Syndedeménos (Connected)

CHAPTER 21

Aquila's aqua motorbike ran across an elite housing estate called Bolero Serene Estate which was not far from her flat. However, the motorbike was not headed south, namely towards her residence, nor was it headed westward, namely towards her campus. Aquila chose to walk through the residential area of ​​several thousand hectares and take the uphill road to the mountains north of the city of Bolero.

The further north, the more luxurious the house in the Bolero Serene Estate looked. The design of each house that Aquila passed by was never the same but all of them have an area of ​​​​up to one hectare with a garden that is almost equal to twice the building. The house that Aquila approached was not the most luxurious house in the housing estate, but the location was quite remote so you could say it was the house that vehicles rarely passed.

The Aquila motorbike didn't continue to pass through the uphill road. There was a fork in the road where that aqua motorbike prefered a straight road rather than towards the top of the mountain. If she continued to the top then Aquila would find a gate that cannot be entered by just anyone. Not everyone also known that the Aldrich family owns several villas behind the gate. But Aquila knowed almost all the data about the Aldrich family, including all the assets they own.

The garden lights along the path have started to turn on automatically because no light was captured by the sensors of each lamp. In addition to the light from the garden lamp and Aquila's motorcycle headlamp, Aquila found quite a lot of light visible from the house a few hundred meters in front of her. It made the girl felt relieved that the person she wanted to meet was still at home.

Aquila took the remote out of her jacket pocket and pressed a button so that the black gate in front of her opened inward. Aquila again moved her left hand and foot to run the motorbike to the nearest building and stopped under the canopy beside the swimming pool. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Aquila chose to immediately run straight to the entrance rather than take off his helmet first.

Dozens of stairs of concrete without rails Aquila had to pass before reaching the entrance. Usually Aquila can enjoy the view when climbing the stairs because on the right of the stairs there was a garden that was illuminated with lights from below so that it displayed a beautiful view. But she didn't have enough time now.

When she arrived in front of a minimalist door with a glass wall beside it, Aquila put her thumb on the door handle. A technology that could replace the physical key so that the door could still be opened even if you didn't have a key. And usually those who had access to the house were the owner of the house or people who were trusted by the owner of the house.

Aquila passed through the dark and lonely living room. No one greeted him. There are no waiters or drivers who take care of the needs of the owner of the house. Apart from the barely audible sound from the home cleaning device, no sound was heard in this three floor house. But Aquila knew where to look for a living creature that she believed was in the house.

When she saw a figure opening the refrigerator, Aquila could only calm down to take off her helmet and put it in a drawer beside the pantry table. Aquila's face was covered in sweat and her breathing was irregular from running as hard as she could. When she had just turned from the front of the drawer and was about to take a glass in the kitchen, a glass was already visible between his eyes. The person who had been in front of the refrigerator had approached Aquila and pressed a glass of cold water to Aquila's forehead.

"Thank you, Rex." Aquila couldn't hide a smile when she found that the person named Rex had gone one step ahead of meeting her needs.

Rex didn't respond to Aquila's words and just took a sip of cold vanilla milk from the glass in his left hand. The man in front of Aquila was ten years older than Aquila. He has black hair in a comb over style. His face has a strong jaw line with sharp eyes. And because his true face already revealed a cold aura, every time he looked at someone, the person he was looking at could immediately feel intimidated.

Rex has a height of more than 180 centimeters and looks taller than he should be because he has a fairly thin body. When Aquila and Rex stood side by side, Aquila's eyes would be level with Rex's chest, so the girl had to look up quite extremely. That's why Aquila prefered to keep some distance when they talked. Aquila chose to sit in the pantry chair which had a waist-high seat while Rex sat in a similar seat across from her.

"I've said many times, if you want to come here I will pick you up."

"I… just suddenly wanted to relax here."

Aquila smiled as she raised her eyebrows. Even though she knew the reason was very cliché, Aquila also knew that Rex wouldn't argue with her if she answered like that. Then she drank half a glass of mineral water until it was finished in front of her.

"He didn't bother you, did he?" Rex's voice was flat to match the level of his eyes as he looked at the glass that was slowly lowered onto the table.

"No. He doesn't dare mess around," Aquila said and bit her inner lip. Hold her expression so it didn't look like she was lying.

"I already told you. If he's bothering you, you can make him not able to talk."

Although Rex's intonation didn't differ at all, Aquila could already sense the increasing seriousness of the words she heard. Aquila swallowed her saliva. He was even afraid that Rex could hear her panic from sound of her swallowing.

"I already have all the information I need. That's more than enough to keep him from acting up," Aquila said, trying to speak as neutrally as possible.

"If it falls into the wrong hands..."

"Please, Rex. Will you never be able to trust my plans?"

Aquila's voice and face that sounded sad and looked sad made Rex pause for a moment. Aquila and Rex looked at each other for a long time until finally a robot sweeping the floor came to the kitchen and distracted them both. Rex took a deep breath. His gaze returned to his glass.

"I only trust you, not the person you trust."

Aquila knew exactly the person in front of her would answer like that. Although in her heart she was happy because she was still trusted, Aquila still couldn't calm down. What Rex feared might be greater than what Aquila feared. But that didn't mean Aquila wasn't afraid at all. Even she didn't believe one hundred percent in his own plan. There were many possibilities that could happen if she employs someone else instead of acting alone.

Rex moved from his seat. And while next to the girl who was still motionless, Rex wrapped his arms around Aquila's neck and kissed Aquila's forehead.

"I have to see Max now. You can relax here for a while."

Aquila still didn't budge and just let Rex walk away from her position. When the door closed, Aquila moved her body slightly. She propped her head with her right hand on the table. For a moment she wanted to do what Rex offered him before leaving. But her mind always forbade Aquila to relax.