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Part 3 Chapter 10

Sneak-peek 1

30/11/2018 11:59 (San Francisco Time) Palo Alto Hills, Palo Alto

What a fatal mistake!

Kyle regretted he recklessly entered Andrew’s house five minutes ago. The garden was tranquil, but only hostility was left in the house.

He thought he had prepared for everything, but he would not get anything. In fact, he did not know if he could survive this ‘lunch’.

There was no way he could have foreseen a gunfight in an African wilderness ensued right after he entered the house. He tried to escape, but the door had been automatically locked. He wanted to call for help, but his cell phone did not receive any signal. Immersed in such an authentic virtual environment, he could not find any windows or exits. He had only managed to avoid a bullet, and taken refuge behind a ‘tree’ with a gun in his hand.

“Seems like you haven’t got used to the VR battlefield,” the man behind the plot, Andrew smirked coyly. Wearing all black, he was hiding behind another tree. “I’m a fair opponent. At least the bullets and the gun I passed to you are real.” The specially designed VR hardware that projected this battlefield was still not yet on sale. Users did not have to rely on VR goggles and/or hard disk backpacks to experience its simulated environment.

‘You won’t find any help. Very few people stay in this area at noon. The house is noise-proof, so no one outside can hear what’s going on here.’

Kyle wanted to shoot Andrew down, but his opponent was faster. He fired back another round of shots and one of them almost hit his right hand.

You tried to kill me…..I sensed your enmity against me at that time!

‘Who the heck are you? Why are you doing this?’ questioned Kyle angrily. He never thought this harmless-looking young tycoon would have wanted to kill him with his own hand. Andrew’s public profile was too simple for a tech tycoon - After earning a bachelor's degree in computer sciences from Caltech in 2012, he became an intelligence analyst in the National Security Agency(NSA), but he resigned in less than a year. A reporter once asked what he did during the two-year gap after his resignation, he just explained that he travelled around the world and wrote the source code for VidChat. He only returned to the US and founded Vid in 2015. And at this age he still did not have any spouse or lover. Currently Kyle knew for sure that the two-year gap was not a gap at all.

He was Olympus’ operative, just like Helen.

‘Let me show you my gun.” An image of a remodeled silver blue CZ SP-01 Phantom appeared in the middle. Its slider had the pattern of a silver trident on it.

‘You’re…..’ A glimpse of this gun reminded Kyle of a Greek God. He unconsciously trembled with fear.

‘I’m Poseidon.’ Andrew confirmed his guess - his codename was Poseidon. Coldness seethed within his deep azure eyes.

In Greek mythology, after overthrowing their father Cronus’ tyrannic rule,Poseidon and his brothers Zeus and Hades divided the world by drawing lots. It made him the god of the Sea and other waters. He is as capricious as the ocean- Though he is often calm, when he is in rage he triggers storms, chaotic waves and tsunamis that flood the land, and even shakes the earth with earthquakes. He is also vindictive- According to Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Odysseus escaped from the cyclops Polyphemus’ capture by blinding him with a wooden stick, but the cyclops was Poseidon’s son. When he prayed for Poseidon to avenge for him, the god was angered and cursed the hero to wander around the sea for more than ten years. In the end, it took Odysseus eighteen years just to return to his home Ithaca, though he had the patronage of the other deities.

‘You’ve anticipated my visit to Palo Alto, so you’ve prepared all these!’

‘Yea, I leaked the intelligence on the virus to you.’

Kyle finally realized this man was a terrible schemer- a month ago he deliberately leaked the virus source via INTERPOL to lure him to his trap. Obviously he had plotted to murder him for a long time, but he still feigned hospitality before the hackathon. He only showed his true colors at this moment. Throughout their meeting he spotted nothing strange about him.

He was a strong, patient, calculating rival. No wonder he was chosen as a core member of Olympus and his codename was named after the great god of ocean.

Sneak-peek 2

Blood streams flowed out from their wounds and tainted their clothes. They really smelled bloody.

‘You’d better kill me now!’Poseidon had never experienced such a humiliating defeat. He lost the will to fight back, as he knew too well the fate of an agent captured by an enemy - torture and death.

‘I wanna kill you too, badass!’ Kyle punched his rival’s boyish face hard. His eyes burned with rage. He was very angry at the rival’s well-planned murder plot. ‘But I’m different from murderers like you! I never kill anyone!’ He slapped his face again and shouted, ‘I want you to tell me everything you know. If you don’t say anything, I’ll continue to punch you till you talk!’

Crack!

A bullet had just one through the window bear Kyle. He tried to dodge it when he heard the window crack, but his right arm still received the blow. It was too powerful that it caused him to lose his balance and fall on the ground. Poseidon was saved.

‘Can’t believe you’ve got a sniper on your side!’ complained Kyle loudly . Poseidon just looked at him with disdain and sneered. ‘Not my man, but you better run. Hades should be here now. Before becoming one of us, he was the best sniper in SWAT.’

Hades- the king of the underworld?

‘Bastards!’ Kyle was truly frightened. He hastily moved to escape from the backdoor near the open kitchen. He discovered there was a vast swimming pool outside. There was no place for a sniper to conceal himself, but Kyle decided not to stay there as he did not want to face an attack on two fronts. Therefore he rushed to the parking lot facing the forest and climbed the fence to leave the house, despite the risk of getting another hit by the sniper.

He raced downhill on the road, but he heard another noise on his left - a bullet had just hit his left shoulder. Its impact thrust him onto the ground. More blood spilled out.

I don’t want to die here!

He dared not to walk on the open road. With a strong will to survive, he crawled his way into the forest. Although he would have to climb down the slope, the densely grown trees may shelter him from the sniper’s eyesight. Shortly later he barely got back up and trudged into the forest.

Still it did not work out. The sniper had already arrived with a solid black Desert Eagle Mark 19 in his right hand. He had put his sniper rifle back into his backpack. With a lean and athletic figure, the tall Caucasian man had a flat top-cut black hair. He appeared to be in his early thirties. Like any assassin, he preferred black outfit. When his grey eagle eyes were fixated on his prey, he just pulled the trigger. The gunshot was aiming at Kyle’s heart…..

Kyle knew he was doomed. He could not escape from this close-distance gunfire. Narcissus, the symbol of Hades, was marked on the slider of the sniper’s handgun.

Full fiction blog under construction

@whataremetaphor @pilipalea @ill-write-when-im-dead @requiemesque @adie-dee @thingswaitingtobewritten

Part 1 Chapter 3

6/6/2018 13:00 (Hong Kong Time) St. Raphael’s Catholic Cemetery

Helen’s funeral was held two weeks after the explosion.

Her parents passed away long ago, so only her brother Christian handled her funeral. He did not allow Kyle to help, and only invited him, his parents and few of his colleagues to attend it.

They met for very few times, but they were like water to fire. Kyle never got in his way, but after their first meeting he just started a quarrel with him for no apparent reason whenever they met. In every conflict Helen was torn in the middle, persuading both men to compromise.

Fortunately he did not work in Hong Kong, otherwise Kyle would have no single good day. He only knew Christian was an Undersecretary of a bureau inside the Department of State, which meant he had to work in the US and overseas for a long time, but having little knowledge of civil service in the US, he did not really know his actual rank, position and job duties. By the way, he always provoked him to quarrel with him when he visited Helen, or encountered him in Hong Kong or Los Angeles during his business trips or holidays.

Though Kyle was truly furious at his brother-in-law for his hostility towards him, he did not dare to complain this time.

He lost his lover, while he lost his only family member on earth.

21/5/2018 0:00 (Hong Kong time) Kyle’s home

Kyle tried to call Christian, who was somewhere in the world, but similar to the past Christian never answered or returned a call, and never responded to his Whatsapp message either. After a thorough thought, Kyle finally texted him, and very rarely within thirty seconds he replied, “Thanks. I’ll come ASAP.”

After the DVIU notified him the time and location of verifying the victim’s corpse, he texted his brother-in-law again. Four days later, his brother-in-law arrived at the morgue fifteen minutes earlier. Though he did dress up, he looked languid, as if he had had insomnia for days. Black circles were below the similar beautiful honey brown eyes, and his face was almost sickly pale. It was the first time Kyle witnessed his brother-in-law being so wretched. Helen’s death had clearly crushed him.

In his impression, no matter how Christian had been picky towards him, he was a soft-spoken gentleman. Perhaps due to his long years in diplomacy, he was very concerned about his image. Whenever Kyle met him, he had dressed himself like a reliable executive - there must be a fine tailored suit, with a Kenneth Cole automatic watch or smartwatch on his right wrist, and dashing leather shoes . Helen was certainly a beauty, and with the similar facial features and clear pale skin, Christian was just handsome. He was about eight years older than Helen, but as a man reaching the middle age, no signs of fatigue could be spotted on him. He had a well-proportioned figure, and a mature man’s charisma.

That’s why Kyle often suspected Christian only judged him based on his appearance. His average appearance and his daily T-shirt and jeans outfit might have offended him. Kyle had discussed this with Helen before, but she just briefly said, ‘Well, it only shows that he has recognized you as part of our family. He’s not that direct when he rebukes his subordinates.’ Kyle really did not know how to react to her, and she just smiled coyly.

He had doubts about Christian’s identity. He should only be a civilian official in the Department of State, but during a dinner they had together, he noticed calluses had been developed all over his left palm, indicating he was a frequent firearm user. In the age of Web 2.0, he still had not opened any other social network accounts. And when they invited him to their engagement party, he only claimed he was too busy to show up, but during their video conference, when Kyle asked him whether he could record a video clip to convey his blessing to them instead, the siblings strangely responded that he could not attend any public function or have his appearance recorded on any camera. Still Kyle at that time just sensed that Christian had never wholeheartedly recognized him as his brother-in-law, so he did not bother to attend the engagement party or give them his blessing.

But everything became trivial soon after Helen died.

Christian followed the forensic technician to enter the morgue after waiting for Kyle. With strong restraint he just drily said to him, ‘I hope it’s not my sis.’

However, in less than ten minutes, Kyle heard a melancholic scream from afar, which he recognized was from his seemingly calm brother-in-law. At that moment, Kyle knew there was no miracle on earth. His fiancee was really in that morgue.

Ten minutes later, Christian came back with a ghastly pale face. He warned him, ‘You really shouldn’t go in. I fear you can’t live with it.’

Kyle had the resolve to see her one last time. He had already been this far. Of course he would not back down. Following the forensic technician, he stepped into the world of the dead through the entrance of the morgue. The forensic technician cautiously reminded him, ‘I heard you’re her fiance. You must be mentally prepared for what comes next. Shall we proceed?’

‘Yes.’ With no regrets.

The forensic technician sighed and brought him into the unusually cold morgue. The corpses were stored in their own refrigerators. Kyle’s thin jacket could not shield him from the coldness that belonged to the dead. It sent shivers down his spine.

They both reached an open room. When Kyle looked inside, his eyes widened in fear…...

Helen’s corpse was placed on a steel bed. Perhaps it was not her entire corpse…...They were just burnt pieces. Only a well-trained, experienced forensic pathologist could distinguish which piece belonged to which part of her body. Even after a few days, they still contained the smell of burnt ashes.

He knew why his brother-in-law collapsed. The sight was too devastating for any of her loved ones to bear. When she was still alive she was such a sweet beauty, but after she passed away…...

Out of the blue, he became drowsy. His unconsciousness seemed to have filtered out many details. He could neither see the forensic technician and another forensic scientist who just arrived at the room nor hear their words clearly. As if escaping from the grip of a beast, he just ran away. And he only kneeled on the floor and cried out loud when he finally reached a corridor.

Kyle did not notice his brother-in-law also staying on the corridor. He had hid himself at a corner about two meters away from him, but he did not plan to wait for him. Instead he intently studied his facial expressions and behavior. Every expression on his countenance and every tear could not escape his eagle eye. He no longer appeared traumatized after Kyle made his way into the morgue, and Kyle, the forensic technician and the forensic pathologist still did not find out he had been acting all along.

6/6/2018 14:30 (Hong Kong Time) St Raphael’s Catholic Cemetery

Christian arranged a Christian funeral for his sister, and he only invited four of her fellow classmates to join. Strangely he did not invite any of her colleagues at her gallery. He spoke little with Kyle, except simply greeted him. Kyle’s parents also felt he was too cold and resentful, but they did not reprimand him, as it was after all his sister’s funeral.

The weather was too good, and the sun was too bright for a funeral.

The priest was reciting Catholic hymns and prayers while the attendees were listening in silence.

Kyle was still preoccupied with deep melancholy. Kyle’s parents tried to console him, but they could not come up with any appropriate words.

Kyle was actually still alert of his surroundings . He still acutely sensed a man among the attendees glared at him. It did not just indicate animosity alone, but it might be an intent to murder him.

When every one placed their flowers on his fiancee’s grave, he finally located the man. The Caucasian man ia serious-looking black suit was about the same age as Helen, and he had a rather boyish face, with an all-back dark brown hair. However, his azure eyes with the shape of an almond displayed a feature distinct from his youth - They seemed to be the embodiment of the deep ocean itself.

Kyle thought only those men who witnessed too much darkness in their lives had such eyes, but he did not look slightly like a soul who had been through numerous tests of hardship. In fact, they never knew each other. How could he be hostile to him?

Having offered a bouquet of lilies on the grave, he courteously spoke with Christian a bit. Then he just emotionlessly said to him, ‘I am sorry for your loss.’ In a rather detached manner , he introduced himself as Andrew Hector, Helen’s classmate in Caltech.

Kyle put his suspicions aside, as it seemed Andrew just perceived him as a stranger.

After the funeral ended, many attendees left. Kyle withdrew himself from getting immersed in his melancholy. He glanced around but neither Christian nor Andrew was in his sight .

Worried about his mental state, Benny and Kyle’s parents proposed to escort him home. Still he had a gut feeling that he might be able to dig up some leads, so he calmly turned it down, and just mentioned he hoped to stay with Helen for a bit longer. As the trio knew Kyle had made up his mind, they chose to respect him, and only reminded him to call them whenever he needed them. They were quite worried that he might become mad when he was alone, so before they left they let him take care of Toby, a fat corgi his parents had been taking care of, with the hope that it may bring him some solace.

His instinct was right. When he led the always slow Toby to crawl towards a chapel, he spotted two bodyguards guarding its main entrance. He took another path to find its backdoor, but again he noticed another bodyguard stationed there. Such cautious security measures must be meant to bar anyone from entering the chapel and eavesdropping whatever took place inside.

Inside the chapel

‘Your status is too sensitive. Why haven’t you brought anyone with you?’ asked Andrew. His dark blue eyes showed earnest concern for Christian. Both men sat on the same bench, but kept some distance between them.

They were neither Christians nor Catholics. They knew too well they had committed crimes, and there was no need to see a statue of Mary or Jesus to be reminded of that. They only met at such time in such place for a secret, secure exchange of intelligence.

‘I’m on bereavement and I’m only here for the funeral. There’s no need to bring anyone with me. I’m not going to intervene in the station’s operation here. The other side won’t dare to bug me as they are too preoccupied with the explosion case. Our French friends have been busy from the start, so they won’t keep an eye on me at all.’ Christian did not thank him for his concerns, and instead responded with a sardonic smile. ‘But your organization’s methods are way too brutal. That’s why you must have at least three bodyguards with you wherever you go.’

‘Your ‘firm’ is the major beneficiary of our work,’ rebuffed Andrew. ‘I tried to persuade our boss not to go too far, but as you know, an old man is reluctant to change his ways.’

‘Oh, is he really an old man? Ha! Please don’t let him know you’ve talked behind his back in front of me.’ Christian found it hard to take in Andrew’s comments. He knew too well no matter how old was his organization’s leader, he was never an average old man.

‘No matter what happened in the past, at least we’re on the same side now, and I’ve always been on your side. If your ‘firm’ or my boss knows about this, we’ll have to contain a hurricane.’ Andrew looked at Christian with sincerity.

‘As long as there’s no new evidence, it must only stay between us .’ Both men seemed to have reached consensus, but Christian quickly switched the turn of the conversation. , ‘Still was that explosion from our side or your side? I can see you’ll have much trouble ahead.’

‘And Kyle is just a layman. He doesn’t know a damn thing about us. I’m warning you not to do anything to him. I’ve just noticed you really wish him dead.’

He did not forget to warn Andrew, as he knew too well the young man was scheming, and he had kept his desire to murder Kyle well-hidden for a long time.

20 minutes later

Kyle was a few meters away from the church and waited patiently for twenty minutes until the three bodyguards left to escort the mysterious Andrew outside. Together they boarded a black SUV and left. Five minutes later, Christian also left the church and drove his own white SUV away.

Well, what kind of relationship do these two men have? Kyle and Toby glanced at each other. He could not think of any answer.

Later he searched for Andrew Hector’s background on the search engine -He was the founder and CEO of Vid, a startup unicorn that operated the recently popular social media app VidChat. It was headquartered in the US, and as a private company it had an estimate valuation of at least US$2 billion. He seemed to be a low-profile talented tech tycoon who mostly stayed away from any public occasions.

What kind of connection does a tech tycoon share with a diplomat in the Department of State?

—

@whataremetaphor @pilipalea @ill-write-when-im-dead @requiemesque @adie-dee @things-waiting-to-be-written

Olympus Vol.1 - Rogue Agent

[Synopsis]

He once thought he knew her very well, but he soon discovers she is never the woman he knew - She was an Olympus operative and is now a rogue agent.

This ordinary Hong Kong cop only hopes to live happily ever after with his fiancée, Helen Lee, but a terrorist explosion attack has ruined everything. She was supposed to have died in flames, but as he digs deeper, he soon finds out she’s still alive, and has become a rogue agent pursued by a CIA and its contractor, a secret intelligence organization named Olympus. His future brother-in law, Christian Lee, a US diplomat and her university classmate Andrew Hector, a tech tycoon also have skeletons in their closets. He then quits his job and begins his journey to search for her, but unwillingly gets pulled into a dangerous international war of espionage. He does not only have to investigate Olympus, but has to survive assassination attempts orchestrated by its core members, the spies and assassins whose codenames are named after the great Greek Olympian gods. Their skills are deadly, and their secrets may be equally deadly. Can he live to uncover a sinister conspiracy, and meet his love again? @whataremetaphor @ill-write-when-im-dead @pilipalea @requiemesque @things-waiting-to-be-written @adie-dee