Ch.93No Country for Old Men! (4)

#093

“My goodness, you were injured that badly?”

Dexter was receiving medical treatment from the medical staff in an ambulance at the temporary command headquarters.

Himena’s mouth hung open as she saw him.

“They said I had fractures in both arms and legs.”

Himena made a strange face as she watched Dexter talk about it as if he’d only suffered minor scratches.

“…You have fractures but no casts, just splints and bandages?”

“The nanobots take care of everything.”

Himena was dumbfounded by Dexter’s casual response, but bones really did heal within half a day.

Dexter said while rotating his arms in circles.

“It’s actually just a bit stiff. So, is the Director coming now?”

It was good that they had defeated the Abomination, but when other agents arrived at the scene, all they found was a large crater, two sweat-soaked agents, and Dexter with his clothes torn in various places.

Naturally, an explanation was needed, and since the Director had just arrived at the temporary command headquarters, they were to report directly about what had happened.

Himena was a bit nervous about having to report directly to the Director without her supervisor, but Dexter jumped up as if he’d been waiting for this and followed behind her.

“Yes, he’s waiting in the command tent right now.”

“Then let’s hurry.”

When Dexter and Himena entered the command tent, a middle-aged man who was unmistakably the Director of OSA was sitting at the head of a long table.

“You’ve both worked very hard. Please, have a seat.”

‘He could easily pass for a special operations agent rather than a Director.’

Until he entered the tent, Dexter had been expecting to meet a scrawny person who had spent his entire life behind a desk, as he’d heard he would be meeting the OSA Director directly to explain the situation.

But it was the complete opposite of what he expected.

The man had broad shoulders, tanned skin, arms more muscular than Dexter’s, and a rugged face.

It seemed like his suit would burst if he just flexed his chest.

“Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you. I’m Dexter Hughes.”

“Makoa Mariota.”

‘Polynesian, perhaps.’

An unusual first name with an unusual surname.

Director Makoa shook hands with Dexter with his powerful hand.

“Before we get into the incident report, I’d like to ask something, if that’s alright?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“We were engaged in combat for nearly an hour. Did you not hear anything?”

The Valley of Fire State Park is an open space except for the canyon areas.

Himena and Kuma fired submachine guns, and Dexter fought the Abomination with his blaster and plasma grenades.

Even though the agents assigned to the outer perimeter were positioned almost a mile (about 1.6km) apart, it was impossible that they wouldn’t have heard the gunfire and the Abomination’s screams.

Yet there was no support from any agent.

Except for Dexter, who had come by car to find Himena.

Since Dexter’s point was a serious matter, Director Makoa nodded gravely and said:

“Alex, come in!”

As Director Makoa called out loudly toward the outside, a female agent quickly entered the tent as if she had been waiting.

Director Makoa pointed to Agent Alex and spoke.

“Agent Alex was in charge of the outer perimeter security. I’ll take responsibility, of course, but I thought Alex might explain it better, so I called her in.”

“I’m Alex Murphy from the Personnel Department, who organized the outer perimeter team.”

Dexter’s eyes narrowed curiously when he heard Agent Alex’s name.

“…That name sounds familiar. Anyway, can you explain exactly what happened? Two agents could have died in this incident.”

When Dexter asked somewhat impatiently, Agent Alex nodded slightly and said:

“I understand completely. However, the agents assigned to the perimeter areas on either side of Agents Patel and Ribero testified that they heard no gunshots or explosions.”

“…You’re saying they didn’t hear anything despite all that commotion?”

“It seems like a wide-range sonic eliminator or sound-absorbing screen was used.”

Dexter responded incredulously to what sounded like an excuse from Agent Alex.

“Where in the world would you find a sonic eliminator that could cover such a wide area… No, wait.”

There was one possibility.

“If it was implanted in the Abomination itself, that would work.”

“In the Abomination?”

“It would make sense to implant it in the Abomination. If communications fail and sounds can’t be heard just by approaching it, it would naturally be difficult to respond, wouldn’t it? They would have also caused interference with the drones in the air.”

“But when we first encountered it, communication with the rapid response team was working fine…”

Dexter thought for a moment at Agent Alex’s words, then snapped his fingers and said:

“There could be a trigger mechanism.”

“You mean certain actions could activate the jamming signals and sonic eliminator?”

“Exactly.”

Himena, who had been quietly listening, chimed in.

“When it was chasing us, it felt like a wild beast was on our tail, but when it fought with Dexter, it became a completely different person, you could say…”

“A different person…”

Director Makoa nodded, recognizing this as new information he hadn’t heard from other agents.

“The Abomination called itself Shuang Zhua Mo Guai.”

“Shang-chai-mo-kai?”

When ‘Shuang Zhua Mo Guai’ was converted to English, resulting in a strange pronunciation, Dexter hesitated briefly before continuing his explanation.

“Uh, it means something like ‘bizarre demon with two claws.’ It’s not actually a demon, more like a nickname they use for that person on that planet.”

“A bizarre demon with two claws… Is that kind of nickname common there?”

“Things like ‘Sky Demon’ for an old man or ‘Blood Phoenix’ for a woman are common there. It might be easier if you don’t try to understand it.”

As Dexter glossed over the details without a thorough explanation, the planet of central martial artists became a place inhabited by deranged residents.

“Well, the universe is vast indeed.”

“Anyway, while they may have developed individual combat skills, their scientific technology is backward, so they absolutely couldn’t create an Abomination.”

“But didn’t that demon person say he was the Abomination?”

Himena, who had witnessed Dexter fighting with Shuang Zhua Mo Guai, added:

“They wouldn’t need to create one, would they? They could just bring in this demon person to control the Abomination.”

Agent Alex, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“Combining what was just said, it seems that normally the Abomination is left alone, but when control is needed, this ‘demon with two claws’ takes over?”

“That’s our speculation, but we can’t know for sure.”

As the Director nodded heavily, Himena suddenly remembered something she had forgotten.

“Libertron.”

“What?”

“Libertron. It was definitely Libertron who informed us about the spaceship carrying the Abomination that was going to crash.”

“…That robot might know something?”

When Agent Alex nodded in agreement with Himena’s words, Director Makoa grinned and slapped Dexter’s back hard enough to make a sound as he said:

“Ugh.”

Surprised by the formidable strength of the pat on his back, Dexter momentarily lost his breath.

“The Deputy Director made a good choice with this honorary agent! Things are progressing smoothly!”

“Ah, yes…”

Himena, who had witnessed Dexter obtaining his honorary agent position through what was essentially blackmail, smiled, but her lips were twisted.

“Also, I’d like to suggest avoiding two-person perimeter patrols in the future. I understand why you made that decision, but…”

As Dexter diplomatically implied that their decision had almost gotten Himena killed, Agent Alex responded in a heavy voice, as if at a loss for words:

“…I understand that point as well. I can only apologize, but since Las Vegas is where OSA headquarters is located, it was difficult to allocate enough personnel for the outer perimeter. That’s why we had to operate with fewer people.”

Compared to other regional branches, OSA headquarters has more staff involved in technical research and paperwork than field agents.

Himena was a field agent, but when she was first assigned, her role was closer to office work. She was put into fieldwork because there was no field personnel in the Residence Management Department.

“It seems like this was a deliberate, prepared attack, so I guess it couldn’t be helped.”

Dexter, who had heard about the headquarters’ situation from Himena before, didn’t press Agent Alex further.

Besides, he had fired an enhanced nuclear fission rocket, which had completely obliterated any potential evidence.

Director Makoa, now aware of all the facts, looked at Himena with a light smile.

“Looks like you’ll be working late today, Agent Ribero.”

“What? No, shouldn’t you be telling me I’ve worked hard and can leave early…?”

“What are you talking about? You and Agent Patel witnessed everything. Of course you need to work accordingly.”

It was good that Dexter had resolved the situation, but he had handled it too cleanly in the literal sense.

Thanks to that, while there were testimonies, there was no physical evidence, so the agents who were on the scene—Kuma and Himena—had to write all the reports.

“But, still…”

“Besides, weren’t you the one who said we needed to investigate Libertron?”

Director Makoa said with a broad smile.

Himena swallowed her tears as soon as she heard the Director’s words.

It was almost as if she had volunteered herself for overtime.

“Y-yes… of course…”

“Honorary Agent Hughes, thank you for your hard work.”

Himena cast an envious glance at Dexter as the Director merely offered him encouragement.

Although Dexter was an honorary “agent,” the Director couldn’t order an honorary agent to write reports.

*Clap!*

Director Makoa clapped his hands once and said:

“We’ll end here for today, and I’ll call Honorary Agent Hughes again when we need more testimony or investigation.”

“Understood.”

The two left the tent, leaving Director Makoa and Agent Alex behind.

When Himena’s expression turned sulky, Dexter patted her shoulder and said:

“Cheer up. It was a big incident, after all.”

“I understand it logically, but ugh… I don’t want to work.”

When Himena complained lightly, Dexter quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching them, then gave her a light kiss on the forehead and said:

“Let’s stay strong.”

“…There are so many people around!”

Startled by the sudden kiss, Himena covered her forehead with both hands.

Dexter retrieved the chocolate chip cookies he had carefully stored in his pickup truck and handed them to Himena, saying:

“They’re cold now, but still.”

“…Thank you. I never thought I’d survive because of chocolate chip cookies, but here we are.”

Dexter also felt somewhat amazed that the chocolate chip cookies he had brought for Himena had led to him saving the two people in danger.

“I know, right? I’m not sure if we should call it good luck or bad luck.”

Nevertheless, it was true that they had received help, and Dexter had fought hard enough to fracture his bones.

Himena also glanced around quickly, then gave Dexter a light hug and said:

“Thank you so much for today.”

“It’s nothing. I just did what I had to do.”

Neither Himena nor Dexter wanted to part, but it was time to deal with the aftermath of the events that had occurred since earlier in the day.