Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Lenore opened her laptop, and it powered on immediately. The screen was spotless. After she typed a few quick commands, a stream of strange green characters filled the display,
Letting the symbols bounce for a moment, Lenore took her pajamas to the bathroom. When she came back, the once–busy screen now showed just one line of text.
She accessed the internal software for Stormwings Operatives Team Three and sent the string of characters to her teammate. Siren. Drying her hair with one hand, she typed with the other: Don’t ask me for simple decryption again. It’s a waste of time.]
Almost right away, her computer pinged with a video call request. Without thinking, Lenore rejected it, and a message popped up.
Siren: [Hey boss, are you coming back to Stormwings to take charge again?]
The Stormwings Operatives had been a powerful group for decades, split into six main teams with several sub–teams. They brought together specialists from different fields, operating in both legal and illegal activities.
People respected and feared them, but their secrets remained hidden, and no one had ever seen the leaders of the teams.
Among the six teams, Team Three was unique. While other teams had many members, Team Three only had six core members. When the leader was away, Siren handled the daily operations.
The leader of Team Three was one of the most mysterious figures in Stormwings Operatives, just behind the leader of Stormwings, known only for a name that struck fear in both hackers and top government officials: Xtreme.
Xtreme: [Not really. Any big news?]
Siren: [Big news? Well, 319 Biomedical Engineering is back, and even Pedro, who has been in hiding for a few years, is being asked to return. Does that count?]
At that moment, Lenore’s phone lit up, displaying a call from Ken Sharpe. She quickly replied to Siren, [Got it,] tossed the towel aside, and answered Ken’s call.
Ken’s voice was careful. “I heard you’re in Jinslenburg?”
Lenore kept her tone neutral as she replied, “Yeah.”
Ken took a breath and asked, “Do you have time tomorrow? Want to grab lunch together?”
Lenore thought for a moment before replying, “Sure, just send me the details later.”
The next morning, Lenore went downstairs and found Troy and Sharon having breakfast with two new faces at the table. The boy looked about eleven or twelve, already showing some handsome features.
The girl was around sixteen or seventeen–pretty and well–mannered at first glance. However, when she saw Lenore coming down the stairs, her expression turned sour. She crushed a piece of bread in her hand, jealousy clear in her eyes.
The atmosphere became tense right away. Sharon sighed and stood up with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Esther, Darren, this is your elder sister Lenore. She got here yesterday, but by the time you both got home from school, she was
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Chapter 6
already asleep…”
“I refuse to call her my sister,” Esther shouted, holding her head High as she squeezed the bread into crumbs. ‘A jinx from a small town. She doesn’t deserve to be my sister,‘ she added in her mind.
Darren frowned, a flash of dislike appearing as he looked at Lenore. “Esther is the only sister I need.”
Sharon adored her son, but she wasn’t very authoritative in the family. Frowning, she said, “We’re family here. Sisters shouldn’t…”
“Stop faking it,” Esther yelled, cutting her off. She threw the half piece of bread directly at Sharon. Sharon froze, surprised— it was just an attempt to make things better.
Darren stared at Sharon who was covered in bread crumbs and didn’t move. He sneered, “Being nice to a wild girl from a small town doesn’t make you kind.”
“That’s enough,” Troy finally chimed in, his eyes dark as he glared at Darren and Esther. “What are you two doing? One’s your mother, and the other’s your sister.”