Chapter 534: Caught in between
Outside the Airport, thirteen black SUVs were waiting for the newly arrived guest, the one in the middle being the best.
The middle one was one in which Aluren entered. As for the rest, they were occupied by the other Kings, and the car started moving.
...
"They’re here and advancing towards the destination. As expected, the device really works."
Ryder was standing on the roof of a building near the airport from where Aluren and the others stepped out. He did that so he could see the enemies in advance.
It didn’t seem difficult to find the enemies since these thirteen people made it too obvious from the visible arrogance in their faces and the subtle strong aura around them.
Strangely enough, Gander was also there to escort the guests.
As Aluren had appeared, Gander stepped out of one of the cars and greeted them. He was visibly respectful and a bit fearful.
"I guess I should have expected Gander to be here. He’s a high-ranking member anyway. There will be a problem if he decides to expose the truth about me after these people tell him who they are here for."
"These people will know that something is wrong here, and it would be a mess for me. I did take precautions that Gander would die if he tried speaking, but that would also be bad before these people."
"His death away from them was free of consequences, but if he tried to speak and he died before them, it would be too obvious that something is really wrong here," Ryder thought as he smiled wryly.
He didn’t realize that his precaution was going to become a problem for him.
"I should have killed him even before and gotten rid of the problem. I can only hope he doesn’t try speaking about me here."
He kept the binoculars back in his inventory before he stepped up.
"In any case, I guess I can only try to use him now. Take preemptive precautions," he decided.
...
"So, sir. What brought you here exactly?"
Gander was sitting in the car, which was the farthest with the Thirteenth King, who happened to be the father of Bastion as well.
Gander worked for the Thirteenth King, who was basically the boss here. That was why he also knew about Esmi. And this was also why he was so prone to such information about the organization. He was the closest to Bastion’s father here.
"We are here to catch a bastard that’s possibly the enemy we are looking for. He is the one who killed a King and also the one who injured me and spoiled a lot of our missions," Bastion’s father, Renner, explained lazily.
"Hmm? Do you mean that masked person? You finally have his location? Do you even know his identity? Who is he?" Gander asked.
"Some Ryder Flynn... We aren’t confirmed that it’s him, but he seems to think that it’s him, so there’s a good chance," Renner answered.
"Cough... Cough... Ryder Flynn?"
Hearing the name, Gander started coughing extensively.
"Yeah. Do you know him?" Renner asked, curious.
"Ahem, not personally. I did hear about him a few times. He is quite young and quite successful here," Gander replied as he lied. He realized that he couldn’t tell the truth.
Not only had he exposed all the secrets of their organization to a stranger, but that stranger also happened to be the biggest enemy of the organization? How could he tell the truth? Telling the truth here would mean his actual death.
He didn’t want to be involved in this and stay far away.
Moreover, he was actually glad that he listened to Ryder and didn’t try to fight him last time. He was literally the one who had killed a King!
He was at least comparable to a King, if not stronger. Fighting him was no less than chasing death for Gander. He was really happy that he didn’t try to snatch the gun and told the truth.
Gander still hoped that no matter who won in the clash of two sides, he would be safe. Ryder had promised not to tell the truth about finding things from him. So he could only have faith that he wouldn’t be found.
"Do you need me to find his address for you?" He asked Renner.
"No need. We already have his address before coming here. That’s where we are going," Renner replied as the car advanced.
Gander nodded his head, but before he could reply, his phone started ringing.
He picked up the phone and realized that it was from an unknown number.
Curious about who it might be, he picked up the call.
"Hello? Who is it?" He asked.
"My dear Gander, you already forgot my voice? I’m hurt."
"Y-you?"
Far away from the entourage of cars, Ryder was sitting on a roof, talking to Gander.
"Hey, don’t act so shocked. The person who is sitting near you will be suspicious. For this call, I’m only a client of yours. You can think of a name yourself."
"Ah."
Gander realized that Ryder was right. He was going to bring suspicions when he couldn’t tell the truth.
Just as he expected, Renner was looking at his shocked face in surprise.
"It’s my client. I didn’t expect the call after our deal fell through. I became a bit too surprised," Gander told Renner.
"Ah, sorry for keeping you on hold, Mr. Mickey. I was in a meeting. Had to cancel it so I could talk to you in peace," he told Ryder.
"Hahaha, Mickey? Alright, whatever. Listen carefully. I want you to do something for me."
"Of course, Mr. Mickey. I surely want the deal to go through. The expansion of my business will increase with your help."
Even though he wanted to say something entirely different to Ryder, he had to keep up the mirage of talking to a client.
"That’s good. Listen to me carefully. I want you to do something very specific, and there shouldn’t be a mistake," Ryder told Gander.
"Sure."
"Good. You’re in a car with Bastion’s father, Renner. I want you to bring him to a different place. Bring him to your office or something and use whatever excuse you want. I want him there, no matter what. I’ll wait for you two there," Ryder said.
"Huh? You want to have a meeting right now? But I’m a bit busy," Gander replied.
"I know what you’re busy in. You’re all going to the estate I live in. Don’t worry; I know more things about you all than you can imagine. I’m not there. After they don’t find me there, you can easily use any excuse to bring Renner out," Ryder answered.
"And if you didn’t do it, remember me when I say it, I’ll kill you before they can. And trust me when I say this," he added.
’God, of course I know you can do it! You killed a King, after all! But why are you involving me in a mess between you and a King?’
Gander couldn’t help but curse Ryder in his thoughts, but he didn’t say anything out loud. He was too weak to go against anyone here. He was stuck in between a rock and a hard place, and his survival depended on being the middleman.
He wanted to stay out of everything, but Ryder had pulled him deep. He could either become an Enemy of Ryder by not listening to him or listen to him and hi against a king and bring him to where Ryder asked.
If he did the first thing, not only would he make Ryder his King who could kill him anywhere, but he also had the risk of Ryder telling the truth to the Kings and break his promise. In any case, he was becoming the enemy of both sides if he didn’t listen to Ryder.
And if he did the latter, that meant he was siding with Ryder. But if the Kings survived Ryder, they were certainly going to kill Gander for siding with Ryder.
He wanted to cry out loud for falling into this mess! He wanted to beat him up for inviting Ryder for a tea and having such a big mouth where he exposed himself about knowing the Kings.
If only he hadn’t been so interested or if he had kept his mouth shut, all of it could have been avoided.
"So, will you do this or not?" Ryder asked the man after not hearing any response for quite some time.
"Alright. You’re going to be here for only a little time. I guess I can’t miss the meeting. I’ll finish what I have to do here and try to get to the meeting. Wait for me," Gander replied before he disconnected the call and kept the phone back.
"Sigh, this business stuff really gets in between a few things sometimes. Anyway, where is Ryder Flynn’s house?" He asked Renner.
....
Maxwell Estate was really peaceful as Shu, and the other important people of the Mansion were absent. Ryder and Alice had also left, claiming to go on a vacation.
That silence wasn’t long-lasting as many expensive cars stopped before the Estate.
