kimberly introduced them,

"Mr. and Mrs. Ackerman"

"I’ll see to your issue later" Trent smiled at them reassuringly.

"Thank you" They bowed.

They looked young for the job— should be less than 30.

"They’re young" Marie whispered as they walked in.

"You’ll find them interesting, Mrs. Ackerman" Kimberly chuckled.

"Marie— you can call me Marie"

"Thank you. You can call me Kim"

___________

"Miss Kimberly" the men stood up to greet them as they walked into the study.

"It’s good to see you again, Mr. Anders" Kimberly greeted the one on a suit with a handshake.

"These are they buyers— the Ackermans"

"This is Mr. Anders, the lawyer. And Mr. Zac, representing the family"

They all exchanged greetings and took their seats on a large couch in the middle of the study.

"We received the down payment yesterday— Thank you for your sincerity" Zac thanked Trent as they brought the papers out.

"It’s my honor to do business with the family of a dear Senator" Trent smiled.

"A dead senator doesn’t mean anything" Zac muttered quietly, jaws tightening.

Marie glanced at the document— Seren Rotschen. That’s the senator that was killed after Gentely. She hid her surprise, turning away to the shelves.

"What about those books?"

"You can have them as a gift— my father gathered a lot of books"

They immediately signed the documents transferring ownership.

"Apologies for the lack of champagne" Zac smiled as he stood up, stretching his hand.

"It’s no problem— nice doing business with you" Trent stood up, shaking his hand.

They concluded everything and as they were about to leave, Anders cleared his throat and turned to Trent.

"Can I have a word with you personally— In case you’ll need my services"

Trent looked at him. A self promotion? He nodded at Marie and the others and they walked off.

"I’m not looking to hire a lawyer now, Mr. Anders" Trent explained as he sat down.

"That’s sad... But that’s not why I wanted to meet" he chuckled, shifting his glasses and reaching for his bag.

"Here..." He stretched a USB drive.

"Mr. Seren said to give this to whoever inherited the manor— it’s sad that he passed away so fast"

Trent collected the drive,

"Why not give this to the child that got the house?"

"He made it very clear that I should pass this to whoever got the house, and they agreed to sell it after he died"

"What’s in it?"

"I haven’t checked— he used to joke that it was his grand Manor designs" Anders chuckled.

Trent held the drive tighter in his palm. If this really belonged to a senator... maybe it held more than house plans.

"I’ll check it out— Thank you" Trent replied, standing up. Why did this give a bad feeling?

He forced a smile at Anders as they shook hands.

"I’ll contact you if I need your services"

Trent joined the others and they drove back to Athens Autos before they parted ways.

_____________

"The place’s lovely" Marie glanced at Trent as they approached the car.

"Yeah?" Trent chuckled, tossing her the key

"Let’s head for the eatery— You haven’t been there in a while"

"Alright" she replied, catching the key.

"You’re paying this time" he laughed as he slid into the passenger’s seat.

"I guess I should"

She hummed to the song on the stereo as they drove to the eatery.

"Welcome, Boss" A waiter greeted them as they stepped in.

"It’s been a while, Boss... How’s the honeymoon" another laughed.

Trent waved at them and they exchanged greetings as Marie led him to a quiet spot.

"What will you have?" She asked as Trent slid into a seat.

"I love the pasta"

"That’s all you’ve had— the rice and curry is good, trust me"

She headed to the kitchen to get their food.

Trent turned his phone to check updates on the internet.

Morlov’s announcement about the wedding with a Prince from Kraven Empire was already a hot topic.

Some were hailing it as a strategic bond while others criticized it— mostly citizens from Kraven Empire.

They didn’t like him, huh?

An influential citizen of Westeron with a royalty draws a bit of suspicion. Even if it’s a branch family.

A message popped up on his notification as he scroll through the comments

WARDEN BUILDING, 1ST STREET. 10AM. CODE BLUE.

He bent back his head and groaned. What now?

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