Shu glanced in the direction where Ryder was looking only to find a woman and a man coming in their direction.
The woman was pretty attractive. She had long blonde hair that was curly near the tips. She was wearing tight-fitting jeans and a red t-shirt.
The woman looked to be the same age as Ryder. She was in her early 20s. She was 5ft. 7inches tall.
She was holding the hand of the man she was walking with. The man, on the other hand, was much taller than the girl. He was close to 6 feet tall. He wore black jeans and a black shirt that made him look professional.
"Do you know them?" Shu asked Ryder as he tapped on his shoulder.
Ryder didn't reply and continued walking. He soon passed by the couple without any strange interaction. Shu felt like something was weird. Ryder was acting strangely, and he also noticed the girl looking uncomfortable. She seemed to be diverting her attention and tried not to look at Ryder.
Shu wanted to ask Ryder about it, but he realized that Ryder was uncomfortable. He decided to drop the topic and not mention it again. Even though he was concerned about Ryder, he didn't want to involve himself in something that could annoy his friend.
They reached their cars.
"Bye. Work hard on upgrading your level." Ryder told Shu before he entered the car.
Shu also got in his car. They started the engines and drove away towards their home.
Ryder was driving much faster this time, though. Shu couldn't help but shake his head as he said that.
"You are not going to tell me, so let me find out myself. If it is something I can help you with, then I will do it," Shu muttered.
Soon, they separated and went their different ways. Ryder stopped his car near his house and parked it.
He stepped out of his car and entered his courtyard.
He brought out his phone and called the number of Dan.
Dan picked up the call.
"Hello."
"I'm not coming to the book club reunion!" Ryder let out sternly.
"What happened? Didn't you say that you would come just a few hours ago?" Dan asked in confusion. " What happened in the last few hours?"
"Didn't you say that she was not in the city! How is it that I still see her in the city?!" Ryder snapped.
"She? I thought she was out. Maybe she came back to the city. I didn't know about that, I promise!" Dan replied with uncertainty.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not coming. There are already people that I don't like that will be there and now she as well? I won't come," Ryder replied.
"Please don't do this, man. I already registered your name and informed people. Some of them are genuinely excited. Don't disappoint them," Dan tried to explain.
"I don't care," Ryder said before he disconnected the call.
He threw the phone on the bed before he walked into the shower.
His phone kept ringing for the next 10-20 minutes, but Ryder didn't care as he calmed his mind in the shower.
He stepped out of the shower after 25 minutes and got dressed.
The phone had stopped ringing by now. Ryder picked up the phone to see the notifications. He had received a call from three people by now. Bastion, Dan, and even Esmi had called him. He was not in the mood to call anyone back, though. He put the phone on the table near his bed and laid on the bed, closing his eyes.
He couldn't help but unintentionally relive his past memories, which ruined his mood even further.
Before today, he had planned just to sleep today and be lazy, but now that he finally got the opportunity to do it, he couldn't sleep at all. He just laid in his bed for the next hour with his eyes closed, feeling down.
His phone again started ringing.
He opened his eyes and picked up his phone to look at the name of the person calling him.
It was again a private number as it just said Private. The number was not showing either.
"It seems like the repeat of last time," Ryder muttered as he looked at the phone ringing.
He picked up the call and brought the phone close to his ears.
"Number 23, Why is your other number turned off? We have another meeting after two days. You need to be present. I don't want to listen to any excuse. You must attend this time. The new meeting will be held at the same place. Don't miss it!" the person on the other side said. His voice was distorted, which made it clear that he was using something to hide his real voice.
Ryder wanted to ask which place he talked about, but he was worried about exposing that he wasn't number 23. He didn't even know if number 23 was a guy or a girl.
He wanted to know their location as he was sure that the guys that were behind the missing bodies would be the ones hiding their numbers like that, and they were his biggest clue about the death of his parents, according to Janus.
'I must go to the extreme to find them,' he thought.
He covered his face with a cloth to make it clear that he was hiding his voice as well. He knew that it would probably only work if number 23 was a male. The voice could be explained by the excuse of hiding it like the other person was hiding it.
"Which place?" Ryder asked.
"You idiot! Weren't you conveyed the location last time? Was this the reason you hadn't attended the meeting in recent times?" the man snorted.
"No," Ryder replied.
"Hmm, This will be the last time I tell you. Come under the Northeast Walter Flyover. The meeting will begin in the evening,"
Before Ryder could reply, the call was disconnected. Ryder glanced at the phone.
"Northeast Walter Flyover?" Ryder opened the browser and searched the name of the flyover.
"It's in Washington, Looks like I'll need to travel to attend the meeting," Ryder muttered as he found out that the Northeast Walter Flyover was in Washington.
He opened the website of an Airline and booked the ticket for tomorrow morning.
He wanted to deal with Jameson tomorrow, but this matter was more important. He wasn't sure if he would ever get an opportunity to find them again if he missed them this time. He could deal with Jameson and the others anytime, but not with this, as he was dealing with an unknown enemy now.
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