Free Web NovelChapter 597: A Dangerous Mission
"You’re right. You’ve always been more meticulous than me with these things," Michael uttered.
He took a long, deep breath and looked out the window at the newly risen sun. His eyes emanated gratitude and hope as he continued, "I thank God that you are back, safe and sound, by my side."
"Yes, thank God that I’ve come back to you," "Wendy" said, repeating Michael’s words.
She was indeed thankful that she had been given another chance to come back to Michael.
However, that chance was not from God but one that she and Christian had created.
"That reminds me. Since we’re in the hospital, why don’t you get a prenatal check?"
Michael suggested as he gazed at "Wendy’s" flat belly.
"You have been through a lot these past two days. Also, you had been up all night taking care of me."
"I had a checkup done just a few days ago. Don’t worry. Both the baby and I are in good shape," "Wendy" declared.
Then she rubbed her belly and said, "This is a very good baby." freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Michael was about to speak up when they heard footsteps at the door.
Shortly after, Michael saw a familiar figure enter the room.
It was Evan Boyle.
"Mr. Lucas..." Evan walked in with a fruit basket and deposited it on the table.
Smiling, he asked, "How are you?"
"Still alive, aren’t I?" Michael chuckled. "Why are you being so formal with me? A fruit basket?"
"Just something I picked that up from the store downstairs. I know that you would not be lacking in anything. So please don’t scoff at this," Evan replied.
"Would I dare scoff at the great Detective Boyle?" Although Michael appeared to be smiling, he sounded as though he still bore a grudge.
He begrudged Evan for choosing to save him first and not Wendy.
Fortunately, Wendy was now safely by his side. Otherwise, he, Michael, would not be able to speak so calmly with him now.
Clearly, Evan was aware of how Michael felt too. That was why he had come here so early in the morning to apologize.
Clearing his throat gently, Evan stepped forward to face "Wendy" and bowed formally. "Mrs. Lucas, I must apologize for what happened yesterday. I am so sorry."
Since she was not at Christian’s house the day before, "Wendy" was aware of what generally occurred. However, she did not know the exact details of what had taken place there.
And so, to avoid making any mistakes, she opted to say as little as possible.
Smiling, "Wendy" said magnanimously, "It’s all water under the bridge."
Evan was surprised at her response. He had not expected her to be so forgiving.
Rubbing his head, he looked a tad embarrassed as he said, "I came here all prepared to apologize for yesterday. But I did not expect you to be so forgiving and not giving me a hard time at all. This is making me a little uncomfortable."
"I may be a woman but I do understand what it means to be a team leader in an operation like this. You must have your reason for doing what you did," "Wendy" replied.
"Besides, the main culprit behind all this is Christian. You should not be blamed for any of this," "Wendy" said.
"I m pleasantly surprised that you are so reasonable. I can see now why Mr. Lucas loves you so much," Evan smiled.
"But I still owe you an explanation about yesterday.
"Mr. Lucas and I had spent a long time planning to take down Christian.
"Yesterday’s incident was totally unexpected. Christian was holding you hostage. As far as I was concerned, I could not have given in to his demands."
"If I had, everything that we had been working toward would have gone up in smoke."
"Also, Christian had nothing to lose. If he sensed that we would have given anything to save Mrs. Lucas, he would have made more unreasonable demands."
"I trust that you would see what I’m getting at, Mrs. Lucas."
"That was why I let Mr. Lucas be the sole person eager to save you and set myself up to be the bad guy."
"Fortunately, everything went smoothly yesterday. We got all the evidence we needed from the safe deposit box, and you, Mrs. Lucas, are unharmed.
"The only exception is Mr. Lucas’ leg injury. You’d need to lie low for a few days."
...
Evan’s explanation, seemingly meant for "Wendy", was, more importantly, a message for Michael.
Because, on the previous day, he had been on the verge of becoming Michael’s number one enemy.
Although he had not known Michael for long, Evan had liked working with him.
Not wishing for this incident to leave a bad impression of himself in Michael’s eyes, he decided to be proactive and came here as soon as possible to apologize.
Truth be told, even if Evan had not volunteered the information, Michael was aware of the rationale behind his decision. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
If the person being held hostage by Christian was not Wendy, he would have made the same decision as Evan did.
He, Michael, had no reason to expect Evan to care as much for Wendy as he did.
If indeed that were so, then he and Evan would never be friends.
That was why he did not really blame Evan for doing what he had done.
Nonetheless, still wanting to make his displeasure felt, he maintained his silence and looked emotionless.
Evan felt a sense of trepidation at Michael’s demeanor.
Walking tentatively toward him, Evan said to Michael, "Look, since your wife has already forgiven me, perhaps you should also find it in your heart to do the same.
Let bygones be bygones?"
However, Michael still maintained his silence and did not respond to him.
Embarrassed by Michael’s cold and silent treatment, Evan smiled and walked toward the table. Looking at the basket of fruit that he had brought, he searched desperately for a conversation topic, "So, Mr. Lucas, what would you like from this basket of fruit?
"An apple? Orange? Just name it. I can peel an orange for you or cut an apple for you. How about it?"
"Oh, who am I to trouble you to do this menial task for me?" Seemingly a deferent remark, Michael sounded a tad menacing.
"No trouble. This is no trouble at all." Evan maintained his smile. He looked at the fruit basket, as though wondering what fruit to prepare for Michael.
"Wendy", who had been observing them from the side, decided to relieve the tension between the two men and spoke up, "How about an orange? Michael likes oranges."
"An orange it is," Evan said. Very quickly, he picked an orange from the basket and peeled it. Then, he walked over to Michael, intending to feed him a slice.
When he saw Evan’s hand approach with the slice of orange, Michael recoiled instinctively and uttered with disgust, "For God’s sake! What do you think you’re doing? And in my wife’s presence as well! Just so you know, I don’t have that inclination at all!"
At Michael’s words, Evan’s movement was suspended in mid-air as he pondered his next step.
"Wendy" stepped forward and took the orange from him, saying gently, "Let me."
Seeing that the orange was now coming from "Wendy", Michael opened his mouth instantly and ate it.
"Is it good?" she asked.
Nodding immediately, he replied, "Of course, anything from you would taste good."
That said, he took a slice from "Wendy’s" hands and fed it to her.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk...," Evan commented as his skin crawled from the lovey-dovey act.
"Spare a thought for the singleton here, please?
"Besides, these oranges were bought by me. How could its sweetness be determined by who feeds it to you?"
"I’m not surprised that you’re still single," Michael jeered, giving Evan a quick glance of disdain.
Apparently, he had pushed the right button because Evan rebutted him angrily, "What’s wrong with me being single? What’s it to you that I’m single?"
As she continued to feed the orange to Michael, "Wendy" smiled faintly at the two men’s bickering.
"Is this the attitude of someone who’s here to apologize?" Michael asked, deliberately making things difficult for Evan.
"Haven’t I apologized already? This is a different matter altogether. You have just slighted my status as a noble singleton," Evan stuck out his chin and said defiantly.
...
Michael burst out laughing at Evan’s heated words.
Evan heaved a sigh of relief. Michael’s laughter was a sign that he was no longer upset.
Pulling out a stool and sitting on it, Evan said in a serious tone, "So let’s just put yesterday’s incident to bed and remain friends, OK?"
"I’m afraid I will not meet the criteria to be counted as a friend of Detective Boyle," Michael remarked sarcastically.
"Oh come on, Mr. Lucas. Will you stop taking this too far? You know very well that my hands were tied yesterday. I had to do what was right," Evan sighed exasperatedly.
Seeing that Michael had already finished eating the orange, "Wendy" decided that it was time to interject and give Evan a hand, "Michael, what happened yesterday was not Detective Boyle’s fault. You’ve made your displeasure very clear already so let’s just stop dwelling over this, shall we?
"Besides, we came out relatively unscathed, did we not? I’m sure Detective Boyle has a ton of work to do but even so, he has made the time to come and apologize to us. That is what I call sincerity."
In fact, Michael was not really upset. So, taking the cue from "Wendy", he said, "Well, since my wife has put in a good word for you, I will let this slide."
"That’s the spirit." Evan slapped his own thighs, openly relieved that this was now behind them.
"But I get the feeling that you did not come here just to apologize, did you? What else have you got to say?" Michael asked Evan.
"You are indeed very astute," Evan replied.
Gleefully, he continued, "I contacted the international drug squad yesterday and sent them all the evidence we uncovered from Christian’s safe. They worked through the night with the information we provided and have come back with a decision."
Michael said nothing. Instead, he looked at Evan, waiting for him to continue.
"The international drug squad will collaborate with us to take down this global drug syndicate," Evan continued.
He looked at Michael’s leg wound and added, "This bullet wound on your leg has paid off big time."
"Hey, I take offense at your remark. What’s this rubbish about my injury paying off big time?" Michael protested grumpily. "Why don’t you get yourself shot?"
"If I could take down the entire drug syndicate, I would gladly take bullets in both my legs, not just the one," Evan declared earnestly.
Now, if these words had been uttered by someone else, Michael would have scoffed at them.
However, since they had come from Evan, Michael believed him.
Even though they had only collaborated for a short period of time, Michael could tell that Evan was truly dedicated to his job, to make his country safer for everyone who lived in it.
And this was why he was able to forgive Evan for choosing to sacrifice "Wendy" instead of giving in to Christian’s demand.
Their country needed people like him.
"So, will you be extremely busy from now on?" Michael asked as he looked at Evan, his gaze turning solemn.
Evan nodded. "As the leader of the drug squad here, I am also the primary lead for this new operation. Tomorrow onward, I will be bringing a team to Rheinsville City to track down Christian and the entire drug syndicate.
"I came here today to apologize as well as to bid you farewell. As you well know, this operation is highly dangerous. I don’t know if I will be able to come back alive."
As far as Evan was concerned, this new mission was a very challenging one.
And he was unsure if he would be able to come back alive.
"In an instant, the atmosphere in the room had turned solemn.
Taking a deep breath, Michael reached out and patted Evan on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "Remember that time when you treated me to a barbeque dinner? I have not returned that favor yet.
"I never forget to return favors. So, when you come back having successfully accomplished your mission, it will be my turn to treat you to a grilled dinner and drinks."
"Sure." Evan looked at Michael and smiled.
With that smile, they finally buried the incident from the previous day and took a step toward a deeper friendship.
