"DING!"
The bell above the café entrance chimed as Vincent pushed open the glass door and stepped inside.
The familiar aroma of freshly brewed coffee and toasted bread greeted him, accompanied by the low murmur of conversations and the occasional clatter of ceramic cups.
Located along one of the quieter streets near the city center, the café had been a regular meeting place for Vincent and his best friend since their high school days.
Although they no longer visited as frequently as they once did, the establishment had changed remarkably little over the years.
Even the elderly owner behind the counter was the same, although his hair had grown considerably grayer.
Vincent scanned the tables before spotting a familiar figure sitting beside the window.
Julian Reyes was leaning over his laptop with an expression of intense concentration, occasionally glancing at his phone while scribbling something into a small notebook.
A half-finished sandwich sat beside his coffee, apparently forgotten.
Vincent approached the table and pulled out the opposite chair. "You know, Julian, most people come to cafés to eat and relax," he remarked with an amused expression. "Not to turn the place into their personal detective headquarters."
Julian looked up, and his serious expression immediately disappeared. "Vincent! Finally!" he exclaimed, closing his notebook. "I was beginning to think you’d gotten yourself killed at that miserable agency. Sit down, man. I’ve got a story that’s going to make your day."
Vincent settled into his chair and glanced at the collection of documents spread across the table.
"Another cheating husband?" he asked, already suspecting the answer.
Julian shook his head with an enormous grin. "Better. A cheating wife, a cheating husband, two expensive lawyers, and a marriage that’s probably going to end with somebody throwing furniture through a window."
Vincent stared at him for a moment before laughing. "Why do you sound so happy about that?"
"Because, my dear friend, human stupidity is the most reliable source of entertainment in existence," Julian replied, leaning back comfortably. "And occasionally, people pay me very good money to document it."
A waitress approached their table, and Vincent ordered coffee and breakfast while Julian gathered his papers into a neat stack.
Despite working full-time as a reporter for a media company, Julian had spent the past two years building a respectable side business as a private investigator.
His assignments ranged from locating missing property to investigating suspicious employees, although he had developed a particular enthusiasm for exposing unfaithful spouses.
Vincent had never understood why his friend enjoyed those cases so much, but Julian insisted that marital investigations provided more surprises than anything he encountered in journalism.
"So what’s the situation this time?" Vincent asked, resting his elbows on the table.
Julian immediately leaned forward. "A wealthy businessman hired me three days ago. Owns several commercial properties, drives a car worth more than my annual salary, and apparently believes his wife is sleeping with someone else. He’s planning to divorce her, but he’s terrified of losing half his assets. So he wants photographs, messages, hotel records, anything that might help his lawyers."
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "And did you find anything?"
"Did I find anything?" Julian repeated, looking personally offended. "Vincent, I followed that woman for six hours yesterday. She told her husband she was attending a charity luncheon. You know where she actually went?"
Vincent shook his head, already smiling.
"A luxury hotel," Julian declared, tapping the table. "And guess who was waiting for her? Her husband’s personal fitness trainer. The same man who visits their house four times a week to help the husband lose weight."
Vincent burst into laughter, attracting a brief glance from a nearby customer. "You’re joking!"
"I wish I was!" Julian replied, laughing himself. "The man is literally paying somebody to help him get into shape while that same somebody is sleeping with his wife. And here’s the best part. When I informed my client that I’d obtained photographic evidence, he asked whether I could guarantee his wife wouldn’t discover his own affair." Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
Vincent slowly lowered his coffee cup. "Wait. He’s cheating too?"
Julian spread his hands helplessly. "With his secretary! Apparently, he thought I wouldn’t notice the woman leaving his apartment yesterday morning. Honestly, sometimes I wonder whether these people think private investigators are blind."
Vincent shook his head in disbelief. "So they’re both cheating, and he’s paying you to prove she’s the unfaithful one?"
"Exactly!" Julian replied triumphantly. "And now he’s begging me to keep his little secret while continuing to investigate hers. I told him I’m a private investigator, not a magician who makes inconvenient evidence disappear."
"You’re enjoying this way too much," Vincent observed, chuckling.
Julian grinned without the slightest embarrassment. "Of course I am. My reporting job involves politicians, corporate scandals, and editors who think every article should’ve been finished yesterday. At least my private clients provide decent entertainment. Besides, the husband seems convinced that proving infidelity will magically protect his fortune. His lawyer might have something to say about that."
Their breakfast arrived shortly afterward, and the conversation drifted toward familiar subjects.
They complained about rising food prices, exchanged stories about former classmates, and argued over which of their old teachers had been the most unreasonable.
Julian reminded Vincent of an embarrassing incident during their final year of high school, prompting Vincent to threaten to reveal the time Julian had attempted to impress a girl by pretending he understood advanced mathematics.
Their friendship had survived graduation, demanding jobs, and increasingly busy schedules, largely because neither had ever developed the habit of treating the other like a stranger.
Eventually, Julian set down his fork and studied Vincent more carefully.
"Anyway, enough about my clients," he said, his expression turning curious. "How’s life at that Hero Agency? And please don’t tell me that Derek bastard is still making your life miserable."
Vincent paused before answering. "Actually, I don’t work there anymore."
Julian blinked. "What do you mean you don’t work there anymore?" he asked, straightening in his chair. "Don’t tell me they fired you."
"No, I resigned," Vincent replied calmly, taking another sip of coffee.
Julian stared at him. "You resigned? Vincent, you’ve been putting up with that place for years. What finally happened?"
Vincent placed his cup down and briefly considered how much to explain. He certainly wasn’t going to mention the mysterious System that had awakened inside him, but everything else was straightforward enough.
"Derek pushed things too far again," he began. "Only this time, I decided I wasn’t going to stand there and take it. We fought."
Julian’s eyes widened. "You fought Derek? The licensed Hero who’s been treating you like his personal punching bag?"
Vincent nodded. "And I beat him."
For several seconds, Julian remained completely silent. Then he leaned across the table so abruptly that Vincent instinctively moved his coffee out of the way.
"You beat him?" Julian demanded, his voice rising with excitement. "Vincent, are you seriously telling me you finally knocked that arrogant bastard on his ass?"
"Keep your voice down," Vincent replied, laughing as several customers glanced toward them. "And yes, I defeated him."
Julian leaned back, looking absolutely delighted. "Man, I would’ve paid good money to see that! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to do something about him."
"Well, management wasn’t particularly impressed," Vincent continued. "Marcus called me in afterward, and instead of addressing everything Derek had done, he took Derek’s side. So I decided I’d had enough and quit." This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Julian’s smile faded into an irritated frown. "Of course he did. That agency always cared more about protecting its licensed Heroes than treating ordinary employees properly. Good riddance, honestly. But what are you planning to do now? You’ve still got bills to pay."
Vincent smiled faintly. "That’s actually the other thing I wanted to tell you."
He reached into his pocket, retrieved his phone, and opened the Hero Association’s official application. After navigating to his professional profile, he turned the screen toward Julian.
Julian glanced down casually, then froze.
"Hold on," Julian muttered, taking the phone for a closer look. His eyes moved across the displayed information before settling on Vincent’s licensing status. "F-Rank Hero? Vincent Crowe? Licensed and active?"
Vincent nodded, unable to suppress his grin. "Passed the assessment yesterday."
Julian looked between Vincent and the screen several times. "You actually did it," he said, genuine astonishment replacing his earlier amusement. "You went and got your Hero License?"
"That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you," Vincent replied.
Julian suddenly stood, drawing another round of curious glances.
"My man!" he exclaimed, reaching across the table to clasp Vincent’s hand. "Congratulations! Seriously, congratulations! You should’ve called me immediately!"
Vincent laughed as Julian enthusiastically shook his hand. "I figured telling you in person would be better."
Julian sat down again, still grinning. "Better? You could’ve told me you were getting married and I wouldn’t have been this surprised. So what happened during the assessment?"
Vincent explained how he had faced an officially classified Rank 1 Villain named Gareth Morrow and defeated him inside the assessment arena.
Julian listened intently, interrupting occasionally to ask questions about the examination procedures and Vincent’s combat performance. Vincent described the fight without revealing that he had assimilated Gareth’s Bone Hardening afterward.
When the explanation ended, Julian studied the Hero App with renewed interest.
"So you’re officially independent now," he observed. "No agency boss telling you what to do, no Derek breathing down your neck. You choose your own assignments?"
"Pretty much," Vincent answered. "Although finding Villains and actually capturing them are two different things. I’ve already accepted my first mission, but I haven’t started investigating the target."
Julian’s expression brightened immediately. "Now that sounds interesting. Let me see."
Vincent opened the mission details and handed him the phone.
Julian examined the photograph of Felix Granger, then scrolled through the accompanying information. His playful expression gradually disappeared as his professional instincts took over.
"Felix Granger," Julian murmured, opening his notebook. "Alias Slipstream. Rank 1 Superhuman. Kinetic Acceleration. Armed robbery, assault, evading arrest. Last reported in the East District."
He paused, studying the criminal’s photograph more closely.
Vincent watched him curiously. "Well? Think you can find him?"
Julian slowly smiled, already reaching for his laptop. "Vincent, my friend," he replied, his fingers moving across the keyboard, "finding people who don’t want to be found is literally what people pay me to do."
And with that, Julian began investigating the first Villain of Vincent Crowe’s professional Hero career.