Chapter 139: Well, I do like to invade a lot of things.
Chapter 139: Well, I do like to invade a lot of things.
The day of the concert began at four in the morning and Lucian was already sitting in the security room.
He didn’t sleep the entire night.
The table in front of him was covered with the final movement file, three venue maps, two crowd-flow reports, staff clearance summaries, vehicle placement sheets, and Clara’s handwritten emergency notes. A tablet beside his left hand showed the live camera feeds around Meridian Grand Main Hall.
Lucian sat in the middle of it all with a pen in his hand.
And surprisingly, there was no smile on his face today.
His violet eyes moved from one page to another with a seriousness that surprised even Alaric.
"Route three, approved?"
Clara questioned, this was the final checkup.
"No."
Lucian shook his head.
Clara frowned.
"Why?"
"Too clean."
Alaric frowned at those words, Clara however, didn’t argue with him, she had watched Lucian for these past two weeks, she knew when it came to Evelyn’s security, he didn’t say anything just for the sake of saying it.
If he said it, he must have a reason.
And he did.
Lucian tapped at a specific point on the map.
"If the crowd spills here from the east gate, this road becomes the obvious alternate. It is wide, close to the VIP exit, and has police support.
It’s... too perfect."
Lucian narrowed his eyes.
"If I were planning an attack, I would leave this open and make us feel clever for taking it."
Clara looked at that road.
"Use it only as bait. Not for actual movement."
Lucian suggested and Clara instantly made a note.
"Route three marked as false option."
"Good."
"What about route five?"
Lucian looked at the second map, then, after looking at it for a few seconds.
"This one’s good, but only if..."
Just like that, the meeting continued.
Everyone present in the room except for Clara couldn’t help but lift their eyebrows at how on point Lucian’s answers were, how there were no jokes, or dramatic complaints that wasted time.
He just... made one decision after the other.
Clearing the meeting agendas in minutes.
Even then, the meeting continued for two more hours, Lucian was then told to get some rest, which, he did, not before giving Clara last instructions on which roads to watch the most and how many Enclave Hunters would stay where.
Yes, this time, it was not just Lucian’s team of five that was on the mission, Alaric had called backup.
The concert was large, too many people would come. Clara managed to contain the news last time by gathering those who had seen too much and using Mass Hypnotism to make them think they watched something else, all while deleting all digital traces and even discrediting those already online as AI-generated.
But there was a difference between a few hundred people and tens of thousands...
Mass Hypnotism won’t work at such a scale, if something happened here, the truth regarding the Supernatural would be revealed and...
And the Enclave could not have that.
So—
The Enclave spent resources.
And Lucian planned to use those resources to their fullest extent.
After that, Lucian rested for five hours, once he woke up, he took a shower and returned to where Evelyn and others were.
"Good morning, superstar~"
Lucian greeted with a smile.
"To think the guard who’s supposed to protect me on the important day woke up the latest, you sure are comfortable."
Evelyn complained.
"Yes, I was very comfortable~"
Lucian grinned as he looked at Evelyn with a meaningful look in his eyes, Evelyn’s face turned red as she looked away, that only made Lucian smile even more.
Sarah, who watched their interaction, couldn’t help but narrow her eyes as she stared at Lucian, or more specifically, that careless smile on his face.
To think he was the same man who was ordering Clara around in the morning.
Heck, he looked even stricter than Alaric back then.
But look at him now...
"Whatever."
Evelyn turned her face away. Lucian walked in with a smile and stood next to her, his eyes never left her even for a second.
"Did you sleep?"
Lucian asked.
"A little."
"That means no."
"It means a little."
"Lying to someone with enhanced hearing...
You sure are bold."
"You cannot hear sleep."
Evelyn looked at him with a deadpan look on her face and Lucian—
For a slight second, his eyes became sharper.
"I can hear your heartbeat when you lie."
"That’s invasion of privacy."
"Well, I do like to invade a lot of things."
Lucian grinned as he looked at her with a strange shine in his eyes and only Evelyn understood. Just then, Sarah coughed as she glared at Lucian, Lucian finally turned towards her and—
"Oh, morning!"
He greeted with a grin.
Sarah’s mouth twitched.
Did he not... notice her till now?
Just then—
"Miss Starling, final check, it’s time for the final check."
Lila spoke up as she lifted her small medical case.
A few minutes later, Lila entered with a small medical case.
"I am fine."
The moment she said those words, Lucian spoke up.
"That is what reckless people say before proving they are reckless."
"You say that every day."
Evelyn countered and Lucian nodded shamelessly.
"I am experienced in reckless behavior.
I recognize my kind."
Evelyn didn’t know what to say.
Lucian then nodded at Lila, she nodded back and checked Evelyn’s pulse, eyes, breathing, and energy response, Evelyn noticed how her fingers glowed with a soft light.
"Anything wrong?"
Lucian asked.
"No."
Lila shook her head.
"Her body is fine. Tired, but stable."
Lucian narrowed his eyes at those words.
"How tired?"
"Lucian."
Evelyn sighed, trying to stop him, Lucian only stared at Lila. The supernatural researcher stared at the two of them.
"Normal pre-concert fatigue.
Nothing serious."
She answered. Lucian looked at her for a short moment, then he nodded.
"Fine."
Evelyn smiled.
Sarah saw that too.
Lucian could joke, tease, and act shameless all he wanted, but when it came to Evelyn’s condition, his attention changed instantly.
And Sarah...
She didn’t know why but she felt uncomfortable every time this truth sank into her mind.
"Alright, prepare to leave, we have two hours."
That was when Clara ordered.
Others nodded, Evelyn walked out, ready to take another shower before getting ready, Lucian followed her with obvious bad intentions.
The perverted leer on his face, however, only made Evelyn smile even more.
The rest of the room looked on as the two walked out and then—
They sighed collectively and returned to the work they were assigned to.
Yes, it was a sight they had already gotten used to.