There’s a lot to be said about the Administration of Multi-National Defense. And I assure you that none of it is good. They’re always spouting some nonsense about their actions being beneficial for the people on Veriko. Unsurprisingly, almost no one on this planet believes them, myself included. I’m sure you’d find it weird that a former member of that particular group would say that, and I honestly don’t blame you for it. Let’s just say that I’ve witnessed some of their “good” firsthand.

  Josh sat in the interrogation room of the Administration building. And he wasn’t the only person there. Sitting across from him was a tall, slightly intimidating man who had a lightly tanned complexion with shaved black hair and a well-trimmed beard. Both had stared at each other in silence for the past ten minutes, surrounded by the unadorned white walls of the room. The atmosphere was tense, for lack of a better word.

  “I just want to state that those bombs were stolen by the mercenaries,” Josh explained. “And we were just returning them to their original owners. That’s all there is to it, Rodrigo.”

  “Were you going to receive any rewards for retrieving the aforementioned explosives?” Rodrigo asked.

  “We would’ve if someone hadn’t ordered us to be captured,” Josh hissed, glaring at the man.

  Rodrigo raised his hands in defense. “Don’t look at me, kid. I didn’t call those guys to nab you.”

  “Well, who gave out the order to have us nabbed, then?” Josh asked.

  Rodrigo rubbed the back of his head and let out a sigh. “Well…”

  Josh’s face began to pale. “Don’t tell me. It’s Liz, isn’t it?”

  Rodrigo shook his head. “No, kid. Thank the gods that it wasn’t her. If it was, you and your whole crew would’ve gotten an earful from her.”

  “Well, then who was it?” Josh asked.

  “You know that girl with the long black hair, brown eyes and wears a large backpack that has dozens of potions in it?” Rodrigo asked.

  Josh started to rub his left temple thoughtfully. “Now that you mention it, Burst said he was in a… relationship with a girl who fits that description.”

  “Why did you pause before saying ‘relationship’?” Rodrigo asked while raising an eyebrow.

  Josh sighed. “It’s Burst, Rodrigo. What else do I need to tell you?”

  Rodrigo let out a dry chuckle. “Of course. When it comes to relationships, that kid is something else.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Josh chuckled in response.

  Rodrigo regained his neutral expression. “But on a more serious note, you did us a huge favour by stealing the explosives. Right after we apprehended the mercs driving the cars that pursued you, we interrogated them about the cargo you lifted.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Gotta say, they were dumber than we gave them credit for.”

  Josh had a look of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “Those explosives were only in their prototype phase, Josh,” Rodrigo said. “And the mercs were completely unaware of the risks of carrying those damn things.”

  “Do you mean the fact that the bombs will instantly blow up as soon as a bullet hits them?” Josh asked.

  Rodrigo raised an eyebrow. He was both disturbed and surprised that Josh knew about the explosives’ major flaw.

  “I’ll take your silence as a yes,” Josh said. “And if you’re wondering how I know about them, our resident demolitions expert found out while studying up on them. She doesn’t admit it much, but she really loves different types of bombs and how they work.”

  “I see,” Rodrigo replied, rubbing the back of his head. “Well, even though you escaped from those mercenaries in the mountains, we’re still looking for them. They are known to be dangerous criminals and we’ve had quite a few experiences with them.”

  “Yeah, and the fact that my ex-girlfriend is with those psychos is more than enough to keep me awake at night,” Josh said, covering his face with his hand.

  Rodrigo's expression grew serious. “Well, on the subject of your ex-girlfriend, she’s onto you.”

  Josh nearly jumped out of his chair from hearing what came out of Rodrigo’s mouth.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, trying to contain the panic in his voice.

  “One of the mercs spied on you and your group when you were about to take a look at the explosives,” Rodrigo explained. “We managed to capture and pump some info out of him, but we didn’t realize he had stuck a tracking glyph on one of our transport vehicles when we escorted him.”

  Josh widened his eyes in horror. “So, she’s on her way here? What could she possibly want?”

  “Well, it’s best that you hear it from her,” Rodrigo replied.

  Rodrigo reached into his pocket and pulled out a blank card. He put the card on the table.

  “Play Recording,” he said.

  After he said that, a black circle appeared on the card and began to glow.

  “What is that?” Josh asked.

  “Just shut up and listen,” Rodrigo ordered.

  Josh stared at the card for five minutes and closed his eyes, thinking that nothing would happen.

  “Hey! Is this thing on? Check one, check two. Huh, guess it is on.”

  At least, that’s what he thought before he heard a girl’s voice come from nowhere that caused him to abruptly open his eyes.

  “Where the hell did that come from?” Josh asked, looking around the room.

  “It came from that,” Rodrigo answered, pointing at the card.

  Josh widened his eyes in disbelief. “You’re kidding me.”

  “Nope,” Rodrigo replied. “This is a recording glyph, my little friend. Nobody has used them in over 30 years. Honestly, I’m surprised your ex knew they even existed.

  “Why’s that?” Josh asked.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Rodrigo shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe she’ll explain it.”

  They both looked at the card as the voice spoke out again.

  “Hey, Josh. You haven’t forgotten about cute, little ol’ me, have you? Of course you wouldn’t. I was shooting at you and your friend while you were taking those bombs we stole. We spent weeks trying to get those things and you steal them from us in less than an hour. I’m sure the stupid Admins captured one of my minions, but he was smart enough to put a tracking glyph on one of their vehicles before he got hauled off. Oh, am I beginning to ramble? Then let me get straight to the point: you’re in for a fight, you no good, double-crossing heartbreaker, so prepare yourself.”

  As soon as the message ended, a small flame appeared on the card which slowly grew until it completely enveloped the object, leaving nothing behind.

  “This is bad,” Rodrigo said. “They might be a small group, but they’re sure to be packing serious hardware. We must prepare for potential conflict immediately.”

  “So basically,” Josh said, standing up. “There’s gonna be a fight on our hands.”

  Rodrigo ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes and no.”

  Josh raised a brow in confusion. “Come again?”

  “There will be a fight on our hands, but it’ll be the Administration’s hands, not yours. We’ll be laying down cover fire while you escape from here.”

  Josh released a derisive scoff. “No way, man. We should be fighting out there alongside you. We are partially responsible, after all. Besides, if we go on the run now, they’ll just come after us until they kill us. Not the best-case scenario in my opinion.”

  “As much as I don’t appreciate your tone, you have a point,” Rodrigo said. “They are more than likely to come after you, even when we’ve gotten you far away from here.”

  The grizzled man put his hand on his chin, thinking deeply. He needed to find some way of getting those kids away from the mercenaries.

  “Hey, old man!” Josh called out, derailing Rodrigo’s train of thought.

  “What is it, kid?” he groaned. “Can’t you see I’m trying to think here?”

  “Well, while you’re thinking, those goons are gonna show up at your door, ready to raze this place to the ground. I don’t intend to sit on my hands while they do so.

  With that, Josh stormed toward the door, determined to fight off the oncoming invaders.

  At least, he would’ve if he could open the door.

  “Come on... open up, damn you,” he muttered as he turned the knob and attempted to open the door again.

  Rodrigo sighed and walked towards the door, pulling out a card from his jacket pocket and slid it down a slot which Josh hadn’t noticed until that point. A faint click was heard from the slot and the door unlocked.

  “You know, you could’ve told me that you were hiding that in your pocket,” Josh said irritably.

  “I could’ve, but it was a lot more fun to see you struggle with it,” Rodrigo chuckled.

  Josh scoffed. “Yeah, I’m sure it was.”

  Josh and Rodrigo walked toward the lobby area of the Administration building where Burst, Nina and Elaine were waiting for them. Their expressions were rife with angst and worry. Josh understood why, given the current situation.

  “So, I take it that you all got the good news?” Josh said, rubbing his hands together.

  “Yeah, and if you ask me, the fact that your ex’s goons are coming here to kill us isn’t what I’d call ‘good news’,” Elaine deadpanned.

  “Well, at least she’s not coming in person. That chick is crazy as hell,” Nina added.

  “Hey, some men find a crazy girl very attractive,” Burst responded, sporting a big grin. “And I happen to be one of those men!”

  Elaine stomped hard on Burst’s foot, causing him to hop around in pain.

  “You are impossible,” she said, glaring at him.

  “What can I say? I find girls who have a screw loose to be very exciting,” Burst groaned, nursing his sore foot.

  “Don’t you already have a girlfriend, Casanova?” Nina snapped.

  “Yeah, but she flirts with other guys too. It’s a thing we like to do now and then. Don’t bother asking me why, I don’t get it either.”

  “Then why go through with it if you don’t fully understand it?” Josh asked.

  Burst flashed a bright grin. “Because it’s fun.”

  Josh, Nina and Elaine simultaneously released sighs of frustration, unable to comprehend what went on in the mind of their playboy friend.

  “Alright, enough fooling around,” Rodrigo called out to the group. “I’m sure you’re all aware of the current situation, but let’s review so we can get a handle on it more efficiently and without any complications.”

  Rodrigo led the four upstairs to the meeting room. It was medium-sized with a long table made out of dark polished wood and ten chairs.

  Burst let out an impressed whistle. “Nice table you got here, old timer. I bet you had so many important meetings here. Really, really important meetings.”

  Nina swiftly turned around and shot a death glare at him. “Is that supposed to have another meaning?” she asked venomously.

  Burst sent a smirk in Nina’s direction. “Maybe it has another meaning and maybe it doesn’t. I’ll leave it up to you.”

  Nina lunged at Burst, preparing to strangle him. “Why you…!”

  Rodrigo quickly grabbed Nina by the back of her shirt before she could attack Burst.

  “Seriously, we don’t have the luxury of infighting,” he chided. “Time is not on our side here. We need to make a plan of action before the mercenaries arrive, and don’t want your lives to come to an untimely end.”

  Nina sighed irritably and walked towards the opposite side of the table. Elaine followed her and sat down on the chairs. Josh and Burst sat on the side that they were on. Once they were all seated, Rodrigo pulled out a roll of paper from his jacket pocket and spread it out. The four youths leaned in to take a closer look at a blueprint of the building which it was now revealed to be.

  “I don’t enjoy repeating myself very often, but I’ll do it again so you kids don’t forget,” Rodrigo said. “A handful of mercenaries are en route to this branch of the Administration, and they don’t intend to show any mercy. In fact, mercy isn’t in their vocabulary.”

  “At the risk of asking a rhetorical question, what is in their vocabulary?” Elaine asked.

  “Anarchy, chaos, despair, the list goes for miles,” Rodrigo answered. “But more to the point, I have some ideas as to where they are going to hit us. Their most likely point of attack is here.” He moved his index finger to the bottom of the blueprint marked ‘main entrance’. “They’re probably going to send some grunts with low armor and sub-par weapons, but we can’t underestimate them.”

  “We’ve had our fair share of encounters with those types of morons,” Nina said. “We’re pretty damn aware of what they’re capable of.”

  “Regardless of your experiences with them, we should not take any chances,” Rodrigo interjected, pointing to the top of the blueprint. “They might also drop in from the rooftop, so we’ll need to put two people here.” He pointed to the middle of the blueprint where it was marked ‘top floor’.

  “What about the side entrances? Aren’t those important as well?” Burst asked.

  “We’ve taken that into consideration, and concluded that they’ll send in only one group through there,” Rodrigo answered.

  “Only one?” Josh scoffed. “They must be underestimating your security.”

  “Honestly, we really don’t have that much security near the side entrance,” Rodrigo said.

  “Why not?” Nina asked.

  Rodrigo sighed. “We haven’t used it for months.”

  “Un-freakin’-believable,” Burst said in shock. “And here I thought all Admin branches were supposed to be so secure that not even a Shadow Hawk could sneak past without tripping off an alarm.”

  Rodrigo chuckled darkly. “Don’t believe everything you hear about us, kid.”

  “Is there any magic around here we can use?” Josh asked. “I don’t think weapons alone are going to cut it.”

  “Why would you ask that, Josh?” Rodrigo asked. “You of all people know that the Administration no longer uses magic.”

  “Wait a second,” Burst interrupted. “Admins don’t use magic?”

  “Not anymore,” the older man replied.

  “Wow,” Burst said. “I forgot about that.”

  “Just like you forgot to bring one of your exes to the seaport for the photoshoot for that stupid magazine you always order,” Nina deadpanned.

  “Shut up,” he groaned. “Not everyone needs to know about it.”

  “Alright then,” Josh said, rubbing his hands together. “We all know our objective: don’t let any of those mercs kill a single person in this building. Sounds straightforward to me.”

  “Hey kid,” Rodrigo said. “You do realize that I’m planning this defense mission?”

  “Yeah, but you forgot one thing: this is my team,” he said, gesturing to Burst, Nina and Elaine. “And I’m their leader, so I’m the one who gets to call the shots here.”

  “Aww, how cute,” Rodrigo said mockingly. “The boy scout thinks he’s ready to put his life on the line.” He then scoffed and gave Josh a disapproving look. “Don’t treat this as some cake walk, kid. These guys are outright crazy.”

  Josh smirked. “Oh yeah? So are we.”

  “Damn straight!” Nina shouted.

  “Hell yeah!” Burst cheered.

  “Go big or go home!” Elaine added.

  Rodrigo sighed heavily while rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger.

  “These kids will eventually be the death of me,” he muttered.