The high-tech door slid shut, sealing Mickey off from the two girls.
"...Ugh... seriously."
Sera dusted off her outfit.
"So, you two talked?"
Jody asked as she walked over to the table with the cake box.
"...Yeah. That punk snuck in using that battery thing. Nearly gave me a heart attack. I should've had him arrested for trespassing."
"He bought you the cake?"
Jody sat on the edge of the bed, eyeing the box.
"Yeah. He brought it to make up."
"Hehe..."
"What are you laughing at?"
"...Nothing. Just... it's kind of cute, the way he did it."
"Cute, my ass. If he had a mug like a thief's, I'd be passed out cold by now."
"Body shaming."
"Hey, you! Don't you start acting like those weirdos around here! Oh my God—you've caught Syd's disease, haven't you!?"
"Hey, that's our friend you're talking about."
"When they were bullying me, I didn't see you lifting a finger."
"Next time, promise... But I'm guessing you ate the whole thing, didn't you?"
"...What? I didn't eat everything... Why?"
Jody pointed to the corner of her own mouth. Sera touched hers—
And found a smear of honey.
"Ack!"
She quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe it off, embarrassed.
"You're not mad at Mickey anymore, are you."
"...Well..."
Sera blushed a little, wiping her mouth carefully to avoid smudging her lipstick.
"That Mannix is sneaky as hell. Shows up with sweets and throws in some charm? Who the hell could resist that, huh?"
"Haha~"
"Jody! I'm being serious here! That bastard's slick! No wonder he gets along with Syd. You better be careful too. You might get blindsided without even knowing. Guys like them are cunning as hell. Though... come to think of it, he never really messes with you, huh? Got any secret techniques? Share, please."
"Honestly, living with Mickey isn't hard at all."
Jody raised her fingers slightly. "🤏"
"You're just bumping into this ceiling right here. Once you get above it, you'll realize how great Mickey actually is."
"...What the hell are you talking about? That's way too abstract."
"Never mind. Maybe you won't get it now, but you will someday. Anyway—about that thing?"
Jody finally brought the conversation back to business.
"Oh, right... The laptop should be—"
But before Sera could finish, Jody clamped a hand over her mouth.
"...!?"
She leaned in, whispering right into Sera's ear.
"...Mickey was just in here. He might've planted a bug... or something in the laptop. We should check it before anything. He might be just as fast with his hands as Syd is."
"...Oh damn... you're right."
That was close.
They began scanning the room, searching for any device that could be used for eavesdropping. Nothing.
Sera pulled out the laptop and checked it—no signs of tampering.
"...Okay. Looks safe..."
She whispered back.
"...But we can't trust it completely. Who knows what kind of tech is 20 years ahead of our time. Keep voices low—this volume is perfect."
"...Okay..."
Sera opened the browser and logged into the dark web.
The interface looked ancient—like a site from 2008. Extremely outdated.
She navigated to the specific thread.
"Here it is... the one I mentioned..."
Barrett family mansion burned down in Chiang Mai (rare footage)
"I don't know if it's real or fake..."
She hit play.
It was the same clip she'd seen before: a massive mansion engulfed in flames, red-tinted footage.
Jody noticed the same thing Sera did the first time.
"...Is the video... reversed?"
"Yeah. And the color's been altered too—probably trying to keep it from getting flagged or taken down."
Jody watched monkeys and wild animals running backward into the blazing mansion before the video cut off.
"..."
"This is the clip."
"...."
Jody played it again, scrutinizing every detail.
But the image quality was poor—it had been filmed at night.
"What do you think?" Sera asked.
"...It's too short to say much. You're sure that's all there is?"
"Yeah. Just this."
"...Hmm..."
"..."
"Sera..."
"Hmm?"
"...Since joining this organization... have you ever encountered anything... strange?"
Sera frowned at the question.
"...Plenty. What kind of strange?"
"No, I mean... truly strange. Like... things you can't explain. Or something... supernatural."
"....."
"Jody... that's a creepy question..."
But she wasn't joking. She was completely serious.
"...."
"What happened? Why are you asking this?"
"..."
"Sera... What I'm about to tell you... it happened a while ago, but I've never spoken about it. And I swear I was completely sane each time it occurred..."
"There's... another person in our group?"
Sera froze in place.
She didn't doubt Jody's story.
Jody Johansson didn't speak nonsense.
And that was what made it terrifying.
"Sally's the only one who saw her. She said it was a girl with short red hair. She thought there were seven of us from the start—not six."
"....."
Sera's eyes widened in disbelief. Goosebumps rose under her sleeves. She suddenly felt cold and dizzy.
"How is that even possible..."
"I'm not sure. At first I thought Thrak did something to Sally... but the kid said she's been seeing her even before coming here..."
"...And the knocking... those strange knocking sounds... what were they?"
"...."
Jody shook her head.
"I heard it first at Syd's place in London. A faint woman's voice. It told me, 'You must die.' Then said, 'This is just the beginning.'"
"...Shit..."
Sera folded her arms tightly, grinding her teeth.
"Jody... Are you saying you saw... a ghost?"
"...I'm not superstitious... I never believed in that stuff. But how else am I supposed to explain it?"
"...."
Sera had no answer either.
"Have you told the others? It only started after joining them, right?"
"No. I haven't told anyone. And I probably won't anytime soon."
Jody folded her arms, visibly tense.
"Why not?"
"Because they'll just say 'there's nothing there'... even though something clearly is. Jade seems like she knows something. She tried to tell me it was all in my head... or blamed it on Sally being drugged."
"...So you don't trust Jade?"
"...If she can't even tell me this much, what can I trust her with?"
"...But Jade seems reliable! And she's known those guys way longer than us..."
Jody didn't answer. She stuck to her beliefs.
"...Jody... maybe you're just— emphasis just maybe—hallucinating?"
"I'm planning to get checked, actually. But I doubt it. I wouldn't have survived three years alone in London if I were losing it."
"...True... Then why are you telling me? Trying to give me the creeps?"
"...Because I trust you..."
Jody turned to her.
"I want us to stay aware of each other. I've got a bad feeling about Syd's team... and maybe even Syd himself. Think about it—we barely know them."
"...What do you mean? Are you saying they're bad people?"
"...Not work-wise. I mean personally."
"...Jody... You're not worried Syd will call you nosy?"
"...Don't you want to know?"
"....."
"...Well..."
"They know everything about us. This video clip that never hit the news. That extra person Sally saw. Even how Syd rose so fast in the ranks—"
"...Hold on. That last one—what are you implying?"
"I don't think just 'combat skill' could get someone that high."
"!? Jody... Are you saying you still suspect Syd might be... a power-user?"
"..."
But Jody didn't answer. She ignored the question completely and continued speaking like nothing happened.
"There's also... that voice..."
She pulled out her iPad.
"...What voice, Jody?"
It was a recording—of a conversation between the Barrett siblings in Thai, the night Jody first heard the strange whisper.
After it finished playing, Jody made a request.
"Sera..."
"Hm? What?"
"You know a lot of people, right?"
"...Yeah..."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"If we want to reach our goal... do you know anyone who speaks Thai?"
"...Thai?"
"Yeah."
"...Not off the top of my head... but I can ask Daddy. He should be able to get us a translator. Shouldn't be too hard."
"We should prepare in advance... I might record something more useful in the future."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because I'm going to start... poking around."
"...Ah. I see..."
Sera grinned.
"Alright then... I'm in."
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
Just before the meeting began—
"So..."
Jade spoke up, drawing the attention of the four agents.
"...What is it?"
Roxxy asked.
"There's something I want to talk to you three about."
Thankfully, Syd had his headphones in, playing a game.
Even if he hadn't, Jade had no intention of telling him.
She knew it'd be useless trying to get someone like him to believe.
"Did you know? Or rather... has Sally ever told you?"
Toshi: "Told us what?"
"She thinks there are seven of you, not six."
"!?!!?"
Toshi froze. Roxxy's expression was just as stunned.
Mickey remained unreadable.
"Don't tell me... she saw—"
"Yes. I asked Sally about it yesterday—very thoroughly. I'm sure of it."
"....."
Toshi trembled.
Roxxy, in contrast, felt relieved.
"Sally definitely saw Red Agent. She said she saw her back in Paris."
"!?!!?!?"
Sweat poured from Toshi's hands. He was terrified.
"...Red's still with us."
Roxxy clutched her necklace.
"Always has been."
Mickey crossed his arms.
"So what now? Have you told Sally what she saw?"
"...Not yet. As far as she knows, she still thinks there are seven of you."
"..."
"....."
Roxxy fell silent.
"There's more than just that."
"...?"
"It's about Jody."
"...Let me guess. She's been visited by Red too, hasn't she?"
Jade: "...How did you know?"
"She looked exhausted this morning—like she didn't sleep. I mean, anyone who messes with Red gets it eventually. It's not hard to guess. And this isn't her first time either."
"...Wait, what? This isn't the first time?"
"Nope. First was in London."
"...Seriously? That soon? Since London?"
"What happened this time?"
Mickey asked.
"She said she heard someone pounding on her door. Really hard. Like someone was trying to break it down."
That made Roxxy go quiet.
"....."
"...Strange. Why was it more violent this time?"
"..."
"Exactly. I tried to tell her it was nothing... I've done what I can to help. But she didn't believe me."
"If anything, that'll just make her push harder."
Mickey looked at Jade.
"She might not even feel scared anymore."
He glanced toward his little sister.
Jody's voice echoed in Roxxy's head—from the bathroom that morning.
"...And what if I don't stop?"
"..."
"We can't stop talking about this, can we? ...I really hate this."
Toshi looked utterly devastated.
Mickey (whispering): "For all you know, she could be sitting on your shoulders right now."
"UGH!?!??!"
Toshi visibly shook. Sweat gushed out of him like a fountain.
"Hey! What are you guys talking about over there?"
Syd pulled off his headphones and called out.
They quickly dispersed.
"Wondering if we should kick a certain scumbag out of the team."
Mickey answered casually.
"Are you seriously calling me what that fatass (Sera) calls me now?"
"Well, are you a scumbag?"
"Wanna eat pavement, huh?"
"Wanna kiss me, huh?"
"You goddamn gaylord. Get outta my face."
"Homophobic …once again."
"Not homophobia. YOU-phobic."