Gardeners

And he was right, she really was simply messing with him as she laughed a little on the other side of the phone. Then she spoke,

"Don't worry, you don't need to be so tense. I didn't tell anyone, even if I did, they both wouldn't care. Want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because we got the invitation too, it was roughly around 7 months ago when they had the most amount of supernatural beings under them. At least I could find out a lot of weird cases and sightings on the internet quickly around that period. It was the peak period, after which it subsided a lot."

Maximus was surprised. He had entertained that conjecture but thought that such a big organization wouldn't deign to invite a team which caused them trouble. There ought to be other teams too right? Could they really give in to the demands of everyone? But he asked what was on his mind the most,

"What did you reply? Well, I am assuming a no since you still cause them troubles. What was their offer though?"

"Heh." Maximus could almost picture her smirking on the other side when she said that, she quickly continued before he could think further,

"We accepted it. Didn't see that coming, did you?"

"Nope."

"Well, before I proceed, that organization's name is Gardeners. Weird right? Well, I think so too. It's a strange name but that's not what is important. We work for Gardeners in the sense that we weed out their bad eggs. Remember I talked about how we need to hit, torture, or if necessary, kill some supernatural beings so we can steal their mana crystals?"

Something clicked in Maximus' brain as he replied, "Those people are the ones that Gardeners want to teach a lesson to?"

"Yes, and that mana crystals are our payment."

"What about the gang members and some other individuals we killed?"

"Some were getting out of hand, some were suspicious, some weren't doing their job as they were supposed to. We need to kill these individuals quickly so they don't get ideas. Gardeners can only do so much, they have many more matters to deal with."

There was a moment of silence as Maximus thought about things, some things didn't make sense, he asked,

"Do Isabelle and Adrian know about it? Has Gardeners acknowledged them as a part of this work y'all are doing too?"

"Of course they do. What kind of question is that?"

"Wait, then why were they attacked near that slum area? You said it was some kind of trap laid by the organization which they fell in and just narrowly escaped."

"I obviously couldn't trust you back then so I said that. But I didn't say anything wrong either, if what I am thinking is correct, there is another organization which is trying to force its way in here.

"It was them who wanted to kidnap these two guys. You 've noticed I usually don't stay around you guys right? I even suggested you hide. It's normally Adrian and Isabelle who are out in the open. How does an organization normally force their way in?

"They start by poaching some local powerhouses and spend some of their own capital. Some of the CEOs of small companies based in San Francisco we killed were few of the ones who've been poached. The gang members we killed were the ones who've been bought by them as a spy. Now say, when it's usually Adrian and Isabelle who are in the open. Who will get targeted? It's them.

"It was still unusual though, they didn't support by sending their own members. As if they were afraid to even come out. When I surfed the internet that day, nothing really stood out to me except the cops being more active, that shouldn't have garnered such a reaction though right? But well, it's good that they didn't send support or else they might have been caught for real."

Maximus realized a whole lot of things as he listened to her talk. He scratched off some of his earlier conjectures and formed new ones as he let his mind work.

1. The reason nothing happened to him when he, in a sense, 'betrayed' the organization was that he was ultimately working for them.

2. The trap that day was set by another organization and not the Gardeners who they were supposedly working for.

3. His killer, Aaron Kennedy, was probably a member of that organization. He remembered registering a complaint that night itself after facing a life and death situation. Could it be that they retreated a little to not get caught by the official authority? It seems he inadvertently rescued Adrian and Isabelle both by registering a complaint and kidnapping that gang member.

4. There is one force which is still unaccounted for, that person who could teleport. What could he be doing there? Since the organization themselves couldn't make any moves, could it be that they hired a thug? They still failed though. Should I ask Seraphina? Nope, that would expose that I was there in person. Wait, I already exposed Isabelle and Adrian that day about how they were spotted, I could simply chalk this up to the same information source.

"There was one more person there." He then told her about the details of his ability and waited for her reply.

"This guy is troublesome. Don't engage too much with him, he most likely came along with that organization but acts independently, very much like us. It's best if you stay clear of him, or if you get a very good chance, apprehend him. He can be sold for a very good amount given how he has antagonized a lot of forces."

"Are we independent? Don't we work for Gardeners?"

"Well, I didn't exactly say what the terms we agreed to were, did I? Look, there were too many supernatural beings 7 months ago. That means there were too many groups like us too, but we were the most powerful. Well, probably not the most powerful but at least the most troublesome one. *coughs* Because of a member in the group with good hacking skills *coughs* and intelligent schemes and powerful devices *coughs* we never got caught. Well —"

For the first time, her voice wavered a little which she quickly recovered and said,

"Except that one time."