“I've given you the core position in the organization. How can you claim that I lack sincerity?” Sam asked candidly.
Tony cocked his brow in response. “How is this my fault now?” Amused by their banter, Sam gave Tony the side-eye.
Back then, Sam had assumed Tony was of similar age after both of them had chatted on the internet. Little did he expect the latter to turn out to be a child. If that wasn't shocking enough, Tony 's intelligence was also off the charts.
It was a testament to the fact that the next generation would always outdo the previous one. An indifferent smile emerged across Tony 's face as he stared at Sam .
Chatting face-to-face was just different from doing so online—it felt a lot more real.
Tony liked Sam a lot, both online and in the real world. Even though the latter had a crafty mind, he had an easygoing character. Thus, Tony didn't want to lose a friend that he considered to be loyal.
With that in mind, he decided to keep the truth from Sam until there was a better time to tell him. Even then, Sam could sense that something was up.
As he swept his gaze across the three siblings, a myriad of emotions filled his heart.
On his way to meet them, he had considered all possibilities but was still caught off guard in the end. I'll have to groom these children from young, but what is this inexplicable sense of anticipation I feel? Finally, the silence in the room was broken by Thalia. “Boss, are you leaving today still?”
Sam turned around to give her a look. “Why? Are you looking forward to me doing so?”
“I... Of course I rather you stay!” Thalia denied it despite hoping otherwise. Although she wanted to spend more time with Sam reminiscing the past, his stay would complicate matters with the three children.
Sam raised a skeptical brow. “Is that so?”
Thalia frantically nodded as she replied in a serious tone, “Definitely!” Sam chuckled in response. “Only a kid would be fooled.”
“Kids are not as gullible as you think,” Thalia mumbled under her breath.
After letting out a snort, Sam checked his watch. “I'm afraid I can't stay. I'll be leaving in two hours.” The children were surprised to hear that.
Tony was the first to ask, “What's wrong? Did something happen?”
Sam nodded as he elaborated, “Holden has encountered some trouble. I'm going over to check on him.”
Tony 's brows furrowed upon hearing the news. “I must admit that I've been too busy to go online recently. What happened? Do you need my help?” he asked.
It was natural for them to worry about their teammates.
However, Sam flatly replied, “You can barely handle your own problems, so there's no need to get involved. I'll deal with Holden's problem.”
“I might be busy, but do let me know if you need my help. I can still make the time if necessary,” Tony insisted.
When Tony 's words sparked an idea in his mind, Sam leaned forward to suggest, “Why don't you
come with me? Once we're done over there, we can go straight to your place to resolve your problem.” “You're making it sound like it's a walk in the park!” Tony commented.
“Obviously, it's not going to be easy, but it doesn't mean we have no means of dealing with it.” After a brief pause, Sam added, “Don't you want to see how Holden and the others will react upon seeing you?”
After giving it some thought, Tony shook his head. “Thalia told me back then that it would be interesting to see your reaction when you first saw me, but it turned out to be anti-climactic.”
Before Sam could reply, Thalia preempted him, “That's because you don't understand Boss. The calmer
he appears to be, the more turbulent the emotions raging inside him are. If the three of you hadn't appeared at the same time, the result would have been even more fascinating.”
Tony was a little doubtful. “Really?”
“Of course!” Thalia subsequently lowered her voice. “After all, Boss needs to act tough when facing trouble.”
The three children couldn't help but burst into laughter.
As for Sam , he simply closed his eyes while maintaining his calm.
He couldn't deny the shock and disbelief he felt upon learning Tony 's identity. Even now, it still felt surreal to him.
Nonetheless, as someone with strong adaptability, he quickly came to terms with the shocking revelation.
Seeing no refusal from Tony and even agreeing to it, the others cast him confused gazes. Tony kept his expression stoic, looking calm and confident.
However, from their understanding of Tony , they were sure he would never give in without a fight. Dropping their gaze, none of them said a word.
At that time, Sam was still talking about Midnight fang pack with Tony . After asking some basic questions, Sam put forward a few more proposals.
More than an hour had passed between their discussion.
Sam looked at Tony and said, “Let's go with that for now, and we'll talk again once I get there. All in all, you don't have to worry too much. I won't let anything happen to your mom, I swear.”
Tony merely nodded.
Suddenly, the ringing of Sam 's phone interrupted their conversation.
Sam picked up his phone, glanced at the number flashing across the screen, and immediately picked up the call.
“Hello?” After a short pause, he said, “Got it. I'll head over once I'm done talking with Tony .”
Sam arched his brow and turned to Tony . “How does Tony look like?” Sam laughed and answered, “You'll know once you meet him.”
After another short silence, he said, “All right. I'll talk to you later.” The call ended at the heel of those words.
Tony looked at him. “Are you leaving?” Sam nodded. “Yeah, Holden is rushing me.”
Tony nodded. “All right, then. I won't keep you.”
Sam narrowed his eyes at him. “Now you know how important you are to me? Even though it was only an hour, I still came over and met you first.”
Tony raised his brow. “Are you sure it wasn't to satisfy your own curiosity?” “Tony , do you know how boring it is to talk with you?”
“Is it because the others don't expose you, but I do?” Tony asked.
Sam stared at him and conceded, “This is my first time meeting you, so I'm not going to be petty. We have more time to talk in the future.”
“If I'm not wrong, I think I heard the same words out of your mouth many times already,” Tony exposed.
Sam inhaled deeply, stamping down his rising irritation. “All right, I'm leaving. Catch you later.” Tony smiled and rose to his feet to send Sam off.
It was dark and the breeze was blowing outside.
The helicopter's rotors spun slowly and were ready for departure.
Despite the short meeting, Tony felt a sense of longing for Sam , as though he had a brief reunion with an old friend.
Tony pressed his lips into a line and uttered, “Safe trip.”
Sam looked over his shoulder at him. “These are the nicest words I've heard from you throughout our meeting.”
Tony burst out laughing.
Sam swung his gaze to Donna and Ben beside Tony .
He walked over to them and offered, “Time was a bit tight today, so we didn't get a chance to chat. Let's have a nice, long one when I head to your place later.”
Donna 's lips curved into a small smile. “Sure.” Ben nodded. “Yeah.”
“Till next time,” Sam said.
Following behind him, Thalia noticed he was already bidding goodbye, so she went up to him. “Boss, do you need me to head over to Holden's side?”
Sam looked over his shoulder and replied, “If you join Holden, what about the three of them?” “They have others with them, right?” Thalia questioned.
Even though she knew Sam wouldn't let her go, she still wanted to try her luck.
“I don't feel at ease by handing them over to someone else.” Seeing she opened her mouth to refute, he immediately cut her off. “They are Darknetz's future. Your mission here is very important. You must take them back to Darknetz safely.”
“But Boss—”
“Enough. I know what you want to say, but both Holden's side and here are equally important. Since I'll be there, I'll leave everything here to you,” Sam ordered.
Seeing the finality on his face, Thalia complied, “Call me if anything happens.” Sam nodded.
With a gush of breeze, his windbreaker fluttered.
He looked down at the time displayed on his watch. “All right, it's getting late. I'm leaving.” The others nodded.
Sam cast one last glance and a knowing smile at Tony before walking toward the helicopter.
Once he strapped into his seat, the helicopter's door slid close, and rotors spun at full speed, taking off slowly.
Sitting by the window, he waved at them one last time.
Tony and the others stood on the ground and stared as Sam 's helicopter disappeared from view. A moment of silence later, Thalia asked, “What? You don't want him to leave?”
Tony retracted his gaze from the dark sky and turned it to her. “Nothing of the sort. We'll meet sooner or later anyway.”
“Then what were you looking at?” Thalia questioned.
Tony lowered his eyes. “I was just thinking what a shame it'll be if I'm no longer a friend of Sam 's one day.”