New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

1058  Overreacting, As Always

Alex sneered at Kujaku, his sharp and inhumane teeth poking past his lips.

"Get your goons off me, or lose them, Kujaku. I didn't call you to restrain me, but to help me into the country."

The woman laughed contemptuously at him.

"And you think killing a customs agent is the way to sneak in unnoticed? Get real. You are acting like a hormonal teenager. Get a grip of yourself."

Alex growled at her words.

"He was threatening Kary with a gun. Was I just supposed to let him shoot her?"

Kujaku looked at Kary, her eyebrow cocking upward.

"Did you ever feel threatened?" she asked Kary.

"Not really. I could have melted that gun in his hand twenty times over. I was trying to stay diplomatic."

Kujaku nodded at the answer, turning her gaze back to Alexander.

"See? No threats. From what I gather, you overreacted, as you often do. Now, chill the fuck out, or I'm leaving, and you can try sneaking in on your own."

Alex shoved the two men holding his arms off him, growling at them.

"I said get off me."

The men looked at Kujaku, waiting for instructions, but she shook her head no, and they stood down.

She stared at Alex, waiting for him to cool off, sitting in a free seat.

"Get those men out of here, and make sure they forget what they saw," she ordered her men, snapping her fingers.

"Ha!" the five men clamoured, bowing to her.

The next moment, they were grabbing the three customs agents and pulling them toward the back of the plane, making sure the guns went back into the holsters as if they'd never been pulled out, pushing the hammers back in a neutral position.

The men's docile reaction impressed Kary, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Daddy's men?" she asked mockingly.

"Īe. My father's men don't follow me around anymore. These men are mine to command," Kujaku replied, grinning at Kary.

"Lucky you," Kary teased, straitening her shirt.

The gun had caused wrinkles, and she grumbled about how hard it would be to iron them out.

In the meantime, Alexander took a moment to calm himself down, lest he push away the only person who could help him at this moment. Once he was calm, he sat down in front of Kujaku.

The younger ones weren't sure how to react now that the situation had seemingly de-escalated.

Should they stay on their guard, or were they in the clear?

"All of you sit. We'll be here for a little while. I'll explain how I will get you out of here and into the country," Kujaku ordered, scanning everyone with her gaze.

Her commanding tone didn't have anything to envy Kary's, as they obeyed the command out of habit.

Kary clicked her tongue, slightly disappointed that her group obeyed the woman so readily.

'And I thought they were loyal. Hmph!' he complained internally.

Of course, she couldn't blame them. Not really.

Even she was tempted to sit down when the woman had ordered it. That just went to show what leading men from a young age did to one's charisma.

Her natural leadership bled into each of her words naturally, making her easy to obey. It was as if she was made to lead, and people were made to follow her.

Kary took a moment before sitting down, obstinate in not seeming to follow her command, and Kujaku giggled at her antics.

"I don't care about commanding your people, Phoenix. It was a suggestion, not an order," Kujaku explained, trying to appease her.

"Whatever, Blue. Just get to explaining. I doubt we have too much time on our hands," Kary replied, trying to look unbothered.

Kujaku looked at Alexander, smirking.

"You calmed down yet?"

He clicked his tongue at her, flipping her the bird.

"I'll take that as a yes," she chortled, crossing her legs and getting comfortable.

"We are taking care of the customs agents, ensuring they don't remember the altercation, and think they finished inspecting your aircraft. If I had more time, you wouldn't have had to deal with that at all.

"I would have placed my men in advance, making this eventless and simple. But since you were too hasty to take a moment in Finland before heading here, I had to make do," she explained.

But Kary interrupted her.

"Wait, how do you know we were in Finland last?"

Kujaku shot her an annoyed gaze, unhappy with getting interrupted.

"I have my ways. Now, will you hold your tongue for a few minutes so I can get through this quickly?"

Kary grimaced at her rudeness and crossed her arms.

Seeing as she wasn't replying, Kujaku nodded.

"Good. Where was I? Ah, yes. Since I couldn't place my men in advance, I devised an alternative plan. It's a little riskier since I have to use drugs on the agents that were here to alter their memories.

"Luckily, ever since New Eden went offline, I was able to find other players who developed their abilities, and I found a psychic who excelled at memory manipulation. This makes my job easier and more reliable, allowing us to proceed faster.

"The downside of this is that I had to get more people involved than I would have liked to. Once again, I blame you for rushing this into my lap," she said, staring at Alexander.

Alex scoffed and looked away.

"What's your use if you can't adapt to a rapidly moving situation?" he mocked.

Kujaku ignored his comment with a wave of her hand.

"In any case, the situation stands as this. The agents will think they completed their inspection and that everything was in order. They will escort the Stormbringer back to the airport in their marked vehicles, and that is where we come in."

Liu Yan frowned when she mentioned him by his character's name.

'How does this woman know all this? Was she spying on us?' he wondered.

"Since they have to drive back to the airport, we can use this as an excuse to drive out of it from a side exit for customs. From there, my men and I will drive you to your destination without stopping and wait for you to conclude whatever business you came for.

"Once that is done, we will bring you to a hidden airport and smuggle you out toward Japan, from which you will be able to fly home unimpeded. Questions?"

There was a moment of silence in the cabin before Kary cleared her throat.

"Yes. One. How will you get us past the gate for that side exit?"