Exiting the auction house, Adam and Carl scanned their surroundings cautiously. Suddenly, their earplugs began buzzing. A voice instructed, "Wait a mont; a black car will be arriving shortly."
"It's a safe car, soone you can trust if sothing were to happen."
"What if soone were to happen?" Carl asked with slight hesitation.
"Listen to what the driver says. He will not only guide but also try to steer you away from danger."
They stood by, and just as promised, a sleek black car pulled up within monts. Without hesitation, they slipped inside, and the vehicle promptly sped away.
As the car hurtled through the streets, Carl exhaled deeply, slumping into his seat. He inhaled again, this ti more steadily, and muttered, "Finally, it's over. That took more out of than I expected."
Adam, however, wasn't as composed. Before he could voice his concerns, their earplugs buzzed again.
"Don't assu it's over just yet," the voice warned. "The ti is still not good enough for any of you to relax right now."
Carl, still reclining, looked bewildered as William's voice continued.
"It's not over until both of you have safely crossed into the Tudor Kingdom or, at the very least, are aboard the train to Wiseburn."
Carl furrowed his brow, asking, "Are we about to be targeted?"
"Of course you are," William responded, the bluntness of his reply leaving little room for doubt.
Carl's eyes widened in surprise. Before he could formulate a response, the earplugs buzzed once more. "The only priority now is the safety of the sword—and your own. But if the situation becos untenable, abandon the sword and focus on your survival."
Carl was montarily taken aback, but a faint smile touched his lips at the last remark. Adam, still on edge, asked, "When will we et again?"
"When the timing is advantageous for both of us," William replied, his tone pragmatic.
Adam nodded, and William added, "In the anti, keep a low profile, reach a secure location, and above all, stay alive."
Adam and Carl exchanged confused glances at William's final words. "Alright, I have to go now, so goodbye," William concluded abruptly, cutting off their communication.
Carl fiddled with his earplugs, trying to reestablish the connection. "Hello? Hellooo? Boss? 123 Boss?" he called out, but the line was dead.
Adam placed a hand on Carl's shoulder. "Stop. The comms have been completely severed. We won't regain contact until we're on the train."
Carl sighed in resignation. "Okay… Did you understand what the boss ant by that last part?" he asked.
Adam shook his head. "Not exactly. Maybe we're expecting an ambush from gangs or assassins after the sword, or it could be sothing entirely different."
Carl nodded, seemingly undisturbed by the possibility. "Well, that much was to be expected."
Adam cast a sidelong glance at Carl, noting his unruffled deanor.
'This guy gets rattled by the smallest things, but when it cos to gangs and assassins, he doesn't show an ounce of fear,' Adam mused.
'He's ex-military, so I suppose that explains his calmness in situations like this. But I wonder how he'll react when things really start to heat up.'
A slight smile played on Adam's lips as he thought, 'This guy might be more complex than he lets on.'
Unaware of Adam's thoughts, Carl turned to the driver. "Hey! When will we be arriving at the train station?"
The driver, his eyes fixed on the road, replied, "We're not heading to the train station."
Carl frowned. "Then where are we going?"
"To the airport," the driver answered curtly.
anwhile, back in a lavish room at the hotel behind the auction house, chaos reigned. People hurriedly packed up equipnt, while others peered out the windows, on the lookout for anything suspicious.
In the midst of the frenzy, William maneuvered through the crowd, narrowly avoiding colliding with the workers as they frantically worked to erase data and remove any traceable evidence. He observed the scene with growing impatience, irritated by the noise and the ti it was consuming.
He turned to Delmar, who was hunched over his laptop, intently focusing as he erected a digital firewall to fend off hackers attempting to breach their network.
"Delmar, is all this really necessary?" William inquired, his voice tinged with unease.
Delmar looked up, taking a slow drag from his cigar before responding, "Absolutely. If anyone tries to locate us, they could easily trace this room and use any remnants of data to track us down."
"But they already know it's the Trust Family, don't they?" William pressed.
"Yes, they do. But they're unaware that you're right on their heels. If they knew that, they might make a move directly against you."
Delmar's tone grew harsher as he added, "And recent events have made it painfully clear that your security isn't as impervious as it should be." The guards in the room averted their eyes, clearly chastened by the criticism.
"So, until we've gotten you out of this kingdom—or at least a considerable distance away—we're taking every precaution necessary," Delmar finished decisively.
William nodded, acknowledging the validity of Delmar's concerns. "I get that, but is all this really essential? I an, isn't there a faster way to handle this?"
Delmar deflected another hacking attempt as he replied, "Ti is definitely against us. The only faster option I can think of is to burn everything. But that would be expensive, given the value of this equipnt."
William surveyed the room, his gaze lingering on the various devices. "Is there any critical information on them?"
"Yes, there is," Delmar confird.
"Information we don't already have?"
"No."
"Then destroy them. We can replace the equipnt later. Ti is slipping away, and we don't know how soon soone might co knocking on our door."
Delmar hesitated montarily before conceding. "Alright, boss, if that's your call."
He stood up and addressed the team. "Alright, everyone, change of plans. We're destroying every piece of equipnt in here. Make sure to eliminate anything that might have your fingerprints or DNA on it, and do it swiftly."
William interrupted, "Why don't we just burn the whole room down?"
The room fell into a stunned silence as Delmar looked at him in disbelief. "...Seriously?"
"Yes. It'll be more efficient and ensure that no trace is left behind. Just make sure the hotel doesn't co after us for damages," William replied.
A grin spread across Delmar's face. "Don't worry about the hotel. We can throw them so extra cash to keep them quiet." He looked back at William, still grinning. "Are we really doing this, Boss?"
William nodded. "Yes, but how do you plan to do it?"
"We've got so people who can use fire spells. They'll incinerate everything," Delmar explained.
William nodded in approval as Delmar called over a bodyguard, handing him a thick stack of cash. "Take this down to the hotel managent. Tell them there was a small incident in the room, but assure them it's all taken care of. Make sure they keep quiet, and if they push back, offer them more."
The bodyguard nodded. "What should I say if they ask what caused the incident?"
Delmar smirked. "Just tell them you and your girlfriend had a bit of a disagreent."
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