Dawn was barely breaking as Percival opened his eyes and reached for his phone to call Thomas.
Within minutes, Thomas arrived in his car and picked up the duo who had spent the night by the seaside.
"Where to, Percival?" Thomas did not ask why. He just did what he always did, taking care of what needed to be done.
Percival twirled a strand of Vivienne's hair. "To the office."
Vivienne yawned. "I'm heading back to crash."
After dropping Vivienne off, Thomas drove to the company.
In the president's office, someone was already waiting in silence.
Percival opened the door and greeted, "Boss."
The man in the chair turned around, a custom-made cane in hand. "Long time, no see."
Percival's lips curved into a half-smile as he ushered Micah to the couch and poured him a cup of coffee. "How have you been?"
Micah did not ask much but casually chatted with Percival. "Pretty good, just eating and sleeping. I've been so lazy that I hardly want to get up and exercise. My legs are paying the price."
Percival chuckled, responding briefly before asking, "Who's Rover?"
Micah's hand paused, a shadow flickering in his eyes, "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," Percival replied nonchalantly.
Micah hesitated for a moment before setting down his coffee cup, "Percival, I know you don't trust anyone in the agency right now, but I can assure you, Rover is solid. He's someone I deeply respect, as did your mentor Lark and Vance, too."
Percival frowned subtly.
Such high praise from Micah meant Vance had not lied.
Rover was a deep well.
"Who is he?" Percival pressed.
Micah rubbed his injured leg. "Two people saved my life; one was your mentor, Lark, and the other was Rover. They dragged me off the battlefield and saved my life and my leg. But Rover is a top-secret agency asset. Beyond the code name, that's all I can tell you."
This was a realm within the Vanguard Agency that even Percival could not access.
Percival did not push further. He would eventually find out who Rover really was.
He smiled, his demeanor changing in an instant. "When will you be returning to service? I left a gift for you in the deputy's office."
Micah snorted with laughter. "What could you possibly have for me, you rascal?"
"I’m the chairman of the Ellington Group." Percival smiled, continuing their casual conversation.
The last time they had chatted so freely was when Percival had first enlisted.
After a while, their conversation came to an end. Micah stood up, leaning on his cane. "Alright, I'm heading back to work today. Retirement will have to wait a few more years!"
"Congratulations," Percival said as he saw Micah out.
Micah shook his head, not letting Percival walk him out any further than the office door. He took a long, deep look at Percival.
"Percival, from now on, you'll be fighting alone. The road ahead is perilous. Take care."
Percival nodded firmly, remembering Micah's words when he had joined the team—From now on, we fight together. No matter how perilous the road ahead is, I'm with you!
The days of fighting side by side were gone.
Micah patted Percival's shoulder. "When you have time, go see Yorick Linklater. He was the one who pushed for your promotion. Now that you’re parting ways with the agency, you should visit him."
"Understood."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Million-Dollar Heart