Free Web NovelChapter 17: The Argent Ring
"What the hell do you want with this case, Sable?" Riley asked with a frown on her face.
The three were now out of the apartment and in a restaurant just across the street, leaving the officers to collect whatever else they needed as evidence.
Liam was certain the case of his missing sister would just be dropped among thousands of others.
Well, that was what would’ve happened if Riley hadn’t been involved, but then again, even she couldn’t do much more than she already has.
Hence, the reason he had no intention to rely on them.
"The kid works for me," Sable simply replied as he took a sip from the cup before him.
"..."
Riley silently looked at him for a while, almost as if waiting for the man to say he was joking.
But he said nothing else, which caused her expression to become even darker.
"Are you out of your mind?" She couldn’t help but let out, "he is just a child."
"A child with a useful set of skills," Sable said as he leaned towards her, "besides, I believe a nineteen-year-old is old enough to make his own decisions, no?"
"That doesn’t mean you can just put the kid in danger," her frown deepened, "especially not a null."
Of course, she already had information on the kid. From what she found out, he had gotten his Pragma levels measured five years ago, and the results were definitely heartbreaking for a fourteen-year-old.
Though she was still curious about the Factor he awakened, it seems the kid didn’t end up revealing that after his Pragma test.
"You’ll get the kid—"
"Do you know where my sister is?" Liam suddenly interrupted their lovers’ quarrel as he looked directly at Sable.
Sable looked at the serious expression on the kid’s face, one that was quite different from the expression he had the previous two times they met.
With a sigh, he placed his phone on the table and moved it towards Liam as he said, "The group that took them is known as The Argent Ring."
Liam looked down at the phone and noticed that a document was open, but what immediately caught his eye was the silver looping ring.
A logo he had seen before.
"The same Villain group that Richard worked with," Sable continued, "and about the way they located you."
"They had a tracker planted in Noa, and that led them to our apartment," Liam finished with a frown on his face.
How had he missed this?
The Villain group might’ve sold Noa to Richard; they had no intention of letting her go, especially given how useful her Factor was.
Had he been so blinded by the fact that she was almost certainly being mistreated that he hadn’t thought it through properly?
Had he gotten so comfortable with this new life that he refused to use his brain?
Because why else would Zero make such an obvious oversight? And now, a consequence of his stupidity was putting his only other family at risk.
Sable looked at the kid’s expression for a while before saying, "I could cash in a few favors, but it’ll take at least a day."
"I’ll go find them myself," Liam said. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"No," Riley, who had been silent all this while, said, "Sable will hand all the information he has to the officers, and we’ll take it from there."
Liam glanced at her before looking back at Sable, who immediately understood what he meant without even saying anything.
"Fine then," he said, "but I must warn you, kid, the Argent Ring is nothing like the Splinters or Richard’s group."
"What the hell are you two—"* freёwebnovel.com
"I’m getting my sister back," Liam paid no mind to Riley’s words as he answered, "it’s my fault she’s in danger in the first place."
Riley suddenly slammed her palm on the table between them, pulling the attention of the two.
"I am not going to sit here and watch the kid put himself in danger," from her tone, one could tell that she was genuinely pissed off right now, and all that anger was directed towards Sable.
The man was as unlikable as when they broke up, but not once had he thought that he would be willing to put kids in danger.
However, before she could say anything more, Liam suddenly turned to her, "Detective Riley."
Her attention moved from Sable to him.
"You’re a woman of intellect," he began. "So why don’t we walk through the scenario you just suggested?"
Riley went silent as she listened.
"Let’s say we hand this information to you guys, then what?" He said, "Given that The Argent Ring is a group filled with Gamma-level villains, the case will then be redirected to the HA."
"How long do you think that’ll take?" His expression slowly turned darker, "and how important do you think my sister is, for the HA to dispatch a hero?"
"I’ll—" Riley started, but was once again interrupted by Liam, "and what happens when the HA finds out that the Argent Ring is part of The Ouroborus?"
His words caused her to freeze, and a frown also appeared on her face.
The Ouroborus.
They were more like the HA, but for Villains, and unlike normal Villain groups, they truly were a dangerous one.
So much so that the HA could barely do anything against them, and that was for a single reason.
The Architect.
Although the man hadn’t appeared in five years, it was common knowledge that he started the Ouroborus.
which meant that the HA wouldn’t risk history repeating itself just for a mere nobody.
And Riley knew this.
She was silent for a while before she came to a decision, "Fine then, but I’m coming with you."
Liam simply nodded in response. After all, this was the best compromise he was going to get from the stubborn woman.
Sable was looking at him with suspicion, after all, information about the Argent Ring being part of the Ouroborus hadn’t been included in the documents.
Still, he knew that the kid had his own secrets, so he said nothing.
"So we have twenty-four hours before they move them from that location?" Liam asked as he moved the phone towards Sable again.
"Yes," Sable confirmed, "less if they know we’re coming."
"I see."
"I’m going to check on Eli," Liam said as he stood up, "and get changed."
He then turned towards Sable and said, "The awakened profiles—"
"I’ll send them to you," the man answered before he could complete his words, and he just nodded.
He turned to leave, but as if recalling something, he suddenly stopped and turned back, "Detective Riley?"
"Yes?" The woman turned towards him.
"Can you drive?" He asked with a serious expression.
"...."
Riley turned to Sable, wondering if that was code for something, but since the man said nothing, she turned back to Liam and nodded, "Yes."
"Great, can you pick me up at the apartment in an hour?" Liam muttered as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"You can’t drive?" Riley asked in surprise.
"I can, but you see," he paused and looked away before adding,
"I don’t exactly have a license."
"...."
