Love Began with the First Meeting

Brian walked straight to Edgar. After taking a seat opposite from Edgar, he lightly glanced at Maggie before he ordered some food. Then he asked, "Is it about the data leakage?" Brian came straight to the point.

Maggie suddenly opened her eyes wide, and they were brimmed with surprise. Brian was definitely the most handsome man that she had ever seen. What surprised her even more though wasn't his looks, but the fact that he knew about the top secret data leakage in the army.

Edgar nodded. He knew how powerful Brian was, so he wasn't surprised. As the leader of the most power intelligence agency, XK, Brian could find out every detail in A City if he wanted. Since Edgar had approached Brian, of course Brian would have easily figured out the purpose of their visit.

"Yes," answered Edgar. Then he looked at Maggie and introduced her, "This is Maggie. She is from the National Defense University, and was assigned to my brigade earlier this year. Her instructor is Cathy but she normally reports to Daniel."

Maggie smiled courteously, but behind the smile, she hid her confusion. 'Who is this man? It seems that he knows Cathy and Daniel really well,' she wondered.

Maggie's doubts didn't escape Edgar's notice. Eyeing Brian, he then told Maggie, "This is Brian Long, Daniel's brother-in-law." Maggie's mouth opened wide in shock. She forced herself to keep calm, or else she might have screamed out in surprise when she learned of this profound information. Even though she wasn't a scout, she'd still heard from somewhere that Daniel's brother-in-law was someone really important. As to who the man really was and what power he really held, she had never been able to figure that out. But... Judging from his appearance, especially in this era when people were mostly judged by their outward appearances, she could sense that Brian must be someone really important. He was wearing a classy business suit, but there was a special presence about him, which made him seem both composed and confident. He was the typical man whom almost all girls would dream of having, handsome and enchanting.

'It must have something to do with his identity,' she concluded still mystified.

Brian's keen, falcon-like eyes narrowed and his attention focused on Maggie's face. In one look he figured out what she was thinking about. Coldly he doubted Edgar, "Are you sure she is the right person for your mission? There are quite a number of vicious people on the other side. They will not be easy to deal with. You may hold a high expectation of her, but I don't share that blind confidence."

"Then perhaps you can allow Molly to help me?" Edgar countered. In truth, right from the very beginning Edgar had hoped that Molly could join the team. Firstly, they knew each other, so it was easier for them to co-operate. Plus, they had been through the kindergarten case together a few years ago, so he knew that Molly could do a great job.

"No way!" Brian rejected his request right away.

Edgar just smiled at the answer, not annoyed at all. It was actually the answer he had expected. Which was why he had brought Maggie along. "Don't worry. Despite her innocent looks, Maggie is highly efficient."

"Hmm... Excuse me," Maggie cut in. Suppressing all her emotions and fears, she chided them with a serious look, "You two are debating my capabilities right in front of me! That's not nice of you, is it? Why else would I be here if I weren't right for the job in the first place?" Then she glared at Brian furiously. "My appearance is not a measure of my abilities. We are not working right now, so do I have to be as serious as you?"

Brian secretly smiled at her boldness, yet his penetrating gaze never left her face. "Very good," someone else remarked.

Maggie redirected her gaze in the direction of the voice. It was a woman, who walked towards them with elegant steps, though she was not dressed fancily. When she came close, Brian stood up and courteously pulled out the chair next to him for her. Then she took her seat, opposite to Maggie.

"Nice to meet you. I am Molly Xia," Molly introduced herself to Maggie before she spoke to Edgar. "I was buying a cake for Evelyn. Sorry for being late."

Edgar winked at Brian and replied jokingly, "That's okay. Actually he doesn't want you to be here."

"What makes you say that?"

Molly laughed at his words. Turning to Maggie, she remarked, "Sometimes men look down on women. It really bugs me too, right?"

It took Maggie half a second to conclude that Molly was Daniel's sister, since both of them shared the same surname "Xia". Inquisitively, Maggie scanned the woman opposite her. Despite knowing that it was somewhat rude to stare, she was just too curious about the woman behind the legendary man.

Since everyone was here, Edgar and Brian started to analyze the data leakage. Maggie couldn't catch everything of what they were talking about, so she decided to talk to Molly so as not to get too embarrassed. Nevertheless, the discussion surrounding the issue wasn't in depth, since it was not an appropriately secure setting for them to discuss such confidential matters.

After they had finished eating, Brian drove everyone to the Grand Night Casino. From the underground car park, they entered the executive elevator which took them directly to the top floor.

A huge screen dominated one wall in the office. It was divided into smaller screens, which all showed the casino down to the smallest corner. Every inch of the establishment was under surveillance. Maggie herself had never been to a casino before, and though it was impressive, she wasn't surprised by the sheer scale of this one. Everyone knew that every pillar of industry was prospering in A city. Of course, she was still curious about this place, but she was more interested in the task and wanted to know more about the details. "This group is a newly developed intelligence agency. Their growth has been fast." Brian handed some documents to Edgar. "This is what's surfaced in A City."

Edgar took the papers and Maggie stood next to him, peering over his shoulder at the information as well. Edgar briefly glanced at her before he started flipping through the materials. Actually he had already been privy to most of the information gathered there. Though some of the information was valuable, it was not enough to devise an actionable plan.

With furrowing brows, Edgar raised his head and inquired, "Is that all?"

Leaning back onto his desk, Brian answered flatly, "You know, XK has its rules. If you want more, you have to pay."

"I don't have that kind of money." Edgar shrugged indifferently. "The only thing that might interest you..." he continued, glancing at Molly and then concluded, "is already with you. What do you want from me?" After a brief pause, he added, "The longer it takes, the more disastrous the situation is becoming. I have actually come to personally ask for your help."

Brian frowned, annoyance registering on his face. "Mol is mine, not yours!" The tone of his voice was firm and he left Edgar no room for any argument.

Pursing her lips, Molly smiled sweetly at the answer. When she looked at Brian, her entire face was filled with joy and love, as if she were still a young girl in love. This was actually a small hobby of hers. Brian was the type of man who was ice cold on the outside, but his heart was always warm. Molly couldn't expect any romance from a man like this, so the only thing left to her was to find joy and contentment in foiling Brian's wild and determined claims over her. 000000