"Wait," Ethan said, his voice stopping Alpha mid-step. "I just remembered something I've been wanting to know. Why are you really here? I didn't buy the story that you were simply degraded and sent on a simple babysitting mission."

Agent Alpha, now bound by the contract, immediately turned back, his tone strictly subservient.

"Master, I apologize for the deception," Agent Alpha said. "My actual mission here was crucial surveillance. They did degrade me after the ambush, but they also recognized the value of my regenerative body. After we fled that day we faced you and Royal Security, Axhel Rhodes—the zone manager—was critically wounded."

Alpha recounted the incident, his voice flat. "Even though I used my body to shield him, two bullets passed completely through me, hitting his lung and liver. He was subjected to multiple surgeries and is now heavily controlled by pain medication and the higher-ups. But the situation is escalating, and they couldn't afford to stop."

Alpha continued, explaining his new role. "They knew my ability and sent me on several suicide missions to test my limits. Two days ago, they sent me here to supervise the deal. Based on what I overheard, this operation is far too important for just a simple kidnapping."

Alpha's eyes darted nervously around the warehouse. "I know they sent others like me to monitor similar deals. Right now, major institutions like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and of course MIT—high-profile universities across the US—are undergoing forced changes in their highest spheres of power. They are being subtly taken over."

Ethan frowned, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "Why do they want to control universities?"

"It's not entirely the universities themselves," Alpha clarified. "It's the prestige and the reputation they control. I don't know the full details, but they are preparing something vast. Something very big."

Ethan nodded slowly, processing the large-scale political maneuver. But then a detail Alpha mentioned struck him forcefully.

"Wait, you just said they sent others like you," Ethan said, his eyes narrowing. "How many others like you are there? You mean there are multiple regenerative guards?"

Agent Alpha replied without hesitation, his contractual obedience overriding any fear.

"Yes, Master. Every sectional manager has at least one guard like me assigned to their security. Each step higher in the hierarchy has between five and twenty of us. The Vice President, for instance, is rumored to have over 200 guards like me. And the Leader—the highest authority—no one knows how many they have, but he must be more armored than anything imaginable."

Ethan's face hardened as he comprehended the magnitude of the force he was up against. The threat wasn't just political; it was military, backed by a veritable army of regenerative supersoldiers. Things looked far more difficult than he had initially assumed.

"Is there anything else you know?" Ethan asked, his voice low and demanding.

"No, Master," Alpha replied immediately. "As a simple perimeter guard and expendable asset, I have no access to operational details or strategic plans. The only reason I know about the other genetic guards is because I was present during a regional manager meeting. They brought their guards and made us fight each other for entertainment and display. That is where I learned the organizational numbers. I haven't been in any high-level meetings since."

"Right," Ethan said, tapping his fingers on the briefcase. "You need to return to Celestial Garden immediately. How are you going to explain the failure here? All these dead men, and the money gone."

Agent Alpha, still seated on the floor, shrugged off the fatal consequences with chilling ease.

"That's no issue, Master," Alpha said. "I can say I was hit by a sniper and fell before I could react. The story I told you earlier was only half-true."

Alpha gestured to the healing hole in his forehead. "It's true that a headshot temporarily deactivates us. It's happened to me before. We usually reactivate about two hours later, but this time it was much faster. It seems that without the limiter in my brain—the control mechanism you broke—the regeneration ability is more powerful than before."

Ethan absorbed this final piece of information: Alpha was a fast-healing liability, but a liability now controlled by him.

"Stay here," Ethan commanded. "Do whatever you deem necessary to cover the tracks and ensure the story holds up."

Alpha nodded immediately. "As you wish, Master. The scenario will be messy, suggesting a rogue mercenary group ambushed us."

"How can I contact you?" Ethan asked, knowing Alpha's phones would be monitored.

Alpha considered this. "Our dedicated phones are heavily encrypted and tracked. If it is extremely urgent, I will risk using one. But if not, I will find a secure public payphone and call you from there."

Ethan dictated his burner number to Alpha. "I expect you to be discreet."

"Understood," Alpha said.

Ethan turned and walked out of the warehouse with the briefcase, leaving Alpha sitting among the carnage.

Alpha waited for a few more minutes. I will start a fire to erase all traces, Alpha thought. The Master already disposed of the bodies; I don't know how, but that saves me significant trouble.

Ethan turned and walked out of the warehouse with the briefcase.

He climbed into the passenger seat. Alexandria, who had been watching the dark entrance anxiously, immediately turned to him.

"What happened? You took so long!" Alexandria said.

"Nothing," Ethan replied, placing the briefcase in the back seat next to the tarp-covered Victoria. "Everything is fine. Nothing went wrong."

Alexandria put the car in gear. "Where to now? Do you know where my daughter is?"

Ethan's expression tightened briefly. "No. None of the guards knew. They had already been moved."

Alexandria gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white. "Is... is everything going to be okay? Are we safe?"

Ethan looked at her, then back at the dark, desolate warehouse. "I left no witnesses. No one will ever know what happened here tonight."

He nodded toward the highway. "Drive we need to get out of this place.."

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