Valkyrie's Last Warrior

Chapter 7

Agust Dae looked down at the circular driveway in front of his home from the roof of the highest point in his mansion, as the woman who had been watching him for the last month, drive away in a white sedan. When he first realized that this woman was watching him, well, more like surveilling him, he felt equal parts curiosity and fascination. He had been living his life in quiet anonymity for years now and he had hated to admit it, but he was feeling the effects of solitude.

He was initially alerted to someone digging into his past and current businesses by one of his oldest and dearest friends whose day job was a hacker for hire. Agust had first met Jay Hope on a transatlantic voyage and the two became fast friends. Those trips back then would take long enough for a woman to conceive at the time the ship had set sailed and she would have disembarked at her destination with a brand-new infant. Not that women would have been allowed on a ship back then.

Jay had reached out to Agust little over a month ago and said, "Hey brother, how have you been?"

The voice of his old friend, more like brothers at this point, made him smile genuinely. He replied, "Doing well. You know how it is. Everyday sort of blends into the other after a while."

"Yea, I know what you mean. So... I called today because I picked up some chatter underground and found out that someone's been poking around for information about you."

"About me?" Agust was genuinely surprised by Jay's statement.

"Yes, you."

"Who?"

"That's the interesting part. I couldn't really get a solid trail to find out. Whoever it was, they knew what they were doing."

"Hmm... do you know what kind of information they were looking for about me?"

"They first ran public record searches, social media, dating profiles, you know, the usual."

Agust chuckled and said, "I don't have social media and whatever information that's available in 'public records' would be tantamount to nil. And dating profiles? That's a joke, right?"

Jay chortled at Agust's comment about dating profile and said, "What? You're still off the market?"

"Please, all I meant was that I don't need a dating profile online to find the ladies."

"Of course not. No one is doubting your ability to woo a young lady. Anyway, when they couldn't find much on you, they turned to much less public ways of finding out information."

"I see..."

Jay added, "I'm working on tracing a lead on your secret admirer, so as soon as I have something, you'll have something."

"Sounds good, brother. You know, it's been a long while since I saw your mug. I'm beginning to think that you're avoiding me."

"Alright, alright. Quit guilt tripping me. Let me look at my travel schedule and let you know. Maybe I can crash at your place for a bit."

"You're always welcome here and thanks for the heads up. I think I'll put my own ear to the ground and see what I can pick up on this mystery individual."

"Right! I've got to go. I'll be in touch."

A few days after that conversation, while he was meeting with his attorney, Chase Kennedy, about his business holdings overseas, Agust felt something in him, like a string, being tugged at from afar. He had felt the same kind of tug only once before in his life. With his curiosity piqued, he allowed his senses to stretch out beyond his immediate surroundings.

Within a handful of minutes, Agust knew he was being watched, but couldn't yet figure out from where and by whom. That was until he heard a woman's voice ask, "Who are you, Mr. Dae?" that he was able to hone in on the woman's exact location. Agust wanted to lay eyes on this individual and turned his eyes towards the direction from where he was being pulled. His eyes found her immediately and lo and behold, there she was, peering at him through the telescopic sight of a long-range rifle.