Hollywood Zenith

" Finally! It is time to show these boys how it's done." Jane thought as soon as they returned to the base. She was getting ready with her equipment. Her plan was simple: first, infiltrate the facility with a disguise to look for clues.

But with such a short deadline, it would be impossible for her to collect enough evidence. She asked Drac to do it; he got the temperament of someone wealthy. In reality, it was nowhere enough, but he was one people would call a 'fake' Elite.

" Remember, stay alert, and don't raise any suspicion. It is a light recon mission; we will also try other fewer exposure methods. Ze, are you fine with it?"

" Yeah, I will keep him under control." He didn't mind.

" What do you mean by that? I always follow orders!" Drac asked. He didn't like being called a slacker.

" Right, you may have forgotten the Kyiv mission, but everyone else remembers what you did then." Ze casually mentioned one of his past hiccups.

" We agreed not to bring that up, and I don't like you to point it out. Who was the one who drove us off the bridge that time in Madrid? Huh?" Drac also had some cards to play with.

" Guys, that's my concern. If you can't work together, you should ask for a transfer. Don't worry, I would not hesitate like our FORMER leader, Steve." Jane said it out loud; Steve, who was minding his own business in the living hall, heard it loud and clear.

" IT IS ONLY FOR ONE MISSION. DON'T FORGET IT!" He shouted to let her know. He would take special care of her after this mission.

In the end, Chin had to step in; he threatened to call David if they kept fighting. As soon as Chin mentioned the 'Demon' Sargent's name, Drac and Ze excused themselves while Steve rushed toward the training area leaving Jane and him behind.

" I know you are excited, but you don't have to rub it in his face all the time." Chin sighed. He knew that they were old acquaintances, but there was nothing resembling friendship between them.

The idiot Leader who unconsciously protected her, who was slow to take a hint, and his cowardly companion who thinks that getting attention from him means being constantly on his nerves.

That was the problem with such types of people. They tend to think of everything as a battlefield; gaining the upper hand was the ultimate victory for them, not knowing that they had already forgotten their real goal.

" Alright, but I can't make any promises," Jane said with a devilish smile. How could she let go of such a chance?

" Do as you, please. If you need any help, you can call me." Chin already said enough. He couldn't be bothered anymore.

" No thanks, it is not a hard mission, but I will keep it in mind."

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Fremen was not a small foundation by any stretch. They operated across the country, with their headquarters situated in London, where Cole resided.

They had to have sufficient backing from the government and the private investor to keep them afloat.

Fortunately, they had a public library for most of their records. It was done so to prevent any gross negligence of funds. Jane managed to track several such investors, mostly small, but there was something wrong with it.

The funds appeared to be consistent, but investors were constantly changing. She wanted to trace the origin, but banks had very tight security, and it took effort for her to break the firewall, not to mention illegal.

She didn't expect it to be that way. Although she was proficient in manipulating information, she was not at that level, so she decided to contact an old accomplice.

She dressed up and headed out toward the East London area. She could have called, but she knew the person in question never liked such a direct approach.

She soon reached the area, a dilapidated neighborhood with mostly old buildings; it was not a pretty sight. In the corner of the neighborhood, a slightly larger house was closed off with large walls, and there was a security camera installed on top of them.

Looking at it, one would question why a military facility was so close to the residential area, but no one seemed to mind it.

Jane, who was driving solo, parked the car at the front gate and rang the bell. She wanted to look inside, but everything was closed off; the gate was solid metal, a few feet tall, and looked heavy.

Suddenly someone called out from the other side.

" Who is it? Boss is not expecting any visitors!" Strangely it was a child's voice; what's more, he sounded no more than a teenager.

" Tell your boss that his big sister is here! If he still didn't open the gate, tell him sister bought new guns recently!"

It was quiet for a few minutes before the large door opened slowly. The so-called ' Boss' stood behind it with an annoyed expression. Jane ignored him and first parked the car inside the compound.

" Do you think this is your home? You should have asked for permission before entering!" He said, but his voice was barely audible.

" What? What was that? Did you say something?" Jane moved closer and asked him directly.

" Che, For old times' sake, I will forgive you."

" Who asked for it in the first place?"

He didn't say anything to her but first dismissed his 'crew.' They were concerned, but on their boss' orders, they resumed their 'work.'

" I know it has been a few years since I have seen you, but this is a new low even for you, Adrian. No, I should definitely report you to the authorities for child labor."

" Shut up! What can I do about it? They sneak in and rummage through everything. It is my ploy to keep them in line. At least they listen to my orders." Adrian said with frustration in his voice.

" But there is something I want to ask. Why is this whole compound surrounded by a playground? Is this a trap for the kids?" Jane pointed at the corner of the compound. There was a small two-story house in the middle, but in four corners, as far as one could see, there were parks for kids to play in.

" Don't tell me you built your house in the middle of a public park and closed it off?" Jane exclaimed.

" Are you an idiot? Can anyone do that?"

" But-"

" There was a problem, and I fixed it, nothing more. Tell me your business; I don't have to answer your questions all day." Adrian didn't want to talk about it, but Jane knew something must have happened here.

She knew that Adrian didn't like to settle down, most of the time, he would wander in the street with only his backpack, but now he had a permanent address. Even more surprising was the fact he was interacting with kids. Adrian, she knew, never liked company.

He earned the moniker "The Homeless Hacker" because of his habit of hopping from one place to another, but his skills were genuine. She had personally witnessed him in action.

" Ok, let's head inside first. I will get my equipment."