Chapter 43.4

The two charged at each other and both began exchanging blows at an extremely fast rate. Katherine focused on boxing techniques while Alina used Kenpo Karate to counter-attack with lightning precision. Catching Alina off guard, Kathrine twisted her arm and spun her around, trying to slam her into a wall but Alina ran up the wall instead, escaping Katherine's clutches. Unfortunately, just as she landed behind Katherine, the latter turned and back kicked one of her shins, disrupting her balance and sending Alina down to the ground. Katherine then jumped and sent a spinning kick at Alina's head while the latter raised her arm to defend herself. The kick connected with Alina's arm and sent her spinning backwards. Katherine was about to pursue Alina but the latter raised her hands in deference.

"Alright, alright. I give," Alina said while smiling. "You aren't as strong as Jason though."

"I'll admit, he's got better techniques and his martial prowess is miles ahead of me. But I'm pretty sure I'm stronger in the Qi department," Katherine rolled her eyes before speaking. "I'm not your enemy. But if you don't trust me, I could show you something that might change your mind."

A breathless Katherine led a tired Alina to the secret elevator and latter hesitantly followed her.

"You know I've been to the secret armoury already," Alina said when she noticed Katherine leading her to the elevator.

"Oh, you know about that?" Katherine frowned for a second. "How - did Selena take you down here before? Why?"

"Yep, she took me and Jason down there," Alina replied. "After all, Jason's a -- uh, what did he call it? -- a control shareholder?"

". . . What?" Katherine was stunned for a moment before turning back to Alina. "What did you just say?"

"Jason is a shareholder," Alina replied calmly. "Apparently, he bought a majority of the shares that went public a few years back."

". . . He's Mr. Gram … of course," Katherine muttered while massaging her eyebrows. "I should've known. Fenrir. Garm."

Katherine recalled that, in mythology, Garm - or Garmr - was associated with Fenrir. On some cases, it was an alternative moniker for the Fenrir. In other cases, Garm was a sibling or a relative of the wolven monster.

God, it's so obvious. Why didn't I notice it before? Katherine thought with a groan.

After arriving in Sanctuary, Katherine had been overlooking RogueTech's recent history. Although her family was once a majority shareholder, the long years of the War forced them to sell their stakes. The last sellout happened four years ago when a person named Mr. Gram bought a majority of the shares that went public. With a little less than forty percent of the company stocks in his hand, he became a controlling shareholder alongside the Rogues, and the two maintained an equilibrium. What baffled Katherine was that Mr. Gram never interfered with the company other than insisting, then agreeing to place Selena as the CEO, but now she understood why.

"You've seen the armory in the first sublevel. But did you go down to the second sublevel?" Katherine asked.

"No," Alina answered shaking her head. "I didn't know there was another level."

"Well, you're in for a surprise," Katherine answered mysteriously. She was being vague intentionally in an attempt to surprise Alina.

***

Jason parked his car beside a decrepit mansion style house and took Alice out from the backseat. He held her in his arms and walked to the entrance where a gentle-looking woman was standing patiently. Next to her was Melanie and Maple, both smiling and chatting with the woman until they noticed the newcomers. Melanie was smiling sweetly while waving her hand at Jason but he failed to notice her when he caught sight of Emily who was lagging behind her.

Nearly tripping, Jason steadied himself and continued acting normal as he turned to observe the woman next to the two girls. She had several wrinkles and her grey lined hair displayed her age. The jacket she was wearing was mired with mismatched patches and aged wool threatened to emerge from tears that weren't patched. A large group of children stood behind her, lined up with the youngest at the front and the tall, older children lingering at the back. All of them watched Jason approach with curiosity.

"Mr. Sage," the lady bowed her head slightly in respect and Jason tilted his head in bemusement. "I'm Ms. Grace. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"What's all this?" Jason asked while nodding at Melanie and Emily before his eyes fell on the children behind the woman.

"Grace knows me well, I've been helping her for years," Melanie explained to Jason, who barely heard her. "When she heard you were coming . . ."

Melanie paused and blushed, but Jason failed to notice. For a split-second, Jason narrowed his eyes as he saw a brown-skinned scrawny boy with a mane of pearly black hair. He blinked his eyes and looked back but only saw a tiny freckled face that was sunburnt. A dull knocking echoed through his head as he felt his past incarnations repeatedly try to connect to him.

"Jason?" Emily reached out and placed a hand on his shoulders and Jason, who was rubbing his head with a hand, roused himself while ignoring the pounding in his mind.

"Oh hey," Jason replied with a smile. "I didn't . . . realize you'd be here."

"Melanie invited me," Emily said softly. "We were hanging out when she mentioned that she wanted to volunteer here today and I decided to join her."

"Huh."

Something's up, He thought as his eyes continuously shifted from Emily to Melanie who were acting very differently from what he knew. Were these two ever that close? Didn't I get the impression that these two hated each other and were competing for me?

Had he allowed the voices of his past incarnations out to witness this event, they would have certainly pointed out that these two were working together to reach him.