The Butterfly Effect

They got their next mission nearly as soon as they had finished eating breakfast. In the letter was all of the information they would need; their target, what they were expected to find, and how quickly Priesty wanted them to do it. Alexei skimmed over it, making sure he knew the general gist without thinking too much about who this person really was. In an hour, he and Rosie had all their stuff gathered and were going to the town mentioned. Within two more, they were there.

"Do you want to split up?" Rosie prompted. "There's a lot we need to find and Priesty didn't give us a lot of time. I don't think it's going to hurt to be a little late, but—"

"We should divide and conquer," Alexei responded. "I don't want to take the risk if you're wrong. He definitely doesn't seem like the patient type to me."

He took the first step towards one of the forks in the road. "I'll take this direction and you can look in the other. We can reconvene at… sundown, maybe?"

She nodded. "Sounds good to me. Don't hesitate to come find me early if you need it, though." Then she gave a quick wave and walked away.

Alexei took the other path, letting himself fully settle into the mindset of him being at work. In a way, it felt like he left himself at the crossroads, and was now simply watching a hunter.

He found that the best way to get information was to simply wander. Sooner or later, he was able to find his target, and they quickly showed him everything he needed to know. He reminded himself of the people he was looking for, then slipped into the crowd.

Maybe in any other context, he would've found the bustle of the town comforting. Everywhere he looked, he saw snippets of others' lives; they might not have all been peaceful, but they were far more simple than anything he'd hope for. It made him recall some times when he was younger, before he and Milo drifted apart, when the only thing they had to care about was making sure they returned home before dark. Alexei couldn't tell if he wanted to cherish or forget the memories.

They only made work that much harder.

Another thing that quickly drew him out of work mode was the sound of a crying child.

He looked around, but he didn't immediately find the source of it, nor notice anyone else acting like they heard it. He knew he should just focus on the mission. There was something far bigger than that, though—the want of helping someone in need. Especially when it was a kid.

He could think of far too many ways the kid could get hurt if they were left alone.

So, he decided to postpone his work, and started trying to find the child. Alexei mostly used their crying to guess their location. It made him wonder why there weren't more people trying, honestly. Sure, there were a few other crying kids being dragged along by tired parents, but… this child sounded different. It wasn't the sound of a kid that had only been denied a toy or treat. Whoever and wherever they were, they were scared. Probably lost.

After a brief scare when the crying paused, he was able to figure out what alley it was in. And there he found the source: a little boy, around five years old, huddled in a corner and sobbing. He looked up when he noticed Alexei coming, but he immediately put his hands over his face and tucked his knees closer to him.

"Hey there," Alexei said calmly, slowly. He didn't want to make things worse. Though a part of him was afraid his very presence was doing that. Did he really look that intimidating? Or… could this child pick up on what he was actually in town for? "Are you lost?"

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The boy made a motion that, just vaguely, resembled nodding.

"I can help you find your parents, if you want. I'm Alexei. What's your name?"

His mumble was just barely loud enough to hear, let alone understand.

"I just want to make sure I heard that right. Your name is Yul?"

He nodded again.

"It's not safe for a kid like you to be on your own. How long have you been away from your parents? Do you know where they might be?"

A mumble.

"What's that?"

Just a bit louder, "Papa told me not to talk to strangers."

"I know I'm a stranger, but I just want to help. I'm sure your papa also told you it wasn't safe to be on your own, right?"

He whimpered.

"Hey, it's okay. How about this—you don't even have to talk to me. I just want to make sure you get back to your parents. You want that, too, don't you? I'll even give you plenty of space." To prove it, Alexei backed away, nearly to the point of being back out of the alley.

Yul finally dared to look up at him, then slowly stood up. He seemed to consider something quite seriously, for a little kid, before asking, "Where's your home?"

Maybe it was just supposed to be idle conversation, maybe it was something his parents told him to do. Either way, it seemed to make him a bit more willing to talk, so Alexei figured it wouldn't hurt to answer.

"I'm from a town about two hours north of here. It's about the same size as this town and right next to some fields so we always have fresh fruit. There's a lot of good bakeries, too."

He stopped himself there, because if he thought about it all any deeper, he was only going to fall into old memories. This wasn't the time nor place to be thinking about the past and what could've been. He had to focus on what—or who, in this case—was right in front of him.

Yul wandered past Alexei, only giving a brief look back to see if the older was following him. "You're far from your family. Aren't you lonely?"

"Adults don't always get lonely without their family," was Alexei's quick answer. It wasn't a real one. Of course he was lonely. Why wouldn't he be? But the kid didn't need to know that.

The kid didn't really need to know anything, aside from whatever kept him from asking more questions.

He continued, "I do a lot of important work that keeps my family safe. So even if I get lonely, I know it's for something good."

Now that was something with slightly more truth packed behind it. Not a lot, but it was something.

"How do you do that?" Yul's question… there was something about it. He was looking for a specific answer. Maybe this was something his parents had instructed him to do—a moderately discreet way of trying to gauge the character of whoever he came across.

And unluckily for Alexei, he had a feeling he met all the qualifications that the boy had been told to avoid.

"I help get rid of bad people," he answered simply. It was the best he could give without saying too much. "I… I don't really like it, though. It sometimes means I have to hurt others."

"Do you think they deserve it?"

Now he had no doubt in his mind, Yul knew what he was about to get out of this. Which only made Alexei more nervous. What were this kid's parents doing, what did they fear, if they instructed their kid to ask stuff like this?

If Alexei thought about it too long, he got less and less sure about his answer. It was something he tried to avoid at all costs—and here Yul was, bringing it all up to the surface. Before Alexei found himself in a spiral he wouldn't really be able to climb out of, he honestly stated, "I don't know."