Chapter 188 - Pizza Party

The next time Scarlet and Edward met was at Kiwi Cat Studio's pizza party. Scarlet tried to act normal but the people rooting for her romance watched on with concern. Scarlet wasn't acting any differently than how she normally was with the E.C. Class and Jasper found it strange.

Alex and Elfie often heard stories about how Scarlet behaved with Alex. The writer would sometimes do that in front of everyone else too when Alex was around. However, there was none of that snarky insults and low-key sparring that happened today.

The pizza party was wild and entertaining. Scarlet did take the chance to speak to Jasper and Elfie alone away from the rowdy group that was good at creating distractions.

"How is it going? I remember passing you some solid trails for investigations. His information will not be wrong."

Jasper raised a brow. "I passed it to Elfie. On that note, EZ Express has been approaching us in many ways. Lately, I think they've lost their patience and started making a move on some of my employees."

"How so?" Scarlet asked and Elfie sighed.

"I'm still getting someone to check on the information for me. Don't worry, they are reliable. I'm a hacker, not an analyst. Even if I can worm my way into the system I cannot find out what they are up to. Jasper is too busy so I enlisted the help of another friend. Don't worry, they are a professional."

Scarlet blinked. "You gave Anastasia's lead to someone else who is not on the team? Who are they? How do you know that they're trustworthy?"

Scarlet wasn't pleased and Jasper looked guilty. "Sorry, Scarlet. I-I thought that it'll be alright since Elfie trusts this guy. He said that they've worked together on multiple occasions for big cases. The dude is from the Interpol or something but has recently been benched for personal reasons."

"Benched," Scarlet confirmed. "Why do you think it's a good idea to bench me and get someone else who is also benched to work on it? I can't believe you did this to me after the trouble I've gone through. At the very least you should tell me who he is."

Elfie felt conflicted. Edward's identity and secret are his to tell or keep. However, he knew that they weren't being fair to Scarlet who worked the hardest on the case. It was like stealing somebody's work and giving it to someone else to claim credit for.

"Scarlet, this is for your own good. You've done too many dangerous and reckless things over the last few years trying to get to the bottom of the case. Now that we have a good lead, we can take it from here. You've opened the door for us that nobody has ever been able to, let's leave the rest to the professionals, shall we? Right now the most important thing is to concentrate on keeping Alex and Mrs Wile safe. EZ Express has been trying to buy over our employees and send their spies. I've been able to hold them off thanks to Wilmer's help but once they know about you and Alex, they will start targeting the both of you."

Jasper's words made sense and Scarlet felt slightly guilty. Alex still didn't know anything and now that she was finally dating Jasper, the writer didn't want to do anything to endanger her family.

"How do I know if Elfie's friend can be trusted? Anastasia's case has been cold for years even with the Interpol. What can a few brats like us possibly do? They must already know where Anastasia is from and what he is doing. The leads that we find cannot compare to what the higher-ups of the Interpol know."

Elfie nodded in agreement. "You're right. However, I have inside sources. Remember that the Interpol works with me on missions. They've sent in spies to investigate Anastasia but many have been killed. Anastasia has been on the edge lately with the news of CEO Zhu's collaboration with Golden Frost. Their hands are tied but we are free to run around while the bigger powers fight it out. I don't know how you managed to get your hands on the missing link but so far, we are able to identify Anastasia's purpose."

"His purpose is...?" Scarlet asked and Elfie lowered his voice.

"We know he trades drugs and firearms but the most crucial one is actually human and organ trafficking. He needs the Wilde Empire's influence to bring in humans easily and he is trying to worm his way inside. The Wilde Empire is too big and even Wilmer cannot get rid of all the spies. Danny is working at it from another case but that's the reason why they've been guarding Kiwi Cat Studios so fiercely."

Scarlet couldn't say anything. She understood now the severity of the situation. If Anastasia was into human trafficking and organ smuggling from the humans he kidnapped, it wouldn't be difficult for him to plan a kidnap for Wilmer's children. In fact, such a man wouldn't be bothered by a murder or two to get rid of the obstacles in his path. If Scarlet continued to dig further alone, she would only involve the people around her and risk their operation's failure.

"What can I do now?" she asked and Jasper glanced over to his girlfriend.

"Stay safe and out of attention. It's better to watch over Alex as well. She attends too many parties and meets too many people. If Anastasia wanted, he could easily plant a spy to befriend Alex and lure her into his trap. Watch out for both of yourselves and don't ditch the security. It's a crucial period right now, we're currently investigating his base of operations in the East with the lead."

That got Scarlet's attention. "The list of warehouses and factories involved?"

Elfie nodded. "We sent some people with Danny's help but they haven't gotten back to us. Danny didn't give me details but he said that the inside situation was very messy. Someone deleted a bunch of files and the system crashed. Emails were hijacked and everything is a mess. There is no system within the companies and the reporting line is corrupted. There are factions within the company and they don't behave like regular businesses. the legal department is the only solid thing, covering up for all the blunders. The accounts are faked. Physical stock and doc.u.ments don't match. It's going to take some time."

"Elfie! Jasper!" Alex yelled from the party. "If you don't hurry over these guys are gonna finish it all up!"

"Save me a beef bolognese pizza!" Elfie yelled with a panicked expression when he heard that the pizza was going to be finished when he hadn't had the chance to take even a bite.

Jasper patted Scarlet on the shoulder and told her to take care of herself and level the rest to them before going over to Alex who complained about the lack of attention as she passed him his portion of pizza that she saved for him. Scarlet stood in the corner alone and watched as her sister laughed alongside the boys and discreetly held her boyfriend's hand when they weren't looking.

Elfie who had secured his pizza and cola stared at Edward who was nursing a can of coke like he was nursing a can of beer. The hacker frowned. After all the trouble he took to invite Edward over to make a move on Scarlet and patch things up, why was the teen not doing anything?

"Oi! Aren't you going to go up to her? If you screw this up I'm going to announce to the world that you're gay!"

Edward glared at Elfie who didn't back down. "Go up to her and say what? Can't you see how uncomfortable she is? Your meddling is getting worse. Also, how am I supposed to explain my friendship with you to her? She's not going to believe me because she knows what you do for a living."

Elfie grimaced. That was true. He didn't think that far ahead. Edward was usually the smarter of them with the exception of matters pertaining to Scarlet.

"Sorry," the hacker winced and glanced over to Scarlet who was looking at her sister being lovey-dovey with Jasper with a forlorn look.

"How about you get her something to eat? She hasn't gotten anything since she came. Her sister is also preoccupied with her boyfriend and nobody will bother both of you. It's a good time to apologise and come clean about Jedd. Here's a trick. Scarlet doesn't like people lying to her but she is understanding about it if you wish to keep certain things a secret from her even if her curiosity kills her after she knows there is something she doesn't know."

Edward took a moment to digest what Elfie said and stared into blank space before getting up to get a paper plate.

Scarlet wasn't expecting to be approached but she still looked up when someone shoved a Hawaiian pizza under her nose. Looking up, it was none other than the person she's been wanting to talk to all week. Instead of lighting up at his appearance, Scarlet squashed that bubbling hope in her chest and played it cool.

Edward watched as Scarlet accepted the pizza calmly and muttered her thanks. The girl still looked dejected, even more so than him who had been rejected. Scarlet held the plate but didn't eat and Edward took that as something to start a conversation.

"Not to your liking?"

Scarlet glanced at the plate and noticed that it was Hawaiian. She shook her head. "No, this is my favourite."

Edward smiled. He already knew that. "Why aren't you eating? Penny for your thought?"

Scarlet seemed to shrink further into herself when Edward asked that. She didn't know how he could suddenly be so casual with her as if nothing happened. Numbly, Scarlet picked up the pizza slice and munched. It was good but scarlet couldn't find it in herself to enjoy it, too conscious about the boy beside her.

Edward let Scarlet eat in peace and enjoyed the silent company despite the noise buzzing around them. Alex was introducing a game of twister to the boys and hyping the crowd but he wasn't interested in it. Instead, he could only focus on the slight warmth radiating from Scarlet who was finally sitting beside him.