Owned by Him (rewrite)

37. Silent Arguments

Marvel was walking down the stairs with an antique revolver in his hand when one of his private scouts had been waiting for him in the parlor.

"Boss, I thought you're already sleeping," the scout said soon as he spotted Marvel, relieved that an hour of his waiting didn't go to waste.

Marvel stopped right before the young man who dressed in black, half of his face was covered in a black mask. He lifted his black cap a bit so Marvel could identify him. His name was Seven.

Seven is one of Yerevan's secret agents who goes undercover and does infiltration. When Marvel created the team, he named all ten members from zero to nine - like, literally - and each of them has different jobs - although mostly to investigate - that's why they need to hide their distinctive features and disguise for most of the time.

"Soon after Asta left the company this evening, a man in a business suit stopped him by the road. After they talked for like five minutes, the man called a taxi which brought them to a hotel nearby."

Seven reported the result of his investigation in a low voice, just enough to let only Marvel hear him.

"I'm convinced it was their first meeting, but from the way Asta voluntarily followed the man just after a brief talk, he must be a broker. I thought they were having sex in exchange for some information, but soon after they checked out of their room, I inspected the bed and it was so clean and tidy like it has never been touched. The toilet papers had been pulled a few meters away, but the amount lost was almost unnoticeable. The things that changed position were the remote controls as they might use the television and the air conditioner. I couldn't hear their conversation because the television was loud, but I believe they didn't do anything but talk during that two-hour private moment... which is suspicious of why they bothered to go to a hotel just for that. A broker usually wants money for a piece of information, so there must have been a sum of cash withdrawal in Asta's bank account, but none of it was found. The good news for now is, I'm certain that there's no element of drugs involved in their mysterious business. We could have found the man's identity from his remains if they at least had sex, but as they didn't, we don't have any clue yet."

Without a word, Marvel listened to the information carefully. He was the one who sent Seven to tail Asta and disguised as a hotel waiter this evening.

During the live investigation, Seven constantly notified what he was observing to Marvel by text, but it was just now that he informed him about the result. He thought there might have been an act of treachery, even an involvement of drugs that he was given the order to spy on the fellow subordinate. But, from his inspection and examination, Asta was clean.

No drugs equal no treachery. In other words, there's nothing to worry about.

It could be nothing at all, but it could be something else as well.

"Forget about the sex. That was just an excuse. I know they didn't go to a hotel to fuck," Marvel finally responded, trying to ignore the remnant of bitterness in his mouth after sprinting off a cigar.

It could be the cigar that his mouth felt bitter, or it was just his raw emotion.

"You already know that?" Seven didn't expect Marvel to know that much before he even heard the details as hotels are the most common places - after the red-light districts - the members go for sex. "How do you know they didn't have sex, Boss?"

"There's no bruises..." Marvel mumbled to himself without saying the rest, making it difficult for Seven to understand it.

Marvel knew his underlings so well. He just pretended he didn't know anything and made sure they didn't even notice that. He always acted as if he was an easy target for those who intended to use him, letting them get what they wanted despite how much he knew, and then one day, he would show up with every card in his hand without them being able to deny him.