1 The Best Mistake By: KC Esber "They say it's hard to find the person that is right and meant for you. But they also say when you find that person, don't ever ever let go." CHAPTER 1 "Athena, late as ever." Hades said as if mocking me. I took hold of his shirt and pulled it towards me. "Don't ever mess with a pissed woman." I said. "Enough. Athena, sit down." Zeus said. "Yes Sir." I said as I let go of Hades and sat down. "Don't worry Athena, you're just in time. Your next project would be Landon Thom son, his profile already there in front of you." Hermes said. "Landon Thomson, drug lord. Here in Manila to recruit people. Yada yada yada. Ok ay. I'm on it." "But be careful Athena, this is one is said to be very slippery." "Thanks Hermes. I'll keep that in mind." "That's all Sir." Hermes told Zeus. "Ok. Thank you Hermes. Meeting adjourned." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Welcome to my world, my world as an Adelphos agent. 2 The two of the best yet rival agencies namely, Cassiopeia and Invictus decided t o merge into one agency, Adelphos after the death of Cassiopeia's top agent Agen t Dark Orchid and the resignation of Invictus' Agent Phoenix. With changing thin gs like the names like the agent names to greek figures names and the Cassiopeia 's rule of not being able to fall in love, Adelphos became the top agency. After Cronus'(formerly known as Agent Falcon) death, only one person now Adelphos. It is Zeus or formerly known as Agent Flax. And Zeus is my father. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"What's the matter? You're really pissed awhile ago." Aphrodite approached me while I was eating lunch at a near by restaurant. "Just had a rough case last night." I said. "The Cabreza case?" she asked. "Yup that one. It was hell. I ran like an athlete in a marathon just to catch hi m." "Cases are getting harder these days. But I know you can do it. You are not the top agent of Adelphos for nothing." "Thanks Aphrodite." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Hermes is everything okay already? You sure he's here?" I talked to Hermes on w ireless earphone. "Yes I'm sure. Good luck Athena." he answered. I went inside the bar and sat on the stool facing the bartender. "What are you having miss beautiful?" asked the bartender. "Dry martini." 3 I looked for Landon Thomson around the bar. "Kate!" I heard someone calling behind the loud music. My real name's not even Kate and I have never used Kate as a name in cases but I turned around to see whose calli ng. I looked behind but I just saw people dancing so I continued searching for T homson as I took a sip from my martini. "Are the recruits okay already?" I heard someone spoke a few meters away from me. It's Thomson. "Yes Boss. By the way, when are you planning to leave?" "Tomorrow morning." "Then, I will fix your flight already as soon as possible." "Okay. You may leave now."

I was about to approach Thomson when someone pulled my arm. "Kate, I'm so happy we met again. I tried looking for you but I can't find you. I'm so sorry for everything that happened." the guy suddenly said to me. He sounds and looks like he's already drunk. "Sorry. My name is not Kate." I told the guy. I saw Thomson getting inside the VIP room. "I'm so sorry Kate. See I changed for you. Please take me back." "Mr, you're already drunk. Let go of me please. I said I'm not Kate. I don't eve n know who you are." I pushed him and followed Thomson. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------4 "Mr. Thomson, you forgot your one way ticket to hell." I said. "So nice of you to find it." he answered. He then gestures as if he was about to pull out his gun. I was faster than him s o I immediately got my gun and pointed it at him. "I wouldn't advise that you do that Mr. Thomson." "Who are you?" "Is that even relevant to you Mr. Thomson? But I will tell you why I am here ton ight. As you know I'm here to kill you. I want this world to be a better place s o I'm killing guys like you." "Too much talk. Just shoot. But I know your weak heart won't able to take it. Yo u girls are too weak for these kinds of things." "Ouch Mr. Thomson. You're profile didn't say that you are a chauvinist. Tsk. Tsk . Tsk. You want me to shoot then I'll shoot." I was about to pull the trigger when the guy from a while ago held my arm again. "Kate please." "I'm in the middle of something. Please I'm not Kate." Suddenly, Thomson pulled out his gun and shot me. Good thing the bullet just hit my leg. He then runs out the back door, Damn it! Even with the wounded leg, I r an after him but the guy followed me again. This guy is getting on my nerves alr eady. "Hermes, can you hear me?" I said to Hermes. "Loud and clear." "Thomson is getting away. I'm chasing him right now." "Are you okay?" 5 "Just got shot but I'm fine. Don't mind me. Just send someone to help. We can't let him get away." I was about to shot him again when the guy interrupted again stopping me to run. "Slow down." he said. "What is your freaking problem? I'm not Kate." Because of my frustration, I pushed him and he fell on the ground. Pontus then a ppears. "Athena, let's go." he said. "How about Thomson?" "Chronos is already following him. You're wounded let's go." "Please Kate." the guy again speaks. "For the love of.. Mister, for the nth time. I'm not Kate." I told him. "Who's this?" Pontus asked. "I don't know. He kept calling me Kate. He even followed me here. I wasn't able to kill and catch Thomson because of him. Just get him inside. I'll just go to A pollo myself." "You sure? I can go with you if you want." "I'm sure." CHAPTER 2 "There, all done. I'll just give you some medicines." Apollo said. I went to his house since at this hour he's already gone home from the agency. "Thanks." 6

Apollo's part of the agency but he doesn't do much field work like most agents d o. He's job is to tend the agent's wound and cure their sickness. He's the resid ent doctor of the agency. My phone suddenly beeped. "Athena.." It was Chronos. "Bad news, Thomson got away." "Crap. This is bad. Thanks Chorons. Just search the area one last time. I just t alk to Hermes myself." I put down the phone. "Thanks again Apollo. I need to go back to the agency. Thomson got away." "Athena, you need to rest." "It's okay. I'm used to this." "At least let me drive you to the agency." he said as he suddenly held my arm. I immediately pulled my arm away. "Fine." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Can't you track him down?" I asked Hermes. "I'm trying." he answered. "Sorry. You know I hate when bad guys get away." "I understand Athena but it's already 3 am. You need to rest that leg of yours. I'll be the one to take care of this. I'll just call you later okay." 7 "Fine. Thanks Hermes." As I was going to the elevator, I saw Apollo sleeping on the sofa. "Apollo.." I tapped his shoulder gently. "Oh. Athena. Are we going already?" "You shouldn't have waited for me. I can go home myself." "No. It's okay. I want to take you home. And.. I was worried." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------The next day, I woke up with my phone ringing loudly. It was Hermes calling. "I know you really hate being woken up from your sleep and you've slept for only just a few hours but there's a big problem." he said. "It's okay. I'll be there in a few minutes." I answered. I got ready and went straight to the agency. Hermes immediately called me as soo n as I arrived. "Is your leg already okay?" he immediately asked. "Yup. Thanks. Well, what's the problem?" I asked. "Thomson got out of the country. He's in South Korea right now. But the problem is his men are after you and the guy you are with, Mr. Caleb Franco." "The guy who kept calling me Kate?" "Yup. Here's his profile." "Thanks. I'll read it later." I said. "By the way, he's on his way here. Pontus already fetched him." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 "Can anybody tell me what's going on here?" I suddenly heard someone shouting. I went outside to see what's happening. "Please calm down." Pontus said. It was the guy from last night, Caleb. He and Pontus had just arrived. "Calm down? How can I calm down when someone is trying to kill me?" Caleb said. "Would you please shut up!" I told Caleb. "Athena.." Pontus straightened his stand even if he has a wound on his thigh. "Go to Apollo. Let him take care of your wound. I'll take care of this." Pontus bowed a little and went away. "Mr. Franco, please follow me and we'll tell you what's really happening." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Before anything, welcome to Adelphos. I'm Agent Hermes and this is Agent Athena . You're here because you got involved in one of our cases." Hermes said.

"That is also why someone is trying to kill you." I added. "What? I don't understand. Adelphos? Agents?" "We are agents Mr. Franco. We do the dirty work the government can't do. And thi s is our agency, Adelphos. You may not remember it because you are really drunk last night but last night at Foxy you've mistaken me for a girl named Kate. You kept following me around." "What's that got to do about the fact that someone's trying to kill me?" 9 "I'm not yet finished Mr. Franco. I was about to kill our target that night, Lan don Thomson when you barged in insisting I am Kate. He got away because of you. He's in South Korea but his men are here doing everything right now just to kill you and me." I unzipped my boot and showed him the bullet wound on my leg. "Well, here's a bullet wound to prove it. I was about to shoot him but you disru pted me and he was able to shoot my leg. I can protect myself but can you protec t yourself Mr. Franco?" "But don't worry Mr. Franco we'll be ensuring your safety until Thomson is caugh t." Hermes said. "No need. I'll get my own security." "It's fine with us. Though I'm very sure ordinary security company can't protect you. But we understand. We just brought you here so that you'd be aware of what 's really happening. Chronos.." "Yes Athena?" Chronos said. "Escort Mr. Franco out." "Yes Athena." Caleb went out of Hermes' office escorted by Chronos. "Send me the whole profile of Thomson and he's location too. I'll just book a fl ight right away so that I could arrive in South Korea as soon as possible. Thank s Hermes." I patted his shoulder and went outside. "Athena.." It was Caleb. "Mr. Franco, I thought you are going already." I told him. "I've decided." 10 "On what Mr. Franco?" "I've decided that I'm going with you to South Korea." CHAPTER 3 "I beg your pardon Mr. Franco? You're going with me to South Korea?" I said. "Yeah. I can't sit here worrying that someone's going to kill me. I want to make sure I'd be safe." Caleb said. "That's not possible Mr. Franco." Then suddenly Zeus appeared. "What's going on here? What's a civilian doing here?" he asked. I bowed my head a little to give respects, bowing a little like Japanese and Kor ean's are also our way of respecting and acknowledging our seniors. "This is Mr. Caleb Franco. He got involved in the Thomson case last night." "Hermes already told me about that one. What's the matter?" "Mr. Franco here wants to go with me to South Korea." "I see. Let's go inside my office. Let's talk there." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Mr. Franco. Athena here is right. It is not possible. We can give you the highe st security we can give you but you cannot participate on a case. You are not an Adelphos agent." Zeus said. "Adelphos agents? What's with this agency anyway? You call each other Zeus, Athe na, Hermes? Aren't they greek gods?" Caleb said. "I know you're still confused even after the explanation of Agent Athena. So I w ill explain further. As Agent Athena may have told you, Adelphos do the dirty wo rk the government 11

can't do. We put bad guys to rest. And I'm the head of this top secret agency. T hey call me Zeus. We don't use our real names for security purposes we use names of greek figures. On to your case Mr. Franco, you may already know you are in b ig trouble but our agents are highly skilled and they will ensure your safety. W e can even find a safe house for you Mr. Franco. We'll as I said, ensure your sa fety until Agent Athena here is done dealing with Thomson." "But Mr. Zeus, I cannot just sit here doing nothing. I want to go with Agent Ath ena to South Korea." "I kept telling you Mr. Franco it's not possible. You don't have a proper traini ng." "I know but I can speak Korean very well. I can help Agent Athena when she goes to South Korea." "That's very nice to hear Mr. Franco but you don't know that every agent here in Adelphos knows 20 languages at least. Mabuhay! Hello! Bonjour! Caio! Hej! Ni ha o! Pozdrav! Geia sas! Ol! Hola! Annyeonghaseyo! I can go on and on if you want Mr . Franco." "I can train if you want to." "Pardon me Sir. But wouldn't that be unfair to him and to the agency?" "It's okay Athena. I'll handle this. I like your perseverance Mr. Franco. Fine y ou'll train. I think 2 weeks is enough. You'll be staying in a loft guarded by a gents while you are training with us." "Thank you Sir." "Poseidon, take Mr. Franco here to the agency's condo. And give him what he need s." "Yes Sir." Poseidon said as he and Caleb then left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------12 "You'll be training him Athena. Just teach him the basics that will prepare him for the case." Zeus told me. "But Sir. I can't take him with me. You know me. I need to deal with Thomson rig ht away." "Athena, it would be just 2 weeks. 2 weeks wouldn't hurt. We have Hermes to trac k him down." "But Dad!" "Athena!" "I'm sorry Dad. Fine, I'll train Mr. Franco." "Good. By the way, how's your leg?" "It's okay already." "Be careful next time." "Yes sir." "By the way, Sophie.." He called me by my real name. "Yes Dad?" "Have you heard from your sister?" "No Dad." I wanted to say I've never heard from her since she ran away but I just kept qui et. "Okay. You can go." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------13 It's always been my sister Katharin. Katharin this. Katharin that. She's pretty, smart and very talented in playing the piano. Why can't you be more like Kathar in, Sophie? Argh! Who's the good daughter now? 2 years ago, she suddenly ran awa y. We don't know where in the world she's now. Even with help of Hermes we can't find her. She must have learned a thing or two from Dad. Well, we've never been close even when we were little. She was the studious type always studying and playing her piano. I was the playful one who was willing to study but prefers to just paint rather than study. That's why he's Dad's favori te. He didn't force her to be an agent. Dad wanted her to be lawyer. Unlike me, he said painting is crap. It won't get me nowhere so after high school, instead

of going to college he forced me to be an agent. I wanted to not follow him and just do what I want. But my Dad isn't Agent Flax or Zeus, whatever for nothing. So I did become an agent. I did my very best to b e the best agent Adelphos has without my Dad's help. It was sort of my revenge. Well, no one in the agency knows I'm Zeus' daughter except me and him. Anyways, even though Katharin's gone now, Dad still looks for her. He's still hi s favorite little girl. That's why I moved out of our house. I moved out a few d ays after Katharin ran away. I just had it. It was always been her. I tried to u nderstand Dad but being in that house just made it all worse. CHAPTER 4 "Mr. Franco, just wait for Agent Athena and Hemera. They'd be with you in a whil e. They are a bit late for they are coming from a case in Cebu." Hermes said. "Agent Athena and Hemera?" Caleb said. "Why Mr. Franco? Do you have a problem with our female agents teaching you? I do n't want to sound arrogant but you are lucky Agent Athena and Hemera are teachin g you. They don't teach their skills to just anyone." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------14 I arrived in the agency from a case in Cebu with Hemera. "I think I need to get my gun fixed. I feel there's something wrong." Hemera sai d. "Just let Hephaestus check it." I answered. We were walking when Hermes approached us. "Athena, Hemera, Mr. Franco is in the waiting room already." "Mr. Franco?" Hemera asked. "The guy from the Thomson case. It's our job to train him for 2 weeks." "Oh. Okay. Let's go." "By the way, I already briefed him about Thomson." "Thanks Hermes. You've done a lot already." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Mr. Franco, sorry for waiting. By the way, this is Agent Hemera. As you may kno w, we are the ones who'll train you. Hermes said he already briefed you so you k now Thomson is not an easy enemy. But that's why we are here. Let's go Mr. Franc o." I said. He followed us as we go to the firing range. "You'd be learning a lot of skills this week. While the next week would be spent on practicing those skills." I said. "Put this on. Here's your gun." Hemera said She handed him the earmuff and the gun. "Athena, I'll just go to Hephaestus. I need to him to check my gun. I'll just me et you at the fencing room later." "Sure." I answered. 15 I took one earmuff and gun and started shooting. The three bullets went straight to the middle of the board. "You try Mr. Franco." I told him. He did and the bullets went a few centimeters from the center. "Caleb.." "Pardon?" "Call me Caleb." "Fine. Caleb, Not bad. But relax your shoulder. Hold the gun tighter and spread your legs a bit." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. He shot again and the bullet went straight to the middle of the board. "See, you are a fast learner. But you may want to practice more. I'll get going. Just go to the fencing room later, the last room in the hallway. Hemera would b e waiting for you there." I said. "You are not teaching me fencing?" "No. Hemera would be teaching you that one." I left the room. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How's the trainee?" Aphrodite approached me again while I was eating at the restaurant that lunch ti me. "Trainee?" I said. "The guy from the Thomson case, Mr. Caleb Franco." "Oh him. Okay. I only taught him target shooting. Ask Hemera, she teaching him f encing right now actually." 16 "He's handsome isn't he? I saw him this morning." "Handsome? Maybe. But what do you get from handsome guys? Problems and heartache s. Without that guy, Thomson is now dead and I won't be thinking about his case right now." "Can we join you?" I turned around and it was Hemera and Caleb. "I thought he'd be lonely so I invited him to lunch." "Sure." Aphrodite said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"I need to go. I still have a case to work on." Aphrodite said. "Me too. I forgot to get my gun from Hephaestus. Athena, I'll leave him to you." Hemera said. That leaves me and this Caleb guy together eating. After eating, I immediately s tood up. "I'll go ahead. I think you had enough for the day. We'll just resume the traini ng tomorrow. You may go back to the condo after eating. Don't go anywhere withou t an agent with you." I went outside but he followed me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Uhm. Athena.." "Yes?" I was looking around when suddenly I saw someone hiding in the bushes. It was a guy. He was about to shoot Caleb. "Step aside." I told Caleb. 17 I immediately pushed him, got my gun and shot the guy. "Run." CHAPTER 5 The guy fired his gun and the bullet hit my arm but I was able to shoot at him b ack. He was hit in the torso area. I then followed Caleb. "You got shot. We need to get you to the hospital right now." he said. "No need. I'll be okay." I said. "But Athena.." "Let's go back to the agency." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Get him back to condo. Someone was following him good thing I was there." I sai d as we arrived at the agency. "I can't leave you in that situation." Caleb said. "Just do as I say." I told him as I go to Apollo. "What happened?" Apollo asked. "One of Thomson's men followed me and Caleb. He almost killed one of us." I said . "Good thing you are good at those kinds of things." Apollo said. I then noticed Caleb peeking by the door. "I told you to go back to the condo didn't I?" "Sorry. I was just worried." Caleb said. "Fine. Come in." 18 He looks quite squeamish as he sat down and watched as Apollo took out the bulle t from my arm. "Just close your eyes. I don't want you to vomit here." I joked. "Is this the guy from the Thomson case?" Apollo asked.

"I didn't know this guy's famous. Apollo this is Mr. Caleb Franco. Caleb, this i s Agent Apollo, the resident doctor of the agency." "Nice to meet you. Don't worry she's fine. It won't scar either. " Apollo said. "Nice to meet you too." Caleb said. "It never does. Apollo here invented a machine to make wounds heal faster and no t scar." He suddenly opens his eyes. "But what about that scar?" he said. He was pertaining to the scar near my collarbone. "Let's just say his invention wasn't there at that time and I wanted to keep the scar to remind me of something." I looked at Apollo then at Caleb. "Uhm. You may want to already rest this time. You need a lot of rest since you h ave two bullet shots now." "Thanks Apollo. I will. Caleb, you may want to go back to the condo now. I'm alr eady okay. No need to worry." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I painted while listening to Chopin that night. Caleb noticing my scar took me a gain to that night. 19 Apollo or Sean as his real name actually is and I used to date. I was already in my second year of being an agent and Sean wasn't an agent yet but a medicine st udent at a prestigious university. We agreed to meet up that night for a date. W e were walking down the street after our dinner when suddenly a car stopped in f ront of us. Then a guy went out of the car. It was son of a person I killed in a case. He was about to shoot Sean when I pushed Apollo. The bullet hit me and I fell on the ground as the guy goes back in the car and escape. He rushed me to the hospital and I was in ICU for two days. After I woke up, I d ecided to end it with Sean. I don't want him getting hurt because of my job. I l ove him so much that I'm willing to let him go. Maybe, I still love him until no w that's why I still haven't had a relationship after that. Anyways, I retained the scar to remember everything we had. But little did I kno w that after a year succeeding the incident, he'll try out as an agent in Adelph os. He didn't pass the most of the test but Dad thought that his medical skills would really help the agency so he got in. It was very awkward seeing him at fir st but I got used to it and we just keep our relationship professional. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I was painting when someone knocked at the door. "Agent Athena, it's Hestia." I opened the door. It was Hestia and Caleb. Hestia and Caleb? What are they doin g here? "Hestia, what are you doing here with Caleb?" I said. She bowed a little out of respect. "We need to make sure the loft is safe. We are having reports that a suspicious man is lurking near the loft." Hestia said. "But why take him here?" 20 "Your condo is the closest to agency and he won't need other agents when he's he re. It would only be for a night." "Are you sure it would be only for a night?" "I'm very sure." I rolled my eyes. "Fine." I said. "Thank you Athena." Hestia left. "Come in." I told Caleb. CHAPTER 6 "Thanks for letting me stay here. I insisted that I just stay in a hotel room bu t they also insisted that I just stay here." Caleb said. "Do I have a choice? Here." I said.

I handed him a blanket and a pillow. "You can sleep there on the sofa." "Thanks. Don't worry about me. Just continue what you are doing." he said. So I turned up the volume of the speaker and started painting again. I was paint ing when I suddenly felt Caleb was behind me. "What's the matter? Is there something wrong?" I asked him. "S. Javier." he said while looking at the painting that I was doing. "Pardon?" 21 "You are S. Javier, that great anonymous painter. That exactly is his style of p ainting. I always see your paintings in the galleries I go to. My favorite paint ing of yours is the one entitled Fortis. The one you did two years ago." "Seems like you are a fan of my paintings." I said as I stood up to get a glass of water. "I'm actually a big fan." "Seems like it. But painting is just a hobby, a stress reliever. The time that I 'm very passionate about painting already passed. There are more things importan t to me than painting right now. It just so happens that a friend of mine kept t elling me to put my paintings in a gallery so I did. " "If you weren't an agent right now, will you be a painter instead?" "Maybe." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------As I went to my room, I saw Caleb's profile on top of my bed side drawer. I deci ded to read it before I went to bed. Mr. Caleb Fuentibella Franco, son of former Senator Rogelio Franco and socialite Amara Perez Franco. He moved to the states after grade school. He studied Philosophy in college and finished his masters. After that he went back to the Philippines alone and started teaching at a prest igious university. In the profile folder, a picture of him when he went back here a few years ago w as attached. It is as if it's not the same person. He looked like, sorry but a n erd. He's looks frail in a tux with awful glasses and looks like his hair was li cked by a cow. What happened? How did he turn out the way he looks now? But stil l the profile is right. Despite his, I will admit good looks now; he's still shy and quite awkward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I woke up the next day and saw Caleb eating in the kitchen. "Oh. You're awake already. I'm sorry. I got hungry. But don't worry I cooked for the both of us." Caleb said. 22 He stood up and got a plate as I took a seat. "So you are a professor. Your students must miss you already." I said. "How did you know?" he said. "I read your profile." "So you pretty much know everything about me now." "Not everything. The profile says nothing about it but I know you are a shy and awkward person. Also, the profile doesn't say anything about Kate." "Kate?" "You kept mistaking me for her that night." He didn't answer but I can see the expression on his face changed. "By the way, I already called Hestia to pick you up already." "Can we just go together to the agency?" "No. I still need to do something. Just ask Hemera to start the training. I'd be training you after lunch." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aside from painting, I do aerial silk acrobatics. I practice it 3 times a week. It helps me maintain my weight. I find it more interesting that going to the gym . So even though I had a though day yesterday and two bullet wounds, I still do it. "Where were you this morning?" Hemera asked. "I do aerial silk acrobatics 3 times a week remember?" I said.

"Oh that beautiful yet excruciating thing. I don't want to try it again. It's wo rse than dealing with a case." "It's not that bad. Where's Caleb?" 23 "Oh really? Caleb is in the martial arts room waiting for you." "Are you done teaching him Capoeira?" "Yup. Poor guy. I gave him an early break. He looks like he was going to collaps e earlier." "Don't be too hard on him." "Athena don't tell me.." "Tell you what?" "You are starting to like this guy?" "Are you insane? I just met him a few days ago and you are telling me now that I like him. I'm just saying don't be too hard on him because he's just training f or certain mission. He's not training to be an Adelphos agent. That's it." "Defensive much?" "I'm never defensive Hemera. We both know that." CHAPTER 7 I went inside the martial arts room to see Caleb resting. "I know it is tiring but it's time for the next lesson, Sambo. It is a Russian c ombat and martial art. It was originally taught in the Russian military to impro ve their hand to hand combat abilities. I asked Pontus and Chronos to demonstrat e it for you." I said to Caleb. "Start!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Now you try." I told Caleb. 24 He tried it with Pontus. He really is a quick learner. With just seeing everythi ng once, he remembers how to execute everything. All I need to do is to fix his posture and such. After hours of training, I decided to end it already. "That's enough. Thanks Pontus, Chronos." I said. Chronos and Pontus left. "I was right." "Right about what?" Caleb asked. "That you have photographic memory." "You noticed." "I did. Us agents notice everything. You're lucky. Yours is inborn. We agents ne ed to train very hard to have it. Very well. See you tomorrow. That's all." I was about to go out when.. "Athena.." "Yes?" "Can go with me? I just need to go somewhere." "Aren't the other agents available?" He shook his head. "Fine. Meet me here after an hour." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Get in." I told Caleb as motion him to get in my car. "Thanks." Caleb said. 25 "I can only be with you for about 30 minutes. I still have a yoga class and a ca se to deal with later." "Sure. Sure. It will be just for a while. But yoga then a case? I'm impressed wi th you agents. You do a lot." "I just got used to it doing things a lot. Aerial silk acrobatics, work, yoga cl ass then work again. I do paint once in a while. By the way, where are we going? " ------------------------------------------------------------------------------We arrived at the university Caleb was working at. Turns out he still hasn't tak en a leave and he's been absent for about 4 days already. "Let me guess. You took me here to be your alibi. And I thought you are the one

with the high intelligence." I said. "Don't flatter yourself too much." Caleb said. We started walking to the dean's building. "It's Sir Caleb! Professor!" Girls started running to him like a mob of fan girls. "Where have you been? We missed you." Girl started swarming him. I rolled my eyes. "Ehem. 20 minutes left." I told him. "Sorry but I need to talk to the Dean right now." Caleb told the girls. "But Professor.." "Caleb.." I said. "Who's this girl Professor? Is she your girlfriend?" 26 One girl said and then looked at me as if my something disgusting. I look at her back with one eyebrow raised. "Excuse me. Me his girlfriend? No way." I said. "No. She's not. She's just my.. cousin." Caleb said. "Cousin?" "Cousin. Sorry girls. I really need to go." Caleb said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You never told me you were very popular with the girl students." I told Caleb a s we get in the elevator. "It's because my teaching method is very effective to them." Caleb said. I laughed. "What's funny?" "Nothing. Well, I can't blame them because I've been there. Sir Theodore, smart, witty and most of all handsome. I wonder where he is now." We arrived at the dean's office. "Dean Jimenez please." Caleb said. "He's inside. He's been looking for you." the dean's secretary said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Mr. Franco, I've been wanting to talk to you. Have a seat." He was looking at Caleb when he suddenly looks at me. "Sophie is that you?" he told me. "Tito Calvin?" I said. 27 It was Tito Calvin, a former agent of Adelphos. I didn't know he became a dean. He left few years after the merge. His agent name was Oceanus. He was with Dad e ver since the Cassiopeia agency days. The last time I saw him was when I was 9 y ears old. "Sophie, you've grown so well." Tito Calvin said. "Thank you Tito Calvin or should I say Agent Oceanus?" I smiled. "Agent Oceanus?" Caleb said. "That was a long time ago." "I didn't know you became a dean." "I decided to teach after leaving Adelphos." "Well you are the brain of Adelphos back then." "Thank you Sophie." "Athena, Tito. Athena." "Oh. I didn't know you followed your father's order." "Well what can I do? You know my Dad." "Ehem." Caleb said. "I'm sorry Mr. Franco. Let's go back to you." "Sir, I want to apologize for my absents. It's just that I'm not in a very good position right now so I can't teach for a while." "Well, I guess that your situation has something to do with Athena here." "Yes Sir." I told Tito about everything that happened. 28

------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Well, a month. I can allow you to get a leave for a month but that's it. Nothin g more than that." "Thank you very much Sir." "It was nothing. But can you leave Athena and I for a while. We need to talk abo ut something." "Ok Sir." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------After our talk, I went outside. "What a small world." Caleb said. "It is. Let's go." I said. "Who would have thought Dean Jimenez was an agent for your agency. And your real name is Sophie Javier. That's why it is S. Javier, Sophie Javier." "Shut up okay. Don't ever call me by my real name. You're lucky because if you a re just any other person who gets to know my real name then you'd be dead by now ." "Fine. Sorry Athena." "Let's go. I still have 10 minutes to get you to your condo and go to my yoga cl ass." CHAPTER 8 I arrived at the agency the next day after dealing with a case when I saw Hemera and Aphrodite were eating salad. "Athena! Good morning. Have some greek salad it's so good. Here's a fork." Aphro dite said as she hands me a fork. "Who made this?" I asked as I took a bite. 29 "Me. You like it?" Caleb said as he appeared behind my back. I immediately placed down the fork. "It's okay." "Are you kidding Athena? It's just a salad but it's so good." Hemera said. "What can you do? For me it's just okay. By the way, I can't train Caleb today. I have a case to work on." "I'll just train him today for you." Aphrodite said. "Ok. Thanks Aphrodite." I was walking to Hermes' office when Apollo called me. "Can you help me with something?" Apollo said. "Sure." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Did you just see that Athena went inside Apollo's office?" Hemera asked. "Of course. What's wrong with an agent going inside another agent's office?" Aph rodite said. "Haven't you heard the story between those two? It is said that Athena and Apoll o was once in a relationship. It was when Athena was still an agent and Apollo w as still a medicine student. But Athena ended it because Apollo was almost kille d because of her. She took a bullet for him and she ended up in the ICU for a fe w days. But as I said, Athena ended it because she doesn't want to endanger Apol lo's life." "I know that story. What fate! After a few years, Apollo went to try out on bein g an agent so that's why he's an agent now. I already asked Athena about that bu t she just said they are friends now. Past is past. But she's quite afraid to fa ll in love again after what happened. Never had a single boyfriend after Apollo. " 30 "So sad." "Is that true?" Caleb asked. "Of course. The scar on her chest is the proof." Aphrodite said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"What is it Apollo? I don't want to be rude but I still need to talk to Hermes." I told Apollo. "Oh. Sorry. I'll make it quick." Apollo said.

"It's okay. So what is it?" "Here." He showed me a picture of a ring on his laptop. Tiffany Novo, the ring's name ac cording to the website. $11,500, doing the math that would be about half a milli on. "I didn't know you got a girlfriend. A ring worth about half a million. You must really love this girl." I asked. "I do. But it's a secret. I'll tell you when the right time comes. Is this okay already? I mean to give to her as an engagement ring?" "Of course. A ring that that beautiful and is worth about half a million is more than okay." "Thanks for your opinion." "Sure. Glad to help. I really need to go Apollo." "Sure. Sure. I don't want to keep you from your cases." "Before I go, you may want to do a fitness test on Caleb to see how he's been ho lding up. I don't want to be burdened if he got sick from the training. " "Sure." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------31 "Are you done with the Bethany case already?" It was Dad on the phone. "Yes Sir. Is there something wrong?" I answered. "Good. Come to the house for dinner." "Yes Sir." Dinner again. He must be missing Katharin today. I drove to the house and my aun t Claudette opened the door. "What's wrong now?" I asked her. "Nothing. He's just feeling lonely or maybe even going through a midlife crisis. " "By the way, how's my gorgeous aunt?" "Still gorgeous." she said. We both laughed. She is still gorgeous I have to admit that. She still looks you thful and good despite her age without the help of a plastic surgeon. Ever since Mom's death because of giving birth to Katharin and being Mom's sister, she's t he one who guided Katharin and I. "You're still not married?" "Well, being single is fun." she said. "Tita!" We both laughed again. We just stop laughing when we got to the dining room wher e Dad was now seated. Even though my Dad and I are not that in the best of terms , I still follow him and visit him when he wants me to visit. "Sir.." I said. "Have seat." 32 CHAPTER 9 Caleb's training is already done and by tomorrow we'll be flying to South Korea already. "Has Caleb arrived already?" I asked Pontus. "Not yet." he said. "Just tell whoever is on duty with him to tell him to just rest today. I'll be t he one to talk to him about the South Korea trip." "Ok. I will." "Thanks." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Is everything ready for the trip?" I asked Hermes. "Yes. Here's the profile on it." Hermes said as he handed me the profile. "You may want to send and explain this to Caleb too. This would be his first tim e dealing with a case. I don't want him to screw up this time." "I will. I'll come by later." "What's with Thomson? From here he goes to Busan then he goes to Sri Lanka and t

hen now he comes back to South Korea. He's now in Jeju-do. I smell something fis hy about this Thomson guy." "That's what I think too. He keeps going back to Korea at least 4 times a month. I will research on that more. But you and Caleb can go anytime." "We're leaving first thing tomorrow. I already booked a flight to Seoul. We'll s tay in Seoul for about a day to contact with Aether there. Then we'll fly from S eoul to Jeju-do." "You just made my job easier." 33 "Hehe. You know I like making your job easier. By the way, just give me the prof ile for Caleb. I'll be the one to explain everything to him." "Ok. Sure. Here." He gave me the profile for Caleb. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I was about to go inside the elevator when Apollo called me. "Athena, I got something to tell you?" Apollo said. "Can it wait until later?" I asked. He didn't answer. "Sorry Apollo, I got to go. I still need to do some things. So let's just tell m e whatever you are going to tell me when I get back from South Korea." "When is that?" "I'm still not sure." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Is he inside?" I asked as Chronos as he was the one guarding Caleb. "Yes. He didn't go out today." Chronos said. I knocked at the door. "Who is it?" Caleb asked. "It's Athena." Caleb then opened the door. "Come in." he said. So I did. 34 "I didn't know you are a neat freak." "There's nothing wrong with being clean." "Did I say there is?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"We're leaving tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I'd just fetch you here. Ou r flight is Manila to Seoul. We'll stay in Seoul for about a day to take care of things. Then we'll fly from to Jeju-do where Thomson is now. Here's the profile . Just read it. The guidelines are already there and the information about Thoms on's location." I said as I handed him the profile. "After the case.." he said. "You're free to go. You can go back to your normal life like everything that con nected to Thomson and the agency never happened. That means you may want to gath er all your things already since you are no longer coming back here after you co me back from South Korea." I looked at him and he seem to look sad. "Do you have any more question?" "No." "Then I better go. I still have a case to take care of." "Can I come?" "Well it can be nice practice for you. Fine. Just don't screw this up." CHAPTER 10 We arrived at the bar where Luci, the target for tonight is at. "Hello Samantha. Nice to see you again." 35 "Hi Dani. Same here." I said to Dani. Samantha is the name I used for disguise when I needed to go undercover for a ca se here. "Who's the handsome guy?" Dani asked as she was pertaining to Caleb.

"This is Alfred, my brother." "You didn't tell me you have a brother, a handsome brother to be exact. Hi! I'm Danica, Dani for short." Danica said as she held Caleb's arm. "And that's exactly why I didn't tell you I have brother. I know you Dani. I'd b e performing in a while. Let's go Alfred." "Uhm. We better go." Caleb told Dani. "Just stay here. Can he stay with me instead?" "Sure. But be nice?" "I am nice." "When you see this guy come in, try to sit close to his table." I whispered to C aleb as I show Luci's photo and gave him a gun of his own. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------This club is a burlesque club. Just in like the movie Burlesque with Cher, Chris tina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci and many more. Tonight I'd be performing Christina Aguilera's song But I'm A Good Girl from the same movie. Where I've been all my life? The dress is Chanel, the shoes YSL. The bag is Dior , Agent Provocateur. My address today, L.A. by the way, above Sunset Strip, the hills are the way. My rings are by Webster, it makes the head twirl. They all sa y: darling, what did you do for those pearls? What? I am a good girl. 36 I suddenly saw Luci come in as I saw Caleb sat near him. I continued the perform ance as I try to allure him too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Wow." Caleb said as he clapped his hands. "Your sister is really good isn't she? Everybody likes her. The manager even off ered her a huge sum of money for her just to perform here every night but she tu rned it down. But she agreed to do a performance once awhile." Dani said. "I didn't know that." "That's odd. You're her brother right. Anyways, be right back. I'm my turn in a while." "You are a dancer too?" "Isn't obvious?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Sam, someone's calling for you." Dani said as she went inside the dressing room . "Who?" I asked. "The gentleman over there." she said as she pointed to Luci. I went to Luci's table. He was with his men. "Which one of you called for me?" I asked. "Me. Please have a seat." Luci said as he motions his men to go move away and le ave me and him alone. "What made you think I'm gonna sit beside you?" I said. "Feisty. They way I like it. Honey, I don't think. I know. I know you're gonna s it beside me when I say sit. So sit." he said. I sat on the chair in front of him. 37 "What's your name?" "Is that even important?" "To me, it is." "Then, I'm Samantha. And you?" "Michael, Michael Luci." He gave me his calling card. "Michael Luci, gun specialist. So you're good with guns." I said as I read his c alling card. "You can say that." I smiled and flirted with him. "Are you done already? I want us to go somewhere else." he said as he squeezed m y thigh a little. "Sure. I'll just change." I stood up and went to Caleb.

"Go to the parking lot. Wait for me there. Make sure no one sees you there. When I touch Luci's neck, shoot him. Okay? There's no room for second chances here." I whispered to Caleb. Caleb nodded in return. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Let's go." I told Michael. "Sure. Ladies' first." he said. We went outside and to the parking lot. I look around to make sure that no men o f his are around. 38 "It's time Mr. Luci." I said then touched his neck. Caleb fired his gun and it hit his head but I didn't know a man of Luci is aroun d and shot Caleb on the arm. "Caleb!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I shot the man who shot Caleb and Luci's other men. After I finish all of them, I went to my car and looked for Caleb. "Caleb, get inside." I told Caleb. "That was close." Caleb said as he got inside the car. "We need to get you immediately to Apollo." CHAPTER 11 "Sorry to bother you. I need your help. We're on the way to your house." I told Apollo on the phone while as driving to his house. When we arrived, Apollo was already at the door waiting for us. "What happened?" Apollo asked. "Caleb wanted to go with me to case so I agreed but he got shot. I'll tell you e verything later. Just take care of him already." We went inside and Apollo took care of Caleb's wounds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Where am I?" Caleb said. "You're in my house. Athena took you here and told me about everything." Apollo said. "Everything I learned in the training just went out of the window. Good thing I was still able to pull the trigger." 39 "Training is different from the real thing. That's why I admire the other agents because they do cases on the daily basis." "You don't do cases?" "Rarely. I'm the doctor of the agency. I really wanted to be a doctor but someth ing made me want to be part of the agency. But I don't have the skills. I just h ave the brains. Good thing even though I'm like this Zeus took me in the agency. The agents don't go to the hospital for they'll just be questioned. They all go to me and I'm happy to help them all." "That picture.." Caleb pointed to pictures of Apollo and Athena. "Don't tell Athena those pictures are still there." "You and Athena, it's really true?" "I see you have heard the story that is circulating in the agency. Well, that is true. I won't deny it. Athena and I had a relationship for 4 years even before she was an agent in Adelphos." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You know I don't want you telling people about our past relationship behind my back." I told Apollo as I walked inside the room. I was waiting when I heard that Caleb had woken up and he was talking to Apollo. "He was curious so I told him." Apollo said, "Feeling better?" I told Caleb. "A bit." I then see the frame that is on top of the bed side drawer with our picture on i t. "I remember these pictures. These two, we took these in a studio in Prague and t

his one is the one when we went to Japan." I said as I took the frame and looked at it. 40 "Sweet memories." Apollo said. "We better go. We still have a flight to Seoul tomorrow. You, Caleb can rest in my house for a while before our flight. By the way, I already moved our flight t o an evening flight because of what happened so don't worry you still have time to rest." I placed the frame back. "He can stay here for a while." Apollo said. "No. It's okay. Thank you Apollo but I'll just take Athena's offer." Caleb said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Just rest in my bed. I can sleep in the sofa." I said. "No. I can just sleep in sofa." Caleb said. "I insist." Caleb obediently went to my bed. "About Apollo.." "I didn't tell you about this before so I'm telling you know since we'll be spen ding a lot of time together for the next few days. I have three rules. 1) Don't ever touch me unless it's a life and death situation. 2) Don't ever take a bulle t for me. 3) Don't ever ever ask me about my past with Apollo. Understand?" "Yes Ma'am." I changed my clothes and went to sleep. CHAPTER 12 "Wake up. It's time for us to go." I woke up Caleb. "What's with the outfit?" Caleb asked. 41 "We'll I'm your secretary." "Secretary?" "You're Mr. Francis Villafuerte, a businessman and you are going to South Korea for a business trip. And I'm Alex, your secretary." I turned around. "You may want to change into something more suitable for a businessman." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Done." he said. I pointed to his tie. "What is it? What's wrong?" I went towards him. "Your tie it is not fixed properly. There." I said as I fixed his tie. "Thanks." "If you want your eyeballs to stay in their place, don't look at me like that. ' Cause it will not work." "Then will this work?" He suddenly places his hand on my back and pulled me to him. He then looked me s traight in the eyes. My heart started beating faster. "Rule number one: Don't ever touch me unless it's a life and death situation. Is this a life and death situation?" "No." I took a step back. 42 "Now, let's go. We cannot be late for our flight." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------After the 4 hour flight, we arrived in Seoul. "Now Mr. Villafuerte, let's test that Korean of yours that you are so proud of. You take the lead." I said to Caleb. I let him take the lead from the airport to the hotel. "Kamsahamnida." Caleb told the receptionist at the hotel. I just bowed to the receptionist for respect. "Here's the key to your room. It's just next to mine." Caleb said.

"Not bad Mr. Villafuerte. I'm impressed. You are good in Korean." I said. "Thanks Alex." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I changed into casual clothes and went out. "Where are you going?" Caleb asked. He also changed into casual clothes. "I'm going somewhere." I said. "I want to come with you." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I went to Aether that day with Caleb. Aether is like our ambassador in South Kor ea. We have agent ambassadors in other countries too. What they do is they assis t agents when we go to another country in terms of arms and strategies. And they also have cases that are assigned to them. 43 "Athena-ya!" Aether welcomed me with a big smile and a hug. "Oppa!" I said as I hugged him back. "How are you?" "I'm fine. How about you? Still not married?" "I'm still waiting for your reply." "Oppa!" "Seriously, with all the cases I handle, I no longer have time for it. Wait, is this the guy?" "Yup." "Caleb right? I'm Aether. I'm just like Athena but I'm stationed here in South K orea." "Yes. Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too. Come inside." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"I bought teokbokki and soju. I know these are your favorite." Aether said. "You really know my favorites. But let's save that for later. Let's talk busines s first." I said. "You're flying to Jeju-do tomorrow noon?" "Yeah. We need to go there before Thomson leaves. He'll be leaving tomorrow at a round 10 pm. But there's something fishy about Thomson and South Korea." "What's fishy?" "Based on Hermes' research, he keeps coming back to South Korea at least 4 times a month. You know he doesn't come back to a country that often." 44 "I know the answer to that." "What?" "Love." "Love?" "Her girlfriend lives here in Korea. Ciara Kim, she's a hotel heiress." "Are you sure that it is love? Ciara Kim is a hotel heiress. He might be using h er for money." "You do have a point. Here. Here are the other things Hermes told me to research and here are your weapons. Be careful okay?" He hand Caleb and I our weapons. "Of course. Komawoyo Oppa." CHAPTER 13 Gun Bae! "I haven't drink soju in a while. I really miss the taste of this." I said. I pour Aether some soju and he does the same for me. "Why? There's soju in the Philippines right?" Aether said. "For me, it's not the same." "Then you should visit here more often." "You know with all the cases I handle I can't do that." "The price the top agent of Adelphos has to pay." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aish! She's asleep already. She drank a lot." Aether said. 45 "I have a question." Caleb said as he poured Aether a drink. "What is it?" "Is Athena always like that?" "You mean that way that she's strong and even mean sometimes like it would be a big mistake to argue with her." "That." "Well, she may look like she's strong and can take on everything but inside she' s hurting. That girl has many problems her sister, her Dad, Apollo and being an agent. It just doesn't look like that because she never shows it. She always put a strong face. Based on her stories, the last time she cried was when her mothe r died. She said there was no use for crying. But I know deep inside she's hurti ng." "You two are really close." "Well she doesn't call me Oppa for nothing. She treats me like the big brother s he never had and I treat her like the little sister I lost." "About her and Apollo.." "Let's go outside. I bet you know she doesn't want people talking about that one . And even though she's fast asleep, she can hear clearly what we are saying." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Aether offered Caleb cigarette. "No thanks." Caleb said. Aether lit the cigarette. "You may have heard the rumor." Aether said. "Yes." 46 "Well, that rumor started ever since Apollo worked for Adelphos. And that rumor is true." "Apollo already told me that one. Apollo and Athena had a relationship for 4 yea rs even before Athena was an agent for Adelphos. He was about to continue when A thena interrupted him." "You are really curious about her." Caleb nodded. "Well, who wouldn't be? I got curious too so I asked Athena straight and she tol d me what happened. " Aether told Caleb the whole story about Athena and Apollo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I woke up a little and I was surprised that Caleb was giving me a piggyback ride . "What the! Why am I in this position? I told you don't touch me unless it's a li fe and death situation." I said. "Don't move. Well, this is a life and death situation. You'll fall and might hit your head and die if I don't give you a piggyback ride. You're too drunk to wal k. Just this once let it slip. Okay?" "Fine. Just move faster." "I can't your heavy." "What are you saying? I'm not heavy." "You are." "I'm not." We just kept going with our 'You are's" and 'I'm not's" until we reach hotel. "Thanks." I said to Caleb. 47 "Don't mention it." "You really are one little polite nerd." "I'm not." "Which one the polite one or the nerd one?" "The nerd one." "Well you used to be one." "That's why it is in past tense, 'used to be'. I was a nerd.

"Fine. You used to be a nerd." "Thanks." "For what?" "Saying that I'm polite." "Is being polite something worth thanking for?" "You are really drunk. The things you are saying don't make sense anymore. Go to your room already." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------The next day I looked at the clock and it was already afternoon. "We're late!" I said. I knocked on Caleb's door and he opens it. "We're late. Why didn't you wake me up?" "I did two hours ago but you still didn't wake up and we're actually already an hour late for our flight." he said. "Don't rub it even more." 48 I pulled his hand and lead him to my room. "What will you do to me?" He acted like he was girl that is about to get raped. "Haha. Very funny. Sit there. There's my laptop. Find a way to get us to Jeju-do as soon as possible. I'll just get properly dressed and call Hermes about what happened and also about Thomson." CHAPTER 14 "We could take a train to Mokpo. In Mokpo, there are ferries that could take us straight to Jeju-do. It will take 5 and a half hours." Caleb said. "Fine. That's okay. I called Hermes and he said Thomson is extending his stay in Jeju-do until the the morning of the day after tomorrow because it is said that he is getting engaged with Ciara Kim there. Good thing luck is by our side." I said. "Well, it was your fault." "You want to live or you want to rub it in more?" "I want to live." "Good. Let's go. We got no time to waste." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------We immediately rode a train to Mokpo that took about 3 hours. After arriving in Mokpo, we immediately went to harbour. "Where's the ferry?" I asked Caleb. "It's here somewhere. Let me ask." Caleb said. Caleb approached this old man. After a while, he came back but with a disappoint ed face. 49 "What?" "The ferry already left. The man said that it goes twice daily around 9 am & 2 p m. If we want to get to Jeju-do we need to wait for the 9 am ferry." "Is there a ferry that can take us there? I can pay a huge amount of money. We n eed to get there as soon as possible." "It's not possible. I tried that one too but he said it would already be dangero us." "Argh. I take it back. Luck is not on our side. Let's go let's find somewhere we could stay for the night." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"There's only one room left." the lady in the hotel said in Korean. "Argh. Fine. We'll take it." I answered her back in Korean. She gave me the key. We then went inside our room room. "You sleep on the bed and I'll sleep on the floor." Caleb said. "Okay." I said as I put my things on the bed. "It's dinner already. Let's eat." Caleb said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Why did you become an agent?" asked Caleb. We were eating at this restaurant near the little hotel we were staying at.

"Before you get angry, it's not breaking the three rules and I'm just curious. B eing an agent is hard then why choose that job?" "Who said I wanted to be an agent in the first place? I wanted to be a painter e ver since I was in high school. I was planning to get Fine Arts for college. But my Dad wouldn't let me. He said painting wouldn't get me far. 'Be an agent inst ead.' he said. So I did, 50 without any of his help I became an agent even it was very hard. I proved to him that I can be the best agent. But it wasn't enough for him. He never notices wh at I do. It's always about my sister." "Sister?" "Younger sister, she ran away a few years ago. He's my Dad's favorite. He says h e resembles Mom the most. Don't ask anymore. So I was forced to be an agent but let's just say I have come to love being an agent. I can still paint once in awh ile. You? Why did you become a professor?" "I just like studying and wanted to share it to others." "You are really a nerd." "What?" "Fine. You were a nerd. Sheesh." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Pour me some soju. I still want to get married." I told Caleb. Caleb did as I said and after that, I also poured soju for him. "What's the connection of soju and getting married?" Caleb asked. "They say when you're drinking soju with someone you should pour soju for the ot her person and not your own because it will give bad luck to the person and migh t not be able to get married." "That's just superstition." "There's nothing wrong with following it. I want to marry someone someday. You k now the usual have a family of my own." "How about your life as an agent?" 51 "If I get to have a family of my own I will stop being a field agent. You know d ealing with these kinds of cases. I'd still continue being an agent but I'll jus t stay in the agency. I will put my family as my priority." "You'd be a good wife." That made me blush. "I should stop drinking soju. I told you a lot of things about my life already a nd who are you to know this things? You are not even my boyfriend. You are just some guy that got involved in my case." Caleb's expression suddenly changed. "Let's go. We don't want to be late for the 9 am ferry tomorrow." He then pulled my arm and placed money on the table. CHAPTER 15 "Wake up. We can't be late again." Caleb said. "Okay. Okay. I'm already awake. What time is it?" I said. "8 am." "Okay. I'll just fix my things and we'll go eat breakfast." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Caleb and I ate breakfast at the same restaurant. "What's the matter? You seem quiet today. Is there something wrong?" I asked. "No. I just want to be quiet. Is that wrong?" Caleb answered. "Okay fine. Sheesh. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." After eating, we then rode the ferry to Jeju-do. 52 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------After about 6 hours, we arrived in Jeju-do. "Welcome." the receptionist said. "We already made a reservation." Caleb told the receptionist in English. "Name please." "Francis Villafuerte"

"Oh here. Okay. Just sign this." So Caleb did. "Here are your keys." "Thank you." "Uhm. Excuse me Ms." I said. "Yes Ma'am?" "Landon Thomson and Ciara Kim's engagement party where will it be held?" "In the main hall Ma'am." "Are Landon Thomson and Ciara Kim checked in this hotel?" "Ma'am, I don't think I can give you that information." "It's okay. Thanks." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------When I arrive in my room, I fixed my things, freshened up and reported Hermes ev erything that happened. "Good thing you were able to work things out." Hermes said on the telephone. 53 "Yeah but I'm tired as hell. Hermes, I got to go. I still need to find Thomson." "Good luck." "Thanks." I went out to find Thomson as I toured the place. As I was walking, I saw Ciara Kim making out with this guy in the hallway of the hotel. I looked closely and s aw it wasn't Thomson she's making out with. I immediately hid for them not to se e me. "Why are you getting engaged with that guy anyway? Why can't you just be with me ?" the guy said. "Mark, honey. It's what Dad wants. And don't worry. I'm not gonna marry him. On the day of the wedding, we'll go to Sweden and live there for the rest of our li ves." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I went inside the bar to get a drink. "Dry martini please." I told the bartender. "Isn't it too early for a drink?" A guy sat beside me. It was Thomson. "Not really." "You look familiar." "You too." "Did we meet somewhere already?" "No. But I know now why you look familiar. You the guy who's one getting engaged tonight. I saw your picture with your fiance when I passed down the hall." "Yeah. That's me. I'm Landon Thomson and you are?" "Alex." 54 "Alex?" "Just Alex." "You're beautiful and funny." "Lot's of people say that about me." "What's a beautiful lady doing here all alone?" "I just wanted to relax." "Are you on a vacation?" "No. I came here with my boss for a business trip." "Your boss left you here all alone? If I was your boss, I won't leave by your si de. Never." "Be careful Mr. Thomson. You might forget you are getting engaged later." "I'll tell you a little secret. I'm just marrying her for her money." "Does she know that?" "She will not know if you won't tell her." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I was talking, well more of flirting with Thomson to lure him when Caleb came. "Alex, what are you doing here?" Caleb said. "Alex, who's this?" Thomson said.

"He's my boss. Mr. Thomson this is Mr. Francis Villafuerte. Mr. Villafuerte this is Mr. Thomson." "Nice to meet you." Thomson said. "Ms. Alex, we need to go. I still need to discuss something with you." Caleb sai d. 55 "Sorry Mr. Thomson. I need to go. Thanks for the drink." "You're welcome. See you around." "See you around." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"What's that all about?" I asked Caleb. "I don't get you girls." Caleb said. He looks like he's angry. "What's the problem this time?" "You girls intentionally go to bars and clubs and flirts with any guy you see." "Ouch. We don't. We have fun. We don't flirt around. Well, maybe some do but I d on't do that. And you guys, you're actually worse than us girls. You flirt with girls even if you are in a relationship." "Then what was that about?" "Huh? What? What's going on with you? Playing the jealous boyfriend now. You are not even my friend." "I'm just worried about you. We both know Thomson is a dangerous guy." "I know what I am doing. I've been an agent for 9 years. I know what I'm doing a nd for you information, that was all an act. Sheesh. I don't want to talk to you anymore." I immediately walked away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Where are you going?" Caleb asked while I was about to go out of my room for th e party. "I'm crashing an engagement party. Are you coming?" I said. 56 CHAPTER 16 "What's with the red dress?" Caleb asked We were walking to the engagement party with my hand holding his arm. "What's wrong with it?" I said. "It's too revealing. It's giving people no room for imagination" "Are you my Dad? For your information, it's the only dress I found in the design er store in this hotel. And this is a Versace dress. This dress can buy house." "Then why buy a dress that expensive?" "Argh. I don't want to argue with you anymore." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"So this is the plan. You take care of Thomson and I'll take care of his men. Ca n you do that?" I told Caleb. "I'm not sure." "What's the training for then? Don't worry after I deal with his men, I help you with Thomson. Okay?" "Okay." "Here's the earphone. You just press this button if you want to talk to me. Okay ?" "Okay." "Let's go." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Waiter!" I called the waiter to approach me. "Yes Ma'am?" the waiter said in Korean. 57 "Come with me." I told him too in Korean as we go in a place where there are no people. "What is it Ma'am?" "You see the guys in that table?" "Yes Ma'am."

"I want you to put this thing on their food." "What's this Ma'am?" "Don't ask. Just do it. Here's money. Okay?" "Yes Ma'am." "Don't tell me anyone about this or you'll be dead." "Yes Ma'am." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I looked and the waiter did what I told him. After a few minutes, Thomson's men started going in and out of the bathroom after eating. I was about to go to Cale b when Thomson saw me. "Alex." Thomson said. "Mr. Thomson. Do you mind if I crash your party?" I said. "I don't mind. You're very welcome in this party. You look more beautiful tonigh t. The red color suits you best. I must say." "Thank you very much Mr. Thomson. Your tuxedo suits you well too. You look hands ome as ever." "Landon!" Ciara Kim approached us. 58 "Congratulations Ms. Kim." I immediately said. "Landon, they're waiting for you to speak." Ciara said. "Excuse us for a while Alex." Thomson said. "Sure." I grabbed Caleb by the arm as we find a spot where we could hide. "When I say go, shoot him in the head. Okay?" "Okay." "It's show time." I said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Mr. Thomson.." Someone called Mr. Thomson on the phone right before he goes up for his speech. It was a girl's voice. "Who's this?" Thomson said. "It's not important. But what's important is that I have something to tell you." "What is it?" "That fiance of yours, I know you're marrying her for money but what you don't kn ow is what she's doing behind your back. And what she's planning on your wedding day." "What are you trying to say? I don't understand." "She's cheating on you with a guy named Mark. And their planning to elope on the day of your wedding to Sweden." "That's not true." "Well, who do you trust? Me or your darling fiance?" 59 The line was cut off. "Honey, it's time for your speech." Ciara said to him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Annyeong-haseyo to everyone. Thank you very much for celebrating with us this j oyous occasion. I only have one thing to say. That, this engagement is off." Tho mson said aloud. "Get ready Caleb." I told Caleb. "What?" Everybody was saying. "Because my fiance has been cheating on me and has a plan of not marrying me. She 's planning to runaway with her other guy to Sweden on the day of our wedding. T hat's why I'm calling this off." "Honey, that is not true." Ciara Kim immediately said. "Now." I told Caleb. Caleb aimed and shot Thomson on head. Everyone started to panic. "I did it." Caleb said. "Let's go. There's a back door here."

CHAPTER 17 We were walking out of the back door when one of Thomson's men saw us, the same man in the club, Skull. I remember his name from Thomson's profile. He must have not eaten the food with the poison. "You're that Agent Athena. You must the one who shot boss. It's because of you t hat he's now dead." 60 Then more men of Thomson appeared. "You go to the right I go to the left." Caleb said. We fought with Thomson's men. "Here." I said. I pulled Caleb inside the janitor's closet. "Where are they?" I heard Skull saying. "I think I saw them going to that direction." another said. "Let's go." Skull said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Let's go. Skull might come back." I told Caleb. When I was sure no one was following us, I went to the liquor store and bought a bottle of vodka. After that, I went to the beach. Caleb followed me the whole t ime. "What's with the bottle of vodka?" Caleb asked. "We're gonna celebrate. Your two week training paid off." "Thanks to you." "And to Hemera." "How about Skull and the other men? When will you deal with them?" "Don't worry. I'll deal with them first thing tomorrow. Just chill. It's our las t day here in Korea and it's your last day being a "semi" agent. Here." I drank from the bottle and passed it to him. "What's with the long face?" "Nothing." 61 "Don't tell me you'll miss training and being a "semi" agent? It's hard so I sug gest don't dream of being one?" "No." "Don't tell me you'll miss me?" He didn't answer. "Haha. I was just joking. For our last day in Korea, you can ask me one question but in return I have to ask you too a question. Deal?" I took the bottle from him and drank from it. "Deal." "I'll ask first. Who's Kate?" "She's the girl I used to love. She's the reason I am what I am today. She's the reason I changed from being a nerd to this. I did everything for her but she do esn't love me back." Caleb told me the story of him and Kate as we take turns on drinking from the bo ttle. "What a lame story." "It's not." "You should have done everything while you were in high school. Hay.. Unrequited love. I just hate it. Well, if she doesn't love you then you should have backed of. You can't force someone to love you if they don't." "It's my turn to ask." "What's your plan now?" "It's already my turn to ask. You said just one question." "That's the last one I promised." 62 "I plan to find her again but to apologize. I don't know, each day I'm beginning to question if I really love her or I just love the idea of being with her beca use she's perfect but not perfect for me." "Well you changed for her, didn't you?"

"It's my turn to ask." "Fine. Go ahead." "How do you feel about Apollo?" "You really can't get over that one. Apollo then Aether and now me. How do I fee l about him? Well, he's been part of my life, the guy that I really loved. But w hat happened that night made think if my love was enough. It wasn't. He could've been killed because of me. Your question suddenly really makes me think. Do I s till love him? I've never been in a relationship with a guy after I broke up wit h him. I am afraid the one I will love will die because of me. Maybe also I was afraid I still love him up until now. Does that answer your question?" Caleb suddenly kisses me. I immediately moved back. "I'm sorry." Caleb said. "No. Just forget it happened. I think it's time for me to go back to my room. I had enough alcohol already." I said and walked back to my room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Athena.." Caleb said. I continued opening my room. "Sophie!" I turned around. "What?" 63 He suddenly hugs me tight. "Actions speak louder than words." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------The next day I woke up early. Actions do speak louder than words. Caleb and I, we slept together. But not the 'slept together' most people would think. We just laid in bed. We just talked al l night until we fell asleep. I don't know what had gotten into to me to let it happen but I liked it. But I know things will change when we go back to Manila. We'll go our separate ways already. "Goodbye." I whispered to Caleb's ears. I left a plane ticket and a note before I left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Athena.." Caleb said. He sees that Athena was no longer beside him. He just sees a note on top of a pl ane ticket. Thank you. - Athena Meanwhile, Athena left a note for Skull and all of Thomson's men. Enjoy your breakfast. And not a word from Skull or any of Thomson's men was ever heard again. CHAPTER 18 (Caleb & Kate s Story) 10th grade or sophomore year in high school, that's when I first saw her. She wa s a freshman and was here in the States to study high school. She's also a Filip ino. We're 64 actually the only Filipino students in the school. We met on the first day of my sophomore year. "Excuse me? Where's the chemistry lab?" she asked me. She was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. "Uhm. It's, it's the room down the hall." I said trying not to stutter. "Thank you." she said and then smiled. Her smile was the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. People might not believ e it but I have fallen in love with her that very moment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I tried to watch her every move but trying for her not to notice me. Weird and s talker like behavior but it's all I can do. How can a beautiful, smart and talen ted girl like her fall in love with a nerd like me? It's not possible. I can onl y look from a far. Then the next day, I was surprised because she suddenly approached me.

"Uhm. Excuse me?" she said. "Ah. Hello. What is it?" I said trying again not stutter. "Thank you again. You know for pointing me to the chemistry lab. By the way, I'm Kate. You are?" She extends her hand for me to shake it. I immediately wiped my hand on my jeans and shook her hand. "Caleb. My name is Caleb." "Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you too." "I need to go. See you around." 65 Kate, what a beautiful name and what soft hands. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------I continued watching her from a far until senior year. But then I said to myself , you are about to graduate I need to muster all the confidence that I have. So I did. I prepared what I will say to her. I also prepare a song to sing to her a nd some flowers. The day that I have been waiting for came. I knocked on the door of her classroo m. It was her history class. I sang in front of everyone not minding what they w ill think. I said a few words and gave the flowers to Kate. But all that she sai d was.. "Sorry Caleb. I'm kinda seeing someone else already." It was so embarrassing. I just want the ground to swallow me whole. How could I have not known that? I couldn't have known that because it wasn't true. "Whydid you say to Caleb that you are already seeing someone?" I overheard Kate's friend said while they were in the hallway. "Because I don't want to hurt his feelings." Kate said. "You could've told him the truth that you can't be a girlfriend of some nerd." "I'm not that cruel." "But it's true right?" She nodded. Ouch. It's like beating me up with a baseball bat then after that electrocuting me. But the pain in my heart is nowhere near that. It was worse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------After graduating high school, I did everything in college to make Kate like me. I studied harder, changed my look and changed my style. I did everything to chan ge so that she 66 will like me. And even though lots of girls try to make me notice them, I had on ly one girl in my mind, Kate. So after I graduate college, I went back to the Philippines to find her. And I d id. "Caleb, is that you?" she said when we meet in a caf in a certain mall. "Yeah. It's me." I answered again and again trying to stutter. She still has that effect on me. "Nice to meet you again. I didn't know you came back here in the Philippines." "Nice to meet you too. I decided to visit my relatives here. Uhm. Kate.." Then suddenly this guy comes to her. "Babe.." he said to Kate. "I'm sorry Caleb. I would like to introduce to you my boyfriend Nicholas. Nichol as, this my high school classmate in the states, Caleb." "Hi." Nicholas said. "Hello." "We need to go but here's my number. We should go out for a drink." Kate said. I was sad that she already has a boyfriend but her inviting me for drink made me happy. "Oh. Sure." I said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------We agreed to meet up at this bar. But to muster the confidence again I decided t o drink. But unfortunately, it seems like I drank too much and started saying st

upid things as Kate arrived. "Kate, I'm so happy we met again. See I changed for you. Please take me back." I started saying to Kate. 67 "Caleb, what are you saying?" she said. "I love you Kate. I have been in love with you since sophomore year. I did every thing for you to love me. I'm no longer a nerd. You won't get embarrassed anymor e that your boyfriend is a nerd." "But I already have a boyfriend." "I don't care. I love you Kate. I really really really love you." I just saw myself hugging her. "Caleb, you are already drunk. Stop!" "Please Kate. I love you." "Security!" she shouted. The bouncers lead me outside. And that's the last time I saw her. CHAPTER 19 "Athena! I thought you'd be back tomorrow. Where's Caleb?" Hermes said. "I decided to go back early. Caleb can go back on his own. Next case Hermes." I said. "Uhm. I don't have one for you right now since I was expecting you to arrive tom orrow." "Fine. I'll just go back tomorrow." "Ok. Just rest for awhile. I bet you are still tired from the flight." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Athena?" Caleb said. He woke up with Athena no longer by her side. Tickets back to Seoul and to Manil a was the only things he saw. When she went to check out of the hotel, everythin g was paid for and taken care of. He's going back to Manila. Everything's done a lready. He wanted 68 to be happy but a part of him feels sad. He suddenly feels lonely and as if an i mportant thing was taken from him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------A few weeks passed and everything went back to normal for me. No nuisance. No Ca leb. What happened in Korea must stay in Korea. "Athena? There's a call for you. It's Caleb." Pontus said. "Tell him I'm dealing with a case and I'll just call him back." I told Pontus. Caleb kept calling me as soon as he came back but I didn't have the guts to talk to him anymore. I kept telling him I'll call him back but I never do. "Was that Caleb again?" Aphrodite said. "What do you think?" "What really happened in Korea?" "Nothing." "Then why are acting that way? Why are you avoiding his calls?" "Because we don't have any more connection. I told him that when we go back here in Manila it as if the incident never happened." "Athena.." "Aphrodite." "Fine. But I miss that guy. He was a sweet and hardworking guy. Don't you miss h im?" "No." I said to end Aphrodite's speculation. But do I miss him really? Well, maybe. I don't know. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------69 "Call again for you Athena." Pontus said. "If it is Caleb, tell him I'm busy." I told him. "No. It's Agent Oceanus. He wants to see you." "Ok. Tell him I'll just deal with something and I'll visit him immediately. Than ks." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Please wait for a while Ms. Athena. Dean Jimenez is talking to someone." Tito C alvin's secretary said. "Sure. No problem." I said as I sat and wait. "Thank you Mr. Franco. I really miss my agent days. Again, thank you for your ti me." Tito Calvin said as he goes out of his office with Caleb. "It was nothing Dean Jimenez. I better go." Caleb said. "Athena!" Tito Calvin called me. Caleb turned around and our eyes met. "Tito, you called for me?" I said. "Yeah. I have something to ask you. Let's talk about it here in my office. Thank you again Mr. Franco." Caleb leaves as I went inside Tito Calvin's office. "I know Athena that you are a busy woman. An agent's life is as busy as bee's bu t I would like to ask you a favor." Tito Calvin said. "A favor?" I said. "Yes. Next week will be our college's visual arts week and I'm hoping you can he lp us organize this week long event and also teach other students about arts esp ecially painting. Mr. Franco suggested that you'd be perfect for the job. And I know ever since 70 you were little, you love painting and I know you are very good at it. You are S . Javier right. I just don't understand why your father forced you to become an agent. You should've been a very famous painter by now." "Tito, stop with the flattery." "Flattery, as you call it aside we really need your help. It will be just for a week. It would hurt. You won't be needed the whole day so you can still deal wit h your cases. And don't worry this won't be for free. You will be paid." "Tito this is too much. There are other people even better than I am that can do this and you have other people, the arts professors to do this." "Athena please." "Fine." "Thank you very much Athena." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Athena!" Caleb said. I continued walking towards my car in the parking lot. "Sophie!" Caleb said. "What did I told you about calling me by real name?" "I'm sorry Athena. It's just that why are avoiding me?" "What did I tell you Mr. Franco? When we go back here in Manila, it will be as i f we never met." "What happened in Korea.." "Stays in Korea. I need to go Mr. Franco. I still have things to attend to." "The arts week, did you accept it? I specifically recommended you." 71 "Well, thank you for the recommendation Mr. Franco. I'm honored. And I know you' d be glad because I accepted it but not because you recommended me." I went inside my car and stormed off. CHAPTER 20 "Woah. Nice car." a guy student said as I went out of my car. "It's the Bugatti Veyron." the guy's friend said. "You seem to know a lot about cars." I said. "I do. That car is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal p roduction car in the world. Its top speed is over 400 km/h." the friend said. "You do know about a lot cars so you know how much this car costs. You may want to tell your friend over there not to touch the car." I immediately went to Tito Calvin' office for the meeting on the art's week. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Athena, you are early." Tito Calvin said as he welcomed me. "Just wanted to get things going." I said. "Don't worry. The others would be here in a while."

"What will be my job exactly Tito Calvin?" "Well you'd be the arts consultant of the visual arts week. Don't worry. You'll get paid." "Tito no need. I'd do it for free." "No. I insist you get paid." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Let's get the meeting started." Tito Calvin said. 72 "Sorry. I'm late." Caleb said as he rushed to his seat. "It's okay Mr. Franco. Let's start. Before anything, I would like to introduce t o you Ms. Athena here. She'd be the consultant on the visual arts week project." Tito Calvin said. He also introduced me to the visual art's week committee that is composed of som e students and faculty members. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Virtual arts can be sub divided into several categories such as ceramics, drawi ng, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video, and filmmaking and arc hitecture. Why not devote each day to a category? Like one day would be all abou t painting then the other for filmmaking. And with that we think of events per d ay. Also on the last day we can have a grand gallery to showcase some works of a rt. There could also be a contest per category." I said. "Ms. Athena is right. We could invite speakers from each category. It will make visual arts closer to the students especially those who are not taking an arts c ourse." Stella, who's the student body president said. "I like that idea." Tito Calvin said. The meeting went on for about an hour or so. We finalized everything already and settled the things that we need to do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Ms. Athena!" Stella called while I was going to my car. "Stella, is there something wrong?" I said. "I just want to say I like your ideas." "Thank you." 73 "Also, I want to ask you to mentor one of the painting classes for tomorrow. Dea n Jimenez and Sir Franco told me that you'd be perfect to be one of the mentors. " "Uhm. Okay. Sure. What time will that be?" "After lunch." "Sure. I will go back anyways tomorrow to check on things. I will be a bit late since I also have work to do that day but I will definitely come." "Thank you Ms. Athena." As Stella left, Caleb suddenly appears from behind. "Stop following me." I told Caleb. "We need to talk." Caleb said. "I don't think so." I immediately went inside my car and left. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You shouldn't have followed her here." I told Franz, a friend of mine when we w ent out to get some drinks. Franz is the boyfriend of the Ara Badeau, the leader of a car smuggling syndicat e. Ara inherited the business from his father. My real target is his father Lanc e Badeau but apparently he died of cancer and gave the business to her daughter. Ara is here in the Philippines to settle some deals. "You can't blame me Sophie. I love Ara." he said. "Does she know you followed her?" "No." "Just go back Franz." 74 "No. I don't want her getting killed. I know what you do Sophie or should I say

Agent Athena." "What do you know about what I do?" "You do the dirty work for the government. You kill the bad guys." I took a sip of my dry martini. "But what you don't know is that we spare those who change. We monitor our cases . We don't kill them immediately. We are not that bad." "Then spare Ara. I will make her change and leave the syndicate. I will do anyth ing just spare her." "Love." I sighed. "Please Sophie." "Zeus will get mad at me for this but just make sure she changes. One month Fran z, just one month to do it." "Thanks Sophie. I owe you." "Better go now. The clock is ticking." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Beer." A guy from behind said. It was the car guy. Come to think of it he looks a lot l ike Apollo when I first met him when we were in high school. "I didn't know kids are allowed here." I said. "You are the lady that drives the Bugatti Veyron." he said. "You are the kid who knows a lot about cars." 75 "I'm not a kid. I'm already an adult." "But you do look like one." "I didn't know old women are mean." "Who say's I'm old?" We both laughed. "Ryan." "Athena." We shook hands. "What are you studying?" I asked Ryan. "Fine arts." "Nice. You are lucky. You?" "Paint." "A painter who's also interested in cars." "Is there something wrong with a painter who likes cars?" "I didn't say there's something wrong with it. Who are your favorite painters?" "The masters like Van Gogh, Dali and Picasso. But I also like this anonymous pai nter named S. Javier." "Good choice of painters. About S. Javier, watch out. You might see him one of t hese days. See you around kid." CHAPTER 21 "Hermes, I need to go. Still have this thing for Agent Oceanus. I will deal with my case after this. Bye." I said. 76 "Ok. Bye." Hermes said. From the agency, I went to the university to mentor a painting class. I went ins ide the room Stella told me and saw 30-40 students with their easels and paint b rushes ready to paint. And one of those students was Ryan, the car kid. He was s urprised to see me. "Excuse me everyone. This is Ms. Athena. She'd be the mentor for this painting c lass. Ms. Athena the floor is yours." Stella said. "Thank you Stella. As she said I'd be your mentor for today. Honestly, I am not a painter by profession but I am passionate