Ning and Sharron drove out of the presidentās mansion.
"Tell me the location to your apartment," Ning said suddenly.
"What?" the woman looked toward him.
"I spoke out loud so the people outside the presidentās room could hear us. If anyone there leaked the information, the thieves from last night will be on their way to your apartment to steal your things. If you want to keep it safe, you need to tell me where your apartment is and where you keep the diary."
"I..."
"Come on! We donāt have much time."
"Itās on 22nd Street," she said immediately, giving him the full address.
"And the diary?" Ning asked.
"Itās in my safe, behind a portrait of my grandfather above my bed," she said.
"Great!" Ning said. "Iāll go secure the safe."
"But itās locked," the woman quickly said. "I need to be there. It has biometric locks."
"Uhh..." Ning thought for a moment. He needed to go there as quickly as possible, but it wasnāt for the diary itself. The diary wasnāt so important in the first place. Catching the thieves was.
"Itāll be fine. You take your time. Iāll be waiting for you. Donāt take too long. Do not stop for anyone. And if anyone comes for you, call me immediately. Have this number ready to dial."
He handed her a piece of paper. "Alright, Iāll be off now."
Ning jumped out of the moving vehicle and turned into a bat, immediately flying away at a speed that left massive planes to shame. In less than a minute, he found the location of the apartment and quickly got outside of it. It was a nice apartment in a high-rise building, overlooking the metropolis.
Ning landed on the veranda and looked inside at the bedroom. He saw the picture of Decron Shoults hung above the bed. He didnāt really think he would keep a picture of his family right above his bed where they could see it all, but who was he to judge?
He looked around the room, finding it rather clean. āHow does she have the time to clean at all?ā he wondered. āOr does she not even have the time to mess up the place?ā
He felt for the poor woman.
Ning stood outside the veranda for some time, watching the surroundings. No one came at all. Even as dozens of minutes passed, no one came to the apartment.
If these were the same people he was thinking of, they would have the resources to find out the apartment of the scientist and ransack it almost immediately.
"That likely means no one in the presidentās room right now is the culprit," Ning thought. "That means itās either someone working in the facility or one of the heroes."
The heroes would be taken care of soon. He had left in his text note to the president what she was to do next. The heroes should already be on their way to the presidentās mansion and would find out some news that was half true and half lies. If anyone among them was the thief or involved with them, then luring them through false information would be quite easy.
It was a few minutes longer before Ning saw Sharronās car park outside the building as she quickly rushed up to her apartment. She saw Ning outside the veranda and quickly opened the doors to let him in.
"Iām so sorry. I havenāt had the time to fix this place. Do you want some water? Coffee?" she asked. "Am I babbling? I donāt get many people in my apartment. Iām not used to company."
"Get the notebook and we can leave," Ning said with a sigh.
"Why?" the woman asked.
"Why what?"
"Why the notebook?" she asked. "Thereās nothing in there."
"I guessed that," Ning said. "But the thieves donāt know that. They think we came here in a hurry to get something important. We better keep them thinking it is something important."
The womanās eyes widened slightly. "Aha! This is bait," she said.
Ning smiled and nodded. Internally, he spoke the truth to himself.
āThe book isnāt the true bait. You are.ā
But he couldnāt tell the woman that, though. He couldnāt imagine how she would act if she found out.
Ning and Sharron arrived at the research facility an hour later. The security had been tripledāguards at every entrance, cameras covering every angle, and suppression fields active throughout the entire fort.
Ning hadnāt even arrived at the gates when he got the system message.
The president had explained some stuff to the guards there, so Sharron and Ning were given quick entry. As they walked in, one of the scientists came up to Sharron and told her what they were doing.
"Everything weāve been working with has been moved to Research Hall 3, just as you asked. All equipment, chemicalsāwhatever you needāis there," the scientist said. "Is it true that you do not need any of us for this?"
Sharron nodded. "Iām sorry, but I will have to do this alone. I will ask for your help if I should need one soon."
She finally left, walking to the research hall. As they walked in, Ning found both Frostveil and Godhood sitting outside the hall in wait.
"What are you two doing here?" Ning asked.
"The president sent us for extra protection," Frostveil said.
"Weāve been here for half an hour. Where have you guys been?" Godhood asked.
"We had to go get her great-grandfatherās notebook. Sorry if we made you wait too long. It shouldnāt be too long now," Ning said.
"Any idea on how long weāll have to stay here?" Frostveil asked.
"I donāt know," Sharron said. "I guess it depends on how long you want to stay here."
Ning got close and whispered. "Sheās not really going to do much work. Sheās just going to act like sheās working andā"
"No," Sharron quickly cut him off. "I am going to work. Since Iām already here, what else can I do but do my job, right? Let me get right on it."