[David's POV]
I closed the door behind me and let out a long breath.
I tossed my jacket on the couch and walked to the bathroom. The hot shower helped. Steam filled the room as I stood under the water, letting it run down my back and shoulders. For a while, I just stood there, eyes closed, letting my muscles relax.
After the shower, I put on joggers and a T-shirt. I made a simple meal—an omelette with veggies, toast, and a protein shake. As I ate at the dining table, I looked out through the window.
"Gideon," I said, wiping my mouth. "Monitor my stock investments. Let me know if there's any major changes."
"Acknowledged," Gideon replied.
I nodded, left the dishes in the sink, and collapsed onto my bed. Sleep hit me fast.
When I opened my eyes again, the sky outside was orange and purple. It was Saturday evening.
I stayed in bed for a few more minutes, enjoying the silence.
Eventually, hunger pulled me out of bed. I headed to the kitchen, rubbing my eyes. I felt really hungry, so I decided to make something quick before doing anything else.
I pulled out some bread, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and leftover grilled chicken from the fridge. I layered the ingredients neatly and made two big sandwiches. Once done, I took a huge bite, leaning on the counter as I chewed. Simple, but exactly what I needed.
Just as I was finishing the last bite, my phone rang.
It was Jayden.
"Yo," I answered.
"Hey! Are you home?"
"Yeah, just woke up."
"Cool. Can I come up?"
I ended the call and leaned against the counter. Jayden was one of the few people I didn't mind talking to. Whatever he wanted, I figured it would be fine.
A few minutes later, he knocked and stepped inside, smiling.
"Man, you look like you just came back from a war," he laughed.
"Feels like it," I said with a small grin.
He dropped onto the couch. "I always forget how quiet it is up here."
"Yeah. Peace and quiet is rare in this city. I enjoy it when I can."
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So... you're really moving out soon?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Probably by the middle of next month. This place is great, but I need something more permanent."
Jayden nodded too, but I could tell he was a little sad. He didn't say it, but it was there in his eyes.
"That makes sense," he said.
"What about you? What's new?"
His face lit up. "I got an Xbox 360! Second-hand. Great deal. Came with a few games."
I raised an eyebrow. "Nice. What games?"
"FIFA," he said proudly. "Want to try it out?"
I smiled. "Yeah, sure. Let's do it."
"Sweet! I'll grab it. Be right back."
He returned in less than five minutes, carrying the Xbox, controllers, and the game.
"Alright, let's set this baby up!" he said, already plugging it in.
I looked at the single game case. "Only FIFA?"
"That's all I need. You're about to see greatness."
I chuckled. "Big words. Ready to get wrecked?"
"Please. I was born for this," he said confidently.
The Xbox turned on, and we picked our teams. Jayden chose Barcelona. I picked Real Madrid, just to mess with him.
The first game was tighter than I expected. He actually knew what he was doing. He kept possession well, timed his passes, and got a goal in early.
"Ha! First blood!" he shouted.
I smirked. "Good start. Let's see how long you can keep it."
I managed to come back with two quick goals. Jayden scrambled to catch up but missed a few chances.
"Okay, okay, that was decent," he said, nodding. "You play dirty. I like that."
By the time we finished the first match, I had won, but it wasn't a beatdown.
Jayden leaned back, panting dramatically. "This is intense. We need fuel."
"Agreed," I said, grabbing my phone. "What do you want?"
"Pizza. All meat. Extra cheese."
I ordered two large pizzas.
We started our third match while waiting. It was close again. Jayden was getting better, pressing harder, reading my moves.
The doorbell rang just as I scored the final goal in extra time.
"Pizza's here," I said, pausing the game.
Jayden groaned. "You did that on purpose!"
"Timing is everything," I said, heading to the door.
We ate slices straight from the box while continuing our matches. Greasy fingers and all.
He laughed. "This is the messiest controller I've ever used."
"Adds to the challenge," I replied.
We played a few more matches. He fought harder with every round. I still came out on top, but he wasn't far behind.
After another close game, he finally set the controller down. "Alright, I admit it. You're good. But this ain't over. I'm training. Next time, I'm coming for blood."
"Bring it," I said with a grin.
He packed up the Xbox, still shaking his head. "I can't believe I let you score with a header in the 90th minute."
"That was pure skill."
We laughed again, and I walked him to the door. After he left, I stood there for a second, enjoying the calm.
After Jayden left, I cleaned up the living room and tossed the empty pizza boxes into the bin. The apartment felt quiet again.
I sat down at my desk and powered up my PC. The soft hum of the system booting up felt familiar, grounding. I tapped a few keys and accessed the dark web through my secure network. It had been a while since I checked the job boards, and I needed to keep my mind busy.
A few requests had stacked up in my inbox. Basic stuff—firewall breaches, data retrieval, a little bank trace rerouting. Nothing too flashy. I accepted a couple of small gigs. As I worked, my fingers moved without thought.
I was midway through rerouting a client's payment server logs when I noticed a notification in a separate inbox, the one tied to the Rising Tide group.
A few days ago, I had to contact Rising Tide members for their help. I had uploaded the same evidence and files I had sent to reporters and law enforcement. The idea was to flood the internet with truth. No one group would be able to contain or bury it.
The Rising Tide had helped. They always had a taste for exposing corruption, especially when it involved government secrets. I knew they were effective, but I had expected silence after the files were pushed. Instead, I saw a new message blinking.
When I opened it, I was surprised to see a personal contact request from Skye.
Yeah, the Skye. I knew her by reputation alone—sharp, bold, and relentless when it came to uncovering secrets. A name that had weight in underground circles. For her to reach out directly? That wasn't casual.
Her message was short, but her tone was clear.
"Hey, not gonna lie, what you did was amazing. Some of the group members had been chasing rumors about corruption and hidden trafficking rings for months, but you cracked it wide open. I wanted to thank you personally."
There was a pause in her message feed—one she quickly filled with a follow-up.
"Also… there's something else. Off the record. You ever hear of something called the Centipede Project? We've been digging into it. Barely a trace. But what we're finding? It's shady. Dangerous. I keep hitting dead ends. Thought maybe… if you've got the time, you could take a look."
I leaned back in my chair.
Centipede Project.
The Centipede Project was a HYDRA-funded science program with the purpose of creating an army of super-powered soldiers for their cause and finding ways to bring them back from the dead when necessary. The project's leader, John Garrett, wanted to use it to fix his failing health.
I rubbed my face and muttered to myself.
This timeline is a mess.
Then, I typed slowly.
"Give me time to think it over."
She replied almost immediately.
"Of course. No pressure. Thank you."
I stared at the screen for a while after that, my thoughts running deeper than usual.
Centipede Project. If I remember right, it started in Los Angeles in US. There were also doing the project in some place at Hong Kong.
Should I step in?
Would there be any benefit?
Maybe I could get Super Soldier Serum, Hulk's Blood, and even Extremis. Could be useful later.
But why hasn't the system reacted?
It gave me a mission yesterday to save the future Daredevil, but not for this?
Maybe the project isn't important enough yet. Or maybe I'm not at the right stage to intervene.
Whatever. I need to handle my current mess first before poking into another.
Now… time to check my system rewards.
To be Continued...