New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

After calming down, the discussion turned to an information trade. Alex wasn't quite fond of spreading a secret that David had entrusted him to strangers, but he needed to.

Mr. Boudreau had the information he wanted, and he had information to trade it with. It was more of a transaction than just telling him, so it eased his conscience a bit.

After trading information, the two men finished eating and went their separate ways. Jack still had many duties to attend to, and Alex had tests to take part in.

Mr. Boudreau promised to release him after they knew the extent of his powers. He couldn't hold him there if he wanted, anyway.

He was quite aware of Alexander's destructive power, and he didn't want to lose him just to satisfy his curiosity.

The test took almost all day, and when he was released, they handed him his personal effects back. As soon as he turned his phone on, notifications started flowing in like a broken dam.

Half of them came from his friends, the other half were less pleasing.

Alex flipped through the notifications one by one, replying to his friends as he did. Kary was already waiting for him at the penthouse, and was dreadfully worried.

She had seen the news and was aware of a part of the situation.

Some other of his friends asked why he hadn't been online in a few days, to which he replied he had been busy.

The less they knew, the better off they were.

Violette had texted him she was back home. Her parents were quite adamant about it after the park incident.

She had woken up while he was being tested and her parents immediately had her discharged and brought her home. Violette told him that Alfred would come with men to grab her pod.

Alex gulped. He knew full well they wouldn't just be there to grab the gaming pod.

The other texts he received were mainly messages coming from Mr. Boudreau's lawyers, telling him to contact them if law enforcement ever approached him for questions.

And the last few were from the detective, wanting to set up a private meeting to discuss the park incident. Alexander almost laughed.

He knew the detective was only doing his job, but the fact alone he tried to meet up privately, knowing full well he wouldn't get past Jack's lawyer team, proved his tenacity.

Alex replied to the detective that if he wanted to meet him, it would be with lawyers present. Then he grabbed the rest of his things and asked to be brought back home.

A dedicated driver drove him home and escorted him up to his penthouse. Once he was inside, the man quietly went back down and left.

As soon as he stepped inside the penthouse and the elevator doors closed, Kary came running at him. She jumped in his arms.

"Oof!"

"Are you alright? I saw the news! Were you hurt at all?"

"Kary, I'm fine, haha. Calm down, please."

The woman pulled back a bit, giving a weak punch to the chest.

"Why didn't you call me when you were out of the hospital? And why wouldn't they let me visit you?"

"Because I wasn't at the hospital anymore."

"What? Then where were you all day?"

"In a private facility outside the city. They were testing me to see if my condition was stable."

"What condition? The news only said you killed two men in self-defence. Also, where is Violette?"

"Violette is back with her family. And yes, it was in self-defence. They were armed and threatening me and Violette."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I can. But first I would like to take a hot shower. I had a long day."

Kary let him go, nodding her head.

"I'll order food while you wash up."

"Thank you. I'll tell you everything while we eat."

Kary pulled out her phone, starting the order, while Alex walked up the stairs with tired steps. He walked to his room, throwing the bag with his stuff on the floor, before pausing.

He opened up the bag, reaching in to pull out the clothes he had worn the day before. When he did, he was upset.

They were covered in blood and they probably wouldn't be salvageable. He shoved the clothes back inside the bag, sad to have to throw them away.

He undressed from the green lab clothes he was still wearing and shoved them into the bag, too. Then he walked into his bathroom and turned on the shower.

After taking a hot shower, washing away the sweat from the tests, and a part of his weariness with it, he dressed up in loose-fitting clothes.

The food had just arrived as he walked down the stairs. He saw the delivery guy from the corner of his eye and laughed.

The guy was obviously trying to hit on Kary, but she seemed unphased by his attempts. When the guy saw Alex lean on the corner of the steps, his face turned to a jealous frown.

He hurriedly got Kary to pay, as he wanted nothing more than to leave. Alex was smiling at him with a cocky grin while waving his hand.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Kary turned to him and shook her head.

"You didn't have to act like that. I wasn't interested, anyway."

"Act like what? I was just being polite."

"More like marking your territory, you hound dog."

Kary pushed past him while giggling, going to the dining room. Alexander just laughed it off.

He knew she wasn't mad at him.

"What did you get?"

The bag was plain white, so Alex couldn't guess. But when Kary opened it, the smell emanating from it rapidly reached his nostrils.

Kary didn't need to respond anymore. Drool was already amassing itself in Alex's mouth.

"Vietnamese! Tell me you got some Pho!"

"Of course I got Pho. What kind of degenerate orders Vietnamese without some Pho?"

"Oh my god, I'm in love!"

The words came out of his mouth faster than he could think of them, and he almost froze up. Kary was looking at him with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry. Is it too soon? I spoke without thinking…"

"Why are you sorry, silly? I was just surprised you said it first, that's all. The fact you said it without having to think tells me it was sincere."

She stopped setting the table to kiss him.

"I love you too. Now help me set the table, you big dummy."