The rain in this city always felt different. So cold and ancient.
The time when the rain leaves its abode in the sky is when the corruption of the city skyrockets.
The rain holds secrets and deaths no one can trace easily except you are the Ghost.
I was still in my car when the rain began and at that moment all the shop keepers and pedestrians were in a hurry. Not to avoid the rain but for the fear of becoming a victim of untraceable deaths.
I stood at the edge of the court at 4th and Main Street. I wasn't wearing my tactical gear. I was still in my professional slacks, sleek blouse, scrubs and a lab coat looking every bit the way an honor graduate was supposed to be.
But my movement was in a different rhythm. I didn't walk, I glided like a kite staying in the blind spots of the flickering street lamps.
One thing was sure : I was wearing my cheetah mask, the mask I wore when I'm on a hunt. This time I'm not on a hunt to kill anyone but on a hunt to find the 'Ghost' my father instructed me to find a few weeks back while he was on his deathbed.
Inside the chain link fence the sound of basketball thuds was heard squishing because of the wet surface.
one man - Kaelen the Ghosts best friend as I had discovered sat hunched over a laptop. His eyes scanned the perimeter every second for movements and his eyes returned back to the laptop within seconds.
Then the other man
The aura surrounding him depicted a cam man. He was a blur of calculated grace showing a man who was born to rule - Valerius.
"Val the signal is encrypted with no threat."
I stepped forward but still not catching the lights from the street lamp remaining a shadow and Kaelen spoke again.
"I'm getting a ghost pinger on the south side. Someone's watching."
Valerius didn't stop his stride. He sent the ball flying towards the hoop.
"I know, he didn't look up before he knew I was there. " She has been there for the past ten minutes. Check the CCTV loop it to the last two hours of the alley way so there is no trace of us and she won't also be seen.
Kaelen's fingers moved fast but frustration crossed his face.
" The firewall on this grid is military grade. I haven't learned that completely. I'll need a few minutes.
"Kaelen move." Valerius commanded. He stepped towards the bleacher, his fingers danced over the keys and in less than thirty seconds he was done.
"Done. You can come in now."
I stepped forward revealing myself and moved towards the court.
"Impressive, most people would have needed a specialized rig for a bypass and it might take them hours."
Kaelen stood up with his hands reflexively dropping to the grip of the gun on his hips.
He looked at my polished clothes and my doctor's exterior and scoffed.
"Who let the med student wear a mask? You are a lost princess, this isn't a hospital or a ball."
I ignored him, my gaze locked on Valerius. I stepped into his personal space, the scent of rain, cedarwood hitting me instantly. I lowered my voice to a whisper. Low enough to be heard and sharp enough to cut the tension.
" The med look is just another mask, Valerius. My father told me to find the man who doesn't exist to so many people. The one the servers can't find. The ghost . I leaned closer and whispered into his ears "Isn't that right... Lucian?
Kaelen froze. Valerius didn't flinch but his eyes became cold and his jaw tightened so hard.
He stepped closer. His stance was meant to intimidate me but I didn't move an inch.
"Val, she knows the name."
"Give us a minute."
"We don't give minutes to people who know the name."
"I said give us a minute Kaelen." He groaned, already frustrated.
Kaelen retreated and moved to the far end of the court where he can still hear our conversation.
Valerius leaned down his face inches from mine.
"You are playing s suicidal game doctor. You walk onto my court with a name that is forbidden and could get you buried.Who the hell are you?
"Let me go if you don't want your body to be found." I replied.
"You are making little threats." He sneered.
" You think I'm bluffing? One wrong move from you Lucian and they'll find your body before the sun comes up. I know exactly where the carotid is, and I don't miss.My men are watching us right now. Even if you escape me;which you can't, you won't survive."
I was bluffing, but I had to. I hadn't come here to kill the man my father told me to meet on his deathbed. Lucian stared at me with eyes so cold they could freeze a weak man.
"I'm the person you've been waiting for, Alessia Lyra" I said, reaching into the pocket of my lab coat.
Valerius's hand shot out, his fingers locking around my wrist like a vice.
"Careful. My patience is thinner than that shirt you're wearing and I don't take threats like this so easily."
"If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have looped the CCTV to protect me," I countered. I twisted my wrist,not with strength, but with a specific medical leverage I used in the OR that forced his grip to loosen and pulled out the yellowed, folded paper.
I held it out. "He died in my arms a few weeks back . He told me to find the ghost. He told me you were the only one left who hadn't been corrupted by the New Nation and the only one I could trust."
Valerius took the paper. He recognized the seal. He recognized the jagged handwriting and seal of his mentor. When he reached the end, he looked at me, and for the first time, he didn't see a 'med student.' He saw a weapon no one should mess with.
"He said he was sending the Spiritus Cheetah," Valerius whispered. "I expected a mercenary. A killer with scars and a grudge. I didn't realize he was sending his own blood. You are Alessia Lyra Vicenzo.Maybe the mask you're wearing makes sense now."
I looked him dead in the eye. "I'm both, Lucian. And I'm the only thing standing between you and the men who killed him. I have the scars ,you just can't see them under the silk. They are crests in my soul."
He folded the note and tucked it away. "The men who killed him are already looking for this because it has instructions on what to do. And now that you've been seen with me, they'll be looking for a doctor who wears a mask."
"Kaelen loop the CCTV to the last thirty minutes now."
He grabbed his laptop bag. "Change of plans. The safehouse on 7th is burned. We go to the Nest."
Kaelen looked at me, then at Valerius. "We're taking the princess with us?"
Valerius started walking toward the exit, his movements fast. "She's not a princess, Kaelen. She's the boss. Now move."
Author's Note:
Next stop Sotto L'etna; The Vicenzo Estate/ Devil's Nation Headquarters.
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Stay Lethal,
- Cruentis