part0040

Keeping low in the shadow of the building, I listened carefully. Genesis had sent me out on an assignment in Quadrant Four to snag a few documents from some business tycoon deeply involved with Zarda. The building was said to be heavily guarded, but as I listened, I wasn’t so sure about that.

I decided to take a peek, only to find the grounds empty. There wasn’t even a heartbeat reading on my modified sunglasses. Strange… For such a wealthy woman with connections, I couldn’t understand why there weren’t any security guards or soldiers, either patrolling or just hanging around pretending to do some important job. I knew better than to trust this situation, but I had to do this assignment, so I slunk around until I found a window leading to a dark room on the first floor to pry open.

Once I was inside, I listened only to find the place as silent as outside. I proceeded cautiously and found every room I entered to be as dark and empty as the last room. I stopped abruptly when I caught sight of a security camera and pressed against the wall, out of view. The camera had been strategically placed in the foyer leading up to the next floor. There wouldn’t be a way to get around it without disabling it, and even though it may alert some sort of security system, I had to take the chance.

Quietly rummaging through my supply pouch, I pulled out a special finger gun and a supply of darts. Removing a dart from the container that carried them all, I pressed a button on the side of it and then loaded it into the gun before peeking around the corner and aiming for the camera. The recording light stopped blinking when I fired the dart and it landed in the wiring, but I didn’t move. I waited to make sure the light didn’t come back on. Some cameras were equipped with a backup power source because of this type of disabling technique.

When the light didn’t come back on after several minutes of waiting, I moved on and up the stairs to my target room. I took a left at the top and kept my ears peeled for any sounds as I looked for the room. I ducked into a dark doorway quickly when I heard something, but then ventured on when nothing happened.

I was cautious when I finally made it to the room I needed to be in. This room was also dark, save from the light filtering in through the window from the crescent moon, showing just enough to identify the room as a study. It was also quiet, but that didn’t mean it was safe. I’m no amateur.

Careful to not disturb much in order to keep my presence a secret, I looked around for the documents Genesis and the Council wanted, but I kept getting distracted by various priceless objects that seemed out of place in this room. Rings, necklaces—all expensive looking and very shiny. Focus, Eira. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by such trivial things, but as I filed through documents that looked to be of importance, I couldn’t stop glancing at the jewelry.

One necklace in particular caught my eye, even though it wasn’t something I’d wear. In the end, I picked the necklace up, but caught myself and set it back down immediately. You dealt with this childish habit before—focus! I really wasn’t sure what was up with me. I hadn’t been so easily distracted by such things in a long time. Why now?

I groaned inwardly when I touched the necklace again and decided to stow it in a pouch. Might as well get something out of this… I continued searching and found the papers I was looking for, along with some other pieces of jewelry, including a large diamond ring I was sure I could pawn off for a good sum of money.

Just when I thought I had finally accomplished my assignment, I stopped moving and listened. Something in the air didn’t feel right. As if… as if I wasn’t alone anymore.

I narrowly dodged the claws that sliced through the air near my head I retreated to the far end of the room and eyed the two men nearby. With deformed ears and noses, fangs, and talon-like hands, neither man was exactly pleasing to look at. Hunters.

One snickered. “Look at what we have here. A little mouse?”

“More like a fox,” the other said. “I knew I caught a strange female scent here. Our mistress will be pleased we stopped this one.”

Great. It would figure this business woman would use Hunters to guard her estate. They were almost as stealthy as well-trained assassins, and if an intruder got away, they’d just be tracked down and dealt with anyway. It made sense now that intel warned us about the security, and it made sense that I had been picked to do this job. I may not like killing, but I had no quarrel killing Hunters. I never had the greatest… past with them.

“This one is rather cute,” the first Hunter said. “I’m going to enjoy killing her.”

The other Hunter glared at his companion. “Oh no you’re not. You got the last one. I’m killing her and giving her to the mistress.”

I rolled my eyes as the two squabbled. Typical Hunter behavior. It was why it was never recommended to have any of them work together. Neither wanted to share a reward or take turns with receiving one. This drawback had become my benefit.

Taking advantage of their complacent states, I drew a dagger and attacked. The Hunter closest to me was too slow to dodge the attack and choked as my dagger plunged into his chest. He attempted to attack me with his claws, but I was quicker and withdrew my blade from him as I evaded his counter. I then plunged the dagger into his back. He fell to the ground with a thud, and I removed my dagger from his body as I focused on the other Hunter.

He was already coming at me, trying to catch me off-guard, but I was far too experienced for him. I ducked under his arm and sliced my dagger through his throat—blood splattering everywhere. The smell of his sweet blood enticed my senses, but I ignored it. I couldn’t allow myself to be consumed by that side of me.

Although bleeding out profusely, this Hunter wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He held his neck and sliced his talons at me. I stayed light on my feet and out of reach as I danced around him, looking for an opening. There. I went for his exposed side and sliced into his body. Quickly removing the blade, I sliced his arm as he whipped around to defend himself. Looking him in the eye, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. He was bleeding at a rapid pace, and yet was showing no signs of going down. I suspected he had enhanced pain suppression or had a rare ability of rapid blood replenishment. It didn’t matter, though. I needed to take him down and get out of there. For all I knew, more would be coming, bringing up another issue I’d have to address after this.

Drawing another dagger, I launched a furious attack on the hunter who struggled to keep up. I sliced into his body over and over and slowly wore him down until the Hunter was on the ground and unable to get back up. He was still alive and struggling, but he wasn’t a threat—not at the moment, at least.

I looked around as I thought of a plan to cover my tracks. If this woman had two hunters, she either had more or could at least get more; especially if it was found out I had taken important information. Grabbing any papers I could, I crinkled them up and placed them strategically around the room. I then moved around the house and did the same.

Once I was sure there was enough, I breathed a small flame into my hand and tossed the fire about, lighting drapes and the wads of paper. Moving quickly through the house, I set more paper and cloth-like material ablaze until I made it back into the study. I only briefly looked around before igniting this room as well.

The living Hunter breathed heavily on the floor and glared at me—his neck wound preventing him from speaking. I grinned at him and then jumped out the window. Rolling on my landing to absorb the impact better, I took off for the back of the yard. I hoped the burning smell would mask the scent trail I left from entering and exiting the home, but to be sure, I ran through the city at a fast pace to hopefully throw off any would-be followers later that night.

I slipped into my room through the window and tossed my spoils onto the bed. I’ll put them away later. My first order of business was to wash up. No one paid me much mind when I entered the living room. Raikidan stared from where he sat on the couch, but I ignored him. I was sure he was noticing the blood on my clothes, but he would have to learn that this was what I was designed to do, whether I liked it or not.

Entering the bathroom, I turned on the faucet and did my best to wash up. My skin was easy enough to clean, thanks to a special soap we had for such times, but my clothes proved to be more difficult. My belt and boots cleaned up okay, but nothing worked on my denim jacket or low-rise jeans, and my white midriff-cut tank top now had large pink splotches as if it had gone through the wash with some red clothes and bleach.

I was a bit irritated by this. I liked this set of clothes, and I knew I should have prepared for a worst-case scenario similar to what had transpired, but it didn’t make me feel any better knowing I might have to throw them out because of the stains.

With a sigh, I gave up and put on the armor clothes I’d grabbed before my shower. I headed for my room to hide my new jewelry, but just as I reached the doorway of my room, a door flew open down the hall, and tiny feet stomped into the living room. “Eira, are you ready for another assignment?”

I looked back at Genesis. “I’m always ready.”

“Good, because I need all of you on top of your game.” She was in a foul mood, which told us this was a big deal. “Team Four had been assigned a simple mission, but, come to find out, it wasn’t as simple as it had been first thought to be, and now they’ve come under some heavy artillery.”

“Where is this happening?” Argus asked.

“Sector Three, on the line of Sector Four.”

“All right, everyone get ready,” I instructed.

“She hasn’t given us any other information,” Raikidan said.

“She doesn’t need to. We know the location, what team needs to be helped, and that there will be enemy fire. Those three pieces are all we need. Moles assigned to fight against us won’t shoot us, just in our general direction, and are aware they’re not going to be given similar treatment from us due to various reasons.”

Raikidan grunted. “If you say so.”

Ryoko jumped to her feet. “Guess I’ll go change.”

Rylan, Argus, and Blaze looked at each other. “As will we.”

I sat down on the back of the couch to wait, since there was no need for me to change. I glanced over at Raikidan when I realized he had yet to move. “Aren’t you going to change?”

“Why would I need to?” he asked.

“Same reason we change our appearances for undercover work. So we’re less likely to be identified.”

“Okay, that makes sense, but I don’t know what to wear.”

Right. I had gotten into the habit of picking everything out for him. I looked him over. What he was wearing would do fine for the most part. “Add a vest to wear over your tank top, fingerless gloves for your hands, and boots on those bare feet of yours, and you should be good.”

“What about my face? You have those weird things on your head.”

“They’re sunglasses, and you’ll get a pair as well. Since we’ll be in close proximity, we won’t need the communicators, so we’ll use these special glasses. They work like the communicators except for the communication part.”

As I expected, he was wearing the armor cloth already, and it changed at his will. He seemed to like the armor more than normal clothes, although I wasn’t sure if it was due to their convenience or because it felt different than regular clothes.

When he had the clothes I instructed him to have, he looked at me. I nodded in approval as I looked him over. The cover of darkness would also aid in his disguise.

Ryoko came out of her room with a smile. She had pulled her hair back into a loose pony-tail and had added a blue plaid zip-up jacket over her top and shorts. She also wore what looked to be fingerless gloves that cut off mid-forearm and were strapped at the top with three belts, but I knew better. Argus had worked on that glove design. It would cushion the impact of her close combat blows for her only, improving her chances to maintain her stamina in a dragged-out fight.

Tied to her back was a holstered wrench almost the size of her. To most, that would be odd to look at, but there was a reason. The wrench was actually a siege weapon Argus crafted for her. He chose the shape design for kicks, and made the joke that our living siege weapon needed to carry a siege weapon of her own.

Argus, Rylan, and Blaze came into the living room soon after. They all had chosen a similar look to Raikidan’s, only Blaze had chosen a sleeved jacket and Rylan had chosen to go with a T-shirt and trench coat.

Ryoko headed for the basement door. “Laz, choice of weapon?”

“Pistol and finger gun.”

“Close range combat?” She laughed. “Daring tonight, aren’t we? You, Raikidan?”

“Carbine, I suppose.”

She nodded and dashed down the stairs. Rylan followed to give her a hand. While they were gone, I made my way to my room and grabbed the rest of my daggers since I had made the risky choice of only taking one with me on my prior assignment. I made sure I had my special one strapped to my arm. I was going to need it. By the time I came back out, Rylan and Ryoko were back.

Ryoko tossed me a pistol and finger gun, which I caught with ease and strapped to my thigh and hand. I then watched Raikidan carefully as he loaded his carbine. It had been a while since he had done so, so I wanted to make sure he’d be all set.

Ryoko tossed a small pouch to me. I opened it and nodded when I noted the contents. Inside were an extra clip of rounds for my pistol and finger gun, and several magazines for Raikidan’s carbine. Even though I wasn’t planning on running out of ammunition, Raikidan more likely would, and there would be only so much he could carry.

Strapping the pouch to my belt, I looked up as Seda approached with sunglasses in her hands. Using her psychic power, she handed them off to everyone but me. “Be careful. It is not the numbers of the opposing army that is hindering the other team. It is the choice of firepower. The last report indicated the military had two tanks at their disposal, and the other team is running low on ammunition. It would be wise for someone to carry extra to hand off to a few of them.”

“I’ll do it,” Argus offered. “I’ll grab a pack full of what I can find and toss it off as we get there.”

Seda nodded. “Very well. Others of our team will join in, so you will not be the only reinforcements.”

I looked to the others. “Our main priority is disabling those tanks. If we do that, our chances for success increase exponentially.”

“I will be watching and helping where I can,” Seda said.

“Thank you. Let’s move out.”

I led the way to the roof, and the others quietly followed. We waited for Argus to join us, and once he did, we took off on the rooftops to the battlefield.

We knew we were getting close when we came to a point where the buildings were too demolished to continue by rooftop. The air was thick with the smell of fire, gas, and gunfire. We could hear the gunfire in the distance, and as we progressed at a rapid pace, it grew louder rather quickly.

“I see something,” Rylan called out. “Ryoko, mind giving me a small lift to the top of one of those broken buildings?”

She nodded. “Sure thing.”

Rylan made sure his rifle was secure on his back and he jumped into the air near Ryoko. Ryoko put her hands together, and as his feet landed into them, she launched him into the air. Rylan landed safely on one of the buildings and looked for a good spot to hunker down.

“I see a tank,” I said. “Ryoko, I want you to focus your attention only on disabling those. I’ll watch your back.”

Ryoko grinned and her skin hardened. “I like the sound of that.”

“Blaze, Argus, I want you to get that extra ammo to the other team. Then you can take out what you wish.”

“Right,” they agreed.

“Raikidan, watch our backs.”

“Everyone has their assignments. Let’s go.”

Ryoko and I picked up our pace. I drew my dagger and willed it into a kusarigama, spinning the blade and chain to the side of me in anticipation.

Ryoko pulled out her large wrench and threw it like a boomerang. “Heads up!”

Several members of the other team looked back at her call and ducked down in time as it flew past them. The wrench swung into the barrel of the tank, denting it severely, and clattered to the ground. The two of us ran past our confused allies and focused on the tank.

I swung my kusarigama out at every enemy I could as Ryoko rushed the tank and slid underneath it. The creaking of metal sounded, and soon enough, the tank slowly lifted into the air. The soldiers inside scrambled out in fear. Ryoko grunted with her effort, and she raised it as high as she could. She turned until she found the other tank.

Raikidan’s carbine fired several times, and I watched a small group of soldiers around Ryoko fall to the ground. I was thankful Raikidan had our backs. My current weapon wasn’t doing as well for me as I had hoped, so I chose to go for a closer and more preferred range of combat choice. I willed my weapon into my favored reverse blade dagger and split it into two weapons.

Bullets bounced off my armor as enemy soldiers attempted to take me out during my moment of weakness. I faced them and they backed up, their eyes wide with fear. With extreme speed, I closed the distance between us and sliced through their flimsy armor and into their flesh. They screamed in agony and fell to the ground.

Ryoko heaved with all her might and tossed the tank into the other. Soldiers from the undamaged tank scrambled out just before the two tanks collided. The tanks exploded on impact, creating a wave of shrapnel and fire. I braced myself for a direct impact, but none came. Ryoko had jumped in front of me and took the full blow. I placed my hand on her shoulder, and she looked at me with a smile. She was tired from throwing that tank, I could tell, but she wasn’t out of this fight just yet.

“Raikidan is out of ammunition,” Seda informed me.

Quickly unzipping the pouch, I tossed three magazines to him. “Raikidan, catch!”

He caught them and reloaded his gun. A loud boom echoed through the street, and Ryoko and I barely managed to jump away from another tank’s fire. I glanced at Ryoko, who nodded. Returning my weapon to its compact dagger size, I let the fire burn in my throat. I pulled it into my hands and ran at the tank. The tank fired at me, but I was too quick and dodged the attack. Jumping up onto the tank, I ran up the barrel and forced a wave of fire down inside. Ryoko peeled open a section of metal near the gas tank, and the two of us widened the distance between us and the tank. As we ran, I turned back and unleashed a ball of fire into the open hole.

I was forced to the ground as the tank exploded, but it wasn’t the wall of energy that did it. I could feel Ryoko next to me, meaning it wasn’t her who had knocked me down, so I looked up. “Raikidan?”

He chuckled as he laid over us protectively. “You should be more careful.”

“But you wouldn’t come to our rescue if that were the case,” Ryoko toyed.

He chuckled again and allowed us to jump to our feet. I looked around quickly, assessing the situation. The soldiers were now starting to fall back. The loss of their three tanks had damaged their morale severely, along with the armed fighting force Argus and Blaze helped rebuild.

Raikidan exhaled a stream of smoke. “Let’s show them what we’re made of.”

I grinned. At least he was just as into this as we were. Ryoko rushed off alone into a crowd of soldiers, unleashing a wave onto them from her rail gun. Thankful I had a small ember still burning on my fingertips, I forced it to burn into a large flame and unleashed it on the opposing army. Raikidan spewed fire from his mouth, and together, we pushed back a portion of the army. Once that task had been done, we separated as I went to give Ryoko a hand. She looked at me gratefully as I pushed back the force with more fire.

I turned back to see Raikidan taking on more than he could chew. He wasn’t able to put out enough fire to quell the mass. I watched one soldier aim for Raikidan’s head, but before I could move, the soldier fell to the ground with a large bullet hole between his eyes. I sent a silent prayer of thanks to Satria for Rylan’s aim.

I unleashed a wall of fire and encircled it around Raikidan as a protective barrier. It was a thick fire, so as long as he stayed within it, he would be safe from basic firearms. Raikidan looked at me, but I turned away before I could see his expression. Instead, I unleashed balls of fire onto the enemy and forced them back further. Argus and Blaze came up behind me and gave me a hand.

“Fall back!” a general yelled. “Fall back!”

What was left of the army listened to the general’s command, and it wasn’t long before the street was abandoned. The team we had helped grouped up and assessed the damage to their members. Our teammates who’d flooded in to aid them grouped up as well. Ryoko and Raikidan maneuvered their way through the rubble over to me as I gazed around and studied the damage.

Both civilian and military buildings were reduced to rubble. Bodies were strewn everywhere, and the ground was littered with blood. As I looked, I couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched, but the thick scent of blood masked any indication of someone still lingering.

I greeted Rylan with a nod as he picked his way over to us. He rested the stock of his rifle on the ground and checked everyone’s condition.

“Eira.” I looked over as a tall man with dark skin and dark eyes made his way over to us.

I nodded in greeting. “Ven.”

“Thanks for the help.” He looked back at his team. “You came just in time.”

“What’s the damage to your team?”

“We lost two when they brought the tanks in. The rest have mostly minor injuries, with just a few severe ones,” he assessed. “Not as bad as it could have been, though.”

“You should have abandoned the mission. It could have been avoided.”

“I don’t run, Eira.”

“There is no shame in it. It allows you to fall back, regroup, re-strategize, and go back for more without major losses.”

Ven snorted but didn’t voice an argument. He was a stubborn man and was stuck in his ways. He wouldn’t look like a coward in the least. Ven pulled out his gun and aimed when he heard movement behind a broken wall of a building. I chuckled and forced the gun down. His brow furrowed. “There’s something over there.”

“I know.” While we had been talking, I had caught the scent I had been searching for. “Ryder, come on out.”

A young boy, no older than ten, poked his head out from behind the broken wall. He had crew-cut white-blue hair and dual-colored eyes, the left being green with a golden ring around the pupil and the right being a bright blue with a silver ring around the pupil. A smile was plastered on his face as he ran over to us, unfazed by the devastation around him. I knelt down and embraced him in a hug.

“You’re back!” he exclaimed.

I smiled. “I’m back.”

He buried his face into my neck. “I knew Ryoko was wrong. I knew you’d come back. You always keep your promise.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, Ryoko was wrong. I would never dream of breaking my promise to you.”

He pulled away and held up his pinkie. “Swear by it?”

I smiled and grasped his pinkie with mine. “Swear.”

A wide grin spread across his face and he hugged me again. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Ryder,” I mumbled. “There wasn’t a day I didn’t think about you.”

“I’m glad.” He looked at my arm where my preferred dagger was sheathed. “You still have the dagger I made you!”

I chuckled. “Of course, I do. I rarely go anywhere without it.”

“That makes me happy.”

I smiled more. I was glad he was okay. I was glad I had made the right choice. “You’ve been good, right?”

He pulled away and looked at the ground.

“They’ve been telling me to fight…”

I sighed. “You haven’t been listening.”

He shook his head. “I don’t like fighting.”

I placed my hand on his head and rubbed it. “I know. You like to build stuff, but you can’t just go around disobeying orders.”

I frowned. “Yes, and it got me into the situation I don’t want you in. You need to start listening. I can’t protect you all the time anymore. If something happens, I can’t guarantee I can save you, and I don’t want that. Do you understand?”

He nodded slowly. “Yes.”

I lifted his chin and smiled at him. “I’m glad you’re okay, though. That’s all I can ask for.”

He grinned. “I’m glad you’re okay, too. When can I come live with you again? Can’t I just come with you now?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. It’s not safe for you to come with us.”

“But it’s not safe for me here, either.”

I chuckled. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it’s safer for you to stay where you are. As long as you do what they say, you’ll do fine. You’re too young for them to expect much from anyway.”

Ryder frowned. “Okay, if you say so.”

I patted his head. “It’ll be over soon, all right? Then it’ll be like I promised.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Okay! That’s a promise, so you can’t break it.”

I laughed. “Right.” I looked up as a young woman approached us. She carried a handful of dog tags in her hands. I furrowed my brow. “What are those for?”

“If he’s going to have an excuse to give for not retreating with the others, then he’d best have a good one,” she said.

I nodded. Smart. He would be seen highly in the eyes of the other soldiers for such an honorable deed, and it would give him the correct excuse. It might even help him win points with the higher-ranking officers. If he was lucky, they would more than likely keep him out of battle.

The woman handed the tags over to me, and in turn, I handed them to Ryder. “Take these back with you. You’ll be less likely to get into trouble. Also tell them we hung around for quite a bit of time, preventing you from going anywhere. Got it?”

He nodded. “Got it. This means I have to go now, doesn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

He sighed unhappily. “All right. When will I be able to see you again?”

My eyes softened, and my chest tightened. “I’m not sure. I’ll try my best to do it soon, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay! But if not, I’ll understand. Jaybird says it’s really hard to get information back and forth without being caught. I guess it would be the same when it came to seeing you.”

I nodded. “Yes, but I promise I will try.”

He smiled and gave me one last hug before running off. I stood up and watched him go, my heart heavy. A lot had happened these past few weeks. This win from a perceived loss would improve the rebellion’s morale, but we still had much to do. Raikidan’s help had been invaluable, and while I loathed to admit it, my mistake that landed me in his path proved to be the key we needed. I just hoped he’d continue to be useful and that I’d not made a mistake by placing my trust in him. Maybe soon, Ryder and I can have the life I always promised him. My gaze faltered. As long as this path doesn’t lead me to the fate I’ve tried to change.