Chapter 22: Noah Rocco

Even if the manager was showing quite a differential treatment towards him, Noah remained to be not appeased. If he was forced to work with those men, he would surely get rid of them first. They would only cause trouble for him.

After that, the manager started speaking about the particulars of the mercenary mission and what they knew of Bomberman. Just like what Noah heard from the curator, Nadin Jaeger entered the country days ago and suddenly disappeared in Los Angeles again.

No one knew where he would be located next, but they had reasons to believe he would be arriving in Massachusetts soon. He was discovered to be booking a flight to Boston on the day he was found.

Actually, this news was new to Noah. He only came to Boston because SCC had requested for him. When he remembered that man from earlier, he realized that there should be a reason why the hunter was in Boston. It seemed like the witches of Satan were planning to do something here, and the Order of Michael had tapped into this.

Now, even Noah was in the know.

Noah, like what he would do in the organization briefings, continued to be quiet and kept to himself. He didn't raise any question as he could think of the answer on his own.

The other mercenaries were watching him intently as if they were more determined to take Noah down instead.

Who was Sleepydog in the mercenary world? He was one of those headhunters that people rarely see. It was because all his victims were dealt with, and no bodies were found in places believed to be crime scenes. He didn't ask for large amounts of money so some poor villages who managed to tap into the organization could ask for him, given that he would be wiping out syndicates and ill-intended people.

Most mercenaries actually hated him. Sleepydog didn't seem to be strong enough to be hired by the most loaded people in the underground; they didn't know that Sleepydog would just reject them instead.

The only people lucky enough to bring news about Sleepydog were those who could watch from afar or those on the radio with their syndicate friends when he attacked.

In their eyes, Sleepydog wasn't worth the terror. Else, he would be very difficult to hire. Moreover, he wouldn't be coming to SCC's call.

Cooperation in the future? Tch, what a joke.

The briefing ended, and the other mercenaries only spoke about Sleepydog behind his back as they left. Like always, he wouldn't leave until everyone else was gone. However, when he walked out of the doorless conference room, another woman was waiting for him.

"Mr. Rocco, the president wishes to see you. Please follow me."

She didn't seem to be a normal secretary. From the way she lacked any smell, Noah could tell that she could be an exclusive mercenary of SCC or just someone in an elite team to take care of the underground business of the non-profit organization.

The secretary invited him to the highest floor and to a big room. She only stood outside and let Noah open the door himself. However, when he twisted the knob and opened the door with a crack, a familiar voice sounded from the room.

"He kicked me, big bro! You have to make sure he won't leave the city alive!"

"I'll look for him. Can you describe what he looked like again?"

"Trendy wannabe with long fringe, black hair, dark eyes, about six feet tall…"

Noah pushed the door open while the man was describing him blandly. "Trendy wannabe enters the room."

The man on behind the desk looked at him, and his eyes quivered for some reason. He then just looked at the huge man complaining to him. The huge man readily pointed a hand at Noah, but his words were caught in his throat.

Noah, however, just took a seat before the desk and looked around. It was minimalistic in design, but there were expensive items that were placed in an optimal position to attract one's eye. Moreover, glass cabinets holding medals and trophies made the room different from normal offices.

The plaque on the desk had the name 'Allan Cicero, CEO and President'.

"Mr. President, you asked me to come?" Noah ignored the man trembling in anger next to him.

Allan Cicero only sighed and gestured for the other man to sit down. "Howard, take a seat. Is this the man who kicked you?"

Howard, the huge man, quickly dropped his anger and smirked as he took his seat. "Yes."

"Then, why are you still alive?"

"What?!"

Noah only snorted. "I kicked him alright. Why am I here?"

With a hand gesture, Howard was asked to seethe on his seat and cough out blood if he wanted. Allan only hummed as he sized Noah up, the corner of his lips held back from lifting.

The business tycoon known as the backer of SCC only sat there and stared at Noah. Noah did the same with him and noticed that his face… didn't seem natural. Was he wearing a prosthetic mask? After examining the face again for a few more seconds, Noah realized only half of his face was prosthetics. It could be that his face was damaged long before.

"Noah Rocco, welcome to SCC. I heard someone made a mess before you walked into the conference room earlier," Allan finally spoke, ignoring Howard who was keeping to himself now. "I hope you won't take it to heart."

"I will if he does it again. By then, you'd have one less mercenary to deal with Bomberman." Noah didn't like the stunt. He could be indifferent towards it if he was alone, but Rosanna and an innocent woman were almost killed by it.

"I'll let him know." Allan only chuckled. He then gestured to Howard. "This is Dr. Howard Landing, my supplier and a genius creator of my witch tech. Dealing with the witches is flawless because of him.

"I'm pretty sure you heard from Mephisto already." Allan had a weird smile on his lips as if knowing how much of a bullshit 'hearing from Mephisto' sounded. "I have been working with him for the past forty years, and it seemed that this will be the first time we needed to chase more than one witch that could implicate the entire city… and country.

"Nadin Jaeger is a witch of Satan, and he had become very dangerous over the years. Last year, he triggered a series of explosions in New York City for ten nights." He sized up Noah's gaze, but only coldness was in his eyes. "Even if the Order of Michael intercepted him, causing him to flee from the country; the damage he had caused was too much for me to tolerate.

"Now that he's coming to Boston, I wish you'd be more than willing to deal with him."

Noah only nodded. The secret organization had a different mission for him, but he did tell the Shadow Hands to try first. If all else failed, he would come sweeping and slaughtering that accursed terrorist.

Allan seemed to wait for words, but he figured Noah wouldn't talk. "Moreover, Mephisto also told me that witches from different parts of the world would be coming here. To be exact, they would be gathered here. We have no definite knowledge why, but I can only bet on a hunch.

"I feel that a rising would be underway."

"A rising?" Noah twitched as he echoed in curiosity.

The CEO nodded. "A demon prince would be invited to walk the earth and cause destruction. Whether the Order of Michael could stop or not, it would bring so many deaths to every nation next to the Atlantic. My old ties obliged me to stop it, and I want to ask for your help."

Noah was quiet. It wasn't because he was considering things; he was confused yet enlightened at the same time!

A rising!

Could it be that Rosanna was going to be used for this? Was that why Satan sent his witches to retrieve her? The reason and motive seemed to be so obvious; there was no way Mammon and Belphegor couldn't read into this on their own. Something else was amiss, and yet Noah had no choice but to continue pushing through.

"I can help you dispose of the witches of Satan, but I don't want to touch others. It might complicate things for me." Noah had to consider Belphegor's alliances. What if he was pushed to kill a witch of Mammon? Would that turn Laquisha against him? Moreover, that would be more work than he asked for.

"Worry not. The witches of Satan are the only witches we cannot deal with properly. They were all brimming with power, more likely Bomberman who's definitely not on his first cycle." Allan shook his head as if dismissing Noah's troubles. "Their familiars were also powerful enough to launch large-scale attacks. My agents couldn't handle them even with witch tech."

"I understand. I will help out." Noah could only say this. Whether he could or would definitely depended on his own circumstances.

Howard finally broke his silence. "Big bro, who is this guy really? He's just a second-rate assassin, right?" Even if Sleepydog had a reputation, Howard continued to be ignorant of it. Then again, even if he knew about it, he wasn't scared of a witch.

A glare from Allan was sent to Howard, making the latter shiver in fright. "Howard, this is Noah Rocco, one of the strongest witches Belphegor had created. Be careful in demeaning him.

"Only a saint has patience that does not run out."

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