Elements: The Ancient Tomb

Chapter 30: "Big threat"

Although quite happy to know that he was about to arrive, Victor still felt anxious about one thing, asking:

"Ah, I almost forgot to ask. You called Iron Head to disrupt Handaz's plan on the day I was taken to headquarters, didn't you? I heard that from Adam."

"Ah, about Iron Head's presence on the day the DCPD was attacked due to that undead landing? Yes, it's me. And the truth is that he has helped us quite a lot."

"But why would you put someone's life in danger just to expose Handaz's plan? Isn't Jimmy human? As warriors, we should also…"

"He is a death row prisoner, he will die anyway, if not killed by 'Iron Head', he will also be executed based on the death sentence given by the court. Anyway, he is a big threat in the eyes of everyone with countless crimes, so he should not live too long. Why are you so concerned about him?"

"Speaking of which, I knew he was 'ELITE DESCENDANTS'."

" 'Iron Head' told you, didn't he?"

"He didn't do that. The target that 'Iron Head' is targeting is 'ELITE DESCENDANTS', you know?"- Victor said- "I thought you wouldn't leave someone with 'ELITE DESCENDANTS' status?"

"So what if I say he is no longer 'ELITE DESCENDANTS'? Does that count as a satisfactory answer to you? "

"Wait, please explain to me about that. Looks like you know something, right? I feel like you still have a lot to say to me."

"Well, we should stop there."- Michael sighed- "Someone like him isn't worth your attention. Don't let this cause us to discord and affect our common work."

"All right. We won't talk about this for the time being."- Victor said- "So did you find out any information from the 'Iron Head' at that secret meeting? For example, about the person who sent him to kill the 'ELITE DESCENDANTS', the relationship between him and Handaz,…"

"He's a rather quiet guy who only cares about 'that mission'. How could I stand a chance if you didn't get anything from him?"

Victor laughed and clapped Michael's hand, saying:

"Oh yeah, you're right. What can be learned anything from that guy?"

Victor's tap on Michael's shoulder creates a link between Victor's and Michael's minds. Victor's telepathy is activated once again. Victor suddenly saw in his mind the images of Michael's past such as the quarrel between Michael and Hoang about Lan, Michael meeting Yelena in the meeting room and promising to save her from prison, the photos were collected by Michael and hanging out the window in the basement of a strange place, the scene where Michael visited someone's grave in the cemetery that he did not know the address, the time Michael witnessed Linh unconscious with his body covered in blood, ...

When he regained consciousness, Victor jerked, releasing his hand from Michael's shoulder. Michael saw Victor staring at him, not understanding anything, so he asked:

"Are you okay? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ah, no, nothing."- Victor tried to be calm in front of Michael even though his heart was still quite chaotic- "Where are we going to see Linh now?"

"Potter Hospital"

The part when Victor didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded, turned his face away, thinking:

"Unexpectedly, I accidentally saw some of Michael's memories when I touched him for less than five seconds. Aside from a few facts that have been confirmed by him, I'm still bewildered by the rest of his memories. One of them was when Michael was standing talking to Adam at the DCPD. I think that's when Yelena was captured there, and the agent talked to Michael before he called someone to save Yelena which I saw last time must have been Adam. Why am I seeing through Michael's point of view and not through my own? Wasn't I there to see it all?…"

After a while, Michael and Victor both exclaimed in unison: "You...". The two then turned their faces away in embarrassment. Twenty seconds later, Victor smiled wryly, speaking first:

"Well, you should start first, I think."

"Well, OK."- Michael then asked- "Why did you give up the Elemental Card? Without it, you would…"

"All right. I just want to know the truth, I don't want to get involved in it anymore. I left Thedus after knowing that It was Thedus who gave Lan the power to make her lose control, making Linh this mess. I'm very angry and swear I won't change my mind."

Michael clicked his tongue, thinking:

"Not either. Could it be that Yelena's emotions caused that power to go out of control?"

"You say the same name as Hieu...! Eh... damn..." - Victor accidentally mentioned Hieu.

"Who is Hieu? Isn't he an 'ELITE DESCENDANTS'? How does he know so much?"

"Hmm... he isn't... that's just a henchman that was sent by Linh to spy on Yelena and Toan, he was told by Linh and told by her to keep it a secret. But he was a disobedient person because he came from a corrupt criminal background, so he turned to betray Linh."

"So how is he now?"- Michael asked.

"He's dead, but don't worry about him. He's just a stranger, unrelated to us."

"I see, I think too much"- Despite that, Michael thought:- "I have a hunch he could be an important character that cannot be ignored, and needs attention. I should investigate further."

Michael continued:

"I can assure you, that power is not the main cause of her being like this."

"Are you sure? She was so scared and insecure that she didn't dare use that power again. She understood the horror of this power, fear it would swallow her up, emotion was just a catalyst for that to happen. When controlled by that power, no one remembers what happened. I have seen the same thing happen to 'Guardians of the Elemental Gods' after receiving his primordial powers. That's the reason…"

"…the reason why Uncle Denvy created the Elemental Scanners to control that power, is that what you mean?"

"Yep, though I don't know how he knew that and what prompted him to create the warrior project and recruit us to test the power of the Elemental Card…"

"So what you want to personally meet Linh is to atone for Lan's mistake?"

"Yes. I feel guilty because of what Yelena did to Linh."

"Why are you nagging about something you didn't do?"

"Because I am Yelena's lover. I have to take on this responsibility for her, after what I saw in the 'Mind Zone'," Victor exclaimed.

Startled, Michael asked:

"You… you remembered everything already?"

Victor suddenly calmed down and said:

"No, just a little bit. It's just that I feel like I need to apologize to her on behalf of Yelena after what she's been through. That's all."

"You saw what happened to Linh, right? Tell me briefly."

"I saw her…" Victor suddenly stopped.

"Why did you suddenly stop talking? What is the matter?"

Victor pursed his lips, looking rather hesitant to look away. Michael saw this and said:

"I see, it's fine if you don't want to talk. I respect that."

"Thank you. Now there's something I want to ask."

"Speak."

'What if there exists an unknown force, hiding in the shadows waiting for the opportunity to strike upon us, waiting for the day to eliminate all of those who stand in their way to rule the world with an iron fist?"

"That's... concerning indeed. If there is such a force, the world could be meeting a terrifying fate, especially when they are in relations with forces such as Handaz, Iron Head, ... to revolt against us. "The enemy of your enemy is your friend", just like in the case of Arthur and Iron Head"

"Fair enough, in that case, we shall deal with Arthur and Iron Head immediately. I do hope such a force remains a rumor, 'cause if there was, we should have faced it a long time ago."

"Don't be so concerned. The enemies that we are confronting are right in front of our eyes, even if other forces exist, they are inferior to this, even if they hide their identities and puppeteer everything behind the curtains. If it's related to Iron Head and Handaz, it's counted as being on the same side as them, that's just the enemy increasing its allies, however, it's nothing too terrible, nothing to make us nervous, nor shy, timid, afraid"

"That's very true. It's good to hear that"

"Oh, we've arrived. Busy talking without paying attention."- Michael said.

The two of them finally arrived at the gate of Potter Hospital.

Meanwhile, in Arthur's office, he held a piece of paper in his hand and called someone, saying:

"My guys have failed to find Linh's whereabouts, but in return, they did a useful thing for me. It can be said that it is a double job."

"What?" said the person on the other end of the line.

"They confirmed that in the fight with Victor in front of the gate off Linh's mansion, Michael was present there. The two of them know each other."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Listen until I finish, please. That makes me uncomfortable because he's the one holding all of our evidence."

"So you mean he has something to do with Linh that's why he has that bunch of documents?"

"I used to think that if it is true then all mysteries are considered solved. I secretly investigated him through my agents' network and discovered something very interesting. I believe you will find out something after you listen to the information I'm about to give you."

"Say it loud!"

"Michael- who used to tell me Linh's location and then poked his nose into your assassinations- is one of the 'Elite Descendants'."- Arthur laughed- "What do you think? Is it interesting?"

"Really?"

"Really. As far as I know, Michael knows Linh's whereabouts, because he and Linh have a special relationship and Linh wholeheartedly trusts in handing over the keys and information about the documents in that mansion. He and I haven't kept in touch for 1 month, maybe he was suspicious of me before already. I want you to go to the place where he is hiding Linh, kill her secretly, then find and force Michael to reveal the location of the documents in the mansion, and then end his life quickly and secretly within two days. Firstly, come over here and we'll discuss the plan."

There was silence on the other end of the line, and then he spoke:

"Come on, I know what I should do next. I mean, I give you the information about the documents in that mansion to you after killing both of them and I kill two birds with one stone. You just need to find out their location for me."

"Don't worry, my guys put 'a bug' in their car after they fought against Victor and Michael outside Linh's mansion, finding Linh is now as easy as lifting a hand. Now I will send the location to you via computer when they arrive there"

"Understood. I'll mark your word"

"But let me repeat one thing: You have to clean everything up after the work's done and bring the information back to me, no matter what. If he knows the truth, and Linh wakes up and declares my unscrupulous crimes to the state-run media, my current position will shake violently and the court may give me a sentence without hesitation at any time. You got it?"

"I don't care. Let me remind you, that the motto of our contract is that each side acts for mutual benefit. You find them and I will finish them both off. The deal was already decided right before I assassinated Linh for the first time. I'm not your puppet, don't make me do everything. Do your job!"

"Just kidding. I always consider you a partner, Iron Head. What could I ask for more from you? I will have news for you soon."

Just hung up, Arthur clicked his tongue, thinking:

"I didn't tell him that there was even evidence of my illegal behavior that Linh was going to use against me because I was afraid he would use it against me. Let him bring those documents back to him first. Then I will take what I need and destroy them secretly, so my position is safe."

Then he walked to the window, looked into the distance, thinking:

"Was it a mistake to cooperate with him? Before, I spent a lot of effort trying to find out Linh's location for him, but he couldn't finish her off. The way he works makes me feel uneasy. Maybe it's time to think of a backup plan. After this, if he is still valuable for me to use, then continue, otherwise, cut off all contact with him."