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A low whistle could be heard from the tall white and black haired man as they both stepped out of the car. Beyond the golden gate, they were greeted by a view of an opulent mansion. A mansion surrounded by tall hedges and well kept red rose bushes that extended till the end of the property. “Whoever this person is, they sure love their roses.”
“We can’t afford to get distracted. Let’s go in,” The short black haired male comments, focusing his gaze on the building as he heads towards the property. Boothill followed suit, not wanting to get left behind.
Whoever this ‘Argenti’ person is — he never bothered to read the file — certainly has a unique taste in uniform. It gave March a real doozy to replicate: several rose designs embedded in the sleeve and on one side of the flap. Several months of work led to this.
The guards in the garden didn’t bother to bat an eye towards them once their IDs were shown at the entrance. Thank Aeons, Welt sent their applications beforehand. Resulted in them obtaining legitimate work IDs instead of going through more trouble forging them. Once this whole mission is over, the twins will destroy any traces of their existence for this estate.
Upon arriving at the mansion’s entrance, Dan Heng opened the door. The inside appeared to be more grand than the outside. However, the rose theming still pursued. Various landscape paintings hung on the wall as they passed through the hall. In the center of the hallway was a single one of a lone fern on a marble pestle in a glass casing…?
Was he seeing things correctly?
He shook his head and looked straight ahead. That’s a fern alright.
Fudgin’ weirdo.
He increased his pace to catch up with Dan Heng. Not realizing earlier that his mission partner was far ahead. “I’ll go talk to Argenti. You handle the two guards that were assigned to the party. You recall their names right, Boothill?” Dan Heng whispered to him.
“Of course I know, you son of a nice lady,” He whispered back. Dan Heng made sure he memorized their names and faces before they arrived. “They’re forkin’ Matt and Jimmy.”
“I was just checking. I’ll see you outside.”
“Hey! Wait a minute you-” Dan Heng left to knock on the door of, what Boothill assumes is, Argenti’s office. He hears him exchange a few pleasantries with the person in the room before heading inside. Muddle-fudger. Left with no other choice, he descended down the stairs to go look for the two guards.
He ran into multiple dead ends several times by accident in best attempts to find the resting quarters of the guards (with the poorly drawn map by the twins). He ended up asking one of the servants working there for directions. Boothill found the pair walking down a corridor heading towards the quarters, their backs facing towards him. He pulled out the tranquilizer out of his suit jacket. Steady aim and…
One.
Reload.
Two.
They ceremoniously fell onto the ground unconscious before they had the ability to register what was happening. A tranquilizer gun wasn’t his most efficient way to knock a pair out in his opinion, but orders are orders. No violence was permitted for this mission.
He picked up the two unconscious guards before carelessly throwing the duo into what seemed like a storage room. One after another. He swung the storage room door shut. He could have sworn that he heard something fall and cause a loud sound when he threw Jimmy. Boothill decided to disregard it, opting to smooth out the uniform, making sure nothing was wrinkled. He placed the gun back in its original place before heading upstairs.
There was a red and black sports car parked. Alongside that car was Dan Heng and a person with loose braided long red hair. They wore a black turtleneck, light brown coat, and white pants. So that’s Argenti… They were pretty. Wait, pretty? Did he really forkin’ call someone he barely knew pretty? Aeons, something is terribly wrong with him today.
“So you must be Mr. Boothill! It’s a pleasure to meet you,” The red haired man smiled, extending his hand out towards him.
“That’s forkin’ right,” Boothill shakes the latter’s hand. “The one and only.”
Argenti glanced at Dan Heng in a brief moment of confusion; Dan Heng only shook his head. Very unamused by the behavior displayed in front of him. Argenti turned his attention back towards him. “It’s an honor to meet you.” He kisses the back of his hand before letting it go. “It’s a shame that Matt andJimmy couldn't make it. Dan Heng informed me that the two of them called in sick at the last minute.” Boothill looked at Dan Heng. Sick, huh? That’s one way to put being fudgin’ knocked out and shoved into a storage closet.
“Well Rosey, we should get heading to that party. We don’t want you to be late.”
“Right!” Argenti fished out the keys from his pocket. “Here they are! You two go ahead inside.”
“Don’t you have a chauffeur?” Dan Heng asked.
Argenti shook his head, smiling, “There’s no need! Why would I hire one when I can simply do it myself!”
“How do you expect the three of us to fit if this thing is a two seater?” It was his turn to ask the next question. Was Argenti expecting one of them to be riding inside the trunk? If so, let it be Dan Heng. He’s short enough to fit.
“Mr. Dan Heng will sit in the middle and you, my dear silver haired guard, will sit in the passenger seat.”
He let out a soft chuckle, “You heard the boss, brother. Sit in the middle.” Dan Heng cursed under his breath before opening the passenger door and getting inside. Argenti and him swiftly followed suit.
“We’ll arrive at the Oak family’s estate in 20 minutes.”
“The navigation says here it will take 50 minutes.” Dan Heng points out. Boothill looks over Dan Heng’s shoulder, his phone indeed states it will take that amount of time. They both glance at Argenti, confused.
“There’s no need to look at that. You might want to cling onto Mr. Boothill however.”
“What the hell do you mean Dan Heng has to- HOLY FUDGE!” Argenti steps on the pedal. Hard. Speeding down the driveway to head to the Oak family’s estate.
—
They made it in 15 minutes. The amount of potential speeding tickets that the red haired man will receive is egregious. Argenti parked the Koenigsegg Agera near the mansion of the estate.
They keep a slight distance as they trail behind Argenti. One of the pepeshi guards opened the door for them once the invitation was shown. Boothill was oddly disappointed once seeing the inside of the party. It was nothing like Argenti’s mansion, but rich folks will be rich folks.
Boothill took his chance to observe the party. On one side, there was a crowd surrounding a blonde wearing a black and gold suit with a teal button up. Seated beside him, was a tall violet haired wearing a blue and gold suit with a black button up. On the other side, there was a white teal-tipped haired foxian, salmon pink haired foxian, and gray haired guard standing near the food table. The two foxians happily mingled with each other while the gray haired guard observed.
“It is an honor to be invited to such a magnificent event, Mr. Sunday.” Argenti’s voice cut through Boothill’s thoughts.
“Of course. I appreciate the effort you took to join us today.”
Argenti’s lips pulled back in a soft smile at his words, giving a nod of his head. “I’m glad you took my presence into consideration for this event.”
“Please enjoy your stay, and should anything arise, don’t hesitate to request for me.” They followed Argenti as Sunday left to greet more guests. He sat on an empty table that was away from the crowd.
“Do you two want to explore? If not then be free to sit on the empty seats beside me. I’m sure Mr. Sunday won’t mind until the guests arrive.”
Dan Heng shook his head, “There’s no need, Mr. Argenti. We’re-”
Boothill cuts him off, “Dan Heng isn’t feeling well and needs to go to the bathroom.”
“I do?”
Boothill leans down towards Dan Heng’s ear, whispering, “Fudgin’ go with it.”
“This is the most terrible excuse you’ve made to make one of us leave in a long time.” He whispered in returned.
“Got any better ones?”
“He’s not going to-”
“Goodness! Mr. Dan Heng, why didn’t you say anything sooner? Go on! There’s no need for you to stay any longer.” Dan Heng sighed, leaving without saying a word. “I hope he doesn’t end up sick like Matt and Jimmy...”
“He won’t, Dan Heng will certainly survive.”
“I hope that’s the case.”
There were a few moments of silence before musicians began playing a piece for an English waltz. Argenti smiled, standing up and offered his hand towards him. Boothill hesitantly accepts it. The redhead led them towards the center of the room. Where other guests have gathered to dance. If he knew this was going to happen, he would have been willing to pretend not to feel well instead of Dan Heng.
He does his best to follow the latter’s lead. The tempo was too slow for Boothill to follow. Accidentally stepping on Argenti’s foot multiple times. Apologies murmured from him in the process. Argenti only continued to smile. Not minding any of his mistakes. “Hey Rosy.”
“Yes?”
“Do you…” He paused, noticing Dan Heng doing frantic motions with his hands. What is this son of a nice lady trying to tell him? He was unable to decipher the meaning as he and Argenti danced around the room. With the sight of Dan Heng getting farther and farther away. His attention shifts towards the entrance upon getting a small glimpse of a commotion going on.
Fudge.
Matt was heading towards their way. “Mr. Boothill?”
“Sorry Rosey, I need to cut our time short. Seems like Matt is in better shape. We have to switch shifts.”
“Whatever do you mean? You can always-”
“Do you mind keepin’ Rosey over here some company? Thanks in advance.” He nudged Argenti towards the trio he saw near the desert table earlier. Quickly sprinting out of the building from a side entrance afterwards. He saw Dan Heng outside of the estate where one of the twins was waiting for them. “That was quite fast. A warning would have been nice through the earpiece once you got the file.”
“You broke yours, remember? When you decided it was a good idea to fight monkeys.”
“Right, right…” Dan Heng enters in the passenger side of the car while he spares one last glance at the Oak family estate before getting in. He wonders if he’s able to see Argenti again sometime in the future. Only time will tell.
—
Dealing with the whole debacle of an unforeseen event with the racer’s guards barging in and causing a whole commotion. Sunday had to halt the event. Refrain it from going any further. Robin reassured him that she would take care of the rest as she goes to handle the guest.
What a truly embarrassing moment for the Oak family. He can imagine the IPC having a kick out of this one. Especially that Stoneheart that attended. The rest of the members that attended are bound to forget it in due time. He should have suspected something was off as soon as he noticed one of the racer’s guards disappear for a long period of time. He sighs as he heads to his office.
He opens the bottom drawer of his desk to retrieve the file containing part of Ena’s plan. The file is a lot more messy than he first remembered leaving it. He opens and the first thing he's greeted with is a note saying ‘suck a lemon’ in terrible handwriting? He closes it and reopens it. The note is still there. It then dawns on him the gravity of the situation as he whips out his phone, immediately dialing a number.
“Mr. Gopher Wood, we have a problem.”