Chapter 168: A fight between liars

The thing about being an MIB agent is that they are great liars. The recruits actually had a class that taught them how to lie like an expert. Not only did they learn to lie expertly, they also learned to decipher said masterful lie. Hence, a showdown between two MIB agents would be one intense affair.

Although all learn the same stuff, the way they soak it in is different. And as in any sector, they were people who excel at lying while some sucked. So, it wasn't enough to just learn it since the other person can always sound genuine to the point that you won't even doubt him even if you knew that every single word of his is a lie.

But the problem with Ponnappan and John is that both are self proclaimed experts at lying. Neither of them have ever been caught lying but they've caught plenty. So, both had an in-depth understanding about what a lie is, which made it really difficult for Ponnappan, who had the ball in his court.

The only advantage that he had was that John didn't know the information that he just heard. However, he simply couldn't trust it. They could've just sent it to John as well- was what he thought. So, he was basically treading on a tightrope here.

Ponnappan took a deep breath. He thought of mixing up the lie with the truth so that John would take the lie in ease as well.

"Well, it's nothing much. Another alien sighting nearby. It was the HQ calling me to report that." Ponnappan instantly regretted the fact that he used the HQ in this lie when he could've simply said that his subordinates were the ones who informed it.

"The HQ did? That's weird. Why would they report it?" John asked the question that Ponnappan thought he would ask.

The commanding officer sighed. He lost the initial battle when he gave out the headquarter term. It was the point that could have given him a complete win and yet he fluffed it. However, there was no point dwelling in the last, so he decided to continue on with it just the way he did.

"Well, it seems like someone other than you came to this place from the HQ for some reason." Ponnappan replied.

"Wait, why though?" John looked confused as he asked.

"Maybe some alien caused some sort of a ruckus." Ponnappan shrugged since he didn't know the exact reason himself.

"Alien… ruckus…" Suddenly, John started mumbling those words.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ponnappan asked.

However, there was no reply from the American's side as he continued mumbling the same thing over and over again.

"Alien… ruckus… hall… karate… Oh my goodness! I remember everything-" Before he could properly comprehend all the memories that just flowed in, he was met with a flying kick that headed straight towards him.

And out of sheer luck and muscle memory, John was able to dodge the kick in the very last moment.

"You! I knew it! You were in it as well!" John literally screamed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ponnappan shrugged as he continued swinging towards John before he could gain stability.

"You asshole! Just wait until I get a-" John, who was more focused on trash talking than defending got hit with a punch with relative ease.

"Shouldn't you focus at times like these?" Ponnappan asked as he precisely hit John's cheek the next two times.

"Oww!" John cried. However, he was finally able to attain that sturdy base he was looking for, so he was more confident than ever.

"What is happening, sir?" One of the MIB agents who were asked to guard the area came running as he heard the ruckus.

"Bring the neuralyzer quick! I'll hold him till then!" Ponnappan spoke.

"Yes, sir!" The agent turned back and ran, but John was a bit quicker than him.

"Shit." Ponnappan could only curse as he saw his subordinate getting one shorted by John.

"I'm not gonna fall for the neuralyzer trick again. I promise you that!" John laughed maniacally as he walked towards Ponnappan.

The commanding officer sighed. "No chance, huh?" He asked as he raised his two fist into a boxer stance and taunted John to attack first.

And the American who was itching to get his hands on the ones screwing him around, gladly took up on that offer.

John lunged forward and swung his fist towards his face. Initially he meant it as a feint and hoped to get the second hit on Ponnappan's abdomen instead.

However, this is where experience came to play. Ponnappan was aware that it was a bluff. Seeing the guy before him not moving at his taunt, John was put in a predicament of either going with the punch or withdrawing his action entirely.

It would've been smart to just withdraw and replan in the given situation, but being the greenhorn of this high profile fight, he chose to drive it in his face.

But the momentum was pretty shabby, so Ponnappan ate the punch before smirking hard. John realized it. The man before him wasn't ordinary. He's hiding certain things and he didn't like it. But there was literally nothing he could do about it since he was rocked by the direct hit in his balls.

"Ha. Fighting after a long time… it still feels pretty good." It was the last thing John heard before closing his eyes.

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"You brought the stuff?" Ponnappan asked to his previously unconscious subordinate.

"Here it is, sir!" The subordinate handed out the neuralyzer to him.

"Hmm. Why does everything make me nostalgic now? I really haven't flashed someone for a long time now… And I gotta flash it on a person who's already been flashed once. Ha, it's really gonna be difficult." Ponnappan sighed.

The commanding officer was unaware of the other two times that John was flashed for no good reason. Even doing it twice contained a certain amount of risk, four would've been simply unimaginable. If only Ponnappan knew about it—this would've never happened in the first place.

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