The Magnificent James Lawrence

Chapter 4 - Direct Command

Amelia said goodbye to James. She said she would go home early today to talk about many things with her brother that she had missed all this time.

A luxurious black sedan drove up and parked in front of Amelia. Before she entered, the woman left a message that James could use all the facilities at the residence, including the helicopter or private jet parked on the runway of the city's airport.

"Go, they'll be waiting for you," James explained. Amelia smiled sweetly and nodded her head.

She left the Lawrence residence compound with her assistant; it took three SUVs to accompany her. Each SUV was filled with bodyguards and assistants.

James focused his attention on the five-story mansion before him, where three men in military attire were still waiting for Tobias at the door.

Seeing James walk up made one of the men who was the leader of the state intelligence agency, Red Eye, approach him. James knew who the man was: a short man with a thin body and cropped hair.

People might look down on him due to his body condition, but not for James. The man's mind was filled with vital information that only he could know, and his skills in interrogation and manipulation were unparalleled.

"Long time no see, Agent Lawrence," greeted the man, smiling broadly as he stretched out both arms, welcoming the arrival of his best agent in the intelligence agency.

Instead of embracing the man's body, James landed a hard slap across the face, sending him into shock and knocking him to the ground. Some of the men who came with him were startled and walked up to James while pointing their guns at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked one of the agents who came along with Gilbert - the name of Red Eye's leader.

"Consider it my frustration for the past two years," concluded James, speaking with a cold expression.

"You're right. This is my fault. I couldn't get them to do it fast enough," Colonel Gilbert said.

One of his agents stood guard over James, keeping his gun pointed at the young man, in contrast to the other who helped Colonel Gilbert to his feet.

"My people's abilities are far different from yours, Lawrence. You can even unlock encryption in a matter of a few tens of minutes," Gilbert replied.

"All the missions you went on never failed. Your best achievement was thwarting an enemy country's nuclear launch mission. That's something none of my other agents could do," Gilbert praised.

"I know you must be upset that you waited so long for your assignment call. We're always watching you, even the people you're with," Gilbert said.

Colonel Gilbert was seen walking up to James, head bowed while holding the man's hand, "Rosewood's treat to you is unacceptable. However, the risk of the great task awaits you if you accept it."

James sighed, crossing his arms with his eyes closed. The torture and inhumane treatment that Rosewood had given him was indeed part of the risk of being a spy agent.

The young man had accepted all the consequences of his job from the beginning. It was great enough for James to survive all forms of torture until now.

"Alright. I understand about rights and obligations. Tell me, what's the business you're here for?" asked James, changing the subject.

Gilbert's agent started to lower his gun, put it in the holster, and stood just behind his subordinate. The three stood in front of James' residence, facing away from him at a considerable distance.

"Informing you about the information my agents have collected, as well as explaining to you an important matter," Colonel Gilbert replied.

James nodded. He stepped past the three men up the small stairs until he reached the Lawrence residence door, "Let's talk inside."

The mansion door opened, James didn't overreact when he saw the luxurious furniture placed to decorate the house's beauty. However, it was different with the three men behind him.

They had never seen Lawrence's mansion in real-time, having only heard rumors that its luxury surpassed the presidential palace.

James' arrival was immediately greeted by several maids in the house; they brought trays containing drinks and snacks to serve the guests.

"Bring it to my room," James asked, and the ten maids nodded.

James' own study was on the fourth floor, while the upper floor was used by his parents for work and rest. He and the three men entered the elevator and went up until they reached the destination floor.

"Prime already showed me a brief glimpse of the mission I need to take," James replied.

"I'm glad you like the AI system model we developed," said Gilbert.

"There is something wrong with your system. Do I really have unlimited assets?" asked James, curious.

"What assets?" asked Gilbert, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"There is no such thing as unlimited in this world except for the Mobius ribbon," replied Gilbert.

James laughed as he heard the joke come out of Gilbert's mouth; the Mobius ribbon was always identified with the endlessly interconnected system of time and space.

"Do you believe in it?" asked James.

"Not entirely before it was put to use," Gilbert replied.

James and the three people with him arrived at James' study. He had two different rooms: a study and a bedroom. The two places were located next to each other.

The door opened, James invited the three to enter. The first thing Colonel Gilbert and the two agents with him saw a long row of bookshelves on both sides of the wall, a sofa in the center of the room, and some expensive and rare paintings from famous artists.

"You have unique and elegant taste, Mr. Lawrence," Gilbert complimented.

"Have a seat," James said, not responding to Colonel Gilbert's words.

He and the two agents sat on the soft and plush sofa. Although the office had not been used for the past two years, it was still very clean.

Amelia had ordered the servants to clean James' study daily for the past two years. She was confident James would return to this residence and fulfill his duty.

That was why James was quite impressed with the well-maintained room. He walked over to a wooden cabinet, pressing a few password buttons to open the secret room.

The password matched, and the cabinet split into two, revealing a secret room known only to James. Inside were dozens of various rifles, which startled Colonel Gilbert and his two agents.

"You're a dangerous man," Gilbert said.

James came out of the room with two bottles of his best wine. His right hand appeared to hold the top of the wine bottle, while the left held four small glasses in a row.

"Tell me, is there anything you want to discuss?" asked James.

"Before I go into the mission details, there is someone who would like to speak with you," replied Gilbert.

"Someone?" asked James, curious.

Colonel Gilbert took out his phone, appearing to call someone with a mysterious contact name. The phone picked up, Gilbert immediately spoke politely to the person.

"We're already with him, Sir," Gilbert replied.

"Let me talk to him," the person replied.

Gilbert nodded. He handed his phone to James because the man he was calling wanted to talk to him.

"This is James Lawrence," James said.

"Agent Lawrence, it's been a while since I've seen you in the field," the man replied, his voice friendly.

"I seem to recognize your voice," James explained.

"Didn't Colonel Gilbert tell you? Well, I'll give him some words of advice," the man replied.

"I am Zacharia York, President of the Republic of Carran," he explained.

Hearing the person talking to him was a president, the country's leader, made James widen his eyes. He stepped away from Gilbert and his two agents to listen to Zacharia's information.

"It is my honor, Mr. President," James explained.

"I don't have much time. I'm just going to say it straight and fast. I hope you understand what I'm saying," Zacharia said.

James listened carefully. Zacharia explained about the outbreak of hallucination symptoms in the city, several arrests of drug dealers, and the impact of war with neighboring countries if this problem wasn't solved immediately.

"Although it has not been publicly announced, Carran is in a drug emergency. Experts predict that if this is not solved in the next two years, we will lose seven generations," Zacharia replied.

"Gilbert will explain the mission details to you. Only you can save this country from collapse," Zacharia said.

James turned to look at Gilbert. The man was smiling and bowing his head, knowing that he was being talked about by James and Zacharia.

"Alright. I'll take this mission," James replied.

"You have to. No one can handle this as well as you," Zacharia said.

"That's true, but I have a request of you, Mr. President," James pleaded.

"Say, what is it?"

"I want legal immunity. All my conduct related to this mission will not be disturbed by legal proceedings," James pleaded.

Zacharia was silent for a while, thinking about the merits of James' request. However, James pushed him, so he finally agreed to the man's request.

"Alright, but you have to be careful; there are many people who will bring you down in many ways," Zacharia advised.

"I know what I'm doing."