A Perfect Disguise

Offering A Contract

Cristopher was puffing on his cigar as usual while waiting for Leo, as he had some serious matter to discuss with him before talking to others about the mission's progress.
After half an hour Leo and Jenna finally appeared at their office, with Jenna riding onto her precious bike, while Leo hugged her as if his life depended on it.
 
"Hehe... Le baby your hands are so soft." Jenna grabbed one of her hands from the bike's handle while caressing Leo's palm in her own.
 
"I am very cautious of my skincare routine." Leo pecked onto her back before hugging back.
Soon they appeared at their office, and the first thing they noticed was maroon colored car parked in their yard.
 
"When did those two get a car?" Jenna raised a brow and turned towards Leo, who was as confused as her in this situation.
 
"Uh... Even I am completely clueless right now... I didn't know they even had a car.. Or most probably someone is waiting for us." Leo pushed his sling bag back while unlocking the door slightly and peeking inside.
 
The moment he saw Cristopher sitting there with an otherworldy demeanor around him, he almost tripped onto his legs and spun on his toes before collapsing on the ground with his ass hitting the floor.
 
"Ouu..." He moaned in pain as he sat there rubbing his buttcheeks.
 
"Le you okie???" Jenna quickly rushed inside grabbed Leo and tried to comfort him.
 
"Oh, you have finally arrived..." Cristopher got off the chair and stretched himself before approaching them. "You both seem quite laid back considering the deadline is only in 29 days..."
 
Leo and Jenna both gulped down their salivas down their throats and looked at Christopher as if they were seeing a ghost of someone who had gone missing for almost a decade.
 
"W... What are you doing here, and that too this early in the morning??" Leo was the first one to get up while dusting his back.
 
"Hmm... Ignoring me huh... Anyways, I am not here to cause any trouble but to discuss some serious matter with you." He pointed towards Leo and continued while cracking the joints in his knuckles.
 
"For starters let me tell you this, Ralph was kidnapped by this Shadow last night."
On hearing the news they just received they didn't know how to react. Jenna was shocked to the core unable to process the situation any longer, both James and Andrew, thought he was lying so they ignored him. But Leo raised a brow on hearing it.
 
"B... But, he is quite exceptional... And he is also strong, not that smart I agree, but I have heard the news of his bravery quite a lot." Jenna was the first one to speak.
 
"Huh... He is not too strong, and he is the dumbest jackass I have ever seen... if not for me that bastard would have carved out his face to his please." Cristopher walked around the room with his arms crossed behind him as he continued.
 
"Well, he is safe now, resting in the back of my car... I will take him out and drop him by his office to his colleague Zeno, so you guys shoudlnt worry about him."
"Then why are you here?" This time the first one to speak was Leo, he had a slight frown on his forehead. His ocean-blue eyes glimmered in the sunlight, reflecting a calm and composed gaze.
 
"His gaze is completely different compared to that of Shadow." He smiled inwardly embracing his beautiful eyes with his own.
 
"I came face to face with Shadow, and he has challenged me to prove myself, that I will be at least a little bit entertaining for him." A grin appeared on Christopher's face as the nerves around his temple popped out and he clenched his fist in rage.
 
"What??!" Everyone was extremely shaken to the core, the lord of darkness the one who is feared around the states, the one known to kill anyone who even glances at him has finally shown himself??
"If what you are saying is true, and the Shadow you had encountered was the real deal, then he is plotting something nasty... Considering his secretive nature, I don't think he would ever show himself just for mere provocations." Leo sighed as he proceeded to explain the situation according to his point of view.
 
"That is true, and yes I too had the same thought while breaking into their dungeon, but the moment he appeared before me, even I was frozen... His gaze... It was terrifying... Too terrifying indeed. And I had installed some tracking and voice recording devices on Ralph, and after checking the footage and soundtracks, one thing is sure, it was the real Shadow."
Christopher pulled a chair for himself before sliding one in the direction of Leo.
Leo grabbed the chair by the back before placing it facing Cristopher as he continued. "So what you are saying is that you have finally seen Shadow... Then I have another question for you."
 
"Go ahead." Cristopher squatted his legs slightly and rested his hands on his thighs.
 
"I don't believe that you, after encountering Shadow didn't make any attempt of arresting or shooting him down."
 
A slight grin appeared on Christopher's face as he continued, "As sharp as ever... The thing is, I brought a whole attack force with me to attack and take him down. Snipers and a few assassins which I had higher." He was jumping for joy in his heart after realizing he was bidding on the right thing, and not just on his hunch.
 
"So what stopped you from attacking him and his men?"
 
"Don't think a ground mission is as simple as launching a code... it requires critical thinking and crucial decision making. If I had attacked or tried to catch him with that tiny attack force, and incompetent men who didn't even have proper training they all would have died. Even when he ordered them to leave, some were lurking around in disguise... And I hate to accept it but, they had a crazy demeanor around them..." Christopher sighed before crossing his arms onto his chest.
 
"Hmm... I get it... So now we know that he was there... And there are some of his men who are going to be a lot of trouble, and can easily take down attack units."
Leo closed his eyes and pondered deeper before continuing.
 
"You said he would have carve up Ralph, I think you are missing something on that."
 
"When I dragged Ralph out of that cave, we encountered a figure which was hiding behind the tree, but once we shot and took it down, we realized it was a civilian... And he was roughed up pretty bad... his nose was broken and his skin burnt again and again... And his face skin was stitched up, and some metal balls were filled in his mouth."
Leo squinted his eyes on hearing the gruesome description of the scene Crsitopher had just witnessed.
 
On the other hand rest others were almost puking as it was simply too gruesome for anyone.
 
"But... Shadow is infamous for committing crimes that leave zero clues am I right?" Leo asked in a calm voice, with a smile lurking on his face.
 
"Very true, and I know where you are going but-"
 
"Then it was done by someone else, maybe by one of his men." Leo interrupted Crsitopher mid-way through his sentence, baffling everyone around him. everyone was completely shocked by the sudden turn of conversation and how somehow Leo took the lead so casually.
 
"That is... I didn't think about it..." This was Cristopher's turn to ponder into his thoughts, re-evaluating his assumptions and theories. He was surprised by the new point of view he had just obtained.
 
"Thanks, Leo, you truly opened a new dimension for me to think in... Well, I have an offer for you." Cristopher stared right back into Leo's eyes, staring right into his soul.
 
"How long are you going to hide sir?" Christopher sighed inwardly as a smile appeared on his face.
 
"Offer?"
 
"Yup, well it's a contract, not an offer."