The Runaway Huntress
Chapter 97 - 96

Chapter 97: Chapter 96

Chapter 96

"Tyla. You’re late." Vera’s reaction changed into something of a scowl when she faced the white-haired woman. "As always."

"But I’m here, Vera." Tyla smiled at the doctor sweetly, taunting her. Then she turned to Melisca again. "Melisca. It’s great to see you again." She offered a handshake. "In person this time." Tyla added. "We were seeing you on the monitor."

Melisca accepted the woman’s hand. She never expected to see her here. She was in Falden City. She bought her vintage dagger knife in her store. Now, she was recalling in her mind if the woman was actually spying on her. If Tyla was sent by the hunters to know her even before she got into the camp.

She nodded in response to the woman. She was lost for words from the initial shock. There was a gleam in the woman’s eyes that told her she knew everything. It was unsettling.

"Why’d you answer Falden City, Tyla?" Wallace asked. The woman withdrew her hand from Melisca’s grasp and turned to the old man.

"She was born in Falden. But she left the place because that’s where she lost her parents. It was in her document in the details, Wallace." Tyla sighed. "You were all getting lazy, not reading the file of our proud trainee." She even shook her head in disappointment.

For Melisca, she can feel that the woman was just mocking the people around her. She also noticed that Tyla seemed to be the youngest looking in the group. She knew Tyla remembered her from the shop, but it seemed like she didn’t want the rest to know about their encounter before. And Melisca would like that as well.

"I would have come earlier if anyone of you told me that we have a guest. It’s a rare occurrence that we had one." Tyla accused the group but waved her silvery hair at them and turned to her again. She even sat beside her on the sofa. "Melisca, how do you like the accommodation so far?"

Vera raised her brow at Tyla’s question like it was an insult. The doctor was on the other side of Melisca.

"It’s great." She answered.

"And the food?"

"They’re excellent."

Tyla nodded. She wasn’t like the woman she met at the shop before. She was friendlier now and more accommodating.

"Tyla, don’t isolate our guest." Vera chimed in. "How did you become a bounty huntress, Liz?"

"Right." The others joined in the conversation. "Why choose that kind of job? Why not be a model or celebrity? You look like one, you know." Wallace commented.

"I’ve been trained since I was a kid. And after my parents died, I had nothing. I know what I’m good at, so I tried doing it for money. That’s all." That’s all true.

"So, you learned from your parents?" One of the committee members asked.

"Yes. And at a training camp. I’ve been to one before."

"That’s unexpected for a pretty face like yours. Why didn’t you try modeling or applying to some agency? You had the perfect appearance."

"It’s not my thing to be modest to people, and I don’t like publicity." She answered directly.

When the door opened, everyone was quiet and waited for someone to come in. The first thing Melisca saw was a masked man. He had a cane, and he walked gradually as he entered the room. Everyone stood up to greet him, except for her.

"Grandpa." Vera walked to the man’s side.

Grandpa? Was it really Vera’s grandfather? Were they truly related by blood? Melisca’s mind was full of questions immediately.

Tyla looked at Melisca’s face, which was contorted in confusion. She wonders what runs through the girl’s mind.

"Melisca. This is Giordano Laurel. The head of hunters. Our leader." Vera introduced him.

The man stood in front of Melisca, and she was petrified for a moment. Did she hear it right? The man before her was the leader? The man she was seeking?

"Hello, Melisca, dear." He offered a handshake for her.

"Liz? Stand up." Vera said in gritted teeth with raised eyebrows. But the smile on her face didn’t waver.

Her mind was still in shock. Then she felt a nudge in her side. Tyla elbowed her. She then stood up and accepted the handshake.

"As you’ve heard, I’m Giordano Laurel. Loriena’s great grandpa." Even behind the mask, she can sense the man was smiling from his tone.

Great grandpa... But his voice doesn’t sound that old, and he looked healthy. As she’d notice in his hands, it wasn’t all wrinkly. He was standing up straight, and with his white business suit and mask, he looked powerful and intimidating. She wonders how old he is.

She was also related to him. She never expected that the leader could be related to her by blood. So it could be that he was behind the command of hunting them and killing her mother in the process of getting to her. She was too stunned to say anything else. And she was glad that the man had released her hand already.

Melisca can only hear the loud beating of her heart. And the blankness of her brain was like an echoing silence in her ears. It’s deafening. It was a bit too much to take in another discovery of her family.

"Melisca, are you okay? You look pale." Giordano asked. Though she couldn’t see if he was actually concerned because of the damn mask. Why was he wearing it anyway?

She swallowed. It seemed like her throat had dried up. "Yes. I’m fine. It’s just, this is shocking. To meet the leader of the hunters so soon. I’m honored." She quickly made it up.

Tyla at the side inwardly smiled from the girl’s quick recovery in shock. She was observing her every move. She knew it wasn’t easy to face the leader and most of all, a family that betrayed Melisca. But she had to face it because it’s the truth. The whole family was a traitor.

The committee smiled at Melisca’s response.

"Do you know why you’re called here, Melisca?"

She wanted to see his face. What he looked like. She wanted to see the face of her targets.

"Not exactly."

"Do you also guys have no idea?" He looked around to his members.

"I kind of had one, general." Tyla answered him with a smile.

"Anyway, let’s all sit first before I tell you." Giordano turned around and went to the conference table. The others followed.

There was a rectangular conference table with swivel chairs a few distance away from the glass wall. A huge TV monitor was hanging at the top for everyone to see.

"Melisca, let’s go." Tyla held her elbow and dragged her to the table. She pulled an extra chair for her to let her sit beside her. Tyla was positioned to the left of the president. Across her vas Vera.

The others took their seats. Melisca glanced at the wide screen monitor and she could see that the training below had already started. It had a few closed-up camera from different angles. She could see Lorna on the screen and she caught her raising her neck to the glass balcony. The girl might had the idea that she was there.

"I called for you here, Melisca, for I want you to join the special team for hunters. The team was carefully selected for this mission. And I’m ashamed to say that it had been such a long time but there was no progress. So, I thought we needed a new blood on the team."

Melisca had to get past her initial shock so she could understood what he was saying.

"Grandpa, you mean, you want her to join the HC team?" Vera was surprised. And the rest had their own opinions too. Some agreed and some were hesitant. Only Tyla stayed quiet as her guess was right.

Giordano gestured a hand for them to keep quiet and they silenced at once. "It’s my decision. And we were never so close enough." His voice was laced with seriousness and authority.

But Melisca could hear that it doesn’t sound like it belonged to any great grandfather’s kind of voice. He sounded a bit young for it.

"And I’ve read Melisca’s profile. I hope all of you also did. She was a bounty huntress. She had experience in hunting criminals even if they were humans, it was hunting all the same. Her experience, knowledge, and ways could be helpful to us."

"I’m not FBI." Melisca couldn’t help but blurt out.

That made Giordano laugh, and everyone was surprised in her frankness. Tyla in her side grinned at what she said.

"Oh, dear, those people follow the rules, and we don’t. We have our own." Giordano turned serious again. "You would be joining the HC team, which means the Hybrid Calicia mission."

Calicia? Why does it sound familiar to her? Like she’d heard it before.

"Calicia Wymers." Tyla uttered.

Melisca blinked. It was what Ezekiel asked her. But he asked me if I was Calicia Wymers. Her brows furrowed in confusion.