The tension in the room was at its highest since the beginning of this meeting.
For the first time, they felt that Altair was a threat. Altair was emitting a pressure that came from his higher Intelligence stat. And it felt… dangerous.
Right now, Altair had a clear intention of harming them and his 50 points of Intelligence all "screamed" that. This was what created this situation.
Both David and Ronald seemed ready to go for a fight, with David having moved his hand to shift his overcoat to the back and Ronald having moved one of his hands to below his table.
From Altair's perspective, those people had suffered enough, just when he managed to place them in a secure place where they could regain a semblance of a normal life, these people came and disposed of them because they were a threat.
How could he not think so considering that these are the same people that cut off someone's arm in the name of a test?
Before the situation could escalate any further, James, who happened to be the only one unaffected said calmly in a voice just loud enough to get Altair's attention.
"They are alive."
A simple sentence, and yet it dispelled the tension in the room. The calming effect was like a charm. It was akin to a certain ever-furious green giant calming down just because he heard to sun would soon set.
With the atmosphere somewhat back to normal, James continued.
"We are not monsters, we are enforcers and damage controllers. There is a different group of the organization responsible for this but basically, we had to clean their memories to prevent rumors."
"That is possible?" Altair asked with some skepticism. Although not his field, he was still a researcher in the human biology sector and had a certain understanding of the advancements of other fields in the sector, and memory erasure was not something that was developed yet.
"It is." James said. "But depending on several factors the effects on individuals are varied…"
At this point Ronald interrupted James. "I think we have done enough introductions. Returning to the main topic, the question was whether or not you would join us."
'Will they mess with my memories if I refuse to join them?' Altair asked himself. Then he asked a question.
"I have no military or combat training. You should know that."
David quickly reassured him. "We're not a military group and you don't need combat training to join the team, that can quickly be taken care of. Slingers just happen to have a brain that facilitates training the more they push their Slinging ability."
Ronald then said. "What qualifies you is your mental orientation and inclination. You can be trained into a useful asset but we can't the right mindset. That, Mr. Rohan, is what qualifies you."
Altair quickly thought. 'So, they're just lazy to teach morals? Anyway, it seems brainwashing is either not possible or costs them too much. I should tread carefully. I don't know if Full Status Recovery will clear away mental conditions like brainwashing or memory wipe.'
"Thank you for giving me the chance to help. I'll join your group." Altair finally said. Either way, if they were out to help, then joining them was the correct decision, and by joining he would have a better chance of discovering who gave out the detailed information about him.
"Just one thing." Altair said. "Can I see the information you have on me?"
James looked at Ronald before turning back to Altair and saying. "Sure, no problem." He had regained his carefree demeanor.
"So, what happens now? Is there a procedure to follow?" Altair asked.
"We have a mission right now. Mr. Eliot told you earlier that your situation of suddenly getting abilities is not an isolated case. The current mission is to deal with such a case." Ronald said.
David took over. "There's an entertainer who claims to be a magician and he is grandly revealing his ability to the world. The mission is to gather information as quickly as possible and then get into contact with him before the end of the week."
"Why the end of the week?" Altair asked.
"It's going to be his biggest performance yet, with the most exposure he has ever had. We can't afford to let the world take him seriously so, we must stop him before that." David said.
"Why do we need to gather information? Don't you guys as a world level organization know everything about everyone?" Altair asked in confusion.
David replied. "This person appeared out of nowhere, we tried tracing back his tracks to before he became a public figure without results. Besides, the organization does not have the leisure to be monitoring the billions of people in this world. Like Ronald said earlier, a situation like yours where we know everything about the target was somewhat of a special case."
"Alright, what do you know of this person?" Altair asked.
"Only what he has revealed to the world so far. That's why we must try to locate him and get more information."
*tick*
*fwuourr~*
There was a brief sharp sound like a click or a beep and the next moment, the furniture in the room rearranged.
Altair's sofa moved, startling him. The sofa moved to stay beside David. Then the wall previously behind him lit up as if it was a screen.
An image of a man with sharp features, neatly combed dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes appeared on the screen.
Beside the name there was a little bit of information, including his name, Denton Black and his estimated age which was around 30.
"This is the information we have managed to gather so far on the target." Ronald said.
Still on the wall-screen, there were several images of Denton Black in different places and he seemed to dress mostly in tailored suits.
He had the typical conman smirk on his face. That smile that was either malicious or told people that he's better than them.
< >
"Where do we start? Do we know where to find him?" Altair asked looking at the screen.
*tick*
With that sound the images and information on the screen were replaced by several rectangles of video footage.
Altair briefly thought of something then he turned to Ronald who was still sitting behind his desk.
Ronald started talking either without taking notice of him or simply ignoring him. "These are all in real time. We are monitoring all locations he's ever appeared in while running a facial recognition program with all the faces in those locations."
James further explained. "There's that and also a trigonometry program that determines if the body size and height is compatible. Before getting a positive match confirmation, the program confirms both the corpulence and facial features. It's some very thorough stuff with too many complicated things."
He also added. "It can be very annoying or very helpful depending on which side you're on."
Altair could easily see why it could be annoying, it seemed like running away would be pointless after all. Even if they did nothing to his family, as long as he went home, they could immediately drop on him.
Ronald continued. "As soon as we get a positive match confirmation, the Slingers will move in to tail him before deciding on the right time to establish contact with the target."
"How long does this usually take? The tracking aspect." Altair asked.
David replied. "Most people cycle their locations within two days of first going through so normally two days. As for Denton Black, he started his rise to fame less than a week ago. According to normal behavioral patterns, he should start noticing his rise in funds and also begin to spend big about now."
"You expect to get signs of him within a few hours." Altair completed.
"Exactly, that is also why we had to hurriedly get in contact with you. In the information we were also advised to act within 4 to 6 weeks from the beginning of the watch." David said.
Hearing the last part, Altair's thoughts drifted for a bit, then he did a brief calculation and got a slight frown on his face. 'This informant of theirs even knows about the System.'
Everyone noticed the change in expression but they chose to ignore it.
Altair returned from his thoughts and said. "Since we are just waiting can I take a look at that information now?"
"The information we received on you? I'll go get it." James said as he vanished without even standing.