Tsukiko sat on the back seat of Monsi's bulletproof bus. It felt good to be back in States with her friends and that familiar bus. She was deep in her thoughts while others were conversating about everything. Maybe someones thought she was too quiet but right now she didn't feel like talking with anyone. She was pondering the information Mark had given her about a week ago.
"Hmmph. You seem too agreeable. But if I can't trust you," the man said with a sigh, "then who can I trust?" His hand reached out for Tsukiko's face, and pulled it. Of course, Tsukiko didn't like this, but she understood the action once the man said, "Not a mask, huh? OK."
He relaxed against the wall, and said, "Well, it seems I can trust you." He stretched his arms out, then returned them to his pockets. "Like I said before, you can't tell this to anyone. You will die if you do." He looked around warily.
"This information I'm about to tell you is the syndicate's most protected secret. It is the heart, it's motive to live. The syndicate is a group of bright teenagers close to my age, led by a criminal mastermind. The syndicate has ears everywhere, in every country, and silently pulls the strings. And the members are sworn to secrecy on pain of death." He pulled down his shirt collar, revealing a scar on his neck. "They implant trackers into us to monitor us at all times. They also function as bugs, allowing the syndicate to literally have ears everywhere. Of course, I removed mine during the plane crash."
"But enough background. Here's the heart of the syndicate. The goal of the syndicate is world domination, as you may have suspected, but the method it intends to do that is far more sinister then people can dream of. They plan..." and he paused there, staring at the door. After a few seconds, he resumed, "They plan to anger nations, and turn them against each other in complete world war. Once the war ends and the survivors are badly scarred, they plan to take over and siege the world in their iron claw." He studied Tsukiko's face for a little while, then said, "There is a reason why I sworn you to secrecy. By learning this, you have most certainly placed yourself in grave danger. And if you tell anyone, and I mean ANYONE this, the syndicate will find you, erase you and any connections you have from the books. You will merely hasten destruction, as the syndicate's operations will quicken once they learn an outsider knows of this. And you will bring no good to anybody. In fact...there's a spy within your midst right now."
Tsukiko's eyes were wide. "Who?"
Mark glanced around suspiciously again, then said, "That is not for me to say. But I will give you a hint." He paused for a moment, then whispered, "Have you heard...of the hanging tree?" And with that, he vanished.
IU turned her head and watched Tsukiko who sat quiet and observed everyone else in the bus. She sighed and said to KKLT who sat next to her: "Tsuki is doing that again..."
KKLT looked confused: "Doing what?"
"Observing everyone, like suspicioing that something is not right..."
"When was the previous time she did it?"
"When we were on a way to that Inn we stayed. And there she said that she had promised to someone not to tell something to anyone. I wonder what that is..."
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