Bab 9: Retrieval Operation (Pt. 3)
"Did you really have to wear the sunglasses?" Kaito asked with a disapproving look to his brother who was sitting across him at the table. They were currently at the coffee shop where they hung out last night to scout Tomo Ogawa's house.
Haru held onto his sunglasses and lowered it a few inches down to the bridge of his nose. It reminded Kaito of those typical bad boys in the movies during the 80's.
"Why not?" Haru replied. He had a smug look on his face which he knew was something that really annoyed his older brother - all the more reason why he was doing it intentionally.
"This is a good disguise. See, when I wear it, you can't really tell that it's me", he continued as he put his sunglasses back on and removed it again. "Also, we very rarely conduct our missions during the day. You know I can't wear sunglasses at night - well I actually can if I want to, but that will make me look stupid. Anyway, you get the point. So, just let me indulge myself even just this once. It's not every day that I get to feel this cool."
Seating beside Haru, on his right was Ren who had both an amused and puzzled look on his face. When you're bored while on a mission, watching siblings' banter and battle of words was definitely a good form of entertainment. Yet at the same time, he wondered if such a scene was already normal to the brothers.
"Cool my ass. It doesn't suit you", Kaito retorted.
Ren turned to face Haru as he expected a comeback from him, and he surely did.
"Are you sure about that? Because I think the ladies there would disagree", Haru slightly tilted his head to point to the two women seating two tables away from their table.
Kaito turned around in one eighty degrees to view where Haru was pointing. His eyes quickly caught the two women staring at their table. Haru gave them a playful wink and the women squealed on their seats.
"Got something else to say?" Haru asked, a huge smirk plastered on his face.
A sigh escaped Kaito's mouth as he shook his head disapprovingly at Ren. " I feel sorry for those women. They have a poor taste."
Haru guffawed at his brother's words, earning himself a scowl from everyone in the group except for Ren. "Really? And you think you're the better choice?"
"I - that's not what I meant", Kaito stuttered.
Moving his head around, Ren searched for a clock in the coffee shop. He didn't have his watch nor his phone with him, and he was certain the Genjis wouldn't allow him to get a new phone.
After a few moments, he finally caught sight of a brown clock located above the coffee shop's counter.
"Seven fifty-seven", he muttered to himself.
They had been sitting in the shop for almost thirty minutes already. It had appeared to him that the Genjis liked to come at the scene quite early during a mission.
While the two brothers continued with their verbal fight, Ren noticed that Sato and Nao were drowned in their own world as they enjoyed drinking their coffee. Ren had only learned earlier, before they left the Genjis' estate to go on their mission, that Sato and Nao had been married just recently. That explained why the two were like leeches always sticking on each other.
He turned to look at Akira who was seating at the other side of Haru. She had been silent since they arrived at the coffee shop - her eyes only fixated at the house they were about to infiltrate in a few minutes.
Ren had observed that among the group, she was the one who took their mission the most seriously. Ren could tell how laser-focused she was, and he genuinely respected her for that.
His few encounters and conversations with her made him learn that she was really a stubborn woman. When she set her eyes on something, she would not stop until she achieved it. Talk your way out all you want, but she wouldn't budge. She's as firm as a stone with her decisions.
When you're an enemy, that would sound like a huge problem, but when you're on her side, it's actually an edge. Not everyone has the same determination and dedication as hers. Often, people would just easily give up or not give a care. But not for Akira. She would keep digging, searching and fighting until she could.
Not very long after that, Akira weakly tapped the table to get the attention of her companions.
"Everyone, get ready. The gate is opening", she declared.
Everyone's eyes moved to the black car that was moving out of Tomo Ogawa's property.
"That's Tomo Ogawa's car", Ren stated, having remembered the plate number of the mysterious man's car.
The group watched silently as the car retreated in the morning streets.
When the car was finally nowhere to be seen, Akira spoke, "Alright. Let's get moving everyone."
Everyone was quick to follow Akira's instructions. They moved accordingly to their plan.
Nao was the first to walk out of the coffee shop. She put on her orange cap and carried a box along with her. She was wearing an orange polo shirt that was tucked in a belted mid-waist skinny jean, and a pair of black sneakers.
Today, she was Nao, the delivery woman - just one of her many disguises during their missions. She had already assumed many fake identities before - from being a sale's agent to pretending to be a doctor.
It was her who would always take this role in the team not just because of her gift but because among her comrades, she was hands down the best actress.
Thirty seconds later, she was followed by Akira and Kaito. The two were also followed by Haru, Sato and Ren thirty seconds later.
Nao went straight for the doorbell. She rang it and a voice spoke from the intercom. "Who is it?" a man with a deep voice said.
"Good morning, sir. I have a delivery for Mr. Tomo Ogawa", Nao replied cheerfully as she got fully committed to her character.
There was a silence for a very short while then the man spoke again, "Give us a moment."
He pressed a button then the gate started to open on its own. Nao grinned at the technological display in front of her. Seconds later, she was faced with two tall bulky men in black suits.
'Oh, the suits', she thought to herself.
She made sure to greet them with her most charismatic smile. "Hello there, sirs. Sorry to interrupt your beautiful morning. This is going to be quick. I promise", she said.
The two men eyed the box that she was holding in her left arm.
"Just please sign this", she handed them the clipboard with a piece of paper and pen that was resting on the top of the box. One of the men quickly took it and signed it, then returned it to Nao.
As she received the clipboard back, she suddenly tripped on her feet, her face about to hit the ground if not for the two men who quickly saved her. The box and the clipboard fell on the ground with a thud while the two men held her.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry, sirs", Nao said in an embarrassed tone, but deep inside, she was far from being shy.
She gently removed her hands that were holding on to the men's arms, then she shyly tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
The five people standing at the sidewalk a few meters away quickly took notice of the signal and moved. They walked past through the gate, and the two guards whom Nao was conversing with, didn't seem to notice their presence.
Nao took the box that fell on the ground and handed it to one of the men as she apologized.
"Have a great day and take care!" she said finally as the gate shut in her face.
"What a clumsy woman", one of the guards remarked after the gate closed.
"I would appreciate it if you took back what you said about my wife", an unfamiliar voice said out of nowhere. The two guards quickly turned around to find five strangers with them.
"Who-", the guards said in astonishment but unfortunately didn't finish their sentences as they were knocked out on the ground.
Sato and Haru dragged the two unconscious men and hid their motionless bodies behind a bush while Akira pressed the button to open the gate.
Meanwhile, Nao remained standing in front of the gate, whistling and checking hair freshly polished nails while waiting for the others to let her in.
"That was quick", she commented as the gate opened in front of her.
"Perhaps the guards here are not really as formidable as this guy made them to be", Kaito responded, referring to Ren.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone