Inside the small dark apartment where the red curtains blocked the sun light painting the whole room with a shade of maroon; Flinch's apartment or also known as his hideout. Although the room was private; the beers and cans were scattered everywhere.
"…I was so close!" Flinch hissed as Edward treats his left rib by wrapping it with bandages. "That Elis guy, he was there. How did a student was able to step in that woodland while there's a boot camp inside it?!"
"…A Triggered—a student?! How the hell…" he added.
It's impossible for a Triggered to enter a forbidden area in a certain map of Greydome; despite being a Triggered himself, he couldn't find himself being able to enter a military base due to Risk of rebellion.
"Do you still want to continue?" Edward cuts in.
"No choice—I'm doing this for a reason… once I had my hands on that file I'm not the only who will benefit from it."
"I get what you mean."
Edward was finished treating his wound.
"…Do those guys think that they can defeat me; they don't know the fact that I was the one who wipe all the Ghost Unit that were sent to hunt me down. I'm won't let a 20 feet teleport—"
A conclusion came through his mind, "…Wait, did the soldier earlier just called him by his name?"
The military was protecting that Triggered? How did he… Don't tell me that they've changed the way they treat Triggereds huh?
Him?!
Edward noticed the sudden changes in him, "…What's with you being so upright about?"
"…I knew something was off with that Elis's relation with those soldiers…"
Greydome government ensured that there's no single Triggered was able to enter any boot camp across the map. However, what confuses Flinch was—
"…I knew there's something with that guy."
***
"Damn it!" Elis grunted in pain, his hand clutching the chair he's currently sitting on. "I got cleaved back in the alley, and now I got shot in the shoulder."
Private Allan who was treating himself by yanking out the bullets with a scissor out from his arm said, "…That guy was Flinch."
"…Yes, I have no idea how he found our base… He probably had intels."
"Then who was it?"
Lieutenant Phantom walked toward them holding a grey rectangular shaped object in his hand; he placed the phone down on the table with a faint thud. The rest glanced at the phone with a confused look thinking whether the lieutenant is flexing his newly brought phone.
Iris's gaze shifted to the phone then back to the lieutenant, "…What's that?"
"…The shield guy dropped something 5 minutes before he left," The lieutenant said, pulling the laptop bag under the table. "We could get some information here—there must be something here."
Iris, Captain Graves, and the rest eyes lit up.
"…Yes! Can you breach the passcode?"
"…If only you'd give me a moment," Lieutenant Graves pulled out the laptop from the bag.
"…We might find the source of his illegal possessions of firearms," Elis shot up from the chair. "So we can already end this."
Lieutenant tapped across the keyboard and scrolled; Phantom wasn't just a hard bastard who infiltrates and kill on a mission, but a techy type of guy who can breach any devices.
"…Breaching it off the bat," the lieutenant muttered.
***
Flinch opened the refrigerator to grab himself some coffee, after taking one, he closed it with a loud thud and some bottle clanking. After opening the canned coffee with a hiss, he took a sip with furrowed eyebrows.
The bitterness of the coffee couldn't wash away the ghost of him failing to steal weapons back at the military base.
"…Don't tell me those soldiers and that Elis guy are buddies," he muttered. "I better message Edward, that guy always leave without me."
When he tapped his pockets with his hands, he felt a quick heart attack when finding out that he's phone wasn't in his pocket.
No… no, I might've left it back in the kitchen…
Even if he decided to go to the kitchen, his phone was nowhere to be seen. He froze, his eyes widened. Flinch realized that he might've dropped his phone back at the boot camp; a phone that contains his files and plans.
"…Shit!! This is bad!!" he yelled. "…Really!! Really!! Bad!!"
The entrance door suddenly opened with a faint click, and thud after it closes, "…What the hell are you screaming for?" Edward asked, confused.
"My phone! My phone fell from my pocket back in the boot camp!"
Edward's expression went from confused to straight faced.
"…Are you stupid? Without your phone, I wouldn't be able to guard your apartment."
"How so?"
"…Remember that military base are filled with soldiers with different roles, one of them could breach your phone."
Flinch clenched his fists.
"…My plan will be ruined all because of a lost phone of mine, there's no time… I'm flying to Russia," Flinch looked at Edward with a sharp glare. "I need your plane."
Edward closed his eyes, showing a hint of irritation, "…By the abandoned train station at 2nd District, there's a trap door located at the third station. The tunnel will guide you to my plane, and your exit is the Greydome sea," he explained. "…The tunnel is filled with shits and rats; the gas mask would help you cross the tunnel to reach my private hangar."
"…Good, does it have fuel?"
"…I just refilled yesterday."
***
Elis stood in the center of the tent, frozen and shocked to see the contents inside Flinch's phone that includes the blueprint of the Russian President's building, and some encircled parts of the building. There are labels such as time and Flinch's entry point.
"He's insane; he wanted to start a war with russia," Elis muttered, his voice sounded almost a whisper. "…All because of a stupid file he want to steal."
"A file? For what?" The lieutenant asked.
"I-I don't know, it says here 'Enter the third window by the fourth floor,' and the encircled one is 'the drawer that contains the file of a Chinese Triggered Gaò Yang.'"
Elis was puzzled.
"Who the fuck is this guy?"
Iris cuts in, "…I've heard about him, he was a former participant in the Killing Trade in China."
"Killing Trade?" Elis asked.
"The Killing Trade is a uhmm… Imagine a fighting arena an underground fight club, but instead of just betting money, people are betting on human lives and stolen tech. It's a global network where Triggereds are treated like phones—graded by their "specs" and sold to the highest bidder. They don't call them people. They call them units or assets. They kidnap kids with potential and "overclock" their TriggerLines through surgeries that make them powerful but leave them basically hollow inside."
Elis listened with eyes widened; out of all the darkness he witnessed, this one sent a shiver down his spine. The only question that ran through his mind was—is the Killing Trade still ongoing?
"It still exists, isn't it?"
"Sadly, yes."
"Damn… those kids could've become someone they wished to be, only to be stopped by corrupt governments," he muttered, teeth gritting. "Those kids never wished to be a Triggered, I'm sure of that."
"Then who's Gaò Yang?" Elis asked once more.
Iris turned to him, "…Gaò Yang is the shadow-founder of the Killing Trade. He's the one who realized that Triggereds shouldn't just be researched—they should be commodified. To him, Greydome is just a 'breeding ground' or a 'farm' for his global business."
Phantom walked toward her, "…How is he a former participant if he's the owner?"
"because he started as a fighter, climbed the ranks by killing every boss above him, and eventually "retired" from the arena to run the entire corporation from the shadows."
"…If he's Chinese then may I ask—how did his files ended up inside the Russian President's drawer?"
"A few years ago, Gaò Yang wasn't just running his business from an office; he was expanding into the Russian Black Market. He attempted to buy a group of Lost Kittens for him to raise and used to be his enforcers."
Elis raised a single eyebrow, "Lost Kittens?"
Phantom's gaze drifted to Elis who was standing behind him, "Another term for orphan that was forced to participate in an experiment."
"…Continue, Miss Iris…" Elis said.
"However, the Russian Intelligence caught wind of it and sent a specialized unit known as "Anti-Triggereds" which only exists in Russia. They didn't catch Gaò, but they managed to seize his personal server. It happened in the city of moscow, Gaò managed to escape at the time leaving his personal laptop that contains everything."
"Couldn't they just make the file public so a manhunt could start?!"
"…Here's the most irritating part—the Russians uses the file to blackmail him. They wanted a half from Gaò Yang's income from his business, let's just say he pays taxes not from the Chinese Government but to Russia."
Elis couldn't believe what he's hearing, the file wouldn't be public as long as Gaò Yang pays them to keep it hidden; to Elis, it felt more like an alliance than conflicts.
"…More childrens would be separated from their parents all because of a stupid goddamn money," Elis looked at Iris. "They why does Flinch wanted steal that file?"
"No one knows."
Elis began snooping through Flinch's phone to look for more clues; his fingers swiping up-and-down, then left-and-right. If he could somehow turn the tables around then the Killing Trade can be stopped, and yet he still need to know more about Flinch's reason to steal the file.
Minutes of scanning, and there—he saw it.
On the screen there's another note with the Greydome's Rehabilitation Center picture on the side that says, "By shooting the operator, Patient#0823 will be released causing a distraction for me to ship the cargo."
Elis realized something; it all make sense to him now. Patient#0823 was David Garrick, and Flinch was the one who shot the E.M.P.T.D operator that caused David Garrick to escape.
"It was him all along…" Elis's eyes were burning in fury. "Annie was supposed to be walking and laughing now… It was him who caused all of this!"
***
Outside the tent, the cold air blew through as if it was touching their skin with a freezing breeze.
"We need to go to the 1st District now!" Elis barked. "…That's where his apartment located! Before he could fly to Russia!"
"Calm down, kid," Captain Graves placed a hand on his shoulder. "You look like you're burning in desparation, what's with you?"
"He wanted to start a war between Greydome and Russia; he's the one who shot the E.M.P.T.D operator that caused for David to break out from rehab!"
Elis couldn't feel no empathy toward to the man who started it all; his fist was so clenched that veins started popping out like it's about to come out. The death of Annie was all because of a distraction for the bad guy to benefit from—there was no time for Elis to back out.
"…If the war breaks out, Greydome is the first one to be flattened. Russia had legal access to TriggerLines, they can violate the rule of 'No-Triggereds is allowed to join the army' even if they wanted to, just to destroy us."
"Kid, you know that we can't participate in that kind of commitment since we're already disavowed. There will be other units to stoo Flinch." Graves replied.
Elis clicked his tounge before walking out the military base, "If you guys won't come, then I will!"
"You got friends nearby…" Private Allan cuts in. "I can't leave you like that wandering alone between the conflicts. I'm coming too."
Elis stopped mid-walking.
Iris halden sighed then said, "…What do you expect, I can't trust the other units."
Lieutenant Phantom stretched his arms as well as Sergeant Michael who was spinning the vehicle's key with his pointing finger,
"…Starting a party without us? Isn't that right captain?" The sergeant glanced at Graves.
Captain Graves chuckled as he puts his hands in his pockets, "…You're very well convincing kid."
Sergeant tossed the key in the air before falling straight into his hands in a swift motion, "…Get in, we're stopping a war."
—PART 2—
Flinch walked through a dark tunnel filled with stagnant waters, rats that are scattering upon seeing him, and feces. However, despite the smell Flinch was wearing a gas mask.
"…You decided to hide your plane somewhere disgusting," Flinch said, as if he was talking to himself. He wasn't, there was an earpiece on both ears.
"…It's a trick that could hide everything from intruders, that plane was stolen by the way," Edward replied in static through the earpiece.
"We both are nothing but thieves huh?"
"Only you."
"How so?"
"I bought that plane…"
Flinch chuckled, "…But it's stolen."
"…But I bought that plane from gangsters. It's just too bad isn't it?"
"Why?" Edward asked, confused.
Flinch stumbled upon a left-and-right turns, he then looked at the small map that has the size of an index card in his right hand, "…We're both fixing our problems."
"The fuck is my problem?"
"…Your other plane, just give it to me," Flinch protested.
"That's your problem, not mine…"
Flinch proceeds to enter the left tunnel.
"…How was that my problem? Aren't you the one being too selfish?"
"How so?"
Flinch grunted, "You're impossible!"
"Whatever, take care."
Edward hung up with a loud low pitched beep; Flinch rolled his eyes. He spotted a light coming from the trapdoor above the tunnel as if there was a treasure above.
"…Bingo."
***
It was daytime when the rest of the PTF drove past the 7th District. The van was going 130 kmp/h the only limit the vehicle can reach, the road was empty like a ghost town, a typical Greydome.
The 7th District was known for its quiet and gloomy atmosphere, where there's no people except dusts and buildings for research purposes. Elis's gaze drifted back to the road then back to Flinch's phone.
"We can't let him get away!" Barked Elis. "We still have more time to reach the 1st District!"
The lieutenant who was sitting beside him, tapped across the laptop, "…We still have more time to reach the 1st District; the fact he had forgot that he dropped his phone back in the woodland just revealed all of his intentions."
"We just have to get him before he could even fly to Russia," Elis replied.
***
Edward walked toward the table inside the apartment; he took every papers, photos, and blueprints of the plan, then ripped them one by one as if there was something that was needed to hide. As time passes as Flinch's so-called bodyguard, he already knew that something bad was going to happen—1 Hour ago.
Edward noticed Flinch's social account was online even if he already knew that he lost his phone during the conflicts back in the woodlands. It's no doubt that the PTF might've opened Flinch's phone.
Now in the present time, Edward prepared his army of Triggereds and non-Triggereds to fend the PTF from attacking their block. Edward turned around as he glanced at the army of thugs with a fierce look.
"…Are you all ready?"
One of the thugs who wore a black durag and gold necklace named Jeremiah walked forward then asked, "I can finally use my device then after 2 long weeks without fighting."
"And now is your time to use it," a smile slowly formed on the corner of Edward's lips. "Make Flinch proud, he'd double your salary."
Jeremiah smiled as he closed his eyes; as he opened them slowly, he turned to his group of thugs and said, "…You heard that boys?!"
A loud "YEAH!" echoed through the room.
***
Along the quiet street of the 1st District, the black van drifted across the road with a loud screeching. Captain Graves and the rest stepped out of the vehicle; Private Allan, Lieutenant Phantom, and Sergeant Michael had an M14 hanging on their chest, while Graves, Elis, and Iris held a Glock-17 in their hands.
They never knew what's coming—until a group of thugs wearing skull masks emerged from a nearby apartment holding nothing but shotguns and TriggerLines.
"…Probably Flinch's play buddies," Iris muttered loud enough for the rest of the PTF to hear.
Graves slowly slide his finger on the Trigger, "Move out of the way!"
The group of gangsters never said a word and remained silent. The silence pressed in, the ambush was heating like a cowboys are about to shoot each other in the middle of a desert.
The thugs went on a fighting and shooting stance in unison like a choreographer had trained them for a bloody dance of battle. The PTF prepared themselves too—
As the dusts settled Jeremiah on the front, activates his device, then a ball of fire formed in his right hand.
Jeremiah hurled the ball of the flaming fire like a baseball, sending it flying like a meteor to Elis. Upon contact to the ground, the fire exploded, almost killing the Sergeant.
"Garh?!" Elis growled; he pointed his pistol toward Jeremiah. "…You!!"
With one pull—
BANG!
Instead of hitting Jeremiah; the pyrokinetic thug dragged one of his member to use as a shield from the bullet.
The bullet drilled into the thug's forehead, causing bloods to gush out, "…He's a psycho!" Elis barked.
The others pulled out their weapons and started shooting. Captain Graves pulled Iris and Elis behind the van; the bullet grazes the vehicle as orange sparks flew like confettis.
The lieutenant tried to peek his head upward for a clear shot, but Jeremiah's fire forced Phantom to keep cover.
"That thug with a black durag keeps interfering with my clear view!" the lieutenant said, sitting on the ground. "…There has to be a way!"
"Uhmm…" Elis cuts in. "If I could manage to get close to him, I can teleport him along with me inside one of the buildings, so I can fight him one on one."
"Sounds risky," Private Allan interjected. "See those other thugs? One of them are Triggereds that might kill you using their abilities. It's not just those shotguns that will you, y'know?"
"Tch!"
Elis began scanning the place, looking for any possible distractions. And there, he saw it—
A hydrant nearby.
"Yes, the hydrant!"
Iris replied with a puzzled look, "Boy, our guns wouldn't even make a geyser of water out of that thing!"
"Who said we're using a gun?"
Elis vanishes from the shadows and teleport inside the van; he then reappeared infront of Iris holding a smoke grenade and an M67 fragmentation.
"I have an idea."
Meanwhile, Jeremiah took a few steps before shouting, "Hey! Come out and surrender! I will go easy on you! HAHA!"
Suddenly, an unpinned smoke grenade came rolling across the ground with a loud clattering sound, it then hisses as cloud of smokes comes out covering a certain part of the road including the van.
"What is this? An escape plan?" Jeremiah mockingly shouts. "Look, like I said—I'll go easy on yo—"
An explosion erupted from his right side; a massive geyser of water that came from the fire hydrant caught the attention of Jeremiah as well as the other thugs behind him.
That's when—
Elis lunged out of the smoke.
BEEP!
Elis teleported in front of him then restrained him before disappearing from the road along with Jeremiah. Leaving the rest of the gangsters standing quietly in the middle of the street of the 1st District.
"Well then," The lieutenant peeked from the roof with a rifle aimed directly at the thugs. "Looks like someone got a disadvantage."
Elis and Jeremiah teleported in the hallway of an apartment; he pushed Jeremiah, stumbling across the floor backwards.
"…A reckless fire boy versus a tactical student who skips class, fuck this thug! You don't even know how to use your ability you bisexual horse!"
"Who are you calling a bisexual horse?!" Jeremiah screamed while lying flat with his stomach.
Jeremiah's TriggerLine activated; flames emitted from his right arm, "FUCK YOU!"
"That durag doesn't suit you, buddy," Elis pinched the bridge of his nose, showing a hint of mockery. "…Now, tell me where Flinch is and I'll go easy on you."
What pissed Jeremiah even more was that Elis said the same mocking line he said before.
Jeremiah rushed forward with his right arm stretched to his back; Elis knows the timing of when the punch will land into his face.
There was no time to speak nor gasp; he teleported behind him then kicked him in the lower back. The force made Jeremiah bend slightly before falling on the floor.
Damn this is the least I can do, teleport behind an enemy.
Elis pulled out his pistol then aimed the barrel directly to Jeremiah's legs, not to kill him but to torture him and make him speak.
Jeremiah saw this coming; he swung his right hand to the right. A wall of flames emerged from the floor, creating a wall that would block the bullets.
"What?" Elis muttered.
Elis didn't pull the trigger, completely learning from a mistake, he made back in the woodlands. A one crucial mistake: wasting another damn bullet.
"…I never thought this horse with a durag can properly use his ability!"
"That's why Flinch and Edward made me a perfect leader that perfectly leads my group," Jeremiah spat behind the wall of flames. "And I conclude thag you're one of the government's lapdog."
"How did you confidently made that conclusion?"
"You're stopping him!"
"And how does that made me the government's puppy?"
Jeremiah clicked his tounge then said, "…You know nothing, buddy!"
"…I know nothing?!" Elis yelled. "How?!"
"…Oh, buddy. I'm Flinch's safest vault, why would I say it to you?"
"It's a file—Gaò Yang!"
Jeremiah's eyes were widened, after hearing those words felt like a mockery and insult not just to him, but to his boss: Flinch Hudson.
***
Gunfire erupted in the street of the 1st District like fireworks; the rest of PTF including the operations officer, Iris Halden, were hiding behind the black van.
"…Did Elis just ditched on us?!" Iris spat out as she peeked the barrel of her gun on the side of the van.
"BANG! BANG!"
After those two shots from Iris; the thugs responded with eruption of gunfire with a lightning strike from an another Triggered.
"…There's a second Triggered?!" Allan barked.
The window above them suddenly shatters as fires gushed out like a geyser of water.
***
"You broke the window!!" Jeremiah yelled as he reached out his clenched fist toward Elis's face; fires emitted from his right arm. "You thought I'd let you get away from that?! Boss would be so upset to me if I let you walk away!"
"You're mad because I stole your boss's phone?! I didn't, he stupidly dropped it!" Elis responded back with gritted teeth.
"…Well then! Time to end this! 'Can't let Edward see me arguing like this instead of killing you!"