Zeke was starting to regret letting the masked man go back then. I would have killed him if I had known about his true crimes. Now, I just hope he'll come back for the sarira.
With that marked the end of the matter at the ministry. As promised, Zeke took Missy and Lacey to the nearest KFC.
While Missy was devouring her chicken burger, Zeke was immersed in his own thoughts. Hundreds of thousands of spies are risking their necks out there for me at this very moment. They're putting their lives on the line while I spend time with my family.
They don't even have any actual identities. Nobody knows who they are. This is unfair for them. This is unfair for those who would and had risked their lives for the nation.
Zeke started having ideas about modifying the spy system. Until recently, spies had to work until the day they died. From the very moment they became spies, they'd have to live with another identity as a cover. Unless the Great Marshal himself gave the order, they must never reveal themselves.
Zeke wanted to change that into a five-year cycle. Simply put, he'd change out the spies every five years.
Just when he was starting to come up with a rough sketch of the plan, someone flung the restaurant's door open and in came a burly man. “Get down! Nobody moves!” the burly man barked.
The patrons were shocked by the threat. Some screams and shouts ensued, but most of them quickly put their hands on their heads and squatted.
Missy was scared as well, and she dropped her burger because of that.
Zeke reflexively pulled Missy and Lacey behind him so they wouldn't get hurt by accident.
Right after the criminal came in, a troop surrounded the restaurant. The one who was leading them was none other than Ares.
Just when Ares was about to come in and stop the man from doing anything, the criminal roared, “Hold it right there! Don't you dare even move a muscle! Take one more step and I'll kill one of the civilians right here!”
Left with no choice, Ares skidded to a halt. However, he shouted, “Come out and surrender, Hector! You have nowhere to run. We have you surrounded. Any further resistance will only work against you, so stop this nonsense right this instant. This is your final warning.”
The burly man cursed, “F*ck you, old man! You'd kill me one way or the other anyway! Since this is my last hurrah, why don't I make it a party? I, Hector Lester, will die on my own terms! Not yours!”
Hector Lester? That's one of the traitors Carl told me. Of all the places he could go, he just had to come here. Naturally, Zeke was going to kill him right there and then. As such, he slowly went up to Hector.
When Hector saw Zeke coming up to him, it made him nervous. “S-Stop right there you. Put your hands on your head and get down! I-I'll kill you if you don't.”
Zeke ignored Hector's threat and kept going on.
D*mn this b*stard! Zeke's deliberate dismissal infuriated Hector. “I gave you a warning, but you swatted it aside. Fine, guess I'll kill you then.”
Hector dashed toward Zeke like a car running at full speed. Strong winds started blowing across the restaurant from his manic movements.
Zeke halted in his step. He put his hands behind his back and stood there as Hector slammed into him like a truck. With a loud bang, Hector crashed into Zeke. What followed was a deafening, sickening crunch.
All the customers looked up fearfully. Judging from the sounds alone, they thought that Zeke was either dead or crippled from the impact of the crash.
However, what they saw shook them to their core. Zeke was still standing in the same spot, but he suffered no injuries at all. On the other hand, the burly man was sent flying backward. He was already lying on the floor, his whole body spasming in pain.
His chest had caved because of some broken ribs.
Holy sh*t. Did that guy just use Heavy Descent on the criminal?
At the same time, Ares quickly came in and subdued Hector easily. A moment later, he kneeled before Zeke. “Very sorry for disturbing your time with your family, sir. The suspect escaped and almost injured civilians because of my incompetence. This behavior of mine deserves punishment.”
Zeke waved him down. “It does not matter. Take the suspect away, Ares.”
“Yes, sir.” Ares took Hector and left the place.
Meanwhile, the crowd erupted into cheers and kneeled before Zeke as they expressed their gratitude and worship, though their words were a bit jumbled up.
“Oh. My. God. That's the Great Marshal. The Great Marshal!”
“I can't believe it! I can't believe I'm standing so close to the Great Marshal!”
“It is an honor to see you, oh Great Marshal. It is an honor to kneel before you.”
“Can you give me an autograph, sir?”
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