Friends

"Get better soon."

Jessica said to Lucas as she left the room with her aunt. Olivia had a grave look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

Jessica asked. It was rare for her aunt to look so serious. She knew that the organization behind the incident was no joke, but she also knew that it wasn't just up to them to take care of it. Their only job was to report this to the authorities and have them take the appropriate steps towards dealing with that bunch of terrorists.

Although she was worried about Lucas and felt sorry about all he had gone through, the situation didn't seem too bad. Jacob Graham had kept Lucas safe until now. If Jessica and her aunt also pitched in to help, Lucas's security wouldn't be an issue.

'Once the authorities have gotten rid of that organization, everything will be fine.'

Jessica thought.

"Investigations are still going on and there may be some results, but for whatever reason, I don't have a good feeling about this. My instincts have never failed me. I hope I'm wrong this time…"

Olivia muttered in a low voice so that only Jessica could hear it. Jessica frowned and replied,

"We only need to stay on high alert. So long as we're careful, we should be okay."

Jessica was also worried about what the organization might be capable of. She knew that they weren't the primary targets, but that still didn't completely get rid of the fear of the unknown. Thinking about how shaken they were when they weren't even the main target made Jessica wonder how Lucas must be feeling right now.

'Mr Graham said that this wasn't the first Lucas was targeted either.'

She could only imagine how stressed the weak-looking boy must be right now.

"You worrying about that kid?"

"Ye… I mean, no. Why would I be worried? Just a bit concerned. He is my classmate after all."

"It's risky to get involved with him."

"But aren't we involved already?"

Jessica was right. After wrecking their plan of using the commotion caused by the train derailment and a bomb blast to kidnap Lucas, Jessica might already be on their hit list.

Olivia smirked and said,

"Of course."

She had only meant to remind Jessica of the risks involved in helping Lucas so that she wouldn't get careless in front of the enemy. In their line of work, one slip up might cost their life. It was imperative to be careful at all times.

Jessica was a registered crime fighter. Being a registered crime fighter meant that one must intervene if they came across a crime. They would also be called over if a nearby police team needed backup. It was because of this that they were sometimes aptly called part-time police officers.

Jessica had passed the test and registered as a crime fighter three years ago, when she was fifteen years old. She was one of the youngest people to ever pass that test. Most of the people that passed the test were in their early to mid twenties. One of the reasons she had passed was her talent, but the main reason was her aunt.

It was Olivia who had taught Jessica everything the latter knew about self-defense and fighting barehanded or with weapons, battle tactics and the like. Jessica's training regimen was similar to that of serving soldiers. It was because of that that Jessica was so good at fighting and could take care of most of the criminals that she came across.

Olivia had also let Jessica participate in some of her missions which further added to Jessica's fighting experience.

And one of the most valuable lessons she had learned during those missions was to never let her guard down.

"But you seem to be getting rusty. You had completely let your guard down in front of someone you barely know."

Olivia said. Back when Jessica had been sitting on the bench with Lucas, she hadn't even noticed Olivia until she pinched her cheeks.

"Yes. I'll be more careful."

Jessica had also been surprised at how easily she had let her guard down in front of Lucas. Lucas was being targeted by an unknown organization. Not being on high alert was careless of her.

'And we don't know why they're targeting him either.'

She and Olivia didn't have the complete picture of things yet, so they had to be careful.

"As for this, I'll get them tested from the lab just to be safe."

Olivia said as she pointed to the briefcase.

Jessica nodded and got out of the car. They had reached her university.

"Take care."

She said as she waved to her aunt. Olivia waved back and left.

Jessica went towards her class and realized something.

'Damn it!'

By the time she had reached class, the class was already underway. And the teacher in charge was… the same as the one last time she was late. She felt more nervous entering the class than she felt before breaking into a stronghold of some criminal group.

She stood in front of the door wondering if she should advance or retreat when she heard,

"Well, if it isn't the Miss that experienced a train derailment and a train break down on the same day. Don't tell me the train you took also broke down today?"

The professor's tone was gentle, unlike his sarcastic words. His signature smile before he punished latecomers or troublemakers was also there which made the other students gulp. They had already seen how the notorious professor Evans had punished the guy who was late yesterday. The student had been only a couple of minutes late, but not only did he get a harsh scolding, he was also made to run ten laps around the campus, do a hundred push ups, a hundred situps and a hundred squats, and provide video evidence of doing that as well.

That student did turn in the video today, but he got kicked out of class and got an even harsher punishment because the professor found out that the video had been forged.

Jessica didn't know about all that because she hadn't talked to any of her classmates, except for Neo, who had forgotten to mention this to her.

'Uh-oh.'

On the back bench, Neo wiped the imaginary sweat on his forehead and could only pray for his new friend in his heart.

Jessica handed over a document to the professor. On the outside, she looked calm, but in her heart she was rejoicing that she had come prepared. Professor Evans took the document and skimmed through it.

"Very well."

He said as he sighed. Even if he was notorious for being a demon professor, he was a reasonable person. He wouldn't punish his students for no reason. As for yesterday's events, he had actually confirmed from some sources that Jessica had boarded the train that got into an accident, so he even felt sorry for her and didn't reprimand her.

The students, on the other hand, were stunned. Some wanted to complain, but held back because of fear.

Jessica went to the back bench and sat beside Neo.

"What's in this document?"

Neo asked. He was curious about why the professor head let her off so easily.

'My hospital report.'

Of course, she wouldn't say that to Neo. Just as she was thinking about what to say, they heard someone ask,

"Why did you not punish her, professor?"

Professor Evans looked at the boy that had raised a complaint and said,

"It seems that I've been a bit too lenient with you folks these days. Run ten laps around the campus in your lunch break. If I find that you slacked off, humph."

The one that had asked wanted to apologize and somehow get the professors to reduce his punishment, but the professor started teaching again and no one had the nerve to interrupt him, so everyone quieted down and listened.

When he wasn't punishing students, he looked exactly like the kind of professor students would like because of how good he was at teaching. His wonderful teaching skills were what earned him everyone's respect.

Once class was over, Neo said,

"I haven't seen Lucas anywhere. I wonder why he didn't show up today."

Jessica was about to answer him when it occurred to her that Lucas might not want others to know about it, so she said,

"He might not attend class for a few days."

"Did something happen?"

"I don't know the details but I do know that he may not attend class for a few days."

Jessica didn't tell Neo that she had met Lucas at the hospital. After all, it was something that was concerned with someone's privacy and it wasn't her place to talk about it, similar to how professor Evans didn't mention why Jessica was late today. Even when someone complained, he didn't mention a word about it.

It made her respect the professor even more than before.

"Well, I gotta go somewhere. See you later."

"Later," Jessica replied.

Neo left and Jessica went to the cafeteria. She bought something to eat and met up with her friends. Emma and Rosie were standing outside waiting for her.

"Why are you both standing here? Let's g… is there something wrong?"

Jessica saw that both of her friends had a grim look on their face, so asked worriedly.

"Let's go somewhere quiet."

Emma said.

They went to a quiet place and wordlessly ate lunch. No one said anything and they continued to eat in an awkward silence.

When they were almost done eating, Rosie ended the silence, saying,

"I had my father look into this and…"

Jessica stopped eating and listened.

Rosie and Emma had already talked about it this morning, so Emma knew what she was going to say, but she also stopped eating and listened. Her expression was grave.

"That organization isn't simple. My dad had only started to look into them when his direct superior warned him to be careful."

Jessica couldn't maintain her poker face when she heard that.

Rosie's father was a three star general. His direct superior was the highest ranking officer in the military, the Chief of the Department of Defense.

If he asked his subordinate to be careful, it meant one of two things.

"You're telling me that the military is behind them?"

Even though she was stunned, she managed to say it in a low voice.

"I think it was wariness rather than subservience."

"Someone that even a three star general should be wary of…"

"Yeah."

"…My aunt and I asked Lucas's bodyguard, Mr Graham about that organization. He said that it has an international level of influence."

Emma's face turned even graver than it already was while Rosie frowned as the two of them listened to what Jessica said.

It seemed that there was nothing they could do about that organization. It's influence and military strength was way beyond what they could handle.

'And Lucas. Why is the organization so interested in him? They want to kidnap him alive. Is it because there is something special about him… or is it because he has some information they need?'

Jessica pondered.

Emma started speaking,

"I looked into that Lucas guy. He's registered as the Williams family's eldest son, but he doesn't have any surname, even though his younger sibling does. On paper, he is Mr Robert Williams and the late Miss Viola's only biological son. But for some reason, after Miss Viola passed away, he doesn't seem to… if I were to sugarcoat it, treat Lucas as his son anymore."

The Williams corp was one of the wealthiest corporations in the western continent. Robert Williams had raised it to its current height from scratch. Because of that, he was famous and was treated as a celebrity. How much he valued his late wife, Viola, was public knowledge. After Viola's death, he should have loved their only son, but he seemed to hate him instead.

"What's even weirder is that a year before late Miss Viola's death, they had suddenly announced they had a seven year old son. Nobody had ever seen or heard about them having a son before. Miss Viola had explained that it was because their son was very sick, so they didn't tell many people about him."

"You're saying that Lucas may not be their biological son?"

Jessica asked.

Emma nodded.

Lucas's origins weren't clear and the organization trying to kidnap him was way beyond what they could handle.

"You didn't try to look into the organization, did you?"

Jessica asked Emma. She knew that Emma was good at gathering information, but the organization wasn't something college students like them could handle. Even a three star general had been warned to be careful when investigating them, not to mention mere students.

"I didn't, but I am planning to."

Emma's hacking skills were the best of the best. She was confident that she wouldn't be discovered.

"I advise against it."

Rosie said.

"So do I."

Jessica agreed with Rosie. That organization was way beyond what they could handle, so it was best to not do anything that might provoke them.

"Then don't blame me if you get yourself killed by some stupid organization you know nothing about."

Emma said in an irritated voice. It wasn't like she wanted to investigate such an organization either, but she couldn't sit back and do nothing when they might harm her best friend.

"Hey! Don't jinx it. Anyway, it's not like I'm their target. Sure, I thwarted their plans of kidnapping Lucas, but don't you think they might be using the kidnapping as a cover for something else? After all, isn't it stupid to try to kidnap someone by causing such a ruckus?"

Jessica said what had been bugging her for quite a while. Maybe the kidnapping was a smokescreen and they were actually aiming for something else. It made her feel uncomfortable.

"I'll look into it, but don't change the topic. I'm in this too, and that's final."

Emma argued.

"Maybe we shouldn't get involved in this after all. The organization is way too much for us to handle. I'll just intervene if Lucas is in danger, and…"

Before Jessica could finish, she was interrupted

"You don't want us to be involved in this. You don't want your friends to be involved in this? Then tell me. Do you even consider us as your friends?"

Emma said in what seemed to be a calm tone, but her icy expression showed that she was anything but calm. She was furious.

Although it was true that Jessica didn't want her friends to be involved, she hadn't said that out loud, so she retorted,

"I never said… "

"You did think that way just now, didn't you!"

Emma said angrily. Rosie didn't say anything, but her eyes showed that she was on Emma's side. Jessica could tell that she had offended both of her best friends.

Jessica, Emma and Rosie had been friends since childhood. They were almost like sisters. That was just how much time they had spent together.

If one of them was troubled, the other two would do their best to help. Things had always been that way.

After her parents had passed away, Jessica had subconsciously started to alienate those around her, including her aunt and her best friends. But they still comforted her and were always there for her. It made Jessica think that she already owed them a lot and she shouldn't bother them anymore.

That sort of thinking was exactly what made Emma and Rosie cross with her. Jessica realized that and apologized earnestly.

"I realize that I was wrong. I'm sorry. I won't think like that again."

Emma and Rosie exchanged glances and smiled. Emma opened her mouth and said,

"You idiot. You finally realized."