Chapter 340: Flattery Will Get You Far
"This is reckless."
"No, it isn't. It's the only chance we have."
"That does not mean it is not reckless."
Pat and Jeanne were sitting inside Pat's large gaming room as they spoke about Pat's recent plan concerning the NSA. Patrick shook his head as his sister shot down many of his plans, and he stood up, walked over to his computer, and clicked the spacebar to turn on the monitor. The screen came to life, and Jeanne grunted in pain as the bright screen threatened to blind her.
Jeanne didn't know how Pat could see anything when he was staring at this screen all day every day. It was far too bright.
The screen showed a blueprint of the NSA building with Salazar's office highlighted in yellow. All the exits and entrances were glowing a dim green, and the spots that did not have any online pictures that Pat could find were highlighted white.
"More than half of this building is completely unexplored by anyone other than those who belong to the organization, and even you haven't been to those places before."
"That's only because I never had a reason to go there. Most of my work is done outside the building since I move from hospital to hospital a lot. Those could just be offices or storage rooms."
"I doubt that. Don't tell me that you've never felt something was off with the NSA in all the time you've been there. I know you're not that naïve."
Jeanne clicked her tongue at her brother's cheeky attitude but couldn't say anything back as she knew that Pat was right. The only reason why Jeanne started working in the NSA in the first place was because of James. Jeanne trusted James, and she knew that he was someone who really wanted the best for the country.
That was why even when she said she would still be working as a free agent, he was more than happy to agree to it.
But ever since James died, things have seemed different in the NSA. For one, Jeanne did not trust Salazar. That man was more like a snake than a human. Even before Mark and Pat pointed out that Salazar could be the one responsible for the recent anima attacks, Jeane already had her own doubts about him.
Although Salazar had never done anything to make Jeanne distrust him, Jeanne always felt very uncomfortable around Salazar. As if her instincts were screaming at her not to turn her back to him or she would be stabbed in the back.
"Salazar has been trying to limit my movement out of the NSA more and more recently."
Pat rose a brow once his sister said this. This was news to him.
"How?"
"It's nothing serious. Sometimes, he just says the NSA can't afford to have me go out to help some patient in other cities, and at other times, he tells me that if I go to help, it could cause an international incident since the Superhuman Alliance was already handling the issue. It's mainly bullshit, and I never let it stop me, but it's becoming more stifling.
I can tell he is not happy with my freedom."
Pat hummed and looked at the blueprint on the screen for a moment before he nodded. If it was this, then he might be able to work with it.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Someone knocked on Pat's door, and Pat quickly pressed a button, and the door opened to let the person in. Jeanne hummed in surprise when she saw the person that came in.
Fiona was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black jacket over a black T-shirt. Behind her, Tyler strutted into the room with a frown on his face, and he went to lean against the far wall with his hands folded across his chest.
It was obvious that he did not want to be here, and although Fiona felt the same way, she managed to keep her irritation off her face as she walked to the center of the room and looked around calmly.
"Fiona. You actually came?"
Fiona huffed as she folded her hands and gave Jeanne and Pat an expectant look. She only came here because Jeanne was the one who personally asked her to come. Fiona owed Jeanne for her help in their recovery after the island raid, so this was her way of repaying the debt.
"This had better be worth my time, girl. Who is the child?"
Fiona gave Pat a curious glance, and Pat introduced himself as Mark's friend. Fiona was a lot more interested all of a sudden, and she turned to Jeanne for confirmation. Once Jeanne said that it was true, Fiona hummed.
"So you are the one in his ear during his fights. I always wondered who it was. I surely never expected it to be a child. What did you call me here for?"
Pat nodded and sat down.
"I want to carry out a covert operation on the NSA building. There was a recent Anima attack, and I think we all know what that anima looked like. Mark and I believe that the anima was a result of experimentation carried out on superhumans' bodies by the NSA, but we don't have any proof.
The government – specifically the superhumans alliance – wouldn't go in to investigate the NSA without substantial proof, so Mark and I came up with a plan. Since Mark is the focus of the world right now, he can't make any rash moves without alerting the enemies that we are on to them, so I brought you all together to help me sneak into the NSA and get what we need."
Fiona narrowed her eyes at Pat. She already heard about the Anima that Mark caught a few days ago. According to the news, that anima looked like a mutilated mass of multiple people joined together and mutated into something disgusting. It was the only thing that the internet was talking about right now and everyone was speculating where an anima like that could have come from.
So the NSA was involved in that? In some way, Fiona wasn't surprised.
"But what can I do about it? I am not a part of the NSA, am I? This girl here would be more useful in that regard."
Pat nodded at Fiona's statement. He knew that she was not someone who went to the NSA building often, so it would be hard for her to go to that building without drawing attention to herself, but that did not mean she could not do it.
"Even though you are not a part of the NSA, your blessing is the most useful in covert operations. It is impossible for anyone below S rank to avoid or fight against the effects of your blessing, so you can get in and get out of certain situations without drawing attention to you. You're perfect."
Fiona smiled.
"Flattery will get you very far, boy. But you are not my type."
Pat blinked in surprise at her statement before he shook his head and refocused on what he was saying.
"You and Jeanne are the best shot we have at getting into the building unnoticed, so I'm going to need your help."