After some minutes of sitting still on the seat and staring at the trees passing by in a dumb manner, Adam asked Zack in a dull manner, “By the way, where are we headed?”

“We’re going to Brighton, as this map says,” said Zack, while looking at the map— a digital tablet fitted in the car with a GPS open. “It’s a hotel near the Brighton Beach.”

“What’s the name of the hotel?”

“Beach Side Hotel.”

Adam nodded and turned his head towards the road. “It lives upon his name.”

Zack chuckled. “It wasn’t a good one, Ads.”

“Maybe that’s ‘cause even the jester needs  break.”

“No, because everyday is like a holiday for them.”

“How an you say so?!” Adam was offended.

“What do you do with friends on a holiday?” Zack explained. “Have fun, chill and crack jokes, right?” Adam nodded. He looked very serious and angry, but he let him explain. “And what’s the work of a jester? Have fun, chill and crack jokes!”

Zack laughed as Adam looked at him disgustedly. “Never ever say this to another man, buddy. It’s for your own safety.”

“Oh, really?” He sarcastically asked.

“I don’t wanna kill ya here, in front of everyone, got it?”

“Yeah, ’cause ya know that you will end up being beaten in the end!”

“Ah! Shut up,” Adam was irritated.

“Okay, that’s what you say when you get defeated!”

“Oh, so you know me better than I do?” Adam sarcastically asked.

“No, but I know a thing or two about you, and it’s one of them,” Zack replied casually.

“See, I’m just irritated—”

“’Cause y’are defeated!” Zack yelled. “Accept it, Ads!”

“No, I’m not irritated just because I’m defeated—”

“Then why’re you irritated?” Zack asked. Adam had no answer. He opened his mouth to speak something, but he had no words. Zack seriously completed, “That’s because y’are defeated, Ads. Just accept it.”

“No, I won’t.”

Zack turned his head towards the road and apathetically replied. “Okay. I don’t care.”

“Neither I do,” Adam also turned his head the other way towards the window.

The car soon crossed the city and entered the highway, which had no skyscrapers surrounding it. Suddenly, Adam’s stomach made an upset sound and therefore, Adam asked, “By the way, ain’t there any restaurants somewhere near us?”

Zack replied, “We just crossed the city! C’mon, you really expect the highway to be filled with restaurants?!”

“In a way, yes.”

“Live in reality, brother. Reality.”

“Okay, okay. I can wait until we reach the hotel, ‘kay?”

“Yeah, that’s good.”

“But, don’t you think we should have packed some food?” Adam asked.

“See behind,” Zack advised him and Adam followed suit.

“What the—” Adam was shocked at looking what was happening behind their back. The five were sitting in a circle, and in the center of the circle lay food. Adam turned towards Zack again and asked, “Why didn’t ya tell me before?”

“What should I have said?” Zack replied. “All of them were eating like monsters hungry for over three thousand years, and no one even knew that we two even exist.”

Adam face-palmed.

“By the way,” Zack asked Adam. “D-Do you know where Olly has gone?”

Adam shockingly looked at him. “W-We promised, Zack… We promised to each other that we won’t talk 'bout her.”

“But, an idea just hit my mind.” Zack had tears filled in his eyes. “It’d be a lot better if she would have been here, with us.”

“Yeah,” Adam replied. He had a sombre expression on his face. “But, we’re not the ones to change it now, are we?”

“At least, we know that she’s alive,” Zack said. “Then why doesn’t she just come back, here, with all of us?”

Adam nodded. “That’s a question only she herself can answer.”

“I don’t know when we’ll get to meet her, but let’s make a promise today.” Zack looked directly into Adam’s eyes with those tearful eyes, raised a hand towards him and said emotionally, “Whenever we’d meet her, we’d ask her this question.”

Adam’s eyes were filled with tears and his mouth was open. He was just about to say something, but he closed his mouth and shook his hand. He thought, “It’d be better not to tell him the truth that we’d never get to meet her ‘cuz she might be out of this country, or even dead.”

                                                                      

Suddenly, there was an explosion at the back side of the car and it jumped from behind. Zack got a good hold of the steering wheel and prevented the car from falling down the mountains. “W-What was that?” Zack asked in a scared manner.

“What the hell was it?!” Adam yelled as he turned towards the right and looked outside his window. At far back, on another hill, he saw two black silhouettes with great muscular arms and a missile gun in hand.

“What happened, Ads?” Zack asked. There was a wide chaos in the whole van and everyone started screaming. But, Adam didn’t pay attention; he shockingly pointed at the two figures.

Zack angrily turned towards him and started scolding, “Hey, if you’ve—” But, he stopped in between and looked where he was pointing. “Who the hell are they? And they’re the ones who—”

“Those are the men of Xavier Group, Miley’s terrorist group.”

“How’re a so sure?”

“Just a good intuition.”

“Okay then, we’re left with no option but to run quickly, right?”

“Obviously,” Adam replied in a scared tone.

Zack pushed the accelerator of the car and the needle of the car’s speedometer touched the mark of seventy to eighty kilometer per hour.

“Zack!” Lucy asked him when she popped her head towards the front side. “What’s goin’ on here?”

“That’s what we’re tryna figure out!” Adam replied. “All we know is that someone attacked our car with a missile. The road is, or most of the time, empty, so they can very well set up some good traps here for us!”

“S-So we should turn back and go home, right?” Lucy asked worriedly.

“There’s no U-turn here, and the hotel is also just at the end of this highway, so let’s reach there first,” Zack commented.

“Okay, now our lives are at your hand, Zacky!” Lucy screamed in panic.

“Sure, Lucy,” Zack replied with determination. “Imma take y’all back to safety.”

“Thanks, Zack,” Lucy replied and turned her head backwards.

“Dunno why the Xavier Group is behind us so insanely!” Adam angrily commented. “Can’t they just leave us?”

“Dunno, pal. But once I find this man, Xavier, Imma kick his ass and avenge all this!”

“Even I wanna do that to him! Promise me, if you get a chance to meet him, you’ll first call me and tell the address!”

“Got it, Ads. But, I actually wanna be free of all this stuff,” Zack calmly replied. “I mean, what did we do to him that he’s after our lives so badly!”

“That’s what we’ve to find out. For now, we just know that it’s a terrorist organization who wanna take over the Agency.”

“Yeah, but this information ain’t enough. Plus, we can’t even obtain a mission for this matter because of our low rank.”

“That’s the problem. The internet won’t help either.”

“Maybe… Maybe we can find out about their encounters with the police?”

“D’ya really think they’d provide information to a C-Grade team?”

“Uh… I suppose so…?”

“It’s not the right time, Zacky.”

“It’s the time to just run,” Zack joked and Adam chuckled.

“Right.”

 

The car was running speedily on the road and turning away the small chunks of stones on the road. The engine revved continuously as the car dashed through the highway. The road turned right and so did the van. The speed was touching hundred as the speedometer showed. Adam turned his head backwards and commented, “Maybe they’re not after us anymore.”

“That’s a good news, but maybe they’re re-loading their missile.”

“That joke failed badly,” Adam replied in a dull manner. “Just focus on the car, that’s the only productive thing ya can do right now.”

“No, maybe I can—”

“FOCUS ON DRIVING, YA TWO!” Lucy, who was sitting just behind Zack, yelled at the joking duo. “Can’t ya both see that this ain’t the right spot?!”

“Jesters need a ‘right spot’, not jokers,” Zack replied as he dominantly changed the gear an pushed the pedal downwards.

“Zack y’are gone NUUUUTTTTTTS!” Adam was just in the middle of his comment when the car’s speed suddenly touched one-thirty and his words were inaudible thereafter. “What theee heallaruu doin’?”

“Whaaaaatttt?!” Zack asked.

“Slowwee downh thah charr!”

“C’mon, Ads, stop acting like I’m driving at the speed of the light!” Zack scolded.

“Slow down the CAR!” Adam said in an understanding tone. “Y’are gonna fly this thing!”

“So LET IT BE!” Zack was determined about his driving skills and the situation was just perfect to show-off his skills. “Imma take y’all safe, I swear!”

“What the hell is goin’ on man?!” One of the men behind asked. “Slow it up!”

“Can’t ya see we’re just beside the sea where we can easily fall off and die?!” Adam commented while shouting. Then, he saw a sharp cut approaching speedily. “See the sharp turn! SLOW IT DOWN!”

Zack saw it with very determination in his eyes. But, while it was approaching, he re-thought. “C-Can I do this? If-If not, m-my friends…” Then, he suddenly took his foot off the accelerator and pushed the brake pedal. The front tires stopped whereas the two behind were still rotating speedily. But, the brakes did help. Zack turned the steering-wheel right and then while taking the foot off the brakes, he pushed the accelerator. The turn was correct, and Adam watched it all in awe. He was speechless and just glared blindly in the front. “What in the sweet cheese happened in here?!”

Zack was breathing heavily and had his face full of sweat. “Dunno, but whatever that was, it was just insane, isn’t it?” Zack replied in amusement.

“I forbid ya from driving anything when I’m behind or beside you,” Adam replied in the same blindness in his eyes. “He…” Adam chuckled and looked at Zack. Zack looked back and the two started laughing. “Hahahahaha!”

“That… That was just insane! Hahahaha!” Zack commented while driving, at a low speed now.

 

There was a wide chaos in the back seats for bitter five minutes. The topic of the gossip was the same: Zack’s rash driving. “Now I feel what it takes to be a racer!”

“Breaking the laws is sure fun, until it breaks your bones.”

“I don’t remember if I sat in such a fast-moving van before, I swear!”

Everyone was giving their own opinions, which drowned in the utter chaos of the opinions. Meanwhile, Adam was glaring on the digital map on his smartphone. He was having fun in watching that small cursor speeding through the lines. With the same dull expressions on his face, he looked forward onto the road, when he saw the car taking a right turn as they moved forward through the highway. Behind the rocks of the U-turn, he was now able to clearly see the magnificent beach and large crowds of people enjoying their vacations, with some hotels and restaurants on the other end of the road. With a sparkle in his eyes, he said in utmost amazement, “Whoa! It looks like heaven!”

“The weather is also great for a beach vacation; the sun sure is cool!” Zack commented. “The sunny day, cool breeze and sea in the front is gonna be a fun vacation.”

“Sadly, it’s not a ‘vacation’; it’s a ‘holiday’.” Adam told him. “We’d come here for a vacation here, maybe after a long, tiring and life-threatening mission, but not now.”

“Ha! Preparing for the future, huh?”

“Preparation for the future is very necessary,” Adam acted like a teacher. “We are educated as an investment for our future.”

“Ya suck at acting, Ads,” Zack replied in a dull manner.

“Really?” Adam asked. “It used to be my dream to become an actor!”

“And now I know why your dream was never completed…”

“What?”

“Nothing…”