by Jack Parker
I blinked as I didn't see how the fight was worthy enough, but I didn't press the matter.
Instead, I drank generously, and set the glass back down.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed before I saw Fear walk in, without his mask, and stand in the middle of the dance floor awkwardly.
Not wanting to leave him there like an idiot, I waved my half empty glass to Fear in invitation.
He saw my cue, and made his way towards me.
Unknown to him, Fear walked right by the female agent from earlier who whipped her head around to look at him.
I made eye contact with her and slightly smirked.
In response, she just stared at me blankly before she turned away.
I looked up, and Fear had already sat down.
He looked around with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell happened here?" He asked as he took in the sights of the bodies and of the broken glass.
I shrugged. "Oh, just the usual: a gang of horny males trying to pick a fight."
"Pfft," was the only response from Fear as he rolled his eyes at the implication.
I drank a bit more from my glass, and changed the subject. "So, what were you up to?" I asked.
"You mean what I would have done if you hadn't invited me down here?" Fear raised an eyebrow. "I would have been cleaning my weapons. If I were really bored, I might have also sparred a bit."
The last part seemed to have gotten the woman's attention for she turned around to look at us.
To appear inconspicuous, she leaned on the wall, and crossed her arms in a relaxed position.
I did my best to hold back a chuckle at her obvious attempt of not appearing like she was eavesdropping.
Alright then, I'd play her game.
I leaned my weight against the bar, and adjusted my position to something more casual. "Spar huh? You're restless Fear?"
My friend shrugged halfheartedly. "From time to time I am, though you're usually around for me to kick your ass." He chuckled.
Inwardly, I huffed in indignation, though on the outside I retained my cool. "Well, there are other ways of blowing off steam, you know." I said.
Fear didn't catch the innuendo meaning behind my comment, and just continued on. "Of course there are, though sparring is one of the few things that I enjoy." With that, he finally waved the bar tender over and ordered a simple, cool beer.
When his drink came, Fear took a rather large gulp of it and set it down on the table. It was just over a quarter full.
"Crap," he said abruptly, "I forgot how much I missed alcohol."
I stifled back laughter as I took in my friend's strange new behavior. "Is alcohol the only thing that you miss? Nothing else?" I asked slyly.
As oblivious as ever, Fear went along with it. "I miss being a kid, where I all cared about was going home after school to play video games. Those were the best times of my life. I fucking hate this war; I hate being an Assassin."
I stared at Fear in confusion, then at his drink as I wondered why he was opening up so much.
Just what was in that drink?
All of a sudden, Fear seemed to have sobered up, and stared at me as if he wondered the exact same thing that I did.
I could only blink as I didn't know how to react.
After a moment of just staring at each other, Fear finally looked away, and stared at his drink.
He pushed it back as far from him as he could, before he turned to face me again. "This is exactly why I stopped drinking long ago." He said seriously.
I couldn't help but lean my head back and laugh.
When I calmed down, I was met by the sight of a confused and slightly annoyed Assassin. "What's so funny?" He asked.
I chuckled a bit before I answered. "Don't you remember the good ole' days when we used to raid your cousin's liquor cabinet after Seeker Basic and just drink the night away? Those days were a blast."
Fear's expression softened slightly as he remembered the memories.
For a brief moment, we both traveled back in time to a place before the severity of the Phantom threat became out of control.
I didn't bother hiding the smile that appeared on my face as I basked in the nostalgia that overwhelmed me.
As usual, all good things had to come to an end as I was pulled from my thoughts by the female agent leaning against the bar and ordering a drink.
I smirked as an idea popped into my head. "You know what you need Fear?" I asked.
My friend raised an eyebrow. "That new Devil's bow with heat detection features I saw in the Seeker market?" He answered.
I shook my head and chuckled softly.
I pushed back against the bar, and stood up straight. "No," I said.
That time I allowed myself to grin widely. "What you need is a date."
With that, I walked past a confused Fear, towards the female agent.
I coughed to get her attention. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you checking out my friend. How about I introduce you to him?"
The red-haired woman merely blinked as I turned to face Fear.
Said person visibly tensed, something that he normally never did, once he saw her.
I grabbed him firmly by the back of his light armor, and guided him to the woman.
The few meters there seemed to have been longer as Fear did his best to resist my pull without making it obvious.
Fortunately for me, I was stronger and I literally shoved him pretty close to the woman's face. "This here is my friend, Agent Fear. He would like to buy you a drink, wouldn't he?" I gave Fear a face that relayed the message "disagree with me, and you'll be breathing through a new hole somewhere."
Luckily, Fear was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, and merely nodded hesitantly.
I smiled at the female agent. "So, what would you like to drink?"
The woman blinked in confusion. "I'll just have an apple martini. I'm not much of a heavy drinker." She answered in her smooth voice.
I purposely widened my eyes in excitement. "Really? Oh wow, Fear's not much of a heavy drinker too! You guys have only just met, and already you have one thing in common." I pressed an uncomfortable Fear beside the female agent. "Who knows, maybe you two are more alike than you think."
Right on time, the bar tender set the female agent's drink in front of her.
Said person took the drink and slowly downed it all before she set the empty glass on the counter.
I leaned against the bar on Fear's other side, and nudged him.
He looked at me with a glare, though his cheeks were red.
Inwardly, I smirked as I enjoyed tormenting him. "Tell her that she looks nice." I whispered.
My friend stared at me in shock, but quickly looked away, and grumbled in his breath.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" The female agent asked.
Fear grunted. "I said that you look like a nice person." He repeated.
"Oh, thank you, I think." The woman replied.
"Ask her what her name is." I whispered again.
Fear cleared his throat quietly. "Uh, what's your name?" He asked.
The woman turned to face him, her hazel eyes studied him intensely. "I'm Agent Claire: Combat Specialist, though I do participate in recon missions from time to time."
"A Combat Specialist, huh? Maybe you two could spar sometime?" I suggested.
Agent Claire shrugged. "Sure, if Agent Fear is up to it." She replied smoothly.
I grinned. "Oh, Fear is up to it all right. He enjoys sparring in his free time."
"Really?" Claire asked, faking surprise. "Maybe we can spar when we're both free?"
"I'm sure you can," I said. "Fear's been itching to put his far-out reach to the test, though he's never found a sparring partner with enough flexibility." I put in all my effort to stifle my laughter.
"Oh? I'm pretty flexible." Agent Claire replied.
I had to turn away to stifle the laughter that threatened to burst from my soul.
Fear turned to face me and glared as he
knew what I meant by my statement.
I gave him an innocent look, and focused my attention on the woman. "I couldn't help but notice your accent. Where are you from?" I asked curiously.
Agent Claire replied. "I'm from Ireland. I joined the Seekers because of my uncle. He's actually on this mission with us."
A light bulb went off in my head. "Your uncle doesn't happen to be Agent Cian, is he?"
The woman smiled. "That's him all right. Old son of a bitch won't quit for all he's worth. I worry that his conspiracy talk will get him in trouble with the Seeker high power, though." She sighed.
I smiled in reassurance. "Your uncle is a very capable man. I'm sure that even he's smart enough to not piss off the Directors."
Agent Claire shrugged. "Eh, I guess we'll see."
I nodded, and stood up. "Well Agent Claire, it's been a pleasure meeting you, but I'm afraid I must retire to my quarters. I'm pretty exhausted. Have fun you two." I winked at them which caused a mixture of reactions from both of them: Agent Claire blinked at me repeatedly while Fear looked like he was about to murder me.
I blew him a mock kiss, and quickly went out the door before he could follow me.
The outside air was a lot cooler than the bar, and I shivered despite the layers of cloak I had on me.
I brought them closer to me, and walked back to the Shroud.
Even at night, the view was just as spectacular with all of the lights it had on.
With the amount of alcohol in my system and no work to keep me focused, my thoughts automatically trailed to Rachel. My heart curled as a result.
I sighed as I stopped, and looked up at the sky.
There were no clouds, so I had a great view of the beautiful stars.
My eyes softened as I imagined finishing the mission and seeing Rachel again. "Soon Rachel." I said softly. "Soon."
Chapter 27: Order's Collapse; Chaos's Rise
I woke up abruptly the next morning at around 5am.
I shivered despite being covered in sweat. I pressed a hand to my chest in an attempt to slow down my rapidly beating heart as I wondered why I had woken up that way.
Once I finally calmed down, I sat in bed for a few minutes to catch my breath.
My gut told me that something was terribly wrong, though I wasn't sure what. Maybe it was just the long shift and the alcohol getting to me…
Restless, I finally got out of bed, and made my way to the bathroom.
I turned on the tap and generously wiped my face and chest with cold water.
After I took a couple of deep breaths, I looked up at my hazy reflection.
My eyes were bloodshot from the alcohol combined with the lack of sleep, my hair was sticking up all over the place, and sweat was slowing dripping down my chest.
I figured that I wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep, so I stripped off my remaining clothes and took a shower.
The cold water automatically woke me up even more.
Once I was done, I felt refreshed.
Satisfied, I turned off the water, and stepped out to dry myself.
Once that was done, I wrapped the towel around my waist, and walked to the mirror.
I wiped away the condensation, and proceeded to shave my growing beard.
For the next ten minutes I continued on with my hygiene care, before I left the bathroom.
I shivered slightly at the drop in temperature when I entered my rather large bedroom. The accommodations were quite generous with us.
I dropped my towel to the tiled floor, and put on a simple pair of dark jeans and a tight black t-shirt.
Once I was dressed, I fell down onto my bed, and stared at the ceiling blankly. Now what? I asked myself.
After a couple of minutes of pointless staring, I got up again and a thought came into my mind. Rachel's probably back home by now, maybe I should call her?
I walked over to the phone and dialed the general number for Seeker HQ. They would be able to connect me directly to Rachel, wherever she was.
The phone ringed continuously, but then it had the noise that suggested that the line was not connected before the ringing stopped all together.
Puzzled, I hung up and tried again.
The same thing happened, although that time the ringing didn't go on for as long.
Confused, I hung up for good and stared at the phone. What was that all about? I wondered.
I shrugged as I thought that it was just a mechanical issue, however my insides twisted uncomfortably.
I decided to go try Fear's phone.
I left my quarters, and went next door to where Fear was staying.
I pressed the doorbell, and waited.
I heard shuffling from the other side of the door, as well as a thud sound followed by some swearing.
I bit my lip to prevent myself from laughing.
Alas, Fear in all his half naked glory opened the door, and glared once he realized that it was me. "What the hell do you want at this time?" He asked roughly.
I shrugged carelessly. "I couldn't sleep; thought that I might as well use my time wisely to come bother you."
Fear's glare got more intense. "Yeah, well in case you hadn't notice, some of us actually sleep at this hour. So fuck off." He was about to close the door when I pressed my foot against it.
"Now now, sunshine. Don't be like that." I teased.
One of Fear's eyebrows twitched at my use of the nickname, but then proceeded to glare at me once more. "What do you want?" He asked again.
That time, I decided to get straight to the point. "I tried to call Rachel, but for some reason the line with Seeker HQ never went through. I wanted to use your phone to see if it'll make any difference."
For a moment, Fear contemplated on my favor, before he grumbled and opened the door wider to let me through.
I stepped in, and immediately Fear closed the door. "So you woke me up at almost 6am just so you could call your girlfriend?" He stated.
I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets, and looked around his quarters lazily. "Yeah well my 'girlfriend' also happens to be your friend too. Wouldn't you like to hear from her, see how she's doing?"
Fear gave me a "what do you think?" look. "Sure, I guess, but not at this hour. What's wrong with you?"
Fear stared at me intensely and I stared back.
After a moment, I gave in and sighed. "I don't know Fear. Ever since we started this mission, I've kept getting the feeling that something bad is going to happen. I just want to know that Rachel is alright."
My friend was quiet as he took in what I said.
He then brought out his cell phone, and threw it to me. I caught it effortlessly.
"Just dial 1; it'll connect you automatically to Seeker HQ." He said, before he went to his bed and rested on it.
I nodded to him in thanks, and did exactly what he said.
The ringing came again, so I decided to pass the time. "So how was your date?" I asked. "Did you two finally test your strengths in sparring?" I grinned at the last part.
"Ha ha," Fear replied dryly. "I prefer to get to know a girl before I sleep with her."
"How noble of you," I commented.
Fear was about to retort when the line went through.
I held a hand up to silence him. What happened next though amazed me.
"Thank you for calling Seeker Headquarters. Unfortunately, no one is available to take your call. In fact, no one ever will be," came the recorded message, followed by some laughter.
Gunshots also rang in the background as people screamed.
I held the phone in front of me, and stared at it in confusion.
Fear noticed my reaction and gave me a questioning look.
I passed him the phone, and he held it to his ear.
He too stared at the phone in confusion after he heard the message. "What the hell was that all about?" He questioned.
I shook my head as I had no idea what happened.
Suddenly, an explosion erupted which caused the wind
ows in the quarters to shatter.
Fear and I took cover under his bed, and waited until the initial rumbling faded away.
Various sirens immediately went off. The once peaceful quiet was dominated by loud, chaotic noises.
I grunted as I pulled myself from under the bed.
Fear swore as he accidentally cut himself on a glass shard, and held the wound with his other hand.
I coughed a bit as dust particles flew freely in the air.
I carefully walked towards the shattered windows, and looked down.
I was met by the sight of numerous fires occurring on several levels, the nearest one was just three levels below us.
I coughed harder as I accidently breathed in some smoke, so I turned away before I could inhale more.
By that time, Fear wrapped his cut in thick bandages, and was fully dressed in a pair of jeans a shade or so lighter than my own, and a simple grey shirt. "What the hell just happened?" He blurted out.
"I have no idea." I replied back honestly. "One thing's for sure: we've got to get out of here."
The Assassin nodded.
The sirens got louder, and a synthetic voice spoke over the intercoms. "This is a class four emergency. All Seeker agents are to report to the main hall." The voice announced.
Fear and I both glanced at each other and nodded.
Fear quickly took out a black case from under his bed.
He placed it on top, and opened it to reveal his signature swords.
He wrapped a leather belt around his waist, and slid the swords through their respective harnesses.
Fear looked up, and noticed my puzzled look. "Hey, I'm a first time father. I don't leave my babies behind." He joked.
I rolled my eyes, but quickly went straight to business. "Let's go." I stated.
He nodded, and we made our way out the door.
There were several pieces of glass and various materials scattered about, so we had to carefully step over them.
A couple of fellow Seeker agents literally ran out in their pajamas towards the fire escape.
Fear and I decided to follow them.
We went down the steps three at a time to quicken the pace.
We went down about fifteen levels, and went out the door.
Once on the other side, we were met by the sight of fires burning all over, and the ground was littered with glass and other materials.