16. IT'S THE BEGINNING

"Hold them, Daren!" Joshua exclaimed loudly. He was trying to close the gap as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Daren was frozen in place, confused by Joshua's intentions.

"Don't just stand there, you idiot! Look at them!" Joshua swore harshly. His face, which had been quite calm, now looked sinister again.

The six men who were members of EAGLE EYE had just swallowed a pill that was kept in their coat pocket. In just a few seconds, foam came out of their mouths.

Daren couldn't hide his shock, while Joshua closed his eyes. He had just remembered one thing. However, before he could go any further, they had already taken action.

"What did they do? Did they poison themselves?" asked Daren curiously.

Joshua nodded. He was only a few feet away from them. However, his efforts were still unable to stop them.

"We're too late. How could I forget the most important thing. Shit!"

In addition to blaming himself, Joshua also swore harshly.

Daren could feel the frustration in Joshua. It could be seen in the way Joshua said.

"They took a pill, containing a very deadly poison. The poison works very quickly. In just seconds, they lost their lives. This was done solely so that the EAGLE EYE Organization's information would not be leaked to the public."

Joshua explained a little and Daren nodded in understanding. Now he knew, the reason why Joshua looked so angry? It was because the EAGLE EYE member, who was supposed to be interrogated, looking for information, had ended up tragically.

Daren smelled a pungent odor coming from the mouth of one of the EAGLE EYE Members, who was nearby.

Within one meter, the scent of the poison could be picked up by the sense of smell.

"So, what should we do with them?" asked Daren with certainty.

"Leave them alone. We no longer have any business with them. We should go back to Sky Blue and report this matter to Xena."

Having said that, Joshua hurried away and got into the car. Daren followed a few seconds later.

***

Just a few minutes after the car left the area, Daren suddenly swerved. He made a U-turn, heading back the way he had come.

"What do you want to do?" asked Joshua in a high tone. He couldn't hide his surprise at Daren's decision.

"We can't just leave this district, before we conquer EAGLE EYE." Daren said very seriously.

He turned his head to the side. Meanwhile, Joshua was still a little confused by Daren's words.

"That mark! The symbol on their necks. A picture of an eagle's eye!" Daren recalled the six men who were members of EAGLE EYE, whom he had fought earlier.

"Is that the EAGLE EYE membership mark?" asked Daren curiously.

Joshua nodded, "Yes. The size of the eagle's eye on their necks is the membership mark of the EAGLE EYE organization. That's why I recognized them immediately."

"Nice. That means, that woman is a member of EAGLE EYE too?" guessed Daren excitedly.

Joshua didn't necessarily confirm the assumption, but he didn't deny it either. Thinking back, there was a high probability that the woman who had pointed the gun earlier was indeed a member of EAGLE EYE. Not without reason, because the woman came with six men from the EAGLE EYE organization.

"I'm sure there's a conspiracy behind all this. I just remembered. The waiter I met at the restaurant had an eagle's eye mark on his neck," said Daren further.

Joshua's eyes widened perfectly. "Why didn't you say this before?" He reacted violently, having heard Daren's confession.

"I thought that the image of the eagle's eye was just a symbol. Maybe just a symbol or something. I didn't realize that it was the EAGLE EYE membership mark."

Joshua thought hard. "There's no mistaking it. That restaurant holds the big secret of the EAGLE EYE Organization."

Daren nodded. He was of the same mind as his colleague.

"We must investigate that restaurant, one more time."

"Yes! I understand."

Without another thought, Daren immediately picked up the pace of his car. Not going back to Sky Blue to report this matter to Xena.

***

Arriving at the restaurant that Daren had visited that day.

Both Daren and Joshua's eyes were wide open. The restaurant that was originally standing firmly, was now only in ruins. It was burnt down. There was only dust left from the fire.

"What happened here? Why is the restaurant already razed to the ground?" Joshua tried to maintain his composure.

"We were outrun by them. Damn! I think they've guessed we're coming to this place again!" Joshua clenched his hands together feeling furious and annoyed.

Again he had to lose and swallow failure. Had Daren not made a U-turn, he might never have known about the incident with the restaurant being set on fire.

"So, what should we do now?" Daren turned out and Joshua was still thinking hard to find a way out.

"We need to find that waitress and the woman who attacked us earlier." Joshua looked seriously at the object before his eyes.

"Should we report this matter to Xena?"

"No need!" said Joshua. Now he looked at Daren seriously. "I trust you, Daren."

The handsome young man nodded firmly. "Yes! I understand!"