""Can I help you?" Max asked seeing a guy wearing glasses looking down at him and a man with a red car outside.

"Max Ryder ! Let's take a ride." 

"I am inclined not to agree but I guess that is not an option I suppose?" I sheepishly smiled.

"Not unless you want to involve your uncle. We searched your background . I wonder if he can maintain his cover if he is forced to shoot two people in this neighborhood. What do you think?"

"You sure play unfair. Well! So where are we going?" I closed the door slightly as I proceeded towards the car . For ten minutes we drove without saying anything. The guy sitting beside the guy with the glasses who was driving looked back at me from time to time.

"I don't mind silence. But what do you want ?" I asked them finally affronted. Well I do mind silence but better not to tell them .

"Just wait for a little while. It seems that our boss wants to meet you . He has developed a certain interest in you to put it mildly."

"Of course he has and I bet it is because I have been poking in your matters." I crossed my arms .

"Well ! No need to tell you why then , do we ?" He chuckled.

Thoth's Pov

Five minutes after Max had gone on a drive with two guys , Claude knocked on correct door of Max but strangely enough to her , she found it open .

"I mean leaving door open for me as I was just coming does make sense but isn't it just a bit odd especially for Max who seemed to be always concerned about such trivial instances .Did he get over it through the passage of time? " But well I should probably head inside. It would be pretty weird to stand outside opened door instead of going on .

As Claude entered the room , she found Tricky X sitting in his chair . Well! He certainly was the same as back then just reading his newspaper so immense that is almost felt like especially made for him and so immersed in it that he didn't even get nonplussed at seeing her just walking suddenly and nodded turning back .

But the situation certainly did feel equivocal in itself. Where was Max after all ?

It certainly didn't seem like he was here because she had checked every room by now.

"Umm sir! I can't find Max anywhere." Claude stated .

"Well! All I heard last before you came 5 minutes later , there was a ring on bell and he went to the door expecting you . Since then he hasn't come back but you came five minutes later ." He told her .

"But I was at other house when I had wrongly mistaken it as your house or was just on entrance of street. But the more important fact is you that how are you so calm . Max has literally vanished after that doorbell . Why are you not frantically losing your cool?" Claude asked winced at his composure and cool state .

"Claude!  You may have known him better than me during time you played with him since you were both of same age and same interests but there is really no reason to worry . Long before me , my father and even before him , all throught our bloodline, we always trust each to handle situation on their own. If he is in trouble or danger, well he has to deal it with on his own or ask for my help. I won't help him or worry about him unless he asks me ." He averted his gaze back to newspaper. Claude could hardly believe her ears . No wonder Max turned out to be lot more indifferent to feelings of other people. If that is the trend cultivated in their family , it was really quite possible to understand how Max' s personality gradually developed as she saw it .

But either way , if there was no Max . There was really no point in her just sitting here . There was really just one choice. She would to look through his things to find what case he was working on because after all , that is the only reason that could be prudent enough to excuse his disappearence especially right before he called her .

As she sat down in his room , she felt a strange sensation. This was the first time she was sitting in his room . Even back when they played, Max wouldn't let her into his room . She was eager to find him but her burning curiousity as to what keeps Max's interests piqued was also a part of her motivation now .

She was really nonplussed to find that he had a diary. As far as she knew, Max prefered to keep everything in his mind . He would rather candidly state his findings than write them . Was he tired of mental soliloquy ? Oh well! Let's just read it .

"Date-i don't know. Wrote it all on different days so probably vague . ( Claude chuckled seeing that . That was so like Max )

"Well ! My hopes aren't high but if I am right, then my plan would work . Of course it is a backup plan that I would only resort to if I am really at my wit's end and not able to find any way to get deeper into mystery of Vincent Rodgers mystery.  ...

"Vincent Rodgers. Let's see. Wasn't he a murderer who killed two elderly couple in Bedford last month and then was found ashore banks of Thames. Wait ! Does Max think there is more to it ? But how did he even know that to  began with? I could certainly see him finding obscure facts but in order to do that , he must have known something at first right to suspect that even.

As Claude read more and more , she was a loss for words. Experiments-1946-50, history of school released by anonymous person turning out to be Max himself and all. Just what has Max gotten himself into and how?

As she turned towards the last page .

"Well like I stated initially, I would have to resort to my backup plan instead . So I would call Claude tomorrow which will lead to the organization pulling the strings behind scenes to finally suspect that I am close to finding them now .I am fairly certain this organization has been keeping tracks of even simple ordinary British citizen just to know about their potential and then keeping on tabs on all whose potentials are elevated by time . And while it may be quite audacious of me, I am certainly on their list. After all , I was recognised by Thoth. Well probably shouldn't have mentioned that . No matter! If I call Claude, another inteligent  teen , then it would be in best interests for these people to eliminate me earlier than they were planning to . That means, I can finally infiltrate them and see for myself what lies at the heart of this mystery. Of course! It is a gamble rather than logical choice. The logical choice for an organism would be to survive. But surprisingly facing doom again is really nothing more than losing a deal . De facto to be simply that I have written this , i wonder why myself. I guess I just wanted to leave something of myself after all in this timeline too. Of course if anyone reads it , their heads would more or less get scrambled. Au revoir"

Claude closed the diary. She did understood all until the last page. But whatever he wrote here simply implied that he was heading forward deliberately into arms of death.

"Max! You idiot. Did you really not think that we could have both solved this  if we put our heads together?  You definitely could have found a way to contact me without getting detected." She cradled her face in arms. Really! Is this how she was going to part with Max  after all this time . After waiting for three years . Of course not . The fact that Max actually spent time to write this means that it was not simply a letter of farewell . No ! He must have left it in hope even if unconsciously to think that she would read it and find him .

"After all if everything that happened today was part of your plan , Max. Then me coming to save you is also simply an alternative you must have mediated before going along with this plan . So I would do it, Max . I would find you  " Claude firmly décidéd.

Neither Realm

"Well things sure are getting interesting. Max! Just what do you have in mind?" Thoth smiled drinking tea . He quickly put it down finding it too hot. Damn master Ra . He always has to come and see me when I am drinking tea.

Max's Pov

I was currently waiting for ten minutes in a dark room where sound reverberated on shouting . I was sitting on a single steel chair provided to me along with a drink. Well! They were at least courteous .

"Sorry for making you wait so long." A man entered the room . He was wearing a mask concealing his face even though if he wasn't, it would have been almost impossible to figure out how he looked in such darkness.

A girl followed after him .She was same height as me , slender and....and ..

"But that can't be.." I realised by her physique.  That wrist movement and expression of uneasiness .

"Huh! I haven't even sent her to your school yet . Wow! You must have gotten information from some hard digging , kid. Meet Craz. She is well let's just say.. smart as or even smarter since we anticipated your moves because of her . A Shadow within shadow " He chuckled .

"Oh! Is that so? Well good for you . Do you mind if I call her by a different name?" I looked at the man as he sat sat .

"Sure. It is not like we keep names for long . " The man smugly looked. That much I could tell even in dark.

"Good! So then Who are you really, Isla?"  I wondered.

Au revoir readers! Keep posted for the next chapter.