Immaculate Spirit c1-242

by Newbiel

  "I thought about it but I don't think so. I do not have the time or the desire to integrate in a team."

  "It's a pity. I think you would do great with us. I saw you run and you are way faster than me. Sometime I even try to catch up to you but you leave me in the dust every time."

  "Sorry about that, when I run I kind of tune out everything around me."

  "Yeah, I noticed." She laughed.

  After that they talked a bit more about running and decided to meet Monday morning to run together. At that point, Madison took him away again to meet new people and they passed the night just like that. He also got to meet Hayley and Emma again and noticed that her boyfriend didn't even glance in his direction while they were talking. It seemed that his method of problem solving was proving it's efficacy.

  He ended up staying until 1 AM at which point he chose to go back home. He also noticed that Madison was starting to get closer to him with hand touch or body proximity. Nathaniel ultimately decided to call it a night to stop himself from doing something that he would regret.

  He had started to think about things concerning his love life and realized that his view was a little outdated. Although he didn't want to be like Marc who was sleeping with every girl he could convince and never get emotionally attached to, he could not stay a virgin all of his life until the wedding. He was after all still young and maybe he could have a little fun. Although he was thinking that he would not sleep with a girl he barely knew. Even if Madison was extremely pretty and fun to be around he did not know her enough to become emotionally or physically involved with her just yet and to top it off he knew almost nothing about her.

  Coming back home, he undressed himself and got to bed. He blissfully found sleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

  Chapter 60: :

  New York, Columbia university. 10/10/2012. 18:00.

  It was now a week since college had officially started and Nathaniel was starting to get his mark. It was kind of hard to be in college when the last class that he took was in 7th grade. The memory of Marc did not help either as he stopped studying in high school to enlist in the army. Based on his long life, he was finally doing something that he had never done before and that was an exhilarating sensation.

  He was doing very well in all of his classes so far even if he had a lack of knowledge in a few subjects outside of it. Even if he was smart nobody could get back six years of education in six months. He had successfully memorized the academic questions as he knew that if he was tested it would be on those subjects and he had guessed right with the test conducted by the dean. But still, there were a lot of blank areas in his knowledge that he wanted to fix.

  His thirst for knowledge was immense ever since he was old enough to know how to read and never stopped since then. There was nothing better than to discover new things for him. He thought that he would find someone like him in Columbia but the reality turned out to be kind of disappointing.

  On the preliminary result of his class, his GPA was 4.01 when the second was at 3.59 and the next one at 3.42. Surprisingly, the third person was Na-Yung. She had a lot of gaps in her knowledge but she was catching up fast under the tutelage of Nathaniel. Even if in the primary stage like now, the GPA did not mean anything, Nathaniel had already started to get a few approbative stares from his teachers.

  This didn't mean that Nathaniel did not get any friends. He had in fact three so far. These were of course Na-Yung, Maddison and Katty. Na-Yung was easy to talk to and she was brilliant in her own right. She was seeing the good results of Nathaniel as her goal and was using him to push herself to be on the top. He could understand and respect her competitiveness which was why he was helping her to catch up. Moreover, they were friends so he would of course help her in any way that she needed.

  Madison was another case entirely. On the first hand, she was a third year in marketing so they did not get to see each other as their teaching buildings were not very close, but they managed to text and eat quite often with one another. Nathaniel found out that normally third years did not engage much with first years but that did not stop Madison in any way. After their first party together, they became quite close and she stopped her advance on her own. It was almost like she felt it. Nathaniel was amazed by the intuition she seemed to have over men. As of now, nothing had happened between them but Nathaniel could not deny that there was a tension hidden behind the surface. He could almost feel it when they were together.

  Katty on the other hand was a nice surprise. They had started to run together every morning and then were having breakfast together in a cafe nearby afterward. He discovered while they were talking that his assumption about money and good looks in sorority was in fact wrong. Katty was here on a sports scholarship. Her parents were respectively a teacher and a nurse so they would never have the means to send her here without the scholarship earned for her athletic prowess. Albeit quite shy, she had a good sense of humor and was good at making people comfortable while talking. She was a second year here in Columbia and was studying architecture. A lot of people were associating Columbia with law school but it was not publicly known that Columbia was also in the top 10 universities in the country without the law aspect taken into account. That was also good proof that their teaching quality was top notch in every domain taught there.

  Seeing that Nathaniel was always walking or talking with a beautiful girl or simply by himself, people started talking about it. His fellow student began finding things weird, even starting to spread rumors that he had already several girlfriends at the same time. When he found out, he thought it quite funny. He decided to let them talk as the opinion of other people about him did not have a shred of importance for him and since he already had a reputation as a genius here it was inevitable that rumors like that would start to spread.

  Truthfully, it was not that surprising that all of his friends were women. He lived all of his life with two best friends who were also his mothers so he had an almost natural affinity with girls. That was not to say that he refused to talk to other guys. He was nice and open to everyone who talked to him but was not the kind of person who engaged easily with others.

  Exiting his business class with Na-Yung, his teacher had announced that they needed to form a group of three people to make a thesis. It was to be turned in the next month and would count for the majority of their grade for the semester. Because of their number, there was a team bound to end up only being two and the professor said that one of his assistants would make the gap. Not satisfied with that option, Nathaniel offers the professor to only make a team of two with Na-Yung. Knowing that the two of them were smart, the professor allowed it but insisted that they will not get preferential treatment because of it.

  That was fine by him as he did not expect preferential treatment and didn't want any. Na-Yung had the same mentality, she wanted to be treated like everyone else and succeed without her family money or power. In that aspect, the both of them found each other perfectly.

  They were now exiting the building and were walking to exit the campus to their respective homes when his body totally froze up. Surprised by him stopping, Na-Yung stopped walking too, looking at him curiously.

  "What is going on?"

  "I just remember that I forgot something in the building." Nathaniel said apologetically.

  "Oh don't worry, I'm a big girl, I can walk out of the campus all alone." She said smiling.

  "Trust me, I know. So, we will see each other monday?"

  "Yes we will. Bye Nathaniel." She said with a wave of her hand.

  "Bye Na-Yung." He answered, turning back and starting to walk.

  ******

  Not far from here, on the top of a ten stories building, two men with korean features were hiding in the shadow of a pillar. They were both around 5"5" and were wearing black clothes. Even if their attire and face were nothing unusual, the two people were oozing danger and death from every part of their being.

  Their sharp and dead eyes were no
w focused on two young people talking below. One was a handsome and tall young man with blond hair while the other was a beautiful korean girl with jet black hair. The two young people were obviously Nathaniel and Na-Yung.

  "Why is he stopping?" The leader of the two asked in english with a sharp accent.

  "He is a waeguk-saram, does it matter?" The other answered in the same way.

  Thinking about it, the leader admitted that he was right. The kid was insignificant, the girl was their target.

  "They are separating. Good for him, maybe we will not kill him."

  "That foreigner does not matter, the girl does."

  Spying her until she left their line of sight, the two did not move to follow her. They knew where she was going and they had other people following her.

  "Is everything ready for tonight?"

  "Yes, our brothers arrived this morning. We are all ready. Tonight they will all die."

  Finally the leader thought. They had arrived almost two months ago to kill their target but they had a hard time finding them in this foreign city. After finally interrogating someone with useful information, they managed to find their hideout. They were living in a high end hotel in Manhattan with a huge number of security protecting them. Too many for only the three of them to be successful. Their organisation sent them five more people to finally deal with that contract as their employer was getting nervous.

  It was all over now. With their reinforcement here, they would all die tonight. Nothing could stop them anymore.

  With that thought in mind, the two killers vanished from the rooftop as if they were never there in the first place.

  Chapter 61: :

  Walking away from his friend, Nathaniel looked like everything was alright but the truth was very different from that. The reason that he froze was not because he had forgotten something, that was a lie. He did not have a habit to lie but in this case he did not have a choice.

  The moment they had left the building and started walking, Nathaniel could feel people watching them. He had the habit to be watched but it was different that time. The people watching them were dangerous, they were killers. He could almost feel the coldness of steel on his neck while he was being spied on. To feel something that could give him that feeling was not ordinary by a long shot.

  The reason that he separated himself from Na-Yung was to find out who these killers were after and he obtained that information when the feeling disappeared after he moved away from her. What he deducted the first time with her was right. Some very dangerous people were after her and now they seem to have found her or decided to attack her. She was in grave danger.

  He could choose to warn her but he knew that would not achieve anything, even more considering that he could not really explain how he knew. He could take care of the assassin currently chasing her but there could possibly be other people nearby to ambush. Attacking a dangerous enemy without a plan or intel was the best way to end up dead.

  He could already hear the cynical part of Marc inside his mind. This was a dangerous situation and that was not his problem. Moreover, if he involved himself he could end up exposed or even worse, dead. But this time, that cynical part was silent. Marc had his faults but one of his good points was that he would do anything for a friend of his. Na-Yung was his friend and he was going to help her.

  "Even if I survive tonight, my moms are going to kill me." He muttered bitterly.

  Fishing his secure phone from his interior pocket, he dialed the first number that it had in the speed dial.

  "Yes?" The voice of Amal answered after the second ring.

  "I need you to find everything about Na-Yung Kim, born in Korea, May the fifth, 1994 and living in NY for the last five months. I also want to know what her family does."

  "When do you need that information?" He asked, not puzzled at all as if it was ordinary for him to have that kind of demand. Knowing his grandfather, it was a fair assumption.

  "You have one hour, send me what you find on my phone. I'm going to turn my GPS on, take Jean with you and follow me."

  "What is the situation?"

  "Assassins are following a friend of mine. I'm going to stay with her. I want you protecting my 6."

  "Threat assessment?"

  "Highly trained and highly dangerous, do not hesitate to bring some hardware even if it's loud."

  "Your grandfather is not going to like this." Amal said.

  "I will take care of my grandfather once I'm finished here, in the meantime do not tell him anything about what is going on, it's an order."

  "Roger that sir." Amal said before hanging up.

  His conversation finished, Nathaniel pocketed his secure phone and took out his other phone. Having two phones was a must for him in these kinds of situations. He needed to talk to Amal without being heard or tracked by some agency. On the other hand, he needed to have a life to appear as normal as possible if someone were to look into him in the future with a phone where he goes on twitter, talks to his friends and his family.

  Pressing the call button on Na-Yungs contact, the line quickly connects.

  "Nathaniel?" Na-Yung asked puzzled.

  "Yes, I know, long time no see." He said, making her laugh.

  "What is going on? Did you find what you forgot?"

  "Yes I did. I was calling because I got an idea for the thesis, maybe we could start working on it tonight?"

  "Already? We have a month to complete that assignment and you want to start tonight? I know you are serious but this is too much, even from you."

  "I want us to do good so I thought maybe you will be willing to work with me, maybe in my parents home?"

  "I have nothing planned for tonight so we could as well be working together but my parents will not accept that I pass the evening in the home of a man they never met before. What about you coming to my house?" She proposed instead.

  "Your parents will be okay with that?" He asked.

  "If it's for working they will but I warn you, we will be scrutinized closely." She warned with chagrin.

  "It's not a problem, I'm used to being scrutinized."

  "Well, in that case you will have fun. I'm at the exit of the campus with the car my parents sent me, come over."

  "Alright, I'm coming!"

  "Good."

  ******

  A little earlier, in the Lyndon label building, Amal pocketed his phone. He was in the CEO office and Robert and Jean were looking at him intensely. Without looking at his boss, Amal turned his eyes on Jean.

  "We have work, you need to prepare weapons. I want you ready in the parking lot with them in ten minutes. Bring some hard gears."

  "Alright." Jean said before leaving the office, doing what he was told. There were only two people that Amal respected enough to get orders from and one of them was with them, that left only one person left, Nathaniel. They both respected that kid and that's why Jean left the office without even inquiring about what was happening. It would be time for that later but now he needed to obey orders.

  Thinking about what weapons to take Jean started smiling. They had a hidden armory in the building especially designed for the security personnel in case of large scale attacks against the building. He was even considering taking an RPG before reminding himself that he was in NY city and not in Afghanistan.

  While Jean was contemplating which weapon he was going to take with him, Amal and Robert were currently looking at each other.

  "I presume it was my grandson." Robert said ironically.

  "Yes, it was but I'm sorry he ordered that the rest must be kept secret. He is going to call you after everything is done."

  "Do I need to remind you that you are working for me and not for my teenage grandson?" He exclaimed with an edge in his voice.

  He did not know how that kid managed it but he successfully won the respect and even the loyalty of his two bodyguards. They were even more respectful to Nathaniel than they were to him. Seeing that Amal was not going to say anything because he ha
d orders, he just sighed.

  "Just make sure that he comes out of it alive or my wife will have our heads. Now, move. You have your orders, soldier."

  Nodding his head, Amal quickly left the office. After he left, Robert got up from his chair and looked at the view of his window, overlooking manhattan with a complex look in his eyes. He hoped that everything would be alright.

  Chapter 62: :

  Meeting back with Na-Yung outside of the campus he could see her waiting by a BMW car. She was escorted by a thirty something korean man in a suit who, based on his demeanor, was a bodyguard. The slight bulge at his waist was giving the information that he needed. They were armed and seeing the way he was observing their surroundings, they were vigilant as well.

  Approaching the car the eyes of the bodyguard checked him until he went back to surveying the surroundings, seemingly finding nothing wrong with Nathaniel.

  "Good you are here, let's go!" Na-Yung said, getting in the car.

  Following her in the car, he got the surprise to find another bodyguard on the conductor seat. He didn't know who these guys were or where they were coming from but they were better trained than the NYPD but less than military, maybe Korean police or something like that he thought. The conductor started the car once his colleague got into it and said something into his radio in Korean. Turning to Na-Yung, Nathaniel started talking.

  "Did you tell your parents that I'm coming over?"

  "Yes, of course. I explained how much that thesis is going to count in our grade so they understand why we wanted to get started right away."

  "Good."

  "Don't get happy too fast. My parents are kind of intense so be careful and try not to take what they say to heart." She warned with a grimace.

  "Don't worry, I will manage." He reassured her.

  Seeing that Nathaniel was confident, Na-Yung changed the subject of conversation and they began talking about college related matters. The journey was not long and twenty minutes later they were in front of a huge building. It was a five stars Hotel which was situated on the other side of Central Park compared to his home. The funny thing was that he could see the top of this building from his bedroom's window.