Fate Online: Shadow

"You guys are already back? You two have caused quite the trouble lately"

Michael didn't immediately head home and instead first stopped by the mansion to see how the people living there are doing.

"Nice to see you back kid and you got tanned, Hahaha! And what do you mean trouble? Isn't this all because of you wanting to meddle in those bastard's affairs that we also got pulled into this political whirlpool?!"

The moment Michael walked inside, the first person he saw was Randy sitting in the living room and reading a newspaper on the sofa while drinking coffee, and looking closely, the contents of the newspaper were the chaotic happenings that took place all over the country during the past few days. Even the incident that took place all the way from the Republic of Joseon took over an entire page!

"Says the guy who willingly killed his own relative" Michael snorted and sat on the sofa after looking around.

Randy wasn't bothered by it all and went back to calmly reading his newspaper, and with a sip of his coffee, he replied, "I never once considered him anything other than as a stranger after what he pulled back then, and look here, those two bastards are really having fun in another country"

"Anyway, I heard that you got Olivia and her kids involved in the previous incident?" Michael asked in all seriousness. After all, having gotten Olivia and her kids involved was too reckless on his part.

Randy eyed him while sipping his coffee before letting out a sigh. "Let me correct you, almost gotten involved kid"

"That still doesn't changed the fact that they've grown suspicious of you, especially Olivia"

Getting the family of three involved isn't suppose to be part of their plan, or more precisely, his plans since they are considered variables as he has limited information about them, due to the fact that he had never once met them in his previous life.

"What can I do? The day that Olivia and I had started dating, it is inevitable that they would soon be involved in these matters of my past. The only thing I can do now is to make sure that they would always be safe" Randy said with a helpless look on his face.

"Always be safe? You're not some kind of a god, you won't be always be beside them to keep them safe. Did you perhaps already spilled the beans to Olivia since it looks to me like you're not even bothered by it at all?" Michael asked, noticing that Randy seems to not show much interest on this subject.

"Do I got a choice? Olivia's pestered me about it and bombarded me with things she had since noticed after we started dating, and what happened that night was the last straw that broke the camel's back. She demanded me for answers or she would leave with her kids. I wouldn't have minded if it was in the past when I was still young and alone kid, but I'm old. Well, not that old like Robin though, but that aside, this will be my last rodeo for good before I retire for the last time" Randy said with an air of melancholy surrounding him as if he were reminded of the past.

"And her reaction when you told her about your past?" Michael curiously asked, and he sounds a little eager since he's also in the same boat as him, and he wanted to hear Olivia's reaction as a reference for something similar in the near future.

"Uhmmm not sure, but she haven't been talking to me since that day, so yeah" Randy replied with a shrug while giving Michael the "you know what I mean" look.

"But you're still allowed in their house, right?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be!?"

That's good. Michael thought as he released a sigh of relief.

I think this is also the right time that I look into Olivia. I need to be sure that she won't cause us any trouble in the long run, especially her family back in her home country. Though, I gotta make sure that Randy doesn't catch wind of it or I won't hear the end of it. Michael thought, it was something that he had placed on the backburner for a long time since Olivia wasn't still in the loop about their identities, but since she's already in the know, she won't be able to escape's Michael probing this time.

"Enough about you, where are the others at?" Michael said as stood up from his seat and started walking around the house.

"Except for me, everyone's out of town, out taking care of their own business" Randy replied with a sip of his coffee.

"What kind of business?" Michael came out of the kitchen while holding a cup of coffee in one hand, and a sandwich on the other. Curious since unlike Randy and the others, the two ladies, Tony and Miya doesn't really have any loose ends that can be considered exactly dangerous that can potentialy threaten their lives in the long run.

Looking at him casually rummaged through their fridge, the muscles on Randy's face couldn't help but twitch, "That chocolate butter isn't something for you to eat"

"It's just one sandwich" Michael shrugged and continued, "So? What kind of business did the others gone to?"

Turning the newspaper to the next page, Randy replied, "Someone from the organization just left a few minutes after you had arrived, Zero had summoned both Tony and Miya. They are probably on their way to the HQ right now"

BAM!

"But the HQ is on the other side of the globe, and you just let them be!? It's chaos right now and you guys are already retired. Unlike me, you people are not required to heed his summons" Michael was slightly agitated as he angrily stomped his foot on the ground. Airplanes are the worst place that an assassin could be in since there had been instances of reckless fools blowing up planes just to kill their targets of revenge.

Even Michael in the past had rarely rode in planes, and would only do so if there's no other choice or if plane crew are people he can trust. He preferred travelling by the seas through large ships to cruise ships.

As a veteran in the business, Randy already knew what Michael was trying to say since he's also one of those people who is bias against planes for transportation, especially know that their tails had been revealed which made their position somewhat vulnerable from attacks.

"Relax, Zero had personally sent his own plane to escort them" Randy said.

Michael slightly relaxed hearing that, but then he became suspicious again, "He lent his own private jet? That stingy bastard did?"

Listening to his words, Randy raised an eyebrow, "Stingy bastard? No one had ever called him stingy before, even when I was still active in the field. Your words, it sounds like you personally know him. Hmmm…it seems you've been hiding things from us kid"

Crap!

Michael maintained a poker face outside, but deep inside, he was startled when he realized he had made a blunder since the people of this time still doesn't know that Zero was quite the stingy person and it would only be known in the future.

What Michael forgot to realized was that he was the only person that Zero was stingy to since the former was considered his rival during his time.