The Liberal Assassin

Upon reaching my destination, the sight of Alastair greeted me. His hair sprawled around his head like a halo as he laid curled up on a nearby couch. The slight rise and fall of his c.h.e.s.t and relaxed expression on his face made me slightly envious of his oblivion to the chaos outside.

"The next two corridors are clear for you to proceed. Once you get there, place that device on top of the electronic locks and give them the charged orbs I handed you."

I heard Nash's reply from the cramped sitting area and glanced over to Khronos' workstation. The scientist trained his eyes on the screen, observing an insane number of cameras. Seeing Khronos work was vastly different from hearing him while on the job. The man's brows were knotted in deep focus at the screens and rapidly firing away at the keyboard while occasionally giving directions. Seeing the scientist at work reassured me. With Khronos watching my back, it was as if I had a thousand eyes all over Luna and hands in every security system. I'm sure Nash felt it too.

Tip-toeing to where Khronos was working, I peered over his shoulder to see a tiny camera screen showing Nash in his tight-fitting attire. I vaguely wondered how things were proceeding on Io's side with Felix.

Grunting, the scientist hammered away at the keyboard and prompted new programs to open. With great interest and rediscovered admiration for the man, I soaked up everything that he was doing.

"I've forced the section to be closed. Now put the device over the lock."

I leaned in closer to observe how Khronos started running the program while searching for a system alert. A beep later, the man was dishing out instructions over the communication line as if it was second nature. The door to Ignacio's cell clicked open and Khronos nodded to himself.

From the camera feedback, I saw how Nash wasted no time and tossed the charged orb to the brunet. Whatever cuffs Ignacio was in became useless when Nash crushed it them with brute force. I'm only glad I wasn't dumb enough to challenge him to an arm wrestling match when I was younger.

"Go now. There is only one path to Rush's cell. It's clear for the next two minutes and then you'll have to get out of there."

On another screen, Spencer was yelling orders for the Patrol Guards to surround the intruder. With the system hijacked, prison system analysts were unable to open the door, adding to the old man's growing frustration.

Nash made haste with Khronos' guidance and it was a magical moment for me.

"Two more left turns and you'll be at his cell. I have the code so just toss him the charged orb and get rid of the choker. Remember to get rid of it before he comes over, it has a tracker."

"Got it," Nash grunted.

The conversation was brief and straight to the point while they worked. I was so engrossed in the operation that I jumped when someone tapped on my left shoulder. If the person didn't speak as soon as he startled me, I would have spun around to throw an evil right hook.

"What's the current plan?"

Ignacio stood before me with a grin. His eyes were a little dull and eye bags were prominent but he appeared relatively unharmed otherwise.

"You look awful," I told him honestly and the man grinned.

"I'll say the same about you too. You've got your first strand of grey hair."

"Pardon," I couldn't help but say. Grey hair? How come I didn't realise it?

Ignacio only reached over to separate that single grey strand from the rest of my lovely blond locks. I squinted under the dim lights in Khronos' room hoping that it was a lie. The strand in my hand seemed to mock me as I blinked in disbelief. It wasn't a good omen.

A pat on my back snapped me out of dreary thoughts. "Don't worry so much. We'll think of a solution together. The team is coming back. Sorry, we weren't much help before. I wish Rush and I found a better place to hide. Speaking of which, where exactly are we?"

Raising a thin brow at him, I paused when I remembered how only Rush and Nash had seen Khronos' old base. Poor Ignacio was cooped up in the office with CEO duties so he didn't have the luxury of a house tour.

"We're at Khronos' apartment in Area Forty-One. Yes, the infamous loony bin that nobody goes to. Also, the apartment looks like a smaller version of the base we had because Khronos modified it."

I allowed Ignacio the time he needed for his brain to process all the information but gently helped the man close his agape jaw. When he finally gathered his thoughts and caught up with reality, a flash of light came from the room Alastair was sleeping in. Rush tottered and bumped into some furniture while making his way over to us. The Yankee looked no better than his friend.

"What's up?" the maroon head smirked.

The man was sickeningly pale and some darker spots bloomed across his tanned skin. It wasn't easy to spot but it was difficult to miss with how he favoured one side more than the other.

"What happened to you?" Ignacio rushed over, inspecting the damages done to his friend.

Rush allowed the brunet to do as he pleased while mouthing to me the words 'interrogation'. I mouthed back 'Spencer' and Rush shook his head while Ignacio made some sort of strangled noise.

I squinted at the name mouthed. I gasped softly but schooled my expression to a blank one when Ignacio turned around. Arvin had roughed him up personally. That man finally left his hiding spot with the rumour which meant that the plan was finally working! Before I could ask for details, the third flash of light in Khronos' living room appeared and Nash sauntered over to join us, not even breathless even after all that running.

"Shall we start the meeting?" he grunted while removing the tight-fitting clothes.

Khronos gave Nash a look and smiled. "We still have Ms Campbell to hear from but I suppose we can start. Now that most our members are back, shall we start with a status update?"

Ignacio and Rush had similar stories of hiding out in the Slums with Ignacio's family for a while. After the news scandal about Rush and Sable's relationship, a manhunt across Luna forced both men out of hiding to protect Ignacio's family. They split off to divert attention but Rion's men had caught them with ease and handed them over to Spencer.

"That was when Arvin showed up," Rush recounted. "He was more concerned if I received any gifts from her. The man wasn't concerned about the rumours as much as he should have been. In fact, he's repeated several times about a certain plushie."

"A plushie?" Nash furrowed his brows.

Rush nodded. "I don't know what he wanted exactly but he described it as looking something resembling a bear."

Diving through the pile underneath his desk at the description, we watched with sick fascination how the lab rat located his things. A short cry of triumph later, Khronos pulled out a maimed and ripped open plushie.

"Is that…"

Khronos grinned. "I bet Arvin was looking for this."

It was not what I expected but at least it explained a lot.

"The chip in this started the whole fiasco. I ripped it out and disabled the tracking function that might have made Arvin squirm. I bet he's more worried about his trump card falling into his enemy hands than his daughter."

"What does that chip do other than tracking?" the ex-gang leader asked.

Khronos adjusted his glasses.

"That's what I want to inform everyone. There are coordinates in this chip that have been matched to a location. Arvin had flown the coop but I searched the area near it and found his current residence. Titus had another chip that pointed us to the laboratory that we collected the remaining evidence from so we're now ready to move to the final stage. However, Kalifa's dead and Rion knows that she was murdered. I suggest practising extra caution from now on. There's no telling what Rion will do once he finds out about Team Night Walker and link it to his lover's death."

The smirk on Nash's face looked positively predatory.

"Does that mean we can expose him? I really want to see Arvin show up in person."

"That brings us to a problem," Ignacio whispered. "Who is going to bring them to justice? Luna Security and Patrol Guards are under Rion's control even if we get Arvin."

The good mood plummeted almost immediately. Spencer was still technically without the authority to capture Arvin even if we had the evidence of his crimes. Rion wasn't involved in the human experiment which meant he would still be in power and could override Spencer's authority.

"Doesn't that mean we need to kill them both?" Rush pointed out.

Slightly taken aback by the straightforward suggestion, I stumbled for words before finally managing a coherent response.

"I told Sable we won't kill her sc.u.mbag of a father," I admitted.

"How else do you propose to bring them to justice and free Luna from their rule?" the maroon head challenged.

For once, I had no plan or answer. Maybe we could take down Rion or connect their cases? No, it wouldn't work since Rion had a special force that consisted of an army of Nash-like soldiers. Khronos cleared his throat to bring everyone back to the matter at hand.

"Let's take a vote. Who says to kill them both? A show of hands please."

All hands shot up except mine.

"I think it is settled," Khronos looked in my direction. "Until we figure out a better plan, they need to die."

Everyone decided to turn in for the night, leaving me to my thoughts. Surely there was a third option. Life always provides alternative options. This can't be the answer.

Sighing heavily, I knew sleep wouldn't come easily.