Not as we seem (closed; stalkers welcome) hero x villain, enemies to lovers

Ren, to his credit, found Olive's attempts to frustrate him funny. They'd know each other years, been best friends for long enough he couldn't remember who the bad influence had been. Her narrowed his eyes. "You're right, that does irk me, Olive Oil."
He follows her into the apartment and pours himself a cup of coffee from the full coffee pot Olive had brewed, grumbling to himself. "Used the African beans too, can't have anything nice around here…" He leans back against the counter and stares at Oliver. "Damn right I'm upset. We have a major problem. I ran into an agency member." His jaw ticked and he ran a hand through his hair, mumbling. "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, an' lea us sairly greet; For our intent we mayna see, But a' the world's in a muddle and a mess." He pulls his wallet out of his pocket in short, jerky movements, and tosses onto the couch beside Olive. "Call Fortune House and order the works. Let's get extra egg rolls too. Use my card." He taps at the side of his glasses and slides a stack of books off an armchair and onto the floor before slumping into the armchair. "Got an illusion tagging them and I want to check on it."
The glasses blur and he watches the cat as it slinks across the side of an apartment rooftop, past the man he'd seen earlier and settles in a sun soaked spot.
"Chocolate cake," a young Hispanic woman says handing a box to the man. "Woulda gotten ya a coffee too but someone clearly has wrong opinions- and taste in drinks it seems." The cat yawns and stretches out, earning Ren a better view of where the two are looking– and he holds back a groan. He taps the side of his glasses again.
"Olive, they're watching the building. We've got to plan faster."

TW: Ren explains his plan to take down world wide pedophiles.

A curse flies out of Ren's mouth as he loses himself in thought and returns to the present only to find his coffee boiling over, stinging his hand. "Shit, Olive!" He throws a towel on the spill as Olive orders the food, running his hand under cold water, nursing the burn. He leans back against the counter, putting weight on his good leg. "The key was just step one. We've got to get that AI Neurochip out of the lab.." He sighs, searching for words, and uttering what amounts to a "f#ck it" in Hebrew. He grabs his laptop from the top of a stack of books on the kitchen windowsill. He opens it, pulls up a surveillance video and spins it around to show Olive. "You see these men?"
The video shows a group of men in hoods passing around some sort of bottle. "Pedophiles. Celebrating after selling a child into trafficking." He clicks around, pulling up another video, this time from within the damn oval office. The president sits behind his desk, signing a trade policy. "PODUS. Signing a policy that's a poor excuse for a cover up of trading trafficking victims to foreign shores." He pulls up another piece of footage. Suited men flip though booklets with pictures of children's faces. "Congressmen preparing to bid at an auction on children. Children, Olive." He shifts his weight, reaching behind him to grab a small whiskey bottle and pours a bit into his refilled coffee cup before offering it to Oliver. "Our government is full of perverted men, Olive. Pedos who are barely covering a child abduction ring. And there's other world powers too. It's an evil evil world. I'm just fighting evil with evil. We get that AI from the lab, we release the biological warfare virus also contained in that lab. And we put the neurochip in every vaccine. And then we'll have it. Complete control to make the world good. No more free will; free will has done enough. Just peace and control. Imagine it, dear. A peaceful word where no child suffers again. What is the sacrifice of decision against that?"

Jas gave an audible gasp and furiously typed at his phone upon seeing Cherry's response, completely ignoring his job, at least for a moment to text his very hurt feeling.

u didn't see the death glare he gave me 😑 !
All for bumping into him!
unfortunately for him, It's my job to bother him 😉
Godspeed🫡

Jas sighed, knowing his texts would never convey the hurt he truly felt….at not being able to record Ren's reaction for eternal preservation. Jas would give his right arm to see the mix of surprise and rage-fueled defiance on the young man's face. Jas loved that look, not just from Ren but from any of his adversaries. He thrived off the satisfaction he felt when his opponent realized they'd been caught. He loved a good chase, and this was no exception. Returning his attention to his makeshift lookout, Jas peered through a set of high-tech binoculars, adjusting the range as he searched the surrounding streets of the apartment, occasionally returning to the apartment itself…only to find it eerily silent. No movements in the window or lights on…odd. He could have sworn Jas had seen Ren enter the apartment. He scowled as he searched the surrounding streets, taking in each person and looking for the ever-recognizable expression of the constantly pissed-off he knew Ren for. That was until he caught movement from across the rooftop. He slowly tilted his head, watching as a cat leisurely made their way to a sunspot and plopped down. Jas narrowed his eyes at the creature, his own feline instincts telling him something was definitely off. He jumped when Cherry appeared, "Record timing, love. " He greeted warmly, attention momentarily stolen by the box of goodies. He scooted over to make room for his partner and to gesture towards the cat. "it seems we have a friend." He waved to the cat, grinning as he carefully took a slice of chocolate cake. Jas stuck out his tongue "It's too late for coffee anyway. then I can't sleep and you know how I am running on less than 8 hours." He laughed softly, sobering slightly as his gaze slid to the cat before returning to watching the apartment.
"el gatito nos esta mirando, escuchando. Que inteligente." he commented in a low voice, his Spanish rudimentary at best per his request to learn, but he hoped it was enough to keep their conversation mostly private. He casually switched to texting on his phone, seemingly bored, enough to keep any normal cat uninterested.

"Anything on our favorite little ray of sunshine?
When I oh-so-rudely bumped into him, he dropped a key card. Some tech Lab? Outside of the city. Haven't heard of it."

(I will respond soon but my partner surprised me with a trip to the beach and I’m off beaching! I’ll get something up in the next few days)

(no worries at all! Enjoy the beach!)

Ren waved Olive off, closed the laptop and ran a hand through his curls, which were currently drooping into his face. She still didn't get it, and for this to work she had to be just as devoted as he. She had to get it. He slammed his hand down of the counter. "Damnnit, Olive. You're not getting it!" He shoved away from the counter, and began to pace, attempting to move as fast as his thoughts were. "We're not aiming for destruction, Olive. We do that, we land ourselves in Federal Prison. We're aiming for control. So it won't matter when we kill and replace them one by one. You see? The Neurochip will allow our world to remain ordered. To be retrained. We control, replace, relinquish slowly, and regain that control if we have to. This isn't a one time event, it's a social reset button." He pivoted, staring at her and heard the knock at the door. He tilted his head towards it. "That's the food."

The smell of food wafted toward Ren and he sighed, grabbed an egg roll and beef stir fry takeout container, and left the non-kosher– though truly none of this was kosher– pork for Olive. He took a generous bite of the egg roll after dipping it in some sweet and sour sauce, and sunk back into his armchair, still frustrated. "So what the f#ck do you suggest, dear? We just blow the capital building to bits and wait for the public to riot?" He took another bite, this time delicately with his chopsticks, the spicy flavor exploding on his tongue. He chewed slowly before speaking again, looking Olive dead in the eyes. "I think the greats would disagree with such a plan: 'If you want to rebel, rebel from inside the system. That's much more powerful than rebelling outside the system.'" He inclined his head to her. "Marie Lu."

Ren yelped, yanking his food away from Olive. "OY! Get your own!" He stands up, grabbing a container of noodles and another egg roll, eyeing her suspiciously. "This isn't a theoretical discussion. We need the chip. We use the chip, or they do. That's the position we're in right now. Most people just want the peace of normalcy. My mission is to protect the innocent, not rip the rug out from underneath them." He took a bite, enjoying the crunch of the water chestnuts. "I have no problem with the masses. I'm simply sick of the pervertedness that penetrates our system. I want domination, not destruction. My greats aren't the issue. Today's greats are." He wiped his mouth with the back of his shirtsleeve and sighed. "Maybe… maybe the plan needs revision. But we'll have to do so quickly…"

Ren slumps, the fight leaving his body, and he picks at his food with his chopsticks. "Because I promised her…" He leans his head back against the chair. "Look, yes, I'm an asshole. You think there's nothing in this for me? We're talking worldwide control, Olive. There's plenty in this for me. Plenty in this for you, too. But, holy shit, Olive, why do I do this? Why am I an egotistical ass? Why am I a villain? Because they deserve to pay. And I want to be the one to make them."

Ren stares Olive down, understanding her well enough to know she is thinking through every option. He sighs in relief as she assents. He cared for his friend deeply and really, really would not have liked to have had to dispose of her. She would've fought him and it would have been a mess, especially since she was one of the only people he wouldn't kill, and he would have had to of kept her which was such a waste. She was much better asset as a partner than as a pet in his apartment.
He rolls his eyes, and nods at the TV. "I need to check on the illusion." He tapped at his glasses. "I have Hulu. Gilmore girls, season 6, episode 22. Partings." He slumped back into his chair. "Finish your food and then we'll review the blue prints of the lab building. I want you to blow the lab once we get what we need out. We're going in tomorrow night. It's a Sunday night, so the lab should be deserted. No shifts on Sundays."
His eyes glazed over with a secondary tap to his glasses and he saw the rooftop materialize before him. Damn. The striking– annoying– man he'd bumped into earlier had moved to his phone. He narrowed the focus onto it and couldn't make out a thing, the stupid privacy screen was blocking his view. He pulled diagnostics though, and– ha!– found a possible pin number of the iphone itself. It was a long shot but it was possible he could use it to gain a phone number. And then he'd know his mystery stalker's identity.

Ren snorts. "Yeah. Tried and you beat my ass, which does not happen. Not eager to try again." Ren shoves off the chair and grabs his laptop, navigates through his own complicated system. He fires back a quick remark. " Yeah well it does feature my alma mater so I feel I should pay some homage." He punches in the pin: 89765. Grey iPhone 11. Owner? Jasper Lockwood. Phone number? 646-272-8987. "Got him," Ren whispers.

Ren rolled his eyes at her comment but ignored it. She'd gone quiet, and Ren knew he'd find her in a sour mood if he turned around, but he couldn't be bothered to puzzle over every moment of Olive's inner workings. Emotions weren't a currency he enjoyed dealing in. He pulled out an untraceable burner phone of his own creation, punched the number into it, and paused, staring at the screen. "He's no hero. Probably just some low level grunt over at the agency. I'm about to find out." This is it, he thought. I make this call, there's no going back. It would leave a trace connecting the burner to this Jasper guy's phone. He'd designed the system specifically to slip through the agency's defenses. He just needed the call to last 15 seconds. He speaks slowly and clearly, his heart pounding. "Olive, I need you to make zero noise. I'm tracing his phone through a call." He pressed the call button and listened for the agency guy–Jasper– to pick up.

(I am so sorry for not answering sooner! for now I'm gonna stay here since the discord hasn't been set up but lmk when that changes, would be happy to move over there!)

Jas hummed softly as he waited out on the rooftop, keeping one eye on the cat beside him and the other on the apartment. Whether the cat was or wasn't real (Jasper would bet half his life savings it wasn't) he was fairly certain Cherry and he could get out of there faster than their adversaries would find them. He grinned, sharp little fangs showing as he stared down the not-real cat. He wasn't sure if he should be impressed or personally insulted. "A cat of all creatures? Really?" He shook his head, glancing down at his phone as it started ringing, an unknown number on its display. He narrowed his eyes, knowing it wasn't any of his colleagues. They all knew not to call him when he was on a mission for safety. He didn't have spam calls either. The few friends he did have wouldn't call him first…so that left…he clicked accept and pressed the phone to his ear. "Talk to me, darling. I've been dying to hear your voice for the past hour." He greeted sweetly. At the very least, if his phone was being tracked, Ren would have to explain why suddenly he had an enemy lover rather than a famed hero tracking him, and Jas found that infinitely more entertaining. "Desperate enough for my attention to get my phone number? How cute. You could have just asked~" Jas sang, holding his phone with his shoulder while he used binoculars to look at the surrounding streets, making sure Ren or his partner hadn't left the apartment.