Agent

Matilda stuffed Paddington Bear into her backpack and continued eating her ice cream. "I'll keep it safe."

She tilted her head and studied Beta. "Is something bothering you?"

Beta turned toward Matilda. "Oh?"

After a moment of silence, he said, "There is one thing. A client wants to stiff me on the final payment he owes. That makes me very unhappy, but it's fine. I'll get my money back. The collection process might not be very dignified, but I think he can take it."

Matilda narrowed her eyes suspiciously and pointed at the TV in the dessert shop. "You don't mean that guy, do you? He looks kind of dead?"

Beta turned to look at the television.

On the news channel, the female anchor reported gravely, "The investigation into the assassination of a presidential candidate in Munich, Germany, has yet to make any substantive progress."

Beta slowly turned back. "That gentleman was truly careless. What a pity."

Matilda saw right through him. "Your act is terrible. You did it, didn't you?"

Beta shook his head lightly and tapped her plate with his fork. "Focus on your food and mind your own business, Matilda."

Matilda cut at her steak a few times with her knife and fork. Finally, she impatiently set down her knife, speared the entire steak with her fork, and took a huge vicious bite.

Beta, meanwhile, cut his steak gently and methodically, slicing the meat into even little pieces before placing them into his mouth one by one.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Matilda asked indistinctly through a mouthful of steak. "Or are you married already?"

Beta looked up at her. "Do you think Leon would have a girlfriend? Would he get married?"

Matilda rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. "Probably. He looks cold, but he's actually a very gentle person."

"Is that so?" Beta raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Of course." Matilda's tone grew serious. "Just like how he took me in even though he knew it was dangerous."

Beta looked interested. "That sounds like an interesting story. Would you mind sharing it?"

Matilda immediately put on a stern face. "Very much. Extremely much."

Beta and Matilda continued battling the aged, worn-out steaks on their plates. The tough meat made every bite feel like a challenge to the limits of rubber.

Matilda suddenly broke the silence. "Were your parents good to you?"

Beta's knife and fork paused briefly in midair. "I rarely see my mother. As for my father... he's not bad. We don't keep in touch much, but he's incredibly tough. There's basically no need to worry about anything happening to him. Even if he gets hurt, a couple of stitches and he's bouncing around again."

Matilda seemed to have only used the question to bring up what was on her mind. Staring at her plate, she murmured, "My mother loved me very much. But my father was a complete bastard. He hit me all the time, wouldn't let me eat, locked me outside. Mom always protected me. Getting beaten until my nose bled was normal for me."

Beta put down his utensils and listened.

"Later, he started working for a gang." Matilda's voice grew dry. "I don't know who he offended. That day, a group of people broke into our home and killed Dad, killed Mom. And my little brother. I only escaped because he slapped me and sent me out to buy something."

She raised her head, stubborn light gleaming in her eyes. "Later, Leon took me in. Protected me. Without wanting anything in return."

Beta nodded slowly. "That does fit Leon's style. Deep down, he isn't cold-blooded. He refuses jobs with elderly people, women, or children as targets, and he never involves innocents during an operation. Those are principles he insists on."

Matilda looked straight into Beta's eyes. "What about you? Are you like him?"

Beta slowly shook his head. "We're different. I don't have many boundaries."

"Then why would Leon be friends with you?" Matilda pressed. "Aren't assassins supposed to work alone?"

Beta spread his hands with a helpless expression. "How would I know? You'll have to ask Leon himself. Heaven knows why he'd be willing to be friends with someone like me."

Matilda fell silent.

Beta watched the girl grow quiet again, then finally added, "Perhaps because my stepmother, Helen, is his sister?"

"What?!" Matilda jerked her head up and stared at Beta in disbelief. "So you're Leon's nephew?!"

Beta raised an eyebrow. "Is that so surprising? Without that special connection, do you think Leon would trust me so much?"

The silver-gray Audi was trapped in London's congested traffic. Matilda sat in the passenger seat, still looking utterly incredulous. "How could you possibly be Leon's nephew? You don't look alike at all."

Beta held the steering wheel with one hand, his gaze sweeping over the rearview mirror. "My stepmother had very little influence on me, so Leon and I don't resemble each other."

Matilda looked out the window, then suddenly sat upright and pointed toward the sidewalk. "That person is strange."

Beta followed where she pointed. A man in an orange sweater stood blankly among the crowd, his eyes unfocused. How could he describe it? Like a wolf that had lost its mind and wandered into a flock of sheep, radiating danger from every inch of his body.

Even Matilda could spot that something was wrong at a glance, so the patrol officers on the street naturally did not overlook him. Soon, two police officers stopped the man and began checking his identification.

At that moment, a red double-decker bus moved slowly with the traffic, temporarily blocking their view. Only seven or eight seconds passed before the bus drove by, and Beta looked back in that direction.

Only the two patrol officers remained on the sidewalk, curled up and groaning in pain. The man in the orange sweater had vanished without a trace.

Beta gave a soft snort. "Heh."

Matilda's eyes widened. "He just disappeared? And he attacked the police! Could he also be..."

She lowered her voice. "An assassin?"

"Doesn't seem like it." Beta shook his head. "More like a tool trained by some professional organization. Something like an agent."

"An agent?" Matilda became interested. "Like in movies? Forging identities, carrying out secret missions, killing whenever they receive an order?"

Beta nodded slightly. "More or less."

Matilda pressed on. "Have you ever met a real agent? I mean, assassins like us must deal with agents sometimes, right?"

A mischievous glint flashed through Beta's eyes as he deliberately teased her. "Haven't we already met one? That female MI6 agent at the manor, 'Predator.' You saw her too, didn't you?"

Tying all the stories together without making it look like copied plotlines was a little difficult too.