Chapter 117 - Team Zero
The well-dressed new group was standing at attention politely, each bowing a bit upon seeing Kyle and Kay at the front, smiling at them. If one was to observe closely, each person in the new group had an accessory: a small black onyx studs with the initials 'KS' in silver.
Some had it as cuff links, some as an earring on one ear*, and some as a ring. 'KS' stood for Kyle/Kay Smith, their bosses.
Though they had been recruited by MIB, they were placed under the Smith Twins when the twins were 9 years old. Initially, they had been indignant for they were teens at that time and felt that they were given babysitting duties. It didn't take long for the Smith Twins to smash that naive thought. Now, they were fiercely loyal to the Smith Twins, and the accessories were their pledge to them.
If Kyle and his group made a majestic entrance, this group was made a striking entrance. The impact wasn't any less.
"Ah, Zero," Kyle said as he walked up to the first guy in front, "On the dot, as usual."
Everyone watched as Kyle shook hands with the leader of the group, who had short platinum blonde hair and a slight tattoo could be seen peeking from the collar of his shirt on his neck.
Kyle turned towards Charles, who was right beside him, "This is CEO Charles, whom you'll be helping during this time. CEO Charles, this is Zero Kiryu, the leader at the moment."
Charles was curious. At the moment? What did Kyle mean by that?
Nonetheless, he smiled as she shook Zero's hand firmly.
"This team rotates its leaders for each mission," Kyle answered to his unspoken question, "Hence, the Team is referred to as according to who is the leader at the moment."
Then Kyle smiled, "It also gives people the impression that I have six different Teams under me."
"Zero, these are Muhammad Ali, Xing Han and Samuel," Kyle continued.
"It's an honour to finally meet the Elite Five members," Zero said with a small bow.
Xing Han grinned, waving his hand in front of his face while saying, "The Elite Five is old news. I wonder if that title will be stuck with us forever."
"As long as we're still together, it's only natural that it will remain," Sam pointed out.
All of them nodded, not really minding it.
Kyle then introduced the rest of the team members. Gesturing to the three in front, Kyle said, "Please also meet Lucka, Alex, and Edward."
Then, towards the last two members who were at the side, Kyle continued, "This is Akira Kiryu, and this is Akira Yume. We call them Akira and Yume."
Charles blinked as he looked at the team behind Kyle. His head was spinning at this new development. When Kyle had mentioned Team Zero, he thought it would be young men or women in their mid-20s. Instead, this group looked like they were 18 or so?
Was there suddenly an abundance of young geniuses? The fact of the matter was, there had always been this pool of untapped workforce. The education system relied too much on people who were book smart and there were even those whose families were too poor for bright kids to continue schooling. Those who fell through the cracks often ended up in gangs or low paying jobs.
Kyle, on the other hand, had long started searching for such kids with potential. They were identified, then groomed by MIB before being allocated to their respective jobs. Most ended up within MIB, but the group in front of him were the first - and only, for now, - team that worked for him under his true name.
They didn't know that the Smith Twins were the true leaders behind MIB though. That revelation would be for another time.
For now, Charles was still gawking at the two groups in front of them.
The first group was the Powerful Dragons. The second group was the Crouching Tigers? They didn't have an oppressive type of aura like Kyle's. Theirs was more of the 'don't-mess-with-me' type. Kyle's aura made one feel like they were little ants who needed to bow whenever he looked at them whereas this team made one feel like they were approachable elites but one that should not be played with.
The worst thing? Okay, so there were many shocking things right now - their age, their capabilities ... but what Charles also felt was that both groups were so striking looking. It was like watching a fashion model shoot where all the good-looking models were huddled together in a group. It was so blinding!
Charles sighed.
"I'll be leaving now," Kyle said to Zero, "I've done the first purge. CEO Charles will show you where you can set-up and stay for the next month."
First purge? Charles began wondering if Kyle was going to be doing more and shuddered.
"Yes, Sir," said Zero politely.
"Remember dinner," Kyle stressed, looking at Zero straight in the eye.
Zero sighed, nodded and said, "Affirmative, Sir. 2000 hours at Ching Palace."
Kyle smiled and shook Charles' hand. As did the other Elite Five.
"I leave Team Zero in your care, CEO Charles. I will be back tomorrow at 8 am."
"Thank you, Director Kyle," Charles said humbly and sincerely, "I promise to turn this company around."
"I believe you will," Kyle responded warmly. With that, Kyle and the rest walked out, making those employees left behind feel relief that could not be explained.
Once Kyle and the Elite Five passed through the doors, a petite young lady beside CEO Charles stepped forward and introduced herself to Zero, "I am Marina, CEO Charles secretary. Right this way please."
Zero gave a slight nod and turned to the other team members. His eyes narrowed a bit when he saw one missing. He had been paying attention to Kyle and Charles so he hadn't noticed when Akira had slipped away.
Zero turned towards the reception desk and as expected, Akira was there. Busy flirting with the blushing girl. Without looking back, Zero raised his hand behind him, stopping Edward from trying to slip away as well.
Edward was the type that loved to explore, his mind being the inquisitive type. So the moment he saw some contraption that appeared interesting, he would disappear. Akira would gravitate towards any woman, Lucka would bring back any stray animals he sees, and Alex tended to be so serious that he'd clam up. As for Zero, he preferred to just hole up in any room away from people.
Individually, they were all rather ... unique. Left to their own devices, they'd do their own thing.
However, once they started working, they were like well-oiled machines. Working seamlessly and effortlessly together, like pieces of a whole. The real reason why they changed Team Leaders at each mission is because the Leader would always be the serious one. When they are the Leader, they wouldn't act as freely as they normally would. But if they were to act against their nature all the time, they'd crack under the pressure.
Thus, Kyle came up with the rotation idea. It worked very well for them.
Having to be the 'responsible' one once every 6 missions wasn't bad.
Zero followed Marina towards the lift and as he passed Akira, he reached out and pulled at his collar. Akira let himself be pulled while mouthing to the receptionist, 'I'll call you later' and putting his thumb over his ear and his pinkie finger over his mouth. The receptionist giggled and Akira gave his charming smile.
"Work first, flirt later," growled Zero, letting go.
Akira straightened his collar and walked beside Zero, saying with a grin, "Ah, you're no fun. Come on, relax! There's plenty to go around."
"The sooner we set up, the faster we can settle down before dinner," Alex pointed out.
With that thought, all of them quickly followed Marina.
.:*?°☆...:*?
That night, in the VIP room of Ching Palace, the Elite Five met up with Team Zero.
"Team Zero is like a small company," Kyle explained, "We have Zero, the IT expert. Alex in marketing, Lucka in accounts, Akira and Yume in management, and Edward in security. That's why they can help the companies turn around after I do the purge."
"That's actually a great idea!" Xing Han said excitedly, "I wonder if I can implement that back home?"
"Sure," Kyle drawled, "Just takes about 10 years."
Xing Han glared at him through narrowed eyes, "Fine, fine. Be that way. As if you started all of this when you were three years old!"
Kyle took a sip of water at that point, hiding his smile.
The rest of the dinner passed by with lots of laughter, talking and catching up. Kyle hadn't met up with Team Zero for over a year, so he was enjoying listening to them banter around. He also found it wonderful to see the Elite Five getting along with them.
Kyle watched the whole scene in front of him with a smile. He hoped this was something that would continue. His childhood friends and the team he had practically 'raised' were getting along.
It was as if his secret MIB life was merging with his 'normal' life.
Life was good.
.:*?°☆...:*?
In the same part of the city, a dark shadow could barely be seen inside an elevator shaft. There were some clinks and clank sounds, then a curse. A light from a phone appeared.
"Is it done?" came a raspy voice.
"Yes."
"Make sure it looks like an accident," the raspy voice said curtly before the connection ended.
The shadow began cursing again at the now silent phone, then a snort. "As if this is my first time. Stupid pig."
The elevator shaft became empty again.