Slow and Speedy Win the Fight

41. Hide

Haresa

After the trip to the grocery store and eventually we parted ways. He was adamant about not taking the subway home and wanted to find his own means home. I wanted to ask more about him but he didn't seem to be in the mood to talk especially when he calmed down enough to put down his forcefield.

I thought about the events of the weekend as I walked through the busy streets. My backpack was filled to the brim with emergency gadgets as I had no idea what I would be facing. Dad had allowed me to even go on this trip because I had finished my homework early.

Webspun was a large company. They only had one headquarters in the whole city so if I couldn't find a single thread of information, I would have to let a hero in another city handle it.

My hand rubbed against my forehead as I thought. Why could I just be eighteen already? I hated leaving things unfinished, I would have fewer restrictions too.

I stared at the map on my phone and looked up at the building before me. It was a standard office building that towered over the block. The company's logo was stamped on the door.

I took a deep breath and shook my hands at my sides. This should be easy.

With a few confident strides and a dramatic opening of the door, I made my way inside.

It was a very empty building and there was only what seemed to be a security guard at the elevator entrance. He was a young guy who seemed to be of East Asian descent. He frankly looked too young as he looked to be the same age as me. I wondered if this was a minimum wage job for him and he was just there for show or he just had some serious powers. He seemed bored as he rocked back and forth on his feet with his hands folded in front of him.

I slowly approached him in hopes he would be able to point me in the right direction.

"Hello there, uh." I got a better look at his nametag. "Mr. Reynard."

"Please," he spoke in what seemed to be a French accent. "Just call me Reynard."

"Yes, hi." I pulled out my hero license for him to have a look at it. "I'm here under a concern linked to a bank robbery alert I've received the other day."

"Robbery?" Reynard laughed. "I wouldn't know what you're talking about."

I pocketed my license. "Do you know if I could speak to anyone that would?"

"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have a clue." He shrugged and his hands flipped dramatically for effect.

"Hm, I see. Would it be alright if I could use the elevator and investigate?"

He stared at me for a moment, seemingly lost in thought and then blinked. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice how beautiful you are."

"What?"

"Would you mind if I took you out for dinner sometime?" He took my hand and kissed it but I quickly pulled away before his lips could touch it.

"What are you hiding here?"

I began to wander through the area, avoiding the elevators so I didn't miss a single thing.

There was a door with a plaque saying it was for employees only and I looked back to Reynard.

"Would you mind if I took a peek in there?" I pointed my finger at it.

"Are you sure you want to look in there? It's—"

"I'm checking it anyways."

I flung the door open and he stood there with an unamused expression as I peered inside.

The office looked ordinary. It was messy but nothing suspicious. The only thing that caught my eye was a metal ring on the desk. An array of tools lay next to it and I walked to it cautiously. Instinctively, my nose was scrunched up in thought as I picked up the ring.

"Nice ring, were you crafting it?" I asked Reynard.

I could see him from the corner of my eye and he seemed somewhat uneasy.

"Well," he stretched out the word. He was probably trying to buy time for himself. "I'm embarrassed to say but it was actually a gift from my ex-boyfriend."

"He didn't happen to be a villain, did he?"

Reynard didn't seem alarmed by my comment and just gave a relaxed smile. "Could you tell by the craftsmanship?"

I looked over the ring in my hand and notice there were hinges on the square flat part of the ring. I flipped it open and saw it was an empty slot in it. It looked like it was meant to be a locket.

"It looks like a lovely ring but why do you still have it?"

"I enjoy jewellery," he said simply. "It's not like I have to give back all my gifts."

I looked it over again once more and put it back down on the desk. "Well, it must be important to you. I don't see anything off with it so I'll let it go for now."

I was about to walk over to another area of the room when I felt something touch my shoulder.

"Really?" Reynard asked and his smile had now dropped. "Nothing special at all?"

"It's a beautiful design? I'm not a ring person, I'm a hero. My areas of expertise are punching villains and dismantling villain weapons." I glared at his hand which gripped my shoulder tighter than I would like. "Now can you get your hand off me?"

His hand let go in an instant and gave an apologetic smile. "So sorry. I got a bit excited there. Please continue your investigation."

I hesitated for a moment and continued on, raffling through the miscellaneous objects in the room.

There was definitely something odd going on and I will get to the bottom of this no matter what.