Chapter 28: "Reconciling"

The part when Victor shouted in joy:

"Is it you, Michael? You came at the right time."

"Did you find it here? Anyway, hurry up, get in the car, we'll talk later, get out of here now." - Michael went to open the car door and said.

Without hesitation, Tuan got into the car and closed the door. When they were both seated, Michael pressed the gas and drove off, leaving the other two behind to inhale the smoke.

When they were out of danger, Tuan leaned back, relaxed, breathed a sigh of relief, said:

"Fighting these guys makes me so tired I can't breathe."

"Luckily, I arrived just in time. You gave up on Thedus' Elemental Card, right? Your strength is no match for those two."

"Ah, I have quite a few things to ask. You promised to answer me when I got back, didn't you?"

"Did I promise that?"

"You can't deny it, I've recorded it."

Tuan took out his phone and played back the recorded conversation between the two. Michael laughed and replied:

"You really are cunning. Indeed, I shouldn't have come back to save you."

"Hmm, you should have left me there."

"I'm just kidding."

"First question, did you know her?" - Victor asked

"Why would you...?!" Michael was startled.

"It was thanks to the house number plate with her name on it. Did you know her?"

"Yeah, I did"

"When?"

"It's been two months already."

"Did you know those two guys standing outside that mansion?"

"I did. But please trust me, I have nothing to do with them."

"This remains to be considered until I confirm a few more things."- Victor said- "I'm just curious about how you two met. I've never met Linh before."

" I will be honest with you. Actually, I met her in a special situation. I saved her from a bad guy"

"Bad guy? Who?"

Hearing that, Michael suddenly hesitated, silent for a few seconds. Victor saw that Michael seemed quite hesitant, asked:

"OK. Another question. Why would you boggle around her mansion? Is she in there?"

"No, she isn't."

"What? So where is she?"

"Sorry, I can't tell you."

"So what did you go there for?"

"I went there for another purpose."

"What's your purpose? Find something there while she's not home, right?"

Michael was startled to hear Victor say that. He tried to calm down and said:

"Hey, do I have an obligation to tell you?"

"Why can't you tell me? Are you afraid I have bad intentions towards that mansion like those two bastards in black suits?"

"That's my own problem, that's all. I don't mean to doubt you, so I hope you don't suspect me as a criminal either."

The atmosphere in the car started to become tense. Victor understands Michael wants to be respected, but he can't help but hold a grudge against him after what's happened. The two were silent for a while, neither looking at the other's face. Two minutes later, Victor spoke up:

"What about the piece of paper with Linh's address in your desk drawer? How do you explain it?"

Without any hesitation, Michael turned to Victor in a determined voice:

"I've known Linh for a long time, so it's natural if I have that piece of paper. That note I received from her the first time we met, the time when she was hospitalized in a coma. She wrote it down. before and have the doctor send it back to me."

"I'm thinking if you're lying that Linh isn't at home even though she's actually at home and going to the mansion to do something shady and illegal..."- Victor said.

"Why do you think that?" Michael said in shock.

"I've been wondering one thing for a while: how can you come to my rescue in time when I'm surrounded by those two bastards? You must have been there before. That makes me believe in my reasoning even more. Maybe you're acting to avoid my suspicions."

The part when Michael slammed his hand on the steering wheel, said:

"OK, at this point, I'll confess to you the purpose of my watch over that place: she's been out of town for two months, but I didn't kidnap or kill her as you thought. You saw two guys outside. The truth is, I'm helping her escape and protect the mansion from them, as for Linh's mansion, I'm just there to watch over it during her absence, according to her advice, understand? It's all not like what you think"

"Then take me to her or give her a call to check. Otherwise, I'll think you're kidnapping her and you're putting me in the car to kill me so that no one will know the bullshit you are hiding."

"How did you come up with such a crazy thought?"

"It's impossible because you're doubting me and making baseless accusations"

"Then let's go to the police headquarters together. Whatever the reason, your keeping Linh is also classified as an illegal arrest. You should stop and confess to the police for leniency before it's too. late"

"Hey, are you crazy? Do you think I'm that kind of person? If there's proof that I'm that kind of person, say it quickly, don't make such baseless accusations, and don't try to scare me by dragging the police in to get me to confess what I didn't do."

"Stop acting. You give me goosebumps. Ah, I know, you must be thinking:' Even if you report me to the police, they can't do anything about me. Because if there is no evidence, the police cannot investigate, they have to release me, sooner or later.', right?"

At this point, Michael could not contain his anger anymore, exclaiming:

"What the hell is happening to you? Since when are you so suspicious of me?"

"I'm suspicious of you all along"- Victor replied- "If you don't tell me everything, how can I trust you anymore? You hide so many things from me, it's the truth."

"Come on, am I that bad in your eyes?" - Michael asked

"Looking at you, no one will think you are that kind of person, but their innocence will go hand in hand with unpredictable consequences, the idiom" don't judge the book by its cover", sometimes, doesn't work in some situations in our society. With someone with a mysterious background like you, I don't know when you lie and when you tell the truth."

"Assume that I hide everything from you. So can you tell me what you already know?"- Michael sneered.

"You hid the story about Linh from me even though you knew it for a long time, and about your mysterious identity, you didn't tell anyone about it in the cafe."

"I didn't tell you at that time for my own reasons."

"Now is the time for you to confess everything, it's not too late. Maybe you don't need to talk about your background to me, because it's actually not important and has nothing to do with me, but about Linh, you must tell me."

"If I told you, would you believe it?"

"It depends on many factors, including your sincerity. But remember, if I find out half a lie, you are no longer my friend, and we will go our separate ways from now on, I have no choice. First, how you two know each other, then about Linh's background and other things, tell me one by one."

"Okay. So now you believe that I don't have a bad plan with Linh and I'm not complicit with the other guys?" Michael said firmly.

"Got it, I trust you. Now I can believe that you're not the kind of person to break into someone's house illegally."- Victor continued.

"Thank God. Now I think I can tell you all."

The part when Victor pondered:

"So should you ask me why Yelena was arrested at the DCPD headquarters and detained and tortured for a long time? He must have known about it since he was there. but..."

Suddenly Michael asked:

"You're hesitating whether you should ask me about Yelena's arrest at DCPD, including why she was arrested,..., right? "

"How did you...?"

"I've heard from Thedus. He told me that he showed you everything that happened to Yelena and Linh two months ago."

"Let's be honest. I need to know everything from you. Your words will help me restore my memory."

"I know, but I can't just now."

"Why?"

"Let's call the event you witnessed 'Land of the Gods'. Listen, I know you're wondering about the events involving Yelena after that event, but could you give me some more time? Now isn't the time for me to tell you the truth. There are two reasons. First, this is a lot more complicated than you think. Second, we have a lot of work to do together, now what we need are unity and focus, so we shouldn't let extraneous matters get in the way."

Victor thought for a moment and replied:

"Okay, this matter is temporarily put aside, but can you tell me what the matter we are going to face?"

"I think you know about that so well."

"You mean...those two guys?"

"No. I mean Arthur."

"You know Arthur?"

"Yeah. That's why I said I knew two guys standing in Linh's mansion. They are Arthur's agents, no doubt. Safe to say he's big trouble. He considers you and Linh are the targets to handle."

"I know. His goal is to eliminate Linh and me to cover the clues and replace Linh in the position of executive director of the Archaeological Institute. The fact that he sent people to Linh's house was only the first step in his long-term plan."

"Well, don't talk about it anymore. Michael, to be honest with you, I have a bad habit of being curious. Bad habits are hard to get rid of, I ask you to be generous because that is my nature until now."

Michael patted Victor affectionately, saying:

"It's okay, everyone is always like that, I don't mind or bother. Whatever you are, I accept it. If you have anything you want to ask, just ask, don't be shy."

'It's a relief to hear that."- Victor breathed a sigh of relief- "Since we both promised to be honest with each other, I ask you to answer me about your time, circumstances, and place. know her. I hope this will not make you awkward, honestly, I also need to know because of the special connection between me and Yelena that I thought was lost forever, the relationship between Yelena and Linh, and after what happened out with them."

Michael nodded happily, replying:

"That is not in dispute. I had planned to arrange a private date to tell you all about it someday, but haven't had the chance. And I didn't expect today to be that fateful day."

"Yes, it has come unexpectedly."

"I got to know her quite by chance, but in a very special situation, to be honest, it's quite twisted but also full of luck and coincidence."

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"Everything happened very coincidentally as if we were arranged to meet by God. The place where we met was at the hospital, she was a patient being treated there and I was just a visitor to my friend, maybe she was transferred to that hospital after that incident, coincidentally, that's the hospital where my friend was treated. While walking past her treatment room, I saved her from Iron Head when he went to that hospital and was trying to kill her."

"So you fought him in warrior form?"

"That's right. By that time, the Element Scanner was complete and could be used to transform, and I also mastered Helius' EC not too long ago, so I fought him fairly before he left at a great disadvantage."

"What about Linh, what was her condition at that time?"

"Although she escaped from Iron Head, she was seriously injured in the abdomen, fortunately, the doctors treated her in time, so she survived. Later, because I wanted to keep her safe, I transferred her to another hospital to help her hide her identity."

"Hmm... Targeted by Iron Head? Could it be..."

"Yes. The only target audience of Iron Head is just 'elite descendants'. I also guessed she was an "ELITE DESCENDANT" before investigating her background. After investigating her relationships, I know a lot about Linh. Through some DCPD agents, I knew they seized most of the evidence at the crime scene after Linh's case was transferred to the DCPD, except for one thing."

"What is that?"

"The letter was left by Linh, written before those events took place. I found it in her pocket after I saved her from the Iron Head on that fateful day."

"What a lucky coincidence. What was written in the letter?"

Michael opened a photo from the phone, showed it to Victor, said:

"I already took a picture of it on my phone. The original letter I kept carefully, for safety's sake. Check it out."

"OK, I'll take a look at it right now. Hmm... It says: 'If anyone reads this letter, maybe I'm probably dying... Help me expose two truths to someone you can trust if I'm no longer in this world. First, bring the evidence to prove the crimes of Arthur, the current director of Minh Vu Archaeological Institute, which I keep carefully in the house, ...'"

Reading that, Victor exclaimed:

"As expected, Arthur the bastard is a shameless two-faced person. He sent someone to guard the place for that reason. That guy must have done illegal missions and was discovered by Linh, so he wanted to kill her. So the reason you guard that mansion for Linh is to find those pieces of evidence to make sure they don't get into his hands and use them as tools against him, right?!"

"That's right, but I can't do that right now, because there are still Arthur's agents who are watching over that place, waiting for me to show up and then taking the mansion key from me, finding and destroying those pieces of evidence against him before killing him. me. Since the secret entrance to the mansion has been blocked by them, I have no choice but to observe the mansion from afar and wait until all of them leave, then go inside."

"I'm sorry, I came here without consulting you, causing you to show yourself to them."

"Don't worry. I can handle it. We can set another plan against him."

"But I don't know if Linh has anything else in it. With a person as famous and well-connected as Linh, she must hold something important related to the 'Elite Descendants' community, don't you think so? ?"

"I'm not sure. But if you're right, we're pretty lucky. Through her, we will learn more about 'ELITE DESCENDANTS'."

"So after this is over, shall we go there and check?"

"I… and you?"- Victor asked.

"Yes, you are the key holder. And I'm the one you trust, so that means I'm also the person Linh can count on to entrust the mission of protecting 'Elite Descendants', isn't that great?"

Hearing that, Michael suddenly hesitated, silent for a few seconds. Victor saw that Michael seemed rather hesitant and asked:

"What's wrong?"- Victor asked- "Are you afraid I'll reveal it to the outside if I know something? Okay, I promise not to reveal anything to anyone. I swear on Yelena's honor."

"You are a gentleman, I know this better than anyone. I have no reason to refuse that, whether you promise or not. When it's all over, I promise to take you there. We will learn the secrets inside that mansion, together. This is a man's promise."

"Then let's make a pinky swear."- Victor said.

"Come on, we are adults, not necessarily…"

"Haha, sorry, I was joking, in America, to make sure the promise will be never broken, everyone always does that way. But in this situation, I know your pride won't allow you to be unfaithful, that's enough. This is a promise between two men, using words is enough. With what you have shown so far, I fully believe that you are not the same type of person as Arthur, you're my trustful friend now. That does not need to be verified further, nor don't need to express each other's sincerity that way."

"No, I don't mean that. I just don't see that should be how the two men should do. In my opinion, when two men make a promise, they not only use words but also need another way to show trust, solidarity, and agreement between the two of us. So, what about shaking hands?"

"Oh, very willingly, my bro. Why didn't I think of it earlier? If you say so, let's shake hands to show our sincerity. No matter what happens in the future, our special bond will last forever."

The part when they shook hands with a smile on their faces- a handshake between two friends.