Across the sprawling bed.
Locke lay flat.
Gwen pinned him down, staring from above as their eyes locked. Her expression was thoroughly serious and solemn, clearly broadcasting a message: either confess, or prepare for death.
The corners of Locke's mouth turned slightly upward.
"Confess what?"
"Are you going to tell me or not?" Gwen bared her silver teeth, exposing her two cute little canines. "You said you have absolutely no reservations when it comes to me."
Locke rested his hands behind his head. "Darling, having no reservations with you is my explicit promise."
When it came to navigating life, flexibility was of paramount importance. A simple lifestyle like George's didn't quite suit him. George belonged to the type of person who was easily content with minor prosperity, whereas he belonged to the type whose mind was firmly fixed on the cosmos.
And! Gwen wasn't some naive, simple girl. Besides, witches and vampires weren't exactly absolute secrets anymore; Gwen had witnessed several vampires with her own eyes.
Furthermore. Locke recalled how Gwen's downy hairs had suddenly bristled the moment Zoe and the others entered. It delivered a strange sense of déjà vu, as though he had witnessed that phenomenon somewhere before.
Then... Locke arrived at a certain realization.
Finally, he considered the course of action Cordelia had taken following the Coven Assembly narrative within the original trajectory. If he chose to conceal the reality right now, it wouldn't be the optimal strategy.
As the saying went: sometimes, a single lie required a myriad of consecutive lies to sustain.
He genuinely preferred telling the truth.
Most importantly, Locke never fought an unprepared battle. That was precisely why he hadn't chosen to intervene when Madison openly told Gwen that their institution was actually a witch academy.
After all, the moment he initiated contact with Zoe last night and informed her where to locate Madison, he had already prepared to utilize his identity as Locke Broughton to interact with them.
Or rather, utilizing another facet of the student identity belonging to Locke Broughton. Employing that identity here was entirely logical and reasonable!
Gwen cast a brief glance downward. Perceiving a certain movement beneath her, she tossed her ponytail, her face freezing over as she prepared to dismount.
If he wouldn't speak, so be it. She could easily investigate the matter herself.
Locke let out a laugh. With a sudden thrust of his waist, he smiled, "Very well, I'll tell you."
Gwen's lower torso settled right back down. Locke raised an eyebrow. Comfortable!
"Speak!"
"Quite evidently, they happen to be witches."
"I know that!" Listening to this statement, Gwen glared at the unprincipled Locke beneath her, gritting her teeth.
"Based on that conversation, either you all were engaged in some roleplay scenario, or you were being completely serious. I am inquiring how it's possible—how on earth are you..."
That thoroughly deadpan scene from earlier simply didn't resemble a roleplay scenario in the slightest.
Even if Locke and Zoe were messing around with some roleplay, Madison—that Hollywood actress—likely wouldn't be bored enough to travel all the way to New Orleans just to engage in roleplay.
Thoroughly prepared for this, Locke noted, "I've mentioned Agatha to you before, right?"
Gwen blanked slightly. Agatha? "Agatha? Agatha Harkness? Chester's girlfriend?"
"Correct."
"What about her?"
"I told you previously that Agatha is a witch, didn't I?"
"..." Gwen recalled the statement Locke had made while they were sharing a meal at Chester's restaurant once. She blinked her eyes. "I assumed you were merely..."
She had assumed Locke was joking at the time. After all, back in 2004, the Peerless Assassin hadn't surfaced on television, Augusta hadn't been visited yet, and vampires hadn't emerged either.
Moreover, their relationship had newly commenced around that period, and their conversations covered an immense array of topics. Gwen even recalled Locke claiming he had encountered demons, succubi, and even extraterrestrials back in Texas.
Locke's waist delivered a sudden thrust. An exclamation of surprise escaped her lips.
A brief moment later, the offensive and defensive positions completely inverted!
Locke rolled over, pinning Gwen beneath his frame as he smiled smoothly. "See, darling? I truly have no reservations with you. I spoke the truth, yet you simply refused to believe it yourself."
Gwen blinked her eyes. Was... was that truly the case?
Locke offered a subtle smile. Yes, it was. He always preferred to prepare for a rainy day. Leave aside witches; even if he associated with a demon in the future and Gwen caught sight of it, he could effortlessly claim he had mentioned it before.
Texas was an exceptional place. Much like the phrase Conan favored whenever he faced Rachel's suspicion: "My dad taught me over at Hawaii." Locke operated on the exact same logic!
"I became acquainted with it back in Texas."
The folk customs of Texas were famously rustic. To New Yorkers, Texas was both rustic and deeply mysterious. After all, the renowned Area 51 and the highly enigmatic UFO research facilities were situated right around that region.
Therefore... his familiarity with witches was entirely normal. Leave aside witches; as a Texan, becoming acquainted with a few demons or extraterrestrials was completely par for the course.
Gwen snapped back to reality. "Wait, something's wrong."
"What?"
"That girl Zoe..." Gwen struggled fiercely for a moment, attempting to reclaim the dominant position, but her efforts were entirely futile. Remaining pinned beneath Locke, she stared up at him. "Zoe appeared somewhat terrified of you."
Locke shrugged smoothly. "Entirely normal. I belong to the CIA, after all."
Gwen blinked. "What?"
Locke smiled smoothly. "I'm with the CIA. I've communicated that to you before, right?"
Gwen blinked once more. Without a doubt, he had indeed mentioned this. After all, Gwen was fully aware that Locke's CIA mentor was that Mr. Sheldon.
George assumed Locke had experienced a fallout with the CIA, and Gwen had never informed George that Locke had reconciled his status with the agency.
Observing Gwen's expression, the smile across Locke's face grew increasingly brilliant. This was precisely why he had chosen to maintain his affiliation with the CIA afterward.
Beyond permitting him to expand his mission-clearing parameters across the entire globe upon graduation, it even provided a necessary supportive background for his actions during specific moments.
Take the current situation. A civilian exhibiting fear toward a CIA operative was completely normal. Leave aside the CIA; even when encountering the NYPD, many New Yorkers would experience a degree of fear, much like citizens in the Eastern Nation when a police officer knocked on their door.
It was pure professional deterrence. Did anyone truly believe every civilian in the States spent their time defying the heavens, the earth, and the very air itself? Civilians who dared to act that way were either villains or protagonists equipped with absolute cheats.
"No—"
"Alright."
"Huh?" Interrupted by Locke's words, Gwen blanked slightly, stating subconsciously, "That quickly?"
The corners of Locke's mouth twitched slightly. "Darling, I've cleared up my side. Now it's your turn."
With her cheeks flushed pink, Gwen blinked her eyes rapidly upon hearing this statement. "My turn for what?"
Locke's expression turned thoroughly serious and deadpan. "You're acting unusual!"
"..."
Something was definitely off. Locke recalled the phenomenon he had witnessed earlier—the sudden bristling of those downy hairs was undoubtedly the Spider-Sense. But... wasn't that specific trait exclusive to Spider-Man? How on earth did it suddenly manifest across Gwen?
Moreover, Locke had specifically toggled into his Witch Locke form just moments ago to perceive Gwen's status. Yet Gwen was completely herself; he detected absolutely no sign of an extraterrestrial spider entity posing as her.
Gwen appeared somewhat bewildered. "What exactly are you referring to?"
Locke pondered briefly. "Have you ever been bitten by a spider?"
Gwen's eyes widened slightly. "How did you know? Did I mention it to you? I recall... I don't think I ever did."
Locke was thoroughly stunned himself. Well, would you look at that. She genuinely had been bitten by a spider.
But... "When exactly?"
"The very day before we departed for Long Island, during that specific instance when we shared a meal at the revolving restaurant." Gwen explained as much, drawing her right hand out from Locke's massive grip. "Look, right across the back of my hand. But it's perfectly fine now; fortunately, it didn't leave any sort of scar."
Locke massaged the back of Gwen's right hand, subsequently focusing his gaze onto the wrist area. Speaking of which, didn't the little spider generate webbing directly from the wrist?
"Can you spin them?"
"...Spin what?"
"Spin some spider silk."
"..." Gwen's trigeminal nerve throbbed intensely. "I was merely bitten by a white spider, not infected by some parasite. How on earth could I spin spider silk?"
Locke captured the crucial detail. "A white spider?"
Gwen nodded her head. "Want to see it? I actually captured a video."
Saying as much, Gwen struggled fiercely to roll over, breaking free from Locke's embrace before moving to pin Locke beneath her frame once more. Resting against Locke's chest, she retrieved her phone, accessing a video recorded prior to leaving home. "Look."
Locke focused on the video playing across the screen.
A white spider. No... to be precise, a white-and-black patterned spider. Large in size, yet appearing quite elegant as it remained completely motionless inside a glass terrarium.
"This spider..."
"Beautiful, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Beautiful." Locke looked at the smiling Gwen, nodding his head with a laugh.
Something was definitely amiss. The specific spider that bit the spiderman and granted him superpowers was supposed to be black and green. Where on earth did this white spider emerge from?
Right at that moment, the phone rang.
Gwen flipped her phone over, blanking slightly before shifting her posture to sit atop Locke. "It's a call from Dad."
She connected the call. "Dad!"
Gwen spoke into the line, "Are you all finished with your tasks?"
Over at Lake Pontchartrain.
Observing the massive crowd of police officers and medical personnel working fervently, George stepped over to a secluded side.
"It will likely require a while longer. Don't worry about me for lunch; you all go ahead and eat first."
Gwen smiled. "Dad, we actually finished eating just moments ago."
George: "..."
Fantastic. The man isn't even your husband yet, and you've already completely forgotten about me.
Don't get angry. I still have Andy.
George closed his eyes, executing several deep breaths to stabilize his emotions, before smiling.
"Very well then, just ensure you remain safe."
Gwen offered an affirmation, "Understood, Dad."
The call was cut.
Locke wrapped his arms around Gwen, smiling smoothly. "George isn't returning yet?"
Gwen shook her head. "Dad said... what are you doing?"
Locke directly secured Gwen with a single arm, utilizing his immense core strength to hoist her frame upward as though lifting a doll. "It's midday, let's catch some sleep."
Gwen: "..."