The defense minister knew it was too late to apologize. The only way to mend the relationship and set things right was to quickly find out where the real shipment was and who was involved in the delivery. That was the most critical task at the moment, beneficial for both Ryan and himself. So, he didn’t offer any more explanations or excuses and focused on taking swift action.
Ryan, slightly serious, said, “The delivery is scheduled for tomorrow.”
Time was tight, and he planned to investigate the information error later. If it was just a mistake, that was one thing-no source could guarantee 100% accuracy. But if there were other motives, he wouldn’t hold back.
The defense minister stood up and replied, “I understand. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” With that, he strode out of the room, leaving only Ryan and his people.
“Boss….”
“Ryan,” Hawk called out to Ryan just as Adolph pushed the door open and walked in, followed by Cobra.
“Is there a problem?” Adolph asked, noticing Ryan’s dark expression and Echo curled up in his arms.
Ryan didn’t look up; instead, he gently lifted Echo’s head to adjust her position for comfort.
Bill shook his head slightly and said, “We don’t know yet. The blood test results aren’t in. It might be a rare blood type or something else, but a rare type seems likely.”
Given the high accuracy and detail of the equipment, if there were an issue with her blood, they wouldn’t be left without any results at all. Bill, who had some knowledge in this area, offered his analysis.
Cobra raised an eyebrow, “A rare blood type? If even the equipment and personnel here can’t identify it, that really is something special.”
But hearing Bill’s words eased some of his concerns; after all, Bill was a medical doctor. Even if he wasn’t perfect in this area, standard analyses wouldn’t be too far off.
Adolph nodded, noticing how gently Ryan was holding Echo. He frowned slightly and asked, “Why does Ryan look so upset?”
Ryan was usually cold and composed, but now he looked furious, which was unusual.
Echo, who had been dozing in Ryan’s arms, suddenly opened her eyes and shot a glare at Adolph. He really had a knack for bringing up topics she was worried about-like Ryan holding her accountable later. She felt Ryan’s grip on her tighten slightly, causing her heart to skip a beat.
Seeing Echo’s glare, Adolph, who wasn’t really angry, found her expression amusing and felt a bit better. He chuckled, “You really are Ryan’s lucky star for spotting the explosives. The mistake of sneaking down there balances out with this, so Ryan won’t hold your misstep against you.”
When Echo heard that, her eyes widened, and she looked ready to explode. She glared at Ryan, baring her teeth, and said, “Didn’t you tell me to go up there?”
Ryan’s expression darkened. “When did I ever tell you to do that?”
Seriously, he wasn’t about to send someone who couldn’t even swim to handle things. He wasn’t that desperate.
Echo straightened up but quickly doubled over in pain, collapsing back onto Ryan. He frowned and tightened his grip around her waist, saying, “Don’t move.”
Taking a few deep breaths, Echo shot a fierce look at everyone in the room and demanded, “Then why was I there? Why was I thrown into the ocean? Who did this? Who forced me to go?”
The words tumbled out between clenched teeth, her face twisted in fury as if she could devour anyone who dared to admit it.
Cobra raised an eyebrow and said, “You should be asking yourself that.”
“What do you mean?” Echo glared at Cobra, her teeth gritted.
Cobra shrugged. “I told you to rest in the storage room. Why’d you go sit with the people getting ready to make a move? If you chose to sit with them, that’s on you.”
Echo frowned, recalling how dizzy she had felt when she walked a couple of steps, thinking she’d just sit down next to some people. She hadn’t paid attention to what they were saying, just nodded along until she was grabbed by the neck and dragged away. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already in the water.
Looking around at the expressions of those nearby-some resigned, others amused-Echo suddenly understood: she had been caught in a crossfire of her own making.
It was infuriating. How could she have found herself in such a situation? What were the odds?
Adolph noticed Echo deflate like a balloon, her earlier fury gone. He raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “What can I say? My people didn’t know you well enough and thought you were part of Ryan’s crew, so they took you right down. Can’t blame them for that.”
Echo buried her face in Ryan’s chest and, after a moment, said through gritted teeth, “Fine, I’ll take the blame. I got seasick-how is that my fault? I saved your lives, so if you don’t save me, that’s just plain wrong. Mr. Ryan, I’m not at fault here; I only helped.”
At that moment, Echo realized that if she hadn’t crashed into that situation, Ryan and the others would have been doomed, even if they hadn’t boarded the ship. It was her doing, even if she felt like she hadn’t done anything.
And saving her was the right thing to do. Without her, they wouldn’t have made it, and without them, she wouldn’t have made it either. That counted for something. This was a huge win for her, especially with the mysterious blood type issue. If she ended up getting radiation exposure, she’d be fighting for her life alongside them.
Ryan felt Echo’s head pressed against his chest, her grip on his shirt tightening to the point where her knuckles turned white. It was clear she was overwhelmed with regret.
Ryan tightened his hold on her waist and said softly, “Did I say you were at fault?”
Echo looked up, ready to respond, but Ryan locked eyes with her and coldly said, “However, I can’t let this slide.”
When Echo heard that, she slumped down again and frowned, muttering, “So it’s a wash again.”
“No, I don’t think it cancels out,” Ryan said, his expression serious as he looked at her.
Echo shot back, “Why not? I saved your life back there, and I only yelled at you a bit. What’s more important than your life?”
“I saved your life too.” Those cold words left Echo speechless.
She never expected Ryan would come to rescue her personally; she figured he’d just send someone else, which would’ve been generous enough.
What she didn’t realize was that most people wouldn’t have had the speed or composure in that situation. If someone weak had been in charge, everyone might have ended up dead. Hawk and the others knew they didn’t have the ability to save anyone in that kind of chaos; only Ryan had the skills to pull it off, and whether he did it depended on his willingness.
Adolph and the others watched the two of them squabble over trivial matters while ignoring the urgent issues at hand. They shook their heads in disbelief, not understanding that to Echo, the weapons didn’t matter as much as finding Skye.
The accolades didn’t mean much either since she didn’t want anything. But punishment from Ryan? That was something she couldn’t accept-his punishments were life-threatening, and she had to fight back.
Listening to their exchange, Adolph pieced things together: Ryan’s bad mood was because Echo had cursed at him. Echo had really grown a spine to yell at Ryan like that. And judging by Hawk and Bill’s restrained expressions, Adolph understood Echo was poking Ryan.
“And also, you saved us by accident, but you intentionally disrespected me.” He didn’t say more, but that one comment made Echo’s heart sink.
It was all about the difference between qualitative and quantitative changes; this was a matter of perspective. When did Ryan become so insightful?
Echo looked at him, bewildered, seeing the cold anger in his eyes growing stronger. She suddenly felt uneasy, leaning against him with a pitiful expression. “But it hurts. My gunshot wounds still aren’t healed, and now I’m like this, covered in bruises and…”