Escort

"I really wish we can get cheesesteak or something, but well, anything will do." Dean said as he drank the coffee with his right hand as he kept an eye on the road and his left hand on the steering wheel.

"Coffee will do, right? Besides, this is not Almara, our appearance alone is something that will give unwanted attention, like it or not. Still, it's not like we will be stopped by the police either," Adams added as he drank his own coffee.

Dean had never gone to Philadelphia before in his life. This was truly his first trip to that state. It was one of the unaffected regions from the war even though it was quite close to the exclusion zone in the north. The EDF setup was decent enough that Menkaid had a problem penetrating it back in the first invasion.

They were near the airport now. According to the order, they should immediately get to the tarmac instead of waiting in the parking lot of the airport. The VIP would arrive in their private jet. Of course, even after this armor and this preparation, there was still something bothering his mind.

"Why would they choose student from all special forces resources available in this country?" Dean asked.

"Cynical purpose, definitely. There's no other explanation."

"Such as?"

"Like it or not, we are free bodies. Just think about it, two students that doesn't have any expertise volunteer themselves to be a decoy. Of course, you'll have reward, sooner or later," Adams added.

"Understandable," Dean nodded.

Dean drove to the gate of the airport. He opened the window at Adams' side and Adams showed them a piece of letter. The airport security opened the gate for them. The plane was parked at hangar #12. He really wondered what kind of person that he would meet right now.

This person had a private jet. Of course, he would be pretty rich. At least, he would be richer than both Dean and Adams to a certain extend. A private jet would cost around 10,000,000$ at the very least. Sure, it didn't allow interplanetary travel, but it was something to have that showed luxury to average people like Dean and Adams.

Inside of the hangar, a private jet was parked besides of a Tahoe. Three armed people with assault rifles were surrounding the SUV and the jet. All of them had the same appearance as Dean, more or less, with their ballistic vest and their rifles.

Dean parked the car right next to the jet and Adams got out of the car. He approached one of the armed people and talked. Dean didn't know what they were talking about, but it was definitely about the security detail. In the meantime, he was messing around with his smart phone.

As he waited, he chatted with his group chat. The group chat contained all members of Adams' squad with the exception of Aveline since she wasn't that trustable after the fiasco with Dean.

[Andre: Dean, where the hell are you? Did Adams snatch you into some crazy shit again?]

[Dean: More or less, why do you ask?]

[Orion: Well, he was looking for someone to accompany him to buy something for his lover. However, since you're gone, he aborted the plan.]

[Scarlet: Are you that pussy?]

[Andre: No, I meant, I want someone with experience]

[Scarlet: Take Orion then, duh]

[Andre: After both of you aren't flourishing until now? Homie, I'm good]

[Dean: Have to go. Adams has returned]

Dean put his smart phone away as Adams entered the car. Someone also entered the car door from behind, one was a woman while the other was a man. Both were wearing formal clothings. The man was wearing a suit while the woman was wearing a dress. The difference between Dean and them felt humongous.

"Alright, Dean, these people are our decoys from Epsilon Security Service," Adams introduced the

"Nice to meet you two," Dean greeted the two people.

"Nice to meet you too, buff man," the man in suit greeted him.

Well, he would definitely call Dean as the buff man since he wore the heaviest armor, without any doubt. Had Dean brought a machine gun, it would perhaps strengthen the statement, but well, for what?

Dean knew better not to bring bulky weapon unless he wanted to scare the VIP. In this car, there wasn't any VIP to be honest, so it would most likely to be very safe. Dean and Adams were the representative from the EDF to help escort the VIP.

"No offense, but why would the EDF send kids?" One of the woman asked.

"Cannon fodder, no doubt," Dean cynically added as he drove Adams' car out of the hangar.

The plan was simple. The VIP would take the fast train while Dean and the decoys would take the long route through the ordinary route aka the road. Sure, it would be the most dangerous route to take due to the massive amount of ambush point. Then again, he was the decoy, he was supposed to be taking the most dangerous route.

"Hey kid, are you interested in joining ESS?" The woman asked Adams.

"Woah, that's a tall order," Adams protested.

Both Dean and Adams were still young in their pseudo-military career, they didn't want to join any private security yet. However, unlike Adams, Dean had his own reasonings on why he wouldn't join the mercenary group. He still had his own ties with his own past that he definitely didn't want to connect.

Still, the prospect of joining security company was pretty much prosperous due to the huge amount of cash that it brought, and the fact that Menkaid remained to be a serious threat further flourished that kind of business. Dean wouldn't lie, the Menkaid was like steroid for the military-industrial complex.

"How about you, kid? Interested in joining security in the future?" The woman asked Dean.

"For now, I'm not interested in joining any merc group again," Dean added.

"Again? Have you even joined a merc group before?" Adams questioned

"I prefer to be called as private military group, thank you," the man protested.

"Ah, sorry."

Calling a private security or private military as mercenary was seen as offensive among the community of private military contractors. For them, it really painted a bad light at them even though they provided security and support for people. Of course, there were also the bad sides of war, but Dean wouldn't want to talk about that for now.

It was only 30 minutes later that Adams felt something was off with the convoy. Was it even reasonable to leave an SUV alone when you are escorting someone? It just didn't fit in Dean's modus operandi, that was for sure. When you are escorting a VIP, you'd want three cars minimum.

"Hmm, I think the old man is just paranoid," the woman commented.

"The old man? I wish I could call my boss like that," Dean referred to Adams.

"No, it's not like that. We are his personal bodyguards, or more like, his family bodyguards," the woman added.

Adams suddenly intervened, " Let's keep the personal affairs out of this car, alright?"

"Sure, I just try to break the ice."

To be honest, there was zero to no interaction between Dean and the two people on the backseat. Both of them weren't that interested to talk. Adams and Dean felt that the private security was simply doing their job.

==========

"Good job, you two. See, I told you the old man is simply paranoid," the woman commented as Dean arrived at the train station on Almara Island.

What would happen in the first place? Who would try to think that ambushing someone in the middle of the road would be a good idea, especially knowing how well-armed the other people that accompanied the VIP. Even any ambusher would be intimidated once they saw the security details on the hangar.

"It's our pleasure to help, by the way, wouldn't you need another form of transportation? I meant, you are on your own from here," Dean added.

"Don't worry about it. ESS has provided vehicle for us to use in front of the train station."

The two people from the Epsilon Security Service got out of the vehicle and approached the VIP. Looking at it, Dean felt something odd. He didn't know why, but Dean felt odd about those two people.

"Having fun?" Adams asked.

"More or less, why do you ask?" Dean asked back.

"Those two weren't ESS. They're the VIP," Adams said.

"Say what now???" Dean was even more surprised.

"It's a reverse logic tactic. Who would think that anyone would trust two students to escort a VIP? Nobody, right?"

"Hmm, I see. So they're the owner of ESS?" Dean asked.

"More or less. They're the stockholders, but not the chief officers on that company, to put it simply. Still, good job keeping your cool, Dean," Adams added.

"Thanks."

That concluded the extra assignment.