L'affaire Bob

40. The Cortex Tone

-"Hey, Mathias!" I called him, concerned and curious. Walking towards him, I then asked: "What's that?"

-"That what?"

-"The mask over there," I gestured.

-"Oh, that! Yes! I wanted to tell you about it."

-"Yeah, you better," I responded, raising an eyebrow.

-"Remember when those guys attacked me back in that alley?"

-"The time-travelers? Yes, I remember. What about them?"

-"Well, I wanted to say something else, but Emma didn't let me speak," he paused.

I inclined my head, waiting for him to continue.

-"Those guys were wearing black masks. One of them dropped his during the fight, and I hid it with my feet so that he doesn't take it back. Fortunately, in the heat of the moment, he forgot about it, so when they left, I bent down and picked it up."

-"Why didn't you tell us about it earlier?"

-"I wanted to, but each time I would try and talk to you, Emma, or Amanda, you'd be busy."

-"What about the other times?"

-"I'd simply forget about it."

-"But this..." I trailed off. "This mask changes everything, Mathias."

-"Everything? How?"

-"No time to explain. We have to get back to the girls now," I claimed.

Whirling my head in the direction I came from, I called Mike. Luckily, he was on his way out, and so as soon as he heard me, he ran towards us, alarmed.

-"What is it?" he inquired.

-"We have to get back to the girls," I urged him.

-"Why? What happened?"

In response, I only took the mask from the table and held it in front of him.

-"Are those...?" he began.

-"Yes," I nodded. "The bodyguards' masks."

Then, grabbing both his and Mathias's arm, I teleported us to the training room.

I had hoped the girls would still be here, but apparently, they had gone to another room now. Calling Amanda through our telepathic connection, I asked her for their whereabouts.

-"So, where are they?" Mathias asked.

-"The mini-lounge, upstairs," I replied.

-"Alright, let's go!" Mathias marched forward. We walked down the endless corridors, climbed the stairs, and headed towards the lounge.

Not bothering to knock, we burst the door open with our shoulders and invaded the room, making the girls jump out of fright and surprise.

-"Jesus, boys, why this sudden entry?" Emma half-shouted.

-"There's something we need to show you-" I abruptly stopped. "Wait, where's Sam?"

-"She went back to her house to bring something," Amanda explained. "But anyway," she quickly added, dismissing my question with a flick of her hand. "What is it you wanted to show us, Paul?"

At those words, I handed them the mask.

-"What the..." Emma's voice grew faint. "Are those-"

-"The masks the guys that took Bob were wearing. In other words, Jonathan's bodyguards. Yep."