Chapter 24: Shadows of Loyalty: Carl's Dilemma
Two hours had passed since the battle between Nacht and the heroes ended, and thankfully, he was able to return to his hideout safely. The destruction caused by the fight between him and the heroes destroyed the center of the city and the buildings were in ruins.
The Hero Association had to face public backlash as they had not only allowed a villain to do such a thing but had failed to properly assess his power and had lost 2 B-grade heroes in the end. The families of the two heroes were waiting in the branch of the association closest to them for the bodies and were mourning the loss of their loved ones while the citizens of Newton were also mourning the losses of the over 200 people that had died in the end.
Nacht's rampage was imprinted into the hearts of the citizens, many didn't even have bodies to bury while pictures and videos of the bodies of the two B-grade heroes were already circulating online. As for the one that had leaked the images and videos, it was Carl, of course.
The more the entire thing blew up, the more recognition Nacht received, the more the agency would evaluate him. Of course, since Nacht had managed to kill not one, but two B-grade heroes at the same time, Carl was certain that the agency would definitely promote him to a B-grade villain.
He would not only gain the chance to get more things from the agency and gain gifts, but he would also be eligible for more help from the agency. Getting help in fortifying his hideout, gaining the help of some of the master craftsmen from the agency when it came to creating weapons, armor, and other items …
'Well, now I have to write a detailed report about this entire thing.' I thought as I started making my report already, only for Manager Wang to enter my office again to tell me the head wants to see me.
"It's only been a couple of hours, I was just about to write the report, but oh well," I complained to Manager Wang who acted quite politely to me. Of course, he would, I'm currently a C-grade handler while he is a manager, and managers only have one job, keep the handlers in line and make sure they're doing a good job.
In the hierarchy of the company, a C-grade handler and a normal manager like Wang are about the same, but a talented handler is considered to be above them.
"Boss, you called for me?" I asked Lucius who nodded at me before clicking a button that put all the shutters down, not that there was much that anybody could see through the tiny slits anyway.
"You know what Nacht has done, so before anything, have you been on line with him the entire time?"
"Yeah, he called me after the first explosions were set off."
"Whose plan was it?"
"To be honest, it was his plan, but it was different, he wanted to do much more, which is why I have done my best to stop him and make him consider doing something else, in the end, he decided to modify his initial plan and go through with it, only contacting me after the initial explosion."
"So you were there to witness everything?"
"Yes, I already have the initial report ready, I was just about to start writing the full report."
"Good, what that guy has done is nothing short of insane, going against three B-grade heroes, one of them being Yuen, the sniper that is quite close to becoming an A-grade hero, of course, after this debacle, I doubt he will be able to become one quickly."
Ah, so that is why the sniper was that good, shooting from such long range and being so precise. One had to know, Nacht and Musclehead were moving incredibly quickly, an average would find it difficult to follow their movements with the naked eye, so for a sniper to be able to shoot at Nacht as Yuen did, they had to be incredibly good.
"Would that be all, boss?" I asked Lucius whilst being fully aware that there was no way he only wanted to speak to me about this. He glanced at me before sighing and leaning back in his chair.
"You know, nobody in the agency foresaw that your villain would do such a thing so quickly, it's only been a couple of days since he was made a C-grade villain and he had already done something like this, we both know that the agency will start keeping a close eye on him from now on, such talent is not easy to be found," Lucius said before taking out a document.
"This is a proposal, not from the agency, but from me."
I took the document that Lucius had given me and started reading it, soon, my face changed.
The contract was a simple one, and one that seriously got on my nerves.
Lucius wanted me to relinquish Nacht, to pass him on Lucius with me saying I am not qualified enough to take good care of him.
What a load of bullshit, I am more than capable, my report will show that to the higher-ups immediately, this is just Lucius trying to put pressure on me and gain the golden goose that is Nacht so that he can get promoted later on.
Not a bad tactic, but he has placed me in a bad position right now, not only is he my boss, but the two of us are completely alone now if I had to take guess, I would say the office is sound-proof, which means that nobody from the outside will be able to hear us.
But if he thinks I'm going to let go of Nacht, he's insane. Let's not even talk about me, Nacht won't work with any other handler either, Lucius must know this, but he probably thinks it's because Nacht likes me as I was his handler when he was an F-grade villain.
He doesn't know that it is because of Nicht, who had made Nacht promise to only work with me, so his plan is doomed to fail no matter what.
I can simply say yes, then talk with Nacht, who will in turn talk with Lucius, and then the higher-ups, and return to me. I have heard that some of the higher-ups like to boss the employees around and take benefits, I just never thought Lucius would actually do that, he is a well-known handler and villain with quite a reputation in the agency.
If he is doing this, he must he confident of not letting this information slip out, even if I was to complain to the higher-ups, nothing would change, hell, my complaint would probably not even reach them.
Still, just because I know that nothing bad will happen doesn't mean I will just take this lying down and not fight back.
"I'm going to have to say no to this." Just as I had answered Lucius, the door swung open and hit the wall with a loud bang.
"Carl, would you mind if I spoke with the boss for a bit, you can go back to the office, I'm sure you are no longer needed here," Carla said in a sweet voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Lucius was visibly shaken as I nodded to Carla before leaving the office, upon which she closed the door.
Right, how could I forget, a person that is much more powerful than Lucius was here, and for some weird reason, she really really likes me. I'm a bit sad to not be present during their conversation, to be honest.
"Lucius, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Carla asked in a low, calm, and gentle voice as Lucius simply stared at her in shock before collecting himself.
"I was just-"
Before Lucius could answer, Carla had appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the throat before lifting him up with one hand as if he was a child.
"You know, I'm not one that really cares when a boss takes advantage of their employees, but Carl is a different story, if I ever catch you trying to do this, or anything else that is bad to him, I will rip out your throat and have your body scattered in the desert for wild animals to devour," Carla said in a calm manner as her eyes turned slightly pink while Lucius's face turned red as he wasn't able to breathe.
Suddenly, she let go of him, and he fell down to the ground and coughed.
"Also, those men you have placed on Carl, call them back, otherwise the next time I sense them, I will kill them all," Carla said as she made her way toward the door.
"I wasn't trying to fool him, I was testing him, for god's sake!" Lucius suddenly yelled out, making Carla stop in her tracks and turn around to look at him with confusion.
"I was trying to see if he had the guts to stick to his villains no matter what, not to hijack one of his villains, the moment he said no or yes, I would have told him that, do you really think so lowly of me, to think that I would have actually tried to do such a thing?"
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