Chapter 220 - Sentient Meets Cyborg

Edward wasn't expecting the rough treatment and his memory of what happened was hazy at best. He knew that he had a moment back there but he didn't remember what happened. Something snapped in him when he heard the words "break-up with Scarlet". There shouldn't be a switch there but for some reason, he lost it completely as if it had been pre-conditioned. What was going on?

The world was dark but Edward knew it was just a blindfold. He was also restrained in ropes and cuffs. Whoever this person was, they knew their stuff and it wasn't an ordinary kidnapping. The only person he could think of capable of pulling something like that was Claire. Alex was merely the bait, Claire was the true mastermind.

Although he had only spoken to her that one time when she posed as the oldest sister, Edward knew her well enough. He did some digging into Claire's background by abusing the level of access he had to confidential files with Elfie's help. She was a very capable soldier who left because of personal beliefs. The army regretted letting her go but Claire couldn't be stopped. Short of killing her, nobody could stop Cyborg from the special forces team Delphinium from leaving. Her most capable skill wasn't her close quarter combat. It was her ability to single-handedly infiltrate the enemy's base and destroy it from inside out. She was a brilliant strategist who was too young for her age back then with more guts than any men. Losing to someone like her wasn't a bad feeling.

Edward waited for what he counted to be twenty minutes before the door opened and he heard footsteps. He was still and didn't move. If it wasn't Claire, he still had a chance of fooling them into thinking he was still unconscious.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side. The one who entered was Claire. She was flanked by two more guards but the head maid dismissed them after she saw that Edward was actually conscious. Edward wanted to sigh at his fate but for the sake of drawing out time, didn't move until Claire called his bluff.

"Stop pretending, you're not fooling anyone."

Edward smiled and raised his head from the uncomfortable position he was in on the chair. It wasn't the most comfortable position and he eased the kinks out of his neck with a few stretches. Claire waited patiently and observed the teen in front of her who seemed unfazed. She was curious about his identity but she had a few guesses she wanted to confirm personally which was why she sent the others away.

Once Edward was ready, Claire removed the blindfold and waited for Edward's eyes to adjust to the dim light in the room. This interrogation room was something the guards quickly put together on Claire's orders so it wasn't perfect. However, the setup was very familiar to Edward. With the presence of light and the side effects of chloroform, Edward's skull throbbed in pain.

Claire felt slightly apologetic at the rough handling earlier. She had a feeling that Edward wasn't an enemy but for formality, she couldn't be impartial. She was lenient and warned Edward that he shouldn't pull anything funny in front of her.

"I'll get straight to the point," she told him. "I have an idea who you are and what you do and I want you to be honest. Everything that happens in this room stays in this room, I give you my word. I'm a former special force agent, code name Cyborg from team Delphinium. What's your code name and where are you from?"

Edward blinked. He knew Claire's identity but he wasn't sure why she was being so honest with him. Nothing was scarier than getting told that things were going his way without even having to try. Life doesn't just hand anything over on a silver platter and even backup plans often fail. Edward wasn't a stranger to it. For discussions to be this civil and smooth, Edward grew suspicious.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Claire smiled. "Isn't it because I know that you're absolutely powerless at this moment? You're not going to be able to break out of that in the next five minutes, I searched you for tools and took them all away. You're currently looking for your hidden needle under your watch but I took the entire watch away so there's really not much you can do other than talk with me. I would also advise against trying to pull a fast one on me, I might not be an agent now but I still have connections. Don't underestimate the influence of the Wildes."

Edward checked his ankles and found that what Claire said was true. He couldn't feel his lock pick and frowned. The head maid had searched even his socks and Edward admitted defeat.

"What are you going to do after I tell you my identity? Is there really a need? You've probably guessed it already."

Claire nodded in agreement. "I have my guesses. Danny is a very helpful person and you being with Elfie was a huge giveaway to those who already knew of you. You didn't even use a false name when you approached Scarlet so I'm giving you the benefit of doubt now. I didn't dispose of you immediately but both you and I know that I can if I wanted to. The Wildes have many enemies and I'm in charge of cleaning the trash."

Edward laughed along with Claire without humour. There was no chance of getting out of this if he didn't play along to Claire's rules. This wasn't a good thing for him. Edward hated being at other people's mercy but thinking about it from a different perspective, this was like gaining Scarlet's older sister's approval. If he thought about it like that, he was able to somehow collect himself and ignore his pride.

"I'll talk," he relented. "But you'll never speak of this to anyone else. If the higher-ups know, I will be discharged from service before I can finish what I want to do."

Claire gave him her word and Edward sighed.

"My code name is Sentient. I believe there is no more need to clarify who I am now, special information specialist, youngest professional spy. I've been trained as a child spy by the academy and my father is the current General Secretariat of the Interpol."

Claire wasn't surprised by the revelation. "I thought the name Bayon sounded familiar. It's an honour to meet you, Sentient. I have to ask about where your loyalties lie and what are your objectives for approaching Scarlet. Don't be offended or threatened, I don't want a repeat of what happened in the car. It's just a standard operating procedure for me to screen all potential threats and give them a chance to come clean."

Edward remained silent for a long while and Claire didn't rush him. Edward seemed to be struggling with words and the head maid was understanding. According to Alex, there was no doubt that Edward loved Scarlet from the bottom of his heart but that didn't mean he didn't approach her without secondary objectives.

"It was a favour Elfie asked from me. He was working on Anastasia's case and wanted my help to crack the cold case. I was removed temporarily from service for reasons I'm not obliged to tell you. My job was to keep an eye on Scarlet and prevent her from involving herself too deeply with the case. In case you still have no clue, Elfie, Jasper and I are working separately from Wilmer and Danny. Scarlet was the one who got us the first major lead. I've only recently been able to find a new angle on the case that might give us a new lead. We're also making plans to smoke them out by setting a trap. Alex doesn't know much but she knows enough that Scarlet is too involved in dangerous things."

Claire felt her heart race. "You've got a lead? Is it a reliable one?"

Edward hesitated. "It's reliable but we don't have evidence yet. This isn't something Danny or Wilmer should concern themselves with. If they continue to wear down Anastasia like how they always did, it gives us more space to worm our way around the other side. Jasper has been approached by Julian Anastasia, we want to use this as an opportunity to infiltrate deep. We might have more allies but nothing is confirmed yet. I don't want Scarlet contacting that man even if he helped us."

Claire was confused. "Who are you talking about?"

Edward grimaced at the memory of Scarlet prettying herself up to meet that hateful CEO.

"Who else?" he spat bitterly. "The pineapple CEO."

Claire was amused. Was that jealousy she saw on the Sentient? Rumours really couldn't be trusted. The cold-blooded and calculating Sentient was actually such a love-whipped puppy for their Scarlet. Although Scarlet and Alex's suspicions were on point, after knowing the truth or what was part of the bigger truth, Claire could write Edward's name off the list of potential threats.

"Aren't you going to release me?" Edward asked. "You have your answers."

The head maid smirked. "And why would I do that? I still have a lot to talk about and you'll have to entertain me until I'm satisfied. This is payback for ditching the guards I placed on Scarlet on your date."

Edward paled. So this was the true face of Cyborg. For some reason, he felt that the name Cyborg was too mild for the killing machine. She should have been given the code name Devil instead.