The Blue Eyes

"We―we are friends!"

"What?" / "What?"

Kris and Casper asked simultaneously after they heard Jack's nervous statement. The two men looked at each other for a moment before they turned to Jack again.

"You said I'm cute because we are friends?" The young soldier asked innocently.

Jack's face looked complicated as he peeked at Kris, who was trying to hold back his laughter.

Jack didn't know what was on Kris's mind, but whatever it was, it was surely not a good thing.

"Yes," Jack answered while looking at Casper. "You are my cute friend, Cas. Don't think too much about it."

Casper blushed hard at the confirmation. None of them knew what was on the young soldier's mind, though.

The young soldier just nodded his head before he gulped his water hungrily.

Sensing the weird atmosphere between the two guys, Kris could only shake his head before looking at Casper intently.

"Let's go back to our business," he said earnestly to the young soldier. "What are you doing here in Chilad, boy? And why did you visit the buried valley earlier?"

Both Jack and Casper fell silent after hearing Kris's question. The atmosphere turned quiet in instant, even their breathing sounded loud all of a sudden.

"I'm investigating some matter here."

That was Casper's answer, and both Kris and Jack frowned at the answer.

"You're investigating some matter here? What matter?" Jack asked the young soldier curiously.

Casper looked nervous, and he almost choked on his saliva. He didn't even dare to look straight at Kris and Jack, and he helplessly played with his calloused fingers on the table.

Kris turned to Jack, but the latter just shrugged. The tan-skinned man then went back to Casper and waited for the man to answer Jack's question.

"Something strange happened in the military, and I decided to investigate that matter here."

Casper answered the question in a low voice, but thankfully, both Kris and Jack could grasp what he meant.

"What happened in the military?" This time, it was Kris who questioned the young soldier.

Casper finally looked up at him while biting his lip nervously. Kris could sense that there was something strange with the youngster, but he patiently waited for an answer from the young soldier.

"Several soldiers went missing after the war ended."

That one statement made Kris and Jack widen their eyes in surprise.

"What?" Jack was the first one to respond. "Some soldiers are missing? Is it because of their duty to protect the city during the war?"

Casper frowned before he answered the question, "I don't think so. They went back to the military right after the war ended, so I don't think they're missing because of their duty."

"They're just suddenly missing after the war ended?" Kris once again interrogated the young soldier.

"Yes," replied the soldier. "About 15 soldiers were missing, but they didn't disappear all at once. I mean, they disappeared one by one after the war ended."

Kris and Jack were stunned after Casper gave them a further explanation.

"Do other people in the military know about it too?"

Casper didn't immediately answer Kris's question. Instead, he once again frowned as if he was trying to find the right answer.

"The military is so quiet about this matter," he finally answered. "No one talks about it, so I'm curious. That's why I decided to investigate the matter."

"But, why are you investigating the matter in Chilad?"

Jack's sudden question shut Casper's lips. The short-haired soldier turned to him and gave him a puzzled look.

The look made Jack frown. 'What's wrong with this kid?' He couldn't help but wonder.

Not long after, Casper sighed as he lowered his head. Once again, he was playing with his fingers.

"I found the valley's coordinate in the military's secret database."

The answer came out as a whisper, but Kris and Jack's sharp hearing could hear it clearly.

"How come the valley's coordinate is in the military's secret database? Who's the one who saved the coordinate there?"

Kris's question remained unanswered for a while because Casper stubbornly locked his mouth and refused to answer.

Kris was about to scold the timid soldier, but Jack motioned him to hold back by shaking his head.

"You can trust us, Cas. We're also investigating a case here, and it's possible that we're investigating the same case."

Casper finally dared to look up at Jack again and stared at the blonde man doubtfully. "Really?" He asked softly, and Jack nodded his head to answer the question.

Casper was quite satisfied by the non-verbal answer, but it didn't stop him to look at Kris. The caramel-haired man sighed heavily before he nodded his head.

A small smile finally presented on Casper's cute face after getting the confirmation.

"I don't know who's the one who saved the coordinate there. I just did some tricks to sneak a peek at the secret database, and the coordinate is the only thing I found there. The security system was so tight that I couldn't hack it completely."

Kris and Jack stared at Casper in disbelief. The young soldier even dared to risk his life by hacking the secret database, so the case must be extraordinary.

"Are you doing the investigation alone? No one knows about your movement?" Jack asked in a bit hesitant tone.

"Yes. I'm doing all of this by myself."

Casper was very brave with all he was doing now. His career and his life could be in danger, but he was willing to risk them all. The young soldier's courage was praiseworthy.

"Then, do you know something about the buried valley?" Kris asked the soldier once again.

"Unfortunately, no," Casper answered weakly. "I just arrived at the site when you guys suddenly came to me. I don't know anything about that valley."

Kris frowned at the young soldier. He couldn't trust the soldier easily, so he didn't easily nod at the soldier's answer. It could be that the soldier didn't tell them the truth, so he should be cautious toward him.

Kris was the total opposite of Jack, who easily nodded his head at Casper's answer. The tattoed man seemed to trust the soldier completely.

Kris didn't say anything about that, though. He just calmly stared at Casper again as he said, "Then, let's go back to the buried valley site and investigate the site together."

Casper looked bewildered when he heard Kris's suggestion. His body flinched a bit, and it didn't go unnoticed by Kris.

The young soldier peered at Jack, and the latter nodded at him.

Sighing for a moment, Casper finally answered, "Alright. Let's go to the site to investigate it together."

Kris finally smiled after they agreed. He then paid for the food and quickly led the two men to leave the tavern.

Kris and Jack were about to enter Kevin's silver car, and Casper was about to do the same with his own car, but then Kris's eagle eyes noticed something wasn't right.

"Get into the driver seat quickly and get ready to drive, Jack," he whispered at Jack, who was standing beside him.

Jack frowned at him, but Kris just nodded at the tattoed man. Jack didn't protest and immediately positioned himself behind the steering wheel.

Seeing Jack manage to get into the car, Kris quickly turned around and ran towards Casper. He immediately grabbed Casper's arm and dragged him into Kevin's silver car.

Casper screamed, but Kris succeeded in shoving the young soldier into the back seat before he pushed himself inside and quickly slammed the door shut.

"Drive at high speed, Jack!"

Jack was a bit taken aback and looked confused, but he immediately pressed the gas pedal firmly, bringing the car through the streets at high speed.

"What are you guys planning to do with me?!"

Casper continued to scream and protest, but Kris ignored him. He looked back and found a black sedan trailing their car.

Jack followed suit as he glanced at the wing mirror, and he could understand Kris's sudden action.

"Someone is following us from behind, Cas," the tattooed man spoke in a serious tone. "Just fasten your seatbelt and get ready to race!"

Casper's eyes widened, but his hands hastily buckled his seatbelt. His hands tightly squeezed the seatbelt when he questioned Kris, "Why didn't you let me go with my car?"

Kris was so calm when he buckled the seatbelt, and he slowly turned to the young soldier. "You can't possibly run away with your old car, dude."

Casper's face turned red and he looked offended, but he swallowed his curse and just pouted while turning his head to the front again.

"What's so special about this car, anyway?" Jack asked while driving so fast on the road.

Kris grinned before he answered the question, "This car is special because it's Kevin's car."

Jack scoffed annoyedly when he heard the absurd answer. He was about to rebuke, but he didn't have time for it because one of the people in the black sedan suddenly shot a rocket-propelled grenade at the silver car.

The rockets equipped with an explosive warhead hit the car directly. BOOM!