"Alexander, Marcus—you two can come in now. William's treatment is finished..."
After waiting a moment—just long enough to make it look like he had put in some real effort—Mike called the two men waiting outside the living room to come in.
"Dad! Big Brother!"
Seeing his family while in his normal human form, William was overcome with emotion.
As Alexander and Marcus stepped through the doorway, the first thing they saw was Mike—who was using a handkerchief to feign wiping away sweat—before they were swept into a tight embrace by a man with strong, rugged features.
"William, you're cured!"
"Yes, I can control the wildness inside me now..."
"That's wonderful..."
...
The family of three, reunited after so many years apart, had so much to say to one another.
Ultimately, they embraced, moved to tears of joy.
Off to the side, Mike—having successfully played the part of the benevolent benefactor—waited for their emotions to settle a bit before putting away his handkerchief and taking his leave: "I won't intrude on your family reunion any longer. I'll come visit again in a couple of days, once you've had some time together." Afterward, amidst the grateful looks from Alexander and Marcus, Mike opened a portal and headed to Tina's place.
As for the situation at Tina's home: with Christmas approaching, school was out for winter break, and the Kingdom Tower—Mike's project near Wall Street—was not yet completed.
Consequently, Collins (who was on break) and the young women who worked at the Kingdom Group—such as Jessie and Carly—were all staying there for the time being.
This made the small villa, usually occupied only by Tina and her younger siblings, feel exceptionally lively during this period.
Mike's sudden arrival came as a pleasant surprise to the women.
After being warmly welcomed and resting for the night, Mike went to inspect the construction progress of the Kingdom Tower.
Compared to his last visit, the tower was really taking shape; based on the schedule, Mike expected to move into his private skyscraper by March or April of the following year.
He then offered some words of encouragement to Charlie, the project's chief engineer, and authorized a payment for construction costs before heading to the MIB headquarters by car.
There, Mike met with the members of his special department, including Cross, Wesley, and the Van father-and-son duo.
These individuals formed the core of Mike's original team within the MIB organization.
"I've been promoted to department head within the organization, with full authority over special incidents involving entities like vampires and werewolves," Mike said with a smile in the spacious, well-lit conference room. "Given your performance over the past year, I plan to promote you all as well..."
Previously, Mike had only been an agent in the special department, so veteran subordinates like John and Cross were technically considered only "off-roster" members of the MIB organization.
Now that Mike had been promoted, there was no reason not to secure better benefits for his team.
After all, within the MIB organization, there was a significant gap in benefits and authority between off-roster personnel and official agents.
"First off—Needy, John, Cross, Wesley, and Van—from now on, you're all official special department agents with your own code names." "As for the division of duties, Nidhi will continue to handle the department's intelligence work. The others will pair up to monitor the werewolves and vampires in Apple City and Washington State..." Mike detailed the assignments for his agents.
The setup was similar to how other agents in the organization monitored the alien districts.
As for Constantine and the Winchester brothers—who hadn't made it to the scene—Mike called to check on their status and then instructed them to continue handling the special cases currently on their plates.
Ever since Satan suffered a humiliating setback in Washington State not long ago, the number of bizarre incidents across various U.S. states had spiked.
It certainly looked as though Satan was deliberately trying to make trouble for Mike.
However, with the Twelve Guardian Angels and God keeping a close watch from above, the demons Satan sent to wreak havoc on Earth weren't particularly powerful.
This situation actually played right into the hands of Constantine and the Winchester brothers, giving them plenty of opportunities to show what they could do.
"Eric, do you plan to stay in Apple City and team up with Van and the others to manage the special facility here, or would you rather head to Washington State to team up with Agent John and handle the vampires and werewolves there?" After sorting out the assignments for most of his agents, Mike turned his attention to the silent Blade.
Blade, too, had now become one of Mike's subordinates.
"I have no interest in vampires and werewolves that have already been tamed. I want to keep hunting down the ones lurking in the shadows—the ones ready to cause trouble at any moment." Blade, who kept his sunglasses on even while indoors, paused to think before speaking in his cool, detached manner.
After spending over a year taking some time away, Blade had gained a deeper understanding of the vampire and werewolf communities—learning both the good and the bad about them.
However, the deep-seated prejudices he harbored against vampires weren't easily shaken, and now he had to contend with the werewolf population as well.
"Fair enough. You're an agent, after all, and you have the authority to assemble your own team. From now on, your team will be responsible for handling the rogue vampires and werewolves in Apple City..." Mike approved of Blade's idea and assigned him the new mission.
Given Blade's personality, leaving him idle really wasn't a good idea.
Since that was the case, it made more sense to let him continue operating as a lone wolf.
"Alright, that covers the situation. If you have any questions or run into trouble you can't handle, remember to call me anytime." After outlining the arrangements for the special division, Mike declared the meeting over.
Afterward, Mike greeted Agent O and Agent Z—who had remained at headquarters—before getting into the car driven by the stoic Nidi and leaving the MIB headquarters with Tina.
"How is the corporation doing right now?" More than half an hour later, Mike arrived at the Kingdom Corporation offices in the Wall Street building.
"The Group's current phase of expansion has concluded, and profitability is steadily rising..." With Christmas approaching, Chris—who remained steadfast at his post—presented the annual business report.
In accordance with Mike's directives, the Group's operations had expanded into the daily lives of ordinary citizens—covering everything from clothing and food to housing and transportation—following its recent growth spurt.
For a behemoth like the Kingdom Group, with assets nearing the hundred-billion mark, generating profit was no longer the primary objective for the next stage.
Building corporate culture and further enhancing the Group's public profile were the priorities moving forward.
Under these circumstances, maintaining steady profitability was already a commendable achievement.
As for holding onto what they had built, Mike—backed by the MIB organization—had no fear of others coveting their success.
"You've done an excellent job..." Mike briefly reviewed the report, acknowledged Chris's efforts, and then added, "It's the end of the year; you and the rest of the staff deserve a break."
"Let's do this: everyone gets a two-week holiday around Christmas, plus an extra month's salary. Let everyone get some proper rest..."
The Kingdom Group had performed exceptionally well over the past year, making it essential to share some of those benefits with the employees.
As for the Group's future planning, that could wait until the new year.
"I have no objection to the extra month's pay, but isn't a two-week holiday a bit too long?" Chris, who was entirely devoted to his work, seemed to have a different opinion.
On an emotional level, he had likely come to view the company as his own home.
"Listen to me—you haven't been back to see your family in a long time. Take this Christmas to go home and reconnect with your family and old friends; it will do you good." Mike patted Chris on the shoulder.
Work is work, and life is life.
Mike didn't want Chris—who was already well-off—to live a life of unnecessary frugality.
Besides, even a machine needs to stop for maintenance after running for a long time; otherwise, it's prone to all sorts of malfunctions.
...
"Mike, congratulations on becoming a department head at the MIB organization..."
Mike had returned to Tina's villa and was preparing to take the girls to Genovia to celebrate Christmas and enjoy a vacation when he unexpectedly received a call from MJ.
"Just get to the point; given our relationship, there's no need for such flattery." Mike smiled as he listened to the repetitive congratulatory remarks on the other end of the line.
Knowing MJ's personality, he wouldn't call just to make small talk unless there was a specific reason.
"Well, it's like this..." MJ cleared his throat on the line and spoke earnestly: "Now that you've become a department head, I was wondering... could you appoint me as an agent?"
Ever since his first encounter with the MIB organization, MJ had dreamed of becoming an agent and doing his part to maintain world peace.
Upon hearing about Mike's promotion, he felt this was the perfect opportunity to finally become an agent himself.
"Becoming a designated agent isn't easy, so what special skills do you have?" Mike asked, sounding like an interviewer.
"Special skills?" MJ paused for a moment; being good at singing and dancing wouldn't exactly qualify someone to be a MIB agent.
Finally, he identified a strength: "Does gathering information count? My status as a celebrity allows me to go anywhere I want; I could gather sensitive intelligence for the organization under the guise of work..."