A small, remote, lush, island rests in the Pacific Ocean. There is an urban city at the bottom of the island, featuring only a couple skyscrapers and a beach, alongside other smaller buildings littered throughout the city. In the city is a statue depicting someone meditating, with some kind of glow coming from their hands. A tour guide leads a tour over to the statue.
“Here is the famous statue titled Magic’s Beginning.” The tour guide states, “It is an adaptation of cave art found where the Narsian Tribe is believed to have lived.” She continues, the crowd murmurs and multiple tourists snap photos of the statue.
Above the city is a private jet soaring through the sky, heading toward an airport at the edge of the city. Inside the jet is a woman wearing formal clothing sitting in one of the seats. A couple of seats are filled by men and women wearing sunglasses and tuxedos. The jet lowers altitude as it gets closer to the airport. The aircraft lands on the airport runway soon enough and slows down. The jet, now on wheels, rolls over toward the airport. Once close enough, the jet comes to a complete stop. One of the men in tuxedos turns over to the formally-dressed woman.
“We’re here, Agent Monroe.” He states, getting out of his seat.
“Good, let’s get this over with.” Agent Monroe responds, getting out of her seat. The rest of the people stand up, as well. A man walks over to the jet’s door and pushes a button near it, lowering the door and turning it into a staircase. Agent Monroe steps out of the plane, escorted by the people in tuxedos. Near the jet is a limousine with tinted windows and a driver wearing a tuxedo waiting with one of the doors open. Agent Monroe and her escort get into the back of the limo while the driver gets in the driver's seat. The driver starts to drive the limo out of the airport. The limo approaches a security station with a guard sitting in a chair inside. There are gates on the roads that lead out of the airport that block the limo's progress. The guard, seeing that the limo was able to get into the airport’s runway, pushes a button that opens one of the gates. The limo drives through the road, exiting the runway. The driver waves to the security guard on the way out, as a friendly gesture. The limo drives through the city toward a government building on the east side of the city.
Eventually, the limo arrives at the government building, resembling Greek architecture. The limo pulls over near the building. The bodyguards in the limo exit first, before Agent Monroe. The guards look around for any suspicious figures or objects.
“We’re clear.” one of the guards state to Agent Monroe after seeing no suspicious activity. Agent Monroe puts on her own pair of sunglasses before getting out of the limo, a guard closes the door behind Monroe. Monroe and the guards walk toward the government building. They walk up a flight of stairs that leads up to the entrance. In front of the entrance are a couple of guards, standing as still as statues. A man in a three-piece opens the front doors and walks out of the building.
“Welcome, Governor Betrug.” The man greets, calling Agent Monroe by the wrong name. Near the man’s shoulder is a name tag that reads ‘Addaman.’
“Thank you.” Monroe replies, putting on a deeper, more formal, voice.
“Follow me,” Addaman states, “I’ll escort you to The Promise Keeper.” He gestures to the inside of the building.
“That would be great.” Monroe finishes. Addaman turns around and walks back into the building, Monroe and her guards follow. Inside the building is marble architecture with pillars supporting the building. Addaman walks around the corner and down a hallway, the others follow. Monroe looks around the hallway, noticing the paintings that line the walls. The illustrations seem to depict the same, or similar, figures. “Are these paintings of the Narsian Tribe?” Agent Monroe asks Addaman.
“Indeed, they are.” he responds, “Granted, the tribe didn’t paint these. They are simply what we believe their civilization looked like.”
“Interesting.” Monroe concludes. They approach the end of the hallway where there are stairs that go up toward another hallway. The group climb up the stairs and continue down the other hallway.
“The Promise Keeper’s office is right up ahead.” Addaman states as they approach a smooth wooden door with a metal bar as a handle. There is a plate by the door that reads ‘Adam Martindale - The Promise Keeper.’ Addaman, Monroe, and the guards stop when they reach the door. “Here we are.” Addaman gestures to the door and starts to walk away.
“Thank you for escorting us.” Monroe thanks, still using a fake voice. Monroe opens the door to the office. Inside the office is a classical wooden desk near the back of the room. In the center is an oval carpet with a muted red and yellow pattern. Sitting at the desk is an elderly man with slicked back gray hair. He wears a striped button down shirt with a vest and a tie. He also wears dress pants and shoes. He rests his shoulders on the desk with his hands together. Behind the man is a portrait of four people, one of the people is the man at the desk, there are two other men and one woman present. Around the sides of the portrait are two windows. In the two back corners of the room are two Narsian soldiers standing guard. The man looks up at Agent Monroe.
“Greetings,” the man introduces, “you must be Governor Betrug.”
“I am.” Monroe responds, walking into the office. Four of her guards enter with her while the other two guard the door. “You must be Adam Martindale.”
“Most call me The Promise Keeper. But, yes, that is my government name.” Adam states, standing up from his chair. One of Monroe’s guards closes the office door. “So, what brings a United States Governor here to Narsia?”
“Because I have questions about your actions, as of late.” Monroe answers, sounding a bit more aggressive.
“What actions would those be, exactly?” Adam sounds smug, contrasting with Monroe’s agitation.
“Let us start with the obvious, shall we?” Monroe continues, “Why does a religion, borderline cult, slither their way into the United Nations?”
“Simple, we believe that our motives and goals should be known around the globe.” Adam retaliates, “And I’m not the biggest fan of your word choice.”
“And you believe building a nation is the best way to achieve it?” Monroe asks, ignoring Adam’s comment.
“Is there a problem with that, Governor?”
“Not on the surface, but if you take into account that a captain of the Narsian Navy, and Narsian troops, were found on a boat transporting stolen intel on a cancelled project between the United States and Narsia, then it feels a bit more suspicious.” The agent retorts.
“There is no proof of that.” Adam chuckles.
“Actually, there is a tiny bit of proof in the form of the International Security and Protection Foundation getting involved. Not only did they infiltrate your seacraft to delete the stolen intel, one of them was injured by one of your soldiers using the Bailys.” Monroe argues.
“You said the files were deleted, so how do you know that’s what we even had? Maybe that soldier was acting in defense, as was agreed upon in our treaty.” Adam seems to believe that he has the upperhand.
“Tell it to the judge.” Monroe responds, “I have what I need.” Suddenly, Monroe and her guards draw pistols at Adam. The Narsian Soldiers by the windows draw their weapons on Monroe and her guards. To Adam’s surprise, S.W.A.T. officers burst through the door to the office, the guards waiting at the door joining them.
“What is this!?” Adam's smug voice has become furious as he realizes that this wasn’t the meeting he thought it was. Monroe reaches into her pocket and pulls out a CIA badge. She shows Adam the badge.
“Adam Martindale, I’m Agent Susan Monroe. You’re under arrest.” Susan states. The S.W.A.T. officers walk toward Adam with their weapons locked on the Narsian Soldiers.
“You can’t do this, do you know what this will do!?” Adam exclaims, one of the S.W.A.T. officers start to handcuff The Promise Keeper.
“You have the right to remain silent…” the officer starts to read Adam his rights as they drag Adam out of the room. The Narsian soldiers, seeing their defeat, place their weapons on the ground. As Adam is escorted out of the office, he glares at Susan with eyes full of resentment. Susan puts her badge away and her gun to the side, she sighs in relief.
“Thought he was gonna blast me with a magic laser or something.” Susan states to one of the S.W.A.T. officers, they chuckle in response. Monroe’s guards and the S.W.A.T. officers start to shuffle out of the room like it’s grade school. Eventually, Adam is escorted to the entrance of the building. Outside there are S.W.A.T. trucks, a news crew at the scene, and a crowd gathered to see what is happening. As Adam is taken out of the building, the crowd of people gasp, seeing The Promise Keeper arrested. A reporter with the news crew turns around to see Adam being hauled off, they turn back to the camera.
“It seems that Adam Martindale, the leader of the Narsian people and the last of The Four Promise Keepers, is being arrested. I can only assume that it’s for the Terrorist accusations that he has been facing in the past year.” The reporter states. Adam is put in the back of a S.W.A.T. truck by one of the officers, they close the doors on him.
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeolB6UOIdQ
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUas68a1cZA
Days later, Isaac drives his car toward a building with a modern look. The building is gray and in the shape of a simple cube. On the front is ‘International Security and Protection Foundation’ with the capital letters bigger than the lowercase, symbolizing an acronym. Isaac looks slightly paler than his usual tan skin tone. He briefly coughs as he drives toward the building. Isaac arrives at the I.S.P.F. building’s parking lot. He slowly drives through the parking lot, looking for his space.
Eventually, Isaac finds an open space with his name written on the curb. He parks in the space and puts his car in park. The life in his car engine vanishes as Isaac turns the car off. Isaac exits his car, closing the door behind him. He locks the car with his keys, a beep rings from the maroon car. Isaac walks toward the entrance of the building. He enters through the double doors that lead into the building. The inside of the building is sleek with a typical look you could expect in a government building. The receptionist at a desk in the back of the room looks up, recognizing Isaac.
“What are you doing here, Isaac? You don’t work on Saturdays.” The receptionist asks, confused.
“I’m not here to work, Melinda,” Isaac answers, “I’m actually here to see Dr. Keslocke.”
“Oh, okay, are you okay?” Melinda sounds concerned, looking at Isaac with a worried look.
“That’s what I want to find out, I experienced a Narsia-related injury on the field and I just want to get it checked out.” Isaac coughs into his arm.
“Okay, I hope you get better.” Melinda hopes. Isaac starts to walk away from Melinda.
“You and me, both.” He states as he walks away from the receptionist desk. Isaac makes his way through the I.S.P.F. building, knowing where he needs to go.
Eventually, he arrives at a smooth wood door with a metal bar as a handle. On the door is a name plate that says ‘Doctor Alejandro Keslocke’ and in smaller text ‘head I.S.P.F. doctor.’ Isaac knocks on the door.
“Come in!” A deep but gentle voice calls from the other side of the door. Isaac opens the door. There is a man filling out some paperwork at his desk. He wears square glasses, a button down shirt, dress pants with suspenders, and black dress shoes with brown soles. The man looks up to see Isaac. “Oh, Agent Ramos,” he takes off his glasses and stands up, “sorry, I had forgotten about our appointment.”
“You’re good.” Isaac replies, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.
“So, what seems to be the problem?” Dr. Keslocke asks.
“Well, on a mission I went on a few days ago where I and my squad infiltrated a Narsian seacraft, I encountered a Narsian soldier who was using the Bailys.” Isaac explains, “He got the upperhand for a while, it was like he was sucking the life force out of me. Ever since then I’ve felt sick and weak.”
“I see.” Dr. Keslocke processes the information, “Okay, I’ll need to perform a checkup on you and that should tell me what’s going on with you.”
“Alright, thank you.” Isaac thanks. Dr. Keslocke walks toward a door in the corner of the room. He opens the door, revealing an exam room.
Later, after Dr. Keslocke examines Isaac, the doctor walks over to Isaac from a computer in the room.
“Everything looks relatively fine. The symptoms I found are akin to a common cold.” Dr. Keslocke states.
“Okay, so I’m going to bounce back like this never even happened?” Isaac asks.
“That’s the hope, I am going to have to take a quick sample, so I’ll need a cheek swab and I’ll have results with you shortly.” Dr. Keslocke explains. After Isaac is cheek swabbed, Dr. Keslocke walks over to a microscope and takes a look at the sample. Dr. Keslocke looks at the sample for some time, worrying Isaac. Eventually, Dr. Keslocke looks from the microscope and sighs before he turns back to face Isaac. Isaac, noticing that Dr. Keslocke has a look of sorrow, knows that bad news approaches.
“What’s the news?” Isaac asks, his voice has a concerned tone on it.
“The good news is,” Dr. Keslocke starts, “your human side is going to make a full recovery. Everything is fine there.”
“So, what’s the bad news?” Isaac's worry is only amplified by Keslocke’s stalling.
“Your Narsian side, while it will recover, will not reach the strength it once had.” Dr. Keslocke has a calm voice.
“Oh,” Isaac tries to process the information, “so, am I going to have to retire?”
“No, you shouldn’t have to.” Keslocke explains, “However, you’ll need to start relying on the Narsia less, or your body won’t be able to handle it.” Isaac goes silent like a corpse as tries to process the information.
‘But I’ve trained these abilities my whole life, and now I just can’t use them. They’re a part of me.” Isaac tries to explain to Dr. Keslocke as if it’s his fault.
“I understand the shock of it all.” Keslocke tries to calm Isaac down, he puts an arm on Isaac’s shoulder, “The Narsia will still be a part of you, just not as much as it once was. I know there are workarounds out there that will help.”
“Alright, thanks for that.” Isaac finishes, “I’ll see myself out.” Isaac exits the exam room and Dr. Keslocke’s office. Isaac leaves the I.S.P.F. building without saying a word to his coworkers.
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfinnhqXMsH
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6eNBDN92U
Elsewhere, Lieutenant Pedro Alfaro sits in his office with the windows closed, he holds a manila folder in his hands, it’s a file on Adam Martindale. The folder is illuminated with a desk lamp. Pedro sports a stressed look on his face. His cell phone begins to ring and vibrate in his pocket. Pedro grabs his phone and answers it without even looking at who it is.
“Lieutenant Pedro Alfaro, I.S.P.F.” Pedro skips to the point. His voice is filled with exhaustion.
“That’s how you greet your wife now?” The voice on the other side asks, with a playful tone. Pedro recognizes the voice.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know it was you. How is mi familia?” Pedro’s face lights up as he talks with his wife.
“We’re fine, Malcolm was up early, which meant that I was up early. But, that’s besides the point, where have you been? You didn’t come home last night.” Pedro’s wife interrogates, her tone becomes more tense.
“I did it again?” Pedro has a confused tone as if he didn’t know that he spent the entire night at work, “I’m sorry, I’ve been swamped with everything going on with The Promise Keeper and filling out the paperwork from the Narsian ship invasion.”
“Well, just promise me that I’ll get to see my husband some time today.” His wife requests.
“Sí, of course.” Pedro prays to himself that he’ll be able to make that happen, “I love you.”
“I love you too, Pedro.” Pedro’s wife hangs up the phone. The lieutenant's attention goes back to his work.
Half an hour later, Pedro walks out of his office with a backpack around his shoulders. He walks toward the exit of the I.S.P.F. building.
“Leaving early, Lieutenant?” the receptionist asks Pedro on his way out.
“Yeah, I need to spend some time with the family.” Pedro answers, he turns around to face the receptionist while speaking before turning around and walking out the building. His voice filled with more energy than usual, throwing the receptionist off.
Faye sits on the couch in the living room of her and Isaac’s apartment. The TV illuminates with a cheap drama soap opera playing. Faye’s attention is diverted when she sees a familiar maroon car. Faye looks back at the TV until the front door unlocks and Isaac opens it. Faye mutes the TV and looks over at Isaac.
“Hey, how’d it go?” Faye asks, though she already knows the answer when she sees Isaac’s distraught expression. Faye stands up off of the couch. “What is it?”
“The good news is,” Isaac starts, closing the front door, “I will be getting better.” Isaac locks the front door. He walks over toward Faye.
“What’s the bad news?”
“I’m not getting all the way better.” Isaac's voice stutters as he musters out the words.
"What does that mean?" The concern in Faye's voice grows evermore. Isaac sits on the couch, Faye follows.
"Doctor Keslocke ran some tests and he found that I will get physically better, without a problem. However, he also said that the Narsian part of my cells would heal but they can never get back up to how they once were." Isaac reveals, Faye starts thinking about what could've been done differently and what can be done now.
"There has to be some way." Faye states, "We should go back down there and tell Keslocke to figure something out."
"I would love nothing more," Isaac responds, in a bittersweet tone, "but I don't think there's anything he can do." Isaacs tone gets deeper, "To be honest, I'm not sure if I'm really ready to try to fix this, I still haven't fully processed it."
"Okay, sure, we'll get through this." Faye tries to cheer Isaac up, but she can't stop thinking about what she could've done to prevent this, "Isaac, I am so sorry. I should've helped you, should've protected you. I know I could've stopped this," Faye rambles.
"It's fine. It's not your fault, I could've been smarter, myself." Isaac explains, "Besides, it's too late to look back, now."
"Right, like Mom and Dad said," Faye reminisces, "'can't change the past, so we push through the present.'" Isaac and Faye sit on the couch in silence.
Meanwhile, Pedro drives through a suburban neighborhood. He slows the car down as he approaches a small house with bricks colored in many different browns lining the outside walls. Pedro pulls the car into the driveway and puts it in park. He gets out of the car, bringing his backpack with him. He locks it after he closes the door. Pedro walks up a couple of stairs that lead to a porch with swinging chairs and a glass table on it. The roof slants over the porch, giving it shade. Pedro opens the screen door and unlocks the front door with his keys. He opens the front door. A golden retriever jumps up to Pedro, only barking once, he rubs the dogs back.
"Hi, Alex," Pedro greets, "have you been good?" Alex jumps down and high tails it toward the kitchen in the left corner of the living room. Pedro closes the front door and places his backpack near the front door. The living room has a couch, TV, a couple of dog toys, and a lot of toddler toys. Pedro locks the front door and makes his way toward the kitchen. Before he can reach the kitchen, Pedro's wife meets him halfway.
"Hey, honey." His wife greets. They embrace each other and peck each other on the lips.
"Hi, Gloria." Pedro and Gloria let go of each other, "Where's Malcolm?"
"He's napping." Gloria answers, "I saw that they arrested the Narsian president, is that why you stayed late?" Alex walks over next to Pedro, he gives Alex pets.
"Yeah, I had to fill out some paperwork after the boat heist I was telling you about." Pedro explains, "One of my agents got hurt on the field, I feel bad for him." Pedro takes on a somber tone.
"That sucks, did you check in on him?"
"I talked to his sister yesterday, she said that he was just feeling a bit sick and that he would go to our doctor today. I'll probably talk to him tomorrow, give him some time." Pedro states. Pedro walks over to the dishwasher. He opens the dishwasher and starts unloading it, putting all of the plates and silverware in their respective spots.
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEU0nMZS2XD
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWi6XryPfx
Elsewhere, in a forest covered in snow with no civilization in sight, the cyborg man stands as the wind blows snow in his direction. He lowers to one knee and moves some of the snow out of the way. Under the snow is a black and red high tech box implanted in the ground. In the center of the box is a button with a red light in the center making it look like an eye. The cyborg pushes the button and the red light extends to the top and bottom of the button as if it were the eye of a feral animal.
The button lifts up and the box follows, forming a cone that meets at the button. The button looks at the cyborg.
“Sorin, do you have the files?” the box asks, in a flat and metallic voice, without a semblance of humanity.
“Not quite, Sielos,” Sorin stands up, “the I.S.P.F. was able to delete the files before we could get them.”
“It is illogical for them to delete those files entirely.” Sielos responds, “They must have a backup of the files somewhere.”
“We will have to pin down the location of the files before I make a move.” Sorin explains, “After that, we’ll be on everybody’s radar.”
“Those files belonged to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization so it is most logical they are the ones who have the backups.” Sielos estimates.
“That sounds about right,” Sorin agrees, “but, where would N.A.T.O. keep them?”
“Perhaps, their headquarters in Brussels, Belgium?”
“That’s the most likely answer,” Sorin concludes, “I can infiltrate the headquarters.”
“So it’s decided. Come back and awake me when you’re done at N.A.T.O.” Sielos lowers back down into the box, taking on the form it had previously. The light on the button goes back to being a circle in the middle. Sorin places snow over Sielos.
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOdiUWoIku
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSIz34Ef5fs
The next day, it’s all over the news. The Last Promise Keeper Arrested for Stealing United Nations Secrets Faye and Isaac see on the morning news. Isaac sits on the couch while Faye leans on the couch, facing the TV.
“Good riddance, I say.” Faye states, holding a mug filled with coffee in her hands.
“You do realize that if it weren’t for him we wouldn’t have access to Narsia in the first place?” Isaac debates while Faye sips her coffee.
“Yeah, but he’s also the reason you’re hurt. I think that evens it out.” Faye retaliates, turning her head to face Isaac.
“Touché.” Isaac agrees, “Speaking of, I was thinking of asking the Lieutenant about helping me with my ‘sickness.’” Isaac makes an air quote motion with his fingers.
“I can help you.” Faye offers, “Although, I do have to go to work in two hours to recount what happened while we were in their submarine.”
“That’s right, it can wait until you get home.” Isaac states, he pauses for a moment, “Don’t you think I need to go to that?”
“Nope, it can wait until you’re feeling up for it.” Faye answers, “I’ll make sure of it.” Faye sips her coffee again and walks away from the couch. “You sure you’re up for training today?”
“Yeah, I need to get started as soon as possible.” Isaac reassures.
“Okay, but don’t push yourself too far. Don’t train without me, either.” Faye orders.
“Alright, alright, I won’t.” Suddenly, a buzz emits from the buzzer. Faye walks toward the buzzer and presses down on the talk button.
“Hello?” Faye asks.
“Hello, it’s Lieutenant Alfaro.” Faye recognizes the voice as Pedro’s, he’s not lying.
“Okay, I’ll come let you in.” Faye states. She unlocks the front door and opens it. “Be back in a sec.” She tells Isaac, who gives her a thumbs up. Faye walks through the door and closes it behind her. She pulls her keys out of her pocket and locks the front door. She walks down the stairwell all the way down to the lobby. Faye approaches the entrance of the apartment complex where Pedro stands and lets him in.
“Thanks.” Pedro walks into the apartment complex.
“What brings you here, Lieutenant?” Faye asks. Faye and Pedro start making their way toward Faye and Isaac’s apartment.
“I want to check in on Isaac, see how he’s doing.” Pedro answers.
“That’s nice. He’s doing well.” Faye compliments, “By the way, is it okay if he can stay home today and give his story of what happened when he’s feeling a bit better?”
“Yes, of course, he can take all the time he needs.” Pedro states.
“That’s good, cause there was no way I was letting him go today.” Faye responds, Pedro chuckles. They eventually reach the apartment, Faye unlocks the front door and opens it. Isaac is still sitting on the couch, he turns his head when over to the door as Faye opens it. Isaac stands up after he notices Pedro is there.
“Lieutenant, nice to see you.” Isaac greets. He walks over to Faye and Pedro. Pedro closes the door as he and Faye enter the apartment.
“Likewise, how are you feeling?” Pedro asks.
“I’ve been better, but recovering.” Isaac explains.
“Good,” Pedro replies, “just know that whatever you need, I will do my best to help you.”
“Thanks.”
“So, did you hear the news about The Promise Keeper?” Faye asks Pedro.
“I’m a Lieutenant with the I.S.P.F.,” Pedro reminds Faye, “I knew before you knew.”
“Right, duh.” Faye responds.
“Lieutenant,” Isaac starts, Pedro turns his attention back to Isaac, “is there any kind of program that would help me with getting back in tune with the Narsia?”
“You mean like physical therapy?” Pedro asks.
“Yeah, pretty much.” Isaac elaborates.
“I’m not aware of anything like that.” Pedro answers, “However, I know a Narsian teacher who helps kids wrangle their abilities. I could call her, see when she’s free.”
“That would be much appreciated.” Isaac states, Pedro nods.
“I should head out, I need to finish my paperwork from the night on the boat.” Pedro explains, heading toward the door. Faye and Isaac both say goodbye to Pedro. He leaves the apartment. Faye locks the door behind him. Suddenly, breaking news appears on the TV. Faye and Isaac turn to the TV.
“...Narsian captain, Kyle Brimswald, was broken out of the jail he was kept at for questioning.” The reporter announces. On the TV is a picture of Captain Brimswald, “We have a picture of the perpetrator, however we cannot identify the figure.” A picture of Sorin appears next to Brimswald’s. Faye and Isaac look at each other, shocked by the news.
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHUvNVUIaP
318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKRe2iJgyV
Much later, in Belgium, Sorin and Brimswald sit at an outside table by a coffee shop. Brimswald wears casual clothes with a baseball cap and sunglasses. Sorin wears a jacket with the hood up and sunglasses. Brimswald, out of paranoia, stares down at the table to avoid letting anyone see his face. He also has a black coffee resting on the table.
“Let me get this straight,” Brimswald starts, “you want me to help you invade the big house?” Brimswald asks, his tone is very tense.
“Yes, I can do most of the heavy lifting but this is not something I can do alone.” Sorin responds, his tone is laid back and relaxed.
“Why should I take orders from you?” Brimswald asks, trying to sound intimidated.
“Well, aside from breaking you out of jail,” Sorin answers, “I guess you could say: ‘the boss of my boss is my boss.’” Brimswald pauses, thinking of some way to get out of this.
“Fine.” Brimswald eventually says, giving in. He starts bouncing his knee.
“Alright, might as well get this over with.” Sorin states, standing up. Brimswald drinks the rest of his coffee. He pulls some money out of his pocket and places it on the table. Sorin and Brimswald leave the coffee shop.
Sorin and Brimswald walk down the street, approaching N.A.T.O. headquarters. They walk up to the back of the building.
“So, you’re telling me that we’re just going to waltz into the building?” Brimswald whispers in a concerned tone.
“In layman’s terms, sure.” Sorin responds, also whispering. Sorin and Brimswald approach a back door to the headquarters.
“How are we even going to get in?” Brimswald asks. Sorin answers by raising his arms up, both made of metal. On his arms are black lines that line on the sides of his arm and make a triangle on his palm. The black lines begin to glow purple. Balls of energy form on Sorin’s palms. Brimswald’s eyes widen and he runs for cover.
Suddenly, Sorin shoots the energy at the door. Instantly, alarms begin to ring and a metal gate starts lowering from where the door used to be. Sorin grabs the gate as it lowers, using both of his arms. Brimswald peeks out at Sorin. Seeing that Sorin is holding up the gate, Brimswald runs toward the building. He enters the building and is greeted by security guards hustling toward him and Sorin. Brimswald makes his hands glow blue and yellow, getting ready to fight the guards. Sorin lets go of the gate and enters the building. The security guards stand in front of Sorin and Brimswald, their weapons drawn and pointed at the duo.
“Get down on the ground!” One of the guards order. The security guards begin to approach Sorin and Brimswald. Sorin looks over at Brimswald, whose hands are still glowing. Brimswald fires a beam of energy at the security guards. The guards duck and Brimswald dashes for cover. The black lines on one of Sorin’s arms glows, he sticks his arm out in front of him, with his forearm tilted upward, and a shield forms on the arm. The guards stand back up and fire at Sorin. The bullets ricochet off of Sorin’s shield.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Brimswald hurls a ball of energy toward one of the guards. The guard falls to the ground, unconscious. The others start to fall back. Sorin lowers his arm and the shield disappears. Sorin dashes toward Brimswald and gets into cover.
“You distract them,” Sorin orders, “I’m going ahead.” Sorin walks forward, still staying in cover, without giving Brimswald a chance to respond. Brimswald summons blue and yellow fireballs in each of his hands. Brimswald emerges from cover and throws the fireballs at the guards. Two of the guards fall to the floor.
Sorin enters a hallway with several offices taking refuge in the walls. Sorin sees multiple guards approaching from the other end of the hallway. The guards stop when they see Sorin and raise their guns. Sorin raises his arm again and summons his shield. Sorin approaches the guards. One of the guards attempts to sneak past Sorin’s shield. Sorin notices this and lowers his shield. He grabs the guard by the head and slams him onto the floor.
Sorin makes balls of energy with his hands, turns toward the rest of the guards, and throws the energy at two of them. One of the guards gets hit, but the other one dodges it. The three remaining guards prepare to fire at Sorin. He dashes at one of the guards and grabs him by the shirt. Sorin throws the guard toward a window that leads into an office. The guard breaks through the glass and flies into the office.
Sorin turns his attention to the two remaining guards. Suddenly, two blue and yellow fireballs hit the guards. Sorin looks to his right and sees Brimswald. He walks toward Sorin.
“You’re welcome.” Brimswald states, Sorin gives no response. The two of them continue down the hallway.
Later, Sorin and Brimswald approach a door labeled Server Room B. Brimswald pulls down the door handle, it’s locked. He steps back from the door, looking around the environment to see what he could use to break the handle. Sorin approaches the door, balls his hand into a fist, and slams it on the door handle. The handle breaks off of the door and clatters on the ground. Sorin opens the door. Brimswald and Sorin enter the server room. On the back wall of the server room is a desk with a computer, keyboard, and a monitor. Littered around the walls of the room are servers that contain many government secrets. Sorin approaches the keyboard and turns on the monitor. He turns his head toward Brimswald.
“Stay by the door.” He orders Brimswald. Brimswald obliges and stands by the door, he closes it just to be safe. The monitor turns on, revealing a file browser. Sorin begins to search through the files at a rapid pace, looking for all of the files he needs. Brimswald hears footsteps racing for the server room. Brimswald walks away from the door and braces for a fight. Sorin finds a folder titled Project: Ateitis. Brimswald’s hands glow blue and yellow as the footsteps grow closer. He turns his head toward Sorin.
“How much time do you need!?” He asks, but Sorin doesn’t respond. Instead, he pulls a flash drive from his pocket and plugs it into the computer. A swarm of guards burst into the room with their weapons drawn. Sorin starts to move the folder onto the flash drive.
“None.” Sorin finally responds, smiling. The black lines on his arms begin to glow purple.318Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡihNsEa28SM
and then Add to home screen.